(1)
Noon, lunch break.
The sky was overcast, not a trace of sunlight breaking through.
The Girl of Winter was bringing more and more chill into the air.
But inside the classroom, it was unusually lively, and as the center of attention, An Jing naturally couldn’t escape notice.
Even though they were just at the dating stage, this group of classmates had already used up all sorts of wedding blessings.
Things like “May you have children early,” “Grow old together,” and some even jokingly asked when they could drink wedding wine.
Honestly, this kind of feeling wasn’t bad.
It even made An Jing feel a bit proud.
After all, she was the campus belle who had never dated anyone before.
Her first love was entrusted to her.
“An Jing, how did you manage to win over Zhu Ying?”
A girl rolled up her book like a reporter’s mic, “Well, I think it’s just personal charm.”
“Pfft…”
Sun Wei couldn’t hold it in and burst out laughing.
“How do you have the nerve to say that?”
“Go on, get lost and play somewhere else!”
This guy who had to ruin the moment made An Jing a little annoyed.
The girl pretending to be a reporter snickered and looked at Zhu Ying, then asked, “Zhu Ying, why did you get together with An Jing?”
“Because our hearts are in sync.”
“Wow—so you’re already at that stage?”
“Looks like you’ve been together for quite some time!”
The onlookers immediately erupted in excitement.
In just one lunch break, the whole thing had spread everywhere.
Not just Class 5, but even the neighboring classes, and even Class 1 and 2 upstairs had heard about it.
Everyone was familiar with Zhu Ying, but when it came to An Jing, quite a few people were surprised.
Even though some acquaintances explained that An Jing was a boy, there were still many who doubted it.
After all—they really didn’t want to believe a boy could look that bright and beautiful.
“Why is Class 5 so noisy? It’s lunch break, so either study quietly or rest. What’s all this commotion about? Out of the whole floor, your class is the noisiest!”
A man who looked like a school leader stood at the door, sternly scolding the students, “Your homeroom teacher went to a meeting and you’ve lost all organization and discipline? Where’s the class monitor?”
Faced with his spittle-flying tirade, the students hurried back to their seats, which made An Jing breathe a sigh of relief—just now, being surrounded by a crowd, she’d felt like she couldn’t even breathe.
“Teacher, I’m the class monitor.”
Zhang Qiqi stood up voluntarily.
Those who returned to their seats all started pretending to pick up their pens and papers, lowering their heads as if they were earnestly studying.
“As class monitor, you should keep order in the classroom. How can it get so noisy?”
Seeing the monitor was a girl, the leader’s frown eased a little, but his tone was still very dissatisfied.
“You’re all in third year now, all huddled together, hardly anyone is studying. Is this any good? Hm? Studying is for your own sake, understand?”
“Teacher, it’s not class time right now.”
Zhang Qiqi replied calmly, “When the bell rings, then it’s the official indoor lunch break.”
“So just because it’s not class time, you can let yourselves go?”
His frown deepened again.
“Keep your classmates in line, don’t make any more noise, or your whole class will get points deducted!”
Third-year students didn’t really care about points being deducted—at most, it just meant not getting the “Outstanding Class” red flag on Monday.
It wasn’t a big deal at all.
So at this moment, even though everyone was silent and seemed intimidated, in reality, they were all making faces at him in their minds!
“Okay, Teacher.”
Zhang Qiqi nodded lightly, deliberately raising her voice, “Everyone keep it down, or we’ll get points deducted later.”
“Very good, just like that.”
He nodded and turned to walk down the long corridor.
The silence lasted a full five minutes.
“He’s gone, he’s gone!”
Sun Wei peeked out the window, then turned back excitedly.
As if in retaliation, the classroom became even noisier than before.
“Ahem!”
Zhang Qiqi walked up to the podium and knocked on the blackboard hard.
“I know you’re all unhappy, but please show some respect. If he comes back again, that’ll be trouble—you don’t think the homeroom teacher won’t find out, do you?”
The classroom, which had suddenly erupted in noise, immediately fell silent again.
Zhang Qiqi nodded in satisfaction, then wrote the big characters for “Be Quiet” on the blackboard with an A pen, and simply dragged a chair to sit in front of the teacher’s desk.
Today’s lunchtime theme, it seemed, could not get around the words “An Jing.”
***
(2)
It seemed all the teachers had been called to a meeting today, which was why a few unfamiliar school leaders were patrolling the teaching building.
During the indoor lunch break, the boys who had been playing ball outside came back to the classroom drenched in sweat. Fang Qiang even opened the window, letting the cold wind swirl in, causing a group of girls to grumble in complaint.
“Fang Qiang, close the window. If you’re hot, go cool off outside yourself. No talking, be quiet.”
“Ugh…”
“An Jing, An Jing, why aren’t you answering?”
“Damn, you mean me?”
Only now did An Jing suddenly react, looking up in disbelief.
“I seriously thought you were telling everyone else to be quiet…”
“Pfft…”
Zhu Ying, her deskmate, couldn’t help but laugh, trying to stifle it.
