Chapter 028

Meng Li walked slowly behind Ji Chen as they made their way to the cafeteria, her steps heavy. By the time they arrived, the bell signaling the end of class had already rung. She still maintained the appropriate distance from Ji Chen. Despite the brief unspoken understanding they shared earlier, she didn’t consider him a friend.

They had been bitter rivals for so many years. It wasn’t like they could just suddenly act like close friends.

Turning hostility into friendship wasn’t something that could happen easily.

Upon entering the cafeteria, Meng Li dutifully helped Ji Chen get his meal, and they sat at the same table together.

Ji Chen thought to himself that she had some awareness, even proactively trying to please him.

Now that he knew Meng Li’s real gender—something he had discovered with his own hands—Ji Chen still felt a bit uncomfortable. He had only processed part of this revelation, and the rest was still slowly sinking in.

As he ate, he mulled over this fact that nearly shattered his worldview, wondering whether he should just confront Meng Li about it directly. Maybe he could use it to his advantage, taking away her confidence as “Third Master Meng” for good.

But before Ji Chen could figure out what to do with the information, Meng Li, who was sitting across from him, had already finished her meal. She ate at an astonishing speed, almost like a dog paddling through the food. She quickly stood up, packed her lunchbox, and started to leave, tossing over her shoulder, “You can eat slowly, I’ve got something to do, I’m leaving first.”

Ji Chen didn’t have a chance to say anything. He just watched Meng Li’s back as she turned and walked away: “…”

As Meng Li’s figure disappeared from sight, Ji Chen looked down at his lunchbox, his gaze lingering on the food for a moment.

He took a bite of the rice and, without realizing it, a small smile tugged at the corner of his mouth.

After finishing his meal, Ji Chen didn’t head back to class or follow Meng Li.

He didn’t even need to guess where she had gone.

Instead, he wandered around the school, eventually finding his way to a small bamboo grove at the northeast corner of the campus.

In the grove, there was a long stone bench. Ji Chen lay down on it to rest.

He chewed on a thin bamboo leaf, his thoughts revolving around everything that had happened today.

Ji Chen seemed to have slowly accepted everything. As he lay there, he unconsciously began to connect the dots between everything that had happened before.

He remembered the time at Shichahai when Meng Li, in a panic, had called him “Chen gege.” That term had made him feel repulsed and disgusted back then, but now, thinking about it again, he couldn’t help but feel… oddly sweet.

Then he recalled the moment when he had pinned her against the wall and she blushed. All the strange, inexplicable feelings he had developed for her recently now seemed to make more sense. When he thought back to those moments, they all felt different, their significance somehow changed.

A smile lingered at the corners of his mouth, and his brow seemed to carry an unspoken happiness. He didn’t even realize how affected he was.

All the frustrations and confusion inside his mind had cleared up. Suddenly, the sky felt bluer, the breeze softer, and his heart lighter, almost as if a little bird was singing inside of it.

As for why Meng Li had been sneaking out of school every noon for nearly two months after the semester started, Ji Chen now understood it fully—it was so she could go out and hide her gender, probably to use the restroom or just keep her secret.

Ji Chen lay in the bamboo grove for the entire afternoon, mulling over everything. Eventually, he found himself wondering—should he confront Meng Li about her being a girl? And if so, how should he bring it up?

In the middle of these thoughts, Ji Chen suddenly remembered the time in the infirmary when he had reached into her collar. Instantly, his ears turned red.

Ji Chen sat up from the stone bench, holding his breath as he thought—if Meng Li found out that he knew, would she get so angry that she’d lash out at him? After all, what girl wouldn’t care about something like this?

In the end, he slapped his thigh and stood up from the stone bench.

Forget it, it’s probably best to just act like I don’t know.

He walked back to the classroom just as the bell rang, and sure enough, Meng Li, who had taken a quick break, was already back.

She sat at her desk, not even sparing him a glance.

From the moment Ji Chen sat down at his desk, he was distracted, occasionally sneaking glances at Meng Li from the corner of his eye.

Meng Li, completely absorbed in her studies, didn’t notice Ji Chen’s distracted behavior.

As usual, she and he remained in their own separate worlds, neither one acknowledging the other.

Everything had been peaceful until the last self-study period. While Meng Li was deeply engrossed in her book, a piece of paper suddenly dropped in front of her.

She focused her gaze on the paper and saw that it was written in Ji Chen’s handwriting: “Wait for me after school.“

After reading it, Meng Li was momentarily stunned. She silently turned her head to glance at Ji Chen.

Their eyes met, and Ji Chen wore a “friendly” smile on his face.

Meng Li: “!!”

What did that mean??

Meng Li blinked and quickly looked away, pressing the paper down in front of her. Without thinking, she wondered—what was he up to now? Wasn’t treating him to lunch enough? Was he planning something else to trick her?

Meng Li didn’t respond to the note. She crumpled it up and stuffed it into her bag, acting as if nothing had happened, and went back to reading her book. As the end of class approached, she started watching the clock. She secretly packed her bag early, and as soon as the bell rang, she grabbed her bag and ran out.

Ji Chen hadn’t even processed what had happened before she was already gone.

“……”

Snapping back to reality after a brief pause, he hurriedly stuffed his books into his bag, slung it over his shoulder, and ran after her. When he reached the school gate, he scanned the area but didn’t see her, so he quickly headed for the bus stop.

By the time he got there—about fifty or sixty meters away—he caught a glimpse of Meng Li stepping onto the bus.

He sped up, but by the time he reached the stop, the bus had already pulled away, leaving him panting and standing there alone.

