Chapter 24
Zhen Bao went upstairs under the suspicious gaze of the building's auntie. Of course, the auntie probably didn't think much of it - Zhen Bao just had a guilty conscience.
"You're back!" Since college students sleep late, Qian LeLe and Fan Xuan were still watching their favorite drama. Seeing Zhen Bao co back, Qian LeLe jokingly said,
Zhen Bao felt rather awkward. If not back here, where else could she go?
Qian LeLe quickly changed the subject: "I bought so snow pears for you, left them on your desk. They're good for cooling down inner heat."
"Thanks!" Zhen Bao said with a smile, gently closing the door. Glancing up, it seed like Jia Xiao Yu was asleep, no wonder Qian LeLe and the others had their headphones on.
Zhen Bao put down her bag, and took the big snow pear Qian LeLe gave her to the bathroom.
The lights were bright. In the mirror, her face was flushed, and her lips, apart from that blister, also seed a little swollen.
Zhen Bao gently leaned against the door, closing her eyes.
The darkness of the parking garage, every kiss from Fu Ming Shi, floated clearly into her mind.
He first kissed her lips. She kept them tightly shut, but he kept kissing - her forehead, eyes, nose, cheeks, seeming to love every part of her. When he got to her ears, she felt unbearably ticklish, so he went back to kiss her lips, then tricked her into opening her mouth, forcefully and arrogantly...
"Sweet," he murmured after the kiss, his voice low and hoarse. If the angel of death had his voice then, I'm afraid everyone would be bewitched by him, willingly giving their lives over.
The mory ended. Zhen Bao carefully washed her face, then washed the snow pear.
After returning to her desk, she saw Fu Ming Shi had sent a ssage: Don't want to leave.
Zhen Bao's mind imdiately conjured up a tall, lonely figure standing in the corner of the parking garage. One hand holding the pear, she replied: Go back soon, drive slowly.
With him by her side, she'd feel especially nervous. Not seeing him face to face, Zhen Bao was much calr.
Fu Ming Shi: What are you doing?
Zhen Bao, sucking on so pear juice: Eating a pear, the one LeLe gave .
In the parking garage several floors below, the light from his phone screen illuminated a small area, lighting up the handso, gentle face of the man. Seeing his fiancee's reply, Fu Ming Shi laughed softly. That laugh soon beca deep and aningful as he texted back: I want to eat too.
Zhen Bao had just taken a bite of the pear. Seeing Fu Ming Shi say he wanted to eat it too, she froze for a second before replying: I'll have Auntie Wang buy so tomorrow.
Fu Ming Shi laughed: I want to eat yours.
As a first-ti girlfriend, Zhen Bao had no experience and didn't realize Fu Ming Shi was flirting with her. She peered at the pear she'd just taken a few bites of, then earnestly asked: Are you still in the parking garage?
Fu Ming Shi's heart stirred: Are you coming down?
Zhen Bao: No, you can stand below our building and I'll throw the pear down to you.
After kissing for so long, he must be thirsty.
Fu Ming Shi laughed again. After thinking for a bit, he said: Okay, co out to the balcony first, you can take another bite.
Zhen Bao laughed too. She put down her phone and went to borrow a fruit knife from Qian LeLe. Eyes glued to her screen, Qian LeLe told her to just take it herself. Zhen Bao washed the fruit knife first, then cut off the part she'd bitten before grabbing her phone and the rest of the big pear and heading out to the balcony.
There were streetlights below, and Fu Ming Shi was already standing there, head tilted back.
Although they were separated by several ters, Zhen Bao still felt a little embarrassed.
Fu Ming Shi put away his phone and gestured for her to throw the pear down.
Zhen Bao smiled. She estimated the distance then lightly tossed it downward.
Fu Ming Shi took a couple steps back and easily caught it.
Zhen Bao breathed a sigh of relief, resting her arms on the railing to watch him.
Fu Ming Shi took a bite of the pear and called her: "Not as sweet as you."
Zhen Bao shrank back, hiding where he couldn't see her. "Go on now," she said.
Fu Ming Shi looked up at the balcony: "Let
see you once more, then I'll go."
His words were so gentle and ambiguous that Zhen Bao's ears tingled. She ended the call first, ducked her head shyly for a bit before slowly coming back out to the balcony. The indoor lights shone out, turning her light blue knit sweater almost white. Head lowered, her sweet face was indistinct.
