The more Jiang Yumo looks at that photo, the more satisfied she becomes.
She likes herself in the photo, likes Ning Zhiyu, and likes Duan Ye even more. Sitting in the grilled fish restaurant, she opens the Weibo interface and carefully edits the content. After a few minutes, she posts a Weibo with six photos, including a group photo of the four of them, interesting decorations in the restaurant, and delicious grilled fish.
@Xiao_Jiang’s_High_School_Life_Journal : [Today, my friends treated me to a celebration. Thank you, everyone. By the way, the taste of this grilled fish restaurant is really amazing. The side dishes include mung bean vermicelli and lotus root slices. I ate two bowls of rice in one go (I need to hide this from my parents and dance teacher TAT). Anyway, I’m so happy today!!]
Within ten minutes of posting this Weibo, it received habitual likes from people.
Every third year student has their own way of decompressing.
After the friendly basketball match with Fifth High, Ye Wenxu occasionally meets up with friends to play basketball. Today, First High had monthly exams, so school ended earlier than usual. After playing a game of basketball with friends near his home, he returned home to take a shower. As he came out of the bathroom, he dried his hair with a towel while looking down at his phone. The Weibo app on his phone showed a notification. It was a Weibo post from Xiao Jiang that he followed, posted ten minutes ago.
He opened the Weibo interface.
As he looked at the words she had written, a smile appeared on the corner of his lips. He clicked on each of the photos one by one until he reached the last one. His fingers paused, and he instinctively squinted his eyes, gazing at the four people in the photo with a frozen expression.
In fact, for Ye Wenxu, Xiao Jiang was a ray of light and a gentle breeze in his life.
He wanted to get to know her, but he also knew that he should be mindful of boundaries.
He also has his own schedule. If, after the college entrance exam, they still get along well and have good conversations, he will take the initiative to tell her his name. At this stage, the most important thing is the college entrance exam. He understands that he shouldn’t disturb her at this crucial time. The reason he gave her that gift was just to encourage her a little.
From the beginning, he knew she was a girl. After all, when she added him, she made it clear by saying, “I am Chen Shuhang’s little sister.”
He had imagined what she looked like, but for him, appearance wasn’t that important. What mattered was that he felt comfortable chatting with her.
Now, suddenly, the netizen Xiao Jiang appeared before his eyes in this way.
Ye Wenxu felt stiff all over. Everything matched—surname Jiang, a girl, and sauce chicken…
After finishing the grilled fish, everyone went their separate ways.
There were originally other activities planned, but since it was winter, after eating and drinking their fill, everyone just wanted to go home and sleep early.
Naturally, Zhou Ji would send Ning Zhiyu home. It had become an implicit understanding. It could only be said that Zhou Ji’s persistent efforts during this time had yielded significant results. At least when they were discussing which people would take a taxi together or which people would take the bus together, they automatically excluded him and Ning Zhiyu.
Unexpectedly, Ning Zhiyu was unusually silent today.
Zhou Ji tried his best to engage her, but she seemed absent-minded, as if she was pondering some important issue.
“What’s wrong with you today?” Zhou Ji asked with confusion. “You’ve been like this since we were at the store. Tell me, did something happen to you?”
His expression suddenly turned serious. “I know you don’t like it when I’m like this, but I just want to tell you that we’re friends. Even if you don’t tell me, can’t you tell your other good friends? If you’re really going through something, you have to speak up. We can all solve it together. Don’t keep it to yourself.”
Ning Zhiyu hesitated for a moment, then shook her head.
She didn’t have direct evidence of that matter, and even if she wanted to say something, she would have to wait until it was confirmed and talk to Yumo. And she can’t talk to Zhou Ji, the big mouth… She was afraid that Duan Ye would know before tomorrow.
How could she talk about something she wasn’t sure about?
“It’s nothing.”
Zhou Ji’s reaction was like a punch landing on cotton. “Fine, if you say it’s nothing, then it’s nothing.”
Saying it was nothing, but when they reached Linjiang Road, he still accompanied her home as usual. At the entrance of the alley, they unexpectedly saw a familiar face.
Ye Wenxu, wearing a black down jacket, had a tall and slender figure.
He was wearing headphones, whether listening to music or vocabulary, Zhou Ji wasn’t sure.
Zhou Ji thought he might be seeing things, but before he could react, Ning Zhiyu, just as he had expected, softly said, “You’re here.”
Ye Wenxu took off his earphones and hesitated before nodding. “I have something to ask you.”
Ning Zhiyu replied, “Alright, I also have something to ask you.”
At this moment, Zhou Ji felt like he had become a mere background figure. He furrowed his brow and as soon as he saw Ye Wenxu, he went into a state of readiness. He hadn’t forgotten about the rumor he heard, but after Duan Ye’s ‘education,’ he had calmed down and let go of the matter. After all, what others said was about their middle school days, long in the past… But now, Ye Wenxu unexpectedly appeared at her doorstep, and the two of them seemed to have an unspoken understanding of catching up.
Ning Zhiyu turned her head to look at Zhou Ji and whispered, “You go back first. I have something to deal with.”
Zhou Ji : “?”
Instantly, he became angry and looked at her in disbelief. “You want me to go back? What’s going on with you??”
Ning Zhiyu really didn’t want to ask Ye Wenxu about Yumo’s matter in front of Zhou Ji. She could imagine how disastrous the situation would be. Zhou Ji was like a firecracker, ready to explode at any moment. With him around, she didn’t think she could get any useful information from Ye Wenxu.
She almost coaxed him in a low voice, “I’ll tell you once I figure things out. Please go back first.”
Zhou Ji suppressed his feelings of jealousy and couldn’t listen at this moment. “No, I won’t.”
Ye Wenxu frowned and looked over.
In the end, he decided to step forward. He felt that the matter he wanted to ask was best kept secret from a third person. He said, “Classmate Zhou, don’t worry. Zhiyu and I are friends, and we used to be classmates. I just need to confirm something important with her.”
Ye Wenxu’s words hit Zhou Ji’s last nerve.
He forcefully pushed Ye Wenxu away and pointed his finger at him, speaking in a cold tone, “What the hell does it have to do with you!”
Even the gentlest person has a temper.
Ning Zhiyu felt a headache coming on. She didn’t want to escalate the situation, but if Zhou Ji continued like this, it was likely that Ye Wenxu wouldn’t be able to bear it and they would end up fighting. Thinking of this, Ning Zhiyu rushed forward and stood in front of Ye Wenxu, saying to Zhou Ji, “I told you I have something to do. Can you go back first?”
Zhou Ji looked at her.
The angry expression on his face gradually turned cold.
He seemed to return to the way she first saw him.
“Fine.” After a moment of silence, Zhou Ji pressed his tongue against the roof of his mouth. “I’ll leave.”