She said nothing, then suddenly sat up from the soft couch cushions, looking at him with an annoyed expression. Ji Fan laughed: “Why are you glaring at me? Glaring won’t help.” Tao Zhi continued glaring at him without speaking. Ji Fan leaned closer: “Really have someone you like?” Tao Zhi let out a sigh, frustrated…

“I’m so freaking done! Just done!” During break time, Li Shuang Jiang leaned against Jiang Qi Huai’s desk in the aisle, his face still shocked even after an entire class period. “Do you know how much Li Si Jia scored on the English monthly test, boss? 143 points, boss!” Li Shuang Jiang pointed at Fu…

Jiang Qi Huai sent this WeChat message to the group. A few seconds later, WeChat pinged again. Ji Fan sent a friend request. Jiang Qi Huai had some impression of this deskmate. This person was a friend of a friend of a friend — if he had to describe it, about as distant as a…

Renminbi met Tao Zhi quite by chance, also during an outing. Tao Zhi had gone with her friends, and he happened to be invited by his friends that day. They met at a basketball court in a small plaza. Tao Zhi and her friend arrived first. In the noisy cicada-filled midsummer, the young girl leaned…

The neighborhood’s lighting was dim. Not far ahead, the ground lights winding along the paths in the small garden looked like a string of connected candlelights. Autumn leaves gathered under the streetlights, casting fragmented shadows. Jiang Qi Huai was backlit, and he clearly paused when he saw Tao Zhi’s expression as she looked up. The…

When Tao Zhi and the others returned after eating, Li Shuang Jiang’s group was standing at the beef noodle shop, taking out their phones to call them. The phone vibrated twice in her pocket. Tao Zhi answered, watching Li Shuang Jiang holding his phone not far away, his voice coming through the receiver: “Hey, boss,…

After the woman and little boy fled like refugees, the atmosphere became even more frozen. Even the air seemed frozen solid. Li Shuang Jiang and the others barely dared to breathe. Although they had gradually become familiar with Jiang Qi Huai over this time, it was only slightly so, and they still couldn’t quite gauge…

Chapter 29: Don’t Look at Strange People Tao Zhi vaguely heard what Jiang Qi Huai said after, her mind still stuck on his previous sentence. — No girlfriend. Tao Zhi tilted her head back, restraining herself from blurting out the question on her mind. The literal meaning was “I don’t have a girlfriend.” But Jiang…

Häagen-Dazs ice cream, 80-gram small box retail price of thirty-nine yuan, First Experimental High’s highest treat. The school store was noisy. Zhao Ming Qi looked painfully at his empty, pitiful wallet while pushing Li Shuang Jiang’s head against the glass counter. Ji Fan stood in front of the freezer holding a sports drink in his…

Jiang Qi Huai had no idea how she had come to the conclusion that boys were better than girls. Thinking back to the simpleton Li Shuang Jiang, he wasn’t even as good as the girls. Students gradually left the classroom to go to the cafeteria. The corridor outside was noisy, with intermittent sounds of laughter…