So It Was An Nuan

When Liu Chang'an had nothing else to do, An Nuan thought he would probably think of something to say. She sat up primly, waiting expectantly.

The sound of reading rang through the room. Across from her, Lin Xinhuai flipped through his book with a loud rustle. Farther away, Miao Yingying kept glancing back now and then. An Nuan wondered if she was looking at Lin Xinhuai. She had heard that he had confessed to Miao Yingying, and that they were together now.

People moved around the classroom, their noisy footsteps making it hard to concentrate. The leaves outside the window rustled, as if stirring up the restless emotions inside her. Perking up her ears, she heard the students in front whispering about what had happened that night. An Nuan regretted not being there, yet she also thought that if she had been, she would have had no idea what to do.

The weather in May was hardly scorching, but her palms still felt sweaty. An Nuan lowered her head and looked at her legs pressed together. A young woman's feelings seemed as mysterious as her body. With the college entrance exams approaching, she knew she shouldn't let her mind wander. But she felt a shy anticipation, and a desire like the one stirred up by the bayberries that came into season around this time. She knew they were tart, not sweet, and that even a gentle bite would make her teeth ache and send a shiver through her whole body. Yet she still wanted to wash one clean, hold it in her hand, admire its alluring crimson color, and bite into it without hesitation.

The juice burst across her tongue, filling her mouth with the warmth and tartness of the rainy season. It must have been incredibly satisfying, right?

No, it wasn't as if she had to find someone to date... An Nuan carefully sorted out her feelings. It was just that Liu Chang'an had done all those things, so shouldn't he explain something to her, say something... express something?

And then there was the fact that he had been cuddling with some woman on the street. As his friend... surely it was only natural for her to ask about it under the pretext of gossip, right?

After class that morning, An Nuan went to the bathroom with several female classmates. Girls always seemed to like going in groups when they did things like this.

But today, their smiles were a little suggestive. No matter the time or place, gossip and rumors spread even faster than disasters.

"So it was An Nuan..."

"It was An Nuan!"

"It really was An Nuan..."

Their giggles and gasps seemed to come out of nowhere, but they made An Nuan blush. She swatted at them in embarrassed annoyance. She had been somewhat prepared for this, knowing her classmates would tease her.

Zhang Taole and An Nuan were good friends. Back in middle school, Zhang Taole had played volleyball with her, but when Zhang Taole stopped growing taller, she gave up the sport. She took An Nuan's hand and put on a solemn expression. "Starting today, I'm handing my wife over to someone else. Which of you will make me a green hat?"

"You're asking for it!" An Nuan raised her hand and smacked Zhang Taole on the forehead. Since Zhang Taole was tall, An Nuan could easily reach up and bop her, just like she was hitting a volleyball.

"Nuannuan, what do you think about it?"

That was the real heart of the gossip. Everyone thought Liu Chang'an's actions amounted to an indirect confession. How the story would unfold depended on An Nuan, of course.

"I haven't thought anything! I think this whole thing is just a rumor that spread out of nowhere. Maybe it's a misunderstanding." An Nuan said sternly, "Stop making things up. People have been spreading rumors for three years that Liu Chang'an fell because of Bai Hui. Maybe this is another misunderstanding just like that."

An Nuan made sense. Zhang Taole was about to nod, but then she suddenly caught on and jumped up. "What are you talking about? There's a video as proof! Liu Chang'an looked so sincere, even I was moved! How could that be a misunderstanding? You might as well say they were filming a confession scene for a movie!"

Everyone got excited again. If it wasn't a misunderstanding, then they could keep gossiping! Gossip always filled people with excitement.

An Nuan's cheeks were flushed, and she had nothing to say. She had watched the video too... quite a lot of times, in fact. So many that she was too embarrassed to admit how many.

At noon, An Nuan went off campus with Liu Chang'an to get lunch. Gao Dewei asked them to bring him back a meal.

