Chapter 7 — I want to go into… a friend’s room…
Nan Xu suspected she had made him angry.
While Zhang Huiwan was away these past few days, Xie Hejing still took care of the meals as usual, but he barely acknowledged Nan Xu.
He spoke even less than when she had first moved in.
But it didn’t really seem like anger—after all, nothing about him looked unusual. He just didn’t talk to her much, almost as if he were ignoring her.
Then again, maybe that was just how he always was. Aside from those times when she was bullied, he was nothing but a block of ice.
Sigh.
Nan Xu squeezed her pen, uncertain. She had never been good at picking up on subtle emotions, always realizing things only after the fact. This time, she found herself spacing out in class.
Even at lunch in the cafeteria, sitting across from Xie Hejing, she kept her eyes lowered and ate in silence, unlike the past few days when she would chat and laugh with Wen Qi and Xiang Weishi.
How was she supposed to get Xie Hejing to calm down—or at least mend things with him so she could get her bracelet back?
An apology would only make him pause for half a second and nothing more. As for gifts, she had already tried that a few times, only for him to reject them every time.
Nan Xu felt deflated. She couldn’t think of a good solution.
She had been absentmindedly stirring the food in her bowl with her chopsticks for who knows how long when Wen Qi suddenly placed the chicken leg from her own tray onto Nan Xu’s plate, snapping her out of her thoughts.
“Eat more. You look so out of it these past two days,” she said with a smile. “You can tell us what’s wrong, you know.”
Nan Xu lifted her gaze and stole a glance at the silent Xie Hejing beside them.
Hearing this, Xiang Weishi swallowed his soup. “Yeah, just say it. Look at how worried you look.” He set down his chopsticks. “If it’s about schoolwork, I can help!”
Wen Qi gave him a look of utter disbelief. “You?”
“What about me?” Xiang Weishi lifted his chin. “I’m still in the top two hundred of our grade, okay?”
“The exams haven’t even started yet. How do you know Nan Xu isn’t better than you?” Wen Qi turned her head toward Nan Xu. “Nan Xu, how were your grades back at No. 3 High School?”
Nan Xu paused. Zhi’an No. 1 and No. 3 were on opposite ends of the city, but the two schools had always been rivals, competing neck and neck every year.
“Not too bad…” Nan Xu replied.
Xiang Weishi immediately brightened. “See, I knew it!”
“Top twenty,” Nan Xu added.
Xiang Weishi blinked. What kind of answer was that—coming out in two parts?
Wen Qi chuckled. “Hear that? And you were feeling smug.”
Xiang Weishi only shrugged, unfazed. “Guess I can’t really help then. But…” He slung an arm over Xie Hejing’s shoulder. “He can.”
“I’m not exaggerating—my spot in the top two hundred is thanks to him. With Xie Hejing around, as long as you’re not completely hopeless, you’ll be fine. Want to see your parents smile? Want to watch your rank shoot up? Want to—” Xiang Weishi was preaching with enthusiasm.
“Want to die? Then come find me,” Xie Hejing cut in lazily.
“…” Xiang Weishi choked on his words, nearly suffocating on his own breath.
Nan Xu glanced at Xie Hejing very quickly and then lowered her eyes again.
See? She must have made him mad.
Xiang Weishi froze, his arm still draped over Xie Hejing, then cleared his throat and put on a gentlemanly air. “What kind of thing is that to say? Look, you scared her.”
“Scared her?” Xie Hejing raised an eyebrow. “Well then—sorry.”
But there wasn’t the slightest hint of apology in his tone.
“But what I said—you can think about it.”
Xie Hejing finished his meal quickly today, tidied up his tray, and left the three of them behind.
Xiang Weishi frowned. “Why do I feel like something’s off with him?”
“Forget it, let’s not worry about him. Nan Xu, what’s your problem?”
Both of their eyes landed on Nan Xu. She bit her lip, hesitating over whether to say it out loud, but she really couldn’t come up with any solution on her own.
Caught under their expectant gazes, she finally blurted out a classic line: “I have a friend…”
As soon as he heard this, Xiang Weishi knew something was going on, and he immediately smiled, revealing his standard “ready for gossip” expression.
Wen Qi laughed. “Alright, we know it’s you. Just say it, don’t worry.”
