Chapter 32: Emotions – Why Are You Avoiding Me?

The next day when going to school, Fang Chuning almost arrived late. She hadn’t played games too late last night, but she had experienced insomnia after a long time.

In the latter half of the night, she tossed and turned, unable to fall asleep. Every time she closed her eyes, she saw the image of the young man with half his shoulder exposed, smiling and talking to her. The impact was even greater than when she first watched adult content.

Fang Chuning only stepped into the classroom after the bell for class had rung. She instinctively looked up towards her seat, and the young man was already sitting there quietly, waiting for class to begin.

When Fang Chuning sat down, he seemed to have forgotten last night’s awkwardness and smiled at her, saying “Good morning.”

Fang Chuning put her books on the desk, quickly glancing at him: “Mm, morning.”

Neither of them mentioned last night’s video call.

The first class of the morning was a self-study period. The classroom was filled with the sound of reading, mixed with some unrestrained laughter.

Fang Chuning leaned back in her chair, holding a book but not really looking at it. She secretly glanced at the seat next to her, where Xu Muzhou was reading some foreign language materials.

Perhaps her gaze was too obvious. The young man’s expression froze slightly, and he turned to look at her. Their eyes met directly. Fang Chuning blinked and blankly moved her gaze back to her book.

“Is something wrong, classmate Fang?”

Xu Muzhou’s soft voice needed to be raised intentionally to avoid being drowned out by the sound of reading.

Fang Chuning shifted her position a bit unnaturally, shaking her head and keeping her eyes fixed on her book.

Xu Muzhou’s gaze lingered on her face for a moment, the corners of his crimson lips curling up slightly.

After class, Gao Qiong came to ask her to play tennis. Fang Chuning agreed, but before she could leave her seat, Jiang Luoyu suddenly walked over. He was holding a small food box in his hands. “President, I made some cookies. I wanted you to try them.” The male student held out the food box with both hands, his eyes filled with the usual eager anticipation.

“No need, I don’t have much of an appetite now. Thanks anyway.”

Fang Chuning stood up and walked straight past him towards the door.

Jiang Luoyu hadn’t expected the girl to leave so decisively. He stood there stunned, unable to react. In the past, even if she didn’t want to eat, she would have accepted them out of consideration for his effort in making them.

He turned around, but the girl was already gone from the classroom.

“Classmate Jiang?”

A young man’s voice came from behind. Jiang Luoyu looked over. He was sitting there, one hand propping up his chin, looking at him with a faint smile. “It seems Classmate Jiang has improved a bit in this month-end exam.” Jiang Luoyu didn’t know why he suddenly said this, he knew his own grades and there hadn’t been any improvement.

Xu Muzhou stood up from his seat. He was half a head taller than the male student. As he passed by, he said good-naturedly, “Keep working hard, okay?” Jiang Luoyu tried to detect a hint of provocation or jealousy in his tone, but there was none. It was as if he was simply encouraging him.

…

Shouts could be heard constantly from the tennis court. Even though she had been up all night, Fang Chuning felt like she had endless energy today. After several rounds, apart from sweating more, her breathing was still steady.

After a game, her whole body felt refreshed, and her foggy mind cleared up.

She sat with Gao Qiong in the rest area. Gao Qiong was now slumped in her chair, exhausted. “You’re like a madwoman today. People might think you’re on drugs if they didn’t know better.” Fang Chuning wiped her sweat with a towel, unperturbed: “Isn’t it the same as usual?” “The hell it is!”

Fang Chuning ignored her. After resting for a while, she planned to run a couple of laps around the field before going to eat. But just as she thought this, Gao Qiong suddenly elbowed her.

“Look, the vice president is coming!”

Fang Chuning paused in wiping her sweat. She didn’t look over, instead turning her head to look the other way.

“Hi, Vice President!”

From Gao Qiong’s voice, it was clear he had already arrived in front of them.

