novelraw Chapter 29
Chapter 29
Chapter 29
He brought Xu Feifei to the restroom entrance.
Liu Wenjie said: "Go wash your face first, then tie up your hair."
Xu Feifei gave an "oh," clearly a bit happier now that she knew the truth. Tomorrow, once she had the recording, everything would be clear.
She pulled the rubber band off her other ponytail, letting her hair fall loose.
After rinsing the dirt from her face, Liu Wenjie turned to leave.
Out of the corner of her eye Xu Feifei saw him go. "Why are you running off again! Didn't you say you'd help me figure something out?"
"I'm going right now to figure it out for you. Otherwise, am I supposed to conjure clothes out of thin air here? I'll go look." He answered while walking away.
Xu Feifei blinked her big, watery eyes.
Was he going to look for girls' clothes for her? How was he going to manage that?
Two minutes later Liu Wenjie came back with a jacket. Seeing Xu Feifei's little face clean and bright again, he had to admit little girls really did have great skin.
A splash of water and all the grime vanished, leaving it sparkling.
She gathered all her hair into one ponytail with one hand and, giggling, gave her head a shake. "You're back? Liu Wenjie, do you think a single ponytail looks good on me, too? This is limited-edition Xu Feifei—no one else has ever seen it."
The hairstyle made Liu Wenjie think of little Xia Ying. He spoke honestly:
"Forget it. Twin ponytails suit you better; single ponytails are too well-behaved for you."
Xu Feifei was surprised. She undid her hair and tied it up again with two rubber bands. "Really? Am I not well-behaved?"
"What do you think?"
She laughed sheepishly, then thought for a moment. "Emmm, even though I think twin ponytails look better, most of our classmates wear single ones. Never expected you to share my taste—what a surprise." Her cheeks flushed as she finished tying her hair.
She'd known Liu Wenjie for quite a while.
They'd always been at odds before, but after spending more time together these past few days, she hadn't expected the guy could sometimes say such sweet things.
Liu Wenjie said matter-of-factly: "Because all tsunderes wear this hairstyle."
"Tsundere? What's tsundere?"
"Kind of like a banana."
"So it's a fruit. I've never heard of it. I'll ask Dad to buy some tonight so I can try it." The fruit must be as cute as cherries, or Liu Wenjie wouldn't have used it to describe her.
Liu Wenjie fought the urge to laugh and handed over the jacket. "Wear this."
Xu Feifei looked at the clothes, finding them familiar. She took them and held them up—it was a boy's jacket.
"Th-this is your jacket, isn't it?"
Liu Wenjie didn't deny it. "Yep."
Xu Feifei's face flushed like never before; you could almost feel the heat.
"You-you want me to wear your jacket?! How can I wear this?" she murmured. "I thought you'd find me a dress or something."
Liu Wenjie was speechless. "Where am I supposed to find you a dress? I'm not even complaining about you and you're complaining about me? Just make do. Use the jacket to cover up that dirty dress, and tomorrow wash it and give it back."
Xu Feifei figured that was the only way.
She had worn boys' clothes before, but wearing something another boy had worn was definitely a first.
Obediently, she put the jacket on. Liu Wenjie was a bit taller than Xu Feifei, so once the jacket was zipped up, it completely covered the ink stains on her upper body.
Only... Xu Feifei's little nose twitched instinctively as she lowered her head slightly.
The jacket carried Liu Wenjie's strong scent—again that familiar fragrance...
Liu Wenjie asked curiously, "Why are you blushing? You caught a cold?"
Xu Feifei lifted her head in embarrassment, eyes closed, waving her little fists. "Wh-who-who's blushing! Who's blushing?! I'm not blushing!"
Liu Wenjie looked at the stubborn little brat.
Xu Feifei turned her head away. "Y-you're talking nonsense. I'm just a bit awkward the first time I wear it. Xu Feifei would never feel shy over something so small! It's just wearing clothes."
Liu Wenjie waved his hand. "Whatever you say. Back to class. Tomorrow, once we have the evidence, you'll be cleared, and everything will be over."
The two of them returned to the classroom, one in front of the other. Xu Feifei asked quietly, "Liu Wenjie, do you take a bath every day?" His body smelled so nice.
"Not necessarily. Sometimes every two days."
"Ah? So if you get dirty like today, you'd still hide under the blanket and wait until the next day to wash? So dirty."
"Next time you ask me a question and I answer, I'm a dog. Are you missing a brain cell? Didn't you hear the word 'sometimes' I just said?"
"I heard! So when you're dirty, you sometimes lie in bed and wash every two days, right?"
"...."
"Liu Wenjie, why aren't you saying anything? Liu Wen—" A thud. "Ah! You hit me again! Why are you like this?"
Liu Wenjie pulled back the hand that had knocked her on the head. "Because I felt like it."
"Always bullying me." She rubbed her head, turning away with a mutter. Dog, didn't you just answer me?
Not long after they returned to the classroom, the teacher came in with chalk and started class, but Liu Wenjie suddenly regretted lending Xu Feifei his jacket.
Because he saw this girl... every few minutes for no apparent reason, she would grab her collar and sniff, every few minutes, sniff.
Liu Wenjie was dumbfounded. What was she doing? Maybe he should just throw the jacket away tomorrow.
That evening, little Xia Ying's grandpa worked overtime again and didn't come, so she rode home with Liu Wenjie. In the car she asked softly, curious:
"Older Brother Wenjie, did you skip lunch in the cafeteria? Are you hungry?"
Liu Wenjie looked at her, puzzled. "You went looking for me in the cafeteria?"
Little Xia Ying shook her head, not daring to admit it. "No. I just passed by and didn't see you." She pulled candy from her pocket and offered it to him. "I bought it at the supermarket at noon with the pocket money Grandpa gave me. Do you want some? To take the edge off."
System options popped up.
[Your childhood sweetheart bought you snacks because you were hungry. Your choice?]
[Cruelly refuse: say no thanks. Reward: no pimples for life.]
[Touched and accept: say hurry and stuff it in my mouth. Reward: pimples grow twice as fast.]
[Freely nitpick: say is there anything else? Reward: one pack of broad-bean snacks.]
Liu Wenjie chose instantly, a smug smile on his face: "No, thanks."
[Congratulations, Host: you will never grow pimples in this lifetime.]
What kind of reward is this!
Liu Wenjie looked ahead. "I ate at noon, just left early, so you didn't see me."
Little Xia Ying blinked and, relieved, put her hand back, smiling sweetly. "So that's how it is! Oh, Older Brother Wenjie, I heard there's a sports meet next month—you'll definitely come in first again, right?"
Sports meet? Another chance to harvest the system. He said confidently, "Of course. No question."
"I'll cheer for you then!"
That same afternoon, Xu Feifei rode home with her parents. When they picked her up and saw her clothes, their faces were full of question marks, but after a brief explanation everything was clear.
In the car she asked, "Dad, what's tsundere? Is it tasty?"
Her dad couldn't hold back a laugh, and Mom beside him snorted. As parents, they knew their daughter's personality:
"Feifei, tsundere isn't food. It refers to girls who act shy and stubborn when talking to others—a personality type, just like you."
Xu Feifei's face went crimson in an instant.
That—that jerk really only knows how to bully me. When have I ever been shy in front of him!