Chapter 10

What pulled her out of her ocean of thoughts was Chen Hang's voice. He pulled out the chair at her desk mate's seat and sat down.
He was holding two cartons of Vita lemon tea. Luo Zhuowei roughly guessed what Chen Hang meant, but she just silently waited for Chen Hang to place one on her desk before smiling and turning to face him, asking: "So is this an apology gift?"
"Just a small token~" Hearing the joking tone in her words, Chen Hang also smiled and replied, taking out loose-leaf paper while deliberately saying these words in a cutesy way.
Luo Zhuowei laughed, then, realizing she had been a bit too unrestrained, quickly picked up the dictation script the teacher had given her and said softly: "Then I'll begin."
Actually, being alone together made her a bit nervous. Plus Chen Hang was sitting so close. She really hoped he wouldn't notice her voice was actually trembling: "welcometoourprogram.i'mjennyjackson.theweatherhereinjuárezhasbecomeunbearable……"
The 15 short dialogues didn't take much time. Plus Chen Hang wasn't the type who was terrible at English, so it took about twenty minutes before the two of them started packing up to go home.
Luo Zhuowei somewhat absentmindedly put the books she needed for the evening into her backpack, hesitating about how to ask Chen Hang if he was going the same way: She really couldn't learn from those bold, enthusiastic girls who could directly ask such questions, or even have the courage to ask someone to walk them home.
Only hearing the sound of herself packing her bag, Luo Zhuowei couldn't help but look up at the seat in front. Chen Hang had his backpack slung over one shoulder and was leaning against the desk playing on his phone, seemingly replying to some messages—boys' things were always fewer than girls', so it seemed he had already finished packing and was waiting for her.
"All packed?" Noticing Luo Zhuowei's gaze, Chen Hang put down his phone and looked at her. After thinking for a moment, he said: "If you don't mind, let's walk together."
Was today too lucky?
Luo Zhuowei nodded. She didn't notice she had already unconsciously shown a smile: "Yeah."
By the time the two of them walked out of the school gate, the sky had already darkened, and streetlights were lighting up one by one.
They chatted unhurriedly. Luo Zhuowei noticed that Chen Hang, who had been walking parallel to her, slowed down a step. She was about to ask what happened when she saw Chen Hang, while quietly replying to her, naturally walk to her other side, giving her the inner side of the sidewalk.
"What's wrong?"
Noticing Luo Zhuowei's brief pause, Chen Hang, who hadn't realized his action was the cause of her stopping, also paused, somewhat uncertainly asking: "Feeling unwell? Is your backpack too heavy?"
"No." Luo Zhuowei, coming back to her senses, shook her head and tucked the hair that had fallen to her cheek behind her ear. "I just spaced out for a moment."
"Hahaha, Luo Zhuowei has moments like that too?"
Chen Hang didn't notice her lie. Instead, he was amused by this unexpected answer. His slightly downturned eyes and canine teeth made him look like a non-aggressive dog when he laughed like this, the fluffy kind.
Luo Zhuowei also smiled. Come to think of it, had she smiled this often before?
She was thinking this when she realized they had already reached a fork in the road: To the left was the bus stop. She only needed to take 5 stops to get home.
Was this road she had walked for over a year really this short?
A small sense of loss was already faintly rising in her heart, barely noticeable but definitely there. But Luo Zhuowei's face still showed her usual gentle expression that didn't reveal much emotion. She slowed her steps, looked up at Chen Hang, wanting to ask if they were going to separate now.
But Chen Hang pointed at the bus stop: "Do you take the bus?"
Luo Zhuowei hesitantly: "...Yes." So he also took the bus?
But why had she never encountered Chen Hang on this road when going to school?
While she was thinking about these two questions, she had already followed Chen Hang to the bus stop.
Chen Hang stood in front of the bus route board, carefully scanning from top to bottom, then looked in the direction the bus would come from, then looked at her: "Luo Zhuowei, which route do you take?"
"A79." She reflexively replied, the sentence she had been formulating in her mind following immediately: "Then..."
Which route do you usually take?
"Then your bus is here." She had spoken too quietly. Chen Hang, who hadn't heard, interrupted her.
The bus had already stopped in front of them: "...Yeah."
The door opened. Her left leg had already stepped onto the bus. The unwillingness and loss in her heart suddenly swelled.
She didn't know where the courage came from, but she turned back to look at Chen Hang.
"?" Chen Hang was somewhat surprised by her look back, but he didn't think anything of it, assuming Luo Zhuowei just wanted to politely say goodbye.
So he smiled and waved: "Bye."
"Chen Hang." She spoke.
Looking into his eyes, Luo Zhuowei's fingers gripping her backpack strap tightened: "...See you tomorrow."
The door closed.
The courage from just now was instantly drained. Her heart was still pounding. Luo Zhuowei instinctively gripped the handrail and looked out the window. She saw Chen Hang, after confirming she had gotten on, turn and leave, walking back along the road they had just come from.
She closed her eyes: So he had been walking her home.
And it was a very clever way of doing it—neither saying "I'll walk you home" nor abruptly asking "Where do you live?" Just silently walking her to the bus stop as if they were going the same way.
The driver of route A79 was an uncle about to retire. He recognized Luo Zhuowei, who had been taking the bus at almost the same time for a year and a half. Seeing her silently looking out the window, he asked cheerfully: "So reluctant to part, did your boyfriend walk you here?"
Luo Zhuowei expressionlessly curved her lips: "You're mistaken."
Reluctant to part.
But that wasn't her boyfriend.
"Chen Hang, see you tomorrow."
Luo Zhuowei said this, then turned back and quietly looked at me.
The light from the busy traffic wasn't very bright, dimly illuminating her face. Her appearance looked especially youthful in the dimness, easily evoking a strange feeling that made one's heart race.
There was an emotion in her eyes that I had never seen before, struggling, hesitating whether to reveal itself.