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Xu En’tang arrived at the station just in time.
After passing the security check, the ticket gate was already checking tickets.
They checked their tickets, went to the platform, and boarded the train.
They had bought their tickets together, and their seats were next to each other.
Tan Jili let Xu En’tang sit by the window.
He took out his headphones and a power bank, placed his bag on the overhead luggage rack, and then reached out to Xu En’tang.
Xu En’tang: “I can keep my things down here.”
Tan Jili sat down.
Xu En’tang took out her phone and saw a message from Xia Ning.
Xia Ning: 【Enbao, is he the Tan Jili from Beicheng No. 1 Middle School?】
Xu En’tang replied: 【You know him?】
Xia Ning: 【He’s a legend; the senior from the competition team often talks about him.】
Xia Ning: 【The senior trained with him during the training camp.】
No wonder.
Xia Ning was also into math competitions.
More messages popped up.
Xia Ning: 【The senior said he has a face that looks like someone who falls in love early.】
Xia Ning: 【And it’s the kind of face that has probably broken many girls’ hearts.】
Xia Ning: 【I was thinking about how charming that face could be.】
Xia Ning: 【Seeing him today, it really is true.】
Xu En’tang: “…”
What a description.
“Do you need a power bank?” Tan Jili’s voice broke her thoughts.
Xu En’tang realized that she had been staring at his face for a while because of Xia Ning’s messages.
Her face heated up, and she shook her head, quickly averting her gaze and pretending to be busy rummaging through her bag.
She wouldn’t be seen as a lovesick girl, would she?
As the train began to move, Xu En’tang busied herself.
People continued to find their seats.
Not long after, a girl a few rows behind them approached with her phone.
“Hey, handsome—”
She noticed Xu En’tang sitting inside.
Xu En’tang had just taken out some mint candies and turned her head towards Tan Jili, about to ask if he wanted some.
The girl was momentarily stunned, then immediately said, “Oh, is she your girlfriend? Sorry!”
Before Xu En’tang could deny it, the girl quickly returned to her seat.
Clearly, she had intended to ask for his number but misunderstood their relationship.
It felt odd to chase after her to explain.
Tan Jili: “What were you going to say just now?”
Xu En’tang’s eyelashes fluttered, “Do you want some mint candies?”
“Sure.” Tan Jili lazily extended his hand.
Xu En’tang poured two mints into his palm, then took two for herself.
“Are you going to Nancheng for fun?”
This was the topic she had managed to come up with.
Tan Jili: “I’m accompanying Yu Chen to meet an online friend.”
Xu En’tang: “An online friend?”
Tan Jili: “We met playing games.”
Xu En’tang nodded.
Yu Chen probably went straight back to Beicheng.
“Thanks for making a special detour to Licheng.”
Tan Jili didn’t respond, chuckling lightly, his gaze slowly landing on her face.
Xu En’tang felt a strange sensation being looked at like that and blinked in confusion.
Tan Jili: “Is ‘thank you’ and ‘sorry for the trouble’ your catchphrase?”
“…”
Before Xu En’tang could think of how to respond, Tan Jili dropped the teasing and changed the subject.
“Is the friend who sent you to the station the one whose family is having troubles?”
Xu En’tang responded with an “mm” and said, “Her parents suddenly got divorced.”
After chatting a bit more, Xu En’tang took out her homework from her bag.
With four hours of travel time, it was just right to get some work done.
Xu En’tang diligently worked on her math homework. The train soon arrived at a station after Licheng, some people getting off, others getting on. She kept her head down.
When she encountered a problem she couldn’t solve, she took a picture and sent it to Xia Ning.
After a couple of minutes, Xia Ning sent a 40-second voice message.
Xu En’tang put on her earphones and listened to Xia Ning’s explanation. The problem was quite difficult, and math wasn’t Xu En’tang’s strong suit, so Xia Ning didn’t question why her skills seemed to have declined.
Xia Ning sent two more voice messages.
“I don’t have pen and paper handy, so this explanation might be unclear. Isn’t there a genius sitting next to you?”
“It’s a four-hour train ride, such a rare opportunity. Milk him for all he’s worth, he can’t escape anyway.”
