Sheng Kuang didn't look at her, his gaze fixed straight ahead. He spoke slowly, "The little boss has to go back to school. I need to take her."
Lin Jing: "..."
Lan Bowen: "..."
After about three seconds, Lin Jing cleared her throat. "Um, you don't need to worry about me. You guys should have your practice matches. I can manage by myself."
"That won't do. I've already told people that my little boss will have someone to send her. I can't let my little boss lose face," Sheng Kuang said.
"..."
Lin Jing took two seconds to react, remembering that she had said something like that the day she went escape room with He Lin and the others.
At the time, she hadn't taken it to heart, just thinking he didn't want He Lin to know his exact address when he came to pick her up.
She hadn't expected him to actually go and send her.
Lin Jing blinked, then instinctively glanced at Sheng Kuang beside her.
Sheng Kuang turned his head to Lan Bowen. "So, Coach Lan, can you be flexible?"
"..."
Just as Lin Jing was about to say she really didn't need to, Lan Bowen nodded. "Alright, I'll listen to you. We'll have a day off tomorrow, but I'm telling you now, it's only for one day. There won't be any more days off before the competition."
Sheng Kuang hummed in agreement.
Lan Bowen's phone suddenly rang. He looked down at it, then walked to the side to take the call.
Only Lin Jing and Sheng Kuang were left in the courtyard.
The sun was just setting, dyeing the western sky a golden-orange. Lin Jing followed Sheng Kuang's gaze, watching the chefs busily roasting a whole lamb for a few seconds. "The autumn competition is coming soon. Training is important."
Sheng Kuang seemed to either not understand her hint or not hear her clearly. "... Hmm?"
"So, you really don't need to go out of your way to send me. Besides, I might not even see the class monitor tomorrow. He won't know if no one sent me," Lin Jing said.
Sheng Kuang hummed, his response sounding rather perfunctory, as if he hadn't taken her words to heart at all.
Lin Jing pursed her lips and added, "I always return to school by myself."
Sheng Kuang didn't say anything, turning his head to glance at her.
Lin Jing lowered her eyelids and said in a low voice, "Even when I got into university, I reported to Beijing by myself."
"..."
"And at the time, I took a train, a sleeper berth too. It took a whole day and night."
"..."
Sheng Kuang looked at the girl, who seemed to be boasting but showed no trace of pride. After a moment of silence, he asked, "Why alone?"
"Huh?" Lin Jing blinked. "Mom didn't have time."
In reality, she herself wasn't sure if Jiang Wan truly didn't have time.
Jiang Wan hadn't offered to take her, and she hadn't dared to ask. She had simply said she had bought a ticket. After knowing that, Jiang Wan had given a faint "mm" of acknowledgment and nothing more.
Sheng Kuang remembered the first time he had played games with her, and she had been sitting alone in a pavilion after the rain, waiting for his mother's WeChat reply. He fell silent again.
After about ten seconds, he averted his gaze and casually asked, "And your dad?"
"Dad..." Lin Jing paused. "I haven't seen him in a long time."
Sheng Kuang froze. "Hmm?"
Seeing his reaction, Lin Jing realized her words could be misinterpreted. She quickly explained, "It's not what you're thinking. They got divorced. After the divorce, we never contacted each other again."
Lin Jing was about to say she didn't know where he was now or if he was doing well, but as the words reached her lips, she suddenly stopped and swallowed them back.
Her original intention was to tell Sheng Kuang that she wasn't that sentimental and truly didn't need anyone to send her.
She hadn't expected to be talking about herself and sharing so much family history with him.
She hadn't even told Lan Tingting about these things.
It wasn't intentional concealment. In this era with such high divorce rates, parents divorcing wasn't as unusual as it used to be. She just felt there was no need to mention it. Firstly, it wasn't a happy thing. Secondly, she didn't want to play the victim card with it. Thirdly, she didn't really want to talk about it to spread negative emotions to others.
But she hadn't expected herself to have spoken about these things to Sheng Kuang so naturally, without any defenses, without even realizing it.
This was the first time she had done something like this, and she felt a bit unaccustomed to it.
Lin Jing blinked her eyes and turned her head, looking around. She awkwardly and abruptly changed the topic. "That whole lamb looks like it will be delicious when it's roasted."
Sheng Kuang remained silent, gazing at her.
Lin Jing knew he was looking at her and didn't quite dare to meet his eyes, her gaze evading his. She pretended to be relaxed, tilting her head to look at the sunset in the sky. "The clouds look quite beautiful today."
Sheng Kuang looked up, then for two seconds. "I definitely have to send you now."
Lin Jing didn't hear clearly. "Ah?"
Sheng Kuang looked at the clouds, then was silent for a moment before turning to her. "I said, I've never sent a girl to school before."
"Give me a chance, okay?"
"Xiao Jing Jiang."