"Not this again!"
Chen Zhenzhen went on alert and walked slowly toward the stairs. As she passed the bottom of the staircase, she suddenly shouted "Boo!" at the shadows.
"Zhang Zaowan, that trick won't work a second... time?"
The space beneath the stairs was empty.
Chen Zhenzhen froze for a moment. She searched carefully around every place where someone could hide, but still saw no sign of Zhang Zhaomu.
"Could his class still be going?"
She walked out of the teaching building and looked up at the third floor. The lights in the classroom belonging to liberal arts class nine were already off.
Her fingers trembled slightly.
"So class really has ended... Well, of course. How could his class possibly run late?"
Only then did she belatedly realize something. "Zhang Zaowan didn't wait for me today?"
"He left on his own?"
A sense of bewilderment washed over her in an instant. For some reason, the wind felt a little cold tonight.
"Huh?" Wang Qianzi approached from behind. "Your guy isn't here today?"
She glanced at Chen Zhenzhen's expression and asked cautiously, "Did you two... have a fight?"
"No." Chen Zhenzhen hurriedly forced a smile. "He had something to do tonight, so he went home early."
"I see." Wang Qianzi nodded and took Chen Zhenzhen's arm. "That's great, then. I finally have a chance to walk with my adorable deskmate."
"Don't you live at school?" Chen Zhenzhen tried to suppress the turmoil in her heart and act as though nothing was wrong.
"There's still plenty of time before lights-out. I'll walk you to the school gate," Wang Qianzi said with a grin.
She cast Chen Zhenzhen a discreet glance and pulled her along as she said, "Let me tell you something funny. Today, this guy in the class next door..."
Chen Zhenzhen played along as Wang Qianzi gossiped on and on, but her mind kept turning.
Why didn't Zhang Zaowan wait for me? Could he be angry?
I didn't do anything to make him angry at noon today. At most, I just didn't agree to let him pull my suspender strap.
I could tell his friendship for me had changed into something else. Maybe he noticed that I'd figured it out? It was pretty obvious, after all, and things were really awkward between us at noon...
Maybe he thought my reaction at noon was a rejection, so he just gave up and wouldn't even walk home with me tonight?
The more Chen Zhenzhen thought about it, the more she felt she was close to the truth.
Her lips puckered into a pout, and she muttered, "Coward!"
"Zhenzhen, what did you say?" Wang Qianzi leaned close and asked.
"Nothing." Chen Zhenzhen looked at the school gate not far away and said, "We're at the gate. You should hurry back to your dorm. I can walk home by myself."
"How about I walk you home?" Wang Qianzi said. "Your place isn't far anyway, right? I'd still have plenty of time to get back."
"There's really no need." Chen Zhenzhen shook her head.
Of course she could tell that, although Wang Qianzi hadn't asked directly, she had chosen every topic along the way to distract her and cheer her up.
So she added, "Thank you, Qianqian, but I'm really fine. Don't worry."
"Oh, come on! What are you thanking me for? We're the best deskmates!" Wang Qianzi stopped and said:
"All right, then. Remember to send me a message when you get home. And... you can tell me anything that's on your mind. I definitely can't match you at studying, but I've got plenty of experience in other areas!"
"Mm." Chen Zhenzhen waved and walked out of the school gate alone.
It was a route she knew so well, yet she really wasn't used to walking it alone. When she thought that she might have to walk this way by herself from now on, unable to complain about the little things in daily life with Zhang Zhaomu as they walked, Chen Zhenzhen grew sad.
"Even if your friendship has changed into something else, you should at least wait until you've actually confessed and been rejected before moving on! Who just gives up right away?"
"And it's not like I wouldn't say yes! I just wasn't mentally prepared!"
The more she thought about it, the more aggrieved she felt. Before she knew it, she had reached the building where Zhang Zhaomu lived. Chen Zhenzhen stopped.
"No! I don't want to leave things so muddled!"
She had never been the softhearted type, and she had no desire to keep things bottled up. She gritted her teeth and made up her mind.
"I'm going to drag that guy out and clear things up right now! It's just dating, isn't it?"
"It's not like I'm afraid! Let's date!"
Chen Zhenzhen took a deep breath, climbed to the third floor with a determined look, and knocked on Zhang Zhaomu's door.
Knock, knock.
The knocking echoed through the stairwell.
She waited a moment, but there was no sound from inside.
Still avoiding me?
Where's that usual attitude of yours, when you can stubbornly twist anything into some kind of warped argument? I've come right to your door, and you don't even dare open it?
Chen Zhenzhen gritted her teeth and shouted through the door, "Zhang Zaowan! Open the door!"
"Come out! Stop hiding in your room! I have something to tell you!"
She waited a little longer, but there was still no response.
Chen Zhenzhen was furious and couldn't help shouting, "Zhang Zaowan, are you even a man?"
"Just because I didn't wait for you today, you don't have to strip me of my gender, do you?" a voice came from behind her.
Chen Zhenzhen jumped in fright and spun around. Zhang Zhaomu's face came into view.
His hair was a little messy, and there was quite a bit of dirt on his T-shirt.
"You..." Chen Zhenzhen opened her mouth. "How did you get out? Did you learn to teleport?"
"When you knocked, didn't you look through the gap in the door? The lights weren't even on inside! I obviously wasn't home!" Zhang Zhaomu looked speechless. "What did you need me for in such a hurry?"
"I-"
Chen Zhenzhen felt like a balloon that had suddenly been poked by him. All her courage and anger leaked out at once, leaving her shriveled and pitiful.
The whole speech she had rehearsed was stuck in her throat.
In the end, she only managed to squeeze out a few words. "What were you doing? Why are you only getting back now?"
"I stayed by the track and field grounds for a while and lost track of time." Zhang Zhaomu took out his key and opened the door. "Come in first."
"Oh." Chen Zhenzhen obediently nodded, then couldn't help asking, "What were you doing over there? You're such a mess. Did you get into a fight?"
"No..." Zhang Zhaomu's expression turned a little strange.
He had indulged his [Cat] instincts for a bit just now and wreaked havoc on quite a few mice in the little grove. Fortunately, he had retained enough reason not to bite into them.
He answered vaguely, "You could say I did a little cleanup in the school's grove."
"What was there to clean up?" Chen Zhenzhen thought for a moment. "Your homeroom teacher punished you, didn't he? I remember not seeing you at the flag-raising ceremony this morning..."
"That's right." Zhang Zhaomu went along with her suggestion and asked in return, "So what did you need me for?"
"Wasn't it because..." Chen Zhenzhen's voice grew softer. "Because you didn't wait for me after evening self-study today. I thought you..."
"What?"
"I thought..." Chen Zhenzhen turned her head and pouted. "You didn't want to talk to me anymore!"
"Huh?" Zhang Zhaomu looked utterly baffled. "Chen Zhen, do you have a hole in your brain?"
"You're the one with a hole in your brain!" Chen Zhenzhen's anger surged up again. This guy had made her so sad just now, yet here he was acting as though nothing had happened!
"Who told you to act so weird at noon? If you have something to say, can't you just say it to me?"
"Uh..." Zhang Zhaomu immediately felt a little guilty.
Was the way I acted at noon that obvious?
He scratched his hair awkwardly and said, "I don't have anything I want to say."