Chapter 151: I Have a Small Wish ⑤
Looking at the clothes on the bed, Nie Qiu sighed, folded Li Kai’s clothes, put them in a bag, and placed them next to her schoolbag. She then took off her clothes, changed into pajamas, and lay down on the bed. She decided to return the clothes to Li Kai tomorrow. Even though Nie Aifang had told her to avoid Li Kai, she couldn’t just keep these clothes at home.
After the evening self-study session, Li Kai returned home and saw Li Mingxue sitting on the sofa with a young man of similar age, drinking tea and eating fruit. He frowned and looked at Li Mingxue with a questioning gaze.
As soon as Li Mingxue saw Li Kai, she smiled and said, “Xiao Kai, come here quickly. Let me introduce you. This is the tutor I found for you; he’s a classmate from my university.”
Li Kai looked at the man and walked over. Did Nie Qiu promise him that if he mastered the first volume of Physics and achieved an accuracy rate of over ninety percent on his exercises, she would kiss him? Then… if that’s the case, he would study hard! Since Nie Qiu had promised, he would absolutely not allow her to go back on her word!
Now, he no longer knew what to do to make up for the harm he had caused her in the past.
He put down his schoolbag, took out his books, and then went to the study. He brought out all his books from first and second grade and placed them on the coffee table. After greeting the tutor Li Mingxue had hired, he began to talk about his grades, his foundation, and various areas that needed study and understanding.
The man hired by Li Mingxue to tutor Li Kai glanced at Li Mingxue. Li Mingxue shrugged, indicating that she was also at a loss for words. She hadn’t expected her younger brother to be so driven now; before, if she had asked him to study, he would have preferred not to play on the computer for a month.
But it’s not bad to be so eager to study, is it? If Li Kai can get into a good high school and a good university through his own abilities, it would be a very good thing for him, wouldn’t it? Although with their family’s capabilities, attending any university or high school wouldn’t be difficult, it would be more respectable to get in on his own, wouldn’t it?
The next day, Nie Qiu went to school with her schoolbag. Because she might have to lecture as soon as she got to school, she put the clothes in the plastic bag inside her schoolbag to prevent other classmates from seeing them and making fun of her. This was perhaps the unique energy of boys and girls of this age: making fun of each other.
After finishing her lecture, Nie Qiu walked down from the lectern, returned to her seat, and sat on the stool. Her schoolbag was on her desk. She took out the clothes from her schoolbag and handed them to Li Kai, who was sitting beside her doing homework. “Li Kai, thank you for the clothes.” Expressing gratitude is the most basic courtesy.
Hearing Nie Qiu speak to him, Li Kai could hardly believe his ears. He looked at Nie Qiu, then at the clothes in the plastic bag in her hand. There was no doubt that Nie Qiu was indeed talking to him, and the clothes in her hand were proof.
“Ahem… Actually… you don’t have to return them to me,” Li Kai cleared his throat and said, looking at Nie Qiu.
“You don’t want them anymore?” Nie Qiu’s eyes widened in surprise. Although the clothes didn’t look like a famous brand, they were still nearly new. Did Li Kai not want them? Or was he disgusted… disgusted that she had worn them and they were dirty? “Don’t worry, I washed them with detergent after I got home. They’re definitely cleaner than what the laundry shop does!”
“No, that’s not what I meant…” Li Kai was a little confused. Why did he always become flustered when facing Nie Qiu and couldn’t express his meaning precisely? “I mean, what I mean is… what I mean is if you can wear them…” He stopped, his face full of frustration. His clothes were men’s clothes; how would Nie Qiu look wearing them?
He quickly took the clothes from Nie Qiu’s hand, then took out the pink ribbon from his desk and handed it to Nie Qiu. “Nie Qiu, this is for you.”
Li Kai’s flustered state amused Nie Qiu greatly, and she understood what Li Kai was trying to express. However, looking at the gift in Li Kai’s hand, Nie Qiu truly didn’t know what to do. She didn’t want to give Li Kai false hope because she didn’t know if such pure love could truly last.
In junior high school, budding romance is indeed beautiful, but if one dates just for the sake of dating, breaking up after graduation is a foregone conclusion. Many couples go their separate ways after university graduation, breaking up for various reasons. In reality, junior high and high school are the same.
But Li Kai’s expectant look made Nie Qiu unable to refuse. She took out the book she needed to read for the morning self-study session from her schoolbag. As Li Kai was about to withdraw his hand, she took the pink ribbon from his hand. “Thank you.”
“You’re welcome.” Li Kai’s entire face lit up. He grinned and said, “You’ll look absolutely beautiful tying your ponytail with this!”
“Okay.” Nie Qiu was dazzled by Li Kai’s smile and quickly lowered her head, continuing to take books out of her schoolbag.
Li Kai clenched his fist and cautiously called out, “Nie Qiu…”
Nie Qiu, while organizing the books on her desk, responded somewhat nervously, “Mm.”
“Nie Qiu, I’m sorry,” Li Kai said, feeling sweat begin to seep into his palms. He lowered his head. “I’m sorry for how I treated you before. I’m sorry, my apologies…”
“Li Kai, if I hadn’t changed, would you have apologized to me?” Nie Qiu looked at Li Kai. The person he should have apologized to was no longer here. What was the use of apologizing now? To use a classic saying, if apologies were useful, why would the police be needed?
“Nie Qiu, there are no ‘ifs’ like that,” Li Kai looked up at Nie Qiu. “I can perhaps say that I was immature before, and perhaps I will feel sorry for what I did in the past when I mature. But… Nie Qiu, there are no ‘ifs’ like that. You have changed, and I like you, so I hope to receive your forgiveness.”
“What I did before was very excessive, but if you were still the same Nie Qiu as before, I don’t know if I could have said sorry. Because there are no ‘ifs’ in this matter,” Li Kai said earnestly, looking at Nie Qiu. “The fact is that you have changed, so there are no ‘ifs’.”
“So, you want me to forgive you?” Nie Qiu actually understood what Li Kai was saying. In this world, there are never any ‘ifs’. The past is the past, time does not flow backward, and there are no hypotheticals.
Li Kai nodded and looked at Nie Qiu. “Will you forgive me?”
“I don’t know,” Nie Qiu said softly. Without regard for whether Li Kai heard her, she took a deep breath, took out her books, and decided to ignore Li Kai, starting to read.
Nie Qiu’s attitude was clear, and Li Kai stopped talking. He quietly clenched his fist in his heart and made a “yes” gesture. Nie Qiu accepted his gift; wasn’t that progress? Isn’t progress always a good thing?
