"I..." Su Qingqing stammered, trying to come up with an excuse, when Liu Tiantian suddenly burst in and said, "Cousin, we came to stop you from... uh..."
Before she could finish, Su Qingqing quickly covered her mouth.
Only then did Liu Tiantian realize that she had blurted out too much and hurriedly shook her head, "No, I didn’t say anything."
"So why are you here?" Chen Nan asked again.
Liu Tiantian scratched her head, "Yeah, stinky Qingqing, why are we here?"
Su Qingqing almost collapsed, was this girl brainless? She couldn’t even lie properly.
"The food in the cafeteria wasn’t good, so we also took a leave and just happened to run into you all."
"Why wouldn’t you let Chen Nan receive my gift?" Han Yuting asked, dissatisfied.
Su Qingqing gave an awkward smile and tentatively asked, "Is this... not your token of love?"
Han Yuting’s face turned red in an instant, and she quickly looked down, "What are you talking about?"
Chen Nan also knocked on her head lightly, saying irritably, "What random thoughts are you having? We’re just the purest of friends."
Su Qingqing stuck out her tongue playfully, "I was just worried that dating would affect your studies."
Upon hearing this, Han Yuting didn’t think much of it, since in her view, Su Qingqing was Chen Nan’s cousin. But Chen Nan knew that this girl’s meddling was most likely due to jealousy.
After the four finished eating, they wandered around outside the school until it was nearly time for a nap before returning.
As they entered the teaching building, they happened to meet Huo Xinya coming out.
"Qingqing, where did you go?"
Huo Xinya asked with a smile, her gaze sweeping over Su Qingqing, Han Yuting, and Liu Tiantian, but she deliberately ignored Chen Nan, clearly still angry about the incident with Li Xiao.
"Just bored, walking around outside." Su Qingqing responded, "How about you? Where did you go?"
Huo Xinya replied, "I’m planning to go back to the dorm for a nap."
Su Qingqing glanced at Chen Nan, sensing the tension, and asked, "So... you’re not tutoring the dummy in English today?"
"There’s plenty of time, there’s no need to do it every day."
Huo Xinya smiled indifferently, waved at them, and turned to head towards the dormitory.
Chen Nan called out to her and took a couple of steps forward, "I need a few minutes of your time. There’s something I want to talk to you about. Let’s find a place to chat."
"I’m going to take a nap, some other time."
Huo Xinya’s tone was very calm, and she prepared to leave, but Chen Nan grabbed her hand and pulled her toward the teaching building.
Huo Xinya struggled, trying to shake off his hand, but Chen Nan wouldn’t release it.
Su Qingqing and Han Yuting exchanged looks, clueless about the conflict between them.
Whereas Liu Tiantian, the romantically obsessed one, clutched her hands over her heart, stars twinkling in her eyes as she murmured, "Cousin is so cool, such a man."
"Hopeless romantic," Su Qingqing and Han Yuting sighed and walked away.
After Chen Nan pulled Huo Xinya to the rooftop, she forcefully shook off his hand, "What do you really want to say?"
"Can’t we stop being mad?" Chen Nan looked at her, subconsciously reached out, and smoothed her slightly disheveled hair.
Huo Xinya stared unblinkingly at him, then after a moment of silence, asked, "My sister’s injury should have healed by now, so what are you planning?"
"I promised Yixuan that after a month, she would help me borrow the White Jade Lotus Platform," Chen Nan said. "Today is the seventh, and tomorrow it’ll be exactly a month."
Huo Xinya asked skeptically, "Will she keep her word and lend you the Jade Lotus Platform?"
"I believe she is someone who keeps her promises," Chen Nan replied.
"Let’s hope so!" Huo Xinya looked at him, "When you get the Jade Lotus Platform, will you take me with you to find my sister?"
Chen Nan went silent for a while, then nodded, "Alright."
Since Huo Xinya had mentioned it, Chen Nan could only tentatively agree.
As for whether he would really bring her along when the time came, that was a different story. After all, he had many enemies, and if he encountered a formidable foe while traveling with Huo Xinya, it could be problematic.
(This Chapter is a bit short, I need to sort out the storyline, I’ll work hard tomorrow.)