Summer and autumn always bring constant drizzles.
Su Qing was still a little unaccustomed to it, so inevitably, she got caught in the rain again this morning.
Jiang Sui noticed her the moment she entered the room. Her skirt was wet from the rain, her shoes were a little muddy, and her soft hair was a bit messy at the side of her ear. She gathered her hair three times, pinched her schoolbag seven times with her fingertips, and lowered her head only once, then lowered it again, leaving half her face covered by her hair.
Su Qing sat in her seat. She didn't know if it was her imagination, but she could feel a faint gaze from behind her.
She pinched her fingertips, trying to ignore the gaze.
She ignored the gaze.
But she couldn't ignore the note on her desk. Su Qing pinched her fingers, watched the teacher enter, and immediately tucked the note back into her desk, automatically ignoring the gossiping glances from her deskmate.
"Qing Qing, Jiang Sui threw you a note! Don't you want to take a look?" Liu Ranran blinked curiously.
"I guess it's thrown wrong." Su Qing, her eyes on her nose, her nose on her heart, pulled out her English textbook as she prepared for morning reading.
Her palms tightened. She didn't know, for some reason, why did Jiang Sui throw a note at her so early in the morning...
Maybe he really had thrown it by mistake.
At the end of class, Li Ran mentioned a word dictation to gauge the class's English proficiency.
Even with the wailing of ghosts and wolves, it was useless.
"Boys, girls, one each, go write on the blackboard. Anyone willing?"
The atmosphere in the class was low. No one dared to speak. It seemed that every time a question like this came up in class, the air was filled with silence.
Quiet as a chicken, eyes watching noses, noses watching hearts.
"If you don't have any, I'll call your name." That was the sentence she feared most.
"Teacher, I think we should let the new student up!" It was Hu Yifan who spoke, his mouth gaping in resignation as he mumbled. He'd been doing morning reading when he saw Sui Ge mean Jiang Sui throw a note to the new girl at the table in front of him.
"Otherwise, no one would know the new student's level, and we wouldn't be able to help each other. Teacher, test the new student, Su Qing."
Although everyone knew his English was weaker than a stone in a toilet, the idea of mutual help was a joke. Hu Yifan gritted his teeth and made it up.
Su Qing half-turned her head, blinked, and glanced at Hu Yifan. Her eyes were clear, and she had no idea why this classmate... seemed to be targeting her, a hint of innocence.
"Hu Yifan, you're not going to fall for that new classmate, are you? Helping each other, is that all you can do?!" The voice that started the taunting was Wang Chen, a classmate who had always been at odds with Hu Yifan.
Looking at the new classmate looking at him, Hu Yifan's face instantly flushed. So, the new classmate was so good-looking...
"No, teacher, it's not..."
"No, what, no? Hu Yifan, sit down and copy the vocabulary for this class a hundred times! Give it to me tomorrow morning." Li Ran glared at Hu Yifan mercilessly.
Li Ran was naturally aware of Hu Yifan's English proficiency.
Hu Yifan sat down resignedly, looking in Jiang Sui's direction.
Jiang Sui didn't even look at him. The boy's eyes were half-closed, a faint sneer on his lips. He slumped over the front of the table, propped up on one elbow, his hair ruffled slightly by the wind outside.
"Su Qing, would you like to have the vocabulary dictated?" Since they were already there, Li Ran casually asked Su Qing.
The girl's eyes lifted softly, and she instinctively wanted to shake her head, but Su Qing paused, then nodded and said, "Okay."
She murmured, very well behaved.
Su Qing went to the podium, her skirt still dangling at the foot of Jiang Sui's desk leg.
One group of boys, one group of girls.
"Who else wants to come up and write the vocabulary? Boys."
"Me."
No one could believe Jiang Sui would actually volunteer to take dictation. Everyone knew that Jiang Sui, despite his good grades, had a bad temper, didn't hand in homework, was late and left early, and even worse, but it seemed like nothing was wrong with him. It was as if all the rules became exceptions when he met Jiang Sui.
No one objected to this unexpected situation; everything was as it should be.
He was a lawless man.
The boy's starry eyes shone brightly beneath his wispy hair. His long legs stepped onto the podium, right beside Su Qing, a head taller than hers.
On that head, however, was a glaring hat. It was hers. Su Qing bit her lip and scooted slightly away.
Jiang Sui's eyes darkened. The finger holding the chalk snapped with a crack, and it fell to Su Qing's feet. It lay quietly in a domineering posture, brimming with the owner's anger...
Su Qing didn't know what had offended him, but she didn't dare move, being perfectly obedient.
The two of them stood in front of the blackboard and wrote the first word. Jiang Sui stood where Su Qing had written her name when introducing her. Before he could wipe it off, the boy paused and wrote the first word on her elegant handwriting.
The brush fell, and powder scattered, a tiny rustling sound. The wind outside the window blew Su Qing's long, black hair apart, a few strands drifting across Jiang Sui's arm, sweeping across it. The itchy springtime, it seemed, had begun right then and there.
