Xie Qian’s confession came so abruptly.
Wen Ying had not failed to guess that Xie Qian would confess.
Just like the timing of his return to the country, Wen Ying had thought this confession would come a little later.
After all, it had already been delayed by 119 days. What difference would a few more days make?
Xie Qian was a perfectionist. He would surely wait until everything was perfectly prepared before… Yet Xie Qian never played by the rules.
He had just confessed without any warning!
Wen Ying felt as though someone had cast a freezing spell on her.
Her heart pounded wildly, her mouth dry and parched.
Earlier, she had thought the living room of this house was spacious. Now the entire place felt cramped and stifling, making it hard for her to breathe.
At that moment, Xie Qian wheeled his chair closer.
One push, two pushes, three pushes.
He raised his hand.
Wen Ying suspected he might go for a “face-touch kill” or something similar. Her heart was about to leap out of her throat. Xie Qian’s arm swept past her cheek.
Click.
Xie Qian turned the window handle.
“This house has been empty for months. I am letting it air out.”
“Oh… yes, yes, it does need some ventilation.”
There was no “face-touch kill” at all. Xie Qian had simply wanted to open the window!
Cold air rushed in through the window, blowing across Wen Ying’s face and hair. Only then did she belatedly realise how scorching her cheeks were!
Like what?
Probably like a boiled red prawn.
In the moment of Xie Qian’s accident, Wen Ying had felt that it did not matter who confessed first. She should have beaten him to it.
When they met again, her courage had vanished.
When Xie Qian uttered the four words “I like you”, Wen Ying’s mind went completely blank!
Ahhhhh!
She had already missed the best moment to respond.
Should she say “I like you too” now?
Xie Qian cleared his throat. “It seems less stuffy now. Do you have anything you want to say?”
Xie Qian’s calm demeanour was all an act!
Earlier, his mouth had spoken the confession before his brain could stop it. Now he was actually nervous to death.
When Wen Ying’s gaze met his, and their eyes locked, both felt as though stung by something. They quickly averted their sights.
Wen Ying took a deep breath.
Oh well.
It was just a confession, right?
She could not chicken out!
Just as Wen Ying mustered the courage to speak, Xie Qian’s phone suddenly rang, interrupting her. Xie Qian glanced at the caller ID and hung up directly.
The caller, utterly oblivious, rang again.
Xie Qian was about to switch off the phone when Wen Ying’s resolve deflated. She simply went with the flow. “Answer it. It must be something urgent.”
The person frantically calling Xie Qian was none other than Peng Guoqing.
“You had better have a good reason…”
As soon as Xie Qian answered, before he could finish, Peng Green-Hair excitedly interrupted. “I heard from Brother Jiang that you are back? Perfect timing! I have finished writing that filming proposal. I showed the plan to Brother Jiang, and he praised it as good. He told me to bring it to you… Xie Qian, where are you? I will come over right now!”
Peng Guoqing complained that Xie Qian was disloyal.
He had been abroad so long and returned without even informing his friends.
If Peng Guoqing had not happened to go to Jiaxin to submit the proposal, he would not have known about Xie Qian’s return.
In the spirit of sharing joy, Peng Guoqing immediately notified Xie Tang.
As expected, Xie Tang did not know yet!
Peng Guoqing also informed Wang Shuang and Li Mengjiao… On the other end of the line, Li Mengjiao rolled her eyes, saying she was not interested in whether Xie Qian returned or not.
That petty Li Mengjiao was still holding a grudge on Wen Ying’s behalf!
Peng Guoqing chattered on endlessly. Xie Qian listened until his brows furrowed.
Cousin-in-law Jiang Youjia’s year-end bonus had just been restored. How had the man become so cocky again?
With Peng Green-Hair’s scatterbrained and boisterous personality, that filming proposal would need at least ten revisions before it could be presentable!
