HC Chapter 13

Chapter 13: I Hate You (II)

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This was Dong Ci’s second time copying the school regulations.

The first time, she was punished by the teacher for falling asleep during a class. Ironically, the reason for getting punished today was no different from before.

This time, the supervisor was even more severe than her former homeroom teacher. Not only was she punished by having to copy the rules, but she also had to do it ten times.

Ten times – it was the equivalent of Dong Ci’s duration of completing two sets of college exam’s practice papers…

This matter was shameful to even think about – falling asleep on the first day of school.

When she was awakened by the teacher, Dong Ci’s entire face flushed with a flaming red color because of the embarrassment. Jing Rong’s smiling black eyes staring at her the entire time only escalated her humiliation – she felt so angry, but there was nothing to say to him. After all, Dong Ci was the one who wanted to avoid him in the first place.

There weren’t many people left in the classroom at this time. Jing Rong and An Cheng Feng left after the classes ended – they didn’t even spare her a glance, acting as though she was a stranger.

In the following days, although she felt uncomfortable at the way Jing Rong sometimes gazed at her with his piercing eyes, Dong Ci tried to ignore him. As long as he didn’t come to provoke her, she was naturally very happy to be left alone.

This state of their relationship lasted for a month, during which the two of them had very little communication. Dong Ci sometimes wondered how her school life could be so peaceful: she was studying in the ‘A’ class, while Jing Rong always left very early after school – never taking the initiative to bother her anymore.

And then, suddenly, he disappeared from her life altogether.

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The semester has begun to pick up. One day, when she was doing the exercises, Dong Ci felt a headache coming up. She couldn’t help but put down her pen and look out the window. Her gaze languidly traveled from the immaculate lawns to the newly-grown willow on the campus.

Its color was emerald green – just looking at it could make one regain their vitality.

Suddenly, she felt someone approaching and sitting down right next to her. The smile on Dong Ci’s face stiffened as her first reaction was that Jing Rong came back. She slowly turned around, only to discover that it was Yan Ning Shuang.

Yan Ning Shuang was also in the same class. If Dong Ci hadn’t seen the report card with her own eyes, she would’ve never believed it – the girl turned out to be in the top three in the entire school. This ranking was also the same if one considered the results at the provincial level.

“Aren’t you curious about where Jing Rong disappeared to?”

Yang Ning Shuang was a cold beauty. Except for talking with An Cheng Feng, she rarely took the initiative to communicate with other people in the class. The feeling she radiated was one of dominance and arrogance, so not many dared to approach her. After all, even when she deemed it necessary to look at other people, her gaze was full of disdain for them.

So, it was the first time that she took the initiative to speak with Dong Ci.

“I don’t want to know,” Dong Ci disinterestedly replied. Her eyes looked straight at the other girl’s expressionless face, and she couldn’t help but frown slightly as she thought about something.

Although Dong Ci wasn’t talkative, due to her soft personality her relationship with classmates was quite good. As such, she has heard a lot of rumors about Yan Ning Shuang – all of which were bad. But even with all that gossip, she still felt that she couldn’t completely close her heart to the other girl without finding out for herself whether everything that was said was true.

At the same time, Yan Ning Shuang was also staring at her as though she was looking for something. Her eyes were piercing, and they didn’t even blink once during this whole time. When she heard Dong Ci’s answer, her gaze gained a hint of interest.

“You don’t seem to like Jing Rong very much.”

Dong Ci tilted her head, and reflexively asked back, “Do you like him?”

“I don’t like him too much either,” Yan Ning Shuang pouted her lips, appearing very disgusted at the very mention of Jing Rong. “I only like An Cheng Feng.”

“…”

This confession was so direct that it made Dong Ci stunned for a moment. She nodded with a little embarrassment, not knowing what to say in response.

As far as Dong Ci was aware, An Cheng Feng was already in a relationship. Even more, he seemed to have a particular inclination of changing girlfriends every two or three days.

“I know, what you’re thinking about,” Yan Ning Shuang said as she kept on observing Dong Ci’s honest expressions. She smiled indifferently, yet her eyes were bright and confident as she continued, “Our grandparents have arranged our engagement since childhood. It doesn’t matter, who he likes now – he will only belong to me in the future. The girls he’s dating now – they’re just for fun. How can they compare with me?”

Dong Ci wasn’t accustomed to such a disdainful manner of speaking. But, unexpectedly, she appreciated the other girl’s confidence and imperiousness. However, when she thought about An Cheng Feng’s usual behavior, she couldn’t help but voice out her opinion:

“I don’t think he likes you.”

In her opinion, if An Cheng Feng liked Yan Ning Shuang, he wouldn’t seek out the other girls – especially if he knew about the marriage contract. Looking at the situation from outside perspective, even if Dong Ci didn’t have too much contact with the two of them, it was rather obvious from An Cheng Feng’s attitude that he not only disliked the bossy girl but was also bored of her.

Yan Ning Shuang’s delicate face scrunched up from anger – she didn’t expect for Dong Ci to speak out so directly. But when she looked at Dong Ci’s eyes, she realized that there was no trace of malice in them. Suddenly, she couldn’t help but snort, then burst out laughing.

“Now I know why Jing Rong is so interested in you,” Yan Ning Shuang leaned closer to the other girl and poked her forehead with a fingertip as a bunch of arrogant words suddenly spilled out, “Child, I advise you to contain your straightforward nature. Otherwise, sooner or later, you will suffer a great loss from Jing Rong.”

Although the words weren’t malicious, Yan Ning Shuang’s strength wasn’t small, and the poke actually hurt. Dong Ci exclaimed and waved the offending hand away. She was about to open her mouth and argue with the other girl, but her rebuttal was stopped by another person’s sudden appearance.

