"Wh... what is it?" Jiao Yu's startled reaction and expression showed she was a bit overwhelmed by his sudden move.
"What's your relationship between the two of you?" Who knows what Li Zechen was imagining in his head, but his entire aura dropped to freezing, his expression turned dark, and a flash of murderous intent crossed his gaze.
If she... if she uttered a single word about romance, if she dared to say she liked Xu Wenhao.
Li Zechen might completely lose his sanity; there was a strong chance he would snap and do something extreme, like dragging her off to some isolated place where it was just the two of them, locking her away. Making it so that in her entire world, there was only him. Making it so she could never leave him.
"Us? Me and Wenhao-ge? Brother and sister, of course." Jiao Yu'an answered without a second thought. She and Wenhao-ge had grown up together, and he had helped her countless times, just like an older brother. She was genuinely grateful to him.
Hearing her answer, Li Zechen's body relaxed, though he still wanted to make sure. "Brother and sister?"
"Yeah, he's older than me!" So they obviously couldn't be brother and sister the other way around.
Seeing Jiao Yu'an's clear eyes looking straight back at him without a trace of evasion, he knew she was telling the truth.
Li Zechen's anger instantly evaporated, though deep down in his heart, a faint trace of regret lingered—was he regretting that he couldn't tie her up after all?
Li Zechen reached out and patted Jiao Yu'an's hair. "Jiao Baor, be a good girl."
Normally, hearing parents or other people use that nickname was no big deal. But coming from Li Zechen's lips, Jiao Yu'an felt goosebumps rise all over her skin; it was too awkward.
Li Zechen smiled with the corners of his lips curling up. "What's wrong? Jiao Baor, what kind of expression is that? Are you disgusted?"
Honestly, Jiao Yu'an was a little disgusted. "Do you mind not calling me that?"
"Sure." Li Zechen seemed unusually agreeable, answering with crisp readiness.
Just as Jiao Yu'an let out a sigh of relief, Li Zechen called out, "Crybaby."
"Huh?" Jiao Yu'an was a bit dazed. What did he just call her?
"Jiao Baor, or Crybaby—pick one of these two names," Li Zechen proposed.
Jiao Yu'an shook her head, feeling that neither name sounded good. "Neither of them. You can just call me Yu'an."
Li Zechen's voice carried a hint of complaint. "No way. Yu'an is too stiff. It makes us sound like strangers. No good."
Jiao Yu'an thought to herself: they weren't particularly close to begin with. But she couldn't very well say that to his face. Instead, she offered, "Then... then you can call me An'an."
Li Zechen shook his head in disdain. "Nah, not unique enough. Everyone who's close to you calls you An'an."
Jiao Yu'an felt this was getting a bit weird. "Why do you need something unique? Names are just meant for telling people apart, as long as you know who's being called, right?" She didn't really understand.
Li Zechen asserted stubbornly, "Anyway, from now on it's Crybaby. You already said names don't matter, so why won't you agree when I call you 'Crybaby'?"
"Because it sounds terrible," Jiao Yu'an retorted directly. The word "crybaby" didn't feel like a compliment at all.
"Don't care, it's settled. Crybaby—my own exclusive nickname for you."
Seeing that she couldn't reason with Li Zechen, Jiao Yu'an compromised. "Then don't call me that name in front of other people."
Jiao Yu'an was thinking too simply. She figured she wouldn't be alone with Li Zechen very often anyway—they only saw each other at school, and they barely crossed paths otherwise, so the chances of him actually shouting that nickname at her would be very slim.
"Deal."
...
Xu Wenhao and Liu Yunbai walked out through the main entrance of the hospital.
"Should I hail a cab to take you back?" Xu Wenhao asked politely.
"No need, I wouldn't want to trouble you, Senior. I can just grab a taxi," Liu Yunbai waved her hand in refusal.
As they chatted while walking toward the street, an electric scooter suddenly zipped out of nowhere. Subconsciously, Liu Wenhao reached out and pulled Liu Yunbai behind him.
