Chapter 109: Bonus – When We Were Young Part Eight
Zuo Bian leaned towards the window, her eyes darting around. “I really didn’t. If you keep asking, I won’t let you kiss me anymore.”
Qin Ai clicked her tongue and moved back.
“You’re taking advantage of my feelings for you.”
Zuo Bian quickly glanced at Qin Ai, then looked away. “You finally admitted it, you like me.”
“Yes, yes, yes, I like you.”
Those were sweet words, but Qin Ai’s tone was tinged with annoyance.
Zuo Bian didn’t care about her tone, only the meaning behind the words. Her smile widened.
After physics class, Zuo Bian was stumped by a challenging extra credit problem. As usual, she asked Qin Ai for help.
This time, Qin Ai played hard to get. “I told you before, there’s a price to pay if you want me to teach you. What can you offer me?”
“I don’t know what I can give you, Qin Ai. How about some candy?” Zuo Bian took out a few colorful candies from her pocket.
Qin Ai cleared her throat. “Candy is too sweet, I don’t like it. One kiss, one problem.”
Zuo Bian didn’t hesitate for long. She leaned forward and pecked Qin Ai’s cheek.
“Is that okay now?”
However, Qin Ai, pushing her luck, refused to teach her and even questioned, “Now I suspect you’re only with me because you want me to help you with your homework, not because you like me.”
Zuo Bian was stunned. She stared at Qin Ai for a moment, then asked, “Qin Ai, why would you think that?”
“Why else would you agree to kiss me so easily? I’m starting to doubt your feelings for me.” Qin Ai narrowed her eyes, her gaze dangerous.
Zuo Bian was confused. She didn’t understand why Qin Ai would doubt her feelings.
“Would I ever like anyone else besides you?” Her eyes were filled with innocence.
Qin Ai placed her hand on the wall behind Zuo Bian, leaning closer, trapping Zuo Bian against the wall.
“Me or your studies, who do you love more?” There was a hint of annoyance in Qin Ai’s eyes, as if she was saying, “Am I even less important than your studies?”
Zuo Bian suddenly chuckled. “Of course it’s you.”
“I don’t believe you, prove it to me.”
Jiang Yuandong and Liu Liu, who were sitting in front of them, covered their mouths to stifle their laughter, their expressions suggesting they were enjoying the show.
Zuo Bian pushed Qin Ai’s chest, her hand briefly touching her soft breast before quickly retracting. “Qin Ai, there are other people here.”
Only then did Qin Ai remember that they were still in the classroom. She glared at Jiang Yuandong and Liu Liu, her teeth grinding audibly.
“Why are there always people around to disturb me?”
Liu Liu suddenly slapped his thigh. “Ah! I just remembered Chang Wenyan was looking for me last class. Oh no, I almost forgot.”
“I haven’t returned the book I borrowed from Xiao Lin yet, I need to return it to her quickly.” Jiang Yuandong said, picking up her biology textbook.
The two of them, who had been enjoying the drama just moments ago, quickly left the classroom. However, the atmosphere had already been disrupted.
Qin Ai flipped through her textbook impatiently, unable to focus. She caught Zuo Bian trying to suppress her laughter out of the corner of her eye.
“What are you laughing at? Do you think I’m funny?” She couldn’t help but pinch Zuo Bian’s cheek.
Zuo Bian’s skin was fair and smooth, like porcelain. It was even softer than tofu.
Qin Ai had wanted to pinch Zuo Bian’s cheek as punishment for laughing at her, but her hand softened as soon as it touched Zuo Bian’s skin.
She couldn’t bear to leave a mark on such a beautiful face.
It seemed like she had forgotten who had said Zuo Bian was “nothing special” when they first met.
Ever since they officially started dating, Qin Ai’s tardiness and early departures had significantly decreased. Or rather, she was almost never late or absent anymore.
After all, her girlfriend was her deskmate. Being late or leaving early meant seeing Zuo Bian less, which wasn’t worth it. So she chose to be a “good student.”
Of course, such a mundane routine wasn’t suitable for Qin Ai. One day, she finally couldn’t take it anymore.
Why couldn’t she kiss her girlfriend? It was unbearable!
It was Saturday, and Qin Ai, using the excuse of needing help with her homework, took Zuo Bian to her room with ulterior motives.
If their story was on an R-rated website, the rest of the afternoon would be filled with passionate scenes. But unfortunately, their story was on Jinjiang.
A website where characters didn’t have body parts below the neck. So the result could only be…
“Ah—”
“Qin Ai, are you okay?” Zuo Bian rushed off the bed and helped Qin Ai up, worried.
Qin Ai had been pushed off the bed by Zuo Bian. Thankfully, the floor was carpeted, and she wasn’t injured.
But being physically unharmed didn’t mean she was okay. Her pride was shattered, beyond repair.
“Qin Ai, why aren’t you saying anything? Did you hurt yourself? I’m sorry, I didn’t control my strength. How about you push me off the bed too? I’m not afraid of pain.”
Qin Ai was in a state of despair. She waved her hand dismissively and stood up, her expression complex.
“I’m fine. Let’s do our homework. You haven’t finished your chemistry worksheet yet.”
