Chapter 8
A faint breeze blew by her ear.
It brought along a subtle scent of lime, mixed with a light tobacco aroma. The sunlight fell on him, creating a golden outline and adding a touch of gentleness on him.
They hadn’t seen each other in two months, and Duan Jiaxu had cut his hair a little shorter. Sang Zhi wondered if it was her imagination, but he seemed to have grown taller again. But other than that, there didn’t seem to be any significant changes.
He was still so carefree and dazzling.
Her heart skipped a beat.
Surprisingly, those words made her feel a sense of guilt, as if she had truly done something wrong. It also made her unsure where to put her hands and feet, and her back involuntarily straightened.
After a moment, she stuffed the doll in her hand into his and said softly, “I didn’t know it was yours.”
She lowered her head and awkwardly took a step back.
Hearing no response from him, she pointed to the books in the trunk of the car and explained earnestly, “I came to help my brother move into the dormitory, and when I saw things in the car, I thought of helping him carry them up.”
After waiting a few more seconds, he still didn’t say anything.
Sang Zhi hesitated for a moment and added, “If I had known that doll was yours, I wouldn’t have helped carry it.”
”…” Duan Jiaxu’s eyebrows twitched. He stood up straight and repeated in a questioning tone, “You wouldn’t help carry it if you knew it was mine?”
Sang Zhi immediately nodded. “Absolutely not.”
”And you absolutely wouldn’t?” Duan Jiaxu’s voice was lazy, with a hint of reproach, “Kiddo, do you have any conscience?”
”…”
He accused her of being a thief for taking it, and now he was criticizing her for not taking it.
This man was more unpredictable than the weather.
Duan Jiaxu continued, “Don’t you remember the huge favor this Gege did for you?”
As his words landed, most of Sang Zhi’s discontent dissipated, and she mumbled, “I remember.”
”Then shouldn’t you treat me better?”
Sang Zhi glanced at him but remained silent.
Duan Jiaxu chuckled lightly, no longer teasing her, and handed her the doll. He said, “If you like it, take it and play with it.”
Sang Zhi’s right hand twitched. For a moment, she remembered his “Taken a liking to me” remark earlier. She quickly withdrew her hand, lacking the courage to take it.
”Don’t you want it?” Duan Jiaxu took the doll back, “Shall I throw it away then?”
Sang Zhi hesitated for a moment before finally accepting it.
Duan Jiaxu found it amusing. “If you want it, take it. Why are you acting so awkwardly, Little One?”
Hearing this, Sang Zhi felt a bit displeased. “You just called me a thief.”
”I was just teasing you.” Duan Jiaxu took out a stack of books from the car and used his other hand to close the trunk. “Let’s go upstairs.”
Sang Zhi followed him, still not saying a word.
Duan Jiaxu glanced at his phone and then asked, “Are you unhappy?”
Sang Zhi remained silent.
Duan Jiaxu said, “I’ll give you the doll as compensation, okay?”
Sang Zhi straightforwardly replied, “This doll is very ugly.”
”Ugly?” Duan Jiaxu raised an eyebrow, tilted his head to look at it, and said, “It’s not that bad.”
”Why did you buy this?”
”I didn’t buy it.” Duan Jiaxu thought for a moment and said nonchalantly, “I forgot where it came from.”
In an instant, Sang Zhi understood something and asked, “Gege, was this given to you by someone else?”
Duan Jiaxu: “Hmm? seems like it.”
Sang Zhi lost interest. “Then I’ll give it back to you.”
”Don’t like it?” Duan Jiaxu reached out to her. “Then give it to me. I will take it.”
Sang Zhi silently handed it back.
Duan Jiaxu asked, “Is your school bag heavy?”
”It’s fine,” Sang Zhi replied.
Duan Jiaxu asked again, “We have to climb five floors later. Can you manage it?”
”Of course I can. I’m thirteen, not three.” Sang Zhi frowned, displeased with his overprotective attitude. “And if I can’t climb, do you expect to carry me up?”
Duan Jiaxu looked her up and down, and smirked. “Well, that’s an option too.”
Sang Zhi: “You think too highly of yourself.”
Duan Jiaxu paused for a moment, then burst into laughter suddenly/ “I think too highly of myself?”
Sang Zhi pursed her lips and echoed, “That’s right.”
”Okay,” Duan Jiaxu conceded in compromise, “I’m thinking too highly of myself.”
He placed the doll on top of the books; it was not small in size and had a somewhat twisted shape, making it particularly noticeable. Sang Zhi glanced at it a few times but quickly lowered her eyelids and looked away.
The staircase was not narrow, but there were many people going up and down.
Worried that she might get squeezed, Duan Jiaxu walked ahead, letting her follow behind him.
The two of them climbed the five floors quietly.
Sang Zhi had poor physical strength, and at this point, she was panting. Her face turned rosy, and sweat appeared on her forehead. After climbing the last step, she leaned against the wall, squatted on the ground, and appeared as if she had no intention of moving. She said, “I can’t go on, I need to rest for a while.”
Duan Jiaxu glanced at her for two seconds. “Alright, I’ll come back to pick you up in an hour.”
”…”
”…” Sang Zhi immediately grabbed his right leg, acting like a spoiled child. “I just need a short rest, not an hour.”
Duan Jiaxu teased her, “Kiddo, your stamina is really weak.”
Sang Zhi retorted, “It’s because your school is stingy and didn’t build an elevator.”
”It’s only six floors in total, why would they build an elevator?”
Sang Zhi mumbled, “Then you’re just unlucky, living on the fifth floor out of six.”
”Alright, get up now.” Duan Jiaxu glanced at his phone again. “Your legs will go numb if you squat for too long.”
He seemed a bit rushed for time.
This time, Sang Zhi obediently stood up.
The two of them entered the room through the corridor.
Sang Zhi followed behind him, curiously looking around.
They soon arrived at the door of Room 525.
The door wasn’t closed, so Duan Jiaxu pushed it open and placed the books on the nearest table by the door.
Sang Zhi walked in slowly and turned her head, meeting the gaze of a young man named, San Yan.
Sang Yan and Duan Jiaxu had beds facing each other in the room. At the moment, Sang Yan was sitting on a chair, with his long legs resting on the table, casually drinking water. He said, “Hey Bro, thanks for the effort.”
His posture was particularly irritating.
Sang Zhi disapprovingly said, “You said you were too busy to come and pick me up.”
Sang Yan replied without changing his expression, “Yeah, I just finished tidying up. I sat down to take a break.”
Hearing other voices, a chubby guy popped his head out from the bed, “Oh, is this your little sister, Sang Yan?”
Sang Zhi nodded, “Hello.”
Another guy came out from the balcony, “Wow, little sister is quite cute.”
Sang Yan twisted the bottle cap and threw the water bottle at him. “Don’t use foul language.”
The guy caught the bottle skillfully and threw it back. “Who are you teaching manners to? You’re the one who usually says… Oh, never mind, my bad. Little Sister, don’t learn from me.”
Sang Zhi silently nodded.
Her gaze then shifted to Duan Jiaxu, but she quickly averted it again.
After clearing up the things on the table, Duan Jiaxu pulled a chair next to Sang Yan. The corners of his mouth curved up slightly, imitating the guys as he called her, with a nonchalant tone, “Little Sister, sit here.”
Sang Zhi gently replied, “Oh.”
Afterward, Duan Jiaxu went into the restroom.
Peek-Aboo 
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