At the entrance of Building A, Guojin Mall.
He glanced at his watch, and when he looked up, a dark shadow rushed past his eyes, bringing a gust of wind. In an instant, the shadow stumbled back.
A wet hand reached out, quickly covering his mouth, pushing him against the nearby wall.
Feng Ning’s heart was still beating rapidly. She huddled motionless under the stranger’s shoulder, catching her breath secretly, wiping water droplets from her face with the back of her hand.
Soon after, several security guards came rushing and shouting, looking around. She instinctively held the person’s waist tighter.
They paused for a moment before chasing in another direction.
A faint citrus scent drifted to her nose. Feng Ning belatedly looked up at the person whose mouth she was covering tightly.
He was so tall.
As her gaze swept upward, her breath halted for a moment.
The face before her was extremely close. Short black hair, light eyelashes, and a clear brown mole near his eyebrow. His eyes were misty, with long upturned corners, reflecting the pouring rain outside, creating an indescribable allure.
Feng Ning’s hand softened.
Everything happened too quickly. The stunned boy finally recovered from the shock of being accosted, pushing her away as if electrified.
“Shh, don’t shout, they haven’t gone far.” Feng Ning pressed her finger to her lips, looking around, quickly explaining: “I’m not a bad person, I was just doing graffiti nearby when the security guards started chasing me.”
She had just run in from the rain, soaked from head to toe. The dark blue eyeshadow on her eyelids had smeared, a skull necklace hung proudly on her chest, silver earrings pierced her ears, and a bandage with visible blood was on her chin.
Silently, the boy looked down at his wet jacket and frowned in disgust. The delinquent girl seemed unbothered, staring back at him with a “I’m a troublemaker and I’m not afraid” look.
He looked at her like she was nothing more than a pile of scrap metal. With his usual disdain, he unzipped his jacket and threw it on the ground without hesitation.
This person had such a naturally superior air about him, even the way he looked at people was from top to bottom. Just like the luxury store sign above, equally noble and cold.
Feng Ning wanted to laugh but held back. She glanced at the branded jacket discarded like trash at her feet and said casually, “Handsome, are you always this temperamental?”
The boy restrained himself and replied coldly, “Yes.”
“Fine, if you don’t want it, I’ll use it as a raincoat.” Feng Ning had thick skin since childhood, neither embarrassed nor awkward. She bent down very calmly, snatched up the jacket, and waved it triumphantly, “Hehe, thanks then.”
He glanced at her, not wanting to speak anymore. He took out his earphones and put them on expressionlessly.
Jiang Yuyun was at the counter signing for her purchases while wearing a windbreaker. Yi Qiao was twirling her car keys, telling a joke she’d heard from someone yesterday.
These two were famous socialites in South City. The sales assistants silently listened to them criticize others with barbed comments, used to it by now, efficiently packaging their items.
“Arthur is coming back to the country soon, did you know?”
“Mm.” Jiang Yuyun paused her pen, raising an eyebrow. “So?”
“That dog of a man got drunk at someone’s birthday party yesterday, got too cocky, said he couldn’t forget you. It was hilarious. Nearly drove his LA girlfriend crazy, she’s been asking around about who you are today.”
The glass doors slid open on both sides as they walked out. Jiang Yuyun swayed gracefully in her C-brand high heels, coldly snorting, “What’s it to me? Those types really think they’re something special.”
Yi Qiao craned her neck, secretly looking at the boy nearby, until Jiang Yuyun noticed and glared at her, “My brother just started high school.”
“Tch, what are you thinking? I’m not that depraved!” Yi Qiao pretended to be angry, nudging her friend’s shoulder. “But your brother is really handsome, worthy of being from the Jiang family. How many girls’ hearts will he break when he grows up?”
Jiang Yuyun made a sound in her throat, “He’s the one with a glass heart.” Then added, “You don’t know this, but when he was little, my mom had his fortune told on the mountain. The Taoist said my brother would have smooth sailing in life, except he wouldn’t be able to escape a love tribulation.”
