Liang Zhiyi met Pei Chen’s gaze. His cool and gentle tone fell on her ears, causing her heartbeat to accelerate uncontrollably once again.
Sigh, she was hopelessly lost.
Even though she had been resolute before, she still couldn’t control her feelings for him when faced with him directly…
Her thoughts were abruptly pulled back to reality by the pain. Liang Zhiyi lowered her head and murmured softly, “It still hurts a bit…”
He handed her a tissue. “Don’t cry. Just hold on.”
Liang Zhiyi rubbed her nose and said, “I’m not trying to cry…”
“Can you still walk?”
Liang Zhiyi cautiously placed her injured right foot on the ground, took a few steps, and, feeling that the pain was bearable, nodded. “I can.”
She tried to walk forward on tiptoe, limping, but found it difficult to maintain her balance due to the lack of stable footing.
Her gaze fell on the white shirt sleeve of the boy next to her. Her fingers twitched, and in the next moment, he extended his hand toward her, his deep and restrained voice saying:
“Hold onto me.”
Liang Zhiyi felt a feather-light touch in her heart. After a few seconds, she reached out and gently took his arm.
The distance between them closed slightly. The faint sweet fragrance from the girl’s body reached his nose, mixed with the soft touch of her fingertips. Pei Chen felt a dryness in his throat as he lowered his gaze to her injured foot and helped her walk slowly forward, step by step.
They walked along the campus path outside the school. After a while, they arrived at the cake shop. Seeing the sweat forming on her nose from the pain, Pei Chen asked, “Do you want to go in and rest for a bit?”
She hesitated for a moment, then nodded.
She was indeed in too much pain to walk any further.
So Pei Chen guided her into the cake shop and helped her sit in a seat by the window. She gazed at the cake display, and Pei Chen noticed. “Do you want to eat something?”
“Mm…”
Asked like that, she realized she was indeed hungry. Just as she was hesitating, she heard him say, “Sit here for a while. I’ll go get something to eat.”
Pei Chen placed his backpack on the chair opposite her, turned, and left. Liang Zhiyi watched his retreating figure, feeling a warm, fuzzy sensation in her heart.
After her emotions slowly calmed down, Liang Zhiyi recalled the scene where she had cried from the pain. A delayed sense of shame finally surfaced.
She was already in high school; why did she still cry at the slightest pain, just like when she was a child…
How embarrassing. She hoped she hadn’t looked too ugly while crying earlier. Did Pei Chen think she looked like a kindergartner?
She raised a hand to cover her flushed cheeks and silently processed her feelings.
Meanwhile, Pei Chen approached the counter to place his order.
“Hello, what would you like?” the cashier asked.
Pei Chen’s gaze swept over the variety of cakes in the display case. The prices weren’t cheap. He chose a cake that looked very appealing but was slightly expensive, and added, “Also, a cup of sea salt milk tea.”
“Would you like it iced or at room temperature?”
He paused and asked, “Do you have it hot?”
“Yes.”
“Then I’ll have it hot.”
Pei Chen waited for the drink while his eyes drifted past the crowd in the shop to the girl sitting by the window.
The neon lights outside cast a glow in her clear eyes. She was holding her face and looking down, her features shining, appearing dreamlike and beautiful.
Various complex emotions interwove in his heart.
Pei Chen pressed his lips together and eventually lowered his gaze.
A few minutes later, Liang Zhiyi saw him bring the cake and drink to her.
Seeing only one portion of the cake, she asked in surprise, “Aren’t you going to eat?”
“I’m not eating. It’s for you. I wasn’t sure if you’d like this.”
She saw the beautiful cake and her eyes lit up, her lips curling into a slight smile. “Mm, I like mango.”
She reached for the drink but pulled back quickly when the cup was hot. “Why is it so hot…”
He moved his lips and cleared his throat, hesitating to speak. Liang Zhiyi noticed his expression and guessed something.
He wouldn’t have remembered that she was on her period, would he?
Her heart warmed, and she couldn’t help but find it amusing…
Did this straightforward guy think that if a girl was on her period, she must have something steaming hot?
However, she kept her smile to herself, said nothing, and continued to eat the cake.
Pei Chen watched as the girl ate the cake bite by bite, and his mood visibly improved. His previously anxious heart gradually settled.
After a while, Liang Zhiyi looked up at him and softly said, “Thank you for taking care of me earlier and for going to buy the bandages and everything.”
Although she had been a bit irritated with him these past few days and didn’t want to talk to him, after what had happened, she couldn’t bring herself to stay angry.
She remembered something and added, “And thank you for writing the cheering draft for me this morning.”
She hadn’t had a chance to thank him today. “Didn’t you say you were going to ask the study committee to make an exception?”
