57 Coddling a Boyfriend

Jin Mo was also on the court. Seeing this, he was just about to step forward to tease someone, but before he could even open his mouth, that person turned and walked away in another direction.

Jiang Ci had just handed the bottle of water to the male student. "Rong Yuan asked me to give this to you."

Just as her voice fell, a hand suddenly shot out. Her wrist was gripped tightly, and a familiar, clean scent wafted over, leaving Jiang Ci frozen in place.

The male student, who was about to speak, was instantly cut off.

Jiang Ci looked up along that arm. The youth's profile featured sharp, distinct jawlines, and his expression was utterly detached. He looked exceptionally displeased.

Everyone around instantly fell silent, not daring to take a deep breath.

After all, Zhang Heyu at this moment was truly terrifying.

With a cold face and not a single word, Zhang Heyu dragged Jiang Ci by the hand and walked out of the gymnasium, his entire body radiating chillness.

Jiang Ci was pulled along by Zhang Heyu. His strides were so long that Jiang Ci had to break into a light jog just to keep up.

She could feel the overwhelming anger emanating from the person before her, but her wrist was being gripped so hard it hurt. "Zhang Heyu, it hurts."

He ignored her.

Jiang Ci was not yet very familiar with the campus. Led by him for a stretch, they turned into a place resembling a utility room.

Just as Jiang Ci caught sight of the sign on the door, which read "Sports Equipment Room," she was yanked inside the next second.

With a click, the door was bolted from the inside.

Jiang Ci froze for a moment, raising her gaze to look at him. She was completely enveloped by his scent, and her heart pounded relentlessly.

Zhang Heyu walked toward her step by step, looking down at her with a towering gaze. His surrounding aura remained fiercely cold.

Seeing him draw closer and closer, bringing an overwhelming sense of aggression, she raised a hand to press against his chest, her eyes shimmering with moisture. "Zhang Heyu."

Ignoring her, Zhang Heyu wrapped his strong arm around her slender waist and pulled her closer with a single firm yank.

He raised a hand and cupped Jiang Ci's fair neck.

Jiang Ci was startled, her hands dropping away from his chest.

He stared at her for a few seconds, tilted his head, and leaned in close to her. The distance between their lips was less than three centimeters. Jiang Ci lowered her eyelashes, watching him close the distance bit by bit.

"Didn't you tell me to scram?" Jiang Ci swallowed her saliva, mustering the courage to ask, "What is this supposed to mean now?"

Suddenly, the corners of his mouth twitched into a cold sneer, his jaw clenched tight. Thinking of the scene just moments ago, the nameless fire in his heart raged uncontrollably, impossible to suppress.

"Jiang Ci," he said coldly, "am I your damn dog? You play with me when you want, and toss me away when you're done? Is it really that hard to like me?"

Jiang Ci looked at him. The moment their eyes met, she clearly saw the crimson bloodshot rims in his eyes.

Looking at him, Jiang Ci's eye corners turned red, and her eyes welled up with tears. "I..."

Zhang Heyu didn't dare listen to her speak.

He rested his forehead against Jiang Ci's, raising a hand to cover her mouth. With red eyes and drooping eyelids, he pleaded, "A-Ci, can you please like me one more time? Even being a dog is fine."

Lowering his pride, he only wished for a chance to be loved by her again.

Human beings, it seemed, were always fond of stepping into the very same quagmire over and over again.

Even if it meant utter destruction.

Jiang Ci could no longer hold back the tears in her eyes; they fell continuously like broken pearls.

Zhang Heyu removed the hand covering her mouth.

Jiang Ci raised her gaze, her voice choking as she spoke, "I like you."

"What?" For a fraction of a second, Zhang Heyu doubted his own ears.

Jiang Ci reached out, her fingertips lingering at the corner of Zhang Heyu's eye. Her pale, delicate fingertips brushed across his eyes before she lowered her gaze.

Her youth had cried.

Jiang Ci stared directly at the young man with eyes drenched in tears, the corners of her lips curving into a smile.