Yi Qiao laughed, “Love tribulation? What woman could bear to hurt him?”
“Xiao Wen, let’s go.” Jiang Yuyun walked over, took off her sunglasses, and looked her brother up and down, saying in surprise, “Hey, where’s your jacket?”
Jiang Wen pulled out one earphone wire, answering absent-mindedly, “Met a female hooligan.”
The female hooligan happily returned home.
Qi Lan’s gaze fell on her soaked daughter, “What happened to you?”
“Went out without an umbrella today.” Feng Ning politely greeted the aunties at the mahjong table, wiped her long hair with a towel, and stood beside them to watch their game.
Aunt Li glanced at her, “Xiao Ning, are your results out? How did you do?”
Among the clacking of mahjong tiles, Feng Ning smiled and answered, “Not bad.”
“Which school?”
“Qide.”
“Oh, Qide? That’s amazing!” Aunt Li praised her bright future, sighing dramatically, “If my son could be half as excellent as Xiao Ning, I’d be smiling in my dreams.”
Qi Lan drew an eight of circles, laughing heartily, feigning modesty, “You haven’t seen her when she’s misbehaving, I worry endlessly.”
“Yes, Sister Lan has been so hardworking these years, seeing your daughter so successful must make you so proud.”
Feng Ning’s father died early, and Qi Lan wasn’t a local, neither was he. The widow and orphan had no relatives to rely on. Afraid her young daughter would suffer, Qi Lan raised Feng Ning alone, refusing to remarry. She worked at beauty salons, sold clothes, tried all sorts of sales jobs, and finally managed to save enough money to open a mahjong parlor when Feng Ning started middle school. Only then did life get a bit easier.
Feng Ning grinned playfully, “Mom, you guys keep playing, I’m going to take a shower.”
Qi Lan looked up briefly, calling out: “Oh right, the helper has something today, remember to help out in the kitchen for dinner.”
After cleaning up, Feng Ning returned to her room, habitually humming a song, opening the curtains to let sunlight in.
She leaned on the desk and looked out for a while. After the summer rain, the grape vine leaves were glistening green, cicadas were crying with all their might, and under the tree shade, the old man from next door was dozing in his rocking chair, fanning himself.
She brought half a watermelon from the kitchen refrigerator.
Lying comfortably on the bay window, she ate watermelon while browsing Taobao1, surfing the internet for a while, then suddenly remembered the jacket she’d gotten for free. With a very ordinary citizen mindset, Feng Ning searched for the same model at the boutique store.
The moment the price refreshed on the webpage, she was so shocked she almost dropped her phone on her face. She knew branded items were expensive, but didn’t expect it to be this expensive!
Feng Ning clicked her tongue, that delicate young master was really rich.
The yellow dog wagged its tail and jumped up, giving a howl before curling up in the corner. She closed the webpage and sent a WeChat message to Shuang Yao.
Feng Ning: [Quick, tell Xiao Zhao that for his birthday tomorrow, Sister Ning will give him a big gift]
Shuang Yao: [You said the same thing last year, then gave him a bottle of Blue Moon2–!]
Feng Ning: [You’re still hung up on that?]
Shuang Yao: [Mainly because you were too damn stingy, when Xiao Zhao got home his mom was holding the exact same laundry detergent, they just stared at each other, and his mom said it was distributed by your mahjong parlor…]
Feng Ning rolled with laughter, Beibei jumped into her arms and nuzzled her with snuffling sounds.
She turned over, freed a hand to pat the fluffy dog’s head, and lay down to type: [That just happened to coincide with the mahjong parlor giving gifts to old customers, I just picked one to tease him. Don’t worry, to make up for Xiao Zhao’s emotional trauma from last year, this year’s birthday gift will make him kneel and call me daddy!]
Summer vacation passed particularly quickly, and in the blink of an eye, it was registration day. In South City’s summer, the sun was directly overhead, the sky was blue, and heat waves rolled.
