CH 87

At first, she believed her best friend despised her due to her childishness and clinginess, and the thought of being hated by their best friend would gnaw at anyone’s peace of mind.  

It was a surprise to Miaomiao that Zhou Yuan was readily willing to share this with her.

With teary eyes, she scribbled down two words, “Thank you.”

I thank you for looking after me when I was a child. And again, I thank you for the words that you said to me after I had grown up.

The headteacher did not return to the classroom until their self-study session had ended.

In the evening, Miaomiao departed from the classroom after the conclusion of her self-study session; then, Zhou Yuan approached her and asked, “Should we head over to the playground?”

Miaomiao originally wanted to walk alone and relax, but after she had processed Zhou Yuan’s words, she instantly agreed to his suggestion.

The two walked side by side to the playground. Their self-study session had already ended, and it was late. The aureous rays of the sinking sun had already given way to the dark amethystine hues of the night, so the playground was devoid of students. Additionally, the streetlights shone no longer. Despite the darkness, they could still make out the road’s path.

“Thank you for the words you have given me,” Miaomiao spoke up.

“You don’t have to thank me,” Zhou Yuan replied.

Miaomiao had internalized her mother’s words, so she said back, “I need to confer my thanks on you for so many things. My mother told me that you gifted me a phone watch as a child. You also helped me repair the screen of the tablet.”

“I bought it for you originally,” Zhou Yuan suddenly smiled. The way he curled his lips revealed how much he had doted on her.

During her childhood years, she was someone who needed a lot of protection.

She doesn’t need any protection now, and she even had a tendency to protect others, but he discovered that his memories towards her were beginning to strengthen. His memories of her were stronger than when he disappeared off to college.

His adorable smile attracted Miaomiao, for she had never seen anyone smile like…Su*.

Jingjing often prattled on about whether or not this person or that person would make a good Su! Good Su!

At that time, she couldn’t see it in him at all, but at this moment, she unexpectedly understood the meaning.

Miaomiao couldn’t help it, so she said, “You smile like Su. You should smile more in the future!”

Zhou Yuan didn’t know what the word ‘Su’ meant but based on her tone of voice and the context, he understood that it must be something good.

Zhou Yuan replied, “I’ll smile for you again if you tell me what happened today.”

Zhou Yuan said, pulling his cheeks upwards with his hands to imitate a smile, “I’ll smile with the utmost sincerity.”

It was Miaomiao’s first time seeing him do such a foolish thing.  Miaomiao saw him tugging on his face so much that he no longer seemed to be handsome, so she pulled his hands back down and said, “Okay. I’ll tell you.”

Miaomiao feigned indifference as she replied, “The headteacher launched into a tirade and told me that I was too insouciant and unreasonable.

Zhou Yuan’s face changed all of a sudden. Miaomiao didn’t notice, so she continued, “Honestly, I felt so uncomfortable. I know it’s wrong, but I still feel very uncomfortable.”

Miaomiao trusted Zhou Yuan a lot. She didn’t want to reveal anything about the incident, and the atmosphere between them had calmed down now. She wanted to ask somebody if she was correct or not since her curiosity wouldn’t fade away.

Zhou Yuan was smart, precocious, and would examine things with the utmost care, so he was indubitably the best candidate for the task.

“This whole thing started due to the distribution of last year’s poverty subsidy…” Miaomiao explained in detail the entire situation. She finally concluded her explanation by saying, “I know I’m right. But I felt so uncomfortable when I listened to his diatribe.”

Zhou Yuan shook her hand, “You’re right. You don’t have to take his words seriously.”

Miaomiao hummed in agreement as she pulled Zhou Yuan down to sit next to her. It wasn’t until she had sat down that she realized that they were holding hands. Miaomiao inexplicably blushed.

Then the realization had struck her that, even though they were grown up now, Zhou Yuan had this same relationship with her when they were first-graders in elementary school. 

Miaomiao desired to have some confidant who sat next to her and listened to what she had to say. She didn’t want her parents to fret, so she didn’t tell them anything.

“I just feel sad; I feel as if I shouldn’t apologize to anyone, for I had committed no wrong,” As she said this, Miaomiao glanced at Zhou Yuan and said, “Except for you; I must apologize to you.”

Zhou Yuan found it a little odd, “What are you apologizing for?”

“I’m apologizing for quite a few things…” Such as wronging you and forgetting about you.

“Have you ever considered compensating me?” As she stared into Miaomiao’s eyes with interest, Zhou Yuan smiled.

Miaomiao was surprised that Zhou Yuan wanted compensation.

“State what you want as compensation. As long as I can do it, I will try my best to fulfill your demands.”

Considering his character, he wouldn’t demand things that are impossible to achieve from her.

Zhou Yuan thought for a while and said, “Firstly, if you encounter some obstacle that makes you unhappy, resolve it as quickly as possible.”

“Well, yeah. This isn’t some unreasonable demand. Of course, I have to do something about it,” Miaomiao uttered, while also feeling moved, “Are there any other precepts that you consider useful?”

“I can’t think of anything else at the moment. Now that you mention it. Let’s talk about your little problem first. You…has that friend of yours acted yet?”

Miaomiao digested his words and asked, “What?”

As soon as she asked that, she remembered what her little problem was. Zhou Yuan was referring to Deng Feng’s crush on Jingjing.

“He hasn’t taken any action yet. He’ll act when we journey to the hot springs together. By the way, I would really appreciate it if you could give me some more insight for increasing our chances of success.”

“You…your friend really likes that person?” Zhou Yuan’s voice was a little low.

“I do not really understand it. They grew up together; therefore, the affection levels between the two of them should be through the roof, shouldn’t it?” The three of them were always together; therefore, they were all aware of each other’s desires and flaws.

In any case, Miaomiao felt that she would never be able to desire someone like Deng Feng. During his childhood years, he cried so much that it left a deep impression on her.   

Zhou Yuan: “…” I also want to know the answer to this.

“Let’s go. I’ll accompany you back to the dorm.” After glancing at his watch, Zhou Yuan suggested that they returned unless they want the darkness of the night to fully enfold them.   

Miaomiao checked the time, and it was indeed time to leave.

She stood up, but she didn’t pay attention to her next step; therefore, she lost her balance, leaned forward, and was about to fall. But suddenly, she felt Zhou Yuan pulling her arm from behind her. Afterward, she fell into a warm embrace.

“Watch your step.”

As he spoke, he released her from his embrace. 

*”Su” is a popular word on the Internet. It’s a term used to describe a “nice, kind, caring, handsome gentleman who is the protagonist of a romance novel or a love story”. The term is the male version of the term “Mary Sue”.