CH 26

Chapter 26: First time being set aside.

After hearing this, Xu Sui paused for a while before running away again.

——

Whether Zhou Jingze was in class or training camp these days, the scene of Xu Sui crying that day always appears in his mind. Her eyelashes and the tip of her nose were red, stained with tears. Her clear eyes were full of grievances.

Every time he thought of those eyes, Zhou Jingze felt inhumane.

On Wednesday afternoon, the sun was shining brightly, and a group of young future pilots in gray-green uniforms was on the training ground doing their physical training like a big rush of green waves.

Sheng Nanzhou had just finished raising and placing the ladders 50 times that he was lying on the green ground panting like a dog. Zhou Jingze bit on a green bristlegrass and put his hands in his pockets. He raised his foot and lightly kicked Sheng Nanzhou; his voice was a little vague:

“I have something to ask you.”

Sheng Nanzhou turned over and said cheerfully: “Ask away. Your brother Zhou will say everything he knows.”

Zhou Jingze carefully considered his words and hesitated: “If you did something wrong, how would you apologize to someone?”

“That’s very simple. Invite that person to dinner,” Sheng Nanzhou said. He snapped his fingers and said proudly, “If one meal is not enough, then two meals.”

Zhou Jingze looked at Sheng Nanzhou with his cold eyes.

“I have the most experience in this matter. I won’t talk about others, but let’s take Xixi as an example. When she gets angry, she empties my money pocket cleaner than her face…”

Sheng Nanzhou was still discussing. After talking for a long time, he found that no one paid attention to him. When he turned around, he found that Zhou Jingze had already left!

“Look at your manners!” Sheng Nanzhou said, dissatisfied.

In the past few days, Xu Sui found that Hu Xixi had changed a bit from before. She liked to dress up more than before. Even when going to the cafeteria, she wouldn’t forget to dress herself up radiantly.

After eating in the cafeteria during the evening, the two walked through the campus ground. The breeze was brisk, and the orange fire clouds on the horizon were very low. Summer seems to be coming soon.

“Sui Sui, are you free on the weekend?” Hu Xixi asked.

“What happened?” Xu Sui asked her.

“Come with me to watch a basketball game– the one at Beihang academy,” Hu Xixi said.

Xu Sui raised her eyebrows and felt that something was wrong: “Why are you interested in going to Beihang to watch the game? To cheer for Sheng Nanzhou?”

“Do I really have nothing else to do??” Hu Xixi immediately made a “blah” expression and then seemed to remember something. Feeling embarrassed: “I found out that Lu Wenbai will be working part-time there. I guess he was hired by the business sponsoring the basketball game. I don’t know why he works part-time everywhere…”

“Hai, and apparently we need to get tickets even for this broken basketball game. But tickets are only distributed within their university. Where can I get tickets?” Hu Xixi looked distressed.

Xu Sui understood Hu Xixi’s motives and deliberately teased her with a smile in her eyes: “So you’re a white wolf huh? Then I have to check my schedule; maybe I don’t have time.”

“I’m going to kill you ah. ”

Hu Xixi became angry and started to tickle Xui Sui, who smiled and turned to hide but still didn’t avoid Hu Xixi’s clutches. Hu Xixi asked: “Do you still want to make fun of me?”

“No, I was wrong,” Xu Sui immediately begged for mercy.

After being released by Hu Xixi, Xu Sui immediately ran in front and gave a crisp laugh: “I will next time!”

In the evening, the fragrance of gardenia lingered on the figures of the two girls chasing and quarreling; a long series of laughter echoed over the campus ground.

——

On Thursday, Xu Sui was studying in the dormitory. Someone from the dorm next door came to find Hu Xixi to get something. Hu Xixi moved the small stool to the cabinet and rummaged through it.

The girls gossiped with each other while they were waiting, and in a shocked tone: “Woah, the longer you live, the more things you see. Zhou Jingze from Beihang is actually waiting for someone under our dormitory. I just passed by and caught a glance. So upright.”

“My second uncle? Hu Xixi sneered and said in a normal tone: “He’s a bit alright.”

As soon as she finished speaking, Liang Shuang rushed into the door with a package in her hand. Her voice carried excitement: “Zhou Jingze is actually downstairs, and whoa, he attracts so much attention. When people pass by, several women ask him for his WeChat.”

“But what is he doing downstairs in our dormitory. Is he chasing after another girl? Or Xixi, is he here to find you?” Liang Shuang changed the topic.

Hu Xixi snorted, then jumped off the stool and blurted out the words subconsciously: “If he was looking for me, he could just call me, he’s–”

Before saying the second half of the sentence that he was “probably coming to find another girl,” Hu Xixi glanced at the person on the right and held back. She changed her words: “But it’s possible. Whenever he’s in a hurry, he would do this.”

Xu Sui’s black eyelashes fluttered, but she didn’t say a word the whole time and continued reading her book.

As soon as she finished speaking, Hu Xixi’s phone rang. She glanced at the caller’s name and walked to the balcony to answer the call suspiciously.

After a while, Hu Xixi turned back to the dormitory and called her: “Sui Sui.”

