“What purpose?”
Ji Qingchan blinked in confusion.
“Oh! Right!”
She smacked her forehead with her small hand, suddenly looking enlightened:
“Senior Jiang, you’re wondering how I knew your home address, aren’t you? Did you think I was setting you up? Or that I was after your family’s money?”
She tilted her head with a smile and said, “Senior Jiang, your home address was told to me by Senior Ji Yuenian. If you don’t believe me, you can ask Senior Ji when you have time.”
“I also heard through the grapevine that Senior Ji and Senior Jiang have been best friends since childhood.”
Jiang Chi remained silent.
If it was Ji Yuenian… that made sense.
His mother and Ji Yuenian’s mother were close friends who visited each other every New Year.
It was perfectly normal for them to know each other’s home addresses.
“Sorry,” he said flatly.
“I’ll walk you to the neighborhood gate.”
With that, Jiang Chi turned and walked ahead, while Ji Qingchan, like a cheerful little rabbit, completely unfazed by the boy’s earlier interrogation, skipped along to catch up.
Sunlight filtered through the dappled leaves, casting scattered shadows on the ground.
A gentle breeze rustled the leaves as the boy walked alone ahead.
Noticing that solitary pale hand hanging by his side, Ji Qingchan’s eyes gleamed mischievously as she reached out to grab it.
But the moment her fingertips brushed against it, the boy quickly pulled away.
“Don’t touch me.”
Jiang Chi stiffened slightly before quickening his pace, as if deliberately trying to put distance between them.
Ji Qingchan’s face fell with disappointment, but seeing the boy’s icy profile, she didn’t dare say anything more.
The surroundings seemed to grow quiet in response to their awkward atmosphere, with only occasional birdsong breaking the silence.
He’s way too cold.
How could someone like him ever get a girlfriend?
That doesn’t make sense!
Don’t they say even the coldest man has a warm… heart?
Ji Yuenian couldn’t understand it now.
They say “when a man pursues a woman, it’s like climbing a mountain, but when a woman pursues a man, it’s like tearing through a thin veil.”
She was being so proactive now, even taking the initiative to hold hands!
Yet Jiang Chi wouldn’t even give her the time of day.
Maybe he doesn’t like women?
No! Maybe he’s playing hard to get!!
Thinking this, a playful glint appeared in Ji Qingchan’s beautiful eyes.
Very good, very good. Playing hard to get, are we?
The cold, aloof iceberg.
Hehehe~
Even the coldest iceberg will melt one day.
Even the most unclimbable peak will eventually be conquered.
Jiang Chi, oh Jiang Chi, I refuse to believe I can’t handle you!
This wasn’t just about saving face anymore-it was about that damn competitive spirit.
The flames of determination burned fiercely as Ji Qingchan, full of fighting spirit, resolved to conquer this aloof iceberg.
With her hands behind her back, she happily skipped after him.
“Senior Jiang, wait for me~”
“Senior Jiang, when are you going back to school?”
“Senior Jiang, do you like hot pot?”
“……”
On the pebble-covered path through Wanyida’er Community’s green park, an utterly ordinary scene was unfolding—a pair who looked like young lovers walking together.
The girl walked side by side with the boy, chattering incessantly, creating a heartwarming scene.
The only oddity was the boy’s excessive silence.
“Senior Jiang, do you have any dreams?”
“Senior Jiang, what kind of girls do you like?”
“Senior Jiang, any acceptance speech after winning the title of school heartthrob this time?”
Ji Yuenian felt utterly miserable.
Not only had he lost this year’s school heartthrob title, but now he also had to pretend to gaze at his arch- rival with admiration, eager to hear his acceptance speech.
It was like tearing open his own wound for his rival to see, then personally sprinkling salt on it—a uniquely bitter experience.
“Senior Jiang, do you like ice pops?”
Suddenly, Ji Qingchan seemed to spot something, her eyes lighting up before she quickly dashed away.
When she returned, she held two ice pops in her hands.
One she offered to Jiang Chi, while the other she placed between her lips.
Casually positioning herself in front of Jiang Chi, Ji Qingchan turned to face him, then began skipping backward like a playful rabbit.
Holding the ice pop with both hands, she parted her lips slightly and delicately licked the tip, as if savoring the most exquisite delicacy in the world.
With each teasing motion, a trickle of sweet juice occasionally escaped the corner of her mouth, only to be caught by her pink tongue— every movement brimming with mischief and charm.
Don’t ask where Ji Yuenian learned such suggestive ice-pop eating techniques.
The answer lies in her collection of unspeakable films and websites.
But…
Ji Qingchan’s eyes lifted slightly.
Jiang Chi held his ice pop upside down, making no move to eat it as the melting juice dripped onto the ground.
His expression remained unchanged, his gaze indifferent, as unmoved by the silent seduction before him as the monk Tang Sanzang facing the Queen of Daughter Kingdom.
Damn it!
Couldn’t he at least flicker his eyes?
Show some heat?
Why wasn’t his Adam’s apple bobbing?
Ji Qingchan nearly wanted to smash the ice pop into his face and scream, “Are you even a man?!”
Seeing her efforts fruitless, Ji Qingchan gave a soft, dissatisfied hum through her nose before turning away and devouring her ice pop with unrefined gusto, shedding all pretense of elegance and allure.
Behind her, Jiang Chi’s azure eyes lowered slightly, long lashes casting shadows. At this moment, he became certain of one thing.
Why Ji Qingchan deliberately approached him, why she hovered around a patient like him, why she actively tried to seduce him.
She… might have feelings for him.
The thought brought a wave of self-mockery.
Ji Qingchan liked him? Liked someone as inarticulate as him?
Liked a patient who couldn’t even care for himself?
He shook his head slightly.
He couldn’t give her what she wanted.
As a son, he was already inadequate―unable to reciprocate even the simplest emotional gestures to his parents, like a basic hug.
Let alone the intimacy required of partners, lovers, or spouses.
He was just a patient-one terminally ill, beyond cure.
For someone like him, the best outcome was to live out his days alone, without dragging others into his misery…
His deep blue eyes gradually grew somewhat dazed and confused as he lowered his head slightly, following behind the young girl.
“By the way, Senior Jiang, when do you plan to return to sch―”
Ji Qingchan suddenly stopped walking and turned around abruptly without warning.
In that very instant, her fair, delicate forehead lightly brushed against something warm.
Ji Qingchan froze as if struck by lightning, her beautiful almond-shaped eyes widening in shock and disbelief.
Snapping back to reality, she quickly took a step back, pressing both hands tightly against her cheeks.
A rosy blush, as vivid as the clouds at sunset, rapidly spread across her fair complexion.
Her expression was both bashful and adorable, enough to stir tender affection in anyone who saw it:
“J-J-J-Jiang… Senior Jiang, h-h-how could you do this~~”