Lin Tiao couldn’t quite understand Jiang Yan’s somewhat subtle sexual innuendo and, still breathing unevenly, asked him, “Where do you feel uncomfortable?”
Where do you feel uncomfortable?
He couldn’t just tell her where it hurt.
Jiang Yan felt like a pervert who was abducting a minor.
Can’t touch, can’t get close.
Even a kiss feels wrong.
“Forget it, I’d rather die.”
Until they returned to the classroom, Lin Tiao still didn’t know where Jiang Yan felt uncomfortable, but seeing that he didn’t seem to be in pain, she didn’t pay much attention to it.
—
The matter of the post had come to a close.
Although many people still gathered by the door of Class 18 during breaks to spy and gossip, the usual scene they saw was Jiang Yan sleeping alone at his desk, with the other party nowhere to be seen.
This was actually Lin Tiao’s strategy.
When there was no class, the two of them tried to keep some distance. But when class started, although they couldn’t do much, they could still hold hands under the desk.
A few times, Hu Hanghang had caught them holding hands during class and had secretly taken pictures and posted them in their WeChat group.
The moral decline of society.
Lin Tiao used to feel embarrassed in such situations, but after a while, not only did she become able to face it calmly, she even learned to fire back.
“My boyfriend’s hands are really beautiful.”
The four single guys in the group:
Hu Hanghang: "....."
Xu Yichuan: "...."
Song Yuan: "....."
Guan Che: "....."
Jiang Yan saw the message and replied with one of his own.
“My girlfriend’s hands are beautiful too.”
The four single guys went crazy.
Hu Hanghang: “There’s no place for us in this group anymore.”
Xu Yichuan: “Damn, I’m leaving the group.”
Song Yuan: “Fking bastard.”
Guan Che: “Love makes you numb, ugly, and indifferent to humans and animals alike.”
The next moment, the group system sent out a notification.
Jiang Yan changed the group name to “Jiang Lin Love”.
Hu, Song, Xu, Guan: "..."
If it weren’t for the fact that they were in class, Lin Tiao felt that Hu Hanghang and Song Yuan, sitting in the back row, might have rushed over to beat Jiang Yan up.
This semester’s schedule had been adjusted, but the one PE class every week was still on Friday, the last period.
After the beginning of spring, the temperature in Xicheng had risen, and the following days had been sunny, with Friday’s temperature hitting a new high.
Standing on the sports field for just a few minutes, she felt warm all over.
This semester, the PE teacher was still Zhou Li, the same one from last semester.
As usual, after taking attendance, Zhou Li flipped through his roster, his voice clear and loud, “This semester, the school has arranged for physical tests, and the results need to be submitted before April. So, during this period’s PE class, we will begin testing each item.”
After saying that, he scanned the crowd and waved in a particular direction. “The PE committee member from last semester, come over here.”
Meng Xin was chatting with Lin Tiao about gossip, and when her name was suddenly called, she didn’t react immediately. It was only after some classmates around her reminded her, “Meng Xin, Teacher Zhou is calling you,” that she understood and quickly walked out of the line.
From a distance, Lin Tiao couldn’t hear what Zhou Li and Meng Xin were saying, but seeing the two of them standing together, she felt strangely harmonious.
“What are you looking at?” Jiang Yan had somehow appeared next to her.
Lin Tiao pointed ahead. “Don’t you think it looks nice, with Meng Xin and Teacher Zhou standing together?”
Jiang Yan glanced over but didn’t see what was so special. However, following his principle of “whatever my girlfriend says is true,” he nodded and said perfunctorily, “Yes, it looks quite nice.”
“Though, it still can’t compare to how nice it looks when the two of us stand together.”
“...”
Zhou Li didn’t pick a new PE committee member, so Meng Xin stayed in the role.
He called Meng Xin over to inform her about the arrangements for the physical tests and handed her three forms, each for recording the test results of each class’s students.
The test hadn’t been conducted yet, so all the result fields were empty.
“You’ll be in charge of recording. If someone passes, mark a check, and if they fail, circle it. After we finish testing everything, we’ll retest those who didn’t pass.” Zhou Li placed his hands on his hips and looked at her. “Got it?”
Meng Xin nodded. “Got it.”
“Alright,” he said, looking away. “Today, we’re starting with the 50-meter run. Line up in your class order and gather at the track.”
With that, he blew his whistle hanging around his neck.
It was a sharp, loud sound.
Meng Xin flinched and instinctively stepped aside.
Zhou Li glanced at her, smiled faintly, and didn’t say anything.
