That night, Zhu Xingyao didn’t go to the German class. Ding Yu and Zhu Yunping were busy and couldn’t take care of her. It was almost ten o’clock when she accompanied Lin Jiayu to check up. After they got in the car, the two girls remembered that they hadn’t eaten...
Lin Jiayu was very embarrassed and whispered, "Let me treat you to a meal. You took me to the hospital and gave me a discount. I don't know how to thank you."
Zhu Xingyao turned around and smiled: "Okay, next time, when you can walk."
There was no room for cars in Hexi Lane. Lin Jiayu's parents were working the night shift and couldn't come to pick her up. She called Jiang Tu, but he didn't answer. Zhu Xingyao could only help her walk slowly along the narrow lane. The street lights were dim and yellow, making her eyes dizzy.
She might have fainted from hunger.
From a distance, I saw several tall men walking towards me.
Lin Jiayu narrowed her eyes, nervously grasped her hand, and lowered her voice: "Ah... It seems to be Chen Yi and the others."
Chen Yi
She seemed to have heard this name a long time ago.
Ah, I remember now, Jiang Tu was being chased by him for debt, the gangster who caused her to ruin her coat.
The vulgar voices of those people slowly came over -
"Tsk, Jiang Tu is such a jerk. Every time I see his cold face I want to beat him up. Don't stop me next time."
"Have some moral principles. If you've taken the money, don't hit him. He's not even an adult yet."
"You are so kind. I didn't see you being soft-hearted when I attacked you last time. What a pretense."
…
Zhu Xingyao was stunned when she heard those words. It turned out that Chen Yi and his men were here to collect debts. Did they attack Jiang Tu? She frowned and was about to look up when Lin Jiayu grabbed her by the collar. She whispered, "Come closer. Let's not provoke them."
She could hear Lin Jiayu's slightly rapid breathing; she was nervous and scared.
She pursed her lips and moved over to make way for those people.
Chen Yi and a few others passed by and saw two girls in school uniforms standing against the wall. Someone whistled, "Hey, is this Jiang Tu's little wife?"
Young wife
Are you speaking Lin Jiayu
The alley was dark, with lights only at the intersection. Zhu Xingyao was a few centimeters taller than Lin Jiayu. She looked down at her. Lin Jiayu's face was a little red, and she didn't know if it was because she was out of breath or scared.
Lin Jiayu raised her head and said angrily, "Don't talk nonsense. If you take the money, don't bully others."
A few thugs laughed.
"Jia Yu—is that you?"
A middle-aged man shouted from behind.
Lin Jiayu looked up in surprise: "Dad!"
Lin Jiayu's father was worried, so he took a leave and rushed back to see his daughter. Unexpectedly, he ran into this incident. There are many houses in Hexi Lane, and they are all neighbors he knows. He has a good relationship with others, so if he shouts, there will definitely be a few people running to the rescue.
Zhu Xingyao breathed a sigh of relief and looked up as well.
Chen Yi was about to leave, but when he turned around, he saw the fair and pretty profile of the little girl. Her skin was so white that it dazzled his eyes. It took him several seconds to suddenly remember that this girl was Zhu Xingyao who played the cello. It was too dark here and she was wearing a school uniform, so he almost didn't recognize her, but... she was so beautiful.
He remembered the party they wanted to watch last time, but Jiang Tu interfered and they didn't get to watch it.
He looked at it twice more, whistled, and then turned and left.
At the same time, Lin Jiayu's cell phone rang.
One minute later.
Jiang Tu appeared in a black casual suit. The boy was tall and straight, as if he was fixed at the intersection. He looked straight at Zhu Xingyao, as if she always inadvertently broke into his messy life.
Clean and clear, like a star that suddenly fell into the earth.
He rolled his throat a few times and walked towards her mechanically.
Zhu Xingyao knew nothing. She was a little happy to see him and smiled. Jiang Tu was much taller than her. He stood in front of her and looked down at her. His eyes were dark and deep behind his glasses.
Lin Jiayu turned around and said, "Jiang Tu, please send Zhu Xingyao out. She helped me a lot today..."
After a few seconds, Jiang Tu said in a low voice: "Let's go."
"Oh, okay."
He turned around and walked in front, and Zhu Xingyao followed him closely.
Lin Jiayu was still mumbling to Lin's father behind him. Jiang Tu didn't pay attention to what she said. His attention was on the girl behind him. He stared at the elongated shadows of the two people on the ground and saw her secretly looking at him. The two were silent until Lin Jiayu's voice came from behind, "My classmate's mother is a doctor in the hospital. She has a discount card for the hospital. I got a discount and it didn't cost much. It was almost the same as going to the clinic."
He suddenly stopped.
Zhu Xingyao almost bumped into his shoulder. She quickly steadied herself, looked up in confusion, and smelled that faint smell of tobacco again.
In the dim and narrow alley, the two stood very close to each other. Zhu Xingyao frowned slightly, as if to make sure, and suddenly stood on tiptoe with her cheek close to his collar.
The girl approached him defenselessly with a sweet scent, and her hair gently brushed his face.
Jiang Tu's heart almost stopped. He said in a tense and hoarse voice: "What are you doing?"
"Brother Tu, are you smoking?"
The girl's voice was very soft and gentle, right next to his ear, with a little cautious temptation and concern, like a sharp blade, sinking deeply into Jiang Tu's heart.
If Zhu Xingyao had looked down at the shadow on the ground at that time, she would have found that the boy's hand hanging by his side was raised, and just as it touched her school uniform, it suddenly stopped, clenched into a fist, and then put it down.
Jiang Tu's Adam's apple rolled up and down, and he leaned back stiffly to avoid the girl's sweet breath.