“Many people haven’t finished, so it might not be easy to make an exception.”
He paused for a moment and then made up an explanation. “I happened to have some time and wrote it for you.”
Liang Zhiyi wasn’t sure if it was truly just a coincidence.
She responded with an “Oh” and didn’t say more, resting her chin on her hand as she looked at him. She softly mumbled, “I heard this afternoon that two of the drafts you wrote for me were read out by the broadcasting station.”
He was slightly surprised. “I just wrote it casually.”
Liang Zhiyi sipped her milk tea and sighed, “Is this the benefit of sitting next to a top student? If I don’t want to do homework in the future, could you help me with it?”
He thought for a moment and said calmly：“I can’t. You might want to ask my friend in the grade who has the same name as me.”
“…”
So frustrating, he still remembered the day she got caught copying homework at the beginning of the school year!
Liang Zhiyi glared at him in annoyance, finished the last bite of her cake, and rested for a while. Her foot pain had eased significantly.
As she looked outside and saw the sky darkening, considering that she had classes the next day, Liang Zhiyi said, “My foot is feeling better now. We can leave.”
“Can you still take the bus?”
True…
It would be inconvenient for her.
“I’ll call a cab.” Actually, she had hoped to walk a bit longer with him, but then ended up injuring herself.
After calling the cab, Liang Zhiyi slowly stood up and, holding Pei Chen’s arm, walked towards the door. As they neared the exit, she said she wanted to buy some pastries and picked out a box of mung bean ice cakes and snow cream.
After paying, she handed one of the bags to Pei Chen. “Here, I’ve tried the mung bean ice cakes from this shop before, and they taste really good. Take this box, and don’t refuse it. Consider it my thanks to you.”
Pei Chen, hearing this, accepted the gift. He accompanied her to the roadside to wait for the cab and looked at her, his tone calm as he instructed, “Avoid getting the wound wet. When you get home, you can apply some medicine.”
Liang Zhiyi smiled. “You’re so concerned about me.”
He swallowed, saying nothing.
Liang Zhiyi lifted her gaze to him, her emotions churning inside. After a moment, she called him seriously, “Pei Chen.”
He looked down.
Under the streetlamp, her long hair fluttered in the evening breeze, and her eyes sparkled like stardust. She looked straight at him, her red lips curving into a smile as she spoke:
“I never said I was going to give up.”
Pei Chen’s eyes showed a fleeting look of surprise.
She had considered giving up these past few days, but after tonight, she realized she couldn’t let go. As Liang Tongzhou had said, once she’s determined to do something, no matter how difficult, she will pursue it.
She just wanted to bravely like a boy she wanted to like during her youth.
As for the outcome, she wasn’t ready to think about it yet.
Being as straightforward as she was, Liang Zhiyi decided not to hide her feelings and expressed them directly.
She looked at him. “Don’t think that just because you rejected me that day, I’ll back down.”
Hearing this, Pei Chen’s eyes darkened with emotion. After a moment, he suppressed his feelings and spoke softly:
“At this stage, our studies are the most important. We should focus on our studies and not consider things with no outcome yet.”
She huffed lightly, “Don’t worry, I won’t disturb you with your studies. I’ll focus on mine as well.”
“And besides—”
“How can you be sure there’s no outcome until the end?”
The girl’s smile was bright and unafraid of further rejection.
Liang Zhiyi said, “It’s fine if you don’t agree for now. I’ll continue pursuing.”
Pei Chen could only remain silent.
Liang Zhiyi saw the taxi arriving and smiled at him. “Well, I’m leaving now.”
The girl got into the car, which drove away. Pei Chen stood in place, her words echoing in his mind, his expression tense and his emotions a jumbled mess.
Half an hour later, Pei Chen arrived home.
Inside, Pei Yongxia was watching TV in the bedroom. Seeing his son, he asked why he was home so late, noting that dinner was ready and had been set on the table.
Pei Chen first reheated the food and, after dinner, cleaned up the table and washed the dishes.
He then went to Pei Yongxia’s bedroom and brought out the pastries Liang Zhiyi had given him. “Dad, would you like some mung bean ice cakes?”
He offered a piece to Pei Yongxia, who took a few bites and nodded in approval. Reluctantly, he said, “I’ll just have one piece. You take the rest.”
“It’s fine. I’m quite full tonight,” Pei Chen said, letting his father eat the piece.
Pei Chen then went to the kitchen to set the rice cooker for the next morning’s porridge and prepared a basin of warm water in the bathroom. He returned to the bedroom with a towel.
Since he couldn’t bathe his father every day, Pei Chen made it a routine to wipe his father down daily.
After cleaning him up, he sat by the bed and massaged his father’s legs, helping to relieve muscle tension and reduce swelling.
