Chapter 116: It’s the White Season Again

Chapter 116: Chapter 116: It’s the White Season Again

Before dawn on the second morning of the National Day holiday, the sky was still dark. Since most students would be leaving campus to head home this morning, many people in the dorms were already up early. This included Lin Zhengran. After all, a certain trio of little ladies didn’t really like taking taxis. Whenever they went home, they preferred to catch the earliest bus, just like He Qing. He didn’t know what they were thinking; they probably shared the same mindset as Xiao Heqing.

Lin Zhengran walked out of the dorms and arrived at the school gate just after five o’clock. It was better to be early than late. It wasn’t that he hadn’t read a book today, but rather he had been pondering other matters. For instance, although he could recently rely on the girls to earn some cash-back rewards, the progress was indeed a bit slow. Lin Zhengran felt he should take the initiative in this regard. Now that his abilities had developed to this point, he was more than capable of accomplishing quite a lot.

Today, both Han Wenwen and Jiang Xueli would be heading back to their hometown with Lin Zhengran. Only Xiao Heqing was returning to her own family’s home.

While Lin Zhengran stood at the gate waiting in the slightly dark morning, he heard a soft, sweet voice calling out from a distance, "Lin Zhengran!" He turned around and saw Xiao Heqing running over, panting heavily.

"You’re up this early? And by yourself? Where’s Wenwen?"

Carrying her small backpack, Xiao Heqing chuckled at Lin Zhengran’s words, unsure if they counted as him caring about her. A girl in love naturally had to show up a bit early so she could see her crush sooner.

"My high-speed train is also at six o’clock, so I need to go wait for it early. As for Wenwen, she’s still packing. I specifically came down early to find you. I thought you might be early, but I didn’t expect you to be this early."

Lin Zhengran caught the focal point of her sentence and asked in confusion, "You came down early to find me? Is something the matter?"

"No, nothing’s the matter," she said, shaking her head.

Sometimes, Lin Zhengran really couldn’t understand the little girl’s thought process. "It’s only six. Why did you book your train so early today? Didn’t you always take the eight or nine o’clock train when going home for holidays in the past? You could have slept in."

Xiao Heqing stood beside him. "Oh, I wanted to go home early today because I still need to buy gifts for my mom and grandma once I get back. Plus... I knew you guys would definitely take the six o’clock bus, so I booked the six o’clock train ticket too. This way, I can see you one more time this morning."

Lin Zhengran smiled. "Is that really necessary? Don’t we see each other every day?"

Xiao Heqing blinked adoringly. "We do see each other every day, but does seeing each other every day mean I won’t miss you? I see you every day and I still miss you. Besides, I won’t be able to see you for a whole week, so I wanted to come see you this morning."

Lin Zhengran reached out and rapped his knuckles against her head. Xiao Heqing let out a soft grunt, though it didn’t hurt. Blushing, she rubbed her head. She looked back, noting that Han Wenwen still hadn’t arrived, and asked Lin Zhengran, "Where’s Jiang Xueli?"

"She isn’t here yet either. You’re the earliest. Usually, they don’t get here until at least five thirty, and it’s only five twenty now."

The tips of Xiao Heqing’s ears instantly turned red, though whether it was from the morning chill or something else was unclear. "I see... Neither of them are here yet. It’s just you and me..." She looked up at Lin Zhengran, seemingly hinting at something.

Lin Zhengran stared back curiously, wondering what she wanted to do.

Xiao Heqing clasped her small hands together in front of her, then looked down at Lin Zhengran’s hands. "Ummm, so while they aren’t here yet... are... are your hands cold? Do you want me to warm them up for you?" she asked in a cautious voice.

Lin Zhengran looked at her silly expression. "Warm my hands? Why do I feel like you’re colder than I am this early in the morning?"

