Jiutiao Meijie got up and left, and after the faint sound of the door closing, Dubian Che climbed out of the bedding in Kiyono Lin’s direction.
After his whole body came out, he lay exhausted on the ground.
His burning face against the cold floor:
"Dubian, are you okay?" Xiaoquan Aonai asked with concern.
"I’m still alive," Dubian Che replied weakly.
He shifted slightly, the spot he was lying on no longer felt cool.
Kiyono Lin picked up her hardcover book and slowly opened it:
"I don’t understand why you hid, you haven’t done anything wrong, or are you really that scared of her?"
"Who said I didn’t do anything wrong? Have you forgotten? When Meiji arrived, wasn’t I sweet-talking you?" Dubian Che flipped over.
That was, of course, nonsense.
Imagine, a girlfriend walks into a room and sees her boyfriend and three beautiful women sitting inside bedding, playing a game, with a rather intimate punishment—like feeding oranges.
Any girl would get mad, let alone someone as possessive as Miss Jiutiao Meijie.
And when she got mad, it wasn’t just a simple matter of ignoring people.
Let’s forget about Dubian Che and Kiyono Lin, one suffered physical torment, and they would reconcile in bed at night; just a pointless verbal spat.
But what about Xiaoquan Aonai and Akiko? These two "innocent" teachers would definitely be out of luck and likely lose their jobs.
"Sweet-talking? Cut the crap," Kiyono Lin said discontentedly.
"Mr. Dubian likes it when I talk , doesn’t he?" Dubian Che chuckled, looking down at her expression.
"Where did you get that idea? At most, you can say I don’t hate it."
"Classic response! I’ve read in books, a girl’s ’don’t hate’ actually means like."
"Mr. Dubian, stop reading such nonsense, your mind is already unstable, I worry you might really end up in a mental hospital one day."
"Embarrassed? But no worries, I really like the way Kiyono talks ."
"How on earth can we cure your delusion?"
"Let me touch your leg? It feels quite effective."
"Forget it, just keep being sick," Kiyono Lin decisively refused.
"We’re not children anymore, why still be coy with me at this point?"
Their conversation started abruptly, each counteracting the other’s words, fast-paced, and ended bizarrely, leaving no room for a third person to interject.
Watching them , Xiaoquan Aonai remembered something from long ago.
Not too long, around the end of this spring and the beginning of summer.
She had asked the then-at-odds duo to tutor students who needed to retake exams, and as a thanks, she treated them to a barbecue.
At the barbecue restaurant, facing the arguing duo, she said, ’You will definitely become friends, and maybe even closer than friends, like comrades.’
Now, they really had become close, though not as comrades, but as lovers.
Xiaoquan Aonai felt somewhat emotional and smiled at them, "You two have gotten along really well."
"Not just well, but very well, Kiyono here is my most important friend," Dubian Che moved his face closer and laid it on the fresh ground.
"What about the ’I like, I like, I really like’ Chisako?" Kiyono Lin pinched the page corner, her gaze still on the book.
Dubian Che was momentarily at a loss for words: "...Did I introduce her to you like that?"
"Aren’t you two still chatting on line? Jiutiao came to find you just now because of this, right?"
"My liking for Chisako is just a normal liking as friends who share similar interests. If it had been a ’I like, I like, I really like Chisako’ sort of relationship, how could I dare to casually throw away my phone?"
"So, your liking for me isn’t normal?"
"That, of course... is classified."
"Quick response," Kiyono Lin complimented.
"Thank you for the praise," Dubian Che said modestly.
If he hadn’t been quick, he would have long been dead.
"Speaking of which, Dubian, you seem quite experienced in these matters, haven’t you done this often?" Akiko, enjoying the victory’s four oranges, teased.
During the hour in the kotatsu, the always thoughtful Dubian Che had deeply reflected countless times.
He said, "It’s precisely because I lack experience that I chose to dive into the kotatsu at the first sign of trouble, nearly cooking me alive!"
Akiko and Xiaoquan Aonai laughed, their laughter as melodious as that of young girls despite being 25.
"Have an orange, hydrate a bit," Xiaoquan Aonai handed him an orange.
"Thank you, teacher," Dubian Che didn’t eat it, instead, placing the cool skin of the orange against his cheek.
He rested for a good while, waiting for the sweat on his body to dry and his face to cool down before he leisurely sat up.
"I plan to go back and take a shower, I’m all sweaty," he turned his gaze towards Kiyono Lin, who was reading, "Are you coming?"
"Hmm, then I’ll take my leave too," Kiyono Lin rose from the kotatsu, gracefully smoothing out the wrinkles on her white dress.
Dubian Che gulped down the tea he had been holding for an hour, grabbed "Chasing Water Years" and the orange.
Xiaoquan Aonai walked them to the door.
"Youngsters today are really something!" Akiko began peeling the third orange, "They can even say such words."
Xiaoquan Aonai sat back in the kotatsu, pondering their complex relationship, frowning worriedly:
"I wonder how long Dubian can keep this up."
"That kid brought it upon himself, stepping on two boats," Akiko stuffed a segment of orange into her mouth, "Aonai, you’ve been spoiling him too much, you might agree too."