Blackboard Eraser

On the way to the Teaching Building.

The girl with Double Ponytail on the left had her hands clasped behind her head and her face turned to the side, while Lin Zhengran in the middle looked easygoing, as if nothing had happened.

On the right, Little He Qing had her hands clasped together in front of her and her head half lowered, while Han Wenwen was holding He Qing's arm. If Lin Zhengran looked at this fox, she would smile at him and wave. "Good afternoon, Student Lin Zhengran."

None of the four of them spoke along the way. After briefly introducing themselves at the start, everyone just walked forward at an unhurried pace.

The subtle atmosphere was so juicy that even a passing dog would want to buy two packs of sunflower seeds and squat by the roadside to crack them while watching the show.

Jiang Xueli's lively eyes secretly observed Little He Qing on the other side. She was fair, sweet, and slender; just her profile alone was unbelievably pretty.

Little He Qing also quietly glanced at Jiang Xueli on the other side. She was lively, adorable, and full of energy, the kind of girl who seemed likable at first sight.

The two girls' eyes met, and then, awkwardly, one looked away again while the other lowered her head.

Fortunately, Lin Zhengran was unaffected.

"When did you get here?" Lin Zhengran asked.

Jiang Xueli and He Qing both looked at Lin Zhengran at the same time.

"Huh?"

"Mm?"

Han Wenwen, meanwhile, looked like she was watching a good show, her eyes seeming to say, "He probably isn't asking me, right?"

Lin Zhengran blinked. "Why are you all looking at me? I'm asking He Qing."

Jiang Xueli turned her head away and imperceptibly pressed her lips together. He Qing answered in a tiny whisper, "Yesterday. Mom and I came over, and the enrollment procedures were all completed smoothly. I'll be able to study at this school for the next few years."

Lin Zhengran gave an mm. "Aunt He went back?"

"Mm, my mom has already gone back. From now on, I'll stay at school on Saturdays and Sundays. If you want to find me, you can always..." Little He Qing saw Jiang Xueli's face turned to the side, and the rest of her words were spoken with her head half lowered again, her voice very quiet. "You can come find me anytime. Calling me is fine too..."

"Got it."

They continued walking forward. Lin Zhengran, sweating inwardly, noticed Jiang Xueli's puffed-up expression beside him. Certain Person's cheeks were puffed out like a toad's.

He said speechlessly, "What kind of expression is that?"

Little He Qing heard the two of them chatting and said nothing. Jiang Xueli muttered softly, "It's no kind of expression. I was born looking like this."

Lin Zhengran could only look ahead and ask in boredom, "When did you get here at noon?"

Jiang Xueli's puffed-out cheeks instantly returned to normal. She was clearly happy, but tried hard to act as if she had no reaction. "A little after twelve. I ate lunch with Mom and then came over. After that, I slept in the dorm the whole time."

"Oh."

After a few more steps, Han Wenwen suddenly burst out laughing.

All three of them looked at her. Little Fox apologetically covered her mouth, blinked, and said, "Sorry, I thought of something funny. Keep going. Don't mind me."

Jiang Xueli and Little He Qing both blushed and said nothing.

Little He Qing even secretly nudged Han Wenwen with her elbow, signaling, What are you laughing at?

Han Wenwen covered her mouth and secretly whispered by He Qing's ear, "Little Qing Qing, I'm really sorry. You guys are just too fun. I really couldn't hold it in." Little He Qing gave her an adorable eye roll and pressed her lips together.

The group kept walking until they reached the first floor of the Teaching Building, where they went their separate ways. During that time, no one said anything else.

They couldn't get the words out.

Lin Zhengran stood in the corridor and said to the two of them, "Then I'm heading back to the classroom. You two should be in the same class, right?"

Jiang Xueli nodded. Little He Qing had also been shocked yesterday when Han Wenwen told her about it. She hadn't expected that she and Jiang Xueli would actually be in the same class, and she nodded too.

Lin Zhengran said, "Then if there's nothing else, you two should head back. See you after evening self-study. Bye."

Jiang Xueli and He Qing waved to Lin Zhengran together and said bye, then turned and left in a subtle atmosphere.

