Along the way, the two seemed to agree, walking very slowly.
It took them a while to reach the teaching building.
One entered through the front door, the other through the back. The young man seemed to take advantage of his height and long legs; before Su Qing even entered the classroom, he was already sitting down.
Su Qing lowered her brows, not daring to look at Jiang Sui. She sat on her seat, a faint sweet taste lingering in her mouth.
During this period of time...
Perhaps because everyone was busy with the high school entrance exams, and the teachers were a bit strict, Su Qing didn't encounter any more troublemakers.
Even the physics teacher had become much friendlier to her.
Everything seemed to be starting to improve since Jiang Sui returned to class.
Although the two of them didn't spend time together openly, they would still text each other after school. During this time, Su Qing's expression had softened, and a hint of a smile occasionally graced her lips.
They would also set aside half a day on weekends to study together. After dinner, the boy would walk with her until she arrive home, and they would occasionally have some warm interactions. He knew his limits, and although it was only half a day, the two of them deeply cherished their time together.
Her physics grades also seemed to be improving. She could do several sets of problems with very few mistakes.
Everything seemed to be going according to plan.
Until Su Qing discovered a love letter in her school bag.
Su Qing frowned and stuffed the letter into her bag, intending to discard it the next morning before class. However, the flap of the envelope seemed to have been loosely taped, and the contents spilled out.
It turned out to be photos...
A large stack of things lay scattered across Su Qing's leg, the floor, and the chair.
There were about thirty or forty photos.
Su Qing's fingertips trembled slightly as she gripped the envelope.
The photos that caught her eye were almost exclusively of her and Jiang Sui, in all sorts of different situations. There were many of them: a night out at a barbecue, Jiang Sui feeding her..., Jiang Sui following her home on the road, and weekend photos of him gently tugging at her ponytail.
This was the first time Su Qing had seen herself and Jiang Sui together from a third-party perspective.
The young man in the photo was remarkably handsome, his features gentle, his eyes smiling, the corners of his lips slightly upturned, his gaze fixed permanently on someone not far away.
The girl lowered her head, mostly tilted to the side, her cheeks flushed, a faint smile in her eyes, her lips curled up, her fingers, restless, clutching either her school bag or the hem of her clothes.
There were simply too many photos.
Even the last photo of them eating steak had two of them.
Su Qing bit her lip. She'd thought the person who'd reported her had only taken photos of her eating steak, but she hadn't expected the person to take photos of both of them, including photos of the arcade. There were too many.
It was simply omnipresent.
Su Qing's wrist trembled slightly, her face pale. It took her a while to realize it was already ten o'clock in the evening when her phone vibrated beside her.
It was the time Jiang Sui usually called her.
She strained to answer the call, trying her best to remain calm. She answered it as usual.
The voice on the other end came quickly.
"Have you finished your homework?"
The boy seemed to have an endless supply of physics and math problems every day, constantly trying to embarrass her. Su Qing knew he was doing it for her own good; most of the problems were new to her.
So she was happy, but now, looking at her half-finished test, Su Qing clutched her phone tightly, trying her best to control her emotions.
Those unresolved thoughts and fears were instantly suppressed deep within her heart.
But it was still difficult, and there were bound to be some mistakes. Her eyes kept drifting to the stark photos that caught her eye.
It was obvious she was being followed.
She had no idea who it was; she had already lost her scholarship last time.
What could be happening this time? Su Qing didn't dare to imagine.
Her heart trembled slightly, her mind buzzing. She bit her lip to regain some clarity.
"Not yet. Today's question is a bit difficult."
The girl's voice was smooth and soft, as if expressing an unspoken sadness.
This wasn't the usual her.
Besides, today's problem had already been given to her by Jiang Sui a few days ago. Today was just a refresher. Given the girl's level, it wasn't difficult at all.
Jiang Sui put down his pen and looked at the densely packed formulas.
"Really difficult?"
The boy's voice was soft, betraying no emotion. He hide it far better than Su Qing.
Su Qing's mind went blank. She hurriedly pressed the photos under the paper. Looking at the boy's elegant handwriting on the notebook, her throat felt a lump in her throat.
But she managed to suppress all her emotions.
"No, I'm just a little lazy today and don't feel like doing the test."
Su Qing tried to speak more slowly, fearing the person on the other end might notice something was wrong.
"Are you sick?"
Jiang Sui couldn't help but frown at the girl's words. He'd never heard Su Qing mention being tired from studying, or not wanting to do homework.
This was the first time he'd heard it, and he couldn't help but feel a little worried. He thought about how she hadn't been eating much in the cafeteria these past few days, and how there were so many people in the classroom with colds and coughs as autumn approached. He couldn't help but feel a little worried.
The boy's concerned voice sobered Su Qing up.
She knew him too well. He wouldn't have said that if he hadn't heard something. He clearly knew she was feeling uneasy. Su Qing bit her lip.
"No, I'm just a little tired. I'm so sleepy. I want to go to bed."
The girl's voice was soft and almost coquettish.
Jiang Sui on the other end of the line also sensed the fatigue in the girl's words and, without hesitation, told Su Qing to go and rest.
After telling the girl to drink water and get some sleep, he hung up.
Su Qing stared at her phone, then at the glaring photos. Her heart was filled with desolation. She had no idea who that person in the shadows was, or what the person was up to.
The school's penalties for premature love were severe. She didn't know about others, but she knew for herself that it would definitely be more severe than others.
Although they weren't really...
Her face paled, her eyes dimmed. She bit her lip. When there was a knock on the door, she hurriedly stuffed all the photos into her bag.