"Bets don"t have to be about money... For example, you can exchange your dignity!" Zhou Lei really wanted this challenge of his to go through.If he had the opportunity to make Jiang so Yun fall in love with him, he would immediately take that chance!
Aside from her occasional teasing, she had a great personality, not to mention her appearance... Who wouldn"t want to date her?
"Ah... it seems like I still have a crush on her. But this is my chance to make it mutual!"
"My dignity...?" Jiang Zi Yun was a bit puzzled. "You mean, like, making me do embarra.s.sing things in public? For example, singing badly in the streets?"
"Hmm, that"s a great idea you just gave me." A scheming expression appeared on Zhou Lei"s face.
"...Sorry, I can"t exchange my dignity either."
For some reason, Zhou Lei sensed that there was something wrong in her voice. He brushed it off, thinking nothing of it. "Why? You scared that you"ll lose?"
"No, not really. It"s just that... I have no dignity left to speak of." A desolate voice came from the beauty beside him.
Zhou Lei"s heart tensed up. He stepped on a mine. He opened up a wound. He... brought up the subject that he shouldn"t have.
"...Of course, all of her dignity would be gone. She had been a beggar for who knows how long. I have no idea what she experienced..." Sadness surged in the depths of Zhou Lei"s heart just thinking about it.
Jiang Zi Yun noticed that her friend had fallen silent. An atypical grin appeared on her face. "Leilei, you don"t have to be so sensitive about my feelings. We"re friends, right...?"
Zhou Lei knew what she was implying. "Of course we"re friends. I"m glad I met you again. No matter what happened to you in the years that we didn"t see each other, I"ll still be your friend."
Jiang Zi Yun"s expression got more tense as she bit her lip, trying to suppress a frown from appearing on her face.
Suddenly, as she was thinking of a reply, she felt two arms wrapping around her, supplying warmth to her otherwise cold body.
Jiang Zi Yun"s forehead made contact with Zhou Lei"s chest area. She widened her eyes in surprise, but hearing Zhou Lei"s next words made her unable to resist.
"Zi Yun, I can"t see your face anymore..."
Zhou Lei raised his head, his sharp chin floating above Jiang Zi Yun"s shiny black hair. He had hugged her on impulse, not knowing how she would react.
But the tone of her voice... it was familiar to when she had problems in the past. He hadn"t done anything then, but he could, at the very least, do something for her now...
While he was contemplating whether he did the right decision or not, Zhou Lei felt two arms wrap around him too, but the arms were much tighter than his.
Jiang Zi Yun remained quiet, but Zhou Lei could sense that a wet patch appeared on where her eyes were positioned. He raised his hand and caressed her head, which made the whimpering louder.
"Zi Yun, I have no idea what happened to you, but if you need anything, just tell me, okay?" Even though he said that, Zhou Lei thought that Jiang Zi Yun was too prideful to seek help from people she knew.
As expected, she answered with a denial. "Leilei, you don"t need to help me. I"ll be leaving later. Thanks for letting me shower though..."
After speaking, Jiang Zi Yun thought that Zhou Lei would let her go. However, prior to her expectations, he didn"t budge one bit.
"...Zi Yun, you don"t need to act tough with me. I know you have nowhere to go." With a low voice, Zhou Lei comforted Jiang Zi Yun.
"What do you suggest I do then? I can"t possibly stay here in your house..." Although she found the idea pleasing, and she was sure that Zhou Lei would insist on her doing so, there was one problem, his parents.
"Hmm, if you"re worried about my parents, it"s fine. They"re pretty easygoing..." As his parents entered his train of thought, he could only think of the most stupid moments he had with them, like that day when they told the doctor that his sister had a disease...
"..." Jiang Zi Yun ceased to respond. She fell silent for a long time. "Okay, I"ll stay here for the time being."
"Yes!" Inside his mind, the satisfaction of succeeding overtook every other emotion. "...but why do I have this sense of guilt that I just took advantage of a moment of weakness...?"
"You can let go now." Jiang Zi Yun spoke with a stern voice.
However, at her current state, instead of her tone being cold like usual, Zhou Lei thought that it seemed more like she tried hard to sound stern.
He giggled at the thought. "Zi Yun, I already said you don"t need to act tough in front of me."
"Huh? What do you mean?" Jiang Zi Yun took this opportunity to quietly sniffle as she continued to speak, "I only told you that you can let go, but you don"t really have to."
She snuggled deeper into Zhou Lei"s embrace, making his grin even wider. "What is this, acting all bashful?"
"..." Jiang Zi Yun didn"t respond.
"Hmm? Zi Yun, what"s wrong, why did you suddenly go silent?" After what had just happened, Zhou Lei got more concerned about Jiang Zi Yun"s well being.
At that moment, she unwrapped Zhou Lei"s arms around her and stood up. She pulled Zhou Lei up and grabbed his bag. "Leilei, don"t tell me you"re gonna skip school today."
"Whhuh?" The drastic change of subjects made Zhou Lei puzzled.
Jiang Zi Yun pushed him towards the door and put his bag in his arms. "Mmm, I think we should continue talking tonight."
Her usual cold voice had come back, confusing Zhou lei this time around. "What the heck? Is this the rumored mood swings?"
As his whole body bathed in the sunlight, Jiang Zi Yun stood inside the house. She closed the door midway, peeking at Zhou Lei from the small gap.
"Actually, you"ve already won..."
After uttering those words, she shut the door, leaving Zhou Lei dazed.