Chapter 46

Ji Wenchen lightly tapped his index and middle fingers against the table. “Hmm?”

Could it be… she bought it?

His heartbeat suddenly skipped a beat.

Ji Wenchen straightened up and said to Lu Yitao, who was standing beside the table, “Take the things back, and you can leave as well.”

Lu Yitao, still in a half-squatting position, obediently carried away the rejected breakfast and left.

Ji Wenchen retrieved a bag from under the desk, one he had originally planned to throw away during the break. He opened it and popped a xiaolongbao into his mouth.

Chewing at half his usual speed.

He repeated this process until he finished the four xiaolongbao, which had gone almost completely cold.

Qin Xiaoxiao’s lips twitched slightly as she watched his actions, momentarily forgetting about her book.

Ji Wenchen naturally reached for a tissue from the box on Qin Xiaoxiao’s desk, dabbed his lips, and said, “Delicious.”

Lifting his long eyelashes, he added, “Why did you bring me breakfast?”

Qin Xiaoxiao’s expression returned to calmness. “Didn’t you bring me pastries yesterday? It’s only polite to return the favor.”

“I thought,” Ji Wenchen turned slightly to the side, resting his hand on the back of Qin Xiaoxiao’s chair, “this was a heartfelt winter breakfast.”

He deliberately slowed down his speech at the words “heartfelt.”

“…Don’t put your hand there,” Qin Xiaoxiao felt a wave of unease in her heart.

“Can’t I even rest it here for a moment?”

Qin Xiaoxiao: “No.” This… the distance felt a little too close, and his posture was almost like he was half-embracing… her.

Qin Xiaoxiao was unaware that her deskmate had done this kind of natural, possessive “half-embrace” more than once already.

It was just that this time, she noticed it.

“Alright,” Ji Wenchen’s lips curved into a faint smile as he lazily withdrew his hand. “I’ll listen to you.”

Despite the surrounding noise of people reading, Qin Xiaoxiao was suddenly struck by the deep, magnetic tone of his simple words, making her ears grow warm and her eardrums tingle slightly.

“…Focus on your reading.”

“Alright.”

…

“Gather up.”

Hearing the captain’s command, the team members in the basketball court immediately assembled and lined up.

They formed two rows.

Feng Maoxing, who had just entered the gym, ran over and took his place at the far end of the first row.

Ji Wenchen glanced at the lineup, his gaze pausing on Feng Maoxing. “Your hand is better?”

“It’s fine now.” Feng Maoxing still wasn’t very comfortable making eye contact with Ji Wenchen.

Ji Wenchen nodded. “Start with ten minutes of defensive footwork drills—crossovers and forward-backward movements. If you feel any discomfort, take a break immediately.”

“Got it,” Feng Maoxing replied, staring at the ground.

“First-year students, ten minutes of passing and ball-handling drills.”

Several first-year teammates respectfully responded, “Got it.”

“Second-year students, five minutes of figure-eight passing and layups, followed by five minutes of perimeter quick passes and full-court stop-and-shoot drills.”

“Got it.”

After finishing his instructions, Ji Wenchen tossed the basketball onto the ground, turned around, and started dribbling to warm up.

The team dispersed.

A teammate with naturally curly short hair playfully punched Feng Maoxing’s right shoulder. “The captain’s pretty considerate of you, huh? He knows you had a fractured hand, so he’s only making you practice footwork.”

He and Feng Maoxing were both second-year students from neighboring classes and usually got along well.

Feng Maoxing punched him back. “Peng Shuyang, stop being so handsy.” He pretended not to hear the comment Peng Shuyang made earlier.

“What’s wrong with a punch?” Peng Shuyang slung an arm around Feng Maoxing’s shoulder. “Hey, tell me, do you think the next captain might be…” He glanced around and lowered his voice, “might be you?”

“You’re thinking way too far ahead,” Feng Maoxing shook him off.