At the same time, Zhu Xingyao sniffed his collar and landed on tiptoe.
She looked up, her eyes shining like stars. She was defenseless against him, which made Jiang Tu feel that his impulse to hug her just now was shameful. He took a step back calmly, lowered his head and looked at her silently, and said with some difficulty: "Well, I smoked."
When Lin Jiayu called him, he was halfway through smoking a cigarette, then he put it down and ran out.
Smoking is prohibited in school, but Zhu Xingyao knew that many boys had smoked secretly. She just didn't expect that someone as quiet as Jiang Tu would do it. She thought about his family and Chen Yi whom she had just met...
Perhaps, Jiang Tu is not as calm as he appears to be.
He smokes not out of curiosity or desire, but perhaps as a way of venting his depression.
Zhu Xingyao suddenly felt distressed. In her teenage years, she attributed that distress to sympathy. She raised her hand and assured, "It's okay. I'm just asking out of curiosity. I promise I won't tell anyone else. Don't worry."
In fact, this is not a secret anymore.
Seeing how serious she was, Jiang Tu curled his lips slightly and was about to speak.
Gulu—
It was a very small sound, but it was very clear in the quiet alley.
It was the first time that Zhu Xingyao's stomach growled with hunger in front of outsiders. Her face flushed, and she lowered her head and explained in an embarrassed whisper: "I... Lin Jiayu and I haven't had dinner yet. It's almost ten o'clock now, and I'm very hungry..."
Jiang Tu looked at the top of her head, his mouth curved wider, and asked in a low voice: "That duck blood vermicelli shop is still open, do you want to eat there?"
Zhu Xingyao nodded immediately: "Eat!"
He turned around and walked ahead, "I'll take you there."
The boy's voice was still dull, but for some reason, Zhu Xingyao felt that he seemed to be happy all of a sudden. She touched her flat belly and thought that Tu Ge must have laughed at her. Her image...
The girl lowered her head slightly.
I followed him a little depressed.
The moonlight became gentle, dotted with stars, shining on the shadows of the two people. The narrow and dim alley seemed to have no end. They walked quietly. Zhu Xingyao originally wanted to ask him about Chen Yi, but after thinking about it, he did not open his mouth.
There are some things that Jiang Tu may not want to say, and his mood has just improved. Wouldn't it be stupid for her to mention Chen Yi again
Jiang Tu seemed to remember something and looked back at her: "Who sent you back?"
"Driver..." Zhu Xingyao took out his cell phone, "I'll call him and ask him to wait a moment."
He was silent for a moment, then asked, "Where are your parents?"
Zhu Xingyao lowered her head and pressed her phone: "My father is working overtime, and my mother went to a meeting outside the province and will not be back for a few days..."
Old Liu's family affairs had not been dealt with yet, and the new driver was more honest and simple-minded, so he did whatever Zhu Xingyao said. After finishing the call, the two walked out of the alley and turned to the street ahead.
Ten minutes later, the two walked to the duck blood vermicelli shop.
This duck blood vermicelli shop is open for late-night snacks, and now some people are coming here for late-night snacks, so it's quite lively.
Zhu Xingyao ordered a bowl of duck blood vermicelli, a serving of fried dumplings, and a bottle of soy milk.
She was really hungry. While sitting at the table waiting for her meal, she kept staring at the food pickup port. Jiang Tu leaned back in his chair. It was the first time he saw her like this. He thought it was fresh and cute, and his eyes softened unconsciously.
A few minutes later, the number was called.
Jiang Tu stood up: "I'll get it."
The two of them were already very familiar with each other. Zhu Xingyao had a kind of trust and openness to Jiang Tu from the bottom of her heart, because after getting to know each other, he gave her this feeling. After the tray was put down, she didn't bother to talk to Jiang Tu. She took the disposable chopsticks that Jiang Tu had broken open and started eating, muttering, "I'm starving..."
Jiang Tu sat opposite her, leaning back in his chair, looking relaxed and looking at her straightforwardly.
Because she can't see.
He can be a little more unrestrained.
Even though Zhu Xingyao was extremely hungry and ate a little fast, she still looked pretty while eating. After she had recovered from the hunger, she turned her head, bit the straw and took a big sip of soy milk, then looked up at Jiang Tu. He moved, and his glasses slid down from his high nose, covering up all his emotions.
Zhu Xingyao squinted her eyes in satisfaction: "Ah, I finally feel comfortable."
Jiang Tu raised his hand to push up his glasses, then looked up and reminded him, "Don't do this next time. It's bad for your stomach."
"I'm not like this usually. Today is a special case..." Zhu Xingyao picked up the chopsticks again and looked at him, "Do you want to eat some? I may not be able to finish the shengjian..."
In the end, Zhu Xingyao had two shengjian left.
She really couldn't eat any more.
Jiang Tu glanced at her, raised his hand and took a pair of chopsticks, and whispered, "Don't waste it."
Zhu Xingyao was stunned for a moment, watching him eat the remaining two Shengjian, and felt that something was wrong. It would be fine if he had eaten with her just now, but now... it seemed that she was the one eating the leftovers.
She was stunned, Jiang Tu had already stood up and said calmly: "Let's go, you should go home."
"Oh, yes."
Zhu Xingyao stood up quickly. His expression was too calm and natural, which made her feel that she was overthinking. Brother Tu just didn't want to waste food. She followed him out and saw that the clock in the store had turned to ten twenty.
Just as I was thinking about it, the phone rang.
It’s Zhu Yunping calling.
He must have returned home and didn't see her, so he called to ask.
Jiang Tu heard the girl behind him talking softly to her father, saying that she would be home soon, and he looked back.
