Chapter 143: While Doing Homework, In the Kitchen, On the Balcony

(1)

It rained last night, but the morning sun was still on time, peeking out from behind the clouds and gently caressing the damp ground still holding traces of rain with its warm light.

An Qing got up early quietly, slipping out of the house before Yu Minghui could finish frying the Cordyceps militaris fritters.

Her school uniform jacket, unzipped, fluttered lightly in the breeze, and the song playing through her single earphone was a pop hit that had just started trending last month.

It was still early, so the intersection in front of the greenhouse shopping street had few cars, only occasionally slowing down for the traffic light.

The warm spring breeze made An Qing glad she had gotten up early—otherwise, she wouldn’t have been able to enjoy such a leisurely moment of its gentle touch.

“Qing!”

An Qing turned her head and saw Zhu Ying approaching with a smile as fresh as a spring maiden’s, her empty school bag swinging on her back as she hurried over in quick strides, resting her hands lightly on An Qing’s shoulders.

“Morning! The weather is really nice today.”

“Yes, the sunshine is great.”

Zhu Ying shook the transparent plastic bag she was carrying.

“My mom steamed some buns this morning. Want to eat together?”

“No wonder they look so filling.”

“Actually, the dough didn’t rise properly.”

Zhu Ying pulled one out from the bag and brought it close to An Qing’s mouth.

“Hurry, help me finish two!”

An Qing took a gentle bite, then pinched it herself.

“Uh… what’s the filling?”

“Green pepper, dried tofu, and minced pork.”

“Such a strange filling…”

“Right? My mom’s been experimenting with some odd recipes lately.”

“Just like my sister.”

“What’s up with Huihui?”

“She actually made fried Cordyceps militaris this morning…”

“Pfft—! Is that even edible?!”

“Frying that stuff is almost like frying rapeseed flowers instead…”

An Qing puffed out her right cheek.

“Hmm—actually, it doesn’t taste bad?”

“Really? If it’s good, eat more then. Here, there’s milk too. See, I’ve warmed it with my body heat, feel it.”

“Ahem…!!”

“Strawberry-flavored.”

“Th-then drink that in the classroom…”

***

(2)

Today, Zhu Ying and An Qing weren’t the first to arrive at the classroom.

The earliest was Zhang Qiqi, followed by Wang Xinru.

But Zhang Qiqi wasn’t actually there—just an empty school bag on her desk.

“Xiaoru, where’s Qiqi?”

Zhu Ying asked as she put down her bag.

“She went downstairs for a run. She said such nice weather is perfect for some exercise.”

“Looks like she’s in good spirits today.”

Zhu Ying crossed her arms and nodded lightly.

“Xiaoqing, why don’t we go exercise too?”

“Hey, I’m on my period today…”

“An’an, want some brown sugar water? I brought some brown sugar…”

“Oh, you’re here too?”

“Almost over.”

“Then… give me some. I’ll get some hot water from the teacher’s office later.”

An Qing mumbled, pulling her glass cup out of the drawer.

“By the way, will our homeroom teacher come today?”

“If not, then who’s going to substitute for our homeroom teacher?”

Zhu Ying lightly dusted off the windowsill.

“The Third Year Teachers all seem pretty busy, right?”

“Maybe a subject teacher?”

“What subject teacher? It can’t be the Physical Education Teacher, right?”

“Actually… that’s possible.”

An Qing mumbled, stuffing the last bite of bun into her mouth and chewing big gulps before letting out a refreshing sigh.

“Phew, my mouth is so dry.”

“Here, the milk I just warmed!”

Zhu Ying reached into her clothes and pulled out the bottle warmed by her body heat.

Wang Xinru blinked at the two, softly saying, “Yingying is really nice to An’an.”

“That’s obvious!”

“You just don’t see how she bullies me.”

“Tch, you don’t resist, how can that be bullying!”

“What do you mean I don’t resist? As a guy, if I wanted to resist a girl, I could do it easily!”

“I-I just don’t want to hurt you! If I really went all out, you wouldn’t be a match for me!”

“So you’re saying it’s voluntary then.”

“No way!”

Wang Xinru lowered her head and chuckled quietly.

“An’an is still easy to bully like before.”

“But I’m easy-going, that’s why everyone likes teasing me, okay?”

An Qing pouted and sat cross-legged on the windowsill, annoyed.

“If anyone really thinks I’m someone to bully casually, then don’t blame me for being rude!”

“Qing, how do you plan to be rude to me?”

“..Ahem!”

“Thinking of something bad, huh!”

“Eh?! You can sense what I’m thinking again?”

“Heh heh, exactly!”

Zhu Ying put her hands on her hips, proudly tilting her chin.

“While doing homework, reaching inside your clothes, then gently touching, biting your earlobe, slowly nibbling—”

“Eh?!!”

Wang Xinru’s face suddenly flushed bright red as she panicked and covered her mouth.

“Ah? No, I wasn’t thinking that…”

But An Qing, having had her thoughts exposed, looked completely baffled.