“…”
After listening to the messages, Xu En’tang’s eyelashes fluttered, and she glanced at Tan Jili beside her. He was looking at his phone, his brows lowered, his free hand resting casually on the table in front of him.
Xu En’tang pursed her lips and called out, “Tan Jili.”
Tan Jili casually raised his eyes, meeting her gaze, then removed his earphones. Most earphones at this time were still wired. The black earphone wire hung down from the edge of the table.
Xu En’tang: “Can I ask you a question?”
Tan Jili: “Which one?”
Xu En’tang handed him her test paper, pointing to a problem and saying, “This one.”
Tan Jili took the test paper and looked at it.
“Give me your pen.”
Xu En’tang handed him her pen and some scrap paper.
Tan Jili picked up the pen and wrote a formula on the scrap paper. Midway through writing, his pen tip paused.
He looked up at Xu En’tang, his eyebrows slightly raised. “Can you see that from so far away? You have pretty good eyesight.”
“…”
She couldn’t see.
Xu En’tang leaned towards him, then a little closer. That clean, unique scent immediately filled her nostrils, mixed with the refreshing coolness of mint candy.
Tan Jili: “Can you see now?”
Xu En’tang: “…Yes.”
Tan Jili continued writing the formula. His head was slightly lowered, and from this angle, the outline of his nose bridge was strikingly handsome; that small red mole was unique and instantly noticeable.
Xu En’tang was momentarily distracted, then refocused on the scrap paper.
Tan Jili explained as he wrote. He used a simpler method, and Xu En’tang suddenly understood.
After explaining the problem, Tan Jili turned his pen and looked at her. “Do you understand? If not, I’ll explain it again.”
“I understand.”
Xu En’tang took back her test paper and pen and continued writing.
Later, she asked Tan Jili for help with two more problems.
After finishing two subjects’ worth of homework, Xu En’tang checked the time; there were still more than two hours left. She silently reviewed her notes.
As she reviewed, she felt sleepy and simply fell asleep. The air conditioning in the carriage was quite strong.
Xu En’tang vaguely woke up feeling cold, rubbing her arms.
“Cold?” a voice beside her asked.
Without fully opening her eyes, she subconsciously responded with an “mm.”
Soon after, Xu En’tang felt a weight on her legs. She opened her eyes and saw a black thin jacket on her legs.
Tan Jili: “Put it on.”
Xu En’tang was indeed cold, and she hadn’t brought a jacket, so she didn’t refuse.
“Thank you.”
She picked up the jacket and put it on. The same scent as Tan Jili’s enveloped her. The jacket was quite large for her, feeling loose, and she had to pull the sleeves down to cover her hands.
After adjusting the sleeves and extending both hands, she closed her eyes again. She had chatted late with Xia Ning last night, and Xu En’tang slept all the way to Beicheng.
Before getting off the train, she was about to take off the jacket to return it to Tan Jili.
Tan Jili: “Keep it on, it’s going to get colder tonight.”
The carriage doors were already open, and Xu En’tang picked up her bag and got off.
When they exited the station, the Fuyuan driver was already waiting. Tan Jili got into the car as well.
Xu En’tang naturally assumed he was just going along for the ride and asked, “Should we take you home first?”
Tan Jili, who was replying to a message, looked up at her and said, “I’m also going to Fuyuan.”
“My grandfather is having dinner at Fuyuan tonight, he said he wants to see you.”
It was already 5:30 pm when they exited the station; it was dark by the time they arrived at Fuyuan.
A gust of wind blew as they got out of the car, carrying a hint of coolness. It really felt like early autumn.
As Xu En’tang and Tan Jili were about to enter, a car pulled up at the entrance of Fuyuan. Lu Jin got out.
Tan Jili: “You just arrived too?”
Lu Jin: “Mm, I was at He Jiayu’s place this afternoon, and I also saw Jiang Ran.”
Their tone was familiar.
Then, Lu Jin looked at Xu En’tang and asked, “Back?”
Xu En’tang: “Mm.”
Lu Jin’s gaze lingered for a second on her ill-fitting jacket before moving away. “Let’s go in.”