As soon as the two walked out of the street and turned to walk towards where the driver parked, Chen Yi led a group of brothers across the street. One of the brothers pointed over there and said, "Hey, isn't that Jiang Tu? Tsk, I didn't expect it. He was just asked to pay his debts, but now he's out to pick up girls. It turns out that good-looking guys, no matter if they are rich or poor, are liked by girls."
Chen Yi looked over and saw a little girl in school uniform following Jiang Tu. She had a slender figure and her hair was slightly curled at the end of her ponytail, which spread out on her back and looked particularly beautiful. Wasn't she Zhu Xingyao whom he had just seen in the alley
Another boy said excitedly: "Is it the one I saw in the alley just now? I saw her face, she's so pretty!"
"It's really beautiful." Chen Yi sighed and said nonchalantly, "Jiang Tu is quite capable."
By the time they crossed the road, Jiang Tu and Zhu Xingyao had already turned the corner and were out of sight.
Except for the brighter street lights on the commercial streets in Hexi Lane, the street lights in other places are dim, as if they would flash a few times after a thunder and then go out. Zhu Xingyao's car was parked next to an old residential building, and the driver considerately turned on the car lights to illuminate passers-by.
The distance is dozens of meters.
Jiang Tu stopped, looked at the car, then looked down at Zhu Xingyao: "You go back."
Tomorrow is October, and the temperature difference between day and night is large in autumn. Zhu Xingyao rubbed her thin white arms, looked up and smiled at him: "Then I'll be leaving." She took two steps back, waved at him, turned and left.
A few seconds later.
"Zhu Xingyao."
He called her.
Zhu Xingyao turned around and stood coquettishly under the moonlight and the dim street lights, "Hmm?"
Jiang Tu looked at her straight, with the corners of his mouth slightly curved, and reminded her: "Next time, don't fool people with the word that the hospital can give you a discount. No one except a fool like Lin Jiayu will believe it."
Zhu Xingyao: “…”
I don’t know why, even though he was talking about a fool like Lin Jiayu, Zhu Xingyao felt like he was saying “fool” to her. Only a fool would lie to others by saying that the hospital can give you a discount…
Zhu Xingyao looked slightly embarrassed and couldn't help but glare at him: "Every time you laugh at me, I feel like I've made a stupid mistake."
Jiang Tu lowered his head and smiled, his voice was very low: "It's a bit stupid."
Zhu Xingyao: “…”
Okay, this time I’m scolding her openly.
Jiang Tu stopped smiling and looked at her: "Don't do this next time, go back."
Zhu Xingyao thought about it and said, "Then don't tell her."
Jiang Tu nodded, raised his chin, and asked her to get in the car. She smiled, waved her hand, and turned and ran away.
Jiang Tu put his hands in his trouser pockets and watched the car drive away before turning around and leaving.
When they returned to Hexi Lane, Lin Jiayu jumped out, holding onto the door frame and yelled, "What took you so long to come back?"
"I went to eat something." He stood there and looked up at her. "You just ran into Chen Yi in the alley. Did he do anything?"
Lin Jiayu said: "My dad just came back and they left."
Jiang Tu nodded and turned to go into the house. Lin Jiayu called out again from behind him. He turned back and asked, "Anything else?"
Lin Jiayu was a little embarrassed and whispered, "Can you ask Zhu Xingyao... how much it cost to go to the hospital? My dad said the hospital can't give discounts, so she must have paid for me... I have to pay her back."
"Ask yourself."
"I don't have her number."
Jiang Tu glanced at her, said a string of numbers, and asked her: "Do you remember it?"
Lin Jiayu: “…”
She looked so confused, it would be strange if she could remember it!
Jiang Tu looked a little impatient, took out his phone from his trouser pocket, and said, "I'll send it to your phone later."
After a while, the phone that Lin Jiayu threw on the table vibrated. She jumped back and opened the text message. She felt something was strange. Jiang Tu actually memorized Zhu Xingyao's number right away
The next morning, Jiang Tu just stepped out of the house and saw Lin Jiayu jumping out from the opposite side with a simple cane. As soon as she saw him, she asked: "Jiang Tu, what's my phone number?"
Jiang Tu paused, and Lin Jiayu snorted, "You definitely don't remember."
"Do you think I have the same memory as you?"
Jiang Tu looked at her with contempt and turned away.
Lin Jiayu: “…”
Is this scolding her for having a bad memory or saying she is stupid
Not long after Zhu Xingyao finished her breakfast, she received a text message from Lin Jiayu, saying that she would return her money. She looked at the text message and sighed. Sure enough, the lie of "hospital discount" was too stupid. Lin Jiayu realized it.
There are suitcases and a cello bag in the living room. Chen Lan is in Beijing these days and has scheduled a few classes for her. She will be going to the airport soon.
Zhu Yunping picked up the suitcase and looked at her with a smile: "Why are you sighing?"
Zhu Xingyao shook his head: "No, I was just being silly... Dad, don't ask anymore, let's go to the airport."
Zhu Yunping also shook his head: "You've really grown up. You don't want to tell us anything?"
Ding Yu picked up her cello and urged, "Okay, let's go, it will be too late later."
The family of three walked out of the house. Zhu Xingyao got into the car before replying to Lin Jiayu: "You should take good care of your injuries first. We can talk about paying back the money when we go to school."
After the National Day holiday, because Lin Jiayu's foot had not yet fully healed and her parents had to go to work, Jiang Tu had no choice but to drive her to school. When they arrived at the school gate, they were stopped by Director Liu, who raised his voice: "Hey, what's wrong with you two?"
Jiang Tu frowned and explained coldly: "She has an injury on her foot."
