Read Novel Full Chapter 52
Chapter 52
Sang Zhi felt frustrated, and unlike him, she couldn’t pretend as if nothing had happened. She touched her cheek and asked with a stern face, “What did you do just now?”
Duan Jiaxu acted like he didn’t understand. “What’s the matter?”
Sang Zhi stared at him, forcing herself to stay calm as she hinted subtly, “I wasn’t asleep. I know everything you did.”
Duan Jiaxu smiled playfully. “So, what did I do?”
Looking at his eternally unserious and calm demeanor, Sang Zhi really wanted to tear his mouth apart. At that moment, she suddenly recalled the advice her roommate had given her.
——”If he flirts with you, just flirt back.”
The rising heat on her face seemed to cloud her mind.
Sang Zhi had an impulsive thought. She raised her eyes and said in a calm voice, “Come here.”
With her aggressive demeanor, it looked like she was about to slap him at any second. But Duan Jiaxu didn’t resist at all, obediently leaning in. “What?”
Sang Zhi said, “Come closer.”
Duan Jiaxu asked, “Are you going to whisper something to me?”
Sang Zhi didn’t respond.
When the distance between them was about ten centimeters, Sang Zhi suddenly tilted her head up and, in a reckless move, quickly kissed the side of his face. It lasted less than a second before she pulled back. Then, she stared at him, his face slightly stiffened from the unexpected move, and said expressionlessly, “This is what you did just now.”
“……”
Just then, the class bell rang, and the teacher had already taken his place at the podium. Several students who had just run in took the empty seats next to Sang Zhi.
She withdrew her gaze.
Her heart was beating so fast it felt like it was going to jump out of her chest. As her rationality returned, instead of regret, she felt a strong sense of satisfaction, like she had finally won a round.
Out of the corner of her eye, she could feel that Duan Jiaxu was still looking at her.
Sang Zhi pretended to be nonchalant, taking a sip of water as if the recent event hadn’t bothered her at all.
After a while, Duan Jiaxu chuckled, speaking softly as if in a great mood and finding it hard to believe, “There’s such a good thing?”
“……”
The way he said it made it sound like she had just made some kind of move. Sang Zhi turned her head sharply and said deliberately, “What I just did doesn’t mean I have feelings for you.”
“No?” Duan Jiaxu raised an eyebrow. “Then aren’t you being a rogue?”
Sang Zhi righteously said, “You started it.”
“So, from now on, if I act like a rogue, you’ll do the same?” Seeing that she was really fooled, Duan Jiaxu didn’t explain and drawled.
Sang Zhi paused and looked at him for a few seconds. Not wanting him to realize that she actually felt like she had taken advantage, she thought for a moment and coldly said, “If you dare do it again, I’ll tell my brother.”
“Call your brother to beat me up?”
“Mm.”
Duan Jiaxu was unconcerned. “Alright, go ahead and call him.”
Sang Zhi: “?”
Duan Jiaxu smiled. “We will have to make it public sooner or later anyway.”
Sang Zhi: “……”
Duan Jiaxu added, “So why not sooner?”
Sang Zhi couldn’t help but say, “We’re not even together.”
“I know.” Duan Jiaxu replied leisurely, “I’m just trying to brainwash you.”
“……”
Sang Zhi stopped responding to him, pretending to seriously listen to a class she had never paid much attention to before. Her cheeks and lips were burning and she wanted to take out a small mirror from her bag to check her appearance, but with him beside her, she felt it would be too embarrassing to make such a move.
Not long after, Duan Jiaxu spoke up again, “Let’s talk about how you just called me by my full name.”
“If you don’t want me to call you that, then you shouldn’t call me by my name either.” Sang Zhi stiffened her back, not backing down at all. She said each word clearly, “I don’t think it’s very appropriate either.”
Duan Jiaxu said, “Alright.”
Sang Zhi snorted softly.
Duan Jiaxu leaned back in his chair and chuckled. “If you’re not calling me ‘brother’ anymore, it means our relationship has taken a step forward, so I’ll take it as you flirting with me.”
Sang Zhi froze for a moment, finding it absurd. “Calling you by your name means I’m flirting with you?”
“Yeah.” Duan Jiaxu said, “I prefer to be presumptuous.”
“……”
After the class ended, Sang Zhi checked the schedule on her phone and led Duan Jiaxu to another classroom. This one was a professional course and most of the students inside were from Sang Zhi’s class.
Ning Wei and Wang Ruolan were already there, sitting in the second row. They had saved seats for Sang Zhi and Yu Xin.
But when they saw Duan Jiaxu following Sang Zhi, they instantly understood and gave Sang Zhi a few knowing looks.
Sang Zhi pretended not to notice. With only two seats left, she couldn’t very well bring Duan Jiaxu over to sit with them, so she simply sat in another row.
After a while, a guy from Sang Zhi’s class, with whom she had a good relationship, sat down next to Duan Jiaxu. Seeing Duan Jiaxu, the guy casually asked, “Sang Zhi, is your boyfriend here to accompany you to class?”
Sang Zhi glanced at Duan Jiaxu but neither explained nor denied it.
The guy assumed he was right and familiarly asked, “Which department are you in?”
Duan Jiaxu replied, “Software Engineering.”
The guy asked again, “Are you a freshman too?”
Duan Jiaxu gave a brief response.
