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“Good?”
He raised an eyebrow, “Tsk,” and put on a deliberately grave expression, but couldn’t hide the mischief. “Not so good, actually.”
“It’s been so long since we last met, Volunteer Miss. I haven’t been doing too well,” he said.
Followed by a long, mournful sigh.
If she hadn’t witnessed it herself, she might have bought it.
“…” Cheng Buxi thought to herself: Not doing well? Then who was the one charging around on the court just now, making the opponents curl up in defeat? Who was it that dominated the whole gym, turning it into a solo stage for himself? Was that what he called ‘not doing well’? Don’t be ridiculous. Only a ghost would believe that.
“Did you... get it loose?” she asked.
Ning Ci didn’t answer. Instead, he furrowed his sharply defined brows, his ten long, agile fingers working as he untangled it. “Ah, the hair’s too long,” he said with some distress.
“—It’s caught.”
“Caught on what?” Cheng Buxi couldn’t help getting nervous too.
“On my soul,” he said.
“What??”
He curved his lips into a roguish smile. “Don’t move. Almost done.”
…
Ever since he walked into the convenience store, he had captured everyone’s attention like Jesus Christ himself radiating sacred light.
Many people were whispering behind their hands. Some even dared to get close and take a look. After seeing that handsome, flirtatious face, they concluded, “Oh wow, it really is him!”
Cheng Buxi: “…”
Gao Yabin turned around after buying water and was also shocked. When had these two gotten so close? They were practically glued together. Not to mention, they actually looked pretty good together—handsome guy and pretty girl. In a word: well-matched.
“Are you... done?” Cheng Buxi’s face was burning with embarrassment.
Ning Ci remained unhurried. He carefully freed all the tangled strands of her hair and gently smoothed them back into place. Restraining the urge to touch her again, he raised an eyebrow and said, “Mm, done.”
Cheng Buxi immediately shrank back and quickly moved away. “You…”
Before she could think of what to say, the young man interrupted her. “But that’s not what you said on WeChat, is it?”
Cheng Buxi: “...” Her heart skipped a beat.
“Weren’t you a volunteer? How come you’re studying here? What year are you? What’s your major?”
He fired off a string of questions.
Cheng Buxi fought back just as fiercely. “You didn’t say you were from S University either. I thought you were from the old campus of the University of Finance and Economics…”
Ning Ci showed an expression that said, “No wonder, no wonder we’re so destined,” and nodded. “So we’ve both been guessing all along, playing dumb.”
“My fault, my fault.”
The way he smiled was a little too bewitching. He was tall and lean, handsome and extraordinary, and when he smiled, he showed a little canine tooth, sharp and even more endearing. He looked like a fox spirit descending a mountain. Cheng Buxi’s cheeks kept burning, and she didn’t dare look too long.
The next second, “My name is Ning Ci.”
He introduced himself generously. “Ning as in ‘Ning wei yu sui’ (better to die than to submit), Ci as in ‘wan si bu ci’ (to die without regret).”
“Hello.”
So those were the characters.
“Cheng Buxi…” Her voice was very low.
“What?” He seemed not to hear clearly and took another half step closer to her. His tall, straight shadow fell directly over her, intense but not oppressive, filled only with youthful vigor.
Cheng Buxi steeled herself and repeated it.
Cheng, Bu, Xi.
This time Ning Ci heard it clearly and smiled. “Is it ‘ji jian jia ren, yun hu bu xi’ (seeing the beauty, how can one not be joyful)?”
As soon as he finished, “Brother Ning!” someone shouted at the door. “Come back quick, the second half is about to start! Hey, still flirting over there! Hurry back, this team can’t live without you!” It was his teammate Zheng Liao.
Brother Zheng squinted and took a closer look. The girl half-hidden by Brother Ning looked quite familiar. Another look, and wow, wasn’t this the girl Brother Ning had insisted on having help him up earlier when he lay on the ground and refused to get up? A thunderbolt flashed through his mind. Could it be…
Just then, another teammate, Wang Jiehao, squeezed in from behind. Haozi was a brute; he directly bypassed Ning Ci and ran into the convenience store. “Brother Ning, what’s up? Hey! Bullying a little girl, are you?” He was in a hurry and casually grabbed a bottle of sports drink from the shelf. He asked the cashier, “Excuse me, can I use an S University card?”
Under the cashier’s speechless gaze, Gao Yabin generously swiped her card for him.
Haozi: “Thanks, thanks! There’s still warmth in the world! Thanks, sis!”
Everyone present: “……………”
“When did I ever bully a little girl?” Ning Ci glanced meaningfully at Cheng Buxi upon hearing this.
Seeing her dazed expression, he didn’t hesitate to introduce her. “This is my teammate, small forward, Wang Haozi.”
“That’s the one at the door, point guard who blew the opponents’ minds, Old Zheng.”
“And this—”
But when it came to introducing Cheng Buxi, he got stuck.