After receiving the massive sum of money, Kong Ning felt thoroughly satisfied.
Smugly holding a certain someone’s hand the entire way, she traversed through the bustling market, passed through the security gate of her residential complex, swiped her card to ride the elevator up, and then excitedly unlocked her front door.
However, the moment she got inside, Kong Ning snapped out of it as if waking from a dream. She stared dumbfounded at her hand, which was still intertwined with Wei Mu’s. But remembering Yu Tianjiao’s words, she instantly flared up with anger.
“Wei Mu, you…”
“Don’t pay any attention to that old man, Yu Yanzhuo, okay?”
Kong Ning stared fixedly, placing special emphasis on her words. “He’s pure evil, a toad lusting after a swan’s meat.”
“Got it. Is this your place?” To her surprise, Wei Mu didn’t listen to a word she said at all. She glanced around the house, looking very fond of what she saw.
“Yeah,” Kong Ning replied in a daze.
Of course this was her home; all the red, green, purple, and blue items and decorations were things she had bought according to her own taste.
Oh no, how did I end up bringing Wei Mu home?
Realizing it only after the fact, Kong Ning wondered what on earth she had brought Wei Mu back to her home base for.
To learn the directions?
What a blunder.
Kong Ning felt an urge to slap her own forehead.
“The place is very pretty, I like it a lot.” Wei Mu gave Kong Ning’s hand a gentle tug, expressing her praise.
“It’s good that you like it.” Even though the words felt a bit odd, since Wei Mu was complimenting her home, she decided to just let her compliment away.
“Could you pour me a glass of water, dazzling and charming owner of this home?” Wei Mu released Kong Ning’s hand and, in an extremely relaxed posture, sank into the sofa, even hugging the plush throw pillow that Kong Ning had bought for herself.
Just who is the host here?!
Kong Ning wanted so badly to lean right up to Wei Mu’s face and question her loudly: Are those the actions a guest should be making?
Besides, even though “dazzling and charming” sounded like a compliment at first glance, it always felt a bit off.
“Go on, hurry,” Wei Mu glanced at Kong Ning.
Kong Ning shivered all over. Don’t act spoiled with me, you’re acting totally out of character.
“Fine, I’m going, what’s the rush?” Kong Ning grumbled a bit, then immediately ran over to the bar counter.
Wei Mu watched the girl who was attentively staring at the water level in the glass. Her eyebrows relaxed, and a silent smile played on her face.
This block of wood she liked was popular with both guys and girls, she was so hard to watch over. But she would make sure to guard the block of wood that belonged to her.
In the next second, Yu Tianjiao, a thorn in her side since childhood, flashed across Wei Mu’s eyes. Yu Tianjiao liked Kong Ning; Wei Mu had known this back in high school. In high school, Yu Tianjiao himself probably hadn’t even realized his own feelings, but Wei Mu had still known, because she knew what it felt like to like Kong Ning, and she paid attention to everything about her.
Otherwise, back then, Wei Mu wouldn’t have been so angry, angry that Kong Ning cared so much about the other person, and angry at herself for having only a one-sided crush on Kong Ning.
Now that Yu Tianjiao had finally realized his feelings, he had come to covet her block of wood, her Kong Ning. The hands Wei Mu held around the plush toy tightened, creating deep wrinkles on its surface.
No matter what, Kong Ning could only be hers.
For the rest of this lifetime.
Deep within Wei Mu’s fierce and sharp gaze lay a profound obsession, which was then softened by the silhouette before her, dissolving into a tender gaze.
Kong Ning walked over carrying a glass of water. “It’s warm, go ahead and drink.”
“Thank you.” Wei Mu sat up, still holding the plush toy, though now holding it with just one arm while using her other hand to hold the glass and sip the water.
“Since you like it so much, how about I give it to you?” Kong Ning once again regretted speaking without thinking. Wouldn’t it be better to just buy another one and send it to Wei Mu, or just send her a product link? Why was she giving her own plush toy away?
It was second-hand, which was so tacky, it might even have her own scent on it.
“Sure, I’d love that.” Wei Mu put down the water glass, held the plush toy with both hands, and even rested her chin on top of its head.
“Oh,” Kong Ning replied calmly.
She couldn’t help feeling that with Wei Mu sitting there looking at her, she felt rather uncomfortable. If possible, she wanted to roll around on the living room sofa, watch movies, play games, and order a bunch of takeout while lounging like a couch potato.
But with Wei Mu here, what was she supposed to do?
What if she laughed at me? Would she think I’m still acting like a child?
For some reason, recently Kong Ning had become strangely concerned about saving face in front of her “arch-rival,” taking great care of her image.
Just as Kong Ning was worrying over how to “see the Buddha out,” Wei Mu’s phone rang.
“Alright, I’ll be right over,” came a cold tone, filled with the lofty authority of a superior, the unfamiliar Wei Mu when dealing with others and subordinates.
Wei Mu’s brow furrowed tightly; there seemed to be a very urgent and troublesome matter on the other end of the line. Only then did Kong Ning notice the faint dark circles under her eyes.
Has she not had a good night’s sleep in a long time? Kong Ning’s brows also creased slightly, her eyes carrying a sense of worry and care that she herself wasn’t even aware of.
She suddenly felt that perhaps she didn’t truly understand Wei Mu that well.
“I’m leaving. I’ll come over again next time.” Wei Mu stood up and put down the plush toy. “Keep the plush toy here with you for now as a temporary deposit. Don’t give it to anyone else, okay?”
“I won’t give it to anyone else. How about…” Kong Ning’s clenched hands loosened, then tightened again as she spoke hesitantly.
