In her dream, she returned to high school, back among her old classmates.
“You really don’t remember him?” her deskmate asked curiously.
Dream-Ji Zhaoxi lay sprawled across her desk and frowned. Who? She hadn’t heard clearly.
“That letter looked like a love letter. Don’t you remember? The one the director took from your desk last time.” The voice drifted farther and farther away.
Ji Zhaoxi shook her head in a daze. There hadn’t been anything written on the envelope. The director had taken it before she could even open it, so she had no idea what it was.
“He even went to talk to him…”
“Talk to whom?”
“Lu Huainan, of course?”
At last, Ji Zhaoxi clearly heard the name. She shook her head in confusion.
“I don’t know him.”
“Huh? You don’t know him? We all thought he liked you…”
Ji Zhaoxi’s brows drew together even more tightly. She silently repeated the name in her mind, and suddenly, a pair of eyes appeared in her thoughts.
Someone watching her nervously from the corner—utterly focused, yet always outside the crowd, always keeping a distance from her that was neither too near nor too far…
Ji Zhaoxi’s lashes trembled, and she opened her eyes. Breathing somewhat heavily, she rested a hand over her face.
Apparently, staying up all night really wasn’t good for her anymore. She used to feel fine after pulling an all-nighter, but now it left her utterly exhausted.
She glanced at the time on her phone. It was already three in the afternoon.
She sat up and stared blankly into space before letting out an involuntary yawn.
A flurry of tiny footsteps suddenly came from the doorway. The door flew open, and a damp nose pressed into Ji Zhaoxi’s palm.
“Whine… whimper…”
“Awwoo… woof… whimper…”
The golden retriever whined pitifully. Ji Zhaoxi buried her face in its fur and gave it a playful bite, startling it into jumping away at once.
“Woof, woof, woof!”
Ji Zhaoxi stretched and rubbed the dog’s head several times. “I’ll take you out to play after I wash up.”
The golden retriever understood her. Its tail began wagging happily as it wound around Ji Zhaoxi’s feet, nearly tripping her several times.
By the time Ji Zhaoxi finished getting ready, the golden retriever had carried all its toys out into the garden and lined them up, waiting for her to play with it.
When Ji Zhaoxi reached the garden, she saw a message from Lu Huainan asking whether she wanted to take the dog to the beach.
Looking at the neat rows of toys the golden retriever had arranged, Ji Zhaoxi agreed without hesitation.
Let Lu Huainan play with it!
What she hadn’t expected was that, only a few minutes after she agreed, Lu Huainan would already be waiting outside her house…
Lu Huainan stood at the door, looking extremely flustered. Pretending to be calm, he said, “I just happened to be nearby, so I came straight over.”
The moment the golden retriever saw Lu Huainan, it knew someone was going to play with it. It happily climbed into the car.
Ji Zhaoxi sat in the passenger seat and looked at Lu Huainan, who seemed terribly nervous. Tentatively, she asked, “Why don’t I drive?”
He didn’t seem to be in the best condition. It would be safer if he wasn’t the one driving.
Lu Huainan held his breath. His face flushed instantly, and he shook his head. “I’m fine.”
The car was filled with her scent. Lu Huainan’s heart pounded violently, and even his breathing began to quicken. He couldn’t help lowering the window a little.
Ji Zhaoxi lowered hers as well. The wind outside was strong, allowing Lu Huainan to catch her fragrance even more clearly. His throat tightened at once.
Ji Zhaoxi turned her head slightly to look at the stinky dog in the backseat and couldn’t help laughing. “Even Stinky Dog knows your name now.”
The two of them were sitting rather close together. A few strands of her hair fluttered in the wind and brushed against his clothes. Lu Huainan felt as if he were about to faint again.
Stammering, he said, “There’s food and drinks in the car. If you get hungry, you can have something first. I made a reservation at a restaurant too, so if you’re hungry, we can eat before going to the beach.”
