When Zeng Qilin arrived, he witnessed this amusing scene. Taking a sip from his bottle of mineral water, he asked: “What’s going on? Why is Xie Xin using your phone to call someone?”
Xie Ci frowned irritably, “Xu You.”
“Oh!” Zeng Qilin caught on quickly, asking “So you finally got her?”
Xie Ci stayed silent. His silence meant yes.
To Zeng Qilin, they seemed like complete opposites – he couldn’t understand how they ended up together…
Such a good girl, what a waste.
He made a sound of acknowledgment and patted Xie Ci’s shoulder, “Well done! No wonder you’re in such a good mood today, even agreeing to go home.”
“So how about we gather some people to go to the hot springs tonight? Bring your girlfriend too?” he asked.
Xie Ci rejected the idea without even thinking about it.
What’s there to bring? Just him and Xu You would be fine – who wants to soak in hot springs with that whole group?
The two brothers chatted for a while, but Xie Ci remained distracted. After enduring a bit longer, he couldn’t take it anymore and forcefully took the phone back.
Xie Xin quickly twisted around, throwing herself at him, “No! Bad brother!”
“What do you mean no? Is she your girlfriend or mine?”
Xie Xin was anxious, “Sister promised to tell me a story!”
“That’s perfect, we can listen together.” Xie Ci childishly competed with his sister, turning on the speakerphone.
On the other end, Xu You heard the commotion and laughed helplessly.
She thought for a moment, unsure what to tell. After searching through her memories, she recalled a story she had once read in a book.
By the light of her desk lamp, Xu You curled her feet up on her chair. Resting her chin in one hand, on this quiet snowy evening, she spoke softly into the phone:
“Once upon a time, there was a little rabbit.
Then came another little rabbit, who held its ears and stood on the first rabbit’s shoulders.
Then came another little rabbit, who held its ears and stood on the second rabbit’s shoulders.
Then came another little rabbit, who held its ears and stood on the third rabbit’s shoulders.
…
…
Finally, another little rabbit came, held its ears and stood on the ninth rabbit’s shoulders, and gave the giraffe a kiss.
It said to the giraffe, ‘At last I can tell you that I like you the most.’”
When the story ended, the other end had fallen completely silent, as if there was no sound at all.
Xu You thought she might have been boring, and laughed embarrassedly, “I’m sorry, was that too boring? Sister doesn’t know many stories.”
Her voice was truly gentle and soft, even though she only spoke briefly. Especially when she deliberately softened it to comfort others, it could reach straight to one’s heart.
Xie Ci smiled silently, leaning against the balcony in the cold wind.
The sky in the distance had gradually darkened, the city lights were bright, and snow continued to drift.
He said: “I didn’t find it boring at all.”
Xu You noticed and complained with a pout: “Then you were just being mean, making me tell stories all by myself.”
“I just liked listening to you, okay?”
Something seemed to occur to him, and he asked, “Xu You, let me ask you something?”
Xu You lowered her eyes, doodling on scratch paper with her pen, making a sound of acknowledgment.
Xie Ci’s languid voice drifted into her ear like a hook carried by the wind.
“Were you raised on candy? How are you so sweet?”
—
Time passed steadily, flowing by without notice. By mid-January, the semester was about to end with final exams. At school, Xu You tried to avoid too much contact with Xie Ci.
Both acted as if nothing had changed. Xu You didn’t know how to date, while Xie Ci was just holding back.
Occasionally when he couldn’t stand it anymore, he would wait at her route to class and pull her into empty corners to kiss her.
Their height difference was too great – when kissing on the stairs, he had to bend down.
During dinner time before evening self-study, there were only a few scattered people in the classroom.
Song Yifan was playing games at his desk when there was a knock at the back door.
He looked up to see a girl with twin ponytails, wearing a little skirt despite the winter cold, her eyes flickering shyly.
Song Yifan paused his game, put his phone on the desk, and asked casually: “Who are you looking for?”
The girl hesitated before asking, “Is Xie Ci in your class?”
At these words, Song Yifan instantly understood.
Another girl looking for Xie Ci.
Just recently, Class 9 had a basketball game with Class 1, and quite a few people went to watch – both class teachers had brought all the girls to cheer them on. Xie Ci had played too, and that day he seemed almost drugged, moving provocatively, grabbing the ball and shooting baskets, deliberately causing various excited screams.
Then shortly after, various confession posts appeared on the school forum, asking who the boy wearing jersey number 1 was.
A string of replies followed, with several blurry candid photos, many saying this boy was even more handsome than the school’s most popular guy, supposedly the boss of the second-year students.
So during this time, Xie Ci was more frequently sought out – during PE class or when returning from the bathroom, he would be cornered outside the classroom by girls wanting his contact information.
Xie Ci himself remained completely indifferent to these girls, staying uninvolved, making others think he was trying to transcend worldly desires.
When friends teased him about it, he couldn’t be bothered to explain.
Except for a few close friends who knew the truth – that Xie Ci was completely smitten with his current girlfriend, to the point of obsession.
Even Song Yifan didn’t dare joke about Xu You casually. Once when some boys in the back row were bored during class, they started discussing the looks and figures of girls in their class.
One boy spoke carelessly without restraint: “Hey, you know that transfer student in our class, the study genius? She’s pretty good-looking, has an innocent face, just too flat-chested…”
This boy usually had a big mouth, liked to harass girls, and bragged a lot – very annoying.
He got carried away talking, completely missing the frantic warning looks from those around him.
Then, that very day after school, he was “taught a lesson” by Xie Ci and his people.
In the pitch-black night, their group gathered together clearly up to no good, and no one dared approach.
Passing students kept their distance, not daring to provoke these troublemakers.
Song Yifan and Tu Xiaocheng stood at the back of the crowd, watching Xie Ci “communicate” with that creepy classmate.
“How long has it been since Xie Ci dealt with someone from our class?” Tu Xiaocheng asked.
Song Yifan couldn’t remember either, shaking his head.
After a while, the two brothers sighed in amazement, “You really can’t mess with the boss’s woman.”
Now when it came to Xu You and Xie Ci, it was truly a case of touch her and die.
Leave a Reply