Chapter 6

Today Is Somewhat Different

Early next morning, Wu Xin’s voice echoed from downstairs, waking up the sleeping Qing Ting.

“Xiao Ting, it’s time for breakfast! If you don’t hurry, your dad will finish everything.”

Qing Ting groggily crawled out of bed, rubbed her eyes, and responded “Oh, coming!” 

After calling out, she felt something was off and reached back to touch her neck.

Her fingers found two loose straps from her undershirt.

Wu Xin had bought this undershirt for her, saying it was suitable to start wearing at her age.

But yesterday, after finding it, she put it on right after taking a bath.

Sleeping with an undershirt for the first time felt uncomfortable, so she had unfastened the straps before bedtime.

She’d almost forgotten about it until now.

The rain from the previous day made last night cooler, so they didn’t need the air conditioning. Instead, just one window was left open.

A gentle morning breeze blew through the window, gently tousling Qing Ting’s hair.

Still inexperienced in tying the undershirt straps behind her neck, Qing Ting tried twice without success. The swaying hair tickled her eyelashes, causing her eyes to itch. Instinctively, she shook her head.

Unexpectedly, she noticed that the Pikachu plushie she brought back yesterday was sitting on her desk, staring intently at her.

“Don’t peek.”

Qing Ting turned with puffed cheeks and glared at the stuffed toy. She reached out, grabbed its head, and twisted it away from her view.

Then, she lowered her head again to attempt tying the straps behind her neck one more time.

On the third try, she finally managed to create a satisfactory bow knot.

Perfect! Now all that remained was getting dressed.

Cheerfully, Qing Ting got off the bed, picked up the clothes beside it, and just as she planned to put on her skirt, she glanced at the plushie on the table and rotated its body once more.

After changing into her skirt and outfit, she went to the bathroom for her morning routine. Upon returning, she faced the toy back towards her.

“I’m heading to school now; you stay here and watch over the house.” 

Qing Ting gently patted Pikachu’s head before slipping into her slippers and trotting downstairs with a light clacking sound.

“Mom, I’m down.”

“You’re always so slow. Your dad has already finished breakfast and left.”

“Well, wake me up earlier next time then.”

“As if you could actually get up any sooner.”

***

As usual, after breakfast, Wei Lai waited at the street corner for Qing Ting.

To prevent yesterday’s incident from happening again, he purposefully brought along a folding umbrella today.

The sky remained cloudless, but one never knew when it might suddenly rain. Even if the umbrella wasn’t needed, having it ready to stash in his classroom drawer ensured preparedness against any surprise downpours.

However, Qing Ting seemed slightly later than usual this morning.

After waiting for some time, he finally spotted her emerging from the alleyway.

As soon as she reached him with hands clasped behind her back, she eagerly asked, “Can you tell something is different about me today?”

“You’re two minutes later than yesterday,” Wei Lai replied, glancing at his digital watch and then looking down.

(But today, she does seem even more beautiful than yesterday. Strange, am I imagining things?)

Just as Qing Ting was about to get angry, hearing Wei Lai’s thoughts made her irritation dissipate.

This fool, I’ll let it slide just this once.

“Take another look.” 

Giving Wei Lai another chance, Qing Ting gracefully twirled around.

Bathed in the golden morning light, her swirling skirt, flowing hair, extended fair arms, and elegantly exposed legs beneath the dress combined to create an image reminiscent of a fairy dancing amidst flowers.

(She indeed looks more beautiful than yesterday; it’s not just my imagination.)

“Your shoes,” Wei Lai quickly found a specific detail to mention, trying to avoid revealing his true thoughts.

“You mean I usually don’t wear shoes?” Qing Ting stopped, glanced at her new footwear, and then glared at Wei Lai with dissatisfaction.

This big dummy, why can’t he speak properly? Even expressing what’s on his mind would be better than these clumsy words.

“I meant since June, you’ve been wearing sandals all the time.”

(She’s already here, let’s hurry up and leave before I get teased again.)

Realizing he was losing pace with Qing Ting’s banter, Wei Lai swiftly turned towards the school direction.

