It has to be said, rolled-up things are uncomfortable to carry no matter how you hold them.
The four-meter-long milky white woolen fabric was rolled into a bolt and tied with a string.
Holding it in his hands was awkward, hugging it close to his chest felt uncomfortable, and slinging it over his shoulder didn’t seem right either.
After all, he was just inside the shop earlier, so there was no need to worry about personal image.
But carrying a bolt of fabric on his shoulder and then appearing on a bustling street in Haizhou City Center? Zi Yan felt certain he’d become the center of attention again.
Forget it, whether it’s comfortable or not, better to just hug it in his arms.
So with his left arm low and right arm raised, Zi Yan carried the fabric like a baby and walked out of the clothing store.
The Lady Boss kept busy at the sewing machine, calling out from afar, “Take care, no seeing you off.”
“Goodbye, Boss~.”
Zi Yan took small steps forward while waving back, saying goodbye.
“Bang!”
Because he turned back to wave, creating a visual blind spot ahead, Zi Yan didn’t notice someone right in front of him and collided solidly with them.
“Ah? Ouch!”
Losing his balance, Zi Yan’s body swayed forward, pulled by the force of Earth Mother, and the entire bolt of wool rolled quite a distance away.
“Ah?”
The person Zi Yan bumped into didn’t fall.
But…
“Ah, my phone!”
A man’s voice cried out above Zi Yan, and the voice sounded familiar.
“Eh…!”
From the moment the voice appeared to when Zi Yan felt something hard hit his left cheek, not even a second passed.
The sudden accident left Zi Yan dizzy.
From the corner of his eye, Zi Yan saw the thing that hit him — it seemed to be a black… mobile phone?
“Crack.”
Then a faint cracking sound appeared by Zi Yan’s ear, almost simultaneously with the pain on his cheek.
Before he could recover, a hand that looked thin, fair-skinned, with long, slender fingers and delicate knuckles — not like a man’s hand at all — suddenly appeared in front of Zi Yan.
The hand moved like lightning to snatch the phone back. The long nails, which hadn’t been trimmed for a long time, inadvertently scratched Zi Yan’s cheek, which stung quite a bit.
“What’s wrong with you? Can’t you watch where you’re going?” The person in front of Zi Yan held the phone carefully, as if it were a lover. Seeing a tiny dent on the edge of the phone, his anger flared.
“…Sorry.”
Zi Yan understood what had happened.
Someone had been leaning on the railing across from the clothing store, playing on their phone, and Zi Yan had been distracted greeting the Lady Boss and didn’t notice he bumped into the person.
His body ached from the fall, and Zi Yan struggled to get up. He went to pick up the rolling bolt of wool.
Luckily, the tile floor of Haizhou First Department Store had been cleaned well by sanitation workers, so the milky white fabric hadn’t gotten dirty.
Phew, what a relief.
If it had gotten dirty, Zi Yan would have really cried.
After confirming the fabric was fine, Zi Yan quickly looked at the person he bumped into and apologized.
“Sorry.”
“Does ‘sorry’ help? This is the fourth phone I’ve bought this year, and you’re going to pay for this one if it’s broken!”
However, this person was too busy mourning his poor, pitiful phone to even glance at Zi Yan.
“Ah.”
Just as Zi Yan felt guilty and panicked, not knowing what to do, a soft female voice appeared beside his ear.
The voice was gentle and sweet, sounding like a very kind girl.
Zi Yan looked over and saw a cute girl, about thirteen or fourteen, carrying a full mini so shopping bag, standing in front of the bowed young man.
“Hey.” The girl poked the bowed boy. “That’s Zheng Zi Yan.”
“Ah?”
The bowed boy finally looked up.
With his true face revealed to Zi Yan, he realized why the voice sounded so familiar.
The person he bumped into was none other than his classmate, Lin Hua, the great talent who had won the Hope Cup Second Prize in Xijiang Province.
Zi Yan had only been in Class 3-6 for two months of Grade Three, yet the Yuwen Teacher had already praised Lin Hua dozens of times.
“Ah… it’s Zheng Zi Yan.”
Lin Hua was stunned for a moment.
Wait, what had he just done?
Not only did he not help Zi Yan up, but he also scolded him without mercy?
Terrible, terrible, terrible.
A thousand wild beasts galloped through his heart.
Lin Hua took a deep breath to calm himself, silently pocketed the phone, and put on a gentlemanly smile. “Well, um, Zi Yan, it’s nothing, I shouldn’t have been standing there. Phones do break easily, it’s normal, um.”
Zi Yan: “…”
——
Lin Hua took the initiative to shoulder the bolt of wool Zi Yan bought. The three of them sat down at a milk tea shop on the first floor of Haizhou First Department Store.
Zi Yan leaned against a decorative wooden window.
Lin Hua and his sister went to the mezzanine (which could be considered a one-and-a-half floor? Haha.) to order milk tea and pastries, then came down the wooden stairs.
Lin Hua grinned foolishly, staring intently at Zi Yan as he placed a warm red bean milk tea in front of him. The gentle aroma of milk tea floated through every corner of the shop, making the atmosphere soothing.
Zi Yan was confused by the gaze and reached out to touch his cheek. “…Is there something weird on my face?”
Sure enough, when Zi Yan touched it, he found something different than usual.
On the left side of his cheek, where Lin Hua’s sharp nails had scratched him, there was a slightly raised bump about 2 cm long.
“…!”
Zi Yan was shocked and quickly pulled out his phone to open the front camera.
Zi Yan: “…Ah.”
Fortunately, it was very small and probably wouldn’t leave a scar… hopefully?
Originally, after Lin Hua said not to worry about his phone and invited Zi Yan downstairs for milk tea, Zi Yan had been quite grateful.
(Actually, it was Lin Ruo’s frantic hints that made Lin Hua realize and invite him.)
Now? Zi Yan didn’t feel a shred of good mood left.
Although his expression didn’t turn cold, Zi Yan gave a solid deadfish stare. Lin Hua didn’t notice and continued to gaze obsessively at Zi Yan’s pretty face.
Only when Lin Ruo couldn’t stand her brother’s ridiculous behavior any longer did she quietly nudge Lin Hua’s ribs with her elbow, freeing him from that embarrassing state.
Lin Ruo, perceptive as she was, noticed Zi Yan’s cheek. After pulling out a long bench from under the table and sitting down beside Lin Hua, she said, “My brother caused you trouble.”
“No worries, it’s my fault too for not paying attention and bumping into Lin Hua.”
Zi Yan was in a bad mood, but manners couldn’t be lost. Moreover, when you trace it all back, it was definitely his fault first.
But.
Lin Hua’s sister, whose name was Lin Ruo, right? Lin Hua had just introduced her. Lin Ruo’s poised and courteous manner left a good impression on Zi Yan.
At least she was a hundred times better than the one who kept staring at his face.
“Hey, your red bean cheese is ready!”
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