HC Chapter 18

Chapter 18: I Hate You (VII)

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“Dislike,” Dong Ci faintly responded. She glanced at Jing Rong, feeling uneasy about the question.

“Come on, horror movies are said to be a good form of relaxation.”

Disregarding Dong Ci’s struggles, Jing Rong lifted her and made her sit on his lap. He put his chin on top of the girl’s head and opened the laptop which was placed on her knees.

It was unclear where he found so many horror movies. The catalogue was full of film posters with red warnings of ‘Extremely Frightening’ stamped on them.

“Are you afraid, Xiao Ci? If you don’t want to watch the movie, you can hide in my arms.”

The rain outside was heavy, and there was an occasional flash of lightning. Dong Ci looked outside the window and sneered, “I am not afraid.”

Jing Rong put his hand on the keyboard, whilst the other one dimmed the lightning in the room a little – casting a shadow over his face.

The atmosphere was really suitable for watching something scary.

The first movie has been filmed in Japan. After watching half of it, Dong Ci didn’t feel any horror from it. Instead, she was a little disgusted.

“What kind of movie is this? The props are clearly fake, and they look nauseating,” Jing Rong closed the film with a frown and searched for something else to watch.

The lights were dim, and the screen was glowing with a faint white light. Dong Ci’s eyes were tired from staring at the computer for such a long time, and she didn’t have much patience in continuing to watch.

The next movie belonged to the Thai suspense category. The atmosphere was gloomy, and there was an occasional bloody face jumping out from the screen.

Dong Ci blinked but otherwise didn’t show any reaction to the scary pop-up. She wasn’t invested in the plot, so it was difficult to scare her.

In fact, she wasn’t a very courageous girl, but she never believed in spirits or ghosts. There was nothing realistic about this movie, so how could she be afraid of something that she knew didn’t exist?

Jing Rong wished to see her trembling in his arms, but he didn’t expect that the girl would be unresponsive to this extent. He looked at Dong Ci’s eyes, which were staring at the screen without blinking, and suddenly realized that her mind wasn’t present.

So frustrating!

Losing his interest, he snapped the laptop shut without any warning.

“Boring,” Jing Rong sighed and fiercely poked Dong Ci’s face. He buried his face into her shoulder, his long eyelashes quivering slightly as the dazzling dark eyes adopted a slightly pitiful look.

If he never opened his mouth, Dong Ci would have thought that he was a very handsome boy.

But what a pity…

She pushed him away from her body, her mind still wandering.

God gave him a face that could make all humans jealous, but the horrible character balanced it out.

Sure enough, no one is perfect.

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Having lived with Jing Rong for over a week, Dong Ci finally managed to convince him to send her back home.

After a rainy night – the next day, the sky was clear, and the sun was exceptionally bright. When Dong Ci once again raised the topic of going home, Jing Rong was laying on the rooftop and basking in the sun.

Listening to her speaking, it was unclear what he thought about. After a second of silence, he nodded in agreement, the corner of his mouth hooked up. Somehow, Dong Ci felt a little wary.

During the journey back, she leaned into her seat and stared at the passing scenery outside the window. Because she was finally granted her wish, she was in a good mood all the way.

“Park the car here,” Jing Rong ordered the driver just after they entered the business district, and turned to the girl. “Let’s go shopping?”

Dong Ci didn’t understand why he stopped the driver from sending her home, and she still had to follow him at every step. Since the moment he so easily agreed with her request, she has been alert to any accidents. Receiving such kindness from him made her uneasy.

She hugged the backpack to her chest and shook her head, “I won’t go shopping. I’d rather go home.”

“I will send you there after we shop,” Jing Rong said unrelentingly. He opened the car’s door and pulled her out. Then, squinting at the long street, he asked, “Where do you want to go first?”

“Weren’t you the one who wanted to buy something?” Dong Ci asked doubtfully.

Jing Rong pursed his lips and stopped talking. Instead, he grabbed her wrist, and aimlessly walked down the street. His legs were long – one step was equivalent to Dong Ci’s two steps. As he was unhappy, his pace was even faster than usual.

Dong Ci’s wrist was still being held hostage in his palm, so she had no choice but to hurriedly stumble after him.

Both of them were silent.

Dong Ci couldn’t figure out how she managed to anger him this time. His face was cold as he impatiently dragged her to various stores but never bought anything.

She wasn’t interested in clothing or jewelry, and she didn’t dare to eat anything in the stalls outside because of her bad stomach.

When they crossed the street, Dong Ci finally stopped to buy a cup of milk tea as she grew thirsty. Jing Rong didn’t speak – he silently leaned against the wall not far from her and waited for her to finish ordering. But even as he stood there like a sculpture, his handsome face still attracted the attention of the passers-by.

After receiving the milk tea, Dong Ci turned around – only to see a few girls secretly photographing the handsome teenager. She pretended not to notice them and was just about to turn away, but a familiar figure appeared in the corner of her eye. Turning her head in that direction, she found that the familiar man turned out to be An Cheng Feng.

In fact, if it was only An Cheng Feng, she wouldn’t be too interested. She was curious because he was chasing a petite girl with a joyful smile on his face – completely unlike the coldness he showed to Yan Ning Shuang.

Dong Ci felt that he was acting completely different from his usual behavior in front of that girl. As she observed the girl’s figure, it also appeared slightly familiar.

Dong Ci blinked.

When she was about to take a closer look, her sight was blocked by Jing Rong.

“Who is she?”

Jing Rong also saw An Cheng Feng. But instead of going over to greet his friend, he wrapped his arm around Dong Ci’s shoulder and prepared to leave.

Seeing that the girl in his arms was still looking in An Cheng Feng’s direction, he turned her head straight and lightly reproached, “You should look at the road.”