“You played very well just now.” The young man’s clean voice made one’s ears tingle.

“Really? Then can you be my boyfriend, Vice President?”

Gao Qiong was as shameless as ever. Fang Chuning frowned, wanting to kick her.

It’s unclear what his expression was after she said this, but soon Gao Qiong jokingly said, “I’m just kidding, Vice President. You don’t have to look so troubled! It hurts my feelings!” “I’m sorry…”

“Oh come on, I said I was joking. Don’t take it so seriously.” Fang Chuning couldn’t stand it anymore and finally turned back: “If you’re so free, come run a few laps with me.” “No way, I’m exhausted. I’m very busy, I have to go. Bye!” With that, Gao Qiong left. It was lunchtime, and most people had already left the tennis court. Only two or three people remained, picking up balls and chatting. In the rest area, only the two of them were left.

A thermos was held out in front of her. Fang Chuning didn’t take it: “No need, I have water.” Xu Muzhou sat down beside her, his eyes glancing lightly at the mineral water she pointed to. “You just finished exercising, drinking hot water would be better.” “It’s all the same, no need.”

As she spoke, Fang Chuning deliberately opened the bottle cap in front of him and drank half of it in one go.

Then she choked.

“Cough cough cough” Fang Chuning covered her mouth with her arm and coughed violently. Soon she felt a hand patting her back gently, and the young man’s worried voice in her ear. When she finally recovered, she moved one seat away.

Xu Muzhou’s movements froze slightly, and he slowly withdrew his hand. “Are you okay?” “I’m fine,” Fang Chuning took a couple of breaths, not looking at him. Her desire to go running was gone. She planned to go to the cafeteria to eat and then take a nap to catch up on sleep.

Just as she stood up, a hand reached out and gently tugged at her sportswear. The young man looked up at her, his eyes tinged with a hint of sadness: “Did I do something wrong?”

Fang Chuning opened her mouth, suddenly remembering how the young man had softly confessed his feelings to her not long ago. At that time, she had only felt embarrassed, but now thinking about it, her heart started to race a little.

“If I did something wrong, tell me. I’ll change, okay?”

The voice on the verge of tears would make anyone who heard it instinctively feel pity. This was the first time Fang Chuning had seen him so humble. Her wavering heart suddenly softened: “You didn’t do anything wrong.” “Then why have you been avoiding me all day?”

Have I?

Fang Chuning was unwilling to admit it: “I haven’t been avoiding you.”

Xu Muzhou pressed his lips together, not emphasizing this point further. However, the hand gripping her clothes tightened. “Then, shall we have lunch together?”

Fang Chuning couldn’t find a reason to refuse, so she had to agree.

She originally thought that having lunch together meant going to the cafeteria, but unexpectedly, he suddenly produced two exquisite food boxes from somewhere. His clean face wore a shy smile: “I asked the housekeeper to teach me. It’s my first time making this, would you like to try?”

The square food boxes didn’t look big, but they contained quite a lot. It was even three-layered. The top layer had fragrant, steaming white rice. The middle layer was divided into four sections with different dishes, all of which Fang Chuning liked. The bottom layer contained chicken soup with bird’s nest. As soon as it was opened, the aroma made one want to salivate.

She was a bit skeptical: “Did you really make this?”

“Mm.”

Xu Muzhou handed her the chopsticks, not opening his own portion, just staring intently at her as she ate.

If nothing else, this spicy stir-fried ribs was really good! At the Fang family dining table, there was basically no spicy food. When eating with Gao Qiong at school, she couldn’t handle spicy food, so dishes were at most mildly spicy. That’s why she would occasionally go to the night market to satisfy her cravings.

“Is it delicious?”

“Mm-hmm!”

Watching the young girl eagerly eating the meal he had cooked himself, a morbid sense of satisfaction spread through Xu Muzhou’s heart. He restrained his slightly trembling hands and smiled purely: “Then shall I make it for you every day?”