“Huh?”

Zhu Ying and An Qing exchanged glances, then suddenly fixed their eyes on Wang Xinru.

“W-what’s wrong…”

“Being able to sense it and still think about that… that’s way too detailed!”

Zhu Ying waved her hands hard, as if to toss those awful thoughts out of her mind.

“And there’s even onomatopoeia like ‘puchi puchi’!”

“I-I wasn’t thinking it on purpose—!”

Wang Xinru scrambled, holding her head, but the more she tried not to think, the more vivid the images became in her mind.

Zhu Ying’s eyes widened, and she wiped the drool from the corner of her mouth.

“Kitchen, balcony, under the tree, classroom, stream…”

“Hey, hey, Wangwang, what exactly have you been thinking about!”

“S-sorry! I didn’t mean to!”

“Wait, wait! Why did you include me in that too!”

The flood of images and thoughts crashing into Zhu Ying’s mind suddenly stopped, and everything finally settled.

She let out a long breath, her whole body radiating visible heat, fine beads of sweat slowly trickling down her cheeks.

“小 Ying, why are you clenching your legs so tight?”

“None of your business!”

“Eek—”

“W-why can Yingying see what I’m thinking?”

“No idea. Logically, she should be able to see my thoughts.”

An Qing scratched her head.

“That’s strange—at first she couldn’t sense what others were thinking, then suddenly she could sense Wangwang’s. You don’t have mind-reading powers too, do you?”

“If I did, I’d be reading yours right now.”

“True…”

“Eh? W-why is this happening?”

Wang Xinru nervously covered her chest.

“If that’s the case, then everything I think is all exposed to Yingying…”

“Don’t worry—”

Zhu Ying pressed her face against the cool desk, muttering helplessly, “I don’t control it. Even I don’t know when I’ll hear anything.”

“Forget it.”

Wang Xinru laughed in relief.

“Even if you hear it, there’s nothing to do about it. I just can’t help thinking sometimes… some things… Yingying, don’t take it seriously.”

“I know, I know. It’s not the deed, but the heart. Seriously though, why do I get to hear other people’s thoughts besides Xiaoqing’s…”

***

(3)

The morning breeze drifted gently. When Zhang Qiqi, drenched in sweat, returned to the classroom, she saw Zhu Ying and Wang Xinru with flushed faces, and An Qing standing awkwardly beside them, unsure what to do.

“What are you two doing? Have a fever or something?”

“…Maybe you could say that.”

An Qing coughed lightly.

“Shut up, Xiaoqing!”

Zhu Ying blushed and shot her a fierce glare.

“Oh~ I think I get it now.”

“What do you get?”

An Qing asked, puzzled.

“Nothing. Guys don’t need to know!”

Zhang Qiqi gave An Qing a sidelong glance.

“Hmm—strange, you both smell really nice today.”

“Nice?”

An Qing rolled her eyes.

She thought she probably just smelled a bit bloody today…

Suddenly, Zhu Ying, who had been leaning on the desk, stood up and walked awkwardly toward the door.

“Where are you going?”

“To the restroom, why do you care!”

An Qing tilted her head to look at Wang Xinru behind her and saw the latter almost burying her head in the drawer.

***

(4)

The classroom quickly grew lively.

Although it was a pity not to have an extended holiday, everyone seemed in good spirits—after all, there was no homework yesterday, and since they arrived early today, they could hang out chatting rather than rushing to copy assignments.

“A person died, and they still don’t give us a day off. Damn.”

Sun Wei slouched with his hands on the chair back.

“I was hoping to stay home and keep playing games today!”

“Did you guys call the Dean yesterday?”

Fang Qiang sat on Sun Wei’s desk, fiddling with a broken ballpoint pen.

“No, didn’t they just send a text?”

“My mom didn’t get it yesterday. I was the one who called to ask.”

Fang Qiang tossed the broken pen aside and scratched the thick black hair on the back of his hand.

“I was planning to deliver water at the station if we didn’t have class today.”

“Ah Qiang, cherish your school days.”

Zhou Chao patted his shoulder seriously.

“There aren’t many days left before graduating from Third Year.”

“Yeah, but the closer it gets, the harder it is to stay at school. I’d rather work and make money.”

“Ha ha, kid… the future’s still long; there’ll be time for you to work.”

“When you don’t want to work anymore, you can’t come back to school.”

Sun Wei agreed.

“That’s why I’m planning to repeat Third Year, got it!”

“You’re just not scoring high enough to get into high school right now!”

Zhou Chao smacked the back of Sun Wei’s head.

“Oh, and I heard someone say a substitute teacher will be taking over our class today.”

“A new homeroom teacher?”

“Probably temporary.”

“There’s only a few months left. Even if temporary, they’ll probably be with us until graduation. Could it be the Dean?”

“Maybe…”

“But what does the Dean teach?”

“Art?”

“We’re in Third Year, who cares about art!”