Jiang Nan Fang turned her head away abruptly.
"How do you know him?"
Had she guessed correctly?
Had that scoundrel actually pursued her?
Zhan Bei Jue continued, a hint of jealousy in his tone.
"Once, when I was participating in a district math competition, I was in the junior high category. I saw him looking for you and talking to you."
"Tch."
As a result, Jiang Nan Fang instantly retorted with displeasure.
"Your eyesight is terrible. He was actually looking down on me, feeling embarrassed that he was in the same group as me. I even fought with him over it..."
"..."
Why did Zhan Bei Jue feel a secret sense of satisfaction?
"Why were you always getting into fights when you were in school?"
"When did I always get into fights?" Jiang Nan Fang asked curiously, "Did you know me back then?"
Although they were in the same school, he was two years older than her, and they had never spoken.
Zhan Bei Jue, of course, was too embarrassed to admit he knew her, or that he had even secretly protected her.
"You were always being made to stand, or being lectured in the academic affairs office. It was hard not to notice you."
Jiang Nan Fang’s thoughts drifted for a moment, and she sighed.
"I was so ugly back then, they called me Zhu Bajie every day. Thinking about it now, I feel like I was so strong."
Zhan Bei Jue agreed with this statement.
She had indeed had a very difficult time then.
"Weren't you always wearing clothes your younger brother had outgrown? I remember..."
Jiang Nan Fang interrupted him, "Don't mention it. I just hope I never see Jiang Zhen Jun and the others again in this life."
The interview took a long time.
As they chatted aimlessly, Zhan Bei Jue suddenly spotted a small stall selling roasted sweet potatoes by the roadside.
Thinking she hadn't eaten much at lunch, he opened the door and got out.
"You wait here. I'm going down to buy something."
Then Jiang Nan Fang watched as he, tall and long-legged, walked towards the sweet potato vendor.
Several female students were gathered around the vendor. When they saw him approach, they shyly covered their mouths.
They looked like fans seeing their idol, filled with surprise and delight.
Jiang Nan Fang watched him, radiant in the crowd, and compared it to her own school days, which felt like a different lifetime.
Back then, she felt like a rat living in a gutter.
And he? He was a sunflower on the ground.
She never imagined she'd one day be sitting beside him, losing her temper at him.
After a while, Zhan Bei Jue returned holding a roasted sweet potato.
A plastic spoon was stuck diagonally into the sweet potato.
"I bought this for you. Have it."
Jiang Nan Fang couldn't quite articulate the feeling in her heart.
She wanted him to be good to her, and she enjoyed his kindness, but when he was truly kind, she felt a sense of guilt.
"No. Who told you I liked roasted sweet potatoes?"
"You don't like them?" His expression turned slightly awkward.
"I saw so many girls gathered over there, I thought you might like them. Never mind, I'll throw it away if you don't want it."
Jiang Nan Fang grabbed his arm.
"Don't you know that every grain counts? You'd just throw it away if you don't like it?"
"If you don't like it, and I had too much for breakfast and couldn't eat it, wouldn't I throw it away?"
"What a waste." Jiang Nan Fang snatched the sweet potato. "Forget it. I'll reluctantly eat it then."
She ate it bite by bite, listened to music, and waited for a while longer.
Lu Ming Zhe and Chen Jiao Jiao finally came out.
There was no need to ask about the result; getting into the car, their expressions alone indicated they had succeeded.
Since Zhan Bei Jue was in the back seat, Chen Jiao Jiao went directly to the front passenger seat.
She looked back at Jiang Nan Fang.
"Sister Nan Fang, can I still live with you from now on? Although I quite like this school, I'd rather live with you."
"Of course, I'm alone anyway, as long as you don't mind."
"What did you eat just now? Why does the car smell so good?"
"What's wrong? Are you hungry?"
Lu Ming Zhe immediately showed concern. "Then let's go get something to eat."
However, it was only ten-thirty in the morning.
It seemed a bit too early for lunch.
Chen Jiao Jiao waved her hand.
"I'm not hungry, I just said it casually. You guys aren't working today, so do you have any plans for the rest of the day?"
"Do you have any plans?"
"Can we go watch a movie?"
She gestured, "Like, where there are a lot of people, everyone holding popcorn and cola, and sitting together to watch. That kind of movie."
"I had a private cinema at home before. My dad said that cinemas outside were dirty, so he never let me go. I really want to go just once."
To be honest, Zhan Bei Jue had never been either.
Apart from Jiang Nan Fang, he hadn't dated anyone.
Besides, he had mysophobia. He also had a private cinema at home, so there was no need to go to such places.
Lu Ming Zhe was more experienced. "Sure!"
He immediately took out his phone.
"I'll search nearby to see if there are any cinemas. What do you want to watch?"
The two of them put their heads together, looking at the phone, and quickly decided on a cinema and a film.
Lu Ming Zhe booked the seats on his phone, and they set off!
Watching them excitedly, Jiang Nan Fang thought: Could today be a return to university life?
Although it wasn't a holiday, the cinemas near the university town were still quite crowded.
The two ladies waited aside, while Lu Ming Zhe very conscientiously pulled Zhan Bei Jue to queue for tickets.
This was Zhan Bei Jue's first time doing such a thing.
Moreover, as Jiang Nan Fang had said, he was older now, mingling with a group of young people doing this. It made him feel a bit ashamed.
"Does queuing need two people? You queue by yourself, I'll wait over there."
Lu Ming Zhe refused.
"Don't run off. Your ex-wife is still here, it's not just me. You can't do nothing, right?"
"Go. Buy four Cokes and two tubs of popcorn."
"Why buy that?"
"Are you talking nonsense? Would I buy it to look at?"
"...I don't eat or drink that stuff."
"Then you buy three Cokes and two tubs of popcorn. We three will drink, you can just watch."
It was too embarrassing, too embarrassing.
Zhan Bei Jue didn't know how he managed to buy items from the cashier girl.
He was a thirty-year-old man, buying popcorn amidst a bunch of youngsters. It was mortifying.
However, seeing Jiang Nan Fang's reaction, he felt it was worth it.
It was Jiang Nan Fang's first time receiving popcorn from a boy in a cinema.
Although it wasn't expensive, eating such things was about the atmosphere.
Everyone else had it, so she naturally wanted it too. Didn't everyone have a girlish heart?
Lu Ming Zhe chose a domestic animated film.
It had good reviews, so it had a high number of screenings.
The four of them chose seats in the middle. Zhan Bei Jue was next to Jiang Nan Fang, Jiang Nan Fang was next to Chen Jiao Jiao, and Chen Jiao Jiao was next to Lu Ming Zhe.
Jiang Nan Fang watched the movie, while Zhan Bei Jue watched her.
Occasionally, he would take a sip of Coke, pop a piece of popcorn into his mouth, laugh at the screen, or share in the sadness.
She was truly captivating to watch.
Gradually, he no longer felt the air was that unpleasant or the seats were that dirty. The feeling of sitting on pins and needles disappeared.
His mood relaxed along with hers.
Even when the plot became slightly calmer in the middle, he leaned over and playfully asked.
"Can I have a sip of your Coke?"
Jiang Nan Fang looked at his empty hands and casually handed him the drink.
She grabbed two pieces of popcorn and put them in her mouth, then suddenly remembered something and offered them to him.
"Want some?"
Zhan Bei Jue quickly opened his mouth and caught them.
They were truly sweet.