The boy's handwriting was unruly and somewhat beautiful. It was Gothic, a style that could only be achieved through deliberate practice. Su Qing had read about it in a book.
"After school, go to the rooftop. I have things find you."
After finishing her dictation and putting down her chalk, Su Qing heard a deep male voice. It was a voice shared by two people, and he was quite close to her; she could even sense his nasal twang.
After he finished, Jiang Sui casually walked behind Su Qing. The tips of her hair were stained with white chalk dust, dotted with stars, a bit unsightly. He rubbed his fingertips with his hands in his pockets, his expression becoming a little more expressionless.
He and she were on the same stage, both of them had perfect scores. A fleeting smile curled Jiang Sui's lips.
"Jiang Sui is amazing."
"It's just that he doesn't usually go to the podium, and the teachers can't do anything about him."
After Su Qing sat down, her deskmate whispered to her, "No one in school dares to mess with him. He's amazing at everything."
"He's a good student and good-looking, but he just has a bad temper."
"But Qingqing, you're amazing too, so amazing! You also got perfect scores, and you even got all the dictation correct!" Liu Ranran looked at Su Qing with envy. Good students, good looks, and seemingly a good temper too!
"Qing Qing, if you don't know him, don't mess with him. He's a tough guy to mess with." Liu Ranran paused, remembering the note from that morning, and reminded her.
Her eyes were calm, and the hand holding the pen tightened a little. She could sense that boy was dangerous, very dangerous. His name was Jiang Sui.
She had just heard Jiang Sui tell him to go to the rooftop.
During recess.
Hu Yifan looked at Jiang Sui with resentment. "Brother Sui, ahhhh, do you know how many words that devil girl had to dictate this class? Copy each word a hundred times, Brother Sui." Hu Yifan gritted his teeth at Jiang Sui's unfeignedly handsome face.
Jiang Sui yanked the hand from his shoulder. "Stay away from me! Stop disgusting me."
But the fireworks caught Jiang Sui's piercing gaze, and Hu Yifan's words were choked back. "Okay, okay, I'll shut up."
Jiang Sui leaned lazily against the wall, squinting his eyes, not knowing what he was looking at, when a noise like a crow appeared in his ears again.
"Jiang Sui, I, I, I, there is a word I can't pronounce, can you teach me?" The girl in the white dress was very nervous, holding the textbook in her hand. She had liked Jiang Sui for a long time, and she had finally made up her mind... Although he rejected her confession, she did not intend to give up. The college entrance examination was about to begin, and if he was willing... she wanted to go to the same university with him.
"Who are you?" The boy's narrow eyes wandered aimlessly, his handsome face expressionless. Through the corners of his thin lips, he glared at the girl before him. The girl's face paled.
He didn't know her...
"Brother Sui, this, this, this—that's the one who confessed to you the other day." Hu Yifan stared.
Xu Miaoran looked at Jiang Sui nervously, her girlish thoughts visible on her face.
Jiang Sui's eyes wandered, drifting somewhere else. He paused, then softly uttered, "Oh!" Then, again, "I don't know her," his tone unkind. The girl swayed, a glimpse of her fleshy flesh. Jiang Sui, furious, added, "Move aside, you're blocking my view."
Xu Miaoran's face paled for a moment, bewildered. She stood there, then turned and began to leave.
"Wait."
Everyone thought something was happening. "Put your book away. I'm a germaphobe." A hint of disgust crossed his elegant, handsome face. It wasn't much, but it was obvious to everyone else.
He reached into the drawer and pulled out a disinfectant wipe, about to wipe...
Xu Miaoran's face paled. He grabbed the book with trembling hands and ran out.
"Brother Sui, wow, you're so cruel... You're so ruthless!"
"Don't lean on me. If you do, I'll chop your hand off!" Jiang Sui said coldly.
"Okay, okay, okay, okay, okay, I won't touch you. No, no, no." Jiang Sui's mysophobia was well known.
Everyone sighed...
"Xu Miaoran confessed her love twice and was rejected!"
"Oh my god, how cruel!"
Liu Ranran had long been immune to the constant stream of people confessing their love to Jiang Sui. She just listened to the commotion behind her and pouted. "It's so noisy! I don't even want to study anymore." She crawled onto the table, staring at Su Qing.
It's clearly because don't want to study...
"Qing Qing, do you think I'm being unreasonable?"
Su Qing shook her head and smiled, pursing her lips. She looked so pretty. Liu Ranran, a face-chaser, pulled a carton of milk and two packets of candy from her schoolbag and said, "Eat!" with a chuckle, stroking her hair.
So smooth...
But, Su Qing bit her lip. She still remembered something.
During the dictation, she heard him tell her to go to the rooftop...
Especially the look in Jiang Sui's eyes just now, as if to ask what would happen if she didn't go...
After school, Su Qing rushed out of the school gate. After all, it was Saturday and Sunday.
Yes, she didn't keep the appointment.
On Monday, the boy probably forgot about it.