After that awkward introduction, the elevator arrived at the floor where Dai Fanzhe and He Zhi lived.
Ke Ni managed to steady herself under Jing Sicun’s slightly teasing gaze and soft laughter, and walked out of the elevator with him.
Ke Ni admitted honestly to Jing Sicun, “We’ve interacted a few times, but we’re not really close or anything. I can’t say we’re good friends just because we’ve met a few times, right? That wouldn’t be sincere, so I said our relationship is just average.”
Jing Sicun was still smiling, “That makes sense.”
She still hadn’t finished saying what needed to be said.
In the hallway, it would be easy for Song Yi, who might come up after parking, to see them.
Ke Ni tugged at Jing Sicun’s sleeve and pulled him toward the stairwell next to the elevator.
“Come here, I have something to tell you.”
The hotel had strict management.
Except for people like Lin Xirun, who insisted on taking the stairs, few ever used the stairwell.
Even so, the marble steps were spotless.
The door to the stairwell closed with a bang.
Ke Ni turned around, now face-to-face with Jing Sicun.
She looked at him earnestly and poured out everything she’d wanted to say.
Ke Ni was truly grateful for Jing Sicun’s beer, dumplings, and respectful silence that night.
She was also grateful that, after overhearing her phone call, Jing Sicun had kept her private affairs to himself.
As for what she’d said after drinking that night, Ke Ni said, “Sorry, I really couldn’t stand you.”
At this point, Ke Ni paused under Jing Sicun’s gaze.
Jing Sicun leaned against the wall, hands in his pockets, his eyes lowered as he listened to Ke Ni, looking as though he was paying close attention.
Ke Ni was at a loss in the face of Jing Sicun’s seriousness; her throat felt dry.
She pressed her lips together, quickly organized her thoughts, and confessed, “It’s not just you. I can’t stand you brilliant, naturally talented people. Your lives always seem so smooth, like everything comes so easily to you. That’s my own problem.”
This was the insecurity Ke Ni kept hidden deep in her heart.
She had never told anyone this, nor did she want to appear weak in front of smart people.
For a moment, she couldn’t control her tone, and her chin lifted a little pridefully as she spoke… which made her words sound a bit ambiguous.
If you ignored the content and just looked at the attitude, it was like that famous movie line: “I’m not saying you’re trash, I’m saying everyone here is trash.”
Jing Sicun, as the one being “disliked,” didn’t seem to have any intention of arguing back.
He nodded calmly, “I understand.”
Ke Ni herself didn’t even know how much she “couldn’t stand” it.
The “model child from another family,” the “number one imaginary rival,” the “target she’d most like to assassinate” that she despised on TV screens, had suddenly appeared in her life and was now interacting with her frequently…
It all felt unreal to Ke Ni.
If her brain were a computer, facing Jing Sicun, it would probably keep flashing messages like:
Information mismatch. Cannot process.
Just like now.
Jing Sicun was unexpectedly easy to talk to.
Ke Ni looked at him, her expression complicated.
“What I said after drinking that night was too much, it wasn’t what I really meant. My feelings aren’t as intense as I made them sound. Sorry.”
Ke Ni had thought a lot these past few days.
Just like Lin Xirun said, the real competition had already started long ago.
Behind every seemingly friendly interaction, there might be probing, observing, and guessing.
Sooner or later, they would be opponents, confronting each other on the field.
For precise strikes, there were always contestants who liked to leak off-field information, and others who used such information to find weaknesses.
Even if Jing Sicun was that type of contestant, Ke Ni could only accept it.
She hadn’t controlled her emotions well.
Ke Ni quickly added, “Of course, I’m not trying to use an apology to threaten you. If you feel you can’t forgive me, that’s fine, or if you want to go back on your word and tell the others about my situation, I can…”
Jing Sicun pressed down the brim of his baseball cap, “He Zhi was so nervous, none of us even thought about hiding anything from you. What are you so afraid of?”
Ke Ni was at a loss for words.
Maybe she was being too suspicious of others.
But Jing Sicun really didn’t seem to mind?
He was actually quite generous.
And pretty easy to get along with.
When Ke Ni didn’t speak anymore, Jing Sicun pushed open the stairwell door, “Let’s go. It’ll be trouble if Song Yi notices we’re not in the room.”
Just picturing Song Yi running around shouting as he searched for them gave Ke Ni a headache.
Ke Ni walked beside Jing Sicun, “And about the dumplings, if there’s a chance next time, I’ll treat you.”
Jing Sicun didn’t refuse, “Alright.”
Along with the sound of the steel fire door closing, Song Yi’s voice drifted over.
Ke Ni saw Song Yi clinging to the door of Dai Fanzhe’s room, peering down the hallway, “They were the ones who came up first, weren’t they…?”
Dai Fanzhe poked his head out and pointed lazily, “Aren’t they coming now?”
Before Ke Ni and Jing Sicun reached the door, Song Yi had already started asking, “Where did you two go? Why are you so slow?”
Ke Ni lowered her head and told a little white lie, “We…took the stairs up.”
Song Yi said, “The stairs are slow, huh? I’ve been in the room for several minutes already. It’s just a few floors, which one of you is so out of shape?”
Jing Sicun was more familiar with them.
He should’ve been the one to make up a story.
Ke Ni kept her head down and pointed behind her, “He’s the one who’s out of shape.”
Song Yi said, “You’re slower than Ke Ni?”
Jing Sicun’s lazy voice came from behind Ke Ni, “Maybe.”