“I’m not hungry right now.” Ji Zhaoxi lazily leaned back in her seat, letting the wind blow over her.
Lu Huainan murmured in response. His eyes remained fixed on the road ahead as his Adam’s apple bobbed nervously.
He didn’t dare look in Ji Zhaoxi’s direction at all.
The golden retriever stuck its muzzle through the gap in the car window. When it spotted a Samoyed in the neighboring car, it couldn’t help barking several times. The Samoyed stared at it and began howling in response.
Ji Zhaoxi suddenly remembered something. “Lu Huainan, do you watch my livestreams too?”
Lu Huainan’s expression instantly grew tense. He nodded cautiously.
“Then what’s your username? Let me see if I recognize you.” Intrigued, Ji Zhaoxi opened her follower list.
The color drained from Lu Huainan’s face. In a small voice, he said, “I haven’t sent you any gifts.”
“That’s fine. I just want to see if I recognize you. I even know my senior brother’s and senior sister’s usernames.”
Traffic was rather bad, so Ji Zhaoxi showed Lu Huainan her senior brother’s username.
Lu Huainan only gave it a hurried glance before looking away again. He could feel Ji Zhaoxi’s gaze fixed on him.
He felt as though he could barely breathe, but forced himself to stay composed. “I forgot. I picked something random. You probably wouldn’t recognize it anyway. My level is really low.”
“That’s okay. What if I do recognize you?”
Lu Huainan wished he could faint on the spot. Could he get out of this by pretending to suffer heatstroke?
He remained silent. Ji Zhaoxi gave a disappointed little “Oh.”
“All right. If you don’t want to tell me, forget it.”
Seeing her like that, Lu Huainan’s heart clenched. He almost blurted out his username, but in the end, reason prevailed and he managed to hold himself back.
“I… I haven’t sent you any gifts, so I’m embarrassed to tell you. Once I’ve sent you some gifts, I’ll tell you my username…”
Ji Zhaoxi was baffled. “What’s there to be embarrassed about? You don’t have to send me gifts.”
“I’m going to.” Lu Huainan answered immediately.
Ji Zhaoxi: …
Fine. Lu Huainan was far too concerned about his image. His level was low, so he was embarrassed to tell her his username. He would only tell her once his level was higher.
Seeing that Ji Zhaoxi had finally stopped pressing him, Lu Huainan breathed a sigh of relief.
He would just make a new account when the time came, then tell her the username for that one.
The sunlight at the beach was scorching. The sand burned beneath their feet, while wave after wave rolled relentlessly toward the shore.
“Woof, woof, woof!”
The golden retriever had completely lost itself in play. Its fur was soaked through, and it kept shaking water all over them. Its paws splashed furiously at the surface, attacking Lu Huainan.
Ji Zhaoxi bent over beside the golden retriever, struggling not to laugh. Imitating Stinky Dog, she scooped up water and splashed it at Lu Huainan.
“Lu Huainan, why are you just standing there like an idiot?”
Ji Zhaoxi dodged the golden retriever’s attack and splashed water at the person and dog opposite her. Stinky Dog had already switched sides. With a bark, it began splashing water in Ji Zhaoxi’s direction.
Lu Huainan stood opposite them, his clothes soaked through and outlining his figure. His face was bright red. He didn’t even think to dodge. He simply stood there helplessly, letting Ji Zhaoxi bully him.
“Stinky Dog!”
The golden retriever stuck out its tongue and immediately ran away, delighted with itself. When Ji Zhaoxi stopped moving, it cautiously began circling her again.
Seawater slid down Lu Huainan’s eyelashes. He wiped it away with one hand, his gaze never leaving Ji Zhaoxi as she played with Stinky Dog.
He watched her bounce around in the water. He watched her eyes curve into crescents after she got the better of him. All he could hear was the thunderous pounding of his own heart.
He wished he could stay by her side like this forever.
As long as he could remain beside her and watch over her, he would be content...
