As noon approached, the pedestrian street grew more crowded.
Ge Qin held onto Li Jing's arm, glancing around, uncertain if she was looking at the shops on either side with their New Year promotions, or if she was worried about bumping into someone she knew.
After all, within the social circles of Lian City, she still carried the label of a high-quality single beauty.
Li Jing also sensed her unease, thinking there was no need to trouble her, so he said, "There are too many people here, let's go somewhere else."
Clearly, Li Jing's suggestion was exactly what she had in mind, and Ge Qin immediately nodded, "Sure, where should we go?"
"Hmm... why not go take a look at City No.1 Middle School? It's changed a lot."
"City No.1 Middle School?"
Thinking of his alma mater, Li Jing nodded, "Alright, I actually want to take a look too."
Having decided on their next destination, they then drove to their shared alma mater.
On the way, Ge Qin couldn't help but ask, "Were you familiar with Tian Feng before? He seemed quite enthusiastic towards you."
Li Jing thought of the plump figure adept at cooking noodles earlier and recalled the former blond-haired youth, explaining, "Not particularly familiar, to be precise, I had some issues with him."
While driving, Ge Qin asked in surprise, "Then why did you give him a red envelope?"
"Past issues, just some small matters among teenagers."
Li Jing looked at the street outside, reminiscing, "Back then, because of my good grades, I was somewhat well-known in the class, while Tian Feng was notorious for his poor grades.
Originally, I had almost no intersection with him, like water from a distant well. But later, he picked a quarrel with me over a girl."
Initially, Ge Qin was just curious, but upon hearing it involved a girl, her interest was piqued: "You both didn't fall for the same girl, did you?"
"How could we? I was keenly focused on studying during middle school, and never considered early dating."
Li Jing shook his head, "But I was quite sociable. The girl, named Chen Lin, was quite close to me at the time, yet Tian Feng liked her and thus caused trouble for me."
Ge Qin was astonished, "And then? He was a bit of a hooligan back then, right? How did you handle it?"
"I relied on my friend Huang Jun, who was naturally robust and had a dominating personality."
Li Jing chuckled, "At that time, Huang Jun knew people on the school basketball team, and Tian Feng was wary of Huang Jun and his group, so he just made some harsh remarks to me and left.
Later, I heard Chen Lin clearly rejected him, citing his lack of focus on studies."
"So that was it." Ge Qin revealed a sweet smile, her red lips and white teeth particularly striking in the sunlight.
"However, it seemed Tian Feng genuinely liked Chen Lin, as he earnestly focused on studying for a whole semester."
Li Jing continued the story, "He voluntarily apologized to me back then, just to ask for advice on studying. I remember he made the most progress in class that semester, and was specifically commended by the teacher.
Unfortunately, by the second semester, he got acquainted with a known figure in society, completely abandoned his studies, often skipped classes, and almost got expelled."
Recalling the past, Li Jing felt a sense of regret, "Do you know why I gave him the red envelope?"
Ge Qin shook her head, "I don't know, because of a sense of camaraderie?"
"No, on the first day of the college entrance exams, being nervous, I forgot to bring my admission ticket and was rushing back home when I ran into Tian Feng."
Li Jing recalled that frantic morning, "Tian Feng was riding his dad's electric scooter then. Knowing I was in a hurry to retrieve my ticket, he immediately gave me a ride home.
If it wasn't for him, even though I wouldn't have been late enough to miss the exam, I certainly wouldn't have been so relaxed, my mindset would have been affected."
"So that's how it was."
Ge Qin was filled with surprise, "I didn't expect Tian Feng to be quite a good person after all."
"He's actually not bad at heart and understands the importance of studying. He even has some respect for students like me with good grades, so aside from the Chen Lin incident, he generally didn't trouble the well-performing students."
Li Jing held no dislike towards Tian Feng; instead, he found it unfortunate, "His biggest flaw was loving to play too much. If he had focused on studying back then, his life might be entirely different now."
After listening, Ge Qin remained silent for a moment before speaking softly, "So that's how it is."
She glanced at Li Jing, her eyes sparkling, "I find you a really good person. Otherwise, you wouldn't be able to see the good in someone like Tian Feng or even speak for him."
Noticing the change in her tone, Li Jing looked sideways at Ge Qin, who was driving, raised an eyebrow, and teased purposely, "What, have you really fallen for me?"
Ge Qin paused, her face instinctively flushing red, her hands gripping the steering wheel a bit tighter, and after a while she said, "I've given you my body, so why can't I like you?"
Hearing this, Li Jing was momentarily speechless, shifting his gaze towards the distance.
Originally, he had broached the topic on purpose to make her shyly deny it, yet unexpectedly, it gave her a chance to confess.
Seeing Li Jing remain quiet, Ge Qin bit her lower lip lightly, then spoke almost pleadingly, "I want to be your girlfriend once, just this once, and it won't count after we part, okay?"
Li Jing frowned slightly as he looked at her, "Does it really matter?"
Ge Qin looked firmly ahead, "At least I can give myself a reason to get close to you, and a reason to accept your gifts with peace of mind.
I really want to be with you, but I also feel I shouldn't. If there's such a reason, maybe I won't be so conflicted internally."
After hearing her words, Li Jing remained silent, quietly watching the scenery outside the car.
Not until the car approached the underground public parking lot near City No.1 Middle School did Li Jing slowly speak, "If you find it matters, then for this once, I'll be your boyfriend."
As the words fell, Ge Qin, who had already parked the car, looked excitedly at Li Jing, turning sharply towards him.
Seeing him nod slightly, she immediately became as excited as a child, throwing herself into Li Jing's arms.
Perhaps too thrilled, her cheeks turned a deeper shade of red, her eyes misty, she leaned closer to his face and kissed him deeply.
Feeling her passion, Li Jing didn't shy away, starting to let his hands roam boldly over her curvaceous form.
The atmosphere in the car grew increasingly heated, soon covering the windows with a layer of fog, isolating them from the outside world.
Ge Qin was already deeply engrossed, her entire body almost crossing over the center console, climbing onto Li Jing.
Seeing this, Li Jing casually adjusted the seat to its maximum space and then pulled her tightly into his arms.
Finally, they embraced fully, and before Li Jing could act, Ge Qin laid her head on his shoulder, whispering longingly, "Hubby, I want it."
Hearing this, Li Jing's eyes opened wide, blood boiling, he disregarded the cramped confines of the car, rapidly stripping away the barriers of her clothing, and soon they joined seamlessly together.
In the car, passion dispelled the chill of winter.
Ge Qin let go of the knots in her heart, fully succumbing to the fervor of her partner.