That Nameless Summer Chapter 29

milk tea shop

When dusk entered the alley, Xu Jiangyoucai tugged on the sleeves of Qin Jiangwen’s school uniform and pulled him into the food stall next to the milk tea shop.Warm yellow light bulbs hung above her head, and the aroma of sizzling grilled sausages drifted over in the evening breeze. She pointed to the octopus balls on the iron plate, her eyes as bright as stars: “I promised you a milk tea, and I’ll treat you to this by the way! This restaurant has plenty of shredded seaweed!”

Qin Jiangwen stood beside her, the warmth from her tug still lingering on his fingertips.He looked at Xu Jiangyou standing on tiptoe and taking orders from the boss, and suddenly felt a slight itch in his heart.Just now at the milk tea shop, he wanted to choose the corner seat, but she couldn’t help but pull him to the window – “You can see the kittens coming and going here!” When she spoke, the tips of her hair brushed his ears, carrying the fragrance of shampoo, so that he didn’t even say a word of rejection.

“Two octopus balls and more salad dressing!” Xu Jiangyou turned around and caught Qin Jiangwen’s gaze.The ends of the young man’s eyes were red, whether caused by the light or other reasons. His usually cold eyes were softer, as if they were covered with a layer of fog.She was stunned, then smiled and poked his arm: “Why are you so dazed? Are you afraid that I will trick you?”

Qin Jiangwen suddenly came to his senses and took half a step back. The tips of his ears turned red instantly.”No.” He whispered, his fingers clenched the strap of his schoolbag, and his eyes fell on the sizzling balls on the iron plate, “I just feel… there are a lot of people.”

In fact, he was not afraid of the crowd, but was afraid that if he got closer to her, his heartbeat would be heard so fast.Children who grew up in orphanages have long been accustomed to living alone. No one has ever burst in with such straightforward enthusiasm as Xu Jiangyou, pulling him to taste sweets he has never tasted and see scenery he has never noticed.

“It’s fun when there are a lot of people!” Xu Jiangyou didn’t notice his embarrassment. He took the small meatballs from the boss and handed one to Qin Jiangwen, “Eat it quickly, it tastes best when it’s hot!”

Qin Jiangwen took the paper bowl and his fingertips touched the warm wall of the bowl, which made him flinch slightly.Xu Jiangyou noticed immediately, frowned and handed him his tissue: “Be careful, don’t burn your hands! Why are you always so careless? Last time you burned your wrist, and this time you almost burned your fingers.”

Her tone was a bit angry, but there was obvious concern hidden in it.Qin Jiangwen held the tissue, lowered his head and took a bite of the small ball.The salty aroma of seaweed mixed with the sweetness of salad dressing spread on the tip of his tongue. It was a taste he had never tasted before.He secretly glanced at Xu Jiangyou and saw that she was eating with a satisfied look on her face, with some salad dressing on the corner of her mouth, like a kitten eating secretly. He couldn’t help but remind her in a low voice: “There is sauce on the corner of her mouth.”

Xu Jiangyou was stunned for a moment, and subconsciously wiped it with the back of his hand, but the more he wiped it, the more it became stained.Qin Jiangwen hesitated for a moment, then took out a well-packaged wet wipe from his pocket and handed it to her: “Use this to wipe.”

He specially bought this from the convenience store in the morning.When he was working in the supermarket yesterday, he saw some girls using these wipes to wipe their hands. He remembered that Xu Jiangyou always liked to wipe his mouth with the back of his hand, so he secretly bought a pack and hid it in the back of his schoolbag. He didn’t expect to actually use it today.

Xu Jiangyou took the wet wipe and said with a smile: “You are quite attentive, much more reliable than my brother!” After wiping her mouth, she suddenly remembered something, took out a strawberry-flavored candy from her pocket and stuffed it into Qin Jiangwen’s hand, “Here you go! Last time you helped me lecture, I didn’t thank you properly!”

Qin Jiangwen pinched the candy, and the lines on the candy wrapper touched his fingertips, and his heart suddenly felt warm.He wanted to refuse, saying that he didn’t like sweets, but when he saw the expectant look in her eyes, he swallowed his words.”Thank you.” He whispered and put the candy into his pocket as carefully as if he were hiding a treasure.

The two held the small balls and walked slowly along the alley.When Xu Jiang was talking about interesting things in school, he was chirping like a jumping bird.Qin Jiangwen listened quietly and occasionally responded. His eyes fell on the side of her face. The light cast a shallow shadow on her eyelashes, which was so beautiful that he couldn’t move his eyes away.

When she reached the fork, Xu Jiangyou stopped and said with some reluctance, “I’m going this way.” She paused, looked at Qin Jiangwen, and whispered, “Tomorrow… can you still help me with math questions? I still have a few questions that I haven’t understood.”

In fact, she had already understood the math problem, and she just wanted to find a reason to stay with him for a while longer.

Qin Jiangwen’s footsteps paused, and a burst of anticipation suddenly surged in his heart.On the surface, he remained calm and nodded: “Okay. But… I have to go to school early in the morning to do the questions, maybe after morning self-study.”

“No problem!” Xu Jiangyou smiled immediately, his eyes as bright as stars, “Then I will go find you after my self-study tomorrow morning!”

Qin Jiang heard “Yeah” and watched her turn around and walk towards home.Xu Jiangyou walked a few steps, then suddenly turned back and waved to him: “Qin Jiangwen, be careful on the road! Remember to eat the candy I gave you!”

“I know.” Qin Jiangwen nodded, watching her back disappear into the alley, then turned and left.He walked to a place where no one was around, took out the strawberry candy from his pocket, unwrapped it and put it in his mouth.The sweet taste spreads on the tip of the tongue, with a hint of strawberry, sweeter than the octopus balls just now.

He took out his mobile phone, hesitated for a long time, and sent a message to Xu Jiangyou: “Today’s octopus balls are delicious, thank you. I will wait for you in the classroom after self-study tomorrow morning.”

After the transmission was successful, he clutched the phone, his heart beating so fast that it felt like it was about to burst out of his chest.Not long after, the phone vibrated. It was a reply from Xu Jiangyou, with a cute smiling emoticon: “You’re welcome! I’ll bring you milk tomorrow!”

Qin Jiangwen looked at the news and couldn’t help but raise the corners of his mouth slightly.He knew that he seemed to have fallen into trouble.He fell into the hands of this bright and generous girl, fell into her straightforward enthusiasm, fell into this sudden sweetness that caught him off guard.

The evening breeze blew gently through the quiet alley, carrying the aroma of octopus balls and the sweetness of strawberry candies.The young man’s thoughts are like the sweetness hidden in the candy wrapper, fermenting quietly in the night, waiting for the day when it will be illuminated by the sun.