Chapter 29 Part 2

A whole gang of them jumped rope, kicked shuttlecocks, and raced around the apartment buildings whooping and hollering. In the afternoon, they all headed to the nearby park for a game of hide-and-seek.

Wherever the pretty sister went, Chen Nian tagged right along. Even during hide-and-seek, the two never split up. It was fine when they were hiding—they tucked away together—but when it was their turn to seek, it was a total disaster for everyone else.

They played until dark before trudging home, every last one of them covered head to toe in grime.

Most parents would have walloped them for it, but Liu Chunhua didn’t bat an eye. She had the girls strip off their jackets and pants the moment they stepped inside, tossed them into a basin to soak, gave them a quick scrub, and hung them up to dry.

After a joyful weekend, it was back to school.

For Chen Nian, though, school was still a blast—after all, she could go find Fang Zhi once the bell rang.

Hand in hand, the two skipped happily to school. Chen Nian walked Fang Zhi all the way to the door of Class 1.

If Class 1’s homeroom teacher hadn’t been leading morning reading inside, Chen Nian would have marched her straight to her seat.

Fang Zhi slipped into the classroom, but Chen Nian hung back outside, clutching the strap of her backpack.

Fang Zhi settled into her seat and glanced over. Chen Nian waved with a huge grin.

Fang Zhi’s lips curved up, and she smiled back.

Du Tiantian peeked at Fang Zhi, then whipped her head around to glare at Chen Nian, cheeks puffed out like a chipmunk, fuming.

Chen Nian pulled a silly face at Du Tiantian, her mood through the roof.

Chen Nian’s bubbly cheer even rubbed off on Lin Tianyi, lifting his spirits.

During morning reading, he kept sneaking glances at her, dying to know what had her so thrilled, but Chen Nian was buried in her book and paid him no mind.

Then came the homeroom teacher’s lesson, and Lin Tianyi didn’t dare breathe, let alone speak.

The bell finally rang. Lin Tianyi opened his mouth—but with a bang, Chen Nian rocketed out of her seat.

Lin Tianyi: “Aaaah…”

He bolted after her, nearly bowling over the homeroom teacher just outside the door. “What’s the big hurry?” she bellowed. “You two acting like wild animals!”

It didn’t take her long to figure out what had these little hellions in such a frenzy.

Chen Nian skidded to a stop at Class 1’s door and hollered, “Fang Zhi!” Out came Fang Zhi, and the two clasped hands, beaming.

Wen Can: “………………”

Chen Nian: “Gotta hit the bathroom.”

Fang Zhi: “Me too.”

Chen Nian: “Your Chinese teacher make you memorize that passage?”

Fang Zhi: “Yeah, whatever’s highlighted.”

Chen Nian pulled a face. “Not us. Our homeroom teacher wants the whole thing down pat!!! Hate it…”

Wen Can, passing by: “………………”

Lin Tianyi: “Wait up, wait up, wait for me…”

The girls were too busy whispering to notice.

Lin Tianyi: “Lemme play too, lemme play, I wanna play!”

He tailed them straight to the girls’ bathroom door.

Chen Nian finally spotted him and spun around. “What’re you doing?”

Lin Tianyi: “Playing!”

Chen Nian: “In the girls’ bathroom? Pervert.”

Lin Tianyi: “！！！！”

Lin Tianyi: “I’m not a pervert, aaaah…”

Yelling, he fled.

Chen Nian didn’t return until the bell rang for class. When the next one ended, off she went to Class 1 again.

Lin Tianyi, terrified of another pervert label, hung back, watching from a distance.

He stared like that all day. In the afternoon, one teacher ran absurdly late, finally giving him a shot to corner Chen Nian. “You won’t send me anymore?”

Chen Nian: “Nope.”

Lin Tianyi: “You’ll just go find Fang Zhi yourself now?”

Chen Nian: “Same question, twice.”

Lin Tianyi: “Can I hang with you guys?”

Chen Nian: “You wanna hit the bathroom with us again? I seriously advise against it—bad for building that manly grit.”

Lin Tianyi didn’t follow, but he got the rejection loud and clear.

Panicking, he blurted, “Then what do I do after class?!”

Chen Nian: “？？？？”

Chen Nian: “Same as always.”

Lin Tianyi flopped face-first onto his desk and went silent.

Back then, Chen Nian ignored him completely.

Back then, Fang Zhi wasn’t around.

Lin Tianyi had just enjoyed a few glorious days wedged between Chen Nian and Fang Zhi—

those days had been a riot, making him actually look forward to school.

And poof, gone.

Lin Tianyi blinked rapidly, utterly dejected.

Chen Nian leaned down to peer at him. “Yo, you crying?”

Lin Tianyi twisted his head away, refusing to speak to Chen Nian any longer.

But he didn’t enjoy the same privileges as Fang Zhi. When he stopped talking to Chen Nian, she stopped talking to him as well.

Chen Nian was far too busy for that—busy seeking out Fang Zhi after class, tracking down Zhizhi after school, sketching pictures for Fang Zhi, fiddling with the pencil case Fang Zhi had given her, and carefully vetting extracurricular books on her behalf. Fang Zhi filled every corner of Chen Nian’s mind.

