MNL Chapter 30
by VolareChapter 30 Misunderstanding – Why Didn’t You Wait for Me?
“Don’t overthink it, Yan Zhe asked me to bring it, to thank you.”
Shen Yan, who was already at the doorway, paused, then chuckled softly.
“What are you laughing at?”
Xu Jing’s voice held a hint of dissatisfaction. Only he knew how difficult it was to come up with that excuse.
“I’m not overthinking it.” Shen Yan turned to look at Xu Jing, deliberately asking, “You didn’t buy it especially for me, did you?”
Xu Jing didn’t say anything. He wasn’t good at lying, and he’d definitely give himself away if he kept talking, so he simply chose to shut his mouth. After entering, he placed the late-night snack on the table.
The room was quiet, with only the sounds of pulling out chairs and unwrapping boxes. Shen Yan wasn’t particularly hungry, and his mind wasn’t on the food, but considering that someone had not only brought a late-night snack but also racked their brains to come up with a good reason, he couldn’t just accept the kindness in his heart. So, he ate more than half of it with no real flavor. Just as Xu Jing was about to finish, Shen Yan suddenly spoke, breaking the silence.
“Don’t you have anything else to ask me?”
Xu Jing paused his chopsticks and looked at Shen Yan, “Do you have something you want to say to me?”
Shen Yan was silent for a while, and then, after a long pause, he gently shook his head.
“Some explanations are meaningless in themselves.” Xu Jing swallowed the food in his mouth and said seriously, “So, there’s no need to do something you don’t want to do.”
“Thank you.”
The voice was very soft.
Xu Jing blinked twice, almost thinking he was hallucinating, “What?”
Shen Yan looked at the person in front of him and then repeated, “Thank you.”
The scorching gaze came straight at him, and his heart skipped a beat at an inappropriate speed. Xu Jing didn’t notice what he was putting into his mouth at that moment, only feeling that as soon as he bit down, the spicy flavor swept through his entire mouth, and his tongue felt numb as if it were burning.
“…Cough, cough cough!!”
It seemed that the chef had accidentally put too much chili when making it. Xu Jing was choked with tears and kept coughing, and his delicate face showed a bit of indescribable distortion.
Shen Yan didn’t have time to laugh at him. He glanced at the table and noticed a blue and white ceramic cup filled with water. He was about to push it over, but then he suddenly thought of something, and his hand slowly stopped.
The chili peppers were small and dry, stuck in his throat, making him incredibly uncomfortable. Xu Jing felt that if he didn’t solve it, he would cough to death here. So, he didn’t bother thinking about anything else, directly took the cup from Shen Yan’s hand, and tilted his head back to gulp down the water.
His rosy lips brightly touched the edge of the cup. Shen Yan’s body stiffened, and he stared unblinkingly at that spot until the other person had drunk all the water.
Xu Jing’s voice was much hoarser. He pointed an accusing finger at Shen Yan’s hesitating behavior, “What good would it do you if I choked to death?”
Shen Yan’s gaze was a little dark. He parted his lips, but didn’t make a sound at first. Xu Jing didn’t hear him clearly until the second time.
He said, “This is what I usually use.”
The air seemed to freeze at that moment.
Xu Jing felt as if a thunderbolt had struck him head-on. He looked at the cup almost mechanically, then at Shen Yan, and finally, as if unwilling to face it, he squeezed out a sentence with great effort after a long time, “When was the last time you used it to drink water?”
Shen Yan didn’t hesitate and told the truth, “Half an hour ago.”
“…”
“Exactly where you drank,” Shen Yan calmly added.
Two seconds later, Xu Jing suddenly stood up.
“I’m done eating, I’m leaving.”
As if being chased, he fled in disarray. That slender figure disappeared quickly and frantically at the door.
A hint of a smile spread through Shen Yan’s eyes. He sat there motionless, but when he came back to his senses, he found that he had already picked up that blue and white cup.
The sharp contours of his face gradually softened. The person in the room slowly lowered his eyes, his deep gaze lingering on the edge for a while. For some reason, he reached out and gently stroked it.
Back in 601, Xu Jing calmed down for a long time and then began to hypnotize himself mentally. It was just that he happened to use the same cup and happened to drink water in the same spot. Yan Zhe had also accidentally taken the wrong cup and shared one with him before, although that cup had already been thrown away by him. But, would Shen Yan throw that cup away?
Wait, was the problem now whether to throw away the cup or not??
The phone in his pocket had vibrated several times earlier. Xu Jing was annoyed and hadn’t looked at it. Now, when he took it out, he realized it was a message from the landlord. An hour ago, the landlord said that the circuit breaker in the sixth-floor hallway had tripped again, and he should be careful when it got dark. But half an hour ago, the landlord said it had been repaired.
Xu Jing tapped the screen and sent a “Okay.” Then, he asked, who fixed it?
Immediately after, this sentence was withdrawn.
Because from the moment he sent the message, he already had the answer in his heart.
·
The holiday passed quickly. The atmosphere in the entire class was rather somber on the day they returned to school. Several subject representatives took turns collecting homework. The sound of pen tips scratching across paper could be heard constantly in the classroom. Cha Fei’ang had been playing wildly for the past few days and hadn’t touched his liberal arts homework at all. At this moment, more than a dozen test papers were piled on his desk, and he was in tears trying to catch up.