In the three classes, one was a humanities class. The 50-meter test began with the girls from this class, followed by the girls from Class 14, and finally, Class 18.
The track was surrounded by people. Six girls from the humanities class lined up at the starting line, with the other two science classes following behind.
Lin Tiao, being tall, stood at the back of the girls’ line, next to Tao Jia, who was of similar height.
Since the start of the new semester, the seating had been rearranged, and Tao Jia had been moved from the back row to a different seat. They rarely interacted in class.
If it weren’t for today’s arrangement, Lin Tiao might have almost forgotten about Tao Jia.
Jiang Yan had gone with Hu Hanghang and the others to the supermarket to buy drinks and sent Lin Tiao a photo.
“What are you drinking?”
Lin Tiao had typed two words when another message came in.
“Anything but cola is fine.”
She curled her lips, deleted the words, and typed something else.
“A worker of nature.”
“Nongfu Spring.”
“Mmqq.”
He didn’t reply after that. When Lin Tiao put away her phone, Tao Jia suddenly spoke up.
“Are you and Jiang Yan together?”
Lin Tiao raised an eyebrow and looked at her in confusion. “Why?”
Tao Jia smiled. “Nothing, I was just asking.”
After a moment of silence, Lin Tiao gave her another look, as if thinking of something, and then spoke.
“Yes, that’s right. We’re together.”
Tao Jia’s smile faded slightly. “I can tell.”
Lin Tiao shrugged nonchalantly and said nothing.
After a while, Jiang Yan and the others slowly walked through the plastic grass in the middle of the field, with Hu Hanghang holding a black plastic bag.
The four of them stopped beside the track. Lin Tiao swapped places with the girl at the edge. Jiang Yan opened the drink and handed it to her.
Hu Hanghang, standing beside them, deliberately said, “Yan, someone wants you to open the bottle cap.”
Jiang Yan lazily glanced at him, the corner of his mouth lifting slightly. “Do you believe I’ll open your skull instead?”
“...”
The 50-meter runs for the girls went quickly. Before long, only two or three rows of people remained ahead of Lin Tiao. She handed the drink to Jiang Yan and returned to her previous position.
One group after another finished.
Lin Tiao stood at the starting line, waiting for the signal, and glanced over at Jiang Yan.
The sky was clear and blue. The boy stood to the side, his expression neutral, holding a bottle of water in his hand, his posture relaxed and indifferent.
Perhaps noticing her gaze, he glanced at her and suddenly smiled.
The starting whistle blew.
Lin Tiao withdrew her gaze and bent slightly, accidentally locking eyes with Tao Jia for a brief moment.
For some reason, a competitive feeling surged within her.
She didn’t want to lose.
Even if it was just a simple physical test.
The whistle blew.
Six figures dashed forward in unison, but quickly, two of them surged ahead, leaving the rest far behind.
The moment she started running, Lin Tiao had only one thought in mind: she couldn’t lose.
It was clear that Tao Jia felt the same.
The two were neck and neck, separated by mere inches. Fifty meters was short, just a few seconds.
Lin Tiao felt the wind rushing past her ears and thought of Jiang Yan’s smile before the race started. Her steps seemed to gain wind beneath them.
She crossed the finish line with a victory, beating Tao Jia by a mere 0.001 seconds.
Jiang Yan and the others came rushing over from the other side of the track. Hu Hanghang was a little surprised. “It was just a 50-meter race, why did you go all out, Tiao Mei?”
Lin Tiao was out of breath and couldn’t answer immediately.
Jiang Yan twisted open a bottle of water and handed it to her. “Here, drink some.”
She took a sip, soothing her throat, her voice a little hoarse. “You wouldn’t understand.”
Lin Tiao leaned against Jiang Yan, resting for a moment, her gaze drifting through the crowd. She spotted Tao Jia being helped by her friends. Their eyes met in midair.
After a long moment, Lin Tiao slowly curled her lips into a smile, raising an eyebrow.
She had won.
Whether it was the 50-meter race or anything else, she had won.
Jiang Yan noticed her gaze and looked over as well.
Tao Jia paused, then smiled at him before walking away with her friends.
Jiang Yan took Lin Tiao to a quieter spot, took out a tissue, and wiped the sweat from her forehead. “Did she bother you?”
“Mm.” Lin Tiao paused for a second, then didn’t admit it. “Who?”
“...”
Jiang Yan didn’t press further. He said something to her, just as Hu Hanghang called out, “Yan Ge, we need to get in line now.”
Lin Tiao released his hand. “You go ahead. I’m going to the bathroom, I’ll catch up with you later.”
