Lin Xi Chi wanted to argue with him.
At this moment, the female staff member had prepared her ice cream and placed it on a tray. Xu Fang took it and handed it to her, instructing her to eat with a simple word, “Eat.”
Seeing her wide-eyed and ready to explain herself, Xu Fang hooked his lips and gently fed her a spoonful of ice cream, accompanied by a warm smile.
“Remember to stop this habit of picking up things to eat.”
Lin Xi Chi: “…”
After consuming most of the ice cream, Lin Xi Chi finally realized that Xu Fang hadn’t spoken during this time. She tapped his shoe with the tip of hers and asked softly, “What are you doing?”
Xu Fang was engrossed in his phone and replied casually, trying to scold her indirectly, “What does it feel like to fall for an idiot?”
“What?” Lin Xi Chi was surprised that he was looking at such girly stuff related to a young girl’s feelings. “Are you into girls?”
Xu Fang, taken aback by her straightforward comeback, was momentarily speechless. After a while, he said, “Get lost.”
“I think normal people wouldn’t fall for an idiot.” Lin Xi Chi decided to give him a serious answer to his curious question. “Those who fall for idiots are probably idiots themselves, and those who ask such questions might be even bigger idiots and not even realize it.”
Xu Fang clenched his teeth to control his temper and could only watch as she unknowingly berated him.
“Hey, show me that Weibo post,” Lin Xi Chi said, spreading her palm in front of him. “I want to see how the comments are.”
Xu Fang, still annoyed, stiffly replied, “It’s closed.”
“Pipi, don’t be disheartened,” Lin Xi Chi patted his arm with one hand, trying to console him. “Just because someone falls for an idiot doesn’t mean they can’t find a normal person in the future. Maybe someday, a great person will come along who’s willing to accept everything about you.”
Xu Fang: “…”
They continued to stroll for a while.
It was now noon, and the overcast clouds from the morning had dissipated, leaving the sun high in the sky, scorching and causing the skin to sting as if being pricked by needles.
As the sun was directly overhead, Lin Xi Chi couldn’t find any shade to hide in like she usually did.
The intense sunlight made her uncomfortable, and she kept urging Xu Fang to walk faster.
Irritated by her constant nagging, Xu Fang didn’t even turn his head and replied sternly, “Endure it.”
Lin Xi Chi fell silent.
With her ceaseless chatter no longer in his ears, Xu Fang surprisingly found it uncomfortable. Unable to resist, he turned around, his tone stiff and formal, “We can’t hail a taxi here. Just walk for another five minutes.”
Lin Xi Chi hung her head, giving a low and obedient response.
Seeing her like this, Xu Fang didn’t know what was on her mind. He bent down and turned his head to examine her expression.
She had a vacant look in her eyes, and her gaze seemed unfocused. When she noticed his gaze on her, Lin Xi Chi immediately snapped back to reality and blinked. “Why are you looking at me?”
Xu Fang asked, “What are you doing?”
Upon hearing his question, her eyes started to wander again, showing signs of a wandering eye. “Enduring.”
Xu Fang: “…”
He resisted the urge to push her head away and muttered, “You’re weird.”
“This helps distract from the heat,” Lin Xi Chi explained, looking at him. “You can try it too, Pipi.”
This time he couldn’t hold back and pushed her face to the side.
“Go away.”
Xu Fang hailed a taxi and dropped Lin Xi Chi off at her grandfather’s place before heading home himself.
Lin Xi Chi’s grandfather, surnamed Ding, had been living alone in this old residential area for several years after his wife passed away. The neighborhood was filled with aged houses, but it was well-located, easily accessible by public transportation, surrounded by various amenities, and peaceful.
Lin Xi Chi had been living here since the second year of high school.
Before her sophomore year, she used to ride a bicycle to school, accompanied by Xu Fang. Neither of them chose to live in the dormitories; her home was right across the street from his, so every day Lin Xi Chi would go to his place before they went to school together.
The journey from Lanbei Villa Area to the school by bike took about twenty minutes. However, her grandfather’s place was too far from school, so Lin Xi Chi had to switch to taking the bus.
At that time, Xu Fang had no idea why she suddenly moved here. He asked her several times, but she refused to tell him. He wasn’t a patient person to begin with, and after a while, he became angry.
That silent treatment lasted for three days, initiated by Xu Fang alone.
Lin Xi Chi didn’t want to be at odds with him, but for some reason, she didn’t want to share the family situation with him either.
In order to reconcile, Lin Xi Chi tried various methods, but none of them worked.
Moreover, Xu Fang was very popular, and whenever she went to find him, he was always surrounded by a crowd of people. Although he had never publicly ignored her and walked away, he treated her like air.
He would listen to her talk, but he wouldn’t even spare her a glance.
During those three days, Lin Xi Chi felt particularly low-spirited. One night, she started crying, overwhelmed by various emotions and grievances. She cried all night long.
The next day, her eyes were swollen as she went to school. She didn’t approach him as she used to.
