Half-baked

40
Duan Huai'an stood beside Huai Nian. After he finished speaking, he leaned towards Huai Nian.

In an instant, nostalgia was enveloped by his breath.
A familiar cold breath.
With a strong, irresistible attitude, it wrapped around her nostrils.

He said.
——I don’t want to be separated from you.
He also said.
——We went to study abroad together.

The straightforward declarative sentence came out from his cold voice.
At least to Huai Nian's ears, she didn't think Duan Huaian was asking for her opinion.

She looked back at him calmly without any evasion: "My roommate, Xu Fu, do you still remember me?"
"Why involve others in our matter?" Duan Huaian still had no impression of her roommate.
Huai Nian was too lazy to explain who Xu Fu was. She was silent for a moment and said, "Xu Fu is also going to study abroad. We just happened to have lunch together at noon today. She talked about the cost of studying abroad..."

"I understand very well that your college has a fully funded joint training program," Duan Huaian interrupted her.

I miss some fragments flashing through my mind.
She remembered going to the laboratory building to pick up Xu Fu yesterday. Xu Fu said that she seemed to see Duan Huaian.
Perhaps Xu Fu was not mistaken, it was indeed Duan Huai'an. In order to miss his study abroad, he specially came to the leadership office of the medical school to inquire about the school leaders about the study abroad programs.

She thought for a moment and said seriously, "Before today, I had never thought about studying abroad."

Duan Huai'an said: "Then from today on, you can think about it."
Huai Nian shook his head: "Do you want me to tell the truth? I don't want to go abroad."

"My dear, I know this news is very sudden for you." Duan Huai'an smiled, as if he didn't hear Huaian's words, and continued to speak, "It's a two-year exchange program. You will go abroad in your fifth and sixth years. You still have one year to consider it."
"..."
Huai Nian raised her eyes and met his eyes with a deepening smile, without saying a word.
-
This incident seemed like a small episode, and the two of them just talked about it briefly and then didn't talk about it again.
The relationship between Huai Nian and Duan Huaian did not change at all because of this.
As if nothing had happened.

The half-month exam week is about to end.

There was only one last exam left, and the classroom was far from the dormitory. Although there was a school bus, it only came every ten minutes during class time, and only every half an hour at other times. Everyone was afraid of the heat and didn't want to wait, so they simply called Xu Fu to pick them up and take them to the classroom.

After Xu Fu met them, they chatted for a few words, and the topic switched from the exam to where to go after the exam.

Jing Yue: "Let's go shopping and watch a movie?"
Zhu Yutong: "My best friend will come to see me later, I'm afraid I can't watch the movie with you guys."
Jing Yue: "Just ask your bestie to come along, we all know each other well anyway."
Zhu Yutong thought for a moment and said, "Okay, I'll ask her opinion."

Xu Fu said, "I have to go home later and can't play with you guys."

Then Zhu Yutong and Jing Yue looked at Huai Nian at the same time.
Huai Nian was embarrassed: "I really want to go out and play with you guys, but you know me. I want to sleep after the exam. I'm afraid I will fall asleep in the cinema halfway through the movie."

On ordinary days, the power in the dormitory is cut off at 11 o'clock in the evening.
But during exam week, the dormitories will not have power outages.

I miss a person who sleeps until 11pm every night. When it comes to exam week, I stay up until 3 or 4am. After sleeping for 3 or 4 hours, I get up to read.
Thinking of this, Zhu Yutong and Jing Yue easily let her go: "It's okay for the three of us to go and play."

The exam classroom was on the first floor. Everyone found the classroom with laughter. When they saw the invigilator standing on the podium, the first reaction of the three was to look at Huai Nian.

Nostalgia said indifferently: "Why are you looking at me? He is also your teacher."
The invigilator is Xu Ruqing.

The seats for the exam were based on the student numbers. Xu Fu sat behind Huai Nian. She poked Huai Nian's back with a pen and said, "Why do I remember that your Duan Huai'an will come to pick you up later?"
Miss: “Yeah.”
"What do you think his reaction would be if he saw Xu Ruqing?"
“……” Thinking of this scene, Huai Nian felt a headache.

In my memory, the scene when Duan Huaian and Xu Ruqing met was filled with a tense atmosphere in the peaceful air.

"I think Xu Ruqing is quite handsome, what do you think?"
"Don't add fuel to the fire." Huai Nian said, "I told Duan Huai'an that I brought a lot of things back with me, so he must have gone to the dormitory to pick me up."

Therefore, it is impossible for Xu Ruqing and Duan Huaian to meet.