“…” Nan Xu lifted her eyes unintentionally—Xie Hejing was already about to walk out of the cafeteria. She pressed her lips together, wrestled with herself for a moment, and finally gathered the courage to speak.
“I want to go into… a friend’s room…” Nan Xu said carefully, trying not to reveal too much.
But the effect was like thunder out of a clear sky—especially coming from Nan Xu, the well-behaved model student. The shock factor was even bigger.
Xiang Weishi’s eyes went wide. “!!!”
“Damn—forced love?”
Wen Qi was startled too. “Like, straight-up pin him down?”
The two exchanged a look, then stared at Nan Xu again.
Who would’ve thought that behind such a gentle, obedient exterior hid such a wild heart!
A soft little girl going for forced love, a sudden bold move—wow, even more exciting!
For once, the two of them were perfectly in sync, and their thoughts were running wild.
What on earth is going on…
Nan Xu was scared stiff by their words and quickly denied it: “No, no! That’s not what I meant. I just… something of mine was taken by him.”
“Oh, so that’s what it is.”
Wen Qi nodded, fell silent for a while, looking like she was thinking deeply. Just when Nan Xu thought she might have come up with a good idea, Wen Qi looked at her seriously and asked, “But… is he handsome?”
“Uh… yes, he is,” Nan Xu answered obediently, though she felt his looks had nothing to do with the matter at hand.
Xiang Weishi groaned in disgust. “You think everyone’s as shallow as you, obsessed with looks?”
Wen Qi shot back indignantly, “So what if I am? At least it’s pleasing to the eye. That’s better than you—liking someone without even knowing what they look like. What’s the point of that?”
“I’ve said it before—I go by feeling. Don’t you get it?”
“Pfft. Don’t want to get it, and not interested either.”
Hearing the two of them about to start quarreling again, Nan Xu hurriedly cut in. “You both have a point, but can you please focus on helping me think of a solution first?”
At that, they finally stopped, though their glares were still shooting daggers at each other across the table. After half a minute, when they finally calmed down, Nan Xu let out a long sigh of relief and continued.
“My relationship with him is… well, anyway, he put my thing in his room, and I want to sneak it back myself. But he never lets anyone into his room.”
Wen Qi went straight to the point. “Then fight him. Win, and take it back.”
“Not everyone is as violent as you,” Xiang Weishi muttered.
He rubbed his chin thoughtfully, then said with sharp intuition, “Why does this sound so much like Xie Hejing? He’s the same way—never lets anyone into his room. Otherwise, he can’t sleep. And I mean for several nights in a row.”
“That serious?” Nan Xu blurted out in surprise. If that was true, then she had really caused trouble last time.
“Don’t tell me it’s actually Xie Hejing!” Wen Qi shot out without thinking, just blurting it out casually.
But Nan Xu’s hand froze around her chopsticks. Her breath caught, and she could hear her own heartbeat pounding in her ears.
Was she really being that obvious?
Luckily, Xiang Weishi—still at odds with Wen Qi—immediately denied it. “Come on, Nan Xu’s only been at No. 1 High School for what, a few days? How many times have you seen her even talk to Xie Hejing? Getting to the point of going into his room? No way. That would mean they’ve known each other for ages. Right, Nan Xu?”
“Y-yeah, right.”
Nan Xu took a deep breath, warning herself silently to stay on guard—don’t say anything that might make people connect this back to Xie Hejing.
Wen Qi raised an eyebrow. “So when did you meet him?”
“At No. 3 High School,” Nan Xu forced a small laugh. “Back when I was still there.”
That should throw them off Xie Hejing’s trail.
“But things aren’t so good between us now. I think I made him angry.”
“…”
After that, Nan Xu finally got a firsthand experience of the saying “three heads are better than one.” On the surface, the three of them were just chatting as they walked back from the cafeteria to the classroom. In reality, Nan Xu barely got a word in—Wen Qi and Xiang Weishi dominated the whole discussion.
Even after school, neither of them left. They stuck around, brainstorming ideas for Nan Xu. The two of them got so into it they even started arguing.
In the end, they came up with a whole pile of “solutions”—whether any of them would actually work was another matter.
Nan Xu’s head was spinning from it all. On the bus ride home, she couldn’t help pulling out her notebook, jotting down each “solution” she could remember.
There were over ten of them. Startled, she quickly looked through them again, crossing out the ones that were far too extreme, trimming and revising until only a few were left.