“Hmm?” Wei Mu straightened her clothes and raised an eyebrow, looking at Kong Ning with a sense of novelty.
How about I give you a ride?
“Stay safe,” in the end, Kong Ning said this instead.
Just as Wei Mu pulled open the door handle, Kong Ning opened and closed her mouth several times before softly adding, “Don’t work too hard, take good care of yourself.”
She still didn’t understand why Wei Mu pushed herself so hard. Wouldn’t it be great to just lie flat like her? Being a rich second-generation kid who “eats, drinks, and waits to die.”
Also… would she really come over next time?
As Kong Ning spoke, the door was already closing, and she sighed while staring at the shut door.
In the next second, knocking sounds came again. Kong Ning went over to open the door and asked, “Did you leave something behind? I’ll go get it.”
As she spoke, Kong Ning looked over toward the sofa, there was nothing there.
“I will take good care of myself.” Wei Mu wrapped her arms around Kong Ning’s waist.
“Also, thank you for caring about me. I’m really happy,” Wei Mu said in a muffled voice, her tone brimming with pleasant surprise.
“In the future, could you say it out loud, please? I want to hear you tell me out loud,” Wei Mu looked up at Kong Ning, her face full of smiles.
“Okay,” the dazed Kong Ning agreed to her request.
“I really like you, Kong Ningning.” Wei Mu released Kong Ning’s waist and held both of Kong Ning’s hands in hers, her eyes shining like stars.
“I like you too,” Kong Ning replied from the bottom of her heart. She knew that she worried about Wei Mu.
In that case, she must really like her friend, Wei Mu.
“Then I’m really leaving now,” Wei Mu chuckled helplessly.
When will this block of wood finally get a clue?
“Okay,” Kong Ning replied.
When the door closed for the second time, a certain block of wood slumped onto the sofa, thinking, It seems I really have to be good friends with Wei Mu from now on.
They both liked each other so much.
It was another frustrating school day.
It was another Thursday afternoon where she could finally rest after finishing her classes, and as usual, Kong Ning was on her way to the First Canteen to buy square cakes.
Today, riding her skateboard, Kong Ning didn’t wear a hat to act cool, she had washed her hair today.
Glancing around randomly, she suddenly saw Ji Yuzhu struggling to set up a canopy under the sun all by herself.
How could this be tolerated? How could one person set it up alone? The warm-hearted Kong Ning gave her skateboard a kick and glided right over.
“Ji Yuzhu, why are you here by yourself?” As she spoke, Kong Ning was already on the other side helping her pull open the frame.
“Kong Ning!”
“It’s me.” Kong Ning found it very odd. Every time Ji Yuzhu saw her, she would call her name with such surprise. She almost suspected whether she had a pair of wings on her back, making others feel as if an angel had descended whenever they saw her.
“The classmates from my club went to buy water. I originally wanted to see if I could set it up on my own, but I didn’t expect that I still couldn’t do it. Sorry to trouble you,” Ji Yuzhu explained.
“So that’s how it is. But what is your club setting up a canopy here for?” As they spoke, Kong Ning and Ji Yuzhu had already set up the canopy together, and were now tidying up the table.
“Our club and the university are joint-hosting a debate competition soon, and neighboring Peking University will also participate. The two schools will compete together in the finals. So the club president wanted us to hand out flyers here and recruit a few new members while we’re at it, we just don’t know if anyone will show up,” Ji Yuzhu explained, feeling a bit worried.
Ji Yuzhu was a member of the school’s debate club. Their club had very few people, and back then, Ji Yuzhu had been relentlessly pestered by the president into joining. Since she couldn’t bring herself to reject others, she had agreed.
Kong Ning was shocked.
Huh?! Is the debate club really this crazy?
Her debate club was pulling off such a huge event, wouldn’t they have to hold meetings every day to discuss the details? How exhausting.
Speaking of which, she had really misunderstood her own Guitar Club before. Aside from being busy during the recruitment period, it was actually quite laid-back now. Of course, it would be even better if the president didn’t randomly sign them up for performance shows.
“Go for it!” Kong Ning gave Ji Yuzhu a encouraging hand gesture.
“Thank you.”
“I’ll go buy my stuff first, bye-bye.”
“Bye-bye.”
Kong Ning whizzed away on her skateboard once again.
And so, on Friday, the following Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday, whenever Kong Ning passed by to buy square cakes, she could see Ji Yuzhu guarding that canopy from afar.
By the time another Thursday rolled around, Kong Ning couldn’t take it anymore.
“Ji Yuzhu, don’t tell me your club still hasn’t recruited enough people to participate in the competition.” Kong Ning found it hard to believe; with so many people at China University, couldn’t they even find a few dozen?
“Yeah, we’re still short four people,” Ji Yuzhu raised her head and answered helplessly.
“Tsk,” Kong Ning tapped her fingers on the table.
“Put down the names of everyone in our dorm room,” Kong Ning said generously.
At worst, they would just lose the first round, wouldn’t they?
Because they were in the same team during military training and were both in the Literature Department, Ji Yuzhu knew who Kong Ning was referring to.
“Will they agree to it?” Ji Yuzhu rested the tip of her pen on the registration form, hesitating whether to write or not.
She didn’t want to keep guard here either, but could Kong Ning really speak on behalf of her roommates?
“Definitely. Write it down with peace of mind, actually, never mind, I’ll write it.” With that, Kong Ning scribbled down the names of the four people with a few swift strokes.
At the exact same moment, the three people resting in the dormitory let out an out-of-the-blue, simultaneous “Achoo!”