After returning to school, Su Qicheng took advantage of the lunch break to call Su Jingming, informing him that Cheng Hui had left. Su Jingming responded indifferently on the other end of the line. Failing to pick up on his son’s mood, Su Qicheng continued enthusiastically, "Your mother said she’ll come visit you when she has time."
"Mhm," Su Jingming replied.
"And..." Su Qicheng added, "Don't be so cold to your mother next time. If you're cold to me, I don't blame you—it's my fault. But your mother..."
Seeing Zhang Jia walking toward him, Su Jingming interrupted, "Let's not talk for now. I have things to do here."
Before Su Qicheng could react, Su Jingming hung up the phone first for the very first time.
He stood in a corner of the long corridor, sliding his phone into his pocket with one hand. His gaze was detached as he watched Zhang Jia draw closer.
Zhang Jia’s ponytail was tied high today, giving her a vibrant, youthful aura.
"Su Jingming, want to go grab lunch together?"
Faced with Zhang Jia’s invitation, Su Jingming refused bluntly without a second thought.
However, Zhang Jia was stubborn when it came to these things; from childhood until now, there was truly nothing she couldn't get. "Wen Yan was called to the office by the teacher. Who knows when he’ll be back? Are you really going to stand here and wait for him on an empty stomach?"
Su Jingming had indeed intended to wait for Wen Yan’s return before eating. Before he could voice his refusal again, Zhang Jia took a step closer and smiled. "I imagine you wouldn't want students from other classes to find out about your relationship with Wen Yan, right?"
Her voice was very soft, yet it lingered in the corridor for a long time.
Su Jingming narrowed his eyes, truly scrutinizing the teenage girl before him for the first time.
She was very pretty, tall and striking, with eyes that always shimmered with admiration.
Su Jingming’s Adam’s apple bobbed as he lowered his gaze. "What do you want to eat?"
For the first time, Su Jingming was being threatened, and he had no room to strike back.
Zhang Jia walked side-by-side with Su Jingming toward the cafeteria, clutching a set of unfinished math exercises in her arms. To any observer, it looked as though they were going to eat after discussing schoolwork.
Such a pair was indeed a rare sight on campus.
Not only the students, but even the passing teachers cast curious glances their way.
Before they even reached the cafeteria, they ran into Zhou Hong.
Zhou Hong looked the two students up and down, searching for any signs of a "premature romance." Su Jingming wore a stony expression, while Zhang Jia gave a bashful smile.
"I just finished asking Su Jingming for some help. Is it not okay to grab a meal together, Teacher?" Zhang Jia said with a beaming smile. Whether intentional or not, her voice was louder than usual, as if she wanted the surrounding students to hear.
Zhou Hong’s impression of Su Jingming was that of a student who would never engage in a school romance.
Ultimately, Zhou Hong nodded in relief. "Su Jingming’s math is quite good. Even though you're students, you still need to eat when it's time. Health is more important than studies."
As soon as Zhou Hong said this, the surrounding students gasped.
*Is this teacher a fool?*
*Can't he see the signs of a secret romance between these two?*
Zhang Jia hugged her exercises tighter, wanting to say more to Zhou Hong, but Su Jingming had already walked several paces ahead. He turned to glance at her. She hurriedly bid farewell to Zhou Hong and jogged to catch up.
"Why didn't you wait for me?" Zhang Jia’s tone held a hint of coquettishness.
Su Jingming replied, "You seemed to be having a pleasant chat with Old Zhou."
Zhang Jia pursed her lips and said no more.
The two entered the cafeteria. Su Jingming scanned the room; it was significantly less crowded now, as most people had finished eating and left. He went to a nearby vending machine and bought a can of ice-cold cola. Suddenly remembering the girl beside him, he hesitated for a few seconds. "You..."
Before he could finish, Zhang Jia said somewhat shyly, "I can't drink cold things."
"?" Su Jingming frowned and grabbed a random bottle of yogurt instead.
He turned and handed it to Zhang Jia, drawing the attention of many. Su Jingming had never cared about such stares, but his expression grew colder, and even the emotions in his eyes gradually froze over.
Being stared at by his expressionless face made Zhang Jia feel uncomfortable, and her grip on the yogurt bottle tightened.
After staring at her silently for a few seconds, Su Jingming slowly looked away. He asked tonelessly, "What do you want to eat?"
"Anything is fine," Zhang Jia replied.
Su Jingming let out an impatient "tsk." He led Zhang Jia to the nearest cafeteria window, sat down, and ordered some food at random.
Song Yifei was munching on a bun as he headed toward the vending machine. When he saw Su Jingming and Zhang Jia sitting face-to-face, eating together, he was so startled he nearly dropped his bun. Ignoring everything else, he tremblingly pulled out his phone, snapped a secret photo, and sent it to Wen Yan and Wen Miao.