“Huh?”

“Zhou Jingze is waiting for you downstairs,” Hu Xixi shook the phone towards her.

As soon as Hu Xixi finished speaking, the other girls in the dormitory exclaimed: “Zhou Jingze, he’s coming to find you!”

“Sui Sui, is it possible that he’s into you ah?” Shuang immediately questioned.

Even though she knew that Zhou Jingze came to her because of another matter, her heart inevitably jumped wildly after hearing Liang Shuang’s joke.

“No,” Xu Sui still denied it.

Immediately she looked at Hu Xixi and was about to say “I don’t want to go,” but Hu Xixi immediately commented when she saw her eyes: “He said that if you don’t go, he’ll wait until you come down.” That was his style, never stopping until he achieved his goal.

Xu Sui had no choice but to go downstairs. When she ran down, she saw Zhou Jingze standing at the dormitory gate not too far away, appearing casual and lazy. His head was lowered, and he was on his phone. His dark eyebrows were a little bit hostile.

The girls passing by couldn’t help but peek at Zhou Jingze and then blushed and discussed with each other in a low voice.

Xu Sui walked towards Zhou Jingze, a layer of sweat dripping on her clean forehead. She doesn’t like to be watched by too many people, so she subconsciously pulled Zhou Jingze’s sleeves and pulled him towards the elm tree outside the dormitory door.

When the wind blows, the leaves rustle and shake off the finely broken golden light. Zhou Jingze stood under the shadowy tree with his hands in his pockets; a shadow fell on his shoulders.

Zhou Jingze saw slender fingers grasping onto his sleeve. He lowered his neck and raised his eyebrows, looking at her hand with a half-smile.

Xu Sui’s face felt inexplicably hot. She immediately let go and calmed down, asking: “Why are you looking for me?”

This question awoke Zhou Jingze, and he smiled slightly. In a condescending tone: “I can’t find you even if there’s nothing?”

Xu Sui pursed her lips and didn’t answer. Zhou Jingze continued to speak:

“I called you and sent you a message.”

But there was no reply. This was the first time in Master Zhou’s life that he’s been set aside.

“Didn’t I tell you during the Chinese New Year that I sent the wrong message because my phone was broken,” Xu Sui was reluctant to bring it up but still decided to explain it: “I still haven’t bought a new phone.”

After saying this, the two of them were silent, and Zhou Jingze remembered what he had done before. Xu Sui moved her foot:

“If there’s nothing else, I’m going to leave.”

Xu Sui stood in front of him; her brows lowered. When he saw this unbelievably well-behaved face, Zhou Jingze felt that a fire was set off, and he seemed to be very confused.

Suddenly, Zhou Jingze caught a glimpse of a dandelion on the top of her hair. His fingers were hanging on his trousers, and his throat was itchy. He moved his fingers but then decided to retract and put them inside his pocket.

“Okay. Then, you remember to go back and read the messages.”

“En.”

After she got back, Xu Sui still didn’t buy a new phone, but she was planning on getting one on the weekends. If she didn’t get a new phone, her mother and grandma would be worried that they can’t get in contact with her.

But a question lingers in Xu Sui’s heart— what does Zhou Jingze mean? Making amends?

The next night, after taking a shower, Xu Sui came out of the bathroom, wiping her dripping hair with a white towel while turning her head to the side.

Hu Xixi handed her the phone and winked at her: “Zhou Jingze is on the phone.”

Xu Sui’s heart tightened, and she took a tissue from the desk to wipe the phone clean before answering the call. She walked out of the bedroom and stood on the balcony with the phone.

The wind in May is cool, and the stars in the sky are shimmering. Looking at the view downstairs, a girl who came back late was putting on her slippers and carrying a white plastic bag with a few ice creams on her pale arm. The water fountain on the first floor is also big; a group of girls passed by giggling.

“It’s me,” Zhou Jingze’s hoarse voice came through the receiver.

Xu Sui put the phone to her ear and wiped her hair with a towel. “I’m here.”

“Are you reporting your attendance?” Zhou Jingze let out a soft laugh and then seemed to light a cigarette; a crisp click sound from the lighter came through the receiver.

He sighed, and in a grainy voice: “Come tomorrow. Don’t you want to watch the game? I saved you two tickets.”

Game? Basketball game?! Xu Sui wondered. When did she ever say she wanted to watch a basketball game? Except for Xixi. When she thought of her, Xu Sui immediately understood what was going on.

“I didn’t want to come; it was Xixi—”

In the next second, Zhou Jingze’s low and hoarse voice came through the unstable signal and reached Xu Sui’s ear:

“Just think of it that I want you to come.”

Xu Sui was wearing a white cotton suspender skirt dress, exposing two slender arms. Her hair was half-dried and fluffy from the wind.

When the evening wind blows, she should feel hot, but at this moment, Xu Sui feels that her whole face is hot. She felt her neck throbbing suddenly, and her blood vessels were warming so that she hung up the phone in a daze. When she returned to the dormitory, she handed Hu Xixi back the phone and forgot to settle the account.

He was always like that. A single word could tug her heartstrings.

