Summer in Your Name - 15
Riding Together
That little speech nearly left Zhang Shu dumbfounded. It was the longest sentence he'd ever heard her speak since they'd met.
Zhang Shu let out a light laugh, helpless. "Fine. You're the cultured one. Can't argue with that. Get on."
How was she supposed to get on?
Sideways? Or swing her leg over...
He waited. Still no movement from the girl. Zhang Shu turned to find her face twisted in indecision.
"Sitting sideways isn't legal. Against the law," he reminded her. Then, remembering the law book, he added with a smirk, "Aren't you a law-abiding citizen?"
Sheng Xia didn't catch anything strange in his tone. After a few more seconds of hesitation, she finally swung her leg over the back seat. Then she scooted back, inch by inch, making sure not a single part of her touched the person in front.
Zhang Shu twisted the throttle.
Xiao Bai had a speed limit of forty. Usually, Sheng Xia never went over thirty, dropping below twenty when entering residential area and school grounds. Zhang Shu cranked it to max immediately. The sudden acceleration threw Sheng Xia backward. She nearly fell off, catching herself just in time by grabbing the rear handlebar.
Her heart hammered in her chest.
Zhang Shu eased off the throttle, slowing down. "Sorry," he said, almost apologetic. "Gotta get a feel for it."
Sheng Xia warned him, "Slow down…"
The wind caught her thin voice and scattered it behind them. Zhang Shu didn't catch it. "What?"
Still shaken, Sheng Xia leaned in a little closer, tilting her head near his ear to repeat herself patiently. "Slow… down…"
Slow... down...
The soft, delicate voice, laced with helplessness, pleading, warning. Like a feather in the wind, brushing carelessly against Zhang Shu's earlobe.
That line?
Screeeech—
The tires skidded against the pavement. Sheng Xia lurched forward, slamming into his back. The boy's spine was rigid, rock hard. It hurt. Then she realized what had happened and quickly pulled away.
Could he even ride a scooter?!
"Shut up!" Zhang Shu twisted around and snapped at her.
Sheng Xia: ... She hadn't even said anything. Why was he telling her to shut up?
He looked furious. His ears and cheeks were bright red.
But shouldn't she be the angry one here?
So mean. So scary. So unreasonable.
The rest of the ride was smoother. He drove at a steady speed, taking turns carefully.
The first and second years were still on break. The early morning campus was mostly empty, except for a few early birds around.
Sheng Xia ducked her head inside her helmet, wishing she could vanish from the face of the earth.
A guy and a girl riding together on one scooter…
She didn't know what the gossip culture was like at Affiliated High. But at No. 2 High, in one day, rumors about them dating would be everywhere. If the people involved had decent reputations, the gossip might stop there. If their reputations weren't so great, things could get uglier.
She should have just said no.
Luckily, the bike shed was empty when they arrived. The moment the scooter stopped, Sheng Xia jumped off, took off her helmet, grabbed the scooter from him, maneuvered it into place, hung her helmet on the handlebar, pulled out the key, and locked it.
Then she slung her backpack on and walked to the teaching building.
The series of actions were completed in one fluid motion. From start to finish, she didn't look at him once.
Zhang Shu stood there, back straight, watching her retreating figure. He didn't call out to her.
---
The entire morning passed with zero communication between them. Not a word, not a glance, not a single gesture.
Sheng Xia even reduced her water breaks. When she absolutely had to go out, she'd wait silently for him to move his chair first.
Even Hou Junqi noticed something was off between them, though he couldn't quite put his finger on what. He kept turning around to stare.
"What are you skulking around for?" Zhang Shu asked ruthlessly.
Hou Junqi's highlight of the day was getting to eat at Sister Sujin's place! He grinned. "Just thinking about the good food at lunch, I'm getting a little emotional. I could burst into tears.”
Zhang Shu: "Cry baby."
Hou Junqi turned to Sheng Xia. "Little Sheng Xia, you go to that lunch center on the second floor by the North Gate, right?"
Sheng Xia nodded. "Mm."
"Let's eat together at noon!" Hou Junqi was overjoyed, treating everyone like long-lost family.
Sheng Xia's mind went blank. Then, suddenly, she learned how to refuse directly. "No thanks."
More decisive than when she'd turned down being Chinese class rep.
Hou Junqi blinked. Had soft Little Sheng Xia suddenly grown thorns? He glanced at Zhang Shu, but found only a face of indifference.
---
And yet, Sheng Xia still ran into Zhang Shu and Hou Junqi at the lunch center.
She already knew they were relatives. But seeing Zhang Shu standing next to the owner, the two of them like male and female versions carved from the same mold, still surprised her. He called the owner "Sis." she should be his biological sister.
The owner was beautiful, but she looked almost thirty. Was she more than ten years older than Zhang Shu?
No wonder his parents named him "Shu". His parents must have had him late in life.
Did they spoiled him so much he turned into such grumpy person?
Sheng Xia ate a little faster. By the time Hou Junqi spotted her, she was already clearing her tray, ready to leave.
"Hey? Little Sheng Xia? Why are you leaving already?"
Her only reply was a polite nod and a retreating back.
Hou Junqi: "Why's she acting like she's fleeing a disaster?"
"She thinks your nickname for her is disgusting." Zhang Shu set his tray down and sat, saying flatly.
Hou Junqi looked wounded. "Little Sheng Xia? What's wrong with it? It's cute."
"She's not little." As soon as the words left his mouth, Zhang Shu saw Hou Junqi's eyes go wide. Knowing exactly what kind of gutter that guy's mind was in, he rolled his eyes and added, "She's one sixty-six.”
Hou Junqi: "No way. She looks so small, I thought she was one fifty?"
Zhang Shu: "Seriously?"
He'd thought she was delicate, almost fragile-looking too. But the other day, when he'd held her arm to write on it, it hadn't felt bony. And this morning, when she'd crashed into his back...
It was soft. Plump, even. She probably just had a small frame.
She was slender, pale, soft—all of which made her look delicate. To someone as big and tall as Hou Junqi, she probably did look tiny. But not one fifty.
"Okay, okay, I was exaggerating.” Hou Junqi backtracked. "But how do you know?"
Zhang Shu just raised an eyebrow, didn't answer, and started eating. His expression said, clear as day: I just know.
Hou Junqi shoveled down a few bites, mentally composing an ode to this hard-won meal, when something occurred to him. He changed the subject. "Why do I get the feeling Little Sheng Xia is avoiding you?"
Zhang Shu lifted his gaze, sweeping him with a cool glance. So he's not completely oblivious.
Hou Junqi: "Why?"
Zhang Shu paused. "Guilty conscience."
Hou Junqi: "About what?"
Zhang Shu didn't feel like talking about the morning's events. He just told Hou Junqi about the birthday gift.
Hou Junqi almost sprayed soup across the table. He managed to swallow, but then he started choking, coughing and laughing so hard tears flew. "Hahaha a genius! The Criminal Law of the People's Republic of China! This is too funny! Hahaha!"
Zhang Shu: "Stop putting your crap in my bag, damn it!"
Hou Junqi coughed. "Yes, sir, hahaha, gotta obey the law, hahaha!"
"Shut up. You're spitting rice."
"So you're not going to explain?"
"Why should I explain when there's nothing to explain?"
The debtors always more aggressive than the lenders. The whistleblowers always more nervous than the criminals.
Isn't that interesting?
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