Chapter 85: Unexpected Plans and a New Beginning

Right after school ended, Li Jianren bolted out of the classroom with such lightning speed that it left Zhong Tian with a profound impression, further solidifying his resolve to push Li Jianren into participating in the sprint race at the upcoming school sports meet.

As Zhong Tian finished packing his canvas bag, he found himself pondering whether to import the sketches he’d drawn that evening into his computer for refinement, when a figure stopped before his desk, abruptly interrupting his thoughts.

It was their homeroom teacher, Wang Changgeng.

“Hello, Homeroom Teacher… Is there something you need?”

Wang Changgeng handed Zhong Tian an opaque bag, and upon inspecting its contents, Zhong Tian discovered three sets of Taisugi High School girls’ uniforms.

“These are…?”

“A new student will be transferring into our class tomorrow,” Wang Changgeng explained. “The administration instructed me to have you take these uniforms back for them.”

“A new student… Linxi?”

“Yes, please bring her to school tomorrow,” Wang Changgeng confirmed. “And help her get acquainted with the campus.”

“…Alright…”

****

Bai Ruijin and Zheng Qiao bid farewell at the school gate, and as usual, Bai Ruijin boarded the bus home alone.

Having completed the mountain of homework assigned for evening study, she felt as though her day had suddenly become incredibly fulfilling.

The bus wasn’t crowded at this hour; there was no clamor, nor any unpleasant smell of smoke. Bai Ruijin closed her eyes and leaned back against the seat, allowing her mind and body to relax.

Simultaneously, she pondered inwardly how she would ask Li Jianren out later that evening.

Although her initial intention had been to approach Li Jianren directly, Bai Ruijin hadn’t actually prepared what she would say; she had planned to simply steel herself and improvise on the spot.

Seeing Li Jianren rush out of the school building like the wind, Bai Ruijin had felt a peculiar sense of relief at that moment.

While she had interacted with Li Jianren several times already, the prospect of Bai Ruijin initiating a conversation—let alone extending a date invitation—felt incredibly daunting.

Communicating via WeChat, with two screens between them, felt like it would be much easier to articulate her feelings.

Bai Ruijin disembarked from the bus and returned home.

At home, her father was watching a TV series in the living room, while her mother sat beside him, scrolling through short videos on her phone.

“Oh, Ruijin, you’re back,” Bai Ruijin’s mother greeted. “There’s stewed soup waiting for you in the kitchen; go have two bowls quickly.”

“What kind of stewed soup is it?”

“Fish maw and chicken soup.”

Bai Ruijin slipped into her fluffy slippers, carrying her discarded white ankle socks, which she then placed into the washbasin in the restroom.

She washed her hands, went to the kitchen, and lifted the lid off the stew pot. She then filled a small porcelain bowl to the brim. The soup was warm, so she didn’t use a spoon; instead, she cradled the bowl with both hands and finished it in three sips.

“Ruijin, don’t just drink the soup; eat some of the fish maw.”

“I don’t really feel like eating it…”

“It’s good for your health and even enhances your complexion,” Bai Ruijin’s mother said, taking the empty bowl from her daughter’s hands. She went to the kitchen to refill it to the brim. “Besides, it’s very expensive; it would be a waste not to eat it all. Have some more.”

Bai Ruijin took the porcelain bowl and spoon, and gazing at the generously filled bowl of fish maw, she felt a momentary loss for how to begin.

“How much did this fish maw cost?”

“I bought it online; it was over a thousand yuan. Hurry up and eat it.”

“So expensive…”

“So don’t waste it; eat more.”

“Okay…”

****

Zhong Tian returned home to find Zhong Jing sitting alone in the living room, scrolling through her phone.

He went and knocked on Su Linxi’s bedroom door.

Su Linxi, dressed in her pajamas, opened the door. Seeing the bag in Zhong Tian’s hand, she asked, “Is that… my… school uniform?”

“Yes, it is…”

Zhong Tian handed the uniforms to Su Linxi. Though his heart was filled with questions, he deliberated for a long moment before finally asking, “Linxi, why the sudden desire to attend school?”

“…I’m bored… at home,” she paused. “The new book… is almost… finished.”

“I see…” Zhong Tian, though still somewhat puzzled, didn’t dwell on it, for he could understand the feeling of boredom at home. “Then I’ll take you to school on my bicycle tomorrow.”

Su Linxi nodded. She took one set of uniforms and placed it by her bed, then handed the other two sets back to Zhong Tian.

“Please… put them… in the washing machine.”

“Alright.”

“Then I won’t disturb you any further. Get some rest.”

“Mm, good night.”

****

After finishing her second bowl of soup, Bai Ruijin showered and returned to her room. She curled up on her room’s chair, hugging her knees, and opened Li Jianren’s WeChat chat interface.

[Are you there?]

She stared at the screen, contemplating for a long while before finally sending those two words to Li Jianren.

‘It felt incredibly embarrassing the moment she pressed send.’

[I am!]

Li Jianren’s reply was instantaneous, almost as if he had responded within a second.

‘Are you free this weekend? I’d like to go out with you…’

Having typed that far, Bai Ruijin held down the delete key, clearing all the characters.

‘How incredibly embarrassing—’

She buried her face in her knees, her mind filled with vexation.

Bai Ruijin knew that constantly agonizing over it was useless, but… she couldn’t avoid taking this crucial step.

[Are you free to hang out this weekend?]

Having made up her mind, she quickly typed out the message and immediately sent it to Li Jianren.

[The weekend, huh.]

[I’m afraid I can’t make it this weekend. Old Zhong asked me to go back to Haibin City with him.]

