The three of them walked toward the library. Yu Jiayou, unaware of the tension between the two girls, chatted with them as usual.
“I’ll go get some juice and milk. Wait here for me,” Jiang Shuyi said as they passed a small shop.
Yu Jiayou nodded, “Alright.”
Jiang Shuyi jogged off, leaving Lin Qingle and Yu Jiayou waiting by the roadside.
Winter had arrived, and the air was chilly. A gust of wind blew, making Lin Qingle shiver slightly as she zipped her jacket higher.
Noticing this, Yu Jiayou glanced at her and offered thoughtfully, “Are you cold? You can wear my jacket.”
Lin Qingle quickly shook her head. For one thing, Yu Jiayou was also lightly dressed, and for another, it felt a bit strange to wear his clothes.
Seeing her refusal, Yu Jiayou didn’t insist. He simply watched as she tucked her lower face deeper into her raised collar. Her face was round and seemed soft, and the metal zipper head easily left a small dent in her cheek.
Finding it amusing, Yu Jiayou couldn’t help but chuckle.
Lin Qingle gave him a puzzled look. “What’s so funny?”
Yu Jiayou shook his head and said, “Qingle, I feel like you’re a little different.”
“What do you mean?”
“You look like a model student, but that day when you stood up to Zhang Yikun…” He thought for a moment. “You were pretty fierce.”
Lin Qingle felt a bit embarrassed. She said shyly, “If I hadn’t been fierce… he might have thought I was easy to bully.”
“He won’t bother you again. I warned him,” Yu Jiayou replied.
“No.”
“Hm?”
“I meant I was worried he’d think Xu Tingbai was easy to bully.”
Yu Jiayou paused, then gave a soft laugh. “Xu Tingbai’s lucky to have a friend like you.”
Lucky, huh?
But he’d already encountered so much misfortune.
“Jiayou, here’s your milk,” Jiang Shuyi returned with the drinks.
Yu Jiayou said, “Give it to Qingle.”
Jiang Shuyi replied, “She doesn’t drink milk. I got her orange juice.”
“I see…”
Despite their quarrel, Jiang Shuyi still remembered her preferences.
“Yours.” Jiang Shuyi directly handed Lin Qingle the orange juice, her gesture firm with a hint of reconciliation.
Lin Qingle glanced at the drink in her hands and said, “Thank you.”
“Don’t be so polite,” Jiang Shuyi lightly coughed and then walked ahead.
When they reached the library, there weren’t many people yet. After finding a seat by the window, the three of them quietly worked on their assignments.
Lin Qingle had initially planned to stay for just two hours and then leave, but after they worked on a test paper together and encountered some difficult problems, they spent a long time discussing them.
By the time they solved all the problems, she realized it was almost five o’clock.
“I have to leave now! You two keep going.” Lin Qingle quickly packed her test paper and books into her bag and stood up.
Yu Jiayou glanced at his watch. “It’s about that time. Let’s call it a day then.”
Jiang Shuyi agreed. “That works.”
Yu Jiayou suggested, “How about we grab a meal before heading home?”
Jiang Shuyi responded, “Sure.”
After that, both of them looked at Lin Qingle.
Lin Qingle shrugged her backpack on. “Sorry, you two go ahead and eat. I have something to take care of, so I need to leave now.”
She had promised Xu Tingbai to visit him at his place, and she couldn’t be too late.
After apologizing to the two, she smiled and quickly walked out the door.
“Why are you in such a hurry?” Jiang Shuyi couldn’t help but ask. “Jiayou, what do you want to eat? Jiayou?”
“Huh?” Yu Jiayou’s gaze returned from watching Lin Qingle leave. “Oh, it’s up to you. What do you want?”
“I’ll think about it…” Read this novel at g.com for the best experience.
When he wasn’t at school, Xu Tingbai usually stayed at home.
Today, he had been in his room for a long time, then wandered into the living room, pacing back and forth. Aside from meals and reading school materials, he had done little else but space out.
He often spaced out, retreating into his own world, but today, there was a subtle difference.
Knock knock.
At two o’clock in the afternoon, there was a knock at the door, and Xu Tingbai’s emotions suddenly shifted. He almost instantly stood up to open the door. He moved quickly, bumping into the cabinet in the dark, feeling a sharp pain in his shin.
He frowned but ignored the pain, trying to maintain a calm expression as he opened the door.
“You…”
“Xiaobai, have you eaten yet?”
It was Grandma Jiang.
His emotions, which had been at their peak, immediately settled.
“I’ve eaten.”
The elderly woman standing outside said, “I thought I’d come over today to help you clean up. But I noticed your key wasn’t here, so I knocked.”
Xu Tingbai replied, “I put the key away earlier.”
“Oh, why did you hide it? I told you before, you don’t have to be shy. I’m just helping out whenever I have some free time,” Grandma Jiang said. “Just put it back later, alright?”
Xu Tingbai thought of the person who had been pestering him about the key and nodded.
Grandma Jiang said, “Then I’ll help you clean up.”
“No need, Grandma Jiang, I’ve already tidied up.”
“You cleaned up? Next time, don’t bother; I’ll just do it for you.”
“…Alright, thank you.”
Grandma Jiang, still concerned, stood at the door for a moment longer, saying a few more things before leaving.
Once her footsteps faded, Xu Tingbai closed the door.
In that moment, he almost laughed in self-loathing.
What was he waiting for?
Yesterday, she had just casually said she’d come over today. She didn’t promise she would.
How could he, so quickly, begin expecting something?