The students passing by all looked over. Lin Jiayu hurriedly got out of the back seat, tiptoed on the ground, and then explained: "I really have an injury on my foot."
Director Liu looked at her and didn't quite believe it: "How did you get hurt?"
The crowd passing by was whispering. Lin Jiayu had never been watched like this before, and her face turned red. Zhu Xingyao happened to be at the school gate and saw this scene. He hurried forward to support her and looked at Director Liu: "Director, she really has an injury on her foot. I accompanied her to the hospital."
Director Liu knew Zhu Xingyao and believed her words. He waved his hand and said, "Go in quickly."
Zhu Xingyao raised her head and glanced at Jiang Tu: "Let me help her in."
Jiang Tu nodded and rode away on his bike.
Zhu Xingyao helped Lin Jiayu walk into the school gate. Lin Jiayu looked at her gratefully and whispered, "Director Liu must have misunderstood Jiang Tu and me just now. If my foot hadn't healed, Jiang Tu wouldn't have taken me to school... Who knew that I would be caught by the director the first time I rode his bike."
"Your first time riding his bike?"
Zhu Xingyao was a little surprised. Lin Jiayu and Jiang Tu grew up together, but this was the first time she rode his bicycle.
Lin Jiayu said: "Yes, if my foot hadn't healed, he would definitely not want to take me with him."
Zhu Xingyao recalled the last time he gave her a ride. She felt something strange in her heart. Before she could figure out what was going on, she was hugged from behind. She was startled. Li Xixi jumped out from behind her and laughed: "Are you scared?"
She rolled her eyes: "Scared to death."
Li Xixi was smiling happily. Seeing that Lin Jiayu was walking a little strangely, she asked in confusion, "What's wrong with you?"
Lin Jiayu sighed: "I was practicing high jump before the National Day holiday and accidentally twisted my leg..."
"Ah, are you okay?"
"It's okay. I'll be fine soon."
Zhu Xingyao and Li Xixi supported Lin Jiayu on both sides and walked to the third floor. Lin Jiayu took out more than 100 yuan from her pocket and handed it to Zhu Xingyao, smiling embarrassedly: "I'll pay you back, thank you..."
Zhu Xingyao took a look at it, then remembered what Jiang Tu said about her being stupid, and took the money with mixed feelings.
The morning reading class was almost over. Cao Shujun and Xie Ya came up from the stairs. The three of them hurried into the classroom. As soon as Zhu Xingyao walked in, she heard Zhang Sheng laughing: "Didn't you see? This morning, Jiang Tu was driving his girlfriend to the school gate and was stopped by Director Liu."
Someone asked in shock: "Is this true?"
Zhang Sheng said: "You can ask him, he is from the class next door."
Everyone looked at Jiang Tu. Jiang Tu looked at Zhang Sheng expressionlessly with cold eyes. Although they had only been assigned to the same class for a short time, everyone knew that Jiang Tu and Zhang Sheng did not get along. Jiang Tu was cold and difficult to get along with, and Zhang Sheng was a mean person.
Zhu Xingyao stood in the aisle between groups three and four, frowned and looked at Zhang Sheng: "Don't talk nonsense, Jiang Tu and Lin Jiayu just grew up together, they are not boyfriend and girlfriend." This kind of thing can't be said casually. If the teacher hears it, you will be called in for a talk, and in serious cases, the parents will be called.
Jiang Tu paused and turned his gaze towards her.
Li Xixi looked at Zhang Sheng and said disdainfully, "How can a boy like you be so gossipy?"
Zhang Sheng: “…”
Xu Xiangyang coughed and knocked on the table: "Stop making noise, the head teacher is in the corridor."
Zhu Xingyao returned to her seat and found Jiang Tu still looking at her. She asked in a low voice, "What's wrong?"
Jiang Tu thought of how she had just explained it to him righteously, and his heart felt sore and swollen. She always unconsciously did things that he couldn't handle. He narrowed his eyes and whispered, "It's okay."
Ding Xiang seemed to have just come to his senses, turned around and said, "I was so scared, I thought Tu Ge really had a girlfriend."
Li Xixi blinked: "Is it so shocking that Brother Tu has a girlfriend? I think you are so shocked that you are almost scared to death."
Ding Xiang said without thinking: "That must be shocking. Do you think Tu Ge is the kind of person who would fall in love? Not at all. I can't even imagine what it would be like if he liked someone."
Zhu Xingyao and Li Xixi looked at each other. They had previously thought that Jiang Tu and Lin Jiayu had a close relationship, but later they found out that they were just overthinking.
Jiang Tu retracted his gaze and looked at Ding Xiang: "Isn't it inappropriate to say this in front of me?"
Ding Xiang: “…”
Zhu Xingyao and Li Xixi chuckled and turned back.
It was obviously Zhu Xingyao who sat on Jiang Tu's bicycle first. The rumors about the two of them did not spread, and there was no discussion at all. However, the rumors about Jiang Tu and Lin Jiayu spread very quickly. Jiang Tu has a cold personality and doesn't talk much, let alone take the initiative to explain to irrelevant people.
He only explained it to Zhu Xingyao.
Lin Jiayu explained it in class, and combined with what Zhu Xingyao said in class that morning, the rumor became gossip when it spread.
"Jiang Tu and Lin Jiayu both live in Hexi Lane. They grew up together. They are not that kind of relationship."
"That's what I said. Jiang Tu looks so cold. He doesn't look like someone who would fall in love... It's hard to imagine him being with a girl."
"Jiang Tu is very handsome, there are girls who like him, right? But with his family situation, who would dare to get close to him..."
The gossip spread for a day, and the monthly exam results and rankings were also announced.