“Do you know that girl? What is her relationship with An Cheng Feng?”

She saw An Cheng Feng help that girl by taking her backpack, but the girl indifferently snatched it back. This wasn’t the way that the other boy usually behaved towards girls. In Dong Ci’s eyes, he seemed to pay more attention to that girl.

Yes, he was very carefully trying to win her favor.

Jing Rong didn’t answer her questions. He just glanced at her, and pushed her back into the car, blocking her sight from seeing the other couple. Then, with a smile, he asked, “When did you become so interested in him?”

Dong Ci frowned. She opened her mouth and was about to say something, but her voice was blocked by Jing Rong’s finger. He blinked at her and smilingly continue, “Be good and pretend you saw nothing.”

He thought about something, then added, “You aren’t allowed to speak about this with Yan Ning Shuang.”

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Instead of directly heading home, Dong Ci went to her mother’s restaurant.

It was very hot outside, so she didn’t expect to be greeted by a cool breeze when she pushed open the shop’s door. Dong Ci was stunned. She looked around and found that there were many customers inside.

“Mom, you bought an air conditioner?”

Her mother was busying herself in the kitchen. When she saw Dong Ci, she smiled and came over to stroke her daughter’s hair. Instead of answering, she asked, “Don’t you think that the store looks better now?”

“Ah, it really looks better than before.”

Dong Ci looked around the restaurant, noticing that there were many new decorations. But what surprised her the most was that her mother installed an air conditioner inside the store.

What happened to the restaurant during the week that she had been away? Her mother has always been so cautious about opening this shop – how could she suddenly be so willing to spend money?

Dong Ci had many things she wanted to voice out, but before she could do so, her mother asked her to help out. There were already some guests who were urging them in the main hall, so Dong Ci could only hurriedly wash her hands and help her mother with the cooking.

Although she was helpful, Dong Ci didn’t inherit her mother’s talent in the kitchen. She could only do some minor things, and there were many dishes she wasn’t allowed to touch.

The restaurant was full of customers until ten o’clock in the evening. Only after the mother and daughter pair cleaned everything up, could they finally rest.

“Ever since the air conditioner has been installed, the restaurant’s business has improved a lot. I tried to make a few new dishes, which also attracted a lot of teenagers who are around your age. They praised that the food is delicious, and the presentation is beautiful. They also said that they would take more pictures of the dishes to help with the promotion in their circles of friends.”

The business in the store was better, and the smile on her mother’s face was bigger. The older woman laughed and patted Dong Ci’s hand, the light in her eyes growing brighter than before.

“Xiao Ci, you should rest your worries now. Just concentrate on studying – your mother will definitely be able to send you to college. If you want to go to F University, you must study hard. Your dad’s dream will be left for you to realize.”

Before they went to bed, her mother couldn’t resist chatting with Dong Ci about her plans for the future. She seemed to be very interested in operating this restaurant – it was all she could talk about.

Dong Ci silently listened. She was happy for her mother. She felt that her decision to open it was correct. At least, her mother’s wish was fulfilled and she was happier now.

At this time, Dong Ci didn’t realize that something was wrong with her mother.

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Maybe her body was unwell once again – as she was combing her hair, Dong Ci noticed some hairs falling out. She was slightly upset because of this – should she just cut it short?

It just so happened that Zhang Yiyi invited her to come out to play, so the two of them arranged a time and met up.

When she was still in the regular class, the girls shared a desk for a semester. Zhang Yiyi was Dong Ci’s best friend in that class. But because she always studied at home, this was the first time that the two of them came out to hang out.

“You’re sure about cutting it?” Zhang Yiyi asked, looking at the long hair, which reached the waist, with regret. “Your hair is so beautiful. It is a pity to cut it.”

Dong Ci looked at the strands resting on her chest and grabbed a fistful of them. When she opened her fingers, a lot of hair was already broken.

“If your hair continues to fall like this, won’t you also be upset?”

“If it was me, I would probably go to the hospital to check whether I am sick,” Zhang Yiyi poked out her tongue and sat beside Dong Ci with a chuckle. “If you want to cut it, then just do it. You are so pretty – it doesn’t matter even if the hair is short.”

“How come I didn’t know I was pretty?” Dong Ci asked with amusement.

She was very clear about her appearance. She wasn’t especially good-looking, and if she stood near Yan Ning Shuang – her face would become even more ordinary.

“If you don’t look good, how can Jing Rong like you?” Zhang Yiyi casually replied. She didn’t think she was wrong.

She tilted her head, looking up and down at Dong Ci. The girl’s skin was white and beautiful, whilst the body was slender and weak-looking. And although she didn’t have very special facial features, her temperament made her look better.

Zhang Yiyi sighed in her heart. She didn’t expect for Jing Rong to like this type of girl.

“You think that Jing Rong likes me because I look good?” Upon hearing his name, Dong Ci’s expression turned indifferent. She snorted and sarcastically asked, “What does he like in me?”

Realizing that Dong Ci’s face was wrong, Zhang Yiyi froze for a moment. She thought about it and hurried to correct her mistake, “I was probably confused just now. Jing Rong doesn’t like you just because of how you look. He likes you for who you are, right?”

“Wrong.” Dong Ci corrected, “He doesn’t like me at all.”

“How is that possible? Many students at school said that they often see the two of you spending time together. They all say that you are in a boyfriend and girlfriend relationship. It is also rumored that Jing Rong used to skip classes every day, but now he is going to school to accompany you.”

Zhang Yiyi paused to look at Dong Ci’s expression, then tentatively asked, “Is it not right?”

Is it?

Dong Ci was silent. To tell the truth, she really can’t tell what kind of relationship she has with Jing Rong.

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