Chapter 17

The air around the elementary school gate was filled with the smell of street food. The Samoyed was running faster than the wind, and it was so silly, sniffing everything in sight.

If it weren’t for Zhou Wu’s strength, he probably wouldn’t have been able to hold it back.

Ahead, the smell of grilled meat wafted toward the dog. Just as it was about to charge forward, its owner mercilessly grabbed its neck.

Zhou Wu tugged on the leash, easily controlling the energetic dog: “Slow down, she can’t catch up.”

The dog turned around, confused, and let out a soft “woof.”

A few seconds later, the sound of light footsteps and the rolling of a bike approached.

When Wen Ci caught up, Zhou Wu had just managed to suppress a smile.

It was the end of school, and the area was crowded. Plus, pushing a bicycle made Wen Ci a bit tired. Her coordination wasn’t very good to begin with, and it took her some time to catch up with Zhou Wu. She finally steadied her breath after a while.

Wen Ci glanced at Zhou Wu.

Zhou Wu had one hand in his pocket, the other holding the dog’s leash, his gaze fixed ahead, ignoring her.

With no way around it, Wen Ci had already gathered enough courage when she ran over. She pursed her lips and called out, “Zhou Wu.”

Zhou Wu hummed lightly and asked indifferently, “Is Teacher Wen’s dinner gathering also in this direction?”

“Sorry,” Wen Ci replied. “I’m not actually going to a gathering today.”

Zhou Wu had always felt like he couldn’t understand Wen Ci, but today he realized that he didn’t fully understand himself either.

Wen Ci was as bad at lying as ever. The moment she spoke, he could tell. Since she didn’t want to see him, he would have let it go and not bothered asking her if she was free tomorrow or the day after.

But he not only asked, he came over.

And upon arriving, he noticed that the person who had found an excuse not to see him was wearing his jacket.

She was so thin. When Zhou Wu’s perfectly fitting jacket was on her, it looked a bit odd—bulging front and back, with the sleeves too long, stacked up to her elbows, and the hem almost covering her hips. Beneath the large jacket, her jeans outlined a pair of slender, well-proportioned legs.

Such a strange person, Wen Ci.

“I know,” Zhou Wu commented. “Your lying skills are terrible.”

“Really?” Wen Ci had rarely been caught in a lie like this and couldn’t figure out how to apologize sincerely. She could only dryly say, “Sorry.”

After a few exchanges, they turned the corner and finally left the narrow road on either side of the school, with fewer people around.

Zhou Wu finally glanced at her. Wen Ci, staring at the ground, sluggishly pushed the bicycle, her brows slightly lowered, looking somewhat pitiful.

Suddenly, Zhou Wu didn’t feel like teasing her anymore. The tough act he had been putting on was dropped. “Wen Ci, you seem to like apologizing.”

“Actually, you don’t have to lie to me. If you don’t want to see me, you can just say so. I won’t get upset.”

“No,” Wen Ci stopped walking, quickly looked up, “I don’t not want to see you.”

Zhou Wu stopped too, raised an eyebrow, signaling her to continue.

“Really! I regretted it as soon as I hung up at noon. I just…” Wen Ci’s eyes blinked rapidly, trying not to avoid Zhou Wu’s gaze, “That night, I drank too much and offended you many times. I remember it so clearly… I’m just not mentally prepared to face you yet.”

Zhou Wu watched her talk, seeing her cheeks flush red, almost like a tomato, while her expression remained serious as if confessing.

Zhou Wu couldn’t help it anymore. He turned his head and smiled.

Wen Ci froze, not understanding what Zhou Wu was laughing about when suddenly, the Samoyed leaped toward her again, rubbing against her jacket.

“Offend me? You mean when you kissed me?” Zhou Wu’s voice carried a laugh. “That wasn’t an offense… I think I offended you more.”

“…” Wen Ci felt like she was about to overload. “No… I mean, with words, I offended you.”

Zhou Wu laughed even harder.

Behind them, a group of elementary school kids were playing and running toward them, one of them walking backward. Just as the child was about to bump into Wen Ci, Zhou Wu grabbed the kid by the collar and, with the child’s shocked expression, moved him out of the way.

“Since Teacher Wen isn’t going to the gathering, how about having a meal together?” Zhou Wu asked.

Wen Ci immediately replied, “Yes.”

Zhou Wu smiled: “The teachers around here are familiar, should I ask them to arrange something?” He tugged on the dog leash in his hand. “Sorry to trouble you, but can you find a place that allows dogs?”

They went to a nearby noodle shop.

It was a place Wen Ci often visited when she didn’t want to eat at the cafeteria or when her parents weren’t home. It was where she went to have her meals.

The noodle shop was small, and they sat at an outdoor table, just enough space for the dog to stay.

After ordering, Zhou Wu glanced at her outfit. “Is it hot?”

“It’s not hot.” Wen Ci wasn’t trying to be tough; Zhou Wu’s jacket material, whatever it was, gave her a cool feeling when it pressed against her body.

Only then did she remember to explain, “I was planning to dry clean this jacket today, but my cardigan got milk tea spilled on it by a student this afternoon, so I couldn’t wear it. I had to… temporarily borrow this one. Are you in a hurry to use it?”

“No rush.” Zhou Wu said, “No need for dry cleaning. Just throw it in any bag when you’re done, and I’ll bring it back next time.”

Wen Ci couldn’t just return something without washing it, of course. She didn’t argue further and bent down to look at the dog next to her.