After being divided into arts and science, Jiang Tu's grades indeed became outstanding. In this monthly exam, he ranked first in the grade, Lu Ji was second, and Zhu Xingyao was tenth. However, this result was more than enough for her, after all, she still had to find time to practice the piano and learn German.
The class average score ranking is very bad. Among the five key classes, Class 1 ranks second to last and Class 2 ranks first.
During the break, Zhu Xingyao wrote down some German words silently, then turned to look at Jiang Tu. He was not wearing glasses and was looking out the window. She tilted her head and smiled, "Congratulations, you got first place."
Jiang Tu was dazzled by her smiling face and whispered, "Nothing."
Zhu Xingyao said: "That's amazing."
His eyes fell on the small mole on the wing of her nose, and he wanted to reach out and touch it.
"There are still a few events left for the school sports meet." Zhang Sheng stood in front with a watch and shouted, "Javelin and shot put, and two relay races, everyone please sign up."
Few people paid any attention to him.
Zhang Sheng's face looked a little ugly.
Xu Xiangyang went over to take the form. The lack of girls in the class was a problem. He looked up and said, "We are short of two girls for the 400-meter relay. Who can participate? Zhu Xingyao, you can run 100 meters, you should be pretty fast, right? Can you run one more?"
Zhu Xingyao turned to look at him and was about to speak when he heard Xia Jin say, "Then I'll sign up for one too. I can run."
Li Xixi said, "Let me do it. Xingxing has also signed up for a 200-meter relay."
"Can you do it?" Xu Xiangyang looked at Li Xixi.
"Why can't I? Does the monitor think that I can't run fast because of my short legs?"
"… "
Xu Xiangyang's mouth twitched, and he quickly wrote Li Xixi's name on the list and showed it to her. He couldn't afford to offend this vengeful young lady. He quickly finished the registration form and stuffed it to Zhang Sheng.
Zhang Sheng turned around and went to the office with the form, looking unhappy.
During the school sports meet, each class had to choose one person to hold up a sign. Usually, the class beauty would be chosen. During the school sports meet in the first year of high school, Cao Shujun asked Zhu Xingyao to hold up the sign. He also brought up this matter during the class meeting this time.
Zhu Xingyao hesitated for a moment, and Li Xixi quietly lay on the table to look at Xia Jin's expression, which was indeed not very good.
Seeing her hesitation, Cao Shujun asked, "Is there any problem?"
Seeing that Xia Jin didn't take the initiative to ask for work, Zhu Xingyao had no choice but to nod: "No."
Jiang Tu did not participate in the school sports meet last year and did not know about Zhu Xingyao holding up the sign. Ding Xiang suddenly took out his mobile phone and opened the photo album. He placed it in front of him mysteriously and said in a low voice: "Brother Tu, you didn't see it last year. The goddess wore a short skirt and I took a photo."
The pixels of mobile phones at that time were not high and the screens were not big. Jiang Tu lowered his eyes and looked at the girl on the screen who was wearing a white shirt and a red skirt with a bow tie. Her legs were straight and slender, and her smile was shining in the sun. She looked young and beautiful.
Ding Xiang whispered, "There are a few more to come."
Jiang Tu flipped through the pages calmly and suddenly thought of something: he didn't have any photos of Zhu Xingyao, not even a single one.
In late October, the school sports meet arrived as scheduled. The weather was not very good on the opening day, and the temperature was lower than the previous two days. After Zhu Xingyao put on that set of clothes, she was shivering with cold. She had been too busy recently, and her body resistance seemed to have become a little poor. When the cold wind blew, she sneezed.
Jiang Tu stood behind her and frowned. Only after Xu Xiangyang shouted for everyone to line up did he turn around and walk to the back row.
Zhang Sheng stood in front of him, his eyes fixed on Zhu Xingyao. Cao Ming bumped him with his shoulder and said maliciously, "Do the goddess' legs look good?"
Zhang Sheng licked the corner of his mouth, his Adam's apple rolled twice, and he lowered his voice and said: "Nonsense, her legs are the straightest I have ever seen, straight, white and well-proportioned, anyway..." His mind was uncontrollably thinking about yellow waste, and suddenly he felt a dazzling light behind him. When he turned around, he saw Jiang Tu squinting his eyes and looking at him coldly.
He said unhappily, "Why are you looking at me like that?"
There are many boys who like Zhu Xingyao. Jiang Tu hates Zhang Sheng the most. The way he looks at Zhu Xingyao is very similar to Chen Yi. Although it is not so obvious, it sometimes has a bit of vulgarity. He chuckled: "I always look at you like this."
Zhang Sheng stared at him with a tense face and cursed under his breath.
The two men's new and old grudges were recorded again.
After the opening ceremony, Zhu Xingyao returned to her class and quickly put on her school uniform. The cool breeze made her thin white legs tremble, and she sneezed twice in a row. Li Xixi looked at her worriedly, "Do you have a cold?"
Zhu Xingyao sniffed, her voice a little hoarse: "I don't know..."
The student council member called out to them, "Hey, if you have time, come over and help write some cheering articles. The 100-meter race is about to begin."
Zhu Xingyao poured herself a cup of hot water and felt much better after drinking it. She took out her backpack from the table and said to the student council member, "Let Xixi write first. I'm going to change my clothes because I have to run 100 meters later."
Next to the sports field was the first-grade teaching building. She walked in with her clothes in her arms, found a toilet cubicle on the first floor and changed into her school uniform. When she came out, she bumped into Jiang Tu who was standing in the corridor. She was stunned for a moment and laughed, "Brother Tu, what a coincidence."
Unfortunately, he followed her here.
