“She’s my friend. We only met a few days ago.”
Jiang Yueming explained.
It was the truth. In his memory, he and Xia He had only exchanged a few words during last week’s duty shift. From meeting to now, it had been a week at most. He was simply stating a fact.
But when those words reached Xia He’s ears, they took on a different flavor—like he was in a hurry to draw a clear line between them in front of this girl.
Especially at a moment like this. Right after Su Xiaoyue had asked, “Are you Jiang classmate’s girlfriend?” he immediately followed up with “She’s my friend.” Wasn’t that basically saying he was afraid of being misunderstood?
Afraid that people would misunderstand their relationship.
Xia He frowned unhappily. Su Xiaoyue caught every bit of it.
“Oh, I see.” Su Xiaoyue smiled and extended her hand toward Xia He. “What a coincidence. We only met not long ago either. We’re pretty similar.”
Her hand hung in the air.
Several seconds passed before Xia He slowly reached out and shook it.
Jiang Yueming sat between the two girls, watching their hands meet in front of him. One wrist had a red string tied around it, while the other was bare.
Their gazes collided in mid-air. One smiled with curved, sparkling eyes, while the other pressed her lips together, her expression unreadable.
“Xia He.”
“Su Xiaoyue.” Su Xiaoyue withdrew her hand. “You two are from No.1 High School too, right? I’m in Class Three. What about you?”
“Class One.”
Jiang Yueming chimed in, “I’m in Class Two.”
The moment the words left his mouth, he saw Xia He turn and give him a look—a light but distinct glare.
Jiang Yueming blinked, not understanding what Xia He meant.
Was he not even allowed to introduce himself?
“Class One,” Su Xiaoyue tilted her head slightly, her tone carrying just the right amount of envy. “The advanced class. That’s impressive.”
Xia He didn’t respond.
Su Xiaoyue didn’t seem to mind. She turned to Jiang Yueming. “Your friend doesn’t seem to talk much.”
“She’s usually fine.”
Jiang Yueming scratched his head. He thought Xia He had been quite talkative earlier. Why had she suddenly gone quiet?
“Then I won’t disturb you two any longer,” Su Xiaoyue picked up her own book and held it against her chest as she stood up. “This book is really good. Take your time reading it. When you’re done, we can exchange thoughts.”
“Oh… sure.”
Jiang Yueming nodded, thinking she was about to leave.
Suddenly, a phone screen was held out in front of him, displaying a Weixin QR code.
Jiang Yueming blinked at the code, then looked up in confusion at Su Xiaoyue’s ever-present smile.
“This is…?”
“Add me as a friend. Otherwise, how are we supposed to exchange thoughts?”
I thought you were just being polite…
Jiang Yueming complained inwardly. He was about to take out his phone when he heard a soft beep. Xia He had already pulled out her own phone and scanned the code first.
“I’ll add you too. It’s rare to meet someone who likes the same books,” Xia He put her phone away, her tone neutral. “As for Jiang Yueming, no need to scan. I’ll add you for him later.”
Su Xiaoyue noticed that Jiang Yueming obediently put his phone away at Xia He’s words, while Xia He didn’t actually tap the “Add” button on the profile that appeared on her screen.
Her brows twitched almost imperceptibly before returning to normal.
“Sure, remember to send it to me later.” She smiled as she put her phone away. Her gaze lingered on Xia He’s face for a brief moment before returning to Jiang Yueming.
“Jiang classmate, let’s make a promise then. Once you finish the book, you have to come find me to chat. Not many people around me read this kind of book. It’s rare to meet a fellow fan.”
“Uh, sure.” Jiang Yueming nodded, thinking the girl was really passionate about this book.
Su Xiaoyue smiled with satisfaction, turned to leave, then looked back after a couple of steps as if she had just remembered something.
“By the way, are you two on a date?”
The question was so direct that Jiang Yueming nearly choked on his own saliva.
“No, no,” he quickly waved his hands. “We’re just out for a stroll on the weekend.”
“I see.” Su Xiaoyue gave Xia He a thoughtful look, her smile deepening slightly. “In that case, if there’s a chance next time, we can hang out together. I’m pretty familiar with this area and know several interesting shops.”
Without waiting for a reply, she waved and pushed the door open, leaving.
The wind chimes tinkled a few times as her figure disappeared into the afternoon sunlight on the street.
The bookstore fell quiet once again.
Jiang Yueming sat there, still holding Human Chair in his hands. His mind felt a bit messy.
He had the vague feeling that something had happened in those last few minutes, but he couldn’t quite put his finger on what it was.
It was that feeling where everyone else was playing a game of riddles, and he was the only one left in the dark.
He turned his head and saw Xia He staring at the doorway with a calm expression, showing no clear emotion.
“Xia He?”
“…Hm?”
“Why did you glare at me just now?”
“I didn’t glare at you.” Xia He looked away.
“You did.” Jiang Yueming insisted. “The moment I said I was in Class Two, you glared at me.”
Xia He was silent for a second, then let out a soft huff.
“Who told you to interrupt?”
“How is introducing myself interrupting?”
“She wasn’t asking you.”
“But she said ‘you two.’ ‘You two’ includes me.” Jiang Yueming felt he had a valid point.
Xia He glanced at him, her lips moved, but in the end she said nothing. She simply took the book Jiang Yueming was still holding and placed it back on the shelf with a dull thud.
Even someone as dense as Jiang Yueming could tell now—she seemed to be, quite possibly, a little unhappy.
Not because he said he was in Class Two, but for other reasons.
Because of Su Xiaoyue?
Because he had said “She’s my friend. We only met a few days ago”?
Or because he had almost taken out his phone to scan that QR code?
He wanted to ask, but didn’t know how to bring it up. Back when they ran into Wen Xiaoyu at the bookstore entrance, Xia He had acted the same way—saying she wasn’t angry, but her face clearly read “I’m very unhappy.”
What exactly did a girl’s “I’m not angry” mean?
If Dong Ziyang were here, he would definitely pat Jiang Yueming on the shoulder and say, “Bro, it means she cares about you.”
But Jiang Yueming wasn’t sure.
“Let’s go.” Xia He picked up her bag and headed for the door first.
“Where to?”
“You said you didn’t have anything else to buy, right? Then let’s just walk around.”
Jiang Yueming followed her. The two of them walked out of the bookstore one after the other.
The sunlight outside was slanted more than when they had entered, cutting the entire street into light and shadow. Xia He walked on the bright side. Her shadow stretched long behind her like a silent tail.
Jiang Yueming quickened his steps and walked beside her.
“That book,” he tried to start a conversation. “How far did you get?”
“I finished it.”
“That fast?”
“Mm.”
“Was it good?”
“It was okay.”
“What does ‘okay’ mean? Good or not good?”
Xia He didn’t answer right away. She gave him a look that was both annoyed and amused.
“You,” she said, “can be really dense sometimes.”
Jiang Yueming paused.
“What did I do?”
“Figure it out yourself! I’m hungry. Let’s go eat.”
With that, she grabbed Jiang Yueming’s hand again. Before he could react, she walked forward at a brisk pace.