After a full week of this, Lin Tianyi could no longer hold back. He sidled up to Chen Nian once more.

This time, she didn’t shoo him off or call him a little hooligan. She and Fang Zhi were playing skipping rope, and Lin Tianyi held the ends of the rope taut for them.

A few days later, Du Tiantian started lingering around them constantly. She even offered Lin Tianyi a ride home in her father’s car after school. Lin Tianyi declined the ride, but he lifted his chin and asked, “Want to play skipping rope?”

Du Tiantian wiggled her toes inside her brand-new leather shoes. “I don’t play. It’ll dirty my shoes.”

Lin Tianyi snorted derisively through his nose, stretched the rope a bit more, and called over another classmate from their class.

At last, he could finally take his turn jumping.

In this haphazard way, their four-person skipping rope group came together. Whenever Chen Nian and Fang Zhi played, Lin Tianyi was always there. And whenever Lin Tianyi showed up, Du Tiantian was sure to hover nearby.

Chen Nian had no interest in guessing what the other little kids were thinking, nor did she care about their emotional well-being.

She simply observed quietly: who got along well with Fang Zhi, who seemed to have good character—those were the ones who might develop into true friends for her.

Of course, mindful of the lesson from the rose incident, Chen Nian didn’t dare approach anyone on her own. She always brought Fang Zhi along, letting them share the joy of making new classmates.

And no matter whom they befriended, those others always ranked second to Fang Zhi.

How could anyone possibly come before Fang Zhi?

Chen Nian didn’t just keep this in her heart anymore; she demonstrated it through her actions right in front of Fang Zhi, making sure this sensitive little soul understood.

The two girls stuck together for school and back home, their days filled with happiness and ready smiles.

Their parents couldn’t have been more pleased. Dad frequently bought them treats and loved listening to their school stories. Mom handled their outfits, crafting matching hair ribbons and little backpacks for them. She seemed determined to dress them as identical twins.

In this warm atmosphere, the Math Olympiad results came out—and Chen Nian’s score of 59 didn’t feel like such a big deal.

Dad patted her head affectionately. “That’s my girl. Ordinary math problems are just about your speed.”

Mom prepared breakfast and arranged the plate to look like a perfect 60, then handed Chen Nian just a single chopstick. “Aim for this from now on. Off by one point? No big deal.”

Chen Nian beamed with delight, but Fang Zhi lowered her gaze, lost in thought.

Chen Nian had grown wiser by now. The moment she set down her bowl, she darted into Fang Zhi’s room and pulled her aside for a heart-to-heart talk.

“I remember our deal. I really tried my best. But that problem was insanely hard! You have no idea—so many of them, I knew all the words, but put together? Total nonsense!”

“One second it’s brewing tea, the next it’s driving a car, then handing candy to kids. Forget my fingers—even my toes couldn’t keep count!”

“And get this: it wasn’t even a second-grade test! There were fourth-graders competing! Our teacher just tricked me into going because no one else would. Sigh, I had it rough…”

“You don’t know—I was on the verge of tears that day. If I hadn’t spotted you on my way out, I might’ve cried the whole time…”

Fang Zhi said, “You talk too much.”

Chen Nian grinned. “As long as you get it.”

The longer they spent together, the more inseparable they became, and the better Chen Nian could read Fang Zhi’s moods—the unspoken feelings behind her words.

Truth be told, a seven- or eight-year-old girl wouldn’t hide meanings on purpose. It was just Fang Zhi’s sensitive, prickly nature at the moment. She didn’t yet fully know or trust Chen Nian and her family, so some emotions and words stayed locked inside her. It fell to everyone else to pay close attention and guess.

But it wasn’t a real problem. Chen Nian savored every day with Fang Zhi and delighted in deciphering her heart.

Each insight brought her one step closer to truly understanding the grown-up Fang Zhizhu.

The weather turned mild, with fresh green leaves budding on the roadside willows and a whole swath of flowers blooming at school.

Chen Nian now knew more than half the students in Class 1. In turn, Class 1 had grown accustomed to her frequent visits.

Plenty of kids greeted her in the hallways, and during school events, she could simply grab any empty seat in Class 1.

That day, the math teacher and the PE teacher had swapped classes, so Class 1 and Class 3 ended up having PE together. As the two groups ran laps, Chen Nian sidled over to the edge of her line. She waited for the perfect moment and, just as Class 1 jogged past, waved excitedly at Fang Zhi.

“What a coincidence~” Chen Nian mouthed, her eyes brimming with laughter. With the teacher right there, she didn’t dare make a sound.

Fang Zhi spotted her and flashed a grin in return.

Quite a few students from Class 1 noticed the exchange—some chuckled, others whispered. Their line fell into slight disarray.

Just as the entire group was about to pass by, a tall guy from the back row of Class 1 suddenly whipped around and whistled at Chen Nian.

Chen Nian: “？？？？”

The guy grinned like a total moron. “Your girlfriend’s a real looker.”