Looking at the broad shoulders in front of her and feeling the warm, powerful grip on her arm, Liu Yunbai's heart pounded wildly and uncontrollably.
Xu Wenhao pulled Liu Yunbai's arm as they quickly crossed the street. Once they reached the other side, he immediately let go. "You okay?"
Liu Yunbai shook her head. "Senior's reflexes are so fast, I didn't get hurt at all." As she spoke, a blush crept onto her face.
"Ha," Xu Wenhao let out a soft laugh and replied, "Fast reflexes? You get used to it." Sometimes An'an's reactions were a bit slow, after all.
"Senior is amazing."
Xu Wenhao didn't take Liu Yunbai's praise to heart; he just smiled.
Autumn brought an early nightfall. Glancing up at the darkened sky, Xu Wenhao said with gentlemanly consideration, "It's getting so late, I'd better walk you back. Otherwise, it won't be easy to answer to An'an."
Liu Yunbai didn't refuse this time; she wanted to spend more time in his company. She nodded. "Alright, then I'll have to trouble you, Senior."
Xu Wenhao stepped forward to flag down a cab. The bright glow of the streetlamp washed over him, casting a long shadow on the pavement. Watching his shadow, Liu Yunbai sidestepped a couple of steps and planted her feet right on top of it.
An involuntary smile tugged at the corners of her lips, shy and sweet. She couldn't help wondering: does this mean we're very close now?
"Classmate?" Xu Wenhao's sudden call snapped Liu Yunbai right out of her daydream.
"Hmm? What is it?" Liu Yunbai flustered slightly.
"The cab's here. Time to go."
"Okay." Liu Yunbai moved closer to him step by step.
Xu Wenhao opened the car door, and Liu Yunbai shyly slid inside. She fantasized: are we going to be sitting right next to each other? Will our bodies brush against one another?
Before she even had a chance to blush properly, she saw Xu Wenhao closing the door from the outside. Panicking, she hurried to ask, "Aren't... aren't you sitting in the back?"
"Sitting in the front passenger seat makes it easier to pay the fare," Xu Wenhao explained.
"Oh." Liu Yunbai was clearly a little disappointed.
Noticing her discontent, the driver chuckled helplessly and said, "Young lady, is there something wrong with my back seat? Why are you so reluctant to sit there?"
"Hehe, no it's not like that!" Liu Yunbai said, turning red with embarrassment.
Once Xu Wenhao settled into the front, the driver asked, "Where to?"
Xu Wenhao looked over at Liu Yunbai.
Liu Yunbai chimed in immediately, "Yishi Residential Area."
"Got it."
Cab drivers always loved making small talk with their passengers. "You two just started dating, right?" The driver asked with absolute confidence; he had seen plenty of young couples, and they always acted just like this right after getting together.
Liu Yunbai lowered her head, feeling a fresh wave of shyness.
Xu Wenhao cut in immediately, "No, we aren't. She's a deskmate of a friend of mine. My friend asked me to see her home."
Robbed of any juicy gossip, the driver felt a slight letdown. Nodding, he remarked, "It's dark out, not safe for a young lady to go home alone. Your friend is quite thoughtful, though."
Hearing Jiao Yu'an mentioned, the smile on Xu Wenhao's face widened. "Yeah, she's very thoughtful."
Neither of them noticed the slightly dejected look on the face of the person sitting in the back seat.
Even though they weren't a couple, the speed with which Xu Wenhao denied it still left a lingering ache of disappointment in the bottom of Liu Yunbai's heart.
...
Back at the hospital, Li Zechen was still there!
"Aren't you going home yet?" Jiao Yu'an asked helplessly.
"Are you trying to chase me away? Don't you want to spend time with me?" Li Zechen retorted, his tone turning chilly.
Jiao Yu'an blinked. He really had a talent for wild imaginations. "It's getting pretty late now, you should go back and eat. Aren't you hungry?"
"So you're saying you're worried about me?"
Jiao Yu'an: ......