Chapter 151: Chapter 150: For Anitaqing - Fairy Blossoms Bond + Update 5
Zhao Meimei stood behind the iron gate, looking at Zhang Zhao like she was visiting someone in prison: "You’re not thinking of making me jump out too, are you?"
Zhang Zhao glanced at her disdainfully, then reached out and grabbed one of the iron bars. With a push and a pull, the straight iron bar was directly removed, creating a gap wide enough for a person to squeeze through.
With her heart pounding, Zhao Meimei glanced back at the playground. Luckily, their spot was pretty secluded, and no one noticed. She quickly bent down and squeezed out from inside.
Zhang Zhao put the iron bar back in place and led Zhao Meimei out.
Zhao Meimei tightened the collar of her school uniform. It was still a bit chilly outside; she had come out in a hurry without thinking to wear an outer coat, especially not expecting Zhang Zhao to take her to skip class.
Following behind Zhang Zhao, Zhao Meimei asked as they walked, "Where are you taking me?"
Zhang Zhao glanced back at her, "Hungry?"
Zhao Meimei hesitated before answering, "A little bit."
It was just the first class of the day; she already had breakfast at home, so she wasn’t really that hungry. She just thought Zhang Zhao suddenly sought her out, probably for something important.
Zhang Zhao took her to the supermarket opposite the school: "I haven’t had breakfast. Will you eat with me?"
Zhao Meimei quickly looked up at Zhang Zhao.
Zhang Zhao frowned, dissatisfied, "What kind of look is that? Like I’m going to harm you or something! If you don’t want to go to the supermarket, is there anything else you’d like to eat?"
Zhao Meimei thought for a moment: "Spicy skewers?"
Zhang Zhao kept walking forward: "Okay, whose place?"
Zhao Meimei skillfully led him to the shop she usually frequented and specifically ordered a bowl of rice for Zhang Zhao.
Zhao Meimei picked through the soft-cooked tofu, sucking in her breath as she ate. Just as she finished eating one skewer, Zhang Zhao lifted his face halfway from his bowl of rice and suddenly asked, "Zhao Meimei, do you have a crush on someone?"
Zhao Meimei was sipping and swallowing spicy soup at the time. Suddenly hearing this, the spicy soup went directly into her windpipe, causing her to tears.
Zhang Zhao reached for a sausage and chewed a couple of bites: "Looks like it’s true. No need to get so worked up, I won’t tell anyone."
Zhao Meimei almost coughed her lungs out.
Zhang Zhao handed her some water, and after she took a couple of sips and regained her breath, she squinted at Zhang Zhao: "Why would you say that?"
Zhang Zhao raised an eyebrow at her: "Just tell me if it’s true!"
Zhao Meimei wasn’t exactly flustered, she was more surprised. She and Shi Yang being a thing was a secret even Xu Xu didn’t know; she couldn’t figure out how Zhang Zhao saw through it. Her curiosity got the best of her, and she couldn’t help asking, "How did you figure it out?"
Zhang Zhao buried his head and shoveled a spoonful of rice into his mouth, speaking in a faint tone: "I can tell from anywhere. You’re not crushing on Xu Xu, are you?"
Zhao Meimei immediately shook her head: "Definitely not!"
Zhang Zhao squinted, pondering: "You don’t usually hang out with any other male students besides Xu Xu. Is it someone not from our school?"
Zhao Meimei asked alertly: "Why are you always prying into my business?"
Zhang Zhao teased her on purpose: "Because I have a crush on you, I like you, I adore you."
Zhao Meimei rolled her eyes in annoyance: "Stop joking, can’t you talk properly?"
"Ha ha..." Zhang Zhao suddenly laughed: "Silly girl!"
Instantly, Zhao Meimei wouldn’t have it, and threw the empty bamboo skewers at Zhang Zhao, who dodged with a smile, the corners of his mouth lifted into a grin.
Zhao Meimei was never one to hold back, but the matter with Shi Yang was quite personal. For once, she was clever enough to keep it to herself, not because she didn’t want to share, but because it seemed instinctively like not the right time.
Now Zhang Zhao had indirectly probed her about it, coupled with the lingering sweetness from the previous night, she got a bit carried away and felt the urge to talk to Zhang Zhao about it.
Half-joking around, Zhao Meimei suddenly stopped fooling around, looked at Zhang Zhao seriously, and asked: "Not kidding, tell me the truth, how did you figure it out?"
Originally, Zhang Zhao wanted to say, "I just guessed," but as soon as he lifted his head and met Zhao Meimei’s pitch-black, narrow eyes, the words took a turn inside his mouth, swallowed back down. When he spoke again, his tone subconsciously turned more sincere: "With your blooming peach-blossom face, even a fool could see it."
Instinctively, Zhao Meimei reached up and touched her face, giggling twice, looking even more foolish.
Zhang Zhao, despite being aware of Zhao Meimei’s situation, was partly guessing and mostly speculating. He understood well what it was like to be enamored with someone, so upon seeing Zhao Meimei, he made an immediate conclusion. However, he couldn’t guess who Zhao Meimei liked.
Normally, Zhao Meimei got along well with everyone in the class, able to talk to everyone, yet the closest person to her was probably Xu Xu.
If Zhao Meimei’s crush wasn’t Xu Xu, then who could it be? Perhaps it was her neighbor at home, or someone from middle school, Zhang Zhao had guessed.
After giggling twice, Zhao Meimei stretched out her hand and patted Zhang Zhao’s arm like good buddies: "Just keep it to yourself, don’t spread it around."
Zhang Zhao raised an eyebrow: "Who is it, then?"
Zhao Meimei was caught off guard by his question, and what she wanted to say couldn’t quite come out, feeling it perhaps wasn’t the right time.
Zhao Meimei evaded: "Letting you know won’t make a difference, you wouldn’t know him anyway; this meal is on me, as hush money!"
"Damn!" Zhang Zhao exclaimed, amused. When paying, he shoved Zhao Meimei aside and insisted on paying. As they left the restaurant, Zhang Zhao said, "In any other aspect, you can be as polite as you want, but when it comes to money, it’s not necessary. Seriously, I’m so poor, money is all I have left."
Zhao Meimei didn’t pay much attention to what Zhang Zhao meant by being so poor that money’s all he had. At the time, she jokingly kicked Zhang Zhao: "Don’t flaunt your wealth, you’ll get hit!"
Following Zhang Zhao, Zhao Meimei arrived at the classroom just as the bell for the next class rang, the two walked in one after the other, carrying the strong aroma of spicy skewers.
A sharp-eyed classmate immediately reacted, yelling: "Wow! You guys went off campus!"
Before Zhao Meimei could come up with an excuse, another mouthy one started jeering, "Oh! Are you guys dating?"
As soon as this was said, even more people started chiming in.
In the dreary academic life, only topics like early romance can ignite the spark of excitement, spreading like wildfire at the drop of a hat.
Zhao Meimei looked at the crowd of excited, shouting onlookers, feeling like she was at a loss whether to laugh or cry.