Xu Fu felt quite regretful: "I still remember the last time Duan Huai'an said in front of everyone that he was pursuing you. To be honest, your Duan Huai'an looked aloof and didn't bother to say a word to anyone, but that day he was quite... how should I put it? Quite flirtatious, like a peacock spreading its feathers, wishing that everyone in the school knew that he was pursuing you."

"That's because you're not the one involved." Huai Nian pulled the corner of her mouth, "If your boyfriend said something in front of so many people... he's afraid that she'll be taken by another guy first, you'll be as embarrassed as I am."

"I wouldn't. With my looks, there are indeed many men vying to date me." Xu Fu said, "If my boyfriend said that, I would love him to death. He is so manly, so domineering, and possessive."

I was speechless with nostalgia. I turned around, lay on the table, and waited for the exam bell to ring.
Xu Fu behind him was amused by herself and whispered to Huai Nian: "Why don't you call Duan Huai'an over so that I can see Duan Huai'an being jealous again."

"No," Huai Nian sat up straight and retorted unconfidently, "Duan Huai'an is very generous and won't be jealous."
"Why am I so unconvinced?"
"You are prejudiced against him."
"..."Xu Fu, "?"
Huai Nian's voice was weak, and he emphasized it again: "Duan Huai'an just won't be jealous."

While chatting, before the exam bell rang, Xu Ruqing opened the sealed cowhide bag that contained the test papers. The noisy classroom suddenly became so quiet that you could hear a pin drop.
After the exam bell rang, the test papers were circulated from the front row to the back row, and the papers made rustling sounds as they were passed.
Then, the classroom was filled with the sound of pens sliding across paper.

This exam was the most difficult among all the exams, and the exam paper covered a lot of knowledge points. It was also the only exam among all the exams where no one handed in the paper in advance.

The bell rang to signal the end of the exam.
Huai Nian put away her pen. She sat in the second to last row. Xu Fu handed her the paper and said, "Help me hand it in. I'm running away."
"..."

Before Huai Nian could look back, Xu Fu had disappeared.
Huai Nian sighed, picked up the test paper on the desk, stacked it together with his own paper, and then walked to the podium.
There are people handing in their papers all around me. I miss standing outside the crowd, waiting leisurely for the people in front of me to hand in their papers.

When it was her turn, Huai Nian and Xu Ruqing looked at each other, smiled at each other, and there was no further communication.

I miss going back to the dorm alone.
Because she came here in Xu Fu's car, Huai Nian didn't bring an umbrella. It was hot and sunny on the road. After walking for a few minutes, Huai Nian's sweat almost soaked her clothes. She suspected that she had fainted from heat stroke before she even reached the dormitory.

The school cafeteria was not far away. Huai Nian planned to go to the cafeteria to escape the heat and wait for Duan Huaian to pick her up.

The milk tea shop in the cafeteria has air conditioning on.
Huai Nian bought a cup of milk tea, sat down, drank it and sent a message to Duan Huaian, telling him her location.
Duan Huai'an: [I'll be there in about fifteen minutes.]
Miss: [Okay.]

After sending the message, I missed being bored and scrolling through my Moments.
After a while, there was suddenly another person at the table, and a clear voice sounded slowly: "What a coincidence, meeting you here."

It’s Xu Ruqing.
Huai Nian put away her phone and greeted him: "Brother Ruqing."
Xu Ruqing smiled gently, and asked Huai Nian: "Would it be convenient for us to chat for a few minutes?"
Huai Nian sat upright: "Is it about the exam?" "No, don't be nervous." The waiter happened to call Xu Ruqing's number. After he got the milk tea, he sat in the empty seat opposite Huai Nian and said, "It's just a normal chat."
Nostalgia looked at him quietly: "What are you talking about?"

Xu Ruqing asked her: "What are your plans for summer vacation?"
Huai Nian said honestly: "I'm working during the summer vacation."
Xu Ruqing: "Not going out to travel?"
Nostalgia said: "It's so hot, you'll get tanned if you go out."

Xu Ruqing smiled and said, "I remember that you loved to play when you were little. You would go out to hang out with your friends during holidays and often didn't come home until dark."

At this point, Huai Nian lost her patience to chat with him, and she said, "Brother Ruqing, Duan Huai'an is still waiting for me, I have to go first."
No mercy was shown to him, he immediately got up and left.

When I mention my childhood, I feel extremely nostalgic.
She even ignored the high temperature outside and walked back to the dormitory under the scorching sun.
Not long after returning to the dormitory, Duan Huai'an's message came into my phone: [I'm here.]
I miss carrying my small suitcase and going downstairs.

After getting in the car, Huaian fastened his seat belt and sat lazily in the passenger seat, looking like he had no bones.