Sang Zhi: “……”
He really enjoyed pretending to be younger.
The guy didn’t suspect a thing and soon turned his head to chat with someone else.
Duan Jiaxu turned to look at Sang Zhi, smirking. “We’re in the same year.”
Sang Zhi said, “Have some shame.”
Duan Jiaxu seemed a bit tired. He folded his hands on the desk and rested his head on them. “I’ll take a nap. You focus on the lecture. Don’t let your mind wander in your major class.”
Sang Zhi responded with a soft, “Oh.”
“If you want,” Duan Jiaxu added with a stifled laugh, “you can steal a kiss.”
“……”
Sang Zhi couldn’t resist and placed a book over his face. “You wish.”
Their seats were near the front, and since this was a small classroom, Duan Jiaxu’s action of lying down next to Sang Zhi to sleep was especially conspicuous to the teacher.
Not long after the class started, Duan Jiaxu became the teacher’s target.
The teacher smiled ‘kindly’. “That student sleeping over there, please stand up and answer the question.”
Duan Jiaxu didn’t move.
Sang Zhi pretended she didn’t know him.
The teacher continued, “The student beside him, could you help wake him up?”
Sang Zhi could no longer pretend, so she nudged him. “Brother Jiaxu.”
Duan Jiaxu opened his eyes. “Hmm?”
Sang Zhi braced herself. “The teacher asked you to answer the question.”
Duan Jiaxu, still drowsy, stood up without a hint of panic. After listening to the teacher’s question, he pondered for a moment and then calmly answered a couple of points.
Sang Zhi was amazed. After he sat down, she couldn’t help but ask, “How did you know the answer?”
Duan Jiaxu pointed at her book. “I just randomly recited a few lines from that.”
“……”
Sang Zhi looked at the book for a while but couldn’t find the answer he had just given.
At that moment, Sang Zhi’s classmate leaned over and whispered, “Schoolmate, aren’t you here just to accompany your girlfriend? How did you know the answer? Even I didn’t know it.”
“I studied a bit,” Duan Jiaxu replied nonchalantly, “so I can help my girlfriend with her studies later.”
The guy gave him a thumbs-up.
Sang Zhi also leaned closer and whispered, “Did you really study?”
“Not really.” Duan Jiaxu chuckled lazily, “I wasn’t asleep, I was listening to the lecture.”
“……”
After the second class, it was time for lunch. To give him a more authentic experience of campus life, they didn’t leave the school and went directly to the cafeteria.
The cafeteria at Yihe University wasn’t open to the public, so Duan Jiaxu had to use Sang Zhi’s meal card to order. Neither of them was picky, so they just got a set meal.
Then they found a place to sit down.
Duan Jiaxu picked up his chopsticks and casually said, “Next time, it’s my treat.”
“……”
It’s just a few yuan.
Sang Zhi said, “No need.”
Duan Jiaxu looked up. “Free of charge?”
Sang Zhi had been treated to a lot of meals by him, so she couldn’t really count this one against him. “Hmm, my treat.”
“Alright.” Duan Jiaxu sat up straight and spoke in a refined and polite manner, “Then I’ll come again next time.”
“……”
With the excuse of accompanying her to class, Duan Jiaxu started coming to see her more often. But since he had to work during the day, he mostly came in the evenings.
Whenever Sang Zhi had something planned, she would instinctively let him know in advance.
Besides attending classes, Sang Zhi was also busy with the competition. Because of that, she frequently communicated with their mentor, Liu Miao, and gradually became familiar with her.
Time flew by, and soon the May 1st holiday arrived.
Sang Zhi participated in a departmental event, and when she returned to her dormitory in the evening, she overheard her roommates discussing whether to go home during the summer vacation.
“I probably won’t go back. I want to find an internship.” Ning Wei said, “There’s no way I’d find one back home. Instead of just idling around, I’d rather keep myself busy.”
Yu Xin asked, “Huh? You’re already thinking about internships as a freshman?”
Sang Zhi was also a bit surprised.
“That’s the plan,” Ning Wei smiled. “The head of my department also found an internship during the summer after freshman year. When he mentioned it, I thought it wouldn’t be a good idea to just sit around. Plus, my boyfriend isn’t going home either.”
Sang Zhi felt tempted by her words.
But she knew that if she mentioned this matter to Sang Rong and Li Ping, they would definitely object. They might even send Sang Yan over to drag her back home.
Tentatively, Sang Zhi sent a message to Sang Yan on WeChat, 【Brother.】
【Brother: ?】
【Sang Zhi: I don’t want to go home for summer vacation, qwq】
【Brother: ?】
Sang Zhi hesitated for a long time before typing out a lengthy explanation, 【I’m planning to find an internship here to enrich my college life. I don’t want to waste my youth. I want to seize every opportunity while I’m young. So, could you help me talk to our parents about it? If Mom keeps pressuring you to get married during the Spring Festival, I’ll stand up for you.】
Sang Yan, lacking the patience to type, sent a voice message instead. His tone made it clear he didn’t believe a word she said, “Your graduate student boyfriend isn’t going home either, is he?”
Sang Zhi: “……”
Sang Yan sneered. “When vacation comes, just get yourself home. What kind of nonsense are you spouting?”
“……”
Sang Yan added, “I’m embarrassed for you even through the screen.”
“……”