At five o’clock in the afternoon on Sunday, Xu Sui appeared on time at the fountain square not far from the school according to the location Zhou Jingze said.

Xu Sui was standing out of the fountain wearing an aqua blue dress. A few drops of water splashed on her knees. She took a few steps forward and looked around subconsciously, but she saw no one coming.

Xu Sui sat and waited on the right until her legs felt a little sore. At this time, the fountain stopped, and she felt a little bored sitting on the flower bed. Xu Sui decided to wait another fifteen minutes, and if no one came, she would leave.

She was in a daze, and suddenly, a little girl appeared in front of her. The girl wore white knee-length socks and had beautiful curly hair and brown eyes. She asked Xu Sui: “Are you Xu Sui?”

“I am; why?” Xu Sui replied with a smile.

The little girl was holding her hands behind her back, and upon hearing this, she took out a green cabbage patch doll and handed it to Xu Sui.

Xu Sui looked surprised and pointed at herself:

“For me?”

The little girl nodded and said in a creamy voice: “A big brother asked me to give it to you just now. He also had something he wanted to ask you, but… I can’t remember.”

After she finished speaking, the little girl put the cabbage patch doll into Xu Sui’s arms and ran away. People came and went in the square. Xu Sui held the cabbage doll and stared at the smiling face.

It turned out that he remembered.

Being remembered does feel different.

Xu Sui remembered from a young age that after her father died from an accident, her mother didn’t want people to distract her, so she was very strict with Xu Sui’s education. Most of the time, she was either doing homework or reading.

Going to KTV with friends will lead her astray. Going out to play will distract her from learning, and if she wants to go skating during the holidays, mother Xu won’t blame her, but said in a worn-out tone: “Go in the future; the most important thing now is to study.”

After she lost the cabbage doll during the house move, Xu Sui asked to buy a new one. Her mother said that she would buy one for her when she becomes one of the top three of her class.

In the end, Xu Sui worked hard to get into the top three in the grade, and mother Xu handed her a gift at the dinner table as promised. Xu Sui opened it with joy, and the smile on her face froze.

It wasn’t the cabbage patch doll she was yearning for, but a learning tablet. Mother Xu felt satisfied, and her tone was gentle: “Yi Yi, do you like it?”

Xu Sui wanted to say “all I wanted was a doll,” but when she looked up and saw the strands of white hair on her mother’s temples, she swallowed her words. She smiled and said: “En, I like it. Thank you, mom.”

Now that she’s in college, she can get a scholarship and earn money through tutoring, but she never thought about buying that cabbage patch doll.

It always felt like she lost the doll.

But now, Zhou Jingze sent her former company to her again.

Xu Sui was deep in thoughts when a lazy and lowered voice came from above:

“He wanted to ask if you can forgive that bastard?”

Xu Sui raised his eyes and met a pair of dark and sharp eyes. Zhou Jingze was wearing a black T-shirt. He stood in front of her with a bottle of ice water in his hand.

He sat next to her, unscrewed the bottle cap and took a sip of water, and in a very slow tone: “It was my fault regarding what happened during the winter break; I was overly emotional. I thought it was one of my friends studying abroad that sent me that message, so I texted carelessly.”

“After I found out I was talking to the wrong person, I actually panicked; I’m just… afraid that you’ll find out about my dark side,” Zhou Jingze laughed at himself and said frankly, “When I can face myself, I’ll tell you another day.”

“I want to apologize to you too. It was also my fault.”

It turned out that was why. Xu Sui sighed in relief, knowing that he doesn’t find her annoying. After that incident, Xu Sui was sad and didn’t even like herself, so she kept avoiding him.

At least it wasn’t someone he likes.

After hearing the explanation, Xu Sui’s mood seemed to have cleared up. She held the cabbage patch doll in front of her and turned her head at him:

“That’s alright, just don’t be fierce at me in the future.”

“Won’t,” Zhou Jingze glanced at her.

In the end, the two cleared the issue and had a meal together. Zhou Jingze sent her to the campus gate and headed back. Xu Sui felt relaxed and at ease that she even called Hu Xixi to accompany her to buy a new phone.

Xu Sui finally picked out a white phone and inserted her telephone card. After returning to the dormitory at night, Xu Sui was planning to add her important contacts one by one. When she turned on the phone, several missed calls appeared on the screen.

Xu Sui was laying on her bed, and when she opened her phone, she was stunned. The calls were all from Zhou Jingze. In fact, he lowered himself and was actively looking for her.

She suddenly remembered what Zhou Jingze said downstairs in the dormitory and quickly logged into WeChat. Zhou Jingze wasn’t a talkative person, so he sent her two messages in total.

The first message was sent on the night when he figured out it was the wrong person. Zhou Jingze sent: I’m sorry.

The second message was when Zhou Jingze ran into her with Shi Yuejie on the campus ground, and Xu Sui fled away from him.

After Xu Sui read the message, her cheeks began to warm up, and her breathing became out of pace. She could even imagine Zhou Jingze saying it in a casual but seductive tone. He sent—

“Is our Yi Yi planning to ignore me now?”