Chapter 254: Immaturity ③
“Ye Haifei…” Nie Qiu took a deep breath and looked up at Ye Haifei, “You…”
“I really like you!” Before Nie Qiu could refuse, Ye Haifei interrupted her, saying with a serious and earnest expression, “I really like you, truly! I’ve lived for sixteen years, and this is the first time I’ve liked someone. The girlfriends I had before, I was just curious. I just wanted to date for fun. Girls’ hands are soft, their mouths are soft, and also…”
Ye Haifei paused, not caring that Huang Yan was present, and said, “I was also very curious about that thing, which is why I was with them. I like you, it’s a genuine feeling. Don’t worry, I won’t do that kind of thing to you. Please don’t rush to reject me, okay? Nie Qiu?”
That thing?
Nie Qiu understood. Boys in adolescence have a kind of curiosity and impulse towards girls, but Nie Qiu didn’t expect that the girls Ye Haifei had been with, or rather, that Ye Haifei, at only sixteen, was no longer a boy, which made Nie Qiu feel somewhat disgusted.
That thing? But Huang Yan didn’t understand. She thought for a long time and suddenly remembered. Last year, she often heard boys whispering about watching certain films from certain islands. Apparently, all boys watched them, and those who didn’t were considered uncultured. Huang Yan glanced up at Ye Haifei, and Ye Haifei must have watched them too. Huang Yan’s face flushed and paled repeatedly. Suddenly, a very serious question came to mind, which was… does Zhang Haiyang watch them?
Nie Qiu didn’t answer Ye Haifei. She just pulled Huang Yan and left. She cast a grateful glance in the direction where An Su was standing, then left through the back gate of the school.
Li Kai, Li Kai, Li Kai! How… how could he be so childish? She knew without him saying it that Li Kai must have instigated this. She felt very upset and wanted to know how Li Kai was doing, but she didn’t want to call him herself. She was very angry.
Nie Qiu returned home and started cooking rice in the rice cooker. After stir-frying one dish, the rice in the rice cooker was also ready. She picked up the insulated food container and filled all three layers to the brim. One layer was filled with the dish, and the other two layers were filled with rice. Every day, she would cook meals after school and bring them to the market to eat with Nie Aifang, and today was no exception.
Nie Aifang finished packing up her stall around seven o’clock. When Nie Qiu arrived with the meal at a little past five after school, her stall was still set up. She took the insulated food container from Nie Qiu, opened it, took out her chopsticks, and started eating. After just one bite, she frowned, “Qiu Qiu, did you put too much salt in this cabbage?”
Nie Qiu picked up her own food container, took a bite of the dish she had stir-fried, and indeed, it was a bit salty. “Should I go back and stir-fry another dish then?”
“No need. I have hot water here, we can rinse it.” Nie Aifang said, taking out a food container and pouring hot water from the kettle into it. Every time she picked up a piece of food, she would rinse it in the hot water before eating it with rice.
Nie Qiu ate absentmindedly. Of course, she knew that she had added a little too much salt because she was thinking about whether Li Kai might have gotten hurt while she was cooking, causing her hand to tremble. She was still thinking now about whether Li Kai had injured himself anywhere. She was annoyed with herself but couldn’t help but worry.
As she was thinking, her mobile phone in her purse rang. She glanced at Nie Aifang, who was eating, put down her food container, and took out her phone from her purse. The phone screen displayed ‘Darling’. She had originally saved Li Kai’s name when she saved his phone number. But one time when they were eating in the canteen, Li Kai, bored after finishing his meal, was playing with her phone. When she received a call from Li Kai later, she discovered that he had changed the contact name.
If she changed it back, Li Kai would change it back again. Eventually, she got tired of changing it, and in her phone’s contact list, Li Kai remained ‘Darling’.
“Who’s calling? Why aren’t you answering?” Nie Aifang asked, seeing Nie Qiu staring blankly at her phone while eating.
Nie Qiu smiled and said, “It’s Huang Yan calling.”
Like many girls who start dating early, when their parents want to know their child’s secrets or whereabouts, girls will tell some clumsy lies. These lies are usually told to people their parents trust, and parents, those creatures, believe such lies.
She answered the phone and heard Li Kai say he was at home and wanted her to make pan-fried dumplings. Nie Qiu didn’t say anything, hung up the phone, turned to Nie Aifang, and said, “Mom, I’m going to school first.”
“Aren’t you eating anymore?” Nie Aifang asked.
“No, there’s something at school.” Nie Qiu put her phone into her purse, opened the gate of the vegetable stand, and was about to leave.
“Then take two yuan to buy something to eat, so you don’t get hungry during the evening self-study session.” Nie Aifang put down her food container and reached for her purse to get money for Nie Qiu.
Nie Qiu waved her hand, “No need, Mom, I still have money on me.” With that, she ran out of the vegetable market.
Nie Aifang sighed and put the money she had half-pulled out back into her purse. Her daughter had participated in a mathematics joint examination and even appeared on a national television program. The customers buying vegetables didn’t recognize Nie Qiu, but most of the vendors in the market recognized their Nie Qiu. Even if some people hadn’t watched the program, one out of ten people must have seen it. When she heard someone say her daughter had won a championship, she didn’t believe it and thought they were joking. But when Aiwen came from the company with his computer specifically to show her, she realized her daughter had been on television and had won a championship.
She was happy, very happy. Amidst her happiness, there was also a sense of loss. Her daughter was gradually growing up, growing wings, and was about to fly. With the intense study before the Senior High School Entrance Examination, she and her daughter rarely sat together to chat and talk heart-to-heart anymore. It was as if her daughter was already married, and even the time she spent at home had become less.
She wasn’t feeling insecure or anxious, just a bit sentimental. Qiu Qiu had grown up, and she was starting to get old. Time always passed by inadvertently; in the blink of an eye, so many years had gone by.
Nie Qiu bought ten pan-fried dumplings at a small restaurant and took them on the bus, arriving at the residential area where Li Kai lived.
She had been to Li Kai’s home before; it was when she was tutoring Li Kai. She knew that Li Kai’s family occupied an entire floor. The elevator chimed late at night, and she stepped out into the doorway of Li Kai’s home and rang the doorbell.
Upon hearing the doorbell, Zhang Haiyang, Luo Xu, Ma Xin, and Wang Chao Lei frantically started tidying up the medicine box. “Quick, quick, A Kai, is it Uncle Li? Let’s hurry back to our rooms.”
Li Ying cut a plate of fruit and placed it on the coffee table. “It’s not your Uncle Li; your Uncle Li has a key card.” After speaking, she glanced at the injured individuals, sighed, and turned to open the door.
Li Kai’s eyes lit up, and he sat up straight. “It’s Nie Qiu, it must be Nie Qiu!”
Luo Xu and Zhang Haiyang exchanged a look and couldn’t help but inwardly complain. Did they not know he had secretly called Nie Qiu? They weren’t deaf or blind.