[If you want to come, I can ask him for you.]

[Her.]

Bai Ruijin stared at Li Jianren’s reply, stunned.

Zhong Tian and Li Jianren were going to Haibin City this weekend… Yet, just that morning, she had told Bai Ruijin to ask Li Jianren out on a date…

Bai Ruijin found herself utterly confused by the situation.

Had Li Jianren lied to reject her? Or did Zhong Tian genuinely have something urgent that required him to return to Haibin City with Li Jianren?

She opened Zhong Tian’s chat interface and asked:

[Zhong Tian, um, Li Jianren said he’s going back to Haibin City with you this weekend…]

…

‘Huh?’

Zhong Tian looked at the message from Bai Ruijin, a question mark seemingly popping up above his head.

He recalled that at noon, in Li Jianren’s dorm, he had mentioned wanting to visit Haibin’s old town to divert the conversation.

Now, regarding Bai Ruijin’s situation, it seemed she had followed his advice and proactively asked Li Jianren to hang out that weekend, and Li Jianren had used the excuse of going back to Haibin with him to reject her invitation…

[I’ll tell him right now that we’re not going back. My apologies.]

Bai Ruijin’s chat remained silent for a moment before the “typing…” indicator finally appeared.

[No need. You two go this weekend. It’s fine if I ask him out another time.]

[It’s my fault for not clarifying the time with Li Jianren, which led to a misunderstanding. I’ll go clarify it with him.]

Knowing he had made a mistake, Zhong Tian quickly sent a message to Li Jianren.

[Ren, the plan’s changed. Let’s go back to Haibin City next week.]

He thought for a moment, then added another sentence.

[We have Saturday make-up classes, so it would be a bit tight to go back to Haibin. Let’s wait until next weekend.]

[OK OK.]

‘That should do it.’

Zhong Tian switched back to Bai Ruijin’s chat interface.

[I’ve already clarified things with Li Jianren. You can ask him again.]

…

‘Ask again?’

Bai Ruijin looked at Zhong Tian’s message, suddenly finding herself in a predicament.

Having been rejected, then having to turn around and ask again, Bai Ruijin felt an inexplicable awkwardness…

She switched to Li Jianren’s chat interface, her finger hovering over the virtual keyboard, lacking the courage to press it.

[Are you there? Are you there?]

As she hesitated, Li Jianren’s chat bubble popped up.

[I’m free this weekend again! Still want to go?]

This left Bai Ruijin both surprised and delighted.

[Yes!]

[Where do you plan on going?]

[To a café I often visit with friends!]

[It’s a cat café. I don’t know if you like them.]

[Oh? Taisugi has a cat café?]

[Yes, it’s about a ten-minute bus ride from school.]

[Great! Then let’s go after our make-up class on Saturday morning.]

[Mm!]

[By the way, will it just be the two of us?]

Li Jianren’s question made Bai Ruijin’s typing hand pause.

[Yes.]

[Alright then, I’ll see you outside school after dismissal on Saturday.]

[Okay!]

Feeling incredibly happy, she took a screenshot of Li Jianren’s chat history and sent it to Zheng Qiao.

…

[Qiaoqiao! I got him to agree!]

Zheng Qiao, who had just finished showering and was blowing her hair dry, looked at the screenshot Bai Ruijin sent, and a feeling of contentment suddenly welled up in her heart.

‘The iron has finally been forged into steel!’

[Congratulations!]

[Can I secretly watch from the side then?]

[No, you’re not allowed to spy!]

[I was just kidding! No need to reject me so seriously!]

[Anyway, you’re not allowed to come.]

[Alright, alright, I won’t come.]

Her hair was mostly dry, so Zheng Qiao unplugged the hairdryer and casually placed it on her room’s desk.

She turned on the fan, aiming it at her bed, then climbed onto the bed, pulled down the mosquito net, turned off the main light in the room, and continued to play on her phone under the dim bedside lamp.

If it were the weekend, she would definitely scroll through videos, read novels, and look at comics until one or two in the morning. But with school tomorrow, she had to sleep by around eleven-thirty, or she would surely be drowsy the next day.

‘Though sometimes I do get carried away and play until past midnight on a school night, without even realizing it…’

She chuckled self-deprecatingly in her mind, then opened the Man Tang app.

She had originally intended to open her bookshelf to check for updates on her subscribed works, but her gaze was drawn to a new manga recommendation on the homepage.

“Teacher Kezhong’s New Work.”

‘It’s Zhong Tian’s new manga.’

‘And it’s an adaptation of a novel.’

Driven by curiosity, she clicked on it and read the first chapter.

[‘He and She Who Are Not Good With Words’] was the manga’s title.

‘Judging by the length of the title, the original must be a romance light novel.’

She opened it and carefully read the first chapter.

Zheng Qiao, who had only intended to read the first chapter, found herself unconsciously flipping to the second after finishing the thirty-plus pages. By the time she realized it, she had already read three chapters.

‘Wow, it’s unexpectedly good.’

‘I never thought a romantic comedy could unfold like this.’

She added the manga to her bookshelf, then continued reading.

‘This will be my bedtime reading tonight: Zhong Tian’s manga!’

****

Zhong Tian paused his brush, suddenly remembering something.

‘I forgot to ask Editor Lin Chu about Li Jianren…’

He checked the time and saw it was already eleven o’clock.

‘Eleven o’clock, while not terribly late, and I’ve chatted with Editor Lin Chu about manga-related things at this hour before, it feels a bit inappropriate to disturb someone during their rest time for something like this…’

‘I’ll ask tomorrow instead.’

Zhong Tian put down his phone, intending to draw for another half an hour before going to bed.

****