Well, one cannot expect much observational prowess from guys.

However…

Qing Ting pouted momentarily, but upon hearing Wei Lai’s inner thoughts, a crafty gleam flashed in her eyes.

Catching up to him in two steps, she tilted her head and continued speaking to Wei Lai:

“Do sandals not count as shoes?”

“I’d say sandals are closer to flip-flops.”

“So, do you prefer me in sandals or cloth shoes?”

After Wei Lai hesitated briefly, Qing Ting leaned close to his ear and whispered, “So you really have a thing for my feet.”

“…”

(I fell for it again, she tricked me.)

The image of Qing Ting’s delicate feet flashed in Wei Lai’s mind, causing his ears to slightly flush, and his heart rate unexpectedly quickened. 

To avoid detection, he stiffly responded, “No way. Let’s not talk about this anymore. Hurry up, we’re going to be late for morning reading.”

Upon reaching the classroom and checking the schedule, realizing there was no point hiding further, Qing Ting gently took Wei Lai’s hand and explained. 

“Alright, slow down. I was just joking with you. We have gym class today, that’s why I’m wearing these shoes.”

Feeling her soft hand enveloping his, Wei Lai relaxed, his body visibly easing as well.

(It seems like the first time she’s let her guard down around me.)

“If you don’t slow down, how can I fully appreciate your blushing?”

Initially, only his ears felt warm, but under Qing Ting’s intense gaze, a wave of heat spread throughout his body. Not only did his face turn red, but he also felt increasingly flustered; even his scalp tingled.

(I’m such an idiot!)

Reaching his limit, Wei Lai swiftly pulled his hand away and ran off like the wind.

Qing Ting trailed behind, walking leisurely, watching him stop at the school gate, glance back at her once, before entering the campus.

As she approached the entrance, Qing Ting gently touched the bow tied around her neck.

She had intended for him to notice it, but this fool didn’t catch on. Now, she wondered if he would realize during the upcoming PE class.

After morning reading and the first lesson, the second period was Physical Education (PE).

Typically, after jogging two kilometers, students could engage in free activities.

However, based on past experiences, in September, as the new academic year began, the PE teacher gradually selected one or two individuals from each class during every session to represent their school at the elementary autumn sports meet.

This selection process meant that instead of casually jogging two kilometers, those chosen couldn’t just breeze through; the usual two kilometers became four, followed by exercises like sit-ups and more.

Early autumn hadn’t yet brought cooler weather, so engaging in such intense exercise quickly led to sweating. For boys, it wasn’t much of an issue; even if their clothes got soaked, they hardly cared.

For girls, having damp clothes could be quite troublesome, especially for those who preferred wearing lighter and thinner garments, making it impossible to conceal any sweat stains. And some shameless boys often lurked near the playground just to watch the girls running.

Once, Qing Ting overheard their whispered remarks as she passed behind them. From that moment on, she vowed never to sweat during gym class again. To avoid this, she even refrained from drinking water before her physical education lessons.

However, today was different. With her sports bra underneath, she felt less apprehensive and instead found herself looking forward to the upcoming gym session.

Upon entering the classroom, Qing Ting took a seat next to Wei Lai and turned towards him, suggesting, “How about we have a race during gym class?”

“Why should we race?” Wei Lai eyed Qing Ting cautiously.

(Here we go again, must be some kind of trap.)

“It’s fine if you don’t want to compete. But then again, I guess a boy like you wouldn’t stand a chance against a girl,” Qing Ting feigned disappointment while pulling out her textbook from the desk drawer.

Wei Lai, wary yet determined not to miss the rare opportunity to defeat Qing Ting, gritted his teeth and agreed.

“Fine, let’s race. But remember, no backing down once we start.” 

“Deal, no backing down. The loser buys the winner a drink.” Qing Ting smiled gleefully.

Offering him a drink would serve as gratitude for yesterday’s stuffed animal gift. Yet, seeing how confident he seemed, losing might result in an amusing expression worth witnessing.

Regardless of the outcome, it promised to be entertaining. Qing Ting’s mood lifted, and she swung her feet happily as she opened her textbook.

*****

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