Jiang Tu lowered his eyes to look at her. She had changed into her school uniform and running shoes, and was holding a backpack in her arms.
"Zhu Xingyao."
Lu Ji and Zhou Yuan came over from the playground and called out from behind. Jiang Tu raised his eyes calmly and looked at them.
Zhu Xingyao turned around and looked at Lu Ji. Seeing that he was wearing running shoes, she smiled and said, "Are you going to run later?" For some reason, although she received a letter from Lu Ji every Friday, she still felt a little strange and distant towards him. Whenever she saw him and thought of those letters, she would always feel a little embarrassed.
It seemed like she would show this expression every time she saw Lu Ji, shy and a little bit at a loss. Jiang Tu looked at her, his hands in his trouser pockets, holding the lighter, his face very cold.
Lu Ji said: "Well, I signed up for the 100m and 3000m."
Zhu Xingyao subconsciously said: "Brother Tu also ran 3000 meters."
Tuge
Lu Ji and Zhou Yuan were both stunned and looked at Jiang Tu. In school, when a girl called a boy "brother", it had some ambiguous meaning, but Jiang Tu... didn't give people the impression that he was someone that girls would call brother, and it was hard to make people feel that he had any ambiguity with anyone, not even his childhood sweetheart Lin Jiayu.
However, Lu Ji still felt a little weird in his heart.
Zhu Xingyao looked at their expressions and quickly realized that it was not nice to call him that in front of them, so she quickly said, "I mean Jiang Tu. I'm used to hearing Ding Xiang and Xixi call him that, so it's just natural..."
Little did she know that in Jiang Tu's eyes, her actions were just an explanation to Lu Ji.
He moved and looked down at her.
After Zhu Xingyao finished explaining, she felt that the atmosphere was a bit strange, but she didn't know what was wrong.
Zhou Yuan inexplicably felt that he was a little redundant. He coughed and looked at Jiang Tu, breaking the weirdness: "Um... Jiang Tu, what are you doing here?" You're not here with Zhu Xingyao, are you
Jiang Tu looked indifferent and took his hand out of his trouser pocket: "Smoke."
Lu Ji and Zhou Yuan saw the lighter in his hand and smiled knowingly.
Zhu Xingyao seemed extremely surprised and looked up at him.
Just then, the 100-meter race registration was announced, and the contestants were asked to go to register. The men's and women's races were only 10 minutes apart. Lu Ji put his hands in his trouser pockets and looked at Zhu Xingyao, "Let's go together."
Zhu Xingyao had no reason to refuse, so she nodded: "Okay." She looked at Jiang Tu, "Are you going to watch the game?" She wanted to say, stop smoking, go watch the game, but it seemed that she had no reason or right to care about him...
Jiang Tu said, "I'll be there in a minute."
Zhu Xingyao walked back to the sports field with Lu Ji and Zhou Yuan. Jiang Tu stood there and took a deep breath. Just as he was about to turn around, he was stopped by Xu Xiangyang. Xu Xiangyang ran up to him and said, "Ding Xiang suddenly has a stomachache and can't run 100 meters. Would you like to take his place?"
He added: "I will run the 1500 meters, and you can run the 3000 meters later."
Jiang Tu raised his eyes and saw Zhu Xingyao standing at the edge of the sports field. He turned around and looked at him with a hint of expectation in his eyes. He put the lighter into his trouser pocket, walked towards the sports field calmly, and said in a dull voice: "Okay."
Finally, Jiang Tu, Zhu Xingyao and Lu Ji went to check in together.
Zhang Sheng also participated in the men's 100m. Xu Xiangyang said he would find someone to replace Ding Xiang, but he didn't expect to find Jiang Tu. Li Xixi saw Jiang Tu participating in the competition and wrote a cheering letter. When Jiang Tu's name was broadcast, Zhang Sheng's face was a little sour.
In the men's 100m preliminaries, Jiang Tu and Lu Ji crossed the red line almost at the same time.
Jiang Tu was 0.01 seconds behind Lu Ji.
Zhang Sheng crossed the red line in third place, and the three of them entered the finals together.
Li Xixi accompanied Zhu Xingyao to prepare for the game and glanced over there: "Why do I feel that the atmosphere over there is weird? Zhang Sheng seems to want to fight with Jiang Tu at any time, and... those three seem to be competing with each other to win."
Zhu Xingyao was warming up and didn't pay much attention. She turned her head and took a look: "Isn't it normal to want to win? We are in a competition."
Li Xixi muttered: "That's what I said, but I still feel it's a little weird..."
The women's 100m preliminaries were about to begin. Zhu Xingyao didn't have time to chat with her and went to prepare.
She came in second and made it to the finals.
After the morning competition, Zhu Xingyao felt a little sluggish. She had caught a cold in the morning and this time it seemed like she really had a cold. She didn't even go to watch the afternoon competition and slept in the classroom. Li Xixi would run to the playground and then run back worriedly.
Jiang Tu went out of the school gate and came back with a bag in his hand. He walked into the classroom.
Zhu Xingyao lay motionless on the table, with her eyes tightly closed, her delicate eyebrows furrowed, and her fair cheeks showing an abnormal redness.
There were only two boys in the classroom, also sleeping on their stomachs, without making any noise. Jiang Tu raised his head and glanced at the girl, then lowered his eyes to look at her. He moved the fingers of his right hand, and finally raised his hand. His slightly cool fingers gently touched her forehead, which was a little hot.
Zhu Xingyao didn't wake up. She frowned and moved a little, as if trying to avoid his touch, and buried her face in his arms.
Jiang Tu stopped his hand in mid-air and slowly retracted it.
He saw Li Xixi running towards the teaching building from the window.
A few minutes later.
