Chapter 57: White Doves |
Lin Zhengran flicked He Qing on the forehead. She yelped and clutched her head with both hands.
"You think I’m stupid? You’ve been acting half-asleep for the past two weeks. Every time we talk, you seem sneaky, like you’re hiding something from me."
"N-No…!" She stammered, clearly guilty. Then, remembering her promise not to lie to him, she quickly corrected herself. "I mean… yes… no… ugh, yes! No! Ughhh…"
Watching her struggle with herself, Lin Zhengran sighed and scooped some ointment onto his fingers, gently spreading it over her ankle.
The cool touch of the ointment combined with the warmth of his hand made He Qing squeak in surprise. She immediately slapped both hands over her mouth, her face turning scarlet.
Lin Zhengran raised a brow. "Does it hurt?"
She shook her head vigorously like a little drum, mumbling, "Nope. Now that you’re putting medicine on it, it doesn’t hurt at all."
"But I haven’t even finished applying it yet."
Her heart pounded. Thinking fast, she blurted, "That’s because… because whenever you touch me, it stops hurting! When you care about me, it stops hurting!"
After finishing the bandage, He Qing sat quietly, her hands covering her flushed face. His hands are so big… and so gentle.
"Rest for a couple of days. Once the pain’s completely gone, you can take the bandage off yourself."
"Okay."
She tucked her foot back into her shoe. Just as Lin Zhengran was about to press her again about what she was hiding, she covered her ears and squeezed her eyes shut.
"I promised I wouldn’t lie to you, but I really can’t tell you yet! Just wait a few days, okay? I swear I’ll tell you then. Please, just don’t ask right now!"
She peeked at him through her fingers and whispered, "If you stop asking, I’ll do anything for you… is that okay?"
Lin Zhengran didn’t really care about the secret, so he let it go. He simply pried her hands away from her ears. "Go change."
"Ah? Oh, okay."
She hurried to the locker room, but just before stepping inside, she turned back, peeking out from behind the doorframe.
"Where are we going? You’re not going home already, are you? It’s still early…"
She looked so disappointed.
Lin Zhengran replied casually, "You’ll find out after you change. I’m taking you somewhere."
Excited, He Qing nodded eagerly. As long as he wasn’t going home, she didn’t care where they went.
A few minutes later, she emerged in a soft pink coat and sheer fleece leggings—an outfit she only wore when she was alone with Lin Zhengran. Normally, she stuck to her school uniform.
They left the Taekwondo center, heading down a path unfamiliar to He Qing.
"Does your foot hurt?" Lin Zhengran asked.
She swung her arms back and forth. "Nope, really not that bad!"
"I heard from the coach that you signed up for the town’s competition early next year?"
"Yep! Didn’t you say I should enter if there was one? I listened to you, of course. Plus, the coach said I’m doing great, so I signed up. Oh! And I saw that the first-place prize is a few thousand yuan!"
Beaming, she added, "If I win, I’ll give half to my mom, keep a hundred for snacks with Wenwen, and spend the rest on something for you!"
She tilted her head. "Is there anything you want? I should be able to afford it."
Lin Zhengran glanced at her. She hadn’t grown an inch past 1.6 meters since last year.
"You sure sound confident for someone who got injured today."
She flapped her hands like a little duck. "Of course I’ll win! I barely trained when we were apart, but after a year of your coaching, I caught up super fast. As long as you’re with me, I can do anything!"
"So why did you slack off back then? What were you even doing?"
Looking ahead, she absentmindedly replied, "Thinking about you, mostly. Wondering when I could call you, what you were doing every day…"
Then, realizing what she had just said, she clapped a hand over her mouth, shaking her head furiously. "You didn’t hear that!"
Lin Zhengran rolled his eyes.
They arrived at a bridge overlooking a small river. It was late in the year, and the trees had already shed their leaves, leaving only bare branches swaying in the wind.
He Qing blinked in confusion. "Why did you bring me here?"
"I passed by a few times and noticed something interesting around eleven in the morning. Since you’re not training today, I figured I’d show you."
She tilted her head. "What’s so interesting?"
Checking the time, Lin Zhengran smirked. "Should be any minute now."
Right on cue, a familiar cooing sound filled the air.
He Qing turned toward the sky and gasped.
A flock of white doves, dozens strong, soared toward them, their wings glistening in the sunlight.
As they descended to the riverbank, their feathers drifted gently from the sky like falling snow.
He Qing watched in awe as they flapped their wings and pecked at the water.
"Doves! So many doves!"
"More than usual, actually," Lin Zhengran noted.
Excited, He Qing carefully stepped forward, but the birds, startled, scurried away.
Realizing she wouldn’t be able to touch them, she got a mischievous idea.
Placing her hands behind her back, she bent forward and started hopping like a dove, cooing as she moved.
A few birds noticed and mimicked her, flapping their wings and waddling around.
Giggling, she clapped her hands. "They’re so cute!"
Lin Zhengran chuckled. This silly girl really is like a dove herself.
Suddenly, she stopped, straightened up, and turned to him, her face flushed.
"Um… next Saturday night, can you come here? I have something I want to give you."
He raised a brow.
Behind her, the doves took flight, their wings fluttering in unison.
Clutching her hands to her chest, her eyes sparkled. "It’s a gift. A really important one. And… I have something I need to say to you."
From that night onward, He Qing burned the midnight oil, knitting as fast as she could. She was determined to finish her scarf in time for her confession.
That same evening, in a dorm room elsewhere, Jiang Xueli was chatting with a new friend from the Children’s Talent Agency.
Hearing the girl’s words, Jiang Xueli was stunned.
"You’re confessing?! For real?!"
Over the phone, the other girl—shy yet determined—spoke up.
"Yeah! I have to. I told you about my gege, right? He has this childhood friend—super cute, always calling him, and they play together all the time. I mean, for entire days."
Lying on her bed, the girl twirled her twin ponytails.
"Recently, I’ve been watching them… and something feels off. Especially with that childhood friend—she’s clearly planning something big."
Jiang Xueli’s jaw dropped.
"I can’t just sit around! You know how it is—girls like us don’t get anywhere if we don’t take the initiative!"
The girl on the other end? A tiny, golden-haired tsundere, just like Jiang Xueli.