"Cold? I’m not cold, but a girl’s hands do seem to be a bit cooler than a boy’s..." Xiao Heqing cupped her hands as if holding water and blew hot air into her palms. "There, my hands are warm now. Let me warm your hands, okay? Otherwise..." She glanced back again, a bit nervous and embarrassed. "Otherwise, the two of them will show up. Wenwen will be here soon. Hurry up!" she urged anxiously.

Amused by her demeanor, Lin Zhengran extended his hand.

Seeing this, Xiao Heqing quickly grabbed his hand with both of hers. She cupped it and happily blew hot breath onto his skin. "It’s not cold anymore, right? The breath from my mouth is very warm. They say it’s thirty-seven degrees, just like body temperature. Wenwen told me that boys find thirty-seven degrees to be warm."

Thirty-seven degrees is warm?

Perhaps it was his adult mindset, but Lin Zhengran felt the Little Fox didn’t mean it quite so innocently. After all, she was much more mature than Xiao Heqing. However, the pure-hearted Xiao Heqing had always been half-clueless about certain things. She took advantage of warming his hand to snuggle closer to Lin Zhengran, leaning against him as closely as possible.

Meanwhile, not far from the school gates, unbeknownst to anyone, Jiang Xueli—who would usually only be woken up by her alarm past five o’clock—had actually woken up half an hour earlier than usual today. After waking up in her dorm, she had tossed and turned, unable to fall back asleep. Because something had been weighing on her mind all week, she did a simple morning wash-up and headed downstairs, figuring she might as well wait for the bus at the gates early. Maybe a certain guy would also show up early.

However, just as she arrived early, she happened to spot Lin Zhengran standing at the school gate. She was just thinking about how early he was and planning to walk over to say hello when she heard Xiao Heqing calling out to him. For some inexplicable reason, Jiang Xueli hid herself.

She hid in the bushes, peeking at them. Although she was too far away to hear what they were saying, she saw Xiao Heqing’s actions with her own eyes. She watched her talk to him, getting closer and closer to Lin Zhengran, until he finally held out his hand. Xiao Heqing enveloped his hand with both of hers and blew hot breath into his palm.

This intimate gesture made Jiang Xueli’s eyes widen with jealousy. Hiding behind the bushes, her red lips parted slightly. She thought, "What are they doing... They’re holding hands! Could it be that He Qing and Zhengran really are together... Was everything He Qing said before the truth?!"

Further away from Jiang Xueli—and unbeknownst to both her and Xiao Heqing—Han Wenwen had actually finished packing and hurried downstairs right after Xiao Heqing did. She knew He Qing had gone down early to find Lin Zhengran, so she jogged all the way to the school gates.

Thus, the Little Fox naturally happened to witness the scene of Xiao Heqing and Lin Zhengran holding hands as well. She pursed her lips in jealousy. But in the next moment, she heard a rustling sound coming from a bush up ahead. Looking closely, she discovered it was actually Jiang Xueli hiding there, peeking too.

At this moment, a wondrous tableau of the world was formed, starting with Han Wenwen, and then connecting in a straight line to Jiang Xueli, He Qing, and Lin Zhengran.

Fortunately, He Qing at the school gates had to catch her high-speed train, so she couldn’t stay for long. Han Wenwen couldn’t stand watching it anymore either. She stepped out to break the deadlock, pretending not to have seen anything. "Qingqing, Lin Zhengran! Why were you both in such a rush to leave the dorms? Especially you, Qingqing, you didn’t even wait for me."

Hearing the voice, Xiao Heqing at the gate hurriedly let go of Lin Zhengran’s hand. She blushed furiously, so startled that she didn’t know where to put her hands and feet.

In the bushes, Jiang Xueli also panicked and quickly shrank back.

Although Han Wenwen pretended to have seen nothing, she glared at Lin Zhengran with intense jealousy as she walked over. This glare was naturally noticed by Lin Zhengran.

Han Wenwen offered a smiling reminder. "Qingqing, shouldn’t you go catch your train? Otherwise, you’ll be late."