The corridor was packed with people, boys and girls, teachers and students.
Jiang Wen wore a very thin polo shirt, one hand in his pocket, leaning sideways against the doorframe.
In the stuffy summer day, his short sideburns were slightly damp with sweat, fine sweat beads hung on the tip of his nose. His extremely handsome features stood out particularly in the bustling crowd, and passing girls couldn’t help but look several times, then whisper among themselves.
Being observed like this for half a day, his young master’s temper started to rise, though it didn’t show on his face.
“Damn, you bitch, wearing something so provocative in such a proper campus, what are you trying to do!”
The responding female voice was completely uninhibited, lazy and casual, “Why worry about others, mind your own business.”
Jiang Wen heard two sentences and somehow felt this voice was familiar. He instinctively turned his head, but it was a completely unfamiliar face.
At that moment, the girl turned completely around. She carried her bag on one shoulder while laughing and talking with others, her eyebrows and eyes slightly raised, the bandage on her chin making her look particularly wild.
After looking for two seconds, he remembered.
The delinquent girl from the rainy day.
She had removed her heavy makeup, her face was fair, her features were delicate, striking beautiful at first glance. The light-colored camisole she wore had a low neckline, her waist was very slim. Paired with a matching pleated skirt and sandals, a pair of straight legs brazenly exposed to the air, the raised arch flaunting a sensuality that didn’t belong to her peers.
Before he could recover, Feng Ning had noticed him. Jiang Wen immediately turned his gaze elsewhere.
She was slightly surprised, hesitated for two seconds, then widened her eyes, grinned and said, “Wow! What a coincidence, handsome, didn’t expect to run into you here, remember me?”
Under her enthusiastic greeting, Jiang Wen’s face showed no smile. Calmly and steadily, he pretended not to hear, not even sparing her a glance.
Just then, the person he was waiting for came out. He pushed off the wall with his elbow and stood straight. With that expression of liking to look down at people with his chin, he coldly passed by her and walked away.
Zhao Binlin was used to such situations, throwing an arm around Jiang Wen’s shoulders, turning back to smile rather provocatively at them, “Beautiful lady, my brother is very hard to hook. Remember to change your approach next time.”
Feng Ning mentally rolled her eyes, but still smiled cheerfully, “Got it.”
After they walked away, Shuang Yao’s eyes gleamed as she slapped Feng Ning’s back, “Where did you meet him? Come clean!”
Feng Ning nearly took a big fall, steadied herself against the wall, and turned back to glare: “Hit softer! What do you mean meet? Do we look like we know each other?”
Shuang Yao pushed her forward, “I just quickly assessed his outfit, god, even being looked at by him feels like an insult to my self-esteem.”
“Why?”
“Because his whole body screams, ‘I’m rich and noble, you ugly peasant, you’re not worthy.’”
“Impressive, you even made it rhyme!” Feng Ning laughed heartily, then lowered her voice, “By the way, remember that jacket I said I’d give to Xiao Zhao?”
Shuang Yao had a sudden realization, “He’s the one, that, that rich young master?!”
“That’s right.” Feng Ning sighed deeply, “It’s him, not only does he have a severe prince syndrome, he’s also a money-spreading child.”
Shuang Yao wrung her hands, “What a waste of such good looks, but sick or not, it’s not like he’d pay attention to you anyway.”
“Oh really, want to make a bet?” Feng Ning cockily held up one finger, wagging it left and right, “One month.”
Shuang Yao made a confused sound.
“One month, I can win him over.”
Shuang Yao was speechless, feeling her forehead with the back of her hand, hesitating, “…You don’t have a fever, but think about whether you’re worthy first.”
“You think I’m bragging?” Feng Ning looked ahead, speaking slowly, “Boys who pretend to look down on me but are actually just putting on airs, I, Feng Ning, have seen countless of them.”
She leaned against the railing, crossed her hands behind her head, letting the wind mess up her skirt, laughing arrogantly, “He zoned out looking at me just now, what’s he pretending for.”
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