“What a coincidence.”
Wen Xiaoyu pushed open the door, holding several books. She was dressed as simply as always—plain short sleeves and jeans, fresh and neat.
Jiang Yueming opened his mouth, his hand still frozen mid-air in the exact position it had been when he yanked it away.
“What… what a coincidence.”
“Are you here to buy books?”
Jiang Yueming noticed the books in her arms—mostly exercise collections. With final exams coming up soon, it was easy to guess she was here for review materials.
“Ah… yeah. Exams are coming up, so I wanted to see if there was anything useful.”
Wen Xiaoyu blinked, offering a faint smile.
“Jiang classmate is working so hard even during break.”
“Just average.” Jiang Yueming gave an awkward laugh. “I fell behind too much during the semester. Gotta catch up.”
He had no idea when he had turned into such a diligent student.
“If you’re catching up on Chinese, that blue collection of past exam questions is pretty good. It covers all the question types,” Wen Xiaoyu said, pointing inside the bookstore. “It’s over there, on the third shelf at the end.”
“Oh, okay. Thanks.”
“You’re welcome.”
The conversation should have ended there. Jiang Yueming stood rooted to the spot, unsure whether to leave or stay. He racked his brain for something else to say but came up empty.
The air suddenly grew quiet, filled only by the sound of traffic passing along the street.
“Then…”
They both spoke at the same time and stopped at the same time.
“You go first,” she said.
“You go first,” he said.
They stopped again. The silence grew even heavier. Jiang Yueming wanted to slap himself. How had he managed to make a simple chance encounter this awkward?
After a moment, while Jiang Yueming was still wrestling with himself, Wen Xiaoyu broke the silence first.
“I was going to say…” Her voice was soft and gentle. “Do you need any other books? I can help you look.”
Jiang Yueming instinctively didn’t want to trouble her and shook his head quickly. “No, no need.”
The moment the words left his mouth, he regretted it. She had clearly been offering to stay a little longer, and he had just turned her down.
His hand itched. He really wanted to slap himself twice.
Wen Xiaoyu looked at him quietly for two seconds, then gave a small smile.
“Alright, then I’ll head out first.”
Jiang Yueming stared blankly. “Ah, okay.”
“Bye.”
“Bye.”
Wen Xiaoyu walked out of the store with her books. Jiang Yueming felt a wave of frustration. He lowered his head and sighed.
He hadn’t gone far when he heard footsteps stop.
“Um…”
Jiang Yueming turned around.
Wen Xiaoyu stood half-turned toward him, still holding her books. Her gaze seemed to land on his now-empty hand—the same hand that had been holding Xia He’s only moments ago. Her eyes flicked over it for the briefest instant before moving back to his face.
Jiang Yueming’s heart skipped a beat when he noticed where her eyes had gone.
“Never mind.”
In the end she said nothing. As she turned away, she glanced once at Xia He, then left.
Jiang Yueming watched her back grow smaller until it disappeared around the corner.
“Seen enough?”
Xia He’s voice suddenly sounded beside him.
Only then did Jiang Yueming remember she was still standing there. He had been so focused on talking to Wen Xiaoyu that he had completely ignored her.
“Cough. Let’s go inside too.”
Xia He’s expression showed no obvious change. She had simply stood to the side the whole time, watching their interaction in silence like a statue.
“Sure.”
She released the hem of her skirt, which she had been clutching tightly. The light blue fabric was now creased beyond smoothing.
The bookstore was quiet. They stepped inside one after the other. Two orange cats chased each other out from under the cashier counter and darted past Jiang Yueming’s feet.
He kept walking, but his mind was still on the look Wen Xiaoyu had given him just now.
What had that look meant?
She must have seen them holding hands. Would she misunderstand and think he and Xia He were together?
He lowered his head, fingers curling slightly.
“Get the book,” Xia He said.
Jiang Yueming paused.
“What book?”
He looked up and met Xia He’s deep, unreadable gaze.
“Aren’t you buying that blue past-exam collection?” She repeated Wen Xiaoyu’s exact words, her tone strange.
“Third shelf at the end.”
Xia He leaned against the bookshelf with her arms crossed. The blue exercise book sat on the shelf just above her head. She didn’t move, simply waiting for him to reach for it.
For some reason, Jiang Yueming had the feeling that if he actually reached out and took the book, something bad would happen.
He glanced at Xia He’s face, then at the book.
“Xia He.”
“Hm?”
“Are you angry?”
Xia He smiled, but there was no warmth in it.
“No. Why would I be angry?”
“Then why are you pouting?”
Jiang Yueming hadn’t meant to say it, but watching her stand there with her arms crossed, radiating an unmistakable “I’m upset” aura, it suddenly reminded him of how his mom used to look when she was mad as a kid.
She wouldn’t yell or argue—just press her lips together and stare at him with that “think about what you did” look.
Xia He’s mouth twitched. Caught red-handed, she refused to admit it and gave a tiny huff.
“I’m not pouting.”
“You are.”
“Am not.”
“Your lips were sticking out far enough to hang a plastic bag on them.”
Xia He glared at him hard. “No they weren’t!”
Jiang Yueming found her expression oddly funny, but he didn’t dare laugh.
Her glare had zero intimidation factor. It was like a kitten lightly swatting at him with its paw—didn’t hurt, just tickled.
She turned her face away, refusing to look at him. Even though she insisted she wasn’t angry, her whole posture screamed otherwise.
Jiang Yueming scratched his head. Xia He only gave him her profile now. The skin there was very pale, with a few stray strands of hair near her ear turned light brown by the sunlight.
Could she be…
He remembered how he had yanked his hand away the instant he saw Wen Xiaoyu.
Could she actually be… jealous?
The thought flashed through his mind and was immediately dismissed.
Impossible. The high and mighty young miss of the Xia family had no reason to get jealous over an ordinary student like him. That would be way too narcissistic.
A person should know their place.
“Forget it. I probably won’t even read it if I buy it. Waste of money.”
Jiang Yueming didn’t reach for the exercise book. Xia He turned her head slightly, her fine brows knitting as she glanced sideways at him with those peach-blossom eyes. The look carried that sulky, spoiled charm girls get when they’re throwing a tantrum—adorable.
“Why not buy it? Buy it. Take it home and study it properly,” she said, drawing out the last words.
Jiang Yueming raised an eyebrow. Why is she being so stubborn about this?
He sighed helplessly and reached toward the book as if to grab it. The moment his hand got close, he saw Xia He’s little mouth start to pout again.
He pulled his hand back. The pout slowly smoothed out.
So cute… Jiang Yueming couldn’t help thinking.
“Alright, alright. It’s too expensive and I don’t have the money,” Jiang Yueming waved his hand, grinning as he changed the subject. “What were we even here for in the first place?”
Xia He glared at him again but didn’t push further.
She took his hand once more and led him deeper into the bookstore.
“I’ll show you something.”