He Xiang seemed surprised by her response and quickly went to find a bottle.
He instinctively called out to stop her.
Ji Nian turned her head, her tone tinged with dissatisfaction. "The book says, 'A drop of kindness should be repaid with a spring of gratitude.' Are you trying to make me seem ungrateful by not letting me help you?"
She had effectively pinned a heavy label on He Xiang.
He Xiang was stunned for a moment, then clumsily waved his hands. "...No, that's not what I meant."
He was so nervous that he began to stutter.
"Just wait... for a moment, okay? Just a moment."
As if afraid Ji Nian would run away, his dark, bright eyes were filled with pleading.
Seeing Ji Nian agree, he didn’t dare waste a second and quickly ran off.
Not long after, he returned, panting heavily. When his eyes landed on Ji Nian, still standing in the same spot, he visibly relaxed.
"Here... put this on."
Still catching his breath, He Xiang handed her something wrapped in a plastic bag.
A pair of rubber gloves.
They were essential for their science class, sold at the school store for five yuan a pair. Students who lost or forgot theirs would often buy them.
Five yuan wasn’t cheap. He had a meal subsidy, so his lunch was free, but he had to pay for breakfast and dinner himself. In City S, five yuan could only buy two plain steamed buns.
Seeing Ji Nian hesitate, He Xiang took the initiative to unwrap the gloves and handed them to her.
His dark, pearl-like eyes gazed at Ji Nian’s hands, which were a stark contrast to his own—delicate and fair, even more so than the hands of his neighbor’s younger sister, who hadn’t yet started doing farm work.
Ji Nian had initially thought picking up a bottle wasn’t a big deal.
She had handled much dirtier things during her research days.
But since he had already bought the gloves and looked so earnest, Ji Nian accepted them. "Thanks."
As she put on the gloves, Ji Nian finally noticed that He Xiang was actually quite good-looking.
He had large eyes, thick lashes that looked like natural eyeliner, a small face, and a straight nose. The only downside was that he was too thin and tanned, which made his features less noticeable.
With Ji Nian’s discerning eye, she could tell that if he grew up proportionally, he would undoubtedly become a strikingly handsome man with sharp, wolf-like features.
Just then, the kids from Class Five came looking for Ji Nian.
From a distance, they started shouting, "Boss! Boss, we're here!!"
Ji Nian’s spicy snack-loving desk mate, who had just finished playing basketball, yelled over, "Ji Nian! Your minions are here!!"
The other kids burst into laughter.
This kid was getting bolder by the day.
He Xiang, thinking Ji Nian’s friends had come to see her, was about to step aside to avoid intruding. But before he could, the Class Five kids quickly surrounded her.
They chattered excitedly: "Boss, boss, what are we playing today?"
"I brought my game console, boss! Do you want to play? Do you like Zelda or Pokémon? I’ve got Splatoon too!"
"Little Xin even specially prepared a console for you! It has a little yellow chick case!"
Why did it have to be a little yellow chick?
This was an element that only appeared at home. Why was it here now?
[Wait... I suddenly remember last year, when Gu Xiuyuan’s grandmother handmade a little yellow chick outfit for me.]
Even Ji Tingzhou, who rarely laughed, had his shoulders shaking for a long time at the sight of that outfit.
In the end, he insisted Ji Nian put it on, stand on the doorstep, and strike a proud pose while Wei Yang took several photos.
So... why the little yellow chick???
Shaking off the thought, Ji Nian declined the game console.
"No, let’s play a real-life game."
She waved the bottle in her hand.
"Let’s collect plastic bottles."
The other kids were puzzled. "What’s fun about that?"
Before Ji Nian could explain, her top follower chimed in, "Is the person who collects the most bottles going to get to play games with the boss?"
Hearing this, the other kids’ eyes lit up.
Like lightbulbs, they shone brightly at Ji Nian.
"...Let’s go with that."
She had originally planned to reward them with some homemade potions.
The kids immediately got excited. One sharp-eyed kid noticed He Xiang, who had been standing quietly, was fully equipped and asked if he had any extra bags.
Without a word, He Xiang pulled out several from his backpack.
The bags clearly weren’t new; they had been reused. Ji Nian told the kids to return them after use.
The group agreed enthusiastically and eagerly set off to collect bottles.
He Xiang was smart; he immediately understood Ji Nian was doing this to help him.
Just as he was about to speak, Ji Nian raised a finger to her lips. "Shh."
"If you feel bad about it, study hard, and when you grow up, show me your abs as repayment."
Ji Nian waved her hand dismissively.
He Xiang blinked slowly.
He lifted his shirt, revealing a surprisingly defined abdomen with the faint outline of abs, unusual for his age.
Dude, you actually have them?
But then again, He Xiang used to live in the mountains. Besides his grandmother, he was the only one at home. He probably did a lot of manual labor besides going to school, so it wasn’t surprising.
"Okay, but I meant the eight-pack abs of a grown man."
He Xiang looked down at his abdomen, which only had the faint outline of two abs, and silently pulled his shirt back down.
He thought to himself.
He would definitely have eight-pack abs in the future, and Ji Nian could look at them as much as she wanted—free of charge.
What a mischievous woman. If Gu Xiuyuan found out Ji Nian was out there collecting more "debt," he’d be furious.
As Ji Nian went off to collect bottles, the Class Five kids scrambled around, searching for them.
Unlike He Xiang, who quietly rummaged through trash bins or waited for people to leave their bottles behind, they went straight up to others and asked.
"Hey! Are you done with that bottle? It’s almost empty, can I have it?" Fresh chapters posted on novelꜰire.net
"Wait! Don’t throw that! Give me the bottle!!"
"Boss! I’ll buy a whole case of water! Seniors, I’ll treat you to some water!"
"Soda? Sure, what do you want? I’ll buy it! Just give me the bottle afterward."
The kids’ obsession with bottles caught the attention of other students, and soon, the trend spread.
Most of them didn’t even know why they were doing it.
Some even got into arguments over a single bottle.
Kids are full of energy and don’t always need a reason to do things.
When asked, they’d say, "Huh? I don’t know! So-and-so said they wanted bottles, so I started looking!"
"How many do you have? Wow, so many! I only found one!"
"Have you checked the high school gym?"
"That’s bold! Let’s go! Maybe there are more bottles there!!"
That afternoon, the tennis court was bathed in a warm orange glow. He Xiang stood there, staring at the colorful mountain of plastic bottles piled in front of him.
A hot breeze swept through, causing the bottles to clatter against each other. The sound, mingling with the lively chatter of the students, resonated in He Xiang’s heart, syncing with the restless beating of his own heart.