Secretly, But Unable to Hide It

Chapter 50

This translation is by Pocketrobbin at S h a n g h a i f a n t a s y . c o m

Duan Jiaxu didn’t receive any serious injury when he fell down the stairs.

But there had been no warning signs. Duan Jiaxu didn’t even know Jiang Ying was nearby. She suddenly pushed him from behind, catching him off guard. His body naturally leaned forward and he tumbled down, but fortunately, only his forehead got hit.

It happened during the break when everyone went outside for exercise.

They were surrounded by classmates. Some stepped back, some stood still, whispering to each other, and a few tried to dissuade Jiang Ying from going too far.

Yuan Lang, standing nearby, helped Duan Jiaxu up.

Noticing the commotion, a class officer immediately ran upstairs to find the homeroom teacher.

That year, Duan Jiaxu wasn’t yet fifteen.

At such a young age, he couldn’t easily adjust or disguise his emotions. Even if he had felt some guilt for his father’s sin, it vanished instantly because of the misplaced anger.

He wiped the blood from his forehead with the back of his hand, looked up at Jiang Ying, and forced down his anger. “Don’t you think you owe me an apology?”

Jiang Ying stood there with her arms crossed, her words were venomous, “Why should I apologize? You’re not dead. I pray every day for you and your mom to die soon.”

Hearing that, Duan Jiaxu slowly pulled his arm away from Yuan Lang. His jaw clenched, and the muscles in his face twitched uncontrollably. His gaze grew icy.

Without a word, Duan Jiaxu started walking forward.

When he reached Jiang Ying, he repeated himself, emphasizing each word, “Don’t you think you should apologize to me and my mom?”

Jiang Ying glared at him, her voice growing shrill, “What did I say wrong?! Don’t you deserve to die?!”

Duan Jiaxu’s anger surged and he lost all rationality. He let out a furious laugh and grabbed her arm tightly, intending to give her a taste of her own medicine.

Just then, the homeroom teacher arrived.

At that moment, Duan Jiaxu heard a classmate whisper, “How can he even have the nerve to ask Jiang Ying to apologize……?”

Duan Jiaxu paused, and in the next instant, the teacher stepped in to stop him.

Then, he saw Jiang Ying, who had been the aggressor, suddenly burst into tears as soon as she saw the teacher, her shoulders shaking pitifully. “My dad is dead…… My dad……”

The homeroom teacher ended up comforting her instead.

And because of Duan Jiaxu’s actions just then, the teacher sternly reprimanded him, “Duan Jiaxu! What are you doing?! Don’t you feel any shame?!”

——”Duan Jiaxu, don’t you feel any shame?!”

At that moment, in the eyes of everyone around him, he seemed to be the real perpetrator.

The homeroom teacher forced Duan Jiaxu to apologize to Jiang Ying, but he remained silent. He didn’t stay to take the scolding either. Instead, he turned and left, went to the restroom to wash his wound, and only returned to the classroom after the bell rang.

It just so happened to be the homeroom teacher’s class.

When Duan Jiaxu walked into the classroom, the teacher paused the lesson and sneered, “You don’t even know how to respect your teacher. Let’s see what kind of person you’ll become in the future.”

Duan Jiaxu returned to his seat.

Yuan Lang whispered, “This old hag must have taken the wrong medicine recently.”

Duan Jiaxu took out a book from his desk and said nothing.

“Just bear with it.” Yuan Lang couldn’t help but say, “After all, your father really did kill her father, so you also owe her…… Maybe she’s just not thinking straight right now. She’ll get better eventually.”

Duan Jiaxu opened his book, the water on his face dripping down to the pages.

Hearing the other party’s words, his eyelids twitched slightly and he glanced calmly at Yuan Lang. After a long pause, he let out a self-mocking laugh.

Duan Jiaxu suddenly understood.

He couldn’t show even a hint of anger. He couldn’t express any dissatisfaction with the harm done to him. Otherwise, everyone would think he was just like his father.

He had to be kind to everyone.

He had to always smile.

He had to be someone who appeared completely non-threatening.

That year, the term ‘moral kidnapping’ hadn’t yet appeared.

But Duan Jiaxu could already feel it clearly.

He was suffering from it.

———pr

After hanging up the phone, Sang Zhi walked into a nearby convenience store, browsing the aisles before finally picking up a pack of gummy candy. The store was empty, with no one around except for the cashier.

Sang Zhi found a place to sit down, took out her phone, and sent Duan Jiaxu her exact location on WeChat. Not wanting to distract him while he drove, she didn’t say anything more after that.

She started reading a comic she’d been following recently.

The indoor temperature was a bit higher than outside, and after sitting for a while, she began to feel a little stuffy.