"Yesterday afternoon, I spent the whole time hauling bricks at a construction site and made another two hundred yuan. Lunch is on me today." Liu Chang'an turned to look at An Nuan. Her cheeks glowed with a soft luster and seemed even pinker than usual. She had tied her long hair back with a rainbow-colored hair tie, and the ends bounced cheerfully as she walked.

An Nuan nodded without hesitation, clasped her hands behind her back, and walked along, kicking one foot forward at a time. After clearing her throat, she said, "You went to haul bricks yesterday afternoon... What about the morning? I heard you went shopping on a date with your girlfriend and were all over each other."

As she spoke, An Nuan glared at Liu Chang'an, displeased. As his friend, surely she had every right to be upset that he had secretly gotten a girlfriend without telling her?

It wasn't enough to make anyone think she was jealous, and she wasn't sticking her nose where it didn't belong. An Nuan thought she had struck the perfect balance.

"Thanks to her, I was able to keep hauling bricks that afternoon. She must have hired me to haul them yesterday." Liu Chang'an knew exactly what she meant. Fan Jian was a decent guy, but he wouldn't make trouble for no reason... The pile of bricks yesterday could have been dealt with in two trips by the construction site's loader.

"She hired you to haul bricks?" An Nuan couldn't help being curious. Chen Changxiu had sent her the secretly taken photo. An Nuan had felt a little sour about it, but she also thought it surely wasn't what it looked like at first glance. She wasn't the kind of girl who jumped to conclusions.

You could also say that before a relationship was established, girls were often more rational and logical. Once they were in love, seeing a photo like that was another matter entirely.

"Too bad she only needed me to haul bricks. I don't have the good looks of Du Mu and Qin Guan..." Liu Chang'an said regretfully. "Pan An wasn't actually as handsome as people imagine, but Du Mu and Qin Guan were classic handsome, talented gentlemen. As the saying goes: 'Du Mu was handsome, loved song and dance, and had such a passionate nature that he could scarcely restrain himself...' Su Shi even drew a portrait of Qin Guan and said he had the natural air of a recluse, with the bearing of an immortal and a knight-errant. Even when down and out, he could bear to lose himself in pleasure... Qin Guan wrote a poem called Dream of Yangzhou..."

"Stop changing the subject." An Nuan didn't want to hear Liu Chang'an ramble on. She felt he was deliberately dodging the question. "Why did she ask you to haul bricks instead of someone else?"

"I have her business card." Liu Chang'an waved a hand. "It should be in my backpack. I'll give it to you later, and you can ask her yourself."

An Nuan wasn't about to do that. That wasn't even what she cared about most. Whatever people mentioned first was never the important part. She had seen the photo Chen Changxiu took, and that woman had been wearing black stockings! She was a mature woman, definitely much older than Liu Chang'an. What could he possibly have to do with her?

"We ran into each other on the road. Her electric scooter nearly hit her, so I just put my arm around her. Chen Changxiu sent you the photo, right?" Only then did Liu Chang'an smile. "You're so nosy."

"Who cares about you?" An Nuan retorted, then noticed the hint of a coquettish lilt in her voice. Her cheeks grew warm.

They arrived at the restaurant, ordered, and waited for the food. Liu Chang'an asked for a takeout container and packed Gao Dewei's meal.

An Nuan poked at the rice in her bowl, watching Liu Chang'an. He still seemed to have no intention of explaining anything to her, and she was starting to lose patience.

Unlike the others, she knew Liu Chang'an absolutely wasn't the kind of person who liked making a scene. He might write a poem or a love letter, but he would almost certainly never confess in front of a crowd. An Nuan had watched the video over and over. Liu Chang'an had only explained what had really happened. His voice had been so gentle that it made her heart race, but from beginning to end, he had never clearly said he liked An Nuan. He had only said that she was very pretty.

Complimenting a girl on her looks was probably perfectly ordinary for Liu Chang'an, wasn't it? To an outsider, it looked one way. But caught up in it herself, An Nuan couldn't help feeling uncertain, wondering what it all meant.