“How is it far? The captain’s already in his final year, and I heard he’s considering stepping down…”

The basketball team was different from other school clubs. There weren’t too many rigid rules about the captain or vice-captain positions. The role of captain went to whoever was capable, and the vice-captain was usually chosen by the captain. There was no rule saying that once someone entered their final year, they had to step down as captain. As long as Ji Wenchen was willing, he could remain captain until he graduated.

“What does that have to do with me?” Feng Maoxing replied, looking rather indifferent.

“How could it not have anything to do with you?” Peng Shuyang said. “The captain treats you with such… favor, and your skills and abilities are solid. This position, I’d say there’s an eight or nine out of ten chance it’ll be yours…”

“Peng Shuyang, I think you should get back to training.”

“Yes, yes, yes, Vice-Captain.”

Feng Maoxing glanced over. Ji Wenchen leaped gracefully, extending his long arm, and the basketball effortlessly swished through the hoop.

…

The weather was cold, and with only half a day off, Qin Xiaoxiao decided to stay at school. She called her mother to let her know she wouldn’t be coming home this week.

Feng Xiuling reminded her, as she did every week, to eat well and pay attention to her nutrition.

“Alright, you take care of yourself too. With the cold weather, open the shop later in the morning and close up earlier at night.”

Not long after she hung up the phone, Qin Xiaoxiao received a WeChat notification that her mother had transferred her some money.

Feeling a bit helpless, she accepted it.

It seemed her mother had become quite adept at using WeChat Pay.

Less than half an hour after classes ended, the school had become noticeably quieter.

Qin Xiaoxiao and Wu Li, who also stayed at school, went to the cafeteria for lunch before returning to the dorm to rest.

She thought she could sleep until four or five in the afternoon.

However, around two o’clock, she was awakened by the commotion upstairs—some first- and second-year students at Second High had also stayed at school because their homes were far away.

Lying in bed felt like a waste of time, so Qin Xiaoxiao got up, took a shower, washed her hair, and headed to the classroom for self-study.

While passing by the dormitory management station on the first floor, she saw the dorm auntie struggling to hang a small blackboard on the wall, standing on tiptoes.

“Auntie, do you need some help?” Qin Xiaoxiao softly asked, noticing the effort it was taking.

“Oh,” the dorm auntie turned to look and saw a tall, graceful girl. “Sure! You’re taller than me; you can definitely hang this up.”

Qin Xiaoxiao took the small blackboard, effortlessly lifted it, and hung it on the small nail in the wall.

“Thank you so much, kind student,” the auntie said repeatedly, her eyes crinkling with a smile.

Qin Xiaoxiao smiled. “No need to thank me,” she said, heading toward the dormitory’s main door.

“Wait a moment,” the auntie called out, noticing the student who had just helped her had damp hair. “I have a hairdryer here. Would you like to use it, young lady?”

Since the school didn’t allow the use of electrical appliances in student dormitories, Qin Xiaoxiao had only dried her hair with a towel after washing it. “Then I’ll trouble you, Auntie.”

“No trouble at all, come on in.”

The auntie warmly took out a hairdryer, plugged it in, and handed it to Qin Xiaoxiao.

Not wanting to take too long, Qin Xiaoxiao dried her long hair until it was about seventy percent dry, thanked the auntie again, and left.

The sky was growing dim, with heavy clouds being sifted by the gray, chilly wind.

Qin Xiaoxiao opened the window just a couple of inches to let some fresh air in.

She was the only one in the classroom.

Sitting at her desk, she felt a slight sense of loneliness that came with having so much time on her hands.

She flipped through and organized the past week’s assignments, then took out the biology test paper handed out that morning and began working on it.

After finishing most of the paper, she looked up and realized more than thirty minutes had passed.

Her hands felt a bit cold and stiff.

Qin Xiaoxiao went to close the window and then stepped out to fetch some water.

…

The room was warm with the heater on.

Ji Wenchen sat on the carpet, playing a game.

Once again, he successfully claimed a victory in “chicken dinner.”

Leaning back, he casually stretched his neck a couple of times.

He felt a bit bored, but not playing the game was even more dull.

Lowering his eyes, he prepared to start another round.