The two of them officially entered a mutual cold war.
After another day passed, Lin Xi Chi still remembered the day she woke up late due to not getting enough sleep. She hurriedly packed her bag and rushed downstairs. By then, it was already broad daylight, and the scorching summer morning sun was intimidating.
She was afraid of getting scolded by her teachers and felt flustered and anxious.
As soon as she stepped out of the building’s main entrance, she saw Xu Fang.
He was sitting sideways on his bike’s saddle, his legs hanging down casually, wearing the blue and white striped school uniform, bathed in sunlight that gave him a golden glow.
When he saw her, his expression instantly became very unnatural, and he turned his face away, his tone extremely harsh.
“Did you sleep through your alarm? Hurry up.”
Lin Xi Chi didn’t know how long it took for Xu Fang to bike over from Lanbei, but she needed half an hour to get here.
Morning study sessions started at 7:00 AM. In the past, Xu Fang was always punctual, waking up at 6:30 AM like clockwork. Every day, he would listen to her desperate reminders and then lazily spend ten minutes getting ready before grabbing a piece of bread and heading out.
She had no idea when he had woken up today.
Maybe because she found someone to be late with, Lin Xi Chi suddenly felt less worried. She walked up to him, feeling somewhat awkward for some reason, and could only remind him in a soft voice.
“It’s quite far from here.”
He jumped off the bicycle, pushed it into the bike shed, and turned away from her as he said in a deep voice, “I know.”
The two-way cold war had only lasted for a day.
After that, it continued until their high school graduation.
Xu Fang’s usual 6:30 AM wake-up time became—
A consistent wait for Lin Xi Chi downstairs at her grandfather’s place.
…
…
Lin Xi Chi snapped out of her reverie, opened the door with her keys, and called out, “Grandpa.”
No response.
She called a few more times, but still no response. She checked her grandfather’s room and confirmed that there was no one at home. She guessed her grandfather had probably gone to play chess with friends and hadn’t called him.
Lin Xi Chi took a quick shower in the bathroom, washed her clothes, and then went back to bed for an afternoon nap.
When she woke up again, she was awakened by her grandfather’s scolding.
The old man couldn’t stand seeing her lying in bed when the sun was high in the sky. His scolding reasons ranged from “you didn’t even call to say you were coming back” to “it’s so late, and you’re still sleeping” and finally to “did you come back just to sleep?” and “if you want to sleep, go back to school.”
Lin Xi Chi was startled by his shouting and immediately got up.
She checked the time and realized it was already 5:00 PM. Initially thinking her grandfather’s temper had worsened, Lin Xi Chi suddenly changed her mind and felt that her grandfather had become gentler on this trip back home.
Her grandfather had already prepared dinner, and he was sitting at the head of the dining table with a stern expression.
Lin Xi Chi went over, sat down, and smiled. “Grandpa.”
He snorted before picking up his chopsticks. “Geng Geng called and said you weren’t answering your phone. She just called me a little while ago, and I think she’ll be coming over.”
Lin Xi Chi nodded and began to eat the soup.
Then, without warning, her grandfather asked, “Did you drink yesterday?”
Lin Xi Chi nearly choked on her soup, hurriedly swallowed, and denied with a shaky voice, “No, I didn’t.”
After a while, she cautiously asked, “Did Geng Geng tell you anything?”
Her grandfather gave her a stern look. “Isn’t it true that you didn’t drink?”
“…”
When Lin Xi Geng arrived, regardless of whether she had told her grandfather about the incident, Lin Xi Chi scolded her mercilessly when she dragged her into the room.
Lin Xi Geng looked so angry that Lin Xi Chi thought she might slap her.
In the evening, the two of them were lying in bed.
Lin Xi Chi asked Lin Xi Geng how she had dealt with her teachers and parents that day, and after Lin Xi Geng finished, she asked Lin Xi Chi how she had dealt with Xu Fang.
They chatted about various things, and as they talked, Lin Xi Chi gradually became drowsy. She yawned and said softly, “Let’s go to sleep.”
Just as she was about to fall asleep, she faintly heard Lin Xi Geng behind her saying, “Lin Xi Chi.”
“I’m ranked in the top 20 now, and I’m planning to apply to S University in the future.”
After staying at her grandfather’s place for two nights, Lin Xi Chi returned to school with Xu Fang on Monday morning.
Originally, Xu Fang had booked tickets for the afternoon, but Lin Xi Chi was worried that Xin Zidan would return earlier than her, so she persuaded him to change to the earliest high-speed train on Monday. When they arrived at school, the campus was still quiet due to the early hour.
Xu Fang accompanied Lin Xi Chi back to her dormitory.
On the way, she was debating whether to choose white or pink, and for some reason, she felt a little embarrassed. She could only ask him softly.
“Which one do you prefer, white or pink?”
Xu Fang replied, “White.”
“Oh,” Lin Xi Chi decided, “then I’ll choose white.”
“…”
“I’m going to smash the color she likes.”
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