After finishing the latest chapter, Sang Zhi looked up, feeling bored. She glanced out the glass window and suddenly noticed a small stall outside. The business wasn’t great, with hardly any customers.

Just then, two girls left, each holding a big, fluffy ball of white that looked like a cloud.

An uncle was selling cotton candy.

Sang Zhi’s interest was piqued. She left the convenience store and walked over to the stall, ordering one for herself. It had been a long time since she had cotton candy, and as she watched the uncle make it, she couldn’t help but ask a few questions.

Watching the white cotton candy grow bigger, Sang Zhi noticed the colorful sugar in the jars nearby and couldn’t resist making a request, “Can you sprinkle some pink sugar on the outer layer?”

The uncle chuckled. “Sure.”

The next moment, Duan Jiaxu’s voice suddenly came from behind her, “Why pink sugar?”

Startled, Sang Zhi instinctively turned around.

She didn’t know when he had arrived, but Duan Jiaxu was now standing right behind her. He was leaning down slightly, his head tilted to the side. Their eyes met, and the distance between them suddenly closed.

They were only about twenty centimeters apart.

Then, Duan Jiaxu curved his lips into a lazy smile and teased, “Did seeing me turn your mood pink?”

“……”

The uncle spoke up at that moment, “It’s done.”

Sang Zhi looked away, took the cotton candy, and said, “Thank you.”

She twirled the candy stick in her hand, admiring it, too reluctant to eat it. She turned back to Duan Jiaxu and said, “Why do you talk like that? It’s so cheesy.”

Duan Jiaxu raised an eyebrow. “Cheesy?”

“Cheesy.”

“It’s not that bad.” Duan Jiaxu laughed. “I think it sounds kind of romantic.”

“……” Sang Zhi couldn’t tell if he was serious or joking. After thinking for a moment, she decided not to burst his bubble and changed the subject, “Did you drive here?”

“Mm.”

Sang Zhi asked, “Where did you park?”

Duan Jiaxu pointed. “Over there.”

“Oh.” Thinking about his overtime, Sang Zhi casually asked, “What did you have for dinner?”

“Takeout.”

“What do you feel like eating now?” Sang Zhi carefully tore off a piece of the cotton candy, trying to keep its original shape, and breathed a sigh of relief when she succeeded. “I just ate not long ago, so I’m not hungry.”

After a pause, Sang Zhi calmly added, “But I can accompany you.”

Watching her actions, Duan Jiaxu didn’t respond immediately, a hint of amusement in his eyes.

Noticing that Sang Zhi had lifted her hand, intending to put that piece of cotton candy into her mouth, Duan Jiaxu suddenly lowered his head and bit off the small piece she had just torn off.

His action was so unexpected that Sang Zhi froze, staring blankly at the tiny bit of cotton candy residue left on her fingers. Then, she quickly turned to him and asked, “What are you doing?”

Duan Jiaxu licked his lips and replied casually, “I wanted to eat cotton candy.”

“No way,” Sang Zhi responded protectively, “This is mine.”

Duan Jiaxu looked at her for two seconds before bursting into laughter. He then took a tissue from his pocket, wiped her fingers clean, and looked at her, teasing, “You little stingy.”

Sang Zhi frowned. “You’re the stingy one.”

“Go on, eat it.” Duan Jiaxu stopped teasing her. “It’ll melt soon.”

Sang Zhi tore off another piece and slowly put it into her mouth. “Then what do you want to eat?”

Duan Jiaxu replied, “How about some noodles?”

“Shall we go to that place?” Sang Zhi pointed nearby. “The food there is pretty good.”

“Sure.”

The two of them entered the restaurant and found a seat.

Duan Jiaxu simply ordered a bowl of the house specialty and didn’t ask for anything else. He casually asked, “What have you been busy with lately?”

“Our school is organizing a digital media art competition and I’m planning to participate.” Sang Zhi answered honestly, “I’ve teamed up with some people to make an animated short film, but we haven’t decided on the content yet.”

Duan Jiaxu responded with a soft hum.

Sang Zhi continued, “I originally wanted to do a microfilm, but I think many teams will choose that. And for game design, I don’t know how to code.”

Duan Jiaxu casually remarked, “I can do that.”

The way he said it sounded like he was showing off.

“……” Sang Zhi glanced at him. “But you can’t help me with the competition.”

Duan Jiaxu half-jokingly said, “Why don’t you drop that team and team up with me instead?”

Sang Zhi reminded him, “It has to be a college student.”

Duan Jiaxu replied nonchalantly, “Hmm? Don’t I look like one?”

“……”

Soon, the bowl of noodles Duan Jiaxu ordered was served.