The Samoyed had been trying to jump onto her, but Zhou Wu was holding it back. It had to stand there, keeping its posture. When Wen Ci leaned in, it couldn’t help but start wagging its tongue to please her.

“It’s so cute, what’s its name?”

“Yeye,” Zhou Wu said, resting his chin on his hand lazily. “Like coconut.”

“Yeye,” Wen Ci repeated, “Can I pet it?”

Yeye seemed to understand and stretched its head toward her. Zhou Wu saw the dog’s actions and chuckled, “Go ahead, it’s been waiting for you the whole way here.”

Wen Ci reached out to pet its head and rub its chin. Her hand sank into the dog’s fur, making her fingers seem even more delicate.

Zhou Wu looked at her fingers, almost as white as Yeye’s fur, and couldn’t help but think back to the soft touch he had felt that night, making his teeth itch a little.

Wen Ci asked, “Is it a male or female dog?”

“It’s a male.”

At first, Yeye was drawn to Wen Ci because of the scent on her jacket, but after sitting down for just a few minutes, it was clear Yeye’s affection for her had surpassed that simple attraction.

Wen Ci extended her hand, “Yeye.”

Yeye, feeling it had never been called so gently before, immediately raised one of its front paws and placed it on her hand.

“He’s so smart,” Wen Ci laughed, forming a fist with her hand as if holding sunglasses, and placed it in front of Yeye’s eyes. “Now it looks like he’s fatter than in your profile picture.”

“That profile picture was taken three years ago,” Zhou Wu remarked dismissively. “Now he’s just a ball of fat.”

“Wang!”

“If you bark again, I’ll tie you across the street.”

“…”

Wen Ci laughed and couldn’t help but take out her phone to snap a few pictures of Yeye.

The owner brought their noodles to the table. “Sorry for the delay, Teacher Wen. It’s busy in the shop… Is this your boyfriend?”

Wen Ci froze for a moment, then quickly waved her hand. “No, just a friend.”

“Oh, sorry, I thought… here,” the owner said, placing two bottles of iced soy milk on the table. “A drink on the house.”

“Thank you, boss,” Wen Ci smiled.

After the owner left, Zhou Wu asked, “Are you close to the owner?”

“Yeah, I come here often,” Wen Ci replied casually. “You probably don’t know this, but the owner used to sell noodles at the cafeteria before opening this shop.”

“How do you know I didn’t eat at the cafeteria before?”

Wen Ci froze for a second, her hand pausing mid-air as she held her chopsticks.

Remembering Zhou Wu always said she wasn’t good at lying, Wen Ci tried to act natural. “I think everyone knows that.”

Zhou Wu had always disliked the cafeteria food and would race the campus security guards every lunchtime to order takeout.

Zhou Wu smiled lightly. “Alright, I didn’t eat much… but for some reason, this noodle taste seems familiar.”

Wen Ci replied, “…Noodles taste pretty much the same.”

True enough.

After eating, Zhou Wu rewarded Yeye by tossing a piece of beef brisket into the dog’s mouth.

Full and satisfied, they both headed back.

Zhou Wu handed the dog leash to Wen Ci and pushed her bike for her.

Maybe it was because they had just eaten or because Zhou Wu knew Wen Ci wasn’t that strong, but on the way back, Yeye walked slowly and didn’t run around like most Samoyeds. It behaved with an intelligence and sensitivity unlike others.

Wen Ci worried she might not be able to handle the leash well, so she tightly gripped the handlebars, focusing all her attention.

Zhou Wu saw the scene of Wen Ci and Yeye and couldn’t help but smile.

Wen Ci was so focused on walking that she didn’t realize they had arrived near Jiangcheng Primary School’s parking lot. Zhou Wu opened the trunk of his car and put her bike inside. Only then did she realize, “You parked here? Did you bring the car all the way to the school just to walk the dog?”

The area around Jiangcheng Primary School was full of small roads, crowded with people—definitely not a good place to walk a dog.

“I didn’t come to walk the dog,” Zhou Wu said, no longer playing along. He opened the back door, and Yeye jumped in skillfully. Zhou Wu turned to Wen Ci. “Get in, I’ll take you home.”

“Were you lying to me?” Wen Ci replied, clearly amused.

Just as the car was about to reach the alley entrance, Wen Ci remembered the last time she and Zhou Wu had been watched at the intersection.

Zhou Wu’s car attracted a lot of attention, and if someone saw her get out of a luxury car, it could cause trouble.

She was contemplating how to bring this up when Zhou Wu stopped the car first.

“Here?” Zhou Wu asked.

“Yes,” Wen Ci replied quickly, undoing her seatbelt.

She was about to open the door when something suddenly occurred to her, and she quietly sat back down.

Yeye, however, didn’t make a sound. In the back seat, it quietly settled down without causing any fuss. As the car stopped, it hurriedly crawled up between the two front seats, resting its head in the space between Zhou Wu and Wen Ci.

Wen Ci stretched out both hands and gently covered Ye Ye’s ears.

In the questioning gaze of Zhou Wu, she softly asked, “Zhou Wu, are you… free on Saturday night?”

“Yes.” Zhou Wu raised an eyebrow. “Why cover its ears?”

“It seems like it can understand a little bit of human speech.” Wen Ci’s ears turned red. “So, can we meet on Saturday?”

Zhou Wu looked into her eyes and, lowering his voice to match hers, replied, “Sure.”