Song Yifei swallowed the bite of bun in his mouth. *Didn't Wen Yan already seal the deal? How could... Could it be that Su Jingming realized late that girls are better than boys?*
His gaze was too intense, causing Su Jingming to look over.
The moment their eyes met, time seemed to freeze.
Especially when Su Jingming saw the rectangular phone in Song Yifei’s hand pointed directly at him.
Su Jingming cursed under his breath and stood up to head over.
Song Yifei bolted without a second thought. He had to praise himself—this was the fastest he had ever run in his life.
Su Jingming: "..."
Curious, Zhang Jia turned to follow Su Jingming’s gaze, but there was no one behind them. She asked, "Is something wrong...?"
Su Jingming looked down at her, an invisible, immense pressure radiating from him.
The smile on Zhang Jia’s face faltered. "What is it, really...?"
Su Jingming slowly closed his eyes and said stiffly, "Nothing."
This meal felt far too long.
Su Jingming thought to himself that with Song Yifei’s personality, he had definitely taken a photo of him eating with Zhang Jia and sent it to Wen Yan.
What would Wen Yan do when he saw it...?
What should one do when their boyfriend is angry...?
Do boys need to be coaxed?
The more Su Jingming thought about it, the more uneasy he felt, so he turned to "Baidu" for help. His face remained calm, showing no flaws to the outside world.
His fingers typed into the screen: *What to do if my boyfriend is angry?*
He clicked on the first post he saw.
[OP: What should I do if my boyfriend is angry? Waiting online, urgent.]
Su Jingming read the post with extreme focus, not even noticing that Zhang Jia had finished eating and was leisurely wiping her mouth.
She took a sip of the yogurt. "I'm done. Shall we go?"
Su Jingming didn't hear her.
He didn't quite understand the post either, but his sharp mind summarized the gist of it.
If a boyfriend is angry, you have to coax him.
Zhang Jia called him several times without receiving a response. She stood up, walked behind Su Jingming, and tapped his shoulder. Like a thief with a guilty conscience, Su Jingming instantly locked his screen. He turned to see Zhang Jia. "Finished? Let's go."
His tone was still cold and indifferent, devoid of any extra emotion.
Meanwhile, Wen Yan received the photo from Song Yifei. In the picture, Su Jingming looked utterly reluctant, which caused Wen Yan’s eyes to soften.
A gentle smile played in Wen Yan’s eyes. He replied to Song Yifei’s message as he walked downstairs. After a moment's thought, he forwarded the photo to Su Jingming.
Raising an eyebrow, he sent Su Jingming a few words: *Do you need to explain this to me?*
When Su Jingming saw the message, his footsteps faltered.
*Why do I feel like I’ve been caught having an affair?*
The main point was that he hadn't even done anything, yet he already felt like he had lost.
Su Jingming frowned and opened his chat with Song Yifei.
"Song Yifei, do you know what 'spreading rumors' means?"
When Song Yifei received the message, he was hiding in a corner of the campus smoking. His whole body shuddered.
After only a few seconds of contemplation, he swiped his right hand and deleted his entire chat history with Su Jingming.
Su Jingming didn't wait for a reply from Song Yifei. His thumb hovered over the chat window with Wen Yan.
Wen Yan seemed to be waiting for him; he didn't press Su Jingming for a reply.
Zhang Jia stood beside Su Jingming. The midday sun was growing increasingly fierce, making her cheeks flush red. She opened her mouth, wanting to ask Su Jingming to move to the shade, but she swallowed the words.
Just as Wen Yan had said, Su Jingming truly didn't like her.
His attitude toward her made it obvious at a glance.
It was just that she was becoming more and more unwilling to let go—so unwilling she couldn't accept it.
Why was it two boys?
Why did two boys like that have to be together?
Su Jingming sighed silently and looked down to reply to Wen Yan.
"If I explain, will you listen?"
"I'll listen."
"I was originally waiting for you in the corridor to go eat together. But then she invited me, so I..."
"Are you full?"
"Full. The cola was good."
"Mm."
From that single, cold "Mm," Su Jingming could actually sense that Wen Yan was unhappy—very unhappy. He scratched his hair and called Wen Yan directly in front of Zhang Jia.
"Where are you?"
"The teaching building."
"I'm coming to find you. Don't run off."
Under Zhang Jia’s watchful eyes, Su Jingming ran toward the teaching building under the scorching sun. Before leaving, he didn't even spare her a single extra glance.
Zhang Jia stood rooted to the spot. Despite the blazing sun, she felt cold from head to toe.
The teaching building was very quiet at noon. Most of the boarding students had returned to their dorms for a nap. Su Jingming had just climbed one flight of stairs when he saw Wen Yan standing on the landing, looking at him with a smile.
A bit of sweat beaded at Su Jingming’s temples. Wen Yan suppressed a laugh as he looked at him.
"I listened to the 'Little Hero' and didn't run off. I haven't moved a single step."
***
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Want to Have a Relationship with You | Chapter 43 | Standing Still | Novela.app | Novela.app
