Chapter 193: The Whole World is Dating ②
Every word, every stroke, from the moment he liked her, every deeply memorable scene, every palpitation of his heart, he wrote it down, recorded it.
Nie Qiu was moved, yes, she was moved. There was no purer feeling of emotion at this age, no more real feeling of emotion at this age. Her eyes felt a little sour and astringent, she raised her head and smiled, “So you’ve been secretly drawing these lately?”
Different from her expected reaction, Li Kai was stunned for a moment, but still nodded. The Ferris wheel had reached its peak, overlooking the entire city’s scenery. He looked at Nie Qiu, “I like you, Nie Qiu, be my girlfriend!” Perhaps he wasn’t mature enough, perhaps he wasn’t trying hard enough, but he felt he would treat her well, very, very well, with all his heart.
“Okay!” Nie Qiu closed the notebook in her hands, “But I have one condition.”
When Li Kai first heard Nie Qiu say ‘okay’, he almost jumped for joy. He hadn’t expected Nie Qiu to agree, really, he truly hadn’t expected Nie Qiu to agree. In his opinion, Nie Qiu had always seemed to have a better impression of Peng Yu Yang. But after a moment of happiness, Nie Qiu added a ‘but’… He hadn’t expected Nie Qiu to have reservations. “But what?”
Nie Qiu looked at Li Kai and asked with a smile, “Li Kai, what was your rank in the whole grade during the last monthly exam?”
Li Kai answered without hesitation, “168th in the entire grade.” This was the first time he had entered the top 200 in junior high school. To be honest, he had always been ranked below 450th, otherwise, why would he be in Class 10?
“Then… Li Kai, can you get into the top 100 in this final exam?” Nie Qiu asked with a slightly embarrassed smile, “If you can get into the top 100, we’ll date.”
She remembered someone asking her whether it was a waste of youth to date in junior high school or not to date. She had no answer in her heart, and she believed many people wouldn’t have an answer either. If you dated, you’d have an experience, a memory. If you didn’t date, you wouldn’t worry about delaying your studies or parents and teachers.
As adults, those who have dated might regret why they dated, why they let dating interfere with their studies. Those who haven’t dated might also regret why they didn’t date, why they didn’t confess their feelings to someone they liked. When that age passes, there will never be a purer emotion than at that time.
She still remembered a student who had left her and visited her at her study class with her husband. She clearly remembered that they weren’t very close, and more importantly… they didn’t love each other. The student told her that after entering society and reaching a certain age, one had to consider settling down and starting a career. When choosing a partner, the first thing they looked at wasn’t the person themselves, but their family background, whether they had a car? Whether they had a house?
And for men, they would choose whether the woman was gentle enough, diligent enough, and of course, they would also consider family background. By this point, with such considerations, relationships would have lost their flavor. That is… there will never be a purer emotion than at this age.
She believed she wouldn’t let dating affect her studies, and of course, she hoped Li Kai would be the same.
Li Kai was stunned for a moment, looking at Nie Qiu. Nie Qiu was rejecting him… that was right.
Achieving a rank in the 160s on a monthly exam was known to many because they had put in effort that month! Monthly exams test the results of an entire month, not the total results of a semester. In a monthly exam, as long as you study hard for that month, you won’t perform too poorly. But for a semester-end final exam… I believe no one in the class would be confident.
Li Kai looked at Nie Qiu, and Nie Qiu looked at Li Kai. The Ferris wheel slowly stopped, and neither of them spoke again.
After strolling through the park, they went to the Xinhua Bookstore. Just like Nie Qiu had done before, they were there to buy exam supplies: pens, gel pens, pencils, 2B pencils, rulers, compasses, and so on.
Xinhua Bookstore can be considered a giant in China’s book and stationery industry. The Xinhua Bookstore in City A is quite large, a five-story building, with different items sold on each floor. The bookshelves were filled with all sorts of books. It was estimated that because of the upcoming exams, there were many students buying stationery, making the Xinhua Bookstore very lively. The shelves selling storybooks, novels, myths, and fairy tales were crowded with students who were browsing without buying.
This was the first floor, where stationery was sold. The second floor was much better, with all kinds of books. People stood in front of the bookshelves reading. Although there were many people, it wasn’t as noisy as the first floor.
Zhang Haiyang and Huang Yan went their separate ways as soon as they entered the bookstore. Huang Yan picked up romance novels, and Zhang Haiyang picked up wuxia novels. They read with great interest, not intending to buy, just to satisfy their cravings. After all, everyone has their preferences. Although Huang Yan said she was going to study hard, her love for novels was still there. People who love novels love to fantasize; the worlds created by authors are desirable, whether sad or happy, making readers empathize.
After Li Kai chose his stationery, he picked up a guitar score for pop songs and put it in his shopping basket. Nie Qiu was also looking at an original book on the bookshelf, but… heaven knows, the black text on the white paper didn’t register in her mind at all.
What did Li Kai’s silence on the Ferris wheel mean? Was he giving up? Or did he agree to her request and would work hard to get into the top 100, and then they would date?
Actually, Li Kai also felt uneasy. He wanted to get into the top 100, he really, really wanted to. As long as he got into the top 100, Nie Qiu would be his girlfriend. But he also knew his own abilities better. For the knowledge of this semester, after studying for more than three months, he thought it wouldn’t be difficult to maintain a rank in the 100s, but to improve, it probably wasn’t that simple.
Nie Qiu sighed, put the book back in its original place, picked up her shopping basket, and walked towards Li Kai, who was looking at the guitar score. “Li Kai!”
Hearing her voice, Li Kai looked at Nie Qiu and instinctively replied, “Here!”
Nie Qiu bit her lower lip and walked up to Li Kai. “What I said on the Ferris wheel…” She felt very embarrassed to ask this question because it was Li Kai who had confessed to her, and it was difficult for her to say it again.
Li Kai looked down at Nie Qiu. Nie Qiu’s action of biting her lips made them appear slightly moist and a tender red. Her cheeks also turned a little red from embarrassment. He suddenly understood something, but it seemed like he understood nothing. He stared blankly at Nie Qiu, mesmerized.