Her tone was soft, brave, and resolute. "Jiang Ci likes Zhang Heyu. Did you hear that?"

Suddenly, Zhang Heyu felt the overwhelming sensation of having recovered something lost. Because he had been crying, his voice was slightly hoarse. "So, you do have me in your heart, right?"

"Mhm," Jiang Ci nodded. "I'm sor—"

Zhang Heyu lowered his head and pressed his lips to hers. Her unfinished words were forced back down her throat, silencing her instantly.

"I love you, you don't need to apologize."

Jiang Ci wrapped her slender arms around his lean waist and stood on her tiptoes. Realizing what she was about to do, Zhang Heyu bent down.

She kissed his lips.

Carrying the longing of over seven hundred days and nights, it ultimately dissolved into a single kiss.

As the kiss deepened into passion, Jiang Ci felt a single tear drop onto her cheek.

Zhang Heyu pulled his lips away from hers slightly. "I want to hear you say you like me again."

"I like you."

At some point, Jiang Ci had taken a piece of candy from her pocket and slipped it into Zhang Heyu's palm.

"I managed to draw the hidden edition," Jiang Ci curved her lips into a smile. "It's that I like you."

The past Jiang Ci had not been brave about love; she would only escape.

"I'm sorry for making you feel wronged." Jiang Ci buried her head in his embrace and whispered an apology.

Holding the girl close, Zhang Heyu gently patted her back with a warm palm. "Idiot, I was at fault too."

If back then he had understood her a little better, if he had been a bit more persistent in staying by her side, they wouldn't have parted ways.

A complicated person requires someone with patience.

If back then she had been a bit stronger and braver, pulling his hand to face things together, they wouldn't have parted ways.

It was just that back then, they were too foolish, too naive, and far too self-righteous.

He lowered his head and kissed Jiang Ci's forehead. "Let's make up, the past is wiped clean."

"Okay."

Jiang Ci walked out of the sports equipment room. The phone in her pocket kept lighting up.

One of her hands was held tightly by Zhang Heyu, their fingers interlocked, leaving Jiang Ci with no choice but to free her other hand to check her phone.

Sure enough, the very first message was from Rong Yuan.

Followed closely by messages from Zhen Qiancen.

Zhang Heyu glanced at her sideways, fiddled with his own phone for a moment, and then spoke. "Add your boyfriend's contact information back."

The next second, Jiang Ci saw a prominent little red dot pop up on her contacts page.

Jiang Ci suddenly remembered that when Zhang Heyu had dragged her out just now, it was only during the twenty-minute half-time break. By now, the second half had probably already started.

"Your basketball match..."

"It's fine, Jin Mo filled in."

Thinking of what happened earlier, Zhang Heyu pinched the girl's fingers. His tone wasn't particularly pleasant, sounding sourly jealous. "That guy who brought you water just now—your new target?"

"Huh?" Jiang Ci looked at him in confusion, eager to explain and deny. "He is—"

Before she could finish, she was interrupted by a certain walking jar of vinegar. "No wonder you didn't bring me water. So you intercepted the water for me just to flirt with someone new."

Jiang Ci was amused by his remarks, covering her small mouth as she chuckled. "Zhang Heyu, are you jealous?"

"I am jealous." Zhang Heyu pulled her shoulder, drawing her into his arms. His dark eyes surged with complex emotions as he spoke in a playful tone. "How do you plan to make it up to me?"

Jiang Ci looked up at him. In her memory, Zhang Heyu had always appeared indifferent to everything. Looking back after getting together, she realized he sometimes had his little bouts of moodiness.

This was something the Jiang Ci who used had a secret crush on him had never witnessed before.

Seeing the young girl's dazed expression, Zhang Heyu raised a hand and ruffled her hair. "Are you free tomorrow, Sunday?"

Jiang Ci nodded. "I'm free."

"I'll give you one day to coax your official boyfriend, Zhang Heyu."

*

Jiang Ci was dragged by Zhang Heyu to the little lovers' dating sanctuary near the dormitory area and kissed for the longest time before he finally allowed her to return to her dorm.