Sang Zhi had eaten most of the cotton candy and the rest was slowly melting in the indoor temperature. She threw the stick into the trash can and wiped her hands with a tissue.

Duan Jiaxu didn’t seem to have much of an appetite, eating very slowly.

Sang Zhi took out her phone to play with it, occasionally glancing up at him. Seeing that the noodles hadn’t diminished much, she couldn’t help but ask, “Do you not want to eat?”

“No.” Duan Jiaxu replied without changing his expression, “I’m stalling for time.”

“……”

“I’m eating slowly so I can drag this out for two hours before taking you back.”

Hearing his words, Sang Zhi paused, then looked down at her phone, pretending to be indifferent as she said, “By then, the noodles will be all soggy.”

Duan Jiaxu chuckled softly but didn’t say anything.

She casually mentioned a few more things and Duan Jiaxu responded normally. At first, she didn’t notice anything, but after a while, Sang Zhi started to feel that something was off.

He had been smiling a lot tonight, but his mood didn’t seem very good. His emotions were faint and his lips were forced into a smile, with a touch of weariness.

Sang Zhi put down her phone and hesitantly asked, “Brother Jiaxu, are you in a bad mood?”

Duan Jiaxu looked up, seemingly amused. “How did you notice?”

“……” Sang Zhi murmured, “So you’re really in a bad mood?”

Duan Jiaxu gently replied, “Just a little.”

Sang Zhi thought for a moment, suddenly feeling a bit sorry, and awkwardly asked, “Is it because I didn’t let you eat the cotton candy earlier?”

“……”

Sang Zhi became flustered. “Should I go buy you a stick now?”

Duan Jiaxu finished his last bite of noodles, wiped his mouth with a tissue, and raised an eyebrow, finding it somewhat amusing. “What are you thinking?”

Sang Zhi asked, “Then why are you in a bad mood?”

Duan Jiaxu replied lightly, “Maybe because I’ve been working overtime too much, I’m a bit tired.”

They both stood up and left the noodle shop.

Sang Zhi didn’t doubt him. “Then you shouldn’t work overtime anymore.”

“Mm.”

Sang Zhi thought for a moment, then suddenly took out the pack of candy she had just bought at the convenience store, tore it open, and handed him one. “Here, have some candy.”

Duan Jiaxu took it, his brows slightly relaxing. “Are you trying to soothe a child?”

Sang Zhi blinked. “Soothing an old child.”

“……”

Seeing him not move, Sang Zhi took another piece, unwrapped it, and brought it to his lips. “This candy is good, my brother likes it too.”

Duan Jiaxu paused, then lowered his head and took the candy from her hand.

Sang Zhi stuffed the rest into his hand. “You can have all of them.”

Duan Jiaxu stared at the packet in his hand, the gloom in his eyes dissipating as he smiled. “This is the first time someone’s tried to cheer me up like this.”

His previous action was a bit intimate, but Sang Zhi didn’t want to see him unhappy, so she turned her gaze away and stubbornly said, “I just ate too much cotton candy earlier so I don’t want those anymore.”

“Hmm?” Duan Jiaxu raised his eyes, his gaze inexplicably dropping to her lips. After a few seconds, his Adam’s apple moved slightly, and in a hoarse voice, he asked, “Then can I be a little more presumptuous?”

Sang Zhi looked at him and replied honestly, “But I only have that one pack left.”

“……”

“If you want more, you can go buy some.”

“I’m not talking about the candy.” Duan Jiaxu looked at her, his eyes gleaming, deep and captivating. He raised his hand, gently brushing her lower lip with his fingertip, and with a faint smile, asked, “Can I kiss you?”

“……” Sang Zhi was too stunned to react. “Huh?”

He withdrew his hand and didn’t repeat what he said, just stared at her.

Sang Zhi even wondered if she had misheard. She couldn’t believe her ears. Her face flushed red as the blood rushed to her head and she couldn’t say a word.

Duan Jiaxu waited for a while, then very gentlemanly asked again, “Is it okay?”

Sang Zhi snapped back to reality and immediately refused, “No.”

Duan Jiaxu sighed regretfully and asked, “Then how about holding hands?”

Sang Zhi was overwhelmed and took a step back, seriously saying, “Doing those things before we’re together is just being a rogue.”

Duan Jiaxu played along, “Then shall we be together?”

Sang Zhi felt her resolve wavering, thinking that if he said one more word, she wouldn’t be able to stick to her stance and would agree right away. She bit her lip, struggled internally for a while, and finally said, “You haven’t even pursued me for long.”

There was a brief silence.

Duan Jiaxu murmured, “That’s true.”

“Then,” He tilted his head slightly, his tone a bit playful, yet the words seemed to genuinely seek her opinion, “Can I be a rogue?”