Сhарtеr 20: The Runаwау Shоwеrhead
Thе wеather tоday wаsn’t grеаt—drizzlу аnd оverсаst, саsting a gloоmy mood ovеr еverуоnе.
“Sit nехt to mе lаtеr, Sister. It’s raining tоdаy, sо don’t float аround оutside.”
Ji Tingchаn tilted thе umbrellа hеavily tоward the pеrsоn bеsidе her.
“Okау!”
Jiаng Zhеngzheng noddеd raрidly like а peсking chick, hеr mouth continuоuslу munсhing on thе tоast slices Ji Тingchаn hаd bought for hеr at the сonvеniеnсe stоre.
Watсhing Jiang Zhengzhеng еаt like a hamster, cheeks puffеd оut, while still glancing arоund tо check fоr рassing vehicles or pedestrians—afraid of being discovered yet unable to resist eating—made Ji Tingchan’s heart soften.
Such a good little dog.
Of course, her little dog wasn’t entirely well-behaved. Take last night’s incident with Lin Xin, for example—the little dog still hadn’t taken the initiative to explain it clearly.
Boarding the bus to the academy, Ji Tingchan gestured with her eyes for Jiang Zhengzheng to take the window seat while she sat beside her.
Jiang Zhengzheng struggled to swallow the last bite of toast, but it stubbornly lodged in her throat, dry and impossible to gulp down. She could only pound her chest desperately with her hand.
No way! I’m already a Ghost! Am I really going to choke to death and become a ghost within a ghost?!
Seeing this, Ji Tingchan’s heart tightened. Regardless of the surroundings, she quickly retrieved a water bottle from her backpack, unscrewed it, and carefully fed it to Jiang Zhengzheng.
Silly little dog, what would you do without me?
On the bus, several people who had been stealing admiring glances at Ji Tingchan were now startled by her unscrewing the bottle and feeding water to the empty space beside her. Yet they felt this beautiful young lady must have her reasons for doing so.
“Whew, you scared me to death, Chanchan! Thank you so much, wuwuwu! You’re my savior!!”
After gulping down the water Ji Tingchan had brought to her lips, Jiang Zhengzheng looked at Ji Tingchan with a face full of admiration.
Ji Tingchan smiled without a word in response, quietly screwing the cap back on the water bottle and tucking it into her backpack. She hugged the backpack tightly against her chest, as if protecting a precious treasure.
“Chanchan! You have no idea! I thought I was going to die again! Who knows what I’d turn into if I died one more time?” As she spoke, Jiang Zhengzheng looked up at the bus ceiling, lost in thought.
Yeah, I became a Ghost and came here because I was about to die. If I’m about to die again, where will I go? Text Brother didn’t mention that at the time!
The speaker may have been careless, but the listener took it to heart. Beside her, Ji Tingchan looked at Jiang Zhengzheng, who was now spacing out.
Little dog…
Yes, her little dog sister became like this because of death.
She suddenly wanted to know why Jiang Zhengzheng had died, what she had experienced before her death, whether she had suffered, and she wanted to know everything about her origins!
Deep down, Ji Tingchan’s heart screamed with the desire to understand everything about Jiang Zhengzheng. But clearly, now wasn’t the right time. Besides, Jiang Zhengzheng hadn’t even told her about that Lin Xin incident—how could she possibly share her own origins?
For the first time, Ji Tingchan felt a twinge of defeat.
That’s right, she’d admit it—she was bothered by that Lin Xin person.
Meanwhile, Lin Xin was riding her bicycle to school in a raincoat, but for some reason, she couldn’t stop sneezing the whole way.
“I wonder how Zhengzheng is doing in Shangjing City, whether she’s found any friends. I’ll work hard next semester to test into a school in Jing City and see if I can run into her again! Go, Lin Xin!”
Glancing at the time on her wrist, Lin Xin pedaled her bicycle faster.Her feelings for Jiang Zhengzheng were pure and beautiful. Jiang Zhengzheng had overturned her long-held materialist beliefs, and being able to know Jiang Zhengzheng felt both wondrous and unbelievable to her!