Li Xixi ran into the classroom and saw an extra bag on the table. She took out the boxes of medicine one by one. There were antipyretic, anti-inflammatory, and cold granules. The bags made a rustling sound as she turned them over. Zhu Xingyao opened her eyes in a daze.
Li Xixi took out a piece of paper from her bag, raised her eyebrows and smiled: "Here, someone bought medicine for you."
Zhu Xingyao was still unconscious. He rubbed his eyes before taking the note. There was only one line of words on the note - You have a fever, take medicine.
This familiar handwriting...
It belongs to classmate J.
She looked blankly at the empty corridor and asked in a nasal voice: "When did he deliver it? Did you see it?"
Li Xixi shook her head: "No." She glanced out the window and exclaimed, "Look, Lu Ji just left."
Zhu Xingyao turned her head and looked downstairs from the window. Lu Ji was wearing a black sportswear and running towards the sports field with his back to them. His back looked neat and agile.
Li Xixi unpacked the pills, took out several pills according to the instructions, and stuffed them into her hand, urging her: "Take the pills quickly, don't waste the kindness of Mr. Lu."
Zhu Xingyao: “…”
She turned her head thoughtfully and raised her hand to touch her forehead. She didn't know if she was dreaming, but she felt like someone had touched her forehead before. The person's fingers were a little cold and seemed to have brushed against the tip of her nose.
That feeling... Zhu Xingyao couldn't describe it, it was like a feather brushing carefully, leaving a hint of itchiness.
Li Xixi gave her another glass of water.
Zhu Xingyao frowned and swallowed the medicine.
It was already four o'clock in the afternoon. The management of the school sports meet was looser than usual, and school ended early. After taking medicine, Zhu Xingyao wrote German words in the classroom, and Li Xixi ran to the playground again.
The medicine seemed to have a sleeping effect. Zhu Xingyao waited drowsily until five o'clock, then packed his schoolbag and prepared to leave early.
Before leaving, I have to go to the sports field and show my face.
Zhu Xingyao walked past the basketball court carrying a backpack filled with a pile of books, passed the green net, turned right and stood on the steps. She lowered her eyes and walked down one step at a time until she saw a pair of familiar sneakers in her peripheral vision.
She was stunned for a moment and looked over.
Jiang Tu was standing two steps below her, looking up at her.
The two had no time to speak.
Suddenly, a stream of water shot straight over from the right without warning, and the water sprayed all over Zhu Xingyao's right shoulder and below. The cold water soaked through her clothes and stuck tightly to her body. The sudden chill made her scream in surprise: "Ah..."
Everything happened so suddenly that Jiang Tu didn't even figure out what was going on before he heard a familiar voice shouting, "Fuck, you stepped on the wrong thing and it landed on the goddess, stop it now!"
It was Cao Ming's voice.
Zhang Sheng and Cao Ming were standing beside the faucet outside the court. Zhang Sheng was standing on a soft water pipe with water spraying out of it. He originally wanted to play a trick on Jiang Tu, but when he saw Jiang Tu coming up from below, he was ready to find an opportunity to get him soaked.
Unexpectedly, Zhu Xingyao suddenly passed by.
He was startled and quickly moved his feet away, but Cao Ming pulled him again. Just as he moved his right foot away, his left foot stepped on the water pipe again.
The next second, another stream of water spurted out.
Jiang Tu reacted quickly and stepped up a step. He held Zhu Xingyao's shoulders and turned to press against the wall. Zhu Xingyao slipped and almost fell. She was quickly grabbed by the waist again. His whole body blocked her tightly.
The two of them were half-pressed against each other, and his hair, shoulders, and back were all wet.
Drops of water flowed down the boy's hair, glasses, and sharp jawline, hitting Zhu Xingyao's eyelashes, forehead, and nose.
She clutched the fabric of his chest tightly, panting, her eyelashes long and curled, trembling, and water seeping into her eyes.
She raised her wet eyes and immediately met Jiang Tu's bottomless eyes. His chest rose and fell rapidly, and his dark eyes stared at her closely.
At that moment, Zhu Xingyao's whole body and mind trembled for no reason. It was unclear whether it was because of the cold or something else...
It was hard to tell who was wetter between the two men. Perhaps it was Jiang Tu, but he didn't feel the cold at all and his whole body felt a little restless.
Zhang Sheng and Cao Ming were still blaming each other.
Passersby looked over in surprise.
When the cool breeze blew, Zhu Xingyao sneezed immediately. He felt the coldness penetrate into his bones. His whole body was shaking, like a kitten that fell into the water, soft and fragile.
Jiang Tu subconsciously tightened his grip, rolled his throat, lowered his head and took a deep breath, then pulled her up, his voice hoarse: "How are you...? Did you sprain your ankle?"
Zhu Xingyao stood against the wall, shook his head, and whispered: "No, it's just..."
Before she could finish her words, she sneezed again and raised her hand to rub her nose.
It's just very cold.
Jiang Tu pursed his lips tightly, turned around and looked at the culprit, and said coldly: "You should play more accurately. You have harmed innocent people." He has a cold temperament and he is wet all over. It's creepy to be looked at by him like this.
Cao Ming suddenly felt a little regretful. He had gone too far. Zhang Sheng looked at the wet Zhu Xingyao and was too regretful to step forward.
Soon, several people ran up to the playground.
They were all stunned when they saw Zhu Xingyao and Jiang Tu looking so embarrassed.
Zhu Xingyao recovered and was about to check if there was any water seeping into his schoolbag when a large black sportswear suddenly fell on his head. It was pitch black and he couldn't see anything. Someone also rubbed his head like a puppy...
She was stunned.
