Chapter 216 - 130: Sunset, Basketball, Haruko Akagi

Chapter 216: Chapter 130: Sunset, Basketball, Haruko Akagi

The ballpoint pen scratched across the scratch paper as he explained the function problem over and over again.

Su Ran knew Wenwen was bad at math. If she couldn’t grasp simple high school functions now, she would just give up later on when it came to quadratic and cubic functions. So, Su Ran was endlessly patient, breaking it down again and again until he found a way she could understand.

Cao Wo and the others watched this unfold. The girls in class would often ask Su Ran for help, and he was always patient when explaining things. But this was different. He wasn’t the least bit rushed, speaking slowly and with incredible gentleness. ’Even her actual brother wouldn’t be this gentle. The class president is really putting his all into this first-year girl, Ning Wenwen.’

"...So that’s the approach. I’ve laid out three different ways to solve it..." Su Ran tapped his finger, gesturing toward the video feed of Ning Wenwen, who was spinning her pen and spacing out. "What’s on your mind? Your teacher was right, you really do get distracted easily during lessons."

"Huh? Oh, I wasn’t spacing out..." Wenwen immediately sat up straight. "Am I just really dumb?"

"You’re not dumb. It’s perfectly normal not to understand when you’re just starting to learn functions. You just need to practice more. Focus on digesting this one problem, and take it one step at a time. If there’s anything else you don’t get, just ask me, okay?"

"Okay, I got it."

"Alright, I’m gonna hang up then."

"Wait..." Wenwen bit her lip and hesitated for a moment before saying, "I’m a little hungry, and I’m craving some barbecue. Brother Su Ran, could you order some for me?"

"...You’re already as round as a ball, and you still want to eat?"

"How am I fat? This is called baby fat! You just don’t get it, hmph!"

That little "hmph" was enough to make Cao Wo’s bones melt, and he collapsed into Wang Dachui’s arms. But when he saw the muscle-bound Wang Dachui’s lips curl into a sly, crooked smile, he shot away in terror, afraid his backdoor was about to be breached.

Wenwen wasn’t fat. Her figure wasn’t stick-thin; instead, she had the soft, slightly plump look of a young girl. The lingering baby fat on her face made her incredibly cute. She was only sixteen, after all, and a girl’s appearance changes dramatically as she grows up. By her second year of high school, she would shed her girlish innocence and blossom into a beautiful, sexy, and charming young woman.

"Fine. Should I order from Liu’s Barbecue, the place I took you last time?"

"Mhm, mhm! But you have to add a note for them not to knock. They should just give me a quick call and leave the food at the door. Otherwise, if my mom finds out I skipped dinner to eat a late-night snack, I’ll be in huge trouble."

"You can’t be picky with your dinner. You’re still growing, so you need to eat three meals a day, understand? I’ll order for you this time, but if you skip dinner again and ask me to order takeout for you, forget it."

Su Ran truly doted on this "little sister," Ning Wenwen. He hung up, placed the order, and returned to his bed, leaving the dorm room filled with the sound of jealous sighs.

「Twenty minutes later.」

Wenwen opened the front door and took the takeout from the delivery guy.

"Don’t forget to leave a five-star review, little fairy," the delivery guy whispered.

"Shh, got it." Wenwen closed the door, tiptoed back to her room, and locked it behind her. ’Phew, finally safe.’ If her mom found out she’d skipped dinner for a late-night snack, she’d definitely get held down on the bed and spanked.

In everyone else’s eyes, Wenwen was a little fairy, a total cutie. But in Mrs. Ning’s eyes? ’You’re the debt I’m paying for from a past life!!!!’

In her small bedroom, at her small desk, Ning Wenwen—clad in a White Rabbit candy T-shirt and pink shorts—savored the tingle of cumin-spiced barbecue and the deep satisfaction it brought.

Full and content, she climbed into her little bed, hugged her blanket, and fell fast asleep.

「The next morning.」

After finishing breakfast, she returned to her bedroom. Sunlight streamed through the window, bathing her in light as she got ready and changed into her school uniform. The backlighting made her soft skin glow with a rosy, translucent white. After putting on her uniform and slinging her backpack over her shoulder, she spun around with a flick of her ponytail. She grabbed the empty takeout bag, walked into the living room, and called toward the master bedroom, "Mom, I’m heading to school!" Then, she was out the door to catch the crowded bus.

BEEP. Senior Card.

BEEP. Senior Card.

BEEP. Senior Card.

BEEP. Student Card.

She squeezed onto the bus. It wasn’t quite rush hour yet; office workers hadn’t woken up, but students had. Nevertheless, there were no seats. The elderly passengers were up even earlier than the students, taking the bus to faraway supermarkets just to buy eggs.

Wenwen leaned against a window and put on her headphones. The morning breeze gently swayed the hair by her ears as she stared out the window, lost in thought. More and more students boarded at every stop. When a few of her classmates got on, she finally took off her headphones. A couple of the girls were whispering amongst themselves, naturally about the budding romances of high school: who liked whom, who had confessed to whom, and all that sort of thing...

"...Hey, Wenwen, that third-year girl who just got on is Huang Tingting. She’s the student council president now. The last president was your brother, Su Ran. After he graduated, she took the spot. Rumor is she used to chase after your brother. Trying to become your sister-in-law, maybe?"

"Her?" Ning Wenwen, who had been feeling sleepy, was suddenly wide awake. Her eyes instantly went into scanner mode, sizing up the tall, fair-skinned upperclassman from head to toe. "She’s so-so!"

"I think she’s average, too. So what if she’s a bit taller, her skin’s a bit fairer, and she has more of a ’womanly’ air? A lot of the third-year guys are into her, but I don’t think she’s as cute as you."

"Well, of course. I’m way cuter," Wenwen said, lifting her chin with confidence.

At her age, she still believed "cute" was the ultimate trump card, completely unaware that in the face of "sexy," "cute" was utterly insignificant.

"Hey, hey, Wenwen, look! Two more third-years just got on. They used to have crushes on your brother too."

"Huh? There were that many?"

"Yep. Your brother was really popular with the girls when he was here."