Although his father could no longer stand, it was better than having no sensation at all.
Noticing a swollen area on his father’s leg, Pei Chen asked about it. Pei Yongxia shook his head. “It’s nothing. I just bumped into something while cooking today. It’s not serious.”
“Dad, maybe I should come home for lunch to cook for you,” Pei Chen suggested.
“No need to go through that trouble. It’s a waste of time for you to run back and forth. Just focus on your studies…” Pei Yongxia was adamant, and Pei Chen didn’t press the issue further.
After a while, Pei Yongxia looked at Pei Chen, who was still massaging his legs, and said, “This afternoon, your mother called me.”
Pei Chen paused momentarily.
Pei Yongxia continued, “Haven’t you been answering her calls recently?”
Pei Chen’s expression darkened, but he continued his work. “I don’t have anything to say to her.”
“She asked about you and said she would come visit when she’s done with her busy schedule,” Pei Yongxia’s voice was soft. “No matter what, she wants to see you, and I can’t stop her.”
Pei Chen’s lips curled into a cold smile, and his eyes were devoid of warmth. “Tell her not to come. I won’t see her.”
Back then, she was the one who chose to remarry. Now that she lives a happy and affluent life, what was the point of coming back to see him?
Pei Yongxia understood his son’s feelings. Looking at their dilapidated old house and their current impoverished situation, he felt a pang of sorrow. “Son, if you had stayed with your mother back then, you wouldn’t have to suffer like this with me…”
As a disabled man, he hadn’t provided his son with a good life; instead, he had endured hardships from a young age.
Pei Chen’s eyes were lowered, his expression difficult to read. “I won’t go with her.”
She had chosen to leave them first.
After finishing the massage, Pei Chen made sure his father was comfortable in bed, turned off the TV and lights, and returned to his own room.
The night outside was dark. He walked to his desk, his mood slightly easing, and took out his phone from his backpack. He saw several messages.
Zhizhi Doesn’t Eat Peaches: Senior Brother, just letting you know I’m home. Have you returned to your Flower and Fruit Mountain?
Zhizhi Doesn’t Eat Peaches: Where are you?
Zhizhi Doesn’t Eat Peaches: Why are you ignoring me again…
Pei Chen looked at the messages and after a while replied: Arrived. I just saw your messages because I was busy.
Zhizhi Doesn’t Eat Peaches: Okay, see you tomorrow Pei Chen
The lively tone and smile of the girl seemed to appear in his mind, and Pei Chen’s heavy mood lightened somewhat.
Recalling their conversation from tonight, he lowered his eyes, his feelings mixed and complicated.
With his current situation, he felt unworthy of discussing love or deserving of someone as outstanding as her.
Perhaps after some time, when she fully understands what kind of person he is, she might give up. He hoped she was just having a fleeting interest, so she wouldn’t be hurt because of him.
With the autumn rain bringing a chill, the temperature in Lincheng dropped several degrees after the rainstorm that night.
In the morning, Liang Zhiyi ran into Ji Fei’er at the school gate.
Seeing Liang Zhiyi step out of the car, Ji Fei’er, having learned about the injury the night before, quickly went up to support her, scolding lightly, “Slow down, does your foot still hurt?”
Liang Zhiyi playfully hopped a bit. “It’s much better. It’s not like I twisted it; it’s nothing serious.”
Ji Fei’er, noticing how Liang Zhiyi had bounced back to her energetic self, teased, “So, you’re this happy after talking to Pei Chen last night? Just a few days ago, you were saying you didn’t want to bother with him. I knew you were just pretending.”
Liang Zhiyi had told Ji Fei’er everything about what happened with Pei Chen as soon as she got home last night. With a grin, she said, “You’re my best friend; how could you not know me?”
“So you’re really not planning to give up and will continue pursuing him?” Ji Fei’er asked as they walked into school, puzzled. “Pei Chen rejected you already. If I were you, I’d move on.”
Liang Zhiyi blinked her starry eyes. “But I really like Pei Chen. I have to pursue him.” Instead of pretending to move on, she preferred to face her feelings and do what she wanted to do.
Moreover, she wanted to give him some time. She couldn’t believe he wouldn’t like her given how great she was.
“You clearly haven’t been in love before,” Liang Zhiyi said, tugging on Ji Fei’er’s bun. “Feelings are something you can’t control, you know.”
Ji Fei’er put her arm around Liang Zhiyi’s shoulder and sighed. “Zhiyi, you’re really brave. I admire you.”
Because Liang Zhiyi had been well-protected and lived in a happy family, she wasn’t afraid of getting hurt, and thus had the courage to express her feelings.
Ji Fei’er said, “Alright, as your friend, I support you in trying to win over Pei Chen! So, what’s your next move?”