Fortunately, Shen Yan arrived late, giving him enough time to write his English homework. Cha Fei’ang’s English scores were not top-notch in the class, but they were definitely among the top in other schools. However, this holiday’s English homework was a joint exam simulation paper, which was quite difficult. He read the passages several times, but his writing was still stumbling.
With only two class periods left until English class, and Zhou Ji being dragged away by Zheng Tong to carry books, Cha Fei’ang was desperately seeking help. He had no choice but to turn to Xu Jing for the answers.
“Emergency, Jing-ge! Quick, what are the answers to the reading comprehension in Part D of the second simulation paper?”
Without looking up, Xu Jing replied, “Four Cs.”
“…” Cha Fei’ang anxiously looked at his watch, almost cursing, “Damn it, Jing-ge, let’s not joke around. Old Zhou will be here soon!”
Old Zhou was the nickname they gave to Zhou Yan, because Zhou Yan was usually unsmiling and walked slowly, making him look like a little old man. Among all the teachers, Cha Fei’ang was most afraid of Zhou Yan. Let alone doing other homework in his class, he would even take a detour when he saw this math teacher on weekdays.
“Who’s joking with you?” Xu Jing said lazily, “Believe it or not.”
Cha Fei’ang choked. Forced by the situation, he could only swallow his anger and pick up the test paper to start writing the answers. But when he got to the fourth question, he really couldn’t write the “C” anymore. Cha Fei’ang gritted his teeth, changed his pen stroke, and changed the last answer to D.
After spending half the morning finally finishing all his homework, he collapsed directly in his seat. After the third class period, Cha Fei’ang poked Zheng Tong, who was next to him, “Bro, lend me some water to drink.”
Zheng Tong didn’t think much and handed over his water cup. Xu Jing almost stopped writing at the same moment and slightly raised his head.
Both of them belonged to the kind of carefree personality without much obsession with cleanliness, and plus they had a good relationship, so this was nothing to them. And Cha Fei’ang didn’t touch the cup with his mouth after taking it, but just poured some into his mouth from the air.
Xu Jing frowned directly when he saw it. He had managed to convince himself to turn the page on what happened last night, but Cha Fei’ang’s action brought him back to square one. Xu Jing was inexplicably irritable and ignored the voice calling him from behind.
Until he felt his shoulder being gently patted twice, Xu Jing was stunned and turned back, only to see the person who had been appearing in his mind just a second ago, now standing straight in front of him.
“Wu Songyue has something to see you about.”
After saying that, Shen Yan at the door turned and left.
The tone was so cold that the surrounding temperature seemed to drop several degrees. Zheng Tong glanced back at Xu Jing’s following figure in trepidation, and then faced Cha Fei’ang, who was also afraid. They were both worried about one thing, wouldn’t these two start fighting in public?
It was exactly the time for the long break. There were students doing exercises, and students taking out the trash. Students were coming and going in the hallway. And Shen Yan and Xu Jing were both popular figures in the school. When they passed by, many girls were whispering quietly next to them.
Wu Songyue was the deputy director of the academic affairs office, and his office was in the teaching building opposite, which would take five or six minutes to walk to. The two of them were walking side by side, but Xu Jing didn’t know what he was thinking, and his speed gradually slowed down.
After noticing this, Shen Yan suddenly stopped at the corner.
The person behind him was caught off guard and bumped directly into him.
“…” Xu Jing was seeing stars from the pain. While touching his nose, he was furious, “Why the hell did you stop for no reason?”
Shen Yan turned back, calmly looking at Xu Jing, and said, “You’ve been distracted from the classroom until now.”
Xu Jing: “What’s it to you—”
“I don’t understand.”
Xu Jing asked impatiently, “Don’t understand what?”
Shen Yan’s dark pupils showed a bit of depth. He took two steps forward, his voice low, “Is it because of what happened last night?”
Xu Jing panicked immediately, so he took two steps back, and his eyes dodged to the side.
“I don’t know what you’re talking about.”
“Okay.” Shen Yan calmly put on a magnanimous look, and said, “Then I’ll change the question.”
“Why didn’t you wait for me this morning?”
Xu Jing subconsciously wanted to reply, why should I wait for you, and even wanted to be even more obnoxious and say, am I obligated to wait for you? But Shen Yan’s tone didn’t sound like the kind of aggressive questioning, but rather carried a hint of imperceptible disappointment.
The words in his throat swirled around, but he still didn’t say them. He only replied sullenly, “Forgot.”
But actually, he intentionally didn’t want to run into Shen Yan. Although the two hadn’t made any agreements before, they could always meet at the door or downstairs, and then they could only naturally go to school together.
Shen Yan didn’t say anything more, just raised his eyebrows, the emotions hidden in his eyes complex and unclear.
Wu Songyue had just walked out of the office to find a student to call someone when he saw Shen Yan and Xu Jing standing not far away, so he stretched his throat and shouted, “What are you two doing there? Come to the office quickly, everyone’s waiting.”
After the words fell, the two looked at each other in silence, and then walked towards that side one after the other.