The car rode slower than usual, possibly because there was a passenger in the back and they were holding two bottles of milk.
However, with frequent stops and starts, the two quickly arrived home.
First, they reached He Yao's doorstep. He parked the car, and He Yao jumped off and started taking bottles out of her backpack for him.
The nanny, Auntie Li, came out pushing the door open.
"Yao Yao is back. I was waiting for you. You're a little later than usual today."
He Yao nodded, saying something had caused a slight delay.
"Mr. and Mrs. are out for a meal today and won't be home for dinner, so I've been waiting for you. Classmate, would you like to come in and have something to eat? I've prepared dinner."
Zhan Jingrui took the milk bottles and put them back into his backpack. "No, thank you."
He didn't like visiting other people's homes. Fortunately, the auntie didn't insist.
"Did Mrs. ask Yao Yao to go to school with you every day from now on? Her health hasn't been very good lately, and the doctor said she needs rest. She can't take Yao Yao, and Mr. is busy."
"To be honest, she shouldn't even have gone to that dinner today... I don't mean anything else, but you're still children. Don't play on the road when you have nothing else to do. Come home on time after school, otherwise Mrs. will worry."
He Yao hadn't grown up by her mother's side. Hearing that she would worry about her struck her as ridiculous.
She also knew that Zhan Jingrui wasn't really listening, so she pushed Auntie inside.
"Alright, I know. I'm going in."
Then, as she walked away, she looked back at Zhan Jingrui.
"Thank you. Hurry back."
For some reason, Zhan Jingrui, with his keen senses, disliked this family.
Including this stuttering nanny and He Yao's not-so-competent mother.
He always felt that everyone was holding back, hiding many things in their eyes.
Not long after he returned home, Xu Zheng called him.
Given what happened that morning, Zhan Jingrui was too lazy to deal with him and didn't answer.
Soon, Xu Zheng sent him a text message.
"My dad has someone else on the outside and has an illegitimate child. My mom found out, and it's caused a huge scene. So, sorry for troubling you today."
Zhan Jingrui checked his phone after a few minutes. Seeing this, his anger subsided by more than half.
Thinking of his deskmate's usual smugness, he even felt a sense of schadenfreude.
He replied to Xu Zheng, which was rare.
"Can you go to school tomorrow?"
Xu Zheng was probably playing with his phone, as he replied instantly.
"No. My mom is making a big fuss, so I have to stay here to watch her to prevent anything from happening. I don't know when I can go back. Please explain to He Yao for me and thank you for the trouble of giving her a ride for the next couple of days. As I said before, I'll bring you a gift when I get back."
"Get real. I can barely manage myself, and you still want to bring me gifts."
Dad Tang asked Zhan Jingrui to dinner. At the table, he asked Zhan Jingrui if he had met the neighbors across the street, as they had come to visit today.
Zhan Jingrui frowned unhappily, thinking, "Weren't they supposed to be very busy? Do they still have time to visit neighbors?"
"I don't know them. What's wrong?"
"Nothing, it's just that my intuition tells me this couple isn't particularly pure-hearted. It's best to keep your distance from them. You're a smart child. If they try to get close to you or pry for information in the future, you'll know what to do."
Dad Tang's words confirmed Zhan Jingrui's feelings.
Thinking of He Yao, his heart suddenly felt heavy again.
The next morning, as he passed by He Yao's house, he saw her standing there waiting from a distance, accompanied by Auntie Li.
Last night, after Dad Tang's advice, Zhan Jingrui decided to keep his distance from He Yao.
No matter how busy their family was, they shouldn't be unable to spare time to send a student to school. At worst, they could give her money to take a taxi. What was the reason for troubling others every day?
However, Auntie Li waved at him from afar. Zhan Jingrui couldn't pretend not to see, so he had to stop.
"You're quite punctual. Have you eaten?"
Auntie Li handed him a small bag. "I made pancakes for Yao Yao this morning with eggs and ham added. They're nutritious. Here's a piece for you. It's still warm, take it to eat at school."
As the saying goes, one can't hit a smiling person. Zhan Jingrui had no way to refuse now.
"No, thank you. I've eaten. Let's go."
Auntie Li thought he was looking down on her cooking and didn't insist. She watched He Yao get on the bike and continued to remind her from behind, just like He Yao's own aunt.
"Ride slowly and watch out for cars. Yao Yao, sit tight, don't fall off. Come home early after school, don't play on the road."
As the bicycle sped away, He Yao felt that Zhan Jingrui's aura was strange today, colder than before.
She thought, "For someone like him who dislikes socializing, would she be bothering him by constantly clinging to him for rides to and from school?
"Besides, it wouldn't look good for people at school to see. He definitely wouldn't want to be associated with me.
After thinking about it, she couldn't help but speak to Zhan Jingrui first.
"Do you have something you want to ask me?"
The wind was strong, and Zhan Jingrui didn't hear clearly. He tilted his head slightly.
"What?"
"I said, do you have something you want to ask me?"
Zhan Jingrui didn't know where she got that idea. He paused. "What do you want to say?"
He Yao said, "It's still early. Can you stop the car? We can talk for a moment before we go."
Zhan Jingrui immediately stopped the car.
He Yao jumped off and stood beside him, looking at his face.
"It's indeed troublesome for you to take me to school and back every day, and this can't go on forever. So, don't worry about me after school. I can go back by myself."
So, she stopped him just to say this.
Zhan Jingrui realized that he wasn't the only one who was naturally indifferent. He Yao was of the same kind.
Although she said thank you politely every day, if you listened to her words and looked at her eyes, was there any trace of gratitude?
"I understand. So, shall we go?"
It was indeed convenient to talk to someone so extremely aloof.
He Yao nodded. "Let's go, but before we go, I want to tell you something else. Can you lend me 100 yuan?"
This surprised Zhan Jingrui.
It wasn't that 100 yuan was particularly important to him, but in this era, her family didn't lack food or a good place to live. How could she not even have 100 yuan?
She even had to work to buy textbooks.
He Yao was perceptive and explained without him asking.
"You should know by now that the person yesterday wasn't my father. My mother just married him two months ago, and her position isn't stable yet, so she doesn't have money to give me."
"I had a little bit of living expenses, but my cousin stole it."
"When I have time on Sunday, I'll go do odd jobs. I'll return it to you when I earn money, don't worry."
There was nothing to worry about. Even if it were a strange beggar who spoke like this, Zhan Jingrui would have thrown 100 yuan without hesitation.
"How should I give it to you?"
He Yao hesitated and took out her phone. "Scan me?"
Zhan Jingrui also took off his backpack and took out his phone.
They hadn't added each other as friends. After scanning the payment code, he transferred 500 yuan to her.
"Don't worry about returning it. I'm not short of money."