Chapter 25: The Age of Receiving Scarves
Nestled in Lu Li’s arms, Chu Jingyi’s racing heart gradually calmed down. She felt warm and soft, like lying by the warmest fireplace, listening to her mother read “Andersen’s Fairy Tales.” She thought Lu Li was magical. He must have some kind of magic that could soothe people’s hearts, otherwise why would she love being around him so much?
“Baili and I made a pact. Right now, our priority is our studies. We’re not allowed to date anyone before we go to college.”
Lu Li was stunned. “You told Baili?”
“Yes…” The Class Monitor shifted slightly in his arms, seemingly trying to find a more comfortable position. “If I came to see you without telling Baili, wouldn’t I be a thief? And… and I don’t have any other close friends. It wouldn’t be appropriate to talk to you about certain things, right? So I could only tell Baili…”
Lu Li didn’t expect that Chu Jingyi had already reached an agreement with An Baili. An Baili, that jealous girl, actually agreed to compromise with the Class Monitor? What kind of medicine did she take? In his past life, she would get anxious if he talked to Chen Jianing on the phone for more than two minutes. Not just this time, but last time it was An Baili who encouraged him to appease Silly Goose. Did An Baili suddenly have an epiphany after experiencing the ups and downs of life? Impossible… Lu Li couldn’t figure out An Baili’s motives and could only set this question aside.
“Also, also, Lu Li, don’t be angry about what I’m about to say…” The Silly Goose in his arms suddenly spoke in a coquettish tone, making Lu Li’s bones tingle. “I secretly went to see Baili, and I even went to your house and stayed for a while. And, and Baili and I met your sister. So you really went to Lingyue City to watch your sister’s competition that time, you didn’t lie to me.”
Lu Li’s tingling bones suddenly jolted. “You met Sister Yameng?” Alarm bells rang in his heart. He had a feeling this wasn’t good. Sister Yameng was actually a suspicious person. Would she overthink things after seeing Chu Jingyi – no, it wasn’t even overthinking!
“What, what did she say?” Lu Li felt a sense of dread, like when he was a child and Sister Yameng would grab him by the ear and spank him. As long as Sister Yameng didn’t call him by his nickname and addressed him by his full name, Little Lu Li knew he was in for a beating.
“Your sister is really beautiful, and she has a great figure.” Chu Jingyi said enviously. “She’s also very gentle. She treated Baili and me well and asked me a lot about your performance at school. Hehe, Lu Li, I only said good things about you.”
It’s over. Lu Li facepalmed. Didn’t his sister know what he was like at school? The more Silly Goose tried to embellish, the more suspicious Sister Yameng would become.
“Oh, right, your sister also asked if you have any close female classmates…”
“What did you say?”
“I, I don’t remember…” Her face flushed red. How could she not remember? This was clearly a confession!
He had promised Sister Yameng that he wouldn’t get involved in puppy love, and his sister was very strict about it. It was a family rule in their small household! It was an ancestral teaching passed down from this generation! The most terrifying thing was that even though Sister Yameng knew he was hiding his ambiguous relationship with his female classmate, she didn’t question him on WeChat. Their conversations were the same as usual. What did this mean? Had his always straightforward and decisive sister suddenly learned to hide a knife behind her smile? Lu Li estimated that when he returned home to Chuanhai, he would face a serious challenge.
It seemed that not only were there turbulent changes in Mulan City in the past month, but there were also unexpected changes in the distant Chuanhai City.
Lu Li sighed and decided to enjoy the girl’s warmth, putting his worries aside for now.
After a while, Silly Goose suddenly remembered something. She took off her scarf, and Lu Li saw a thin gray scarf folded underneath the red one.
“Lu Li, this scarf is my gift for you.” The girl happily handed the gray scarf, still warm from her body heat, to Lu Li. Even before he touched it, Lu Li could smell her sweet fragrance on the fabric. “It’s winter now, you need to keep warm and not catch a cold… There are often flu outbreaks during the change of seasons…”
The scarf felt very smooth. He couldn’t tell what material it was, but it was incredibly soft and comfortable. A hint of melancholy flashed through Lu Li’s eyes. Yes, he was still at the age where someone would give him a scarf. Seventeen-year-old boys were the most romantic. They would always receive a scarf in winter, perhaps a thick, hand-knitted scarf from their loving mothers, or a heartfelt scarf from a shy girl – of course, it wasn’t just scarves, it could be other things, like gloves or sunglasses. A few years later, it would be time for him to choose his own scarves. His mother’s eyesight would be failing, and the girls from his past would be long gone.
Enjoy life while you can, don’t let the golden goblet face the moon empty.
Lu Li pressed his cheek against the scarf, speechless, his heart overflowing with warmth like a surging river. It was truly wonderful to be alive, to be young.
“Jingyi, can I call you Yi Bao*?”
“…Only my parents call me that. But if you like it, it’s, it’s not impossible.” Silly Goose whispered. “But you can only call me that when no one else is around.”
“Yi Bao.”
“What…” Silly Goose asked shyly, her head still buried in Lu Li’s arms.
While some were happy, others were worried. While Lu Li was cuddling with a beautiful girl, a little tiger was counting sheep, unable to sleep. Chen Jianing finally made it through the night, and the last IV drip was finished. But she still couldn’t fall asleep. She had always heard that hospitals were the spookiest at night. The corridors were long and dark, and strange noises would occasionally break the silence. She couldn’t tell if it was someone screaming or something else. She didn’t dare to go to the bathroom alone.
If only Lu Li were here. She just needed to call out to him, and he would definitely help her to the bathroom, then wait patiently outside the door, chatting with her casually. Lu Li would definitely tell her stories about the stray dog he raised as a child, and she would listen with great interest. If only Lu Li were here.
“Lu Li… are you there?” She called out tentatively, but of course there was no reply. She felt a little disappointed and opened her phone, clicking on Lu Li’s profile picture. Their chat history stopped at Lu Li’s message, “I’m going to see a friend,” which was nine hours ago. Usually, Lu Li would have already sent her a message asking if she had taken her medicine and if she was hungry. But not today.
She opened the browser and saw some random articles: “How to tell if he loves you!” “Common characteristics of scumbags!” Feeling restless, Chen Jianing clicked on them and read. She could see Lu Li’s shadow in every word, and the more she read, the more frustrated she felt. She wanted to send a message to Lu Li, but she hesitated and couldn’t bring herself to press send.
She endured the long night, waiting for daybreak. As soon as the sky started to brighten, the little tiger rushed to the bathroom. When she returned, she happened to encounter the nurse taking her temperature. Hmm, the fever had subsided, 36.7 degrees Celsius. Chen Jianing’s happiness only lasted for ten minutes before she saw Lu Li walk into the ward, wearing that gray scarf.
“Good morning, Chen Jianing.” Lu Li took off the scarf and breathed out a puff of warm air.
Chen Jianing stared at him, her good mood vanishing instantly. He wasn’t wearing a scarf yesterday… Did another girl give it to him? It looked nice.
It looks nice. She repeated in her heart.
***
T/N:
Yi Bao:
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怡 (Yi): This character means “happy,” “joyful,” “pleasant,” or “harmonious.”
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宝 (Bao): This character means “treasure,” “precious,” or “darling.”
“Yi Bao” can be interpreted as:
Happy Treasure
Precious Darling
Pleasant Treasure
I don’t remember if I made a note of this in previous chapters haha, so just in case, I’ll use the term Yi Bao since it can have many meanings(Similar, but various)
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