“Check your cabinet behind you—she looks really unwell.”
“Huh?”
An Jing quickly turned around and saw Wang Xinru slumped over her desk, her cheeks and lips pale, delicate brows tightly knit.
“Uh… Wang Xinru?”
“Yeah…”
Her voice was hoarse, but she still forced out a weak smile, “I’m… fine…”
“No, you really don’t look fine.”
Zhu Ying, who had also turned around, nodded and touched Wang Xinru’s forehead with the back of her hand.
“Feels a bit cold.”
“My stomach hurts…”
“Ugh…”
“It hurts… my period…”
Today, she didn’t even have the strength to feel embarrassed, only spoke in a very soft voice.
“Huh? Oh…”
An Jing remembered that yesterday she’d borrowed her hot water bottle—probably because her period was coming, so she’d prepared these things.
Today she was bundled up like a dumpling, with the hot water bottle held close to her chest.
But it didn’t seem this bad in the morning.
Now, even her veins were standing out from the pain.
This definitely wasn’t something she could just tough out.
“Zhu Ying, you and An Jing take Xiao Ru to the infirmary.”
Zhang Qiqi, standing at the podium, directed.
“No, it’s fine… Even if I go… it won’t help… I’ll be better in a bit…”
Wang Xinru buried her head in her arms, “It hurts so much…”
“Why not just go to the infirmary? At least there’s a bed you can sleep on…”
“And the infirmary has heating in winter,” Zhu Ying added.
“Come on, Wang Xinru, let’s take you there.”
Wang Xinru looked up, a little forlorn, then sighed softly.
“Alright…”
“I’ll help you walk…”
“I’ll do it, Jing.”
Zhu Ying gently blocked An Jing’s hand.
“You just make sure nothing unexpected happens.”
“Uh…”
The atmosphere seemed a bit delicate.
An Jing herself felt something was off, but seeing Wang Xinru like this, she just couldn’t rest easy.
After all, ever since they were kids, her health had never been that good.
***
(3)
The infirmary door was pushed open by An Jing, and Zhu Ying quickly supported Wang Xinru into this warm haven.
The teacher was a woman in her forties, who, aside from some wrinkles at the corners of her eyes, looked rather well-kept.
She was sipping tea from a thermos, and as she turned her head, she saw An Jing closing the door behind her.
“What’s wrong?” she asked.
“Teacher, she’s having really bad period pain…”
“Ugh…”
Wang Xinru’s eyes could barely stay open.
With Zhu Ying’s help, she slowly sat down on a cushioned chair, curling up like a boiled shrimp.
“Has this happened before?”
“Yes… but it’s never been… this bad…”
“Did you eat anything you shouldn’t have?”
“Just lunch…”
The teacher nodded, took a thermometer from the sterilizer, and gently pinched Wang Xinru’s mouth open.
“Here, put this under your tongue, let’s check your temperature first.”
“Teacher, will she be okay?”
“If it’s serious, she might need to go to the hospital.”
“Uh…”
“You two can head back, I’ll take care of her here.”
“Um, then we’ll just…”
An Jing instinctively stepped back half a pace, but then felt her pant leg gently tugged by two slender fingers.
Looking down, she saw Wang Xinru biting her lips, gently shaking her head.
“Uh… Teacher, maybe we should stay with her, we can help out too. She doesn’t seem comfortable being alone…”
“It’s lunch break now, right? If there’s nothing urgent, it’s good to have friends around to chat with.”
The infirmary teacher nodded.
“Luckily, you’re all girls. If a boy brought her, I’d definitely have to send him back out.”
“Ahem! So, um, what should we do?”
An Jing immediately got nervous.
Zhu Ying puffed her cheeks and glanced at her.
When An Jing noticed the look, Zhu Ying quickly turned away, acting as if nothing had happened, staring out the window.
“Take off your coat, I’ll check your heartbeat.”
“Okay…”
“It’s fine, it’s warm in here.”
In summer, everyone only wore one layer, but in winter, after taking off her coat, there were still sweaters and base layers underneath.
Yet, for some reason, An Jing felt especially parched.
She tried to force her gaze away from the high curve of the sweater, but ended up meeting Zhu Ying’s big, sparkling eyes.
Ahem.
“Mm.”
Zhu Ying deliberately straightened her chest.
She had some, too, but compared to Wang Xinru, it was like a child playing at magic tricks in front of a real magician.
The pain in Wang Xinru’s abdomen seemed to ease a little.
She looked up and saw the two sneaking glances at each other, and for some reason, the sharp pain suddenly flared up again…
“Ow!”
“What’s wrong?”
An Jing was instantly worried.
“It hurts so much…”
In An Jing’s memory—
Wang Xinru was always tough with pain.
When they were little, if a boy fell and scraped his knee, he’d be teary-eyed, but she would always stand up with a smile.
Even for her, it hurts this much?
How much pain must that be…
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Cmon An Jing… it’s so obvious why your girl is actin like that 😭