Chapter 173 - 150: Pure Childhood Sweethearts (Part 2)

Chapter 173: Chapter 150: Pure Childhood Sweethearts (Part 2)

Jiang Xueli cried out in pain, clutching her head. "Why’d you hit me for no reason?!"

"You’re a terrible liar. Every time you lie, your eyes dart all over the place. You can’t look at me at all."

Jiang Xueli, her face a mixture of shyness and stubbornness, looked away. "I do not~"

’Do I even need to lie? The truth is, I don’t dare to stare into Lin Zhengran’s eyes even on a normal day,’ she thought.

’It’d be weird if I *didn’t* get shy.’

Seeing her amusing expression, Lin Zhengran commented, "But I’ve never seen that outfit you’re wearing today. It’s surprisingly nice."

Jiang Xueli’s face grew even redder. She stammered, "It’s... it’s okay, I guess. It’s just a normal outfit, so it shouldn’t be any different."

She looked incredibly pleased.

Lin Zhengran laughed. "You’re right, there’s not much difference. It’s mainly because you’re cute that the clothes make you look extra lively."

Steam was practically coming off Jiang Xueli’s face from embarrassment. She didn’t know when this idiot had gotten so silver-tongued.

But at the same time, he gave off a really straightforward vibe.

Unable to make sense of his personality, she said, "Alright, that’s enough... It’s not *that* nice..."

Feeling she should return the compliment, she said shyly, "You look pretty handsome today, too."

Lin Zhengran glanced down at his clothes. "Is this any different from what I wore to school last week?"

Jiang Xueli was speechless. "No difference..."

’In her eyes, he was always handsome. It didn’t matter what he wore because her affection meter for him was already maxed out.’

Lin Zhengran started walking toward the school gate. "Let’s go. We can grab some breakfast off-campus while it’s still early."

"Oh!"

Jiang Xueli quickly hurried after him.

The two of them left the campus along with the many other couples who were heading home or into the city for the weekend.

Between the school gate and the street with all the food stalls was a large intersection.

They stood on the curb, waiting for the red light.

Jiang Xueli clasped her hands behind her back without saying a word, but a storm was raging in her heart.

Two weeks had passed since their movie date and the time he’d made her hot brown sugar water for her period cramps.

A full half-month.

Although she’d really felt like they were a couple half a month ago—they had even held hands back then.

But ever since that day, with He Qing and Han Wenwen around at school, life for the four of them seemed to have returned to normal.

They ate together, went to and from class together, and joked around.

It was nice, sure, but Jiang Xueli had barely gotten another chance to be alone with Lin Zhengran, let alone an opportunity for their relationship to grow.

’I feel like it’s going downhill every day! It’s just too placid.’

Plus, the recent Little Star Chart incident had also diverted a lot of their attention, so even when they did chat, it was always about the chart.

They never broached any of the private topics couples usually talk about.

’Other couples talk about kissing and hugging, but all we talk about all day are songs and charts.’

’Can we really go on like this?! Even established couples need to maintain their relationship, right? And we just started dating!’

As these thoughts churned in her mind, she suddenly noticed a couple arguing on the side of the road, even though it was early in the morning.

The girl’s voice wasn’t quiet. "What have you been doing all week? You don’t reply to my messages, and I have no idea where you’ve been!"

The boy seemed to feel wronged, but he had a temper too. It looked like they didn’t go to the same school.

"Haven’t I been studying? I’m busy too! You think I’m just playing around all day? How am I supposed to make extra time for you if I don’t finish my work? The only reason I’m working so hard is so I can finish early and see you sooner!"

"I’m not telling you not to study, I know you’re working hard! But I never get to see you, dude! I don’t see you at all! How am I supposed to be in a relationship with you like this?! Are you trying to break up with me again?!"

The guy retorted, "Fine, let’s break up then! Who’s afraid of who? We’ll never see each other again!"

"Fine by me! We’re broken up!"

After their exchange, the two went their separate ways. Many of the passersby had heard the couple’s argument; some sighed while others wanted to laugh.

But after hearing them, Lin Zhengran just felt that those two wouldn’t actually break up. High school romances were often rash, after all.

Especially when it came to breakups. A cold, detached argument would likely lead to a split, but a loud, boisterous fight like this—over not being able to see each other, no less—and with such lovey-dovey expressions on their faces...

He just saw it as a public display of affection. That wasn’t how you broke up with someone.

You can’t break up like that.

But while Lin Zhengran knew this, Jiang Xueli did not. After hearing the couple’s exchange, the clumsy and prideful little girl...

...froze. ’Doesn’t this mirror my own state with Zhengran this week?’

’Even though we seem to see each other all the time, we’re always busy with our own things. At this rate, is Zhengran going to break up with me?’

’We only got together half a month ago and he’s going to break up with me again!’

’Wait... why did I think "again"?’

’No, no, no! I absolutely cannot break up with Zhengran like this! It’s been eight years! It was so hard for us to finally get together! Does anyone know what I’ve been through these past eight years?! I won’t break up, not even if it kills me!’

’I need to find a topic of conversation, fast...’

"Zhen... Zhengran..."

Lin Zhengran looked curiously at Jiang Xueli beside him. "What’s wrong?"

Jiang Xueli didn’t know what to talk about. When they were with everyone, conversation was so natural. Before they were dating, she had plenty to say to him, too. But now that they were alone together as a couple, she didn’t know how to start.

She saw the flickering traffic light and abruptly tried to start a conversation. "Zhengran, look at the traffic light. Doesn’t it look old?"

Lin Zhengran looked at the blinking traffic light and said honestly, "Looks pretty new to me."