They stared at each other silently for five or six seconds.
“Why haven’t you left?” Jiang Wen remained seated in his original position, asking her coldly.
“You’re like a little kid, throwing tantrums when you don’t get attention from adults.”
After a while, he finally found his voice, “I’m not.”
“Hmm?” Feng Ning was puzzled, “If you’re not throwing a tantrum, then why did you pull out the IV?”
Jiang Wen’s hand was still bleeding, his face darkening, “Don’t want the drip anymore.”
The surroundings were quiet, so quiet that only his slightly heavy breathing could be heard. Feng Ning was good at reading people’s expressions, and Jiang Wen wasn’t guarding himself at all.
He was cold and aloof, good-looking, with that typical proud look in his eyes.
Tsk tsk, what a petty person.
She chuckled a couple times, took a cotton swab, and tentatively offered it to him, “Here, press it on the wound.”
Jiang Wen looked at the cotton swab twice before finally taking it, obediently doing as told.
“If you don’t want the drip, then don’t have it.” Feng Ning checked her watch, “Let’s go get some food.”
They had planned to go to the cafeteria, but it was empty with many windows already closed. They went out through the west gate, with few street vendors around. Feng Ning suddenly became curious: “Young master, have you ever eaten at the cafeteria?”
“Don’t call me young master.” Jiang Wen frowned, his proper honor student image returning, “Not really.”
“Why? Everyone calls you that, what should I call you then?”
“My name.”
“Jiang Wen?”
“Mm.”
She called again: “Jiang Wen?”
Jiang Wen glanced at her.
“Why don’t you eat at the cafeteria?”
“I don’t like the smell…” Jiang Wen hesitated for a moment, choosing his words carefully before muttering vaguely, “of dishes.”
“The smell of dishes?” Feng Ning laughed.
She suddenly remembered what Zhao Binlin had said – that Jiang Wen looked cool and cold on the surface, but was actually delicate inside.
“You’re so precious, precious Jiang Wen, can’t even stand the smell of food, hahahahaha.”
Jiang Wen’s face darkened at her laughter.
Actually, Feng Ning wasn’t feeling great either, her recently cleaned stomach was still quite sensitive. Neither patient had much appetite. Jiang Wen followed her to a random congee restaurant.
“Wait.” Standing at the entrance, Feng Ning blocked him with her hand and sniffed.
Jiang Wen was confused, “What’s wrong?”
She turned her head, saying seriously: “You should smell first, see if the food smell here is tolerable for you.”
Jiang Wen choked with anger, pushing her hand away, “I’m not that fussy.”
Feng Ning ordered a bowl of wontons and a century egg lean meat congee for Jiang Wen.
She pulled out a tissue to wipe the table, “Want milk tea? Meng Tao Yu brought me a brown sugar grass jelly drink the other day, I think it was from nearby.”
Jiang Wen shook his head, “I don’t like milk tea.”
The wontons and congee were served. As Feng Ning poured vinegar into her bowl, she said, “How can someone not like milk tea? I love milk tea, milk tea with instant noodles is the perfect combination, happiness just bubbles up.”
“Junk food.”
Seeing Jiang Wen’s serious critique, Feng Ning was laughing inside. Afraid he’d get angry again, she held back her laughter, “This is junk food? Then what about the barbecue you ate last time, isn’t that junk food too? Are you sorting trash now?”
His tone remained flat: “I eat it occasionally, and very little.”
Feng Ning nodded, giving a thumbs up while fiercely praising: “Well, aren’t you just the perfect healthy baby.”
Jiang Wen didn’t like hot food, stirring his congee until it was lukewarm before reluctantly taking a bite. He didn’t talk while eating, focusing on swallowing his congee before saying, “I’m not a child.”
“Oh.”
He ate quietly for a while, then noticed Feng Ning had stopped talking. Looking up, he saw her distracted, cheeks stuffed with wontons, eyes fixed on her phone.
Jiang Wen felt inexplicably irritated at being ignored. He held back for a while before asking: “What are you looking at?”
“Looking at handsome guys.”
Feng Ning hummed twice, “This.” She tossed her phone on the table, showing Qide’s forum page. Following others’ tips, she had successfully found the handsome guys ranking thread.
“Hehe, they’re selecting the top ten campus heartthrobs, I used three different accounts to vote for you.”