The student dormitory building had an elevator. Stepping inside, Jiang Ci glanced at her reflection in the elevator's interior wall. Her cheeks were flushed an unnatural shade of red, and having cried earlier, her eyes were also slightly swollen.

She looked even more like a little white rabbit now.

Zhang Heyu had a peculiar habit when kissing Jiang Ci: whenever he found the young girl getting distracted, he would playfully bite her lips as a punishment to remind her to pay attention.

Every time, Jiang Ci would be left blushing furiously, and if he went overboard, she would bite him back.

The elevator doors opened on the fifth floor. Arriving at her dorm room, Jiang Ci took out her keys and unlocked the door.

Startled, Jiang Ci timidly sidled against the wall and flipped on the lights.

Zhen Qiancen and Rong Yuan had dragged their chairs right to the doorway to wait for Jiang Ci's return, both of them wearing expressions that clearly said, "Better explain yourself honestly right now, mister—or rather, missy!"

Awkwardly smiling, Jiang Ci bypassed them and set her things down. "Let me explain..."

Zhen Qiancen dragged her chair in front of Jiang Ci and pushed her down into it. "Tell us right now, what is your relationship with Zhang Heyu?"

"Because of my own reasons, we broke up before the college entrance exams, and personal reasons meant I had to retake the year."

Zhen Qiancen finally understood. "So you joined the student union just to get back together with him?"

Jiang Ci's initial thought had merely been to offer him a proper apology, never expecting that Zhang Heyu had never let go.

"Not entirely," Jiang Ci said.

Rong Yuan knew about Jiang Ci and Zhang Heyu's past, but she suddenly recalled seeing a photo on the campus love wall this afternoon—a picture of Zhang Heyu kissing a girl.

"So, was that photo of him kissing that girl last night actually you, Ci-Ci?"

Jiang Ci was stunned. "What photo?"

Rong Yuan had assumed Jiang Ci already knew, but judging by her reaction, she clearly didn't.

She handed her phone over to Jiang Ci. "Looking at it now, it really does look a bit like you."

Jiang Ci stared at the photo. The angle clearly captured the two of them kissing, but the lighting was too dim to make out the girl's face clearly; however, the girl's outfit was visible.

Last night, Jiang Ci had worn a pure white spaghetti-strap dress layered with a short-sleeved pale pink cardigan. Before heading out, feeling the outfit was a bit too plain, she had pinned a small flower decoration to the collar.

Jiang Ci stared at it for a long while, and fragments of memories began floating up in her mind, though they were somewhat disconnected.

What she could seemingly confirm was that she had indeed interacted with Zhang Heyu last night.

"I don't remember very clearly," Jiang Ci said awkwardly. "I blacked out from drinking."

Rong Yuan and Zhen Qiancen scrolled further down past the newly posted submissions. Several of them were back-profile photos of Jiang Ci and Zhang Heyu walking hand-in-hand.

"I knew it! Back in the gymnasium, when Zhang Heyu dragged Ci-Ci away directly, anyone could tell something was off," Rong Yuan declared with certainty. "He was definitely jealous!"

After Jiang Ci was dragged away by Zhang Heyu, the basketball court had fallen completely silent for a long time.

People flooded the comments section praising the freshman for being bold, successfully bagging Zhang Heyu, the school's high-and-mighty flower of the summit, right off the bat.

Jiang Ci smiled, chatted with them a little longer, and then sat quietly at her desk, lost in thought.

After pondering for a while, she decided it would be best to ask the person involved directly about that photo.

Therefore, she sent a message to Zhang Heyu.

[Jiang Ci: Was it you who brought me back last night?]

After sending the message, the palms of Jiang Ci's hands holding the phone began to sweat slightly.

She hoped she hadn't said anything too bizarre or done anything incomprehensible in front of Zhang Heyu!

She certainly didn't want to lose face so thoroughly in front of him.

Just as her mind was wandering, the vibration in her palm instantly pulled her back to reality. Glancing down, she saw it was a video call from Zhang Heyu.

Clutching her phone, Jiang Ci walked out to the balcony before answering.