To her, Jiang Zhengzheng—whom no one else could see—had been encountered by her alone. This made her feel like the chosen protagonist in an animated film, forming a contract and becoming friends with a little spirit invisible to everyone else.
Inside Saint Rost Academy, a girl with waist-length black hair, dressed in a gray British-style school uniform, held her schoolbag in one arm while clutching a transparent umbrella with the other as she made her way through the rain.
Beneath the black pleated skirt were two fair, slender legs. Raindrops blossomed like flowers beneath her feet, a beautiful scene that had surely dazzled many eyes.
“Look! That’s Ji Tingchan from Class One!”
“She’s really so pretty!”
“But… she doesn’t have a great reputation in her class, and her grades are just average, nothing outstanding.”
“Yeah, but! She’s so tall and beautiful! Her features are both pure and delicate! And she’s so fair-skinned!
Please let me grow up to look like that, wuwu!”
Hearing her classmates praise Ji Tingchan’s beauty, Jiang Zhengzheng was even happier than if they had praised her!
“Chanchan! You little rascal stunned everyone again today! As punishment, you have to buy me steamed eggs at the cafeteria after school at noon! I want them! I want them!”
Jiang Zhengzheng turned her head to tease Ji Tingchan.
“Alright.”
Ji Tingchan glanced at Jiang Zhengzheng, who was clearly scheming.
If the puppy behaves a little better, I’ll buy her whatever she wants.
“Hey, Ji Tingchan! Wait for me!”
A lazy male voice called out from behind.
How familiar that voice was! The male lead is here! It’s time for me to create an opportunity!
As Jiang Zhengzheng thought this, Fu Mingkai strode over and stopped in front of Ji Tingchan, blocking her path.
Fu Mingkai casually brushed back his damp, golden hair, revealing a rebellious face.
As Ji Tingchan walked forward, Fu Mingkai stepped backward.
Water droplets trickled down his face as he looked meaningfully at Ji Tingchan, a playful smile on his lips.
Seriously… is this really okay for the male lead? Huh? Excuse me! I admit you have some good looks, but with all those water droplets on your face, you look like a runaway showerhead from a bathroom, okay?!
And this walking backward act! Don’t tell me you think it’s cool? Please! Male lead oppa, you really resemble a desperate Ghost scrambling ashore looking for a mate!
“Pfft!” Jiang Zhengzheng couldn’t help but laugh at her own thoughts.
Meanwhile, Ji Tingchan was utterly exasperated. She felt nothing but disgust for this opposite-sex individual who harassed her all day long.
“Ji Tingchan, mind sharing your umbrella?”
Fu Mingkai said flippantly, his hands in his pockets as he continued stepping backward.
Oh my, the umbrella-moocher!
Having read too many romance novels, Jiang Zhengzheng seemed able to detect in his eyes three parts nonchalance, five parts confidence, and two parts mockery.
To help Chanchan achieve a wonderful, satisfying ending, even though she felt Fu Mingkai was a bit too greasy and not quite worthy of her Chanchan, Jiang Zhengzheng could only tearfully create some alone time for them.
With a dramatic flourish, Jiang Zhengzheng turned and drifted out from under the umbrella, floating to a spot three meters away from Ji Tingchan.
“?”
Under Ji Tingchan’s puzzled gaze, Jiang Zhengzheng gave her an encouraging thumbs-up.
“Ji Tingchan, are you really going to let me get soaked in the rain?”
Fu Mingkai wiped the rainwater from his face, raising an eyebrow as he asked teasingly.
Ji Tingchan ignored him, shifting her gaze instead to Jiang Zhengzheng, who had flashed to the side.Seeing her trying to make space for her to be alone with this man across from her, Ji Tingchan felt a surge of anger.
“How disgusting, get away from me.”
Ji Tingchan softly uttered six words to Fu Mingkai, her eyes brimming with disgust for him.