Jiang Wen glanced at it, his expression clouding over, “Oh… I don’t care about that.”
“Is the gossip they’re saying true?” Feng Ning bit her spoon, “You’re too much.”
He picked up the phone, “What are they saying?”
“They say before, a girl cried in front of you for a long time, and after she finished crying, you just said, ‘Who are you?’” Feng Ning sat up straight, eyes wide, muttering: “You actually said ‘Who are you?’ ‘Who are you?!!’ Jiang Wen, you’re too much, so young yet already so heartless towards girls?”
Jiang Wen looked slightly confused, frowning as he thought, “When was this?”
“Middle school.”
“That, that girl, she didn’t like me.” Jiang Wen explained with difficulty, “She was Zhao Binlin’s girlfriend.”
“Huh?” Feng Ning’s eyes lit up with curiosity, “Why did Zhao Binlin’s girlfriend cry to you? What did you do? Wow, were you in a love triangle?!”
“……”
“It had nothing to do with me. Because Zhao Binlin wouldn’t see her, they were breaking up at that time.”
Feng Ning pressed on: “Just breaking up, why wouldn’t Zhao Binlin see her?”
“Because… she said, said she wanted to marry Zhao Binlin, and then Zhao Binlin got scared.” Jiang Wen’s expression became slightly awkward, hemming and hawing for a while, “They… that is… Zhao Binlin had…”
Seeing how he struggled to continue, Feng Ning suddenly understood, angrily saying: “Damn, Zhao Binlin was sleeping with girls in middle school, and wanted to dump them after? What a jerk. So Zhao Binlin’s relationship drama landed on you?”
Somehow they managed to continue this bizarre conversation.
Jiang Wen made a sound of agreement, then added, “Not me, I’ve never been with a girl…” His words trailed off halfway, his ears reddening with embarrassment as he turned his head away from her.
Feng Ning smiled mischievously, her eyes bright, “Is that so, that’s what a good kid should be like, whatever you want to do with girls, you should wait until you’re eighteen, that’s scientifically appropriate. But when you reject girls, you can be gentler, more polite. Don’t be so harsh, everyone’s going through puberty, seeing each other every day, teenagers in their flowering years have thin skin, it’s not good to have such stories spread around.”
Jiang Wen countered, “What about you? You say I’m harsh with others, what about yourself?”
“Me? What about me?” Feng Ning said carelessly, taking a big bite of wontons, “I’ve broken so many boys’ hearts, I can’t even remember them all right now. But boys obviously have stronger psychological resilience than girls, so being a bit harsh doesn’t matter.”
However, sitting across from her was a sensitive glass heart.
The glass heart said: “I heard from others that in middle school, a boy cut your hair.”
Jiang Wen rarely, or rather never actively sought out others’ gossip. As he spoke, he just met Feng Ning’s gaze, his face awkward, voice getting lower and lower, “Later he liked you for three years, even secretly followed you home, but you ignored him.”
“Yeah.” Feng Ning hadn’t noticed his sheepish emotion, “He secretly followed me onto the bus, and ended up getting beaten up by me.”
“?”
Feng Ning narrowed her eyes, wearing a reminiscing expression, “This guy must have watched too many TV dramas, or had persecution delusions, imagining himself as some hero who needed to protect my safety. Your sister here didn’t have time to play idol drama with him!”
Jiang Wen: “……”
The summer lunch break was short. After eating, they checked the time and realized it was too late to go back to the dorm for a nap.
Feng Ning had eaten a bowl of small wontons, her appetite opened up. She patted her full belly, “I’m going to buy two cups of milk tea, do you want to head back to school first?”
Jiang Wen paused, then stood up too, “I’ll buy one too.”
Feng Ning was suspicious: “Didn’t you say you don’t drink it?”
“Want to… try it.”
Jiang Wen didn’t like milk tea, but he had grown used to her chatter.
If it became quiet, his heart would feel empty.
He didn’t understand anything else. He only knew he was still immersed in the light-hearted, happy atmosphere of chatting with Feng Ning.
Jiang Wen cherished this limited happiness. Time was running out, and he was reluctant to leave. But he couldn’t say anything, had no solution, could only hide these feelings in his heart.
The milk tea shop selling brown sugar grass jelly had a cute name, called Chibi Maruko-chan and Brown Bear. It was just across the street, but there were still many people queuing at this time.
