"Classmate, these are for you to eat."
Zhu Qianyu propped herself up and sat upright, hearing Ji Huan’s voice beyond the curtain, feeling a sense of dreamlike unreality.
How long has it been since she’s heard his voice? How long since she saw him?
A month?
Why did it feel to her like it had dragged on for half a lifeti?
She’s never in her life felt a day drag by like a year.
And never like this period, felt like everything in front of her was shrouded in darkness, that there was no aning in living!
Yet ten or twenty minutes ago, when she absentmindedly picked up her phone and saw the caller ID on the screen, it startled her awake, the haze she was in suddenly lifted, and she beca extrely alert.
After a month of agony and tornt, she had gone from resolute to hopeful, then to disappointnt, and recently she had beco completely despairing.
She thought Ji Huan had truly walked out of her life completely.
That gentle young man with a bright, sunshine smile had entirely left her.
So, when she saw the flashing "Ji Huan" on the screen, her voice trembled with excitent.
Before pressing the answer button, she resolved that once connected she would ask where he’d been all this ti.
But when she finally heard his voice, she found herself unable to organize any words, her mind blank, only able to passively respond to whatever he asked.
When she heard him ask, "Are you not feeling well?" there was a mont where she felt so wronged she wanted to cry.
If she wasn’t upset and wandering aimlessly around campus after school, she wouldn’t have gotten caught in the rain, and if she hadn’t been rained on, she wouldn’t have caught a cold and fever...
Yes, frankly, it was all his fault!
It was his causing her mood to plumt that made her foolishly lose track of directions and wander aimlessly around campus.
But on second thought, he left because of her lies.
So ultimately, the real culprit is herself!
But apart from using this excuse to push him away, did she have any other choice?
She admitted, she truly liked him.
Yet liking soone cannot be an excuse to hurt them.
Sitting inside the fabric curtain, Zhu Qianyu’s mind was torn by an internal conflict.
Neither side willing to concede, yet neither could win over the other.
"Xiao Yu... the congee has cooled down a bit, could you get up and eat sothing first?" Ji Huan asked gently from outside the curtain.
Zhu Qianyu finally let go of her struggle, responding with a "Okay...", raising her hand to smooth her slightly ssy hair, looking down to check her clothes were neat and tidy before reaching up to lift the curtain.
Ji Huan was lowering his head, taking out the congee and stead dumplings, setting them down carefully. Zhu Qianyu glanced over and caught sight of his downward profile.
Whether it was an illusion or not, she felt he seed darker and thinner than a month ago, his facial contours appearing especially defined.
His hair seed to have grown much longer than before, the bangs half-hanging over his forehead, longer sideburns framing his face, making him seem more youthful than before.
From Zhu Qianyu’s angle, he increasingly looked like a student.
Zhu Qianyu stood there holding the curtain, staring at him without blinking.
Ji Huan opened the lids of the food container and bowl, placed chopsticks and a spoon in a cup with hot water to sterilize, finished all this and then looked up to call Zhu Qianyu.
Their gazes t directly, her intense gaze clashing with his eyes.
"You can eat now, co down!"
Ji Huan grinned at her, stepping forward, placing his hands on the bed fra.
"Mm..." Zhu Qianyu held onto the ladder with her hands, extending her legs downward. Ji Huan moved behind her slightly, opening his arms protectively, as if worried she might fall.
Zhu Qianyu felt a bit awkward, turning to smile at him, "I climb up and down all the ti, I won’t fall."
Ji Huan stood his ground protectively, "That’s normally, now you’re unwell with a cold and fever."
Zhu Qianyu’s eyes dimd, shouldn’t he be ignoring her now? Why is he still so gentle and considerate?
With him like this, how could she possibly push him away again?
Zhu Qianyu had just sat down when Ji Huan placed the spoon and chopsticks in her hands, "I know you have no appetite, but you should eat a little while it’s hot, you’ll recover quicker."
Zhu Qianyu kept her head down, silently picking up the spoon to scoop porridge into her mouth.
"Do you want so vinegar for your stead dumplings? I brought a bit for you."
Ji Huan said, taking out a small box from the bag, opening it, and handing it to her.
Zhu Qianyu looked up at him, pointing to the chair beside her with a finger, "You sit too, have you eaten?"
Ji Huan obliged, sitting down beside her, "I was having a al nearby with my family, thought I’d drop by and check on you."
"Oh..." Zhu Qianyu nodded, lowering her head, silently spooning porridge into her mouth.
Ji Huan noticed she only ate one stead dumpling before stopping, frowning slightly, "Aren’t the stead dumplings good? I did buy them from the fifth place at the South Gate."
Little did he know, Zhu Qianyu wasn’t disliking the taste of the dumplings, but rather her mind was too tumultuous at the mont, eating porridge was rely an unconscious act; she didn’t even realize what she was eating.
"They’re good, I just wanted to warm my stomach with so porridge first." Zhu Qianyu, startled awake, quickly explained.
Under Ji Huan’s watchful gaze, Zhu Qianyu ate half a bowl of congee and a stear of stead dumplings.
After eating, Zhu Qianyu wanted to clean up, but Ji Huan stopped her, "What are you a patient showing off strength for?"
Zhu Qianyu had no choice but to withdraw her hands, allowing Ji Huan to efficiently tidy things up.
"I’ll sit with you a while, and leave after you take your dicine." Ji Huan sat down again.
When Ji Huan ca in, the dormitory had only Zhu Qianyu and the roommate who opened the door.
Then, that roommate took the large bag of food that Ji Huan handed over and sensibly slipped away to the next room to chat.
At this mont, in the dormitory, there were only Ji Huan and Zhu Qianyu.
Zhu Qianyu expected Ji Huan to bring up the events of the past month, but he rely asked her how her recent life was, if the work at Xinying was tough, if her studies at school were overwhelming, and so on.
Zhu Qianyu answered one by one, but in the end, she couldn’t help but ask him.
"Have you been busy lately?" Zhu Qianyu carefully watched his reaction.
Ji Huan nodded openly and frankly, "Yes, I’ve indeed been busy. There’s an out-of-town project manager who’s going to be a father, took a month’s paternity leave, and I was assigned to be the acting manager. The place isn’t just inconvenient for transportation, even getting online is a luxury."
Zhu Qianyu looked seriously at his features, "So, you lost weight?"
Ji Huan paused, raising a hand to feel his face, "Have I lost weight?"
"Mm, you’ve got darker and thinner, and your hair is longer!" Zhu Qianyu continued to stare at him unblinking.
Ji Huan ruffled his hair, smiling, "I thought I’d tidy up at the hairdresser tomorrow before coming to see you!"
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