The place where his shin had hit the cabinet still hurt sharply, but after standing still for a while, the pain faded. Xu Tingbai returned to his room, took out the key, and placed it back in its usual hidden spot outside the door.
At five o’clock in the evening, dinner time.
Xu Tingbai didn’t feel like eating and wasn’t sure what to make. Eventually, he went to the kitchen and grabbed a box of instant noodles he had set aside.
Instant noodles were quick and simple. After pouring hot water, he stood quietly, his mind ticking away with the passage of time.
Five minutes quickly passed, and when he opened the lid, the smell wafted up. It was then that the door was knocked on again.
Xu Tingbai put down the plastic fork and turned to open the door.
“Grandma Jiang, I’ve already placed the key,” he called out to the door.
“Really?! Can I use it later?”
It wasn’t an elderly voice.
The voice that reached his ears was clear and soft, with the unique brightness of a young girl’s voice, like a small paw gently grabbing his heart.
Xu Tingbai froze for a moment, startled, not responding right away.
“It smells so good, did you make instant noodles?” The girl pushed open the door and walked past him. “Are you just about to eat?”
The quiet house was now filled with sound. The unspoken disappointment of the entire day, like air escaping from a balloon, suddenly dissipated.
He closed the door, his heart uncontrollably racing. He took two steps toward the sound and asked, “Why are you here so late?”
Lin Qingle looked at him, puzzled. “I told you I’d come today.”
“I mean, why now?” Perhaps because he had been thinking about it all day, the question slipped out. Immediately after saying it, Xu Tingbai regretted it, his face showing a bit of embarrassment.
“Oh… sorry. I ran into some classmates today, then went to the library to work on some test papers. One of them was really difficult, and I spent a long time thinking about it. By the time I finished, I didn’t realize how late it had gotten.” Lin Qingle looked at him and tentatively asked, “Were you… waiting for me?”
Xu Tingbai would never admit that he had spent the entire day distracted, thinking about her offhand comment from yesterday.
“Oh.”
Xu Tingbai walked over to the counter to find his bowl of noodles.
“I’ll do it,” Lin Qingle quickly stepped forward to help him. “Be careful, it’s hot.”
He could make his own noodles and was used to boiling water, so why would he worry about being burned?
Xu Tingbai thought to himself, but hearing the urgency in her voice, he didn’t refuse and allowed her to do as she wished.
After sitting at the table, he heard the sound of someone else pulling out a chair, and Lin Qingle sat down next to him. At this moment, she wasn’t doing her homework or eating, so the only thing she could do was watch him.
Xu Tingbai suddenly felt a bit uncomfortable at the thought of the situation. “Have you eaten?”
Lin Qingle’s stomach growled loudly. “Not yet, I just came back from the library.”
Xu Tingbai paused with the fork in his hand and said casually, “There’s some more, if you want, you can cook it yourself.”
“Is that okay?”
“Up to you.”
Lin Qingle immediately got up, happy, and made herself a bowl of instant noodles. A little while later, she brought it back and sat beside Xu Tingbai. She picked up some noodles, blowing on them gently.
“Instant noodles taste pretty good,” Lin Qingle commented honestly. “At our age, we’re all pretty weak against them,” she laughed. “But if we keep eating them, it’s not good. Next weekend, let’s cook together.”
Xu Tingbai paused again with his fork. The “we” she casually said caught him off guard.
Lin Qingle continued, “We can go grocery shopping and cook at your place. I’m not that great at cooking, but… but it’s still edible. My mom sometimes says it tastes pretty good.”
Xu Tingbai slowly ate a bite of noodles, feeling that such casual conversation was very unfamiliar to him.
“I’ll go get some water,” he said, unsure of how to respond, instinctively standing up to escape the closeness of the moment.
“I’ll help you,” Lin Qingle said, seeing he couldn’t see her. She stood up and followed him.
“No need.”
“I’ll do it,” she insisted.
Her hand gripped the kettle handle, her palm pressing against his hand. Her hand was warm, as always, and soft.
“Let go,” Xu Tingbai felt the warmth from her soft hand spreading up his arm, numbing him, but he didn’t dare pull away, afraid she might drop the hot water if she lost her grip.
Lin Qingle said, “Let go, I’ll pour it.”
That strange warmth seemed to climb up his arm, scorching his veins.
“I told you to let go. Do I really not know how to do this?” Xu Tingbai’s voice raised sharply.
Lin Qingle pulled her hand back, startled by his louder tone. She looked at him, thinking maybe she had unintentionally hurt his pride by trying to help.
“Oh, I didn’t mean that you’re not good at it…” she said, her voice suddenly softer.
Xu Tingbai bit his lip, realizing his words were too harsh. He didn’t even know why he raised his voice; it was just that her hand felt too warm against his. It was… inappropriate.
He took a deep breath and grabbed the cups on the counter, pouring two cups of water.
“Are you angry?” Lin Qingle asked.
“No.”
“But you look like you’re angry.”
“…I’m not angry.”
“If you’re angry, just say it. Maybe, sometimes, you misunderstand what I mean.”
Xu Tingbai pushed one of the cups of water in front of her and walked back to the table with his own. “I’m not angry.”
Lin Qingle quickly grabbed her cup and followed him, bouncing behind him. “But—”
“Enough, quiet, eat your noodles.”
“Oh…”
Xu Tingbai sat down, picked up his fork, and took a bite of his noodles.
“Xu Tingbai—”
“I really am not angry. Stop overthinking,” he interrupted.
“It’s not… I wasn’t talking about that.” Lin Qingle glanced at the fork she had used, still with a bit of the noodles she had eaten, and awkwardly said, “That noodles… it’s mine…”