Among them were quite a few Qide students. Some girls spotted Jiang Wen coming in and nudged their companions’ arms, mouthing “look at the handsome guy.”
Feng Ning had severe decision paralysis. Every time before ordering food or drinks, she would study carefully and agonize for a long time.
She raised her head, her hair carrying a faint fragrance as it brushed past his chin.
Jiang Wen’s heart wavered, stunned for a moment.
Feng Ning held up her hand, pointing at the menu, “Should I get the signature pudding or the grass jelly milk tea?”
He was taller than her, looking down patiently saying: “I don’t know which tastes better.”
“Last time Xiao Meng brought me grass jelly milk tea, so I’ll try the signature pudding this time.” Feng Ning wrinkled her face, finally making up her mind, asking him, “What about you, what do you want?”
“Anything is fine, you choose for me.” Jiang Wen said.
Feng Ning showed an extremely troubled expression: “You can’t let me choose! I’m already struggling so much with my own choice!” Despite saying this, she still went back to seriously studying the menu.
Jiang Wen stood behind her, showing a slight smile.
“How about mango coconut sago? Or lemon jasmine tea? Which one do you want?” She turned her head.
Jiang Wen deliberately said, “You choose.”
Feng Ning took a deep breath, pondered for a long time, then decided: “Then let’s go with mango coconut sago.”
“Mm.”
The queue was long, with about a dozen people still ahead. Feng Ning was a chatty person, once she started talking her mouth wouldn’t stop. She didn’t even need anyone to respond, she could ramble on endlessly by herself.
“You know what, I fell in love with this shop’s name as soon as I saw it.”
“Chibi Maruko-chan and Brown Bear.” He repeated the shop name, “Why?”
“Because Chibi Maruko-chan is my favorite anime! I still love watching it now, I often shake my head and imitate Maruko’s lines.”
Feng Ning still had some sweat on her face, her eyes sparkling as she said proudly: “When I was little, I had short hair, and everyone said I looked just like Maruko, my mom said so too.”
Suddenly a voice came from behind, “Jiang Wen… why are you here?”
They both turned around to see Cheng Jiajia with another girl. At the same time, they also saw Feng Ning.
Cheng Jiajia stood in place, her expression complicated, “Can you come out for a moment?”
Jiang Wen didn’t move for a long time.
After waiting about a minute, seeing no reaction from him, Cheng Jiajia said, “Let’s clear things up.”
“Clear what up?”
Cheng Jiajia bit her lower lip, “Are you sure you want to talk here?”
Jiang Wen remained silent.
Feng Ning maintained a deep expression as she watched Jiang Wen follow Cheng Jiajia out the door. In her heart, she couldn’t help feeling regretful – such a pity they were queuing, too bad, she really wanted to follow and see how they would act out their youth idol drama!
The sunlight was intense, the stuffy heat clung to people like a shadow, suffocating and sticky. He hadn’t noticed before, but now his head was starting to throb faintly.
His heart felt like a chemical flask filled with drugs, even a gentle breeze could ignite his impatience.
Cheng Jiajia’s eyes were slightly teary, “So, you really plan to break up with me?”
Jiang Wen remained silent, his face still showing no obvious emotion.
She turned away, holding back tears, then turned back, continuing, “That day when we ate together, they were all your friends, it ended up like that, you left without a word, leaving me there alone, aren’t you going to explain anything to me?”
“Sorry.”
“You knew when I said break up, I was just angry, why wouldn’t you even try to comfort me? I didn’t really mean it.”
Cheng Jiajia was shaking with anger, “Do you know how miserable I’ve been these past few days? We just broke up, and you’re already buying milk tea with another girl, are you together now? Do you like her?”
She was emotionally invested, while his heart couldn’t settle. His eyes looked at the milk tea shop’s entrance, where several sunny day dolls hung, Chibi Maruko-chan smiling brightly. Further away, there was a row of trees, black utility poles, white clouds, blue sky, the colors uneven.
Jiang Wen started imagining how she looked with short hair.
“Fine, let me ask something else.” Cheng Jiajia clenched her hands, “You don’t like me anymore, right?”
A child was running wildly by the roadside, his attention not very focused, “Yeah.”
“Then did you ever like me?”
After a long while, she heard Jiang Wen say:
“No.”
Their conversation ended there.
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