Song Yi was delighted to hear this, “Hahahahahaha, Jing Sicun, you’re such a weakling!”
After pinning the blame, Ke Ni quickly ran off, slipped into the room, and greeted He Zhi.
He Zhi really did look worrying.
With dark circles under his eyes, he said, “Brother Jing, Brother Song, Sister Ke Ni, thank you all for coming. I ordered coffee for you.”
Song Yi and Dai Fanzhe were already drinking theirs.
Not wanting to refuse his kindness, Ke Ni also took a cup, “He Zhi, did you stay up all night?”
He Zhi shook his head, saying he hadn’t meant to stay up, just wanted to practice more problems, and before he knew it, it was morning.
He tried to sleep but couldn’t.
When Song Yi invited Ke Ni over, he’d said He Zhi seemed to think Ke Ni could understand his situation better, and was more willing to talk to her about things.
Ke Ni didn’t really understand why, but she sensed it too, so most of the sparring duty fell on her.
The hotel room was fairly spacious.
Ke Ni and He Zhi sat at the computer desk, taking turns giving each other questions from past brainpower shows.
To avoid disturbing He Zhi’s practice, Dai Fanzhe and Song Yi lay on the bed, playing games on mute.
After Jing Sicun entered the room, he didn’t say much, only mentioning that the Amusing Game Theory he’d brought from the car was for He Zhi.
He put his baseball cap by the computer desk, didn’t drink any coffee, and leaned on the sofa with his arms crossed, eyes closed, resting.
Ke Ni glanced back at Jing Sicun twice.
He was like a statue, not moving at all.
He Zhi had already finished the prime factorization connection question Ke Ni gave him and was now wearing headphones, watching the answer explanations from the show.
Ke Ni, meanwhile, still couldn’t solve the question He Zhi had given her, feeling something was off.
As she was thinking, a hand reached past her and took a cup of coffee.
The ice had all melted.
When the hand drew back, the condensation on the cup brushed against Ke Ni’s forearm as she leaned on the desk.
It was chilly.
Ke Ni turned her head. Jing Sicun said, “Sorry.”
He Zhi was probably doing mental math, his eyes blank as he glanced over, then kept listening to the explanation.
Ke Ni’s gaze returned to the A4 paper.
Jing Sicun stood diagonally behind her, one hand on the desk after picking up the coffee, and suddenly leaned down.
Jing Sicun’s voice sounded next to Ke Ni’s ear, “Stop working on it, He Zhi’s question is wrong.”
He Zhi took off his headphones and looked over again, but Jing Sicun had already gone back to the sofa.
Ke Ni rubbed her reddened ears, “I’m exhausted, I’m done.”
At three in the afternoon, Ke Ni still had to go listen to Professor Wang’s analysis with Lin Xirun and the others, so she declined He Zhi’s invitation for a meal, deciding to go back to her apartment for a rest before the lecture.
Jing Sicun was also heading back to the general store.
Song Yi jumped up and said, “Ah Zhi, come home with me tonight so Lao Dai can get a good night’s sleep.
We’ll go with Jing Sicun and the others, otherwise we’ll have to call a cab again tonight.”
There were quite a few people hitching a ride, so Jing Sicun moved the pet supplies from the front passenger seat to the trunk.
Song Yi helped carry a chewed-up dog vest, “Is Tuesday still that energetic?”
Jing Sicun said, “About as much as you.”
Song Yi scoffed, “Bullshit.”
He Zhi was already sitting in the back seat with a book and a tablet, and Song Yi also got into the back.
Ke Ni had no choice but to sit in the front.
As they chatted about Tuesday, Ke Ni said, “There’s a kind of chew stick that’s really good.”
Song Yi asked, “Ke Ni, do you have a dog too?”
Mentioning the two Labrador Retrievers, Ke Ni seemed a bit down, “Yeah, my mom used to have two.”
Song Yi had a bad feeling, “So they…”
The two Labradors had been Ke Ni’s childhood companions, growing up with her.
One was named Pearl, the other was Mo Yu.
Ke Ni said, “They passed away. One got old and died from illness, and the other had cancer and was put to sleep.”
Song Yi said, “Sorry, Ke Ni.”
Ke Ni replied, “It’s alright.”
Jing Sicun, who was driving, glanced at Ke Ni without a word.
With He Zhi and Song Yi in the car, chatting casually, Ke Ni didn’t feel anything.
Song Yi’s house was not on the same route as Jing Sicun and the others for the second half, so he got off with He Zhi at the subway station.
The two waved goodbye to Ke Ni and the others, then walked into the subway station.
Now only Ke Ni and Jing Sicun were left in the car, and Ke Ni suddenly felt a bit uneasy, even turning her head was hard.
When Jing Sicun’s phone rang, Ke Ni really hoped it was Song Yi calling.
But it wasn’t.
The voice on Jing Sicun’s phone sounded anxious, and even Ke Ni, who was fiddling with her earlobe, could hear it.
The person on the phone mentioned things like “minor scrape,” “not serious,” and “no one to take care of the old lady.”
Jing Sicun looked a bit grim.
He said, “I’ll be right there.”
After hanging up, Jing Sicun was silent for about half a minute.
The SUV was very quiet.
This was the first time Ke Ni had seen Jing Sicun in a state that wasn’t completely in control.
Jing Sicun frowned briefly, “Sorry, something urgent came up. Can I drop you off at the next subway station?”
Ke Ni didn’t even know why she answered the way she did, “I’ll go with you. Maybe I can help too.”