Han Wenwen stood beside Lin Zhengran and waited until the two of them had walked into the Class Three classroom before covering her mouth and laughing again.

Lin Zhengran glanced sideways at this fox. "Did you think of something funny again?"

Han Wenwen looked at him playfully. She was also the only one who didn't blush when she looked at Lin Zhengran, though that gaze wasn't exactly the look an ordinary person gave either.

Han Wenwen's eyes were naturally filled with a certain charm. "That's right. Has Student Lin Zhengran never encountered anything fun before? But... when did Student Lin Zhengran find out I was Little Qing Qing's best friend? You weren't surprised at all when you saw me just now."

Lin Zhengran sighed. "I knew a long time ago. Otherwise, I wouldn't have let you stare at me every day for the past month."

Han Wenwen poked her mouth with her finger and stared upward as if thinking. "True. I was wondering before whether you'd already guessed my identity since you didn't stop me from observing you." She smiled.

"But we really are fated, aren't we? Last year, on those snowy days, we ran into each other at the bus shelter several times. Now not only are we in the same class, we're actually deskmates. If this were a novel, with the way things are developing, I'd even suspect that in the future I might give birth to a few kids for you and wait every day for you to come home from work and eat dinner."

Lin Zhengran: "...Next time, maybe don't suspect that."

He ignored Han Wenwen and walked toward the classroom. Han Wenwen curiously stared at Lin Zhengran's figure, thinking, He really isn't interested in me.

If it were any other boy, that line just now would probably have made him blush at the very least.

After all, many years ago, there had been a boy who, just because Han Wenwen smiled at him, said to her, "Han Wenwen, when you smiled just now, I already thought of names for our future children! I really like you."

Han Wenwen walked into the classroom and elegantly sat down beside Lin Zhengran.

In a voice only he could hear, she said, "But Student Lin Zhengran, secretly playing two girls at once isn't good, okay? It'll hurt girls' feelings. I advise you to choose Qing Qing sooner rather than later. I'm firmly part of the Qingqing Faction."

Lin Zhengran looked at the blackboard, unable to understand these little girls who only knew about love and romance all day long. "Can't you all do something proper for once? Also, you can rest assured on that point. I won't do something like secretly playing two girls at once."

"You want to do it openly and aboveboard? That won't be easy," Han Wenwen said, lying across the desk as she looked at Lin Zhengran, blinking her fox eyes. "And I don't recommend doing that, either."

Gazing into Lin Zhengran's eyes, Han Wenwen, who had seen through plenty of men's thoughts, was a little surprised after a moment.

She smiled meaningfully and commented, "Lin Zhengran, you really don't seem like a middle schooler. You're more like an adult who's already been out in society. Your way of thinking is completely different from everyone else in class."

The morning sunlight was bright and warm.

Jiang Xueli, Little He Qing, and Han Wenwen washed up and cleaned their faces in separate dormitories.

They also attended classes in different classrooms, but starting in the morning, they always went to eat after class and went back to class with the same boy.

None of them spoke much. Days like that went on for about a week.

The awkward, subtle atmosphere also lasted for more than a week, until Tuesday morning of the second week.

That day, the teacher arranged a major cleaning, and by chance, Little He Qing and Jiang Xueli were assigned together.

Although the two of them were a little awkward at first, since they had not spoken to each other at all during their week in Class Three, they worked together fairly well once they started cleaning.

Then, while they were standing on desks wiping the blackboard, Little He Qing's blackboard eraser slipped from her hand and fell.

After Jiang Xueli picked it up, Little He Qing said thanks. But just as Jiang Xueli was about to hand the blackboard eraser back, her hand stopped in midair, then drew back.

Little He Qing was puzzled at first, then looked at Jiang Xueli in surprise.

Jiang Xueli looked at Little He Qing and smiled kindly. "Is this one hard to use? I'll get you another blackboard eraser. I remember there's a new one."

Little He Qing said in a small voice, "It's not hard to use. My hand just slipped and I accidentally dropped it on the floor... I can use this one."

The class monitor passing by snatched the blackboard eraser from their hands and took the initiative to wipe the blackboard for them. "What are you two doing? Why are you fussing over a blackboard eraser? There's still so much left. Hurry up, school's about to end."