(1)
Wang Xinru’s home was in a more suburban part of the small city, an area that used to be a village but had been incorporated into the urban fabric, becoming part of the streets.
Unlike the clustered houses of typical villages, the houses here were neatly lined up, all painted with white walls and topped with dark tiles.
In front of the houses flowed a narrow small river.
Closest to the main road was a concrete arch bridge, and looking further in, one could see several more stone slab arch bridges, only wide enough for tricycles to pass.
The small river flowed quietly; its water was neither clear nor murky.
A small boat was moored by the bank, its wood rotted.
Unable to enter the water anymore, it had become part of the scenery.
This place had the feel of a Jiangnan, a region south of the Yangtze River water town.
Compared to the already very modernized city, it still retained a quaint, ancient charm.
It was said that the oldest house dated back over two hundred years.
However, places like this, suitable for touring as scenic spots, were not uncommon in the small city, and all were ordinary residential areas.
“How much does it cost to rent here for a month?”
An Jing looked at the large characters painted in red on the white wall, cleared her throat loudly, and asked.
—From the river embankment to here, the two had hardly spoken, and the atmosphere felt a bit awkward.
“Eh? Here? I heard my dad say it’s about two or three thousand a month.”
“Oh… the whole building?”
“Yes, three floors…”
Wang Xinru cautiously stole a glance at An Jing’s profile, lightly licking her lips.
“To say it’s expensive, it doesn’t seem expensive, after all, it’s so close to the city center. But to say it’s cheap… uh… this is just a small city after all, and some of these houses are still so old.”
“Our rented place is only fifty years old, which is considered young here, actually… actually, it’s pretty good to live in…”
“By the way, why did your parents rent such a big house? Wouldn’t renting an apartment in the city center be good? My sister’s apartment has two rooms, and it’s only three hundred fifty a month.”
Wang Xinru hesitated, then gently shook her head, “I’m not very clear, but it sounds like it’s for business reasons…”
Wang Xinru’s family ran a business, not a storefront kind, but one that required frequent travel.
An Jing wasn’t sure what specific business it was, but anyway, her mom always drove an Audi to elementary school parent-teacher conferences—probably because she often heard the Audi Double Diamond commercial, so she remembered it clearly.
An Jing scratched her head, feeling like she had run out of topics again.
Just as she was about to say something more, she saw the long-faced girl beside her stop.
“Ah, we’re here! Almost walked past it…”
“Oh… is it this building?”
An Jing looked up at the three-story old house.
It didn’t cover a large area, seeming to be about the size of a single classroom.
Unlike other houses that were close together, this house had two relatively spacious narrow alleys on both sides that allowed sunlight in.
Or perhaps they could be called small paths. To enter the main door, one had to go up nine steps—the newer-looking houses all had this design.
Perhaps it was because it was too close to the small river and would be too damp if built directly on the ground, so they had to raise it a bit.
On the steps was a long, narrow courtyard about the size of a bicycle shed.
Wang Xinru took out a key to open the large black iron gate, walked a few steps inside, then unlocked the heavy brass lock hanging on the old wooden door.
—This lock, however, looked brand new, as if it had just been bought recently.
“Do I need to take off my shoes?”
“Not downstairs, only when we get to my room will you need to take off your shoes.”
Wang Xinru shook her head and led the way up the old stairs that creaked underfoot.
“An Jing, come up quickly?”
“Oh, oh, coming.”
An Jing averted her gaze from the wind-up grandfather clock and casually grabbed the handrail of the stairs.
“Woah!”
“Huh? It’s best not to touch the handrail, it seems a bit loose…”
“So dangerous…”
An Jing mumbled, shifting a step towards the wall, and carefully went upstairs.
The layout of the house was simple: the first floor was the hall and kitchen, and the second and third floors had identical layouts, both with two south-facing rooms and a bathroom.
“My parents live downstairs, and I live upstairs—this is my room. Wait a moment, I’ll get your shoes.”
Wang Xinru said, hastily pushed open the door to her room, and then took a pair of plain, rustic slippers from a simple shoe rack beside it and placed them on the floor.
“An Jing, your feet… are really small.”
Wang Xinru said, looking down, her small face flushed. After several seconds, she struggled to shift her gaze away.
“Even cuter than a girl’s… Th-those slippers are new ones I bought, but they look very big on your feet.”
“Cough…”
An Jing scratched her head awkwardly.
To be honest, as a boy hearing such words, she couldn’t be happy at all.
Moreover, in any aspect, the biggest taboo for a man is to be called ‘small’ by others.
“Your room is quite spacious…”
An Jing changed the subject, pretending not to have heard.
“Feels like over twenty square meters.”
“Mm, this is the largest room on the third floor, and the sunlight is very good.”
“Yeah, it even has windows on two sides.”