He nodded and, while no one was looking, leaned down to kiss her on the cheek.
Lin Tiao froze and quickly pushed him away, glancing around nervously. “What are you doing?”
“Just cheering you on.” He whispered.
The bathroom was located inside the stands—men on the left, women on the right, and each had only one stall.
When Lin Tiao arrived, there was already a long line outside the women’s bathroom, while the men’s bathroom had barely anyone waiting.
She snapped a picture and sent it to Jiang Yan.
"Why is it always empty on your side?"
His reply came quickly.
“Not that much water.”
After she finished and came out, Lin Tiao ran into Tao Jia again at the sink. This time, she didn’t plan to say anything.
But Tao Jia called her over first. “Do you really know Jiang Yan?”
“Does it have anything to do with you?”
Tao Jia sneered and then dropped a bombshell. “Do you know that Jiang Yan stabbed someone in middle school?”
Lin Tiao didn’t respond.
Tao Jia continued. “The person he stabbed became a vegetable and is still lying in the hospital.”
Lin Tiao found her voice, her tone flat. “Do you think just because you said it casually, I’d believe you?”
“Here’s the proof, believe it or not.” Tao Jia unlocked her phone and handed it over.
Lin Tiao stared at the screen of her phone. The first thing she saw was a photo of Jiang Yan wearing a detention uniform, with a buzz cut.
She remained silent for a long time.
Lin Tiao took the phone from her.
Tao Jia showed her a few pictures.
Besides the first one, there was another showing Jiang Yan crouching in front of a boy who had a knife stuck in his abdomen, his hand gripping the knife.
The other pictures looked like they were screenshots from a forum post. For some reason, the pictures were a bit blurry, but it didn’t affect readability.
Lin Tiao quickly finished looking at them, then raised her eyes to look at Tao Jia. Her voice was cold as she spoke. “Where did you get these from?”
Tao Jia didn’t hide anything. “A friend. They used to go to school with Jiang Yan.”
“This happened when he was in middle school.”
Tao Jia thought for a moment before nodding. “Yes, it was before he transferred schools, when he was in the second year of middle school.”
Lin Tiao clenched her fist, looking down in thought.
Second year of middle school.
He was just a child.
Seeing her remain silent, Tao Jia laughed softly. “See? He’s not a good person. I advise you not to associate with him.”
Lin Tiao took a moment to compose herself before speaking, her tone tinged with amusement. “If he’s not a good person, then are you?”
Tao Jia was stunned.
“Don’t forget, Tao Jia, no matter what, he’s saved you before.” Lin Tiao looked at her sharply, the laziness that usually defined her eyes now replaced with cold intensity. “If it weren’t for him, do you think you’d still be standing here talking to me?”
“I...” Tao Jia was choked by her words.
“I’ll pretend I didn’t see what happened today, but if I hear any of these rumors around school, no matter who spread them or how they came about, I’ll hold you accountable,” Lin Tiao’s voice was low, each word precise. “I’ll settle this score with you.”
After saying that, Lin Tiao deleted all the photos from Tao Jia’s phone and handed it back to her.
Without waiting for Tao Jia’s response, Lin Tiao quickly left. It wasn’t until she stepped into the sunlight that she felt a chill down her spine.
During the time she had been with Jiang Yan, she had sensed that he kept many things to himself, but he never spoke about them, and Lin Tiao never pried.
She believed that in a relationship, there should be enough personal space for both parties.
But after seeing those photos today, she realized that some things couldn’t just be ignored because they were never spoken about.
She couldn’t even imagine how he, as a child, had dealt with those rumors.
Maybe, he never really got over it.
At this thought, Lin Tiao suddenly wanted to see him. She looked around but didn’t spot him. Hearing the whistle, she remembered that he had gone to line up.
Without thinking, she just wanted to see him.
When Lin Tiao ran over, Jiang Yan was still listening to Hu Hanghang tell a story.
The evening sun was warm and gentle. He stood there with his eyes lowered, arms crossed, his expression neutral, a faint smile at the corner of his lips.
“Tiao Mei.” Hu Hanghang saw her first and called out.
Jiang Yan looked up, about to speak, but when he saw her red, swollen eyes, the smile on his lips faltered. He quickly walked over.
There were people around.
Jiang Yan pulled her away from the crowd.
They had just stepped up a flight of stairs when he turned to face her. “You—”
Before he could finish, Lin Tiao rushed into him.
There was no hesitation. He staggered back several steps before steadying himself, his arm wrapping around her waist. He lowered his head, his lips brushing against her forehead, his voice as gentle as ever. “What’s wrong?”
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