【19.】

  It seems that with Shen Duan's joining, Liu Xin was in high spirits throughout the supplementary lessons, and she was willing to think hard about many difficult problems and then try to solve them. Finally, she achieved a relatively good score in the final exam, and this time she was able to hold her head up high, not afraid of anyone. Moreover, I heard from Liu Xin that Shen Duan scored first place in the whole grade, but personally, I think that with my level, I couldn't help improve Shen Duan's scores at all - many times it seemed like he was teaching us two instead. I even wanted to rush to our high school math teacher and ask him why he didn't teach such simple and easy-to-understand methods back then when Shen Duan perfectly solved a geometry problem.

  It seems that every time I come into contact with him, the image of him in my heart becomes clearer, but also more confusing. At first, he was a frivolous and arrogant rich young master, but now I feel that he is actually diligent, which one is really him, I'm not sure. The only thing I am certain about is that either way, Shen Zong is an exceptional person.

  High school summer vacations are always short-lived. Although the scorching heat in the south makes it hard to adapt, they only have a brief four-week break. Liu Xian still hates summer vacation as usual.

  That afternoon, the weather was still sweltering, around four or five o'clock, the scorching sun had dissipated its midday venom. I was listlessly surfing the internet at home when my phone suddenly rang, and to my surprise, it was Du Bin; without even looking, I picked up the call.

  "Hello."

  "Hello."

  His voice was as calm as ever, just as if we had never had any conflicts before. I took a deep breath and asked, "Senior, is there something on your mind?"

  "Are you available to come out now?"

  "I didn't even think about it and told him: 'It's inconvenient.'"

  "He probably anticipated I would answer like this, so he asked: 'When are you free?'"

  "Senior, I don't have time to listen to you talk about something boring. I think my attitude has been very clear, I just don't want to get involved with you anymore. The two of you can handle your own affairs without dragging in a third person, right? Even if you both want to play such childish games, please occasionally ask the third person if they are willing to join in on such childish games."

  He sighed: "Liu Jia... can you give me a chance? I want to tell you some things... I'm not trying to get anything back. It's just that there are some things, I'm afraid if I don't say them now, I'll never have the chance again."

  I've always been a kind-hearted person, and I'm easily moved by others' requests. However, deep down, I still have some minor reservations, so I said: "If you have something to say, just say it. No need to insist on meeting in person."

  "I know you don't want to see me... I never thought I'd be like this either... Liu Jia, just take a look at me."

  His words suddenly reminded me of another boy, who stood under my house with a worried expression, even though he was far away, his handsome face was a bit blurry, but I never told Shen Duan that in my heart, that night, his thin figure was the beauty that lingered in my midnight dreams. He came to my home for tutoring, the slippers he used, the chair he sat on, I would all subconsciously put them away, like a secret only I knew.

  "You can talk about it after school starts, I don't want to hear anything more about your love story now."

  He has never been a hesitant person. Now that things have come to this, I believe he also understood my meaning. After a while, he asked: "Liu Jia... do I still have a chance?"

  I couldn't help but sneer: "Senior, you're also being too presumptuous, aren't you?"

  He stopped talking and I hung up the phone.

  Liu Xin went out to play for a day and brought back several classmates when she returned home in the evening. These days, my dad and mom are also busy outside. So basically, there were only Liu Xin and I at home. I looked around and saw twelve people, including Shen Zhuo, of course.

  "Sister... make something delicious for us!"

  As long as Shen Zhong is around, Liu Xin will show such dazzling vitality, and what's rare is that this vitality is not pretentious or artificial, but a genuine expression of a girl's true intentions.

  I nodded and invited a few people to sit down, then went to the kitchen to get them water: "What do you want to drink? We have fruit juice, green tea, and Coke at home."

  It's probably because of the heat, a few kids were clamoring to drink iced Coke, and I lamented that my own Coke was all handed over. Liu Xian came over to help me carry a few bottles of iced Coke and handed them to Shen Zhuo who was sitting on one side of the sofa. I bowed my head and drank green tea, looking around with my eyes, and couldn't help but think in my heart that Shen Zhuo was quite popular, it could be seen that among the remaining girls, there were also a few who had a crush on him.

  It's no wonder, who wouldn't love Shen Diao?

  Dinner was a meal I ordered from the restaurant downstairs, and I'm not exactly a skilled cook either. Moreover, these were Liu Xian's classmates, so using my unrefined culinary skills to entertain them would be somewhat too impolite.

  A few kids have gotten familiar with me and started inquiring about my gossip: "Sister, do you have a boyfriend?"

  Everyone seems to be very interested in this question, even Shen Zong, who usually doesn't talk much during meals, looked up at me with an expectant gaze, as if waiting for an answer. What was originally a casual question made me feel uneasy under his intense stare, and I didn't know how to respond. So I pretended to say casually: "What's that? My major is going to kill me. Where do I have time to date?"

  "No way." A girl seemed to be obsessed with this question "Sister, you're so stylish, how can you not have a boyfriend?"

  Do you have style?

  Is this supposed to be a compliment on my appearance?

  Are kids nowadays all like this when praising others?

  I was thinking about these useless things in my heart, turning a hundred times and forgetting to answer. Shen Zhao sat opposite me, staring at me all the time. I coincidentally met his gaze.

  He is three years younger than me, but I surprisingly can't understand the meaning conveyed in his eyes. I even want to stretch out my hand to touch his eyes and see if there's a gemstone hidden inside. It's as if Jia Baoyu was born with a jade in his mouth, perhaps he was born with diamonds in his eyes?

  Such an idea is really weird, I gave up on such an unrealistic idea. Lowering my head and smiling: "I've never been stingy with waiting."

  Such a simple sentence, yet it contains many meanings. Those girls looked thoughtful and savored my words, I smiled.

  Girl, I want you to know. Don't be stingy with waiting, and don't easily change your dreams about love.