Duan Huai'an talked to her while steering: "What do you want to do when you get home?"
Nostalgia said: "I want to sleep."
Duan Huai'an filled in the blanks as if he was doing a cloze test: "You want to sleep with me."

In the past, Huai Nian would have found a reason to refute him in a nice tone, but today she was very tired. She was exhausted both physically and mentally, and thinking about talking to Duan Huai'an about a lot of nonsense, she simply gave up and said, "Oh."

Hearing this, Duan Huai'an took the time to glance at her. From his perspective, she looked listless and nostalgic.

Duan Huai'an: "Very tired?"
Huai Nian closed his eyes: "Yeah."
Duan Huai'an didn't tease her like he used to. He just said, "Then go to sleep. I'll call you when we get home."
Nostalgia hummed softly again.

Duan Huai'an drove Huai Nian home so arrogantly because Cheng Songyue and Duan Yixing had not yet arrived home. In addition, Huai Nian was very afraid of heat, and after getting off the bus, she had to walk for ten minutes, and Huai Nian was too lazy to walk.

After arriving home, the two continued as usual, pretending not to know each other and avoiding suspicion.
Thinking of the car he got off earlier, Duan Huaian parked the car in the garage and took the elevator in the underground garage directly back to the second floor.

When Huai Yanjun saw Huai Nian coming home, she brought over a bowl of mung bean and lily soup.
Nostalgia frowned, with resistance written all over her body: "Mom, I'm going crazy from the heat, I don't want to drink anything hot."
Huai Yanjun hurriedly said, "It's ice cold."

Huai Nian then took the sweet soup, and the porcelain bowl felt icy cold when her hand touched it.
She smiled so much that her eyes curved into crescent shapes. Duan Huaian stood on the second floor, looking down at her face, and the corners of his mouth couldn't help but curl up.

After drinking the sweet soup, Huai Nian stretched and said, "Mom, I'm going to take a nap. I haven't taken a nap today."
Huai Yanjun warned her: "Don't sleep too long. I'm afraid you'll sleep too much during the day and won't be able to sleep at night."
"I know." Huai Nian said.

After returning to the room, Huai Nian took a shower first to wash off the smelly sweat on his body.
After taking a shower, she lay on the bed. When every cell in her body was fighting against her sleepiness, the message alerts on her cell phone rang in her ears like thunder, one after another.

She unlocked her phone slowly and saw that it was a message from Duan Huai'an.
Duan Huai'an: [Really not coming up to sleep? ]
Duan Huai'an: [My bed is softer than yours. ]
Duan Huai'an: [I can also serve as a hug pillow. ]

Huai Nian lowered her eyes and typed slowly. She had a clear idea of ​​going to his room to sleep: [If I sleep with you, I probably won't be able to close my eyes before 10 o'clock tonight.]
【I slept. 】

After replying to the message, she set her phone to Do Not Disturb mode, then lay down on the bed, closed her eyes and went to sleep.
It was because of the message from Duan Huai'an that she was interrupted from setting the alarm. Huai Nian slept very soundly this time, and when she woke up, her whole body was sore. She didn't feel the satisfaction of a good night's sleep, but just felt very tired.

She drew aside the curtains and was surprised to find that it was bright outside.

Then I looked at the alarm clock on the bedside table.
It's already six o'clock in the evening.

etc--
Miss grabbing the phone.
The time on the mobile phone is in 24-hour format.
What is displayed at this moment is not 18:07, but 6:07.

I miss the silence.
She actually slept from yesterday afternoon to this morning.

The phone screen automatically unlocked because it recognized her face.

The unlocked screen was exactly the same screen she had before locking the screen last night - the WeChat chat interface with Duan Huaian.
Then, she saw the densely packed messages in the chat interface.

Duan Huai'an: [I can guarantee that I will never do anything to you.]
Duan Huai'an: [Baby, you have to trust me.]
Duan Huai'an: [Baby, come and take a nap with me. ]

……

Duan Huai'an: [No, you don't want me anymore after you come to my house?]
Duan Huai'an: [Do you have a conscience? ]
Duan Huai'an: [Okay, go to sleep, and come find me when you wake up.]

……

Duan Huai'an: [? Where are the people?]
Duan Huai'an: [How long do you want to sleep? ]

……

Duan Huai'an: [Whose girlfriend can take a nap from 3pm and still be awake at 10pm? ]
Duan Huai'an: [If you hadn't been at my house, I would have suspected that my girlfriend had a new boyfriend outside.]

……

Duan Huai'an: [But baby, even so, I didn't go downstairs to your room to look for you.]
Duan Huai'an: [Remember to praise me when you wake up. ]
Duan Huai'an: [You'd better come to my room and give me a good morning kiss. ]

Miss: "..."

(End of this chapter)