Neither girl noticed when An Cheng Feng unexpectedly came out of nowhere, and grabbed Yan Ning Shuang’s shoulder.

“Can you hold back your arrogant temperament and live without bullying others?” he asked impatiently.

Seeing that An Cheng Feng misunderstood the situation, Dong Ci was just about to explain, when Yan Ning Shuang suddenly stood up from her seat and coldly answered, “I will bully whoever I want to bully. Who are you to control me?”

Feeling as though the air around An Cheng Feng was about to burst into flames, Yan Ning Shuang not only did not stop, but she further provoked him by kicking Dong Ci’s chair.

“I bullied her just now. And not only today, in the future I will continue seeking her out and causing trouble. If you are so interested in becoming a guard dog, then just continue watching me every second of the day from now on!”

“…”

Dong Ci wished she could just clearly explain everything, but neither of them gave her the opportunity. As soon as Yan Ning Shuang left in a huff, An Cheng Feng angrily chased after her – leaving Dong Ci to sit in the chair not knowing whether to be embarrassed or not.

Some classmates have also noticed the commotion. The looks of hidden amusement made Dong Ci feel very uncomfortable, especially when she thought about how they would perceive her from now on. She rubbed her forehead and tried to push the matter to the back of her mind. It was time to get back to the exercises.

After all, she didn’t want to get involved in other people’s affairs – and not only because of caring about what her classmates would think of her. No, she just wanted to spend her time in high school peacefully working hard to achieve her goals.

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The storefront that Dong Ci’s mother rented out opened after the New Year. On the menu, there were many different types of dishes, but there was one thing they had in common – they were all home-cooked. In the beginning, there weren’t many customers but, fortunately, there was also no loss.

The restaurant was named ‘Venerable Dong’s Home Dishes’. Ever since it opened, Dong Ci’s mother has been having a lot of fun cooking every day and trying a lot of different recipes.

After operating for a few months, the store’s business was still tepid. However, every new wave of customers always left one or two people who would continue to return. And although there wasn’t much profit yet, it was on the upward trend, which added to the mother and daughter’s motivation to continue operating.

The restaurant’s busiest time was usually around lunch. But today, maybe due to the rain, there were only a few people inside. Dong Ci sat in front of the checkout counter and listened to an English recording with headphones in her ears. From a distance, her prone figure seemed particularly petite.

“I-n-t-r-i-c-a-t-e,” she read the word from the book and noted it down. She was so focused that she couldn’t even hear the ticking rain outside.

“Intricate,” Dong Ci repeated, thinking about the usage of this word in a sentence when the tip of her nose suddenly felt cold.

She was slightly taken aback by the sensation. Her head snapped up, feeling frustrated at the interruption, and her eyes met a pair of dark and deep ones.

“Did you miss me?”

They haven’t seen each other for nearly a month, yet it was immediately obvious that Jing Rong has lost a lot of weight. His sharp chin became thinner, and his face was pale. But the smile dancing on his lips was bright, and his eyes contained a little bit of lightness.

“You… why are you here?

Jing Rong’s hair was a bit damp because he got caught up in the rain. Seeing that there were still a few drops of water on his chin, Dong Ci subconsciously handed him a tissue.

“Thank you,” Jing Rong took, his smile further brightening.

Today, he wore a loose black coat with a lining of black fur on the hood. A lot of that fur was clamped together because of the water, but some patches were still dry. As Jing Rong wiped his face, the fluff quivered in the air – tempting Dong Ci to reach forward and stroke it.

“I am here to eat,” Jing Rong answered the previous question after he wiped his face. He proceeded in grabbing the menu on the table and looking it over.

It was rather obvious that he didn’t know what to select – he flipped through the pages a few times before helplessly raising his head and pushing the menu to Dong Ci.

“I don’t know what to eat. You can select the dishes for me.”

Maybe it was Dong Ci’s illusion, but it appeared as though today Jing Rong was particularly soft. Especially the big circle of fluffy fur – it made him look sunny and harmless as it surrounded his head.

This was the first rain after the winter has passed – it was called ‘spring rain’. Dong Ci looked at the pouring water outside the windows then returned her gaze to the teenager before her.

“Tell me how it tastes later,” her mother smiled at Jing Rong as she carried out a dish. Her enthusiasm was very apparent as she continued talking, “Auntie doesn’t know what you like to eat, so she can only guess it with intuition. You are welcome to eat whatever you want. Just tell Xiao Ci, and your aunt will make it for you.”

After she found out that the handsome young man was Dong Ci’s classmate, her mother kept on chatting with him. When she accidentally touched Jing Rong’s cold fingers, she even enthusiastically poured him a cup of milk tea that she had recently learned making.

“I just recently found out how to make milk tea – I don’t know whether it will suit your taste.”

Facing the kind mother’s earnestness, Jing Rong continued maintaining a polite smile on his face. Although he didn’t say much from the beginning to the end, he still appeared very gentle and polite. People who weren’t familiar with his character were often misled by his handsome face and appearance, especially the first time they met him.

But today, Jing Rong was even more pleasing to the eye. After he came back, his sharp edge seemed to have disappeared. The whole person appeared plain and quiet, and when he silently drank the tea, he looked just like a simple handsome boy.

Dong Ci quietly observed him.

Before, Jing Rong’s hands were always clean and elegant. However, after returning from the long absence, there was a new accessory on his wrist. The bright beads were especially noticeable when he lifted his cup to take a sip of the contents inside. And although they didn’t match with his personality, the way he was wearing them looked especially good.

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