The notification bar popped up with previewable WeChat messages.

One message, then another.

The third message contained a name that instantly captured his attention.

Ji Wenchen tapped into WeChat without hesitation.

After a quick glance, he pressed his hand against the soft carpet, got up, grabbed his hanging jacket, and headed downstairs.

“Where are you going?” asked the middle-aged man sitting in the living room, turning his head.

Ji Wenchen headed straight for the door. “School.”

Ji Hui shot to his feet, clearly unconvinced. “Ji Wenchen, stop right there!”

Suppressing his impatience and irritation, Ji Wenchen halted. “What?”

“What kind of attitude is this?” Ji Hui’s anger flared. “I made a special trip back, and you’re not even staying to have dinner with me?”

“Mm.”

“Ji Wenchen! Is your opinion of me really that bad?”

A “yes” was about to leave his lips when Qin Xiaoxiao’s words from earlier suddenly echoed in his mind…

Ji Wenchen pressed his lips together, staring at the floor for a long moment before finally saying, “I’m going to school to study.”

Ji Hui, who had been bracing himself for a retort after his outburst, was momentarily stunned.

After a few seconds of silence, he looked at his son—now taller than him without him even noticing—and hesitantly repeated, “…Going to school to study?”

“Mm.”

“…Not even staying for dinner before you go?”

“No.” Ji Wenchen paused. “I still have a lot of homework to do.”

“…You? Doing homework?”

“Mm. I’m heading out.”

Even after his son walked out the door, Ji Hui was still processing what had just happened, standing in the spacious living room for several seconds.

This troublemaker… no, his son—how could his attitude be this good today? His son actually said he was going to study and do homework?

…

Qin Xiaoxiao returned to her seat with the water, sipping it slowly and leisurely.

“Alone?”

She nearly choked on the water and turned her head.

It was her deskmate, entering through the back door, walking with his usual slightly nonchalant stride.

“Why are you here?” Qin Xiaoxiao couldn’t help but ask out of curiosity.

“To study, of course,” Ji Wenchen replied lazily.

Alright then.

Qin Xiaoxiao took another sip of warm water, then put the lid back on her cup and set it down.

Seated, Ji Wenchen propped his chin on his hand, his upper body leaning slightly in Qin Xiaoxiao’s direction.

At that moment, her long, elbow-length hair hung loose like a black waterfall, exuding a faint scent of orange blossoms.

She seemed softer and more tranquil than usual.

His gaze was so palpable that Qin Xiaoxiao ended up reading the same question twice without coming up with a solution.

“Why are you staring at me? Weren’t you here to study?”

With no one else in the classroom, she didn’t bother controlling her volume, and her tone was intentionally a bit cold.

But to Ji Wenchen, it sounded like she was bluffing.

The corners of his pale lips curved slightly. “Mm.” After a pause, he added leisurely, “But looking at you is more important than studying.”

“…Stop staring.”

“Why?”

“…”

Qin Xiaoxiao bit her lip. “You’re distracting me from studying.”

“Am I?” Ji Wenchen leaned an inch closer to her, his gaze carrying a hint of amusement. “I’m not talking or touching you. How am I distracting you?”

“…”

Looking at her slightly tense, beautiful face, Ji Wenchen suddenly felt a mischievous impulse. “How about this… If you give me a kiss, I promise I won’t ‘distract’ you anymore?”

What he didn’t realize was that as he said those words, his heartbeat quickened slightly.

“Really?”

Along with her crisp voice came the fresh scent of orange blossoms, and—

The fleeting warmth and softness of a touch on his cheek.

Was that… her lips?

It felt like the flutter of butterfly wings, like the brush of soft feathers.

It lasted less than a second, yet Ji Wenchen’s heartbeat instantly pounded like a drum.

He turned his head slightly in a daze, gazing into Qin Xiaoxiao’s eyes, clear and calm like a serene lake. “You…”

Qin Xiaoxiao lowered her gaze, feigning composure as she said, “Is that enough?”

Three seconds passed.

“…No, it doesn’t count.”