…

As the bus pulled away from the stop, Meng Li sighed in relief as she settled into her seat.

Since she had arrived early, the bus wasn’t crowded, and there were plenty of empty seats.

Meng Li wiped the sweat from her forehead, opened the window beside her, and let the evening breeze wash over her as she took another deep breath.

The journey continued with the breeze, and she eventually got off at her stop.

Walking back to Zhima Hutong, the street was quiet, with very few people around.

When she reached the entrance of the courtyard and stood in front of the north-facing room, she noticed that Grandma Cheng, who usually cooked dinner at this time, wasn’t home. Tang Yuan’er was also absent.

She checked the main gate, and both doors were locked, with no one inside.

Not sure where they had gone, Meng Li had no choice but to sit down on the steps in front of the door and wait.

Only a few minutes later, Aunt Dong from the east room came out holding a basin of water.

When she saw Meng Li sitting in front of the north room, she greeted her with a polite smile, “Meng Li, you’re home so early today.”

Meng Li returned a polite smile, “I was lucky today and caught the early bus.”

Aunt Dong continued smiling as she set the basin down, then reached into her pocket. After rummaging for a moment, she pulled out a set of keys and walked over to Meng Li. “Your grandma left these for you. She said there are steamed buns at home, and you can heat them up yourself.”

Meng Li stood up from the steps and took the keys from Aunt Dong’s hand. “Where did Grandma and Tang Yuan’er go?”

Aunt Dong’s face lit up with joy. “Didn’t you know? Your mom’s been having stomach pains and gave birth today. Your grandma took Tang Yuan’er to the hospital to pack some things. They probably won’t be back tonight, so you’ll need to find something to eat on your own.”

Meng Li paused for a moment, holding the keys in her hand. “She gave birth?”

Aunt Dong nodded, still smiling, “Yes, she did. We’re not sure yet if it’s a boy or a girl…”

As she spoke, Aunt Dong turned around and went to the sink to fill the basin with water, her face full of happiness, as if it were a joyous occasion for her own family.

Meng Li didn’t have a good relationship with the neighbors. They were all on the same side as Gu Huijuan, so they didn’t particularly like her. Meng Li decided not to continue the conversation with Aunt Dong.

It was expected that, as a daughter, she should visit her mother when she gave birth. But even the neighbors knew about the strained mother-daughter relationship between Meng Li and Gu Huijuan. When Aunt Dong handed her the keys, she didn’t suggest that she go see her mother. This was, in fact, a message from Gu Huijuan herself.

Gu Huijuan treated her like an outsider and didn’t want her to visit. Meng Li didn’t want to go either. She took the keys, turned, and opened the door. After entering, she set her bag down and decided to make something for herself to eat. Once she was full, she returned to her book, content to continue reading.

As the night grew late, she went out with a basin to fetch some water, washed up, and then went to bed.

She slept soundly, unaware that Cheng Chunliang and Tang Yuan’er had returned in the middle of the night.

The next morning, when she saw Cheng Chunliang, she could tell he looked tired, but there was an undeniable gleam of happiness in his eyes. Meng Li didn’t ask about Gu Huijuan’s childbirth. She simply went about her morning routine, ate a bit, and then grabbed her bag to head to school.

When she arrived at school, everything was as usual.

If there was anything different today, it was that Ji Chen unexpectedly showed up for the early reading class.

Although Meng Li felt that everything was none of her business, her mood today was still a bit off. Perhaps it was because everyone in the courtyard seemed to be in a celebratory mood, which only highlighted her own sense of loneliness and sorrow.

She was just a teenage girl, longing for her father’s affection, her mother’s love, and a happy, harmonious family where she could always rely on someone to have her back. But since crossing over into this world, she had lost everything.

In this world, her biological father was an unknown, her mother didn’t like her and deeply disliked her. Now that she had given birth to her third child, things would only become worse between them.

It wasn’t that she wanted Gu Huijuan to treat her better—she disliked Gu Huijuan herself.

She just… started to miss her real parents again.

The entire morning, Meng Li kept spacing out, not as focused on her studies as usual.

She didn’t notice it herself, but Ji Chen had observed everything.

Having been desk partners for half a semester, they had gotten to know each other whether they wanted to or not. Meng Li seemed a bit down today, spending most of her time leaning on her desk, staring out the window in a daze. Such an obvious drop in mood didn’t escape Ji Chen’s notice.

Although he had noticed, Ji Chen didn’t ask any questions.

They sat in the classroom, each keeping to themselves, neither making an effort to engage.

Meng Li’s mood remained low, and naturally, she didn’t have the energy to care about anything else. She endured the morning classes, then went to the cafeteria alone for lunch. Afterward, she went to a nearby residential building to use the bathroom, then took a nap in the small park.

Since the weather had warmed up, Meng Li had changed her nap spot.

When it was colder, she used to lie on a bench to soak up the sun for warmth, but now, she preferred to find a spot under a shady tree.

Meng Li was sitting on a stone under the shade of a tree, her back against the rock, her eyes barely closed for a moment when she suddenly felt someone gently kick her foot.

Confused, Meng Li opened her eyes. The moment she did, she saw Ji Chen standing in front of her.

She was momentarily stunned, still trying to process what was happening, when Ji Chen suddenly pulled two cotton candies from behind him. Holding a small stick, he offered them to her and asked, “Do you want the pink one or the white one?”

Meng Li blinked, still dazed.

Ignoring her confused expression, Ji Chen shoved the white one into her hand. “A big guy like you should eat the white one.”