Chapter 17: Youth

Indeed, pretty quickly.

Thanks to Jiang Chiyu’s terrible personality breaking through their years of unfamiliarity, Su Tian recalled those childhood days of being teased. Now when she sees Jiang Chiyu, she gets annoyed and just wants to retort.

While internally complaining, Su Tian quickly stuffed a pack of spicy strips into her pocket while Zhou Ying was yawning.

Zhou Ying hadn’t noticed her sneaky move and was about to ask more questions when Wei Sicheng came running back. Su Tian said, “It’s about time, we need to head back.”

Wei Sicheng checked his watch – it was still the long break period. “There’s still fifteen minutes.”

“I need to use the bathroom.”

“Alright then, I should go too.” Wei Sicheng said, “I’ll come find you guys later. Bye.”

Su Tian and Zhou Ying waved goodbye to him.

After he left, Su Tian nudged Zhou Ying’s arm, “You go ahead, I’m going to use the bathroom by the sports field.”

“You really need to go? I thought you were just making an excuse.”

Su Tian was startled, thinking Zhou Ying had seen her hide the spicy strips. Wide-eyed and guilty, she protested, “No, I didn’t! Why would I make excuses?”

Zhou Ying, equally guilty and thinking Su Tian had figured something out, failed to notice Su Tian’s nervousness. “Nothing… I’ll go first then. Watch the time, don’t be late.”

The two parted ways, each harboring their own secrets.

Su Tian eagerly found a secluded corner to taste the spicy strips. Meanwhile, Zhou Ying was thinking she should never impulsively try to play wingman again – this silly girl was too difficult to help.

The spicy strips were Zhou Ying’s, and Su Tian had never tried them before. Her first bite was so spicy she spat it out, choking several times.

This was way too spicy – how did Zhou Ying eat two packs with a straight face? Su Tian’s entire face scrunched up as she coughed from the spiciness.

Zhou Ying had taken all the other drinks they’d bought, and the milk tea was finished and thrown away. After waiting a moment, Su Tian found her mouth was still burning, so she decided to buy another bottle of water.

She reached into her pocket – no money!

Su Tian felt completely deflated. She thought about trying her luck at the school store, hoping to run into someone she knew to borrow two yuan.

She stepped out from behind the tree where she’d been standing, and after just a few steps, she saw a young man in black clothes sitting with his back to her on the small stage nearby.

That black jacket…

Su Tian hadn’t expected such a coincidence.

As she watched from below, Jiang Chiyu’s figure seemed incredibly handsome and tall, with his legs dangling loosely over the edge of the stage, reminiscent of a celebrity posing for a photo.

Before calling out to him, Su Tian suddenly had an interesting thought – she came to this secluded spot to secretly eat spicy strips, so what was Jiang Chiyu doing here alone?

Hmph, maybe she could catch him doing something embarrassing.

Su Tian tiptoed around to the front of the stage and suddenly jumped out in front of him, looking up.

Jiang Chiyu was clearly startled, but quickly reacted by pulling something white from his mouth and hiding it behind his back.

His movement was too fast – she could only see a white blur. Thanks to that movement though, Su Tian immediately noticed that the “important thing” was what had been in his mouth.

Coming here alone, a white strip-shaped object, held in his mouth, something he didn’t want her to see… what could it be?

Was Jiang Chiyu smoking?!

The moment she reached this conclusion, Su Tian felt completely unsettled.

It wasn’t that she couldn’t accept people smoking – her father smoked too – but Jiang Chiyu seemed way too young…

Su Tian’s expression became awkward, not expecting this kind of situation.

She had caught him doing something secretive, but this wasn’t the kind of secret she wanted to discover.

Jiang Chiyu spoke, his voice slightly hoarse, “What are you doing here?”

Su Tian vaguely “ah”-ed and “oh”-ed, then after thinking, answered, “I came to use the bathroom.”

“Nonsense.” Jiang Chiyu’s voice was as thick as if he’d swallowed sticky candy, his eyes lifting slightly as he smiled ambiguously, though the smile didn’t reach his eyes. “What? Following your Brother Ah Yu?”

Seeing him like this, Su Tian became more certain he was smoking. Her expression complicated, she ignored his teasing and said seriously, “I won’t tell anyone.”

Jiang Chiyu’s movements paused, his smile fading as he spoke unnaturally, “Who cares if you tell?”

His right hand remained stubbornly hidden behind his back.

“The school rules clearly prohibit…” Su Tian’s tongue halted, not saying those two words, and continued earnestly, “If someone finds out, you’ll get a serious demerit. It will affect all your future honors and evaluations. With your grades being so good, you might even have a chance at early admission in senior year.”

Jiang Chiyu had raised an eyebrow from her first sentence, his expression somewhat playful. By the end, he was staring directly at Su Tian’s conflicted but sincere face, carelessly humming an “mm.”

Su Tian was annoyed by his casual, uncaring tone and became even more serious, “I’m not joking with you! Our school gets spots for early admission to Peking and Tsinghua Universities every year. With your grades, you could definitely be chosen. If you get a serious demerit for… for smoking, won’t you regret it terribly?”

“Interesting.”

“Hm?”

Jiang Chiyu seemed to be holding back laughter, his voice becoming strange, “You have quite a high opinion of me.”

Su Tian maintained a wooden expression, “Only regarding grades.”

Jiang Chiyu: “I have a good personality too.”

The topic was getting derailed again. Su Tian angrily clenched her fists, “Can’t you take this seriously? If I didn’t already know you, who would care about you! Whether you get early admission or not has nothing to do with me.”

Su Tian’s neck was tired from looking up. After shouting angrily, she lowered her head, rubbing her neck while glancing at him sideways.

Jiang Chiyu lowered his head, his shoulders and chest shaking. Su Tian paused, thinking this weirdo couldn’t possibly be so fragile as to cry from her scolding.

She suddenly felt at a loss – she’d seen girls cry before, but never a boy crying in front of a girl.

“Hey, you… Jiang Chiyu, don’t… don’t be like this… I won’t tell anyone.”

Su Tian spoke while stepping closer, wanting to see his expression.

Jiang Chiyu suddenly raised his head, revealing a face split in a full smile, with red lips and white teeth, picturesque features, more dazzling than sunlight.

Like a young knight leaning against a bridge, with red sleeves waving from every floor.

Youth never grows old.

Su Tian’s heart quickened for a few beats, her eyes fixed unblinkingly on him, her lowered hand unconsciously gripping her clothes hem.

Jiang Chiyu smiled boldly, his whole body shaking with laughter. Suddenly, he pushed off with his left hand and, before Su Tian’s widening eyes, jumped down from the stage that was taller than a person. Landing with a cushioned movement right in front of her, he used his height advantage to look down at her face.

They were extremely close.

Jiang Chiyu’s eyes crinkled with laughter, “You think I’m that stupid?”

“…”

“Smoking on the stage in the sports field?”

Su Tian was stunned, “What else could it be?”