[Yuanyuan, can we have a good talk just once? Just once, okay? For the sake of our years of friendship.]
Jiang Yuan stared at the message. Behind her, the boy's gaze was burning, blatant, and unbridled.
She pursed her lips but still didn't reply to him.
Chi Xu wasn't discouraged. He continued to type away on the memo, as if he had turned it into a new chatting app.
The teacher started the class, so Jiang Yuan put away her phone, ignoring him, and quietly attended the class.
After school in the morning, Jiang Yuan quickly packed her things and left. Lin Suye originally wanted to follow, but when she saw Chi Xu silently trailing behind Jiang Yuan, she decided to give up.
The stairwell was crowded. Jiang Yuan was petite. She lowered her head, carefully holding her books and making her way down the stairs with the crowd.
When she reached the first floor, the cold, damp wind blew in. Jiang Yuan looked up and saw that it was raining. The rain was coming down hard, and she didn't have an umbrella.
A muffled laugh came from behind, as if in celebration. The boy spoke slowly, "Yuanyuan, I've got an umbrella. Do you want to share it with me?"
Jiang Yuan ignored him. She hesitated for a moment, then held up the books in her hand to shield her head and took a big step forward. Suddenly, her arm was grabbed.
She didn't need to guess who it was.
She said coldly, "Let go."
The boy sighed helplessly, holding back the bitterness. His voice was a bit hoarse. "I'll give you the umbrella. Don't get wet."
Jiang Yuan didn't move. Her long eyelashes hid the emotions in her eyes. Her words were still as cold as stone. "Let go."
"Okay, I'll let go. I'll put the umbrella beside your feet. Remember to take it. I won't bother you anymore." Chi Xu bent down and put the dark green umbrella on the ground.
Jiang Yuan caught a glimpse of him from the corner of her eye. His fair, slender fingers had distinct knuckles, looking even paler against the dark green umbrella.
He quickly put it down and took a few steps back.
The rain was pattering down. The drifting water vapor hit her face, making it feel cool. But suddenly, her eyes felt hot, and they were sore and swollen.
The sound of his footsteps was getting farther and farther away until it stopped.
Jiang Yuan silently picked up the umbrella, opened it, and walked into the dense rain curtain.
After buying lunch at the cafeteria, her phone rang. The special small cake ordered by Chi Xu had been delivered downstairs of the dormitory.
Jiang Yuan asked the delivery guy to leave it on the ground. She would go and pick it up later.
When she got downstairs of the dormitory, a beautiful small cake was quietly sitting on the ground. Jiang Yuan picked it up and went back to the dormitory.
"There's a cake. You three can eat it." Jiang Yuan tightened her grip on the cake package. Seeing that all three roommates were there, she spoke casually and put the cake on one of their desks.
Lin Suye, Yu Huan, and Su Kexin looked at each other.
Su Kexin asked carefully, "Yuanyuan, are you sure?"
It was obvious that this cake was sent by Chi Xu to Jiang Yuan.
"Sure," Jiang Yuan replied.
"Aren't you going to have a piece? You've tried to make a reservation for this cake from this dessert shop so many times but never succeeded. It's a pity if you don't taste it." Lin Suye bit her lip and tempted her.
Jiang Yuan's tone was cold and meaningful. "I'm not interested anymore. Just like a cake, everything will expire."
Did this mean that she didn't like Chi Xu anymore?
The three of them stared at each other again, not knowing whether they should eat the cake or not.
Yu Huan asked, "Are we really going to eat it?"
Jiang Yuan just replied with an "um". "If you don't eat it, I'll just throw it into the trash can."
"Eat, eat, eat. Such a delicious cake can't be thrown into the trash can." Lin Suye immediately jumped up and shouted. The three of them gathered around a small table and started to unpack the cake. The faint aroma of the cake wafted into their noses, and at the same time, there were their whispered conversations.
Jiang Yuan seriously suspected that the three of them did it on purpose.
"This cake smells so good. I could smell it even before the package was opened."
"Its shape is so nice too. I can't help but take a bite."
"Um~ It's really delicious. The cream is mixed with the fragrance of jasmine. OMG, there are even small pieces of green grapes in the cream. Slow down, don't bully me for eating slowly!"
"Not bad. It's popular for a reason. The milk flavor is rich, the cake is soft, and it's not too sweet. I must make a reservation next time!"
"..."
Jiang Yuan stared at the lunch she bought from the cafeteria and suddenly lost her appetite.
The rich milk aroma spread out and slowly crept into her nose. Jiang Yuan unconsciously swallowed a mouthful of saliva.
Jiang Yuan felt as if she was "kidnapped" by the milk aroma. She slightly turned her head and saw that the three of them were gathered around the cake. She couldn't even see a corner of it.
"Save a small piece for me. Just this small piece. It's almost gone."
"Okay, okay, I'll save a piece for you. Eat slowly, don't rush."
Lin Suye grinned slyly. She lowered her head and looked at the untouched cake with a smile. She silently asked, "Do you think Jiang Yuan will be tricked?"
Yu Huan shook her head, indicating that she didn't know.
Su Kexin whispered, "She should be."
It smelled so good. What if Jiang Yuan never came over?
The three of them were like hungry wolves, eyeing the fragrant small cake covetously. It was time to test their self - control.
Time passed by second by second. Lin Suye and the other two were so thirsty from talking that they could hardly come up with any more words. Suddenly, they heard the "scratch" sound of a stool being dragged behind them. They immediately perked up.
"You've finished eating..." The cold words stopped abruptly on top of their heads. Jiang Yuan looked down and saw a whole cake in front of her.
Her face immediately turned ugly. She questioned, "So you were just lying to me?"
Yu Huan wasn't afraid of Jiang Yuan. She had no feud with her. She jumped up, put her hands on Jiang Yuan's shoulders, and pressed her down onto her seat. She leaned over to Jiang Yuan's ear and said with a smile.
"You're the owner of the cake. How dare we take a bite if you don't have a taste first?"
"Right, Jiang Yuan. You're making it hard for us." Su Kexin was also fearless. She propped her elbows on the table and tilted her head with a bright smile.
"Smell it. It smells so good. For you, I've been holding back with them. I'm about to go crazy."
Lin Suye was sitting right across from Jiang Yuan. She bit her lip, carefully choosing her words. "Yuanyuan, I remember you've always wanted to eat this flavor of cake. Don't be so hard on yourself."
It seemed that the three of them had planned it all along. They surrounded the cake and made noises to attract her over.
Well, Jiang Yuan admitted that she had long been attracted by the sweet - smelling small cake, but she just refused to admit it.
"Hurry up and unpack it, Yuanyuan. We didn't even dare to unpack the package." Lin Suye's eyes were shining. She looked even more impatient than the owner.
Jiang Yuan glanced at her and thought it was funny. The corner of her mouth twitched slightly, but she immediately held it back.
She lowered her head to unpack the package, and a card fluttered down.
It was a yellow card with black words. The handwriting was elegant, and the last stroke was slightly hooked up.
"Yuanyuan, I'm sorry."