After his head was rubbed a few times, he heard Lu Ji whisper, "Wipe it for a bit? Don't catch a cold."
Zhu Xingyao: “…”
Cold? Didn't she already have a cold
You also bought me cold and fever medicine!
She took off her coat, revealing her face, looked at Lu Ji, and whispered, "Thank you..."
Jiang Tu turned his head back and turned away silently.
Li Xixi ran up to Zhu Xingyao and glared at Zhang Sheng angrily: "Zhang Sheng, are you fucking crazy? Are you in elementary school? You're still playing with a water pipe!"
Zhang Sheng glanced at Zhu Xingyao and said defensively: "I didn't want to get Zhu Xingyao, I..."
"Who are you trying to trick?" Zhu Xingyao grabbed Lu Ji's clothes and looked up at Zhang Sheng. She was really angry this time. "It's obvious that you are the first to provoke Jiang Tu every time. Jiang Tu didn't provoke you at all. Why are you so childish?"
More and more people gathered around, and Zhang Sheng's face turned purple. He gritted his teeth and didn't retort.
Cao Shujun and Xie Ya thought that there was a fight between the two classes. After pushing aside the crowd, it seemed that it was not the case. Cao Shujun looked at the wet Jiang Tu and Zhu Xingyao, frowned and asked: "What happened?"
Li Xixi spoke quickly and recounted the facts she had seen with some exaggeration.
Zhang Sheng and Cao Ming wanted to defend themselves, but they had no way to do so.
"You two, come with me to the office." Cao Shujun glanced at Jiang Tu, "Change your clothes and come over too."
Zhu Xingyao was freezing cold and had no extra clothes. Xia Jin walked out of the crowd, took out a bag from her bag and handed it to her: "I have a school uniform here. We are about the same height, you can wear it first."
She handed it over. If Zhu Xingyao didn't take it, it would seem hypocritical. She took the bag and said with a nasal voice, "Thank you."
Jiang Tu took off his coat, wrung out the water on the spot, and walked towards the office with half of his body wet. Zhu Xingyao followed him and couldn't help shouting, "Aren't you going to change your clothes? What if you catch a cold?"
Just now…
The two of them shared hardships.
He also helped her block the water.
Jiang Tu didn't bring any extra clothes. He looked back at her and said calmly, "I don't catch a cold that easily." After that, he turned around and left.
Lu Ji retracted his gaze and looked down at her: "Boys don't catch colds that easily, but you, go change your clothes quickly."
She didn't know if it was because she was feeling unwell, but she felt dizzy and even a little confused. She looked up at Lu Ji, and suddenly Jiang Tu's dripping face flashed before her eyes. She brushed her wet hair and handed him the sportswear: "Your clothes, thank you..."
Xie Ya stood nearby, staring at them.
Lu Ji had no choice but to take the coat.
Zhu Xingyao changed Xia Jin's clothes, returned to the car, and fell asleep in a chair without saying a word. When she got home, she took a hot bath for half an hour and was half alive. At around seven in the evening, Ding Yu came home with takeout from the restaurant and found that she was lying in bed with a high fever, her face flushed with fever.
Fortunately, Ding Yu was a doctor and worked for most of the night before Zhu Xingyao's fever subsided.
Zhu Xingyao was dreaming the whole night. She dreamed that the boy's fair face was dripping with water, and his dark and deep eyes were like a whirlpool, looking at her silently. Every time she blinked and opened her eyes again, he returned to his cold expression, which was the same to everyone.
It was already noon when she woke up the next day. She got up and could no longer remember the dream she had last night. She was tired and hungry.
Ding Yu asked for a whole day off for her, since it was the school sports meet and it wouldn't affect her if she didn't go.
Seeing that she was awake, he knocked on the door and said, "Get up and wash your face, then go downstairs and eat something. You'll be fine after you finish eating."
Zhu Xingyao got up weakly. The cell phone on the table vibrated. She picked it up and found a lot of text messages.
Li Xixi: "Have a good rest. If you are not well, continue to rest tomorrow."
Li Xixi: "It's okay if I don't run in the 100m final."
There were also many text messages sent by classmates, including Zhang Sheng and Cao Ming, who apologized to her.
Zhu Xingyao ignored it.
The latest message was from Lu Ji, asking her to take good care of herself. She replied, "Thank you."
On the morning of the third day of the school sports meet, in the men's 100-meter final, Jiang Tu was the first to cross the red line, 0.01 seconds faster than Lu Ji. Lu Ji took the water Zhou Yuan handed over and looked at Jiang Tu: "In the 3,000-meter race this afternoon, I won't lose."
Jiang Tu turned to look at him and said indifferently, "Not necessarily."
At two o'clock in the afternoon, Zhu Xingyao finished her IV drip in the hospital and asked Lao Liu to take her back to school. Li Xixi called and said, "Come quickly. Brother Tu and Lu Ji are arguing with each other. They want to see who will win. Now everyone is placing bets to see who will win."
Zhou Yuan was the one who took the lead in placing the bet. As soon as he called for it, the two classes started arguing. Class 1 said Jiang Tu could win, and Class 2 said Lu Ji could win.
Zhu Xingyao was a little confused: "Isn't it just a 3000-meter run? What's the point of betting?"
Li Xixi said, "Don't worry about what you bet on. Just tell me who you bet on to win."
The author has something to say: I'm sorry for being late. I haven't been writing for the past few days and my hand is a little rusty. I've been writing from last night until now, and I'm typing very slowly. In addition, the whole article has been revised, the rhythm and details have been adjusted, and the last 9,000 words of this chapter are new content. The new content will be replaced later in the next chapter. I will replace it as soon as possible and send everyone red envelopes to apologize later~