Jiang Nian gazed toward the sports field as the noise gradually faded away.
Night wind swept through, and he scraped the gravel beneath his feet with his shoe, creating a rustling sound. Occasionally, he looked in a certain direction, silently waiting.
Soon, Li Qingrong arrived.
She was carrying a fabric tote bag, her posture upright. She stopped in front of Jiang Nian, pondered for a moment, and then spoke.
"I just ran into the teacher."
"The homeroom teacher. He asked where I’m going," Li Qingrong’s expression didn’t change, "I said I didn’t want to watch anymore, planning to go home."
Hearing this, Jiang Nian took a sharp breath and asked tentatively.
"Did Old Liu say anything to you?"
"No, the teacher asked me to stay safe," Li Qingrong said, "and then asked if I wanted to wait for a bit, he’d drive me home."
Old Liu, you make me feel estranged.
A dignified people’s teacher with no backbone at all. Eyes full of desire for progress, has it come to this?
The two walked along the street, heading back; in about ten minutes, they arrived at Jingfu District.
Downstairs, they could vaguely hear music from the school. It wasn’t until they entered the elevator that the sound was completely cut off.
Clang, the security door opened.
Thump, the lights came on.
Jiang Nian entered, taking a look around the living room.
Not much different from the last visit, there was a new vase on the table with a purple flower, its petals looking vibrant.
"Class president, are you moving in after tidying up?"
"Mhm." Li Qingrong nodded.
Jiang Nian naturally said, "Let me know when you’re moving, I can drive... Do you have a lot of stuff?"
"Not much." Li Qingrong shook her head.
"When?" Jiang Nian didn’t make a strong statement.
Tomorrow, he needed to help Song Xiyun move, drive over to the north side of the town.
"Next week." Li Qingrong said.
Upon hearing this, Jiang Nian felt relieved. If he had to run back and forth again, he’d have to take a leave tomorrow Sunday.
But the end of the month is approaching, and the school’s New Year’s Eve party is over. Next week is after New Year’s Day, followed by the provincial joint exam.
All in all, a happy ending.
"Alright, then call me next week." He added, "If anything else comes up, feel free to call me too."
Li Qingrong glanced at him and nodded.
After chatting for a while, most of the time Jiang Nian was talking. Feeling the atmosphere was lively enough, they got to the main topic.
The class president hadn’t moved in yet, making it easier to clean up the house.
Besides, he had tidied up the living room yesterday, leaving the guest room and master bedroom to clean up, and some packages to open and organize.
Rich people have it easy, everything is newly bought. This text is hosted at novel•fire.net
Jiang Nian took a utility knife to open boxes, stuff like potting soil, sofa covers, carpets, laundry detergent, and a bunch of other miscellaneous items.
He stared at the pink and green sets of underwear in his hand, dumbfounded, until there was a noise from the master bedroom, snapping him back to reality.
With a swish, Jiang Nian quickly stuffed the underwear back into the package.
The size was quite large, something he’d never noticed before.
Li Qingrong emerged from the master bedroom, heading towards the water dispenser. Holding a glass, she glanced at Jiang Nian while drinking water.
"There’s something to drink in the fridge."
Upon hearing this, the guilty Jiang Nian paused sorting out the laundry detergent.
Li Qingrong stared at him, tilting her head slightly.
There wasn’t much work initially, and Jiang Nian had nothing to do after half an hour, wandering into the kitchen, opening the large fridge.
The fridge had been cleaned, inside were halved lemons. The shelves held mineral water, lemon tea, Sprite, and milk.
He glanced, habitually grabbing a Sprite.
Something felt off, the class president seemed not to drink these things. Milk too... he never saw her drink it, but he often does.
Mainly because Zhizhi frequently brought these two items; whatever was available, he’d take advantage of it.
What more do you need than a bike?
What brand is this mineral water? Why haven’t I seen it?
In the dead of winter, Jiang Nian drank chilled Sprite. Feeling idle, he searched the mineral water price on his phone.
Not bad, not overly expensive.
Jiang Nian rested in the living room for a while, checked the time again. Thinking there’s nothing else to do, he figured it might be time to leave.
He got up, knocked on the open master bedroom door.
The cleaning sounds inside halted abruptly, followed by the sound of shoes being worn. After a while, Li Qingrong appeared at the door.
"Oh, oh, I’m planning to head back." Jiang Nian indeed wanted to leave, couldn’t possibly do a quiz in the living room?
Staying wasn’t appropriate, his relationship with the class president hadn’t reached that level.
It’s like he never asks about the class president’s family matters.
"Going home?" Li Qingrong ran her hands through her hair, staring at him for a moment, "In a hurry? If not, could you help me with the bed sheets?"
Jiang Nian misheard, thinking it was something else.
For a moment, he was dumbfounded, then he realized. He cursed himself inwardly for being ruined by lust.
He walked into the master bedroom, glanced at the neatly folded quilt, Li Qingrong half her body inside, searching for the two corners.
The youthful curve of denim-clad hips was fully on display.
Jiang Nian was in a dilemma, torn between watching and not watching, cursing internally all of this was damn Li Hua’s fault.
Fortunately, it was only a moment; Li Qingrong emerged, handed the two corners of the quilt to Jiang Nian, and carefully instructed.
"Pinch those two corners, don’t let go."
Once Li Qingrong finished tidying up, she asked him to sit in the living room for a while. Even turned on the TV, saying she’d be down shortly.
Jiang Nian lay on the sofa, switching channels out of boredom.
"Piggy Hero? Dumb pig, not watching."
"Pleasant Goat and Big Big Wolf? Still airing after so long? Damn, single for too long, even Pleasant Goat feels flirty."