Fu Ming Shi watched her steadily. For a mont, he wanted to call for her to jump down into his arms.
After letting him look plenty, Zhen Bao steeled her heart and waved him away, hiding again.
With his fiancee gone, Fu Ming Shi stood there a few more minutes before slowly turning to leave, eating the pear as he walked off campus.
Zhen Bao didn't move, soon seeing Fu Ming Shi's tall, lonely figure appear on the main road. She kept watching until he finally disappeared from her view.
The autumn wind was cool, but her heart felt warm. She'd never imagined falling in love, yet here it ca, natural and unforced.
Satisfied with being alone for now, Zhen Bao turned back. Glancing over, she saw Jia Xiao Yu coming down the bunk bed ladder inside, while Qian LeLe pointed at the half-eaten pear on the table, saying who knows what. Hardening herself, Zhen Bao went back in. Qian LeLe imdiately interrogated her, "Where's that half a pear? You gave it to your Ming Shi?"
Living with their constant teasing, Zhen Bao was starting to figure out how to deal with it - don't confirm or deny anything, just smile and lower her head.
"Why did I have to wake up and suffer this tornt! I should've held it until morning!" Jia Xiao Yu charged over, hair a ss, to shake Zhen Bao, then went "ahhh" to the bathroom to deal with her period, yelling through the door, "It was just half a pear! I'll buy my own tomorrow!"
Worried she'd co out and keep making a racket, Zhen Bao got into bed early.
Before falling asleep, she received a ssage from Fu Ming Shi: Good night, see you tomorrow.
Zhen Bao was about to doze off, but staring at the "see you tomorrow" gave her a sudden jolt of awareness. She quickly replied: This weekend?
Fu Ming Shi: I don't have afternoon classes tomorrow... Don't worry, no kissing tomorrow.
Zhen Bao flipped her phone over, slowly rolled onto her side facing the wall, her whole little face red.
~
Zhen Bao had morning classes. After class, she walked out with her three roommates. Leaving the classroom building, Zhen Bao was chatting with Jia Xiao Yu, who had looped their arms together, when Qian LeLe suddenly nudged her and said, "Zhen Bao, isn't that your Ming Shi?"
Zhen Bao was shocked. Looking up, she did indeed see Fu Ming Shi, tall and big, standing by her bike, wearing a white jacket, his profile coldly handso. Probably hearing the student hubbub, he casually glanced their way, eyes quickly sweeping over them before landing squarely on her.
Zhen Bao saw him smile, like the lting of early spring ice and snow. Compared to the neat suit when they first t in her hotown, he was a completely different person now.
"Tsk tsk, having a boyfriend really is the best!" Jia Xiao Yu let go of Zhen Bao's arm and went to hug Qian LeLe instead, looking at Zhen Bao with envy and hate.
Fu Ming Shi was indeed holding a shopping bag of pears!
With classmates behind her, Zhen Bao hurried over to Fu Ming Shi. He'd asked for her class schedule when school started, so finding this area wasn't strange.
After last night's long kiss and even a tongue kiss, seeing each other again now, Zhen Bao kept her head low the entire ti. "Why did you co at this ti?" She'd assud he would only co in the evening, since Fu Ming Shi still had work in the afternoon.
"To have lunch with you." Fu Ming Shi looked down at the corner of her mouth. Seeing that annoying blister had faded quite a bit, he laughed softly, "The snow pear's fire-cooling effect seems pretty good."
Zhen Bao glared at him.
Fu Ming Shi put the pears in her bike basket and walked her bike back to her dorm building.
This scene was seen not only by Qian LeLe, Feng Yue and other freshman and sophomore classmates, but also by the two sophomore classes that ca out afterward. ng Ji Ning knew Zhen Bao had morning classes today. The mont class ended, he rushed out of the classroom, hoping to run into her while going downstairs. He didn't expect that all the way out of the classroom building, he would see Zhen Bao being lovey-dovey with her boyfriend again.
If a girl liked him only because he was rich, ng Ji Ning would never accept that. But if he liked a girl first, and his family background was the only advantage he had over her current boyfriend, then ng Ji Ning could only use that background as a chip to try and win her.
