Yet not a single sound came out. Her face was scrunched up as though the sky itself were falling.
Tan Qingze stood to the side, at a loss.
“What’s wrong?”
Jiang Lezhi came back to herself. Even as she cried her heart out, she did not forget to make a thank-you gesture to Tan Qingze.
This time, Tan Qingze understood.
The girl’s face was almost entirely covered in tears. Tan Qingze could not understand how she had been perfectly fine just moments ago, only to suddenly become like this.
Walking alongside Jiang Lezhi now, anyone passing by would probably assume that he had bullied her.
But with Jiang Lezhi crying so hard, he damn well could not bring himself to leave her alone.
So many people at the court had seen him pull Jiang Lezhi away. If she immediately burst into tears afterward and word got out, would he not lose face?
He patiently followed beside Jiang Lezhi. “What’s wrong? Did I hurt you just now?”
More and more gazes turned their way. Tan Qingze felt as though every single one of them was cursing him—and cursing him obscenely.
Jiang Lezhi could not care about anything else at that moment. She felt that she would never be able to speak again. She had already spent all her strength thanking Tan Qingze just now.
She felt as if she had fallen into a gigantic whirlpool, crying so hard that she could barely breathe.
She shut out everything around her. At that moment, it truly felt as though her sky had collapsed.
If not for what had happened last night, she really would have resigned herself to it!
After all, she had gradually grown accustomed to living without being able to speak.
But now, she truly could not accept it.
Along with her sadness, she also felt terribly wronged. She did not know where this sense of grievance came from, but it made her cry even harder than before.
Jiang Lezhi rubbed a hand across her face, wiping away quite a few tears. Her small face was unbearably aggrieved.
She kept walking forward, completely unaware that Tan Qingze was staying by her side because he was worried about her.
Looking at Jiang Lezhi’s tear-streaked cheeks, Tan Qingze sighed.
He would take care of her one more time. Just once!
As soon as he coaxed Jiang Lezhi into stopping her tears, he would leave!
He grabbed Jiang Lezhi’s hand and led her onward. Since she did not walk very quickly, he slowed his pace.
There were quite a few benches around the university campus. Since this area was close to the women’s dormitory, it was known as a romantic date spot for young couples.
However, the weather was simply too cold at the moment, so when Tan Qingze pulled Jiang Lezhi down to sit, there were not many couples around.
They sat on a relatively dimly lit bench. Tan Qingze took a pack of tissues from his bag and tossed it to Jiang Lezhi.
“Wipe your tears.”
Jiang Lezhi took the tissue packet and clutched it in her hand, never lifting her head.
Her tears pattered onto the packet Tan Qingze had handed her. Tan Qingze could not understand why she felt so wronged.
He did not know how to comfort her, either. He really should never have agreed to accompany her to play on that slide!
And now look at her—crying like this. He could not even leave if he wanted to!
He let out a deep sigh. He remembered that yesterday, when her roommate called her, she had called her Lezhi.
Lin Zhiyang and the others had also called her Lezhi today, so he said, “Lezhi, as long as you stop crying, I can agree to do one thing for you. I can do your homework, or tutor you—anything, as long as you stop crying!”
Jiang Lezhi still shook her head. She wanted to tell Tan Qingze not to worry about her.
She was already very grateful to him. She would be fine after crying for a while. She had cried outside because she did not want to return to the dormitory and worry her roommates.
But she did not feel like typing anything out for Tan Qingze to see right now, so she could only wave her hand.
Seeing Jiang Lezhi’s gesture, Tan Qingze’s spirit was on the verge of collapse as well…
“That won’t do, either?”
Suddenly, he thought of something. The little girl was crying so bitterly, and when he connected it with all her reactions today, could it be that she…
After thinking it over, Tan Qingze decided that was impossible.
The way she looked at him was different from the girls who asked for his WeChat. She did not look like she liked him.
Besides, the kiss last night had been an accident. She did not seem to have shown any signs of liking him then, either.
But he had no other choice now. With the intention of giving it a try—and also of teasing Jiang Lezhi a little—Tan Qingze said in a teasing tone, “You can’t expect me to be your boyfriend, can you?”
Jiang Lezhi had still been crying, but she suddenly froze.
She abruptly turned her head to look at Tan Qingze!
There was one more thing she had not tried!
Yesterday, when she fell, she and Tan Qingze had kissed!
Light instantly returned to her eyes. The tear marks on her face had not even dried, yet she gazed at Tan Qingze with a pair of tear-filled eyes.
Tan Qingze: …
He had only been joking to lighten the mood…
No way!
Sure enough, Lin Zhiyang saying that he was unknowingly funny had been a joke!
This was not funny at all!
Tan Qingze, who was one hundred eighty-six centimeters tall, was forced to keep shrinking backward by Jiang Lezhi, who was only one hundred sixty-three centimeters tall.
He even stammered a little, something rare for him. “I was joking. You’ve stopped crying, right? Then I… then I’ll be leaving first!”
Jiang Lezhi grabbed Tan Qingze’s hand. With one arm, she clung tightly to his arm, afraid that he would run away.
With her other hand, she pulled her phone from her pocket and typed a few words:
【Kiss me!】
Tan Qingze: …
“Don’t do this!”
Jiang Lezhi held on to his hand, hope blazing in her eyes once more.
The feeling in Tan Qingze’s heart could no longer be described as shock.
He had thought Jiang Lezhi was honest and well-behaved, which was why he had comforted her. He had never expected her to be this bold!
He pulled Jiang Lezhi’s hand away, straightened his expression, and his tone turned cold as well. “If you’re all right, then I’m going back!”
The tears pooled in Jiang Lezhi’s eyes fell again. She looked pitiful beyond words, but this time, Tan Qingze did not soften.
This was too absurd!
Jiang Lezhi was simply too absurd!
No matter how badly she cried this time, he would not bother with her anymore.
The more he tried to help, the more trouble it caused!
When he pried Jiang Lezhi’s hand away, her expression immediately became panicked.
She looked at him almost pleadingly. The tears that had finally stopped began streaming down again.
Tan Qingze simply closed his eyes so he would not have to look at her.
At that moment, Jiang Lezhi made the boldest decision she had ever made in her memory.
Summoning all her courage, she took advantage of the moment Tan Qingze closed his eyes, rose onto her tiptoes, and lunged at him.
The moment their lips touched, the fresh, lemony fragrance surged madly into his nose.
The soft sensation made him almost unable to believe what Jiang Lezhi had done!
Tan Qingze abruptly opened his eyes. The tips of his ears flushed red, and he suddenly shoved her forward.
Jiang Lezhi was knocked to the ground. He instinctively reached out to help her, but after thinking better of it, he wiped his mouth and walked away with a gloomy expression.
This was simply infuriating!
Jiang Lezhi climbed up from the ground and, cautiously yet filled with anticipation, opened her mouth. “Ah…”
She felt almost numb from head to toe. “I…”
Jiang Lezhi covered her mouth and stared at Tan Qingze’s back in disbelief.
It was actually because of the kiss!
She picked up the tissue packet that had fallen to the ground with her when Tan Qingze shoved her down, then ran after Tan Qingze.