She smiled somewhat shyly, took a new folder from her backpack, and placed it on the table, “That… An Jing, all the homework is in here. Um… you, you… start writing first?”
“Okay… uh… what are you going to do?”
“I’m going to take a shower.”
“Huh… still the same as before.”
“Mm… An Jing is very different from before though.”
“Ah? Me?”
“Not as talkative as before, you’ve really become much quieter.”
“Huh—? Me? Quiet?”
An Jing scratched her head.
“Just less than before, I guess, but actually still quite a lot… Woah!”
An Jing, who was talking, frantically covered her eyes, “You, you, you… you…! I didn’t see anything!”
Wang Xinru’s small face flushed crimson.
She hugged the bra in her arms tightly,”I, I… I’m just… u-used to it…”
“It’s fine, it’s fine… I didn’t see anything!”
An Jing turned to face the window, her body stiff and motionless.
“You go ahead and shower. I, I’ll rest for a bit and then… then do my homework.”
No reply came, only a tantalizing rustling sound.
“Ah, ah…”
The open bedroom door was immediately closed again, and the entire room fell into silence.
“Perhaps I should have gone to Zhu Ying’s birthday party instead…”
An Jing couldn’t help but murmur.
The reason she still chose to come to Wang Xinru’s was probably because of the lingering feelings from elementary school playing tricks on her.
Also… after all, Zhu Ying has so many friends, she wouldn’t get bored no matter what, but Wang Xinru… judging from this semester, she doesn’t seem to have many friends.
“Phew… It’s still very early…”
An Jing had already taken out the blank test paper but was still propping her chin, staring blankly out the window.
Early dismissal on Fridays always gave one the illusion that there was extra time that day—even though An Jing hadn’t actually attended class today.
The sun had turned from golden to white, slowly descending from the horizon.
The clouds in the azure sky looked so pure and flawless.
The more things there were to do, the more one wanted to simply zone out.
An abundance of free time could make one feel empty, but those snatched moments, even if just for daydreaming, felt fulfilling.
“Click…”
The bedroom door suddenly opened, making An Jing realize that time hadn’t stopped but was still slipping through her fingers.
She turned her head, and her eyes immediately widened.
Wang Xinru had just finished showering, wearing a white nightgown that barely covered her chest.
Her long sideburns were slightly damp and hot, falling gently.
Her Himalayan-like peaks were on the verge of spilling out, and her somewhat fleshy arms and thighs were fair with a reddish glow…
An Jing licked her lips, then licked her lips again… and then licked them once more.
Finally, she felt the saliva on her tongue almost evaporating, “Uh… aren’t you… cold?”
“It’s almost twenty degrees today, it’s still… it’s very hot…”
“Grumble.”
Wang Xinru walked over barefoot, making it impossible for An Jing to tear her gaze away.
Her feet weren’t small, probably size 37 or 38, but each toe was long and slender, possessing an elegant and graceful beauty.
She walked closer, then leaned her upper body onto the desk, somewhat laboriously stretching out her arm to open the wine-bottle colored window.
“Phew… That’s much cooler…”
The wind ruffled her long hair, and a few strands lightly tickled An Jing’s nose.
The scent of shampoo wafted in.
“Ah, achoo!!”
“Oh, caught a cold?”
“N-no, my hair just tickled a bit… Uh… Where do you sit?”
“I… I’ll go downstairs and get a chair…”
Wang Xinru’s eyes darted around, and she nervously rushed downstairs again.
A few minutes later, the two of them sat side by side at the old wooden desk.
An Jing spread out the test paper, trying hard to read the questions, but no matter how many times she read them, her mind felt blank—she had absolutely no ideas.
The gracefully poised girl sat quietly beside her.
She also seemed to be seriously looking at the questions, but she still hadn’t picked up her pen.
“You go first…”
“Cough!”
They both spoke at the same time.
Wang Xinru lightly traced circles on her thigh with her finger, pursing her lips as she looked at An Jing, “An Jing, do you still remember what happened in elementary school?”
“Ah… Of course… Though I don’t remember it perfectly… Ha, haha… You insisted on calling me ‘An An’ back then.”
“Because—who told you to insist on calling me ‘Wang Wang’?”
“To be honest, what I called you was actually ‘Wang Wang’ (Woof Woof).”
Wang Xinru’s nickname in elementary school was ‘Wang Wang Dog.’
There was no special reason; it was just a very simple and far-fetched association.
But as more people used it, it became a habit.
“Mm, I know, but… I don’t mind.”
“Jie…”
“Do you still remember that time in elementary school, when we went to the edge of the wheat field…”
Wang Xinru’s face was so red it looked like it could drip water.
“What about the wheat field…?”
“That, that time… I, I insisted on seeing your… your… that… that thing…”
“Ah… ah! That, don’t recall that kind of thing!”
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Now…. How tf she gonna get out of this one 🤔