Because he was watching the couple, ng Ji Ning accidentally bumped into soone.
"Sorry..." He quickly looked away and apologized, only to find, to his surprise, that it was soone he knew.
"What a coincidence, you have classes here too?" Feng Yue greeted him happily.
ng Ji Ning smiled and nodded.
Seeing he was alone, Feng Yue chatted with ng Ji Ning very naturally as they walked to the cafeteria together. "Just now, Zhen Bao's boyfriend ca to pick her up again. Did you see? Her boyfriend treats her so well, cos by every other day. But Zhen Bao is so pretty, if I were him I'd be nervous too, afraid of her being snatched away by soone else."
ng Ji Ning just smiled without responding. If he were Zhen Bao's boyfriend, he would treat her even better.
~
Fu Ming Shi kept his word, leaving after having lunch with Zhen Bao, without any touching.
Zhen Bao went back to her dorm and distributed two pears each to her roommates.
As they ate pears and chatted, Zhen Bao's phone rang. She grabbed it and saw it was ng Ji Ning.
Zhen Bao answered right there in the dorm room.
"I'm planning a hotown gathering activity, going hiking this Saturday. Do you have ti? My treat, just co play. " On the call, ng Ji Ning sounded familiar and casual.
Zhen Bao was sowhat interested in a hotown etup, but hearing it was ng Ji Ning treating them, she declined, "Oh, I'm busy that day..."
"A date with Ming Shi?" ng Ji Ning laughed, interrupting her. "You can bring family. Don't miss this chance to gather with fellow hotown folks. Think about it, I'm going to let Feng Yue know too."
Then he imdiately hung up.
"Who was that?" Jia Xiao Yu asked curiously.
Zhen Bao told the truth.
Jia Xiao Yu had originally suspected ng Ji Ning of having indecent intentions toward Zhen Bao. Now hearing that family could co along, she urged, "Then go have fun! We're all from the sa hotown, plus soone's treating, just rember to bring Ming Shi."
Zhen Bao was still hesitating when Feng Yue's voice suddenly sounded outside their door.
Zhen Bao went to open it.
Feng Yue hugged her excitedly: "ng Ji Ning also called you right? Go on Zhen Bao, let's go together to liven things up!" ng Ji Ning said there weren't many girls going and hoped she could persuade Zhen Bao to co along. Feng Yue guessed ng Ji Ning most wanted to invite Zhen Bao. She was a little unhappy at first, but when she heard ng Ji Ning was willing to bring along Zhen Bao's boyfriend, Feng Yue was happy to see things work out. That way, Zhen Bao could flaunt her relationship in front of everyone with her boyfriend, and ng Ji Ning would surely give up his pursuit.
Feng Yue enthusiastically coaxed Zhen Bao, who felt a little awkward declining, so she used Fu Ming Shi as an excuse, "Let
ask him first."
"Ok, ask him now," Feng Yue urged. In case Zhen Bao's boyfriend didn't agree, she could persuade him.
Pressed by Feng Yue, Zhen Bao had no choice but to call Fu Ming Shi from the balcony.
Fu Ming Shi was still on his way back to the company. Seeing it was a call from Zhen Bao, he imdiately picked up. After learning about ng Ji Ning's autumn trip plans, and his willingness to generously cover food and lodging, Fu Ming Shi laughed ambiguously, "Since it's an alumni gathering, let's go together. Ask when it is, and I'll co et up with you guys on Saturday."
Zhen Bao could sense Fu Ming Shi's mood seed quite good.
Since Fu Ming Shi was willing to go have fun, Zhen Bao hung up and nodded at Feng Yue, who had been hovering nearby.
Feng Yue happily left, taking with her the two pears Zhen Bao had given her.
A few minutes after Feng Yue left, ng Ji Ning called Zhen Bao to confirm. Having obtained Zhen Bao's affirmation, ng Ji Ning's lips curled up into a smile. Only then did he start looking online for attractions and hotels, while contacting other alumni from their province. By nightti, everything was arranged. ng Ji Ning made an itinerary and sent it to everyone.
Zhen Bao opened the image and briefly looked through it before forwarding it to Fu Ming Shi.
Fu Ming Shi was drinking coffee. Seeing this itinerary, he was strangely rather looking forward to it.
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