Liang Zhiyi sighed leisurely. “I thought about it. Since a girl as cute and pretty as me likes him, he needs some time to adjust. I’ll let him fall slowly and eventually be completely captivated by me.”
“…” Ji Fei’er couldn’t handle her friend’s narcissism.
The two girls chatted as they walked to the classroom building. At the bulletin board in front of the building, many boys were gathered around a poster, excitedly discussing it.
Liang Zhiyi glanced over casually and saw a basketball on the poster but couldn’t make out the details. “What are they looking at?”
Ji Fei’er took a quick look and said, “I’m not sure, but it seems like a basketball game.”
Liang Zhiyi responded with an “oh” and, not very interested, turned her gaze away.
When the two girls arrived at the classroom and parted ways, Liang Zhiyi walked to the last desk in the fourth row and saw that Pei Chen was already there.
Her eyes curved into a smile as she approached, hearing Xuan Xia talking to Pei Chen: “It’s a rare opportunity. Will you sign up?”
Xuan Xia looked up and saw Liang Zhiyi. “Oh, Zhiyi, you’re here!”
Liang Zhiyi sat down, put her backpack away, and smiled. “Good morning.”
At the desk, Pei Chen, in his white shirt and black school pants, paused slightly with his pen, and turned to see the girl’s bright smile. Her gaze seemed to hold a special meaning, subtle yet seemingly teasing.
Pei Chen looked away, maintaining a neutral response.
Then, he instinctively glanced at her injured right foot and saw a small yellow duck bandage on it, which was a bit cute.
As Xuan Xia turned away temporarily, Liang Zhiyi put her backpack in the drawer and heard Pei Chen ask, “How’s your foot?”
Liang Zhiyi leaned toward him with a smile. “Pei Chen, are you concerned about me?”
“… Just asking.”
She responded with an “oh” and forced herself to look less cheerful, saying pitifully, “It hurts, really hurts. Pei Chen, it’s really difficult for me to walk today.”
Seeing her pained expression, Pei Chen was unsure if she was genuinely in pain or not, but remembering her tears from yesterday, he said, “Then, you should ask the class teacher for leave this morning and avoid doing the morning exercises.”
“Okay.”
Because she was still feeling a bit tired due to her period, Liang Zhiyi rested on her desk and read a book before the morning class started.
After a while, the bell for the morning reading rang. Pei Chen hadn’t returned from filling the water, and Sang Xunling came over. “Zhiyi, could you please open the window next to you?”
Liang Zhiyi was surprised, and Sang Xunling continued, “A lot of people are eating breakfast in the classroom, and the smell is strong. The English teacher will definitely complain if we don’t ventilate first.”
As the class monitor on duty today, Sang Xunling had to manage this.
Liang Zhiyi could indeed smell the food and opened the window. A cold breeze rushed in, chilling her to the bone.
She shivered slightly, and only opened it halfway. Sang Xunling said, “Open it wider; this isn’t effective.”
Sang Xunling continued to insist, and Liang Zhiyi had to open the window wider. The strong wind felt like it might lift her off her feet.
As the wind howled through the classroom, Liang Zhiyi turned to Sang Xunling, her tone slightly chilly. “Is this enough?”
Sang Xunling nodded with a small smile. “You can close it a bit after the morning reading.”
When Sang Xunling left, Pei Chen returned with the water and noticed the cold wind. He saw Liang Zhiyi huddled up, looking uncomfortable, and said, “Close the window a bit.”
Liang Zhiyi pouted and explained, “The assistant class monitor said the smell is strong and we need to ventilate.”
Pei Chen furrowed his brows. “It doesn’t need to be open this wide.”
Liang Zhiyi reluctantly adjusted the window to a smaller opening.
Despite closing it, the wind still blew in, and Liang Zhiyi, dressed lightly, felt very cold. With her period making her even more uncomfortable, she hugged herself and leaned on the desk, sighing. “Pei Chen, I’m so cold…”
Pei Chen looked at her clothes and asked, “Don’t you have something warmer?”
“I didn’t feel cold when I left home,” she said with a sigh.
He didn’t respond, and Liang Zhiyi, feeling dejected, turned her face into her arms. She sneezed and rubbed her nose, only to notice a school jacket placed in front of her.
Pei Chen’s voice was soft, “Just washed.”
Liang Zhiyi’s face brightened as she took the jacket and put it on, inhaling the clean scent of male detergent.
At that moment, Sang Xunling walked by, patrolling the classroom. Seeing Liang Zhiyi in the oversized jacket, she was momentarily taken aback.
Liang Zhiyi leaned toward Pei Chen with a playful smile and said cheerfully, “Thanks for the boyfriend jacket, Pei Chen.”
Pei Chen felt his ears heat up at the comment.