She stopped writing, holding the notebook carefully with both hands, staring at it intently. Deep down, she couldn’t stop wondering—would any of these really help her patch things up with Xie Hejing?
If she could really improve her relationship with him, then getting the bracelet back would be that much easier.
The bus No. 3 rattled along the road, carrying quite a few students in No. 1 High School’s uniform. Strangely enough, it wasn’t as crowded today.
After riding the same bus so many times without a seat, Nan Xu had finally managed to snag one.
She was so absorbed in reviewing the plans she’d written down in her notebook, running through them again and again in her head, that she almost didn’t notice the old lady sitting beside her leaning toward the old man on the other side and saying, “The kids at No. 1 High School really are disciplined. Look how seriously she’s studying—still memorizing her lessons even on the bus.”
When Nan Xu had first gotten on, she vaguely remembered that same lady chatting about vegetable prices. The sudden shift of topic—and the fact that the compliment was about her—made Nan Xu blush.
Especially since she wasn’t studying at all, just scribbling “plans” in her notebook.
Feeling a little embarrassed, she smiled at the old lady and slipped her notebook back into her bag.
“Did I disturb you, young lady?” the old woman asked, seeing her put the notebook away.
“No, not at all,” Nan Xu said quickly, pointing out the window at the stop coming up. “This is where I get off.”
Standing outside the front door at home, Nan Xu suddenly felt nervous. Normally it wouldn’t matter, but now that she had “intentions” toward Xie Hejing, even the thought of seeing him soon felt different.
She lingered for two whole minutes before finally pushing the door open. But the scene she had braced herself for didn’t happen—Xie Hejing wasn’t home.
Instead, Zhang Huiwan had returned from her trip.
“Jiaojiao, you’re back! Come, let Auntie hug you and see if you’ve lost weight these past few days.”
Her embrace was warm, not overwhelming, but reassuring, the kind that wordlessly told you: I really like you.
Some of the gloom Nan Xu had been carrying all day lifted instantly. Clinging to Zhang Huiwan’s arm, she happily chatted with her.
“No, Auntie, don’t worry. I’ve been eating well.”
Still, Zhang Huiwan looked a little concerned, worried that Nan Xu might be uncomfortable living here but too polite to say so. She turned Nan Xu this way and that, giving her a careful once-over before finally relaxing. “Looks like Hejing’s cooking suits your taste.”
Nan Xu smiled shyly, then casually asked, “Where’s Brother Hejing?”
“He just went out, said he was meeting some friends. Why, Jiaojiao, did you need him? Auntie can call him back.”
Seeing her already about to pull out her phone, Nan Xu quickly said, “No, no, it’s fine. I was just asking. Auntie, how was Chengyu? Did you like the food there?”
They chatted for a while about everyday things, but with her mind still preoccupied, Nan Xu’s energy soon faded. Thinking she must be tired from school, Zhang Huiwan kindly urged her to go rest in her room.
Back in her room, Nan Xu pulled out her notebook again, torn between what was possible and what was impossible.
She didn’t know when she had dozed off, but a sudden set of approaching footsteps—starting faint and growing louder—snapped her awake.
Only then did she realize she was still clutching her notebook in her arms. She straightened up, set it down on the desk, got out of bed, and glanced at the clock: 11:46 PM.
Pressing her ear lightly against the door, Nan Xu tried to make out the steady sound.
The footsteps were slowly making their way from the stairwell.
Suddenly, Wen Qi’s words came back to her:
“Be bold. Take the initiative and make a good impression first.”
Just as the footsteps were about to pass her room, Nan Xu opened the door.
She had planned to pretend she was just stepping out for a glass of water, bump into him by chance, and greet him casually…
And then…
Flustered, she stuck her head out the moment the door opened, but her footing slipped on the carpet. She lost her balance and fell forward.
Instinctively, she tried to grab onto something. She did manage to catch hold of something, but it wasn’t nearly strong enough to support her weight.
With a sharp rip, Nan Xu still went tumbling down.
“Hss—”
Nan Xu sat on the ground for a while to recover, and when the pain subsided, she realized she was still holding something in her hand.
Raising it up, she saw—by the light spilling from her room through the open door—exactly what it was.
A piece of a shirt hem.
Whose?
At that moment, Xie Hejing took a step forward, appearing directly in Nan Xu’s downward gaze.