Xie Qian interrupted Peng Guoqing’s ramble. “This weekend then. Call them all. I will treat you to dinner.”
“Ah, do we have to wait until the weekend?”
“If not the weekend, do you plan to skip classes?”
Skipping classes was not entirely impossible.
Unfortunately, Peng Guoqing did not dare speak the truth in front of Xie Qian.
Xie Qian no longer tutored Peng Guoqing, but he could still grade Peng Guoqing’s proposal. In Xie Qian’s presence, Peng Guoqing always retained the inadequacy of a poor student.
After dismissing Peng Guoqing, the earlier ambiguous atmosphere had vanished.
Wen Ying asked curiously, “Peng Guoqing still does not know about the car accident?”
With all sorts of rumours flying about Xie Qian’s incident, Peng Guoqing should have heard something!
Xie Qian replied expressionlessly, “He knows. He heard the rumours, but he does not believe them… He always thinks I was abroad working on some big project, like drilling for oil.”
Pfft.
Wen Ying could not hold back her laughter.
Truth be told, Wen Ying found it hard to judge who was sillier between Peng Guoqing and Wang Shuang. Most of the time, the two could be called “Crouching Dragon and Young Phoenix”!
Wen Ying’s laughter softened Xie Qian’s irritation.
Peng Green-Hair might be a bit foolish, but being able to amuse his little hamster gave him some use. Hmm, that proposal could do with seven or eight revisions.
Xie Qian glanced at his watch and, with great tacit understanding, skipped the earlier topic with Wen Ying. “It is about time. I will take you back to school.”
“Oh, alright.”
On the way downstairs, Wen Ying still felt a bit tangled, but Xie Qian never brought up the topic again.
With the driver present on the ride back to school, Wen Ying felt even more embarrassed to speak.
Holding it in all the way to the school gate, Wen Ying got out of the car. Xie Qian called her back. “What I said earlier is all true. I just wanted you to know how I feel. I am not demanding that you respond in any particular way. I only want to see you happy every day.”
Although Xie Qian had never been in a relationship, he was not foolish. He knew his little hamster had probably been shy earlier.
It was normal for girls to feel shy.
His confession had been too hasty, not giving her time to prepare.
At this hour, people were still trickling back through the school gate. With so many around, Wen Ying felt too embarrassed to say anything.
“You coming back already makes me so happy. Really, that means more than anything!”
Even without a confession.
Xie Qian being alive, his life outweighed everything.
“Xie Qian, see you tomorrow.”
Wen Ying waved, her voice full of delight.
Xie Qian stood frozen in place.
He watched Wen Ying walk into the school, watching her figure disappear.
Although Wen Ying had not confessed back to him, his heart still raced quickly.
“I like you” was four characters.
“More than anything” was also four characters.
It was hard to say which set weighed more. His confession was simple and direct. Wen Ying’s affection, however, was like spring rain nourishing silently, long since enveloping him.
…
Wen Ying returned to the dormitory grinning foolishly all the way.
In the dorm, her three roommates appeared to be doing homework but were actually waiting for Wen Ying. They were ready to subject her to a triple interrogation!
Wen Ying spotted the basketball league tickets on the table.
“Why are there two?”
“The basketball team captain sent them. Unexpectedly, the captain is so broad-minded. He not only invited you but also your old classmate Xie Qian. I heard Xie Qian scored 745 raw points in the gaokao. With that score, he did not apply to Jingda’s maths department but chose Fudan instead. Is he really just your old classmate?”
The roommates thought Wen Ying would struggle desperately and continue denying, but unexpectedly, Wen Ying picked up the basketball league tickets and examined them. Without any struggle, she readily admitted to their teasing. “Xie Qian is my old classmate, my best friend… and the person I like.”
The dormitory fell silent for a moment.
Then one roommate wanted to scream but tightly covered her mouth, her eyes full of little stars.
Sun Mingfei gave a thumbs up. “Well done. You are direct enough!”