What to do when things get awkward? The best solution was to pretend nothing had happened, acting as natural as possible.
No matter how embarrassed she felt, Qin Ai maintained a calm facade.
Of course, it was all an act. When Zuo Bian asked her for help with a problem on the worksheet, Qin Ai froze, as if she had been petrified. Zuo Bian called her name several times before she finally reacted.
“Qin Ai, what’s wrong? Are you tired?” Zuo Bian looked at her with concern.
Seeing that Qin Ai didn’t respond immediately, Zuo Bian’s expression turned strange.
“Qin Ai, were you up late last night watching adult videos? That’s not good for you, you need to control yourself.”
Zuo Bian had clearly misunderstood something, and Qin Ai didn’t appreciate it.
“What are you thinking about? Be careful, or I’ll bully you.” Qin Ai pretended to flick Zuo Bian’s forehead.
Zuo Bian raised a book to shield her face. After a moment of silence, she peeked out cautiously, only to be caught by Qin Ai.
“If you don’t start working on your homework, I’m going to do something else.”
Qin Ai flicked Zuo Bian’s forehead. Zuo Bian’s skin was delicate, and a red mark appeared. But she didn’t feel any pain. “Oh,” she said obediently and lowered her head, continuing to work on her worksheet.
After spending so much time as a high school student, Zuo Bian had absorbed most of the knowledge. She was also intelligent, and most of the problems weren’t difficult for her. Within an hour, she had finished the entire worksheet.
“Qin Ai, I’m done.” She smiled brightly, showing Qin Ai her completed worksheet.
Qin Ai glanced at it, then pulled out a stack of textbooks and workbooks from under the table.
“Midterm exams are coming up soon. Do all of these, it’ll definitely help your grades.”
“Thank you! You’re so good to me, Qin Ai.” Zuo Bian picked up a book titled “Classic Math Problems and Variations for High School” and started reading.
Qin Ai had thought, since Zuo Bian loved studying so much, she would let her study to her heart’s content. That way, she wouldn’t have any energy left to act cute and complain about wanting to rest.
Unfortunately, the cute and clingy behavior she had imagined never happened.
Qin Ai watched from the side, her eyes getting tired, but Zuo Bian was still going strong, finding joy in solving problems, her excitement growing with each completed problem.
“Qin Ai, you should share these good things with me sooner next time.” Zuo Bian didn’t even look up as she wrote down the answers.
Qin Ai facepalmed, realizing she had created trouble for herself again. It had been like this when they first met, and now it was the same during their “date” at home.
She spent the entire afternoon watching Zuo Bian do her homework. She had dinner with Zuo Bian and then drove her home.
Their reviews of the date:
Qin Ai: A complete failure.
Zuo Bian: It was fun, a very fulfilling afternoon.
Qin Ai: …
Although they weren’t perfectly in sync, their relationship was still sweet.
Of course, there were occasional attempts to sabotage their relationship, from Chang Wenyan, Lin Qingqing, and various insignificant bystanders. However, their actions, instead of affecting Zuo Bian and Qin Ai’s relationship, only intensified Qin Ai’s possessiveness.
Why were so many people trying to ruin her relationship with her girlfriend? Were they trying to steal Zuo Bian from her?
That’s right, Qin Ai had labeled everyone who was interested in Zuo Bian as a threat. In her eyes, Zuo Bian was perfect, and these people had ulterior motives, harboring secret desires for her girlfriend.
Zuo Bian, on the other hand, was still clueless. She didn’t even realize what was happening before Qin Ai had already dealt with everything.
When she asked about it later, Qin Ai would just say, “Nothing happened,” and their sweet school life would continue as if nothing had happened.
Time passed, and the day Qin Ai had been looking forward to, Zuo Bian’s eighteenth birthday, was approaching.
Qin Ai had started preparing a birthday gift for Zuo Bian a month in advance, but she was struggling to decide what to give her.
Zuo Bian came from a wealthy family and didn’t lack anything. Her family had already bought her everything she wanted.
The most important thing about a gift was the thought behind it. Zuo Bian’s birthday was in winter, so Qin Ai decided to knit a scarf for her.
A simple scarf wasn’t enough to express her feelings, so Qin Ai decided to knit a message into it.
—She would knit the words “Qin Ai and Zuo Bian, together forever” into the scarf.
Nine characters, symbolizing longevity, it was perfect.
The gift was decided, now she just needed to act.
It turned out that theory and practice were very different. For Qin Ai, learning to play the piano and dating Zuo Bian had already consumed all her patience.
After throwing the yarn and knitting needles back onto the table for the forty-fifth time, she picked them up again, determined to start over.
After a week, Qin Ai’s progress was as follows: She had wasted three balls of yarn and had finally knitted the left half of the character “Qin.”
Although the knitting needles were made of wood, they still had sharp ends. After knitting for so long, her fingers were numb. She wondered why she was the one doing this seemingly wifely task.
But then she remembered Zuo Bian’s longing gaze as she confessed how envious she was of those who received hand-knitted scarves from their girlfriends. Qin Ai sighed helplessly. “I owe her this much.”
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