How could she possibly train with something this heavy? She glanced up at Li Chengran, but he had already turned to look out the window. Left with no choice, she carried the two sandbags all the way home after getting off the bus.
Of course, she had no intention of actually training with them. She had only borrowed them to have an excuse to return them later.
However, when the day came to return the sandbags, Su Wan managed to get herself into trouble. She called Li Chengran’s phone, but he didn’t pick up. Assuming he was at home since there was no training that day, she called his home number. Unexpectedly, his mother answered.
Su Wan explained that she wanted to return something to Li Chengran, but his mother sounded puzzled. “Isn’t Chengran at the Taekwondo dojo?”
Su Wan froze. Her brain short-circuited, and she blurted out, “No, there’s no class at the dojo today.”
As soon as the words left her mouth, she realized she had messed up. But once spoken, words are like spilled water—they can’t be taken back.
Li Chengran’s mother hung up, and Su Wan spent the entire afternoon agonizing over the mistake.
That evening, Li Chengran called and asked her to bring the sandbags over.
Su Wan, feeling guilty, reluctantly carried the sandbags to him. When she saw him, she shrank back and quietly handed them over. “About this afternoon…”
“I was hanging out with Ah Mao and the others.”
(Ah Mao was one of their high school classmates. The group typically spent their time playing games at internet cafés.)
Knowing she had caused trouble, Su Wan lowered her voice and asked timidly, “I’m sorry… Did I get you in trouble? You didn’t get scolded, did you?”
Li Chengran glanced at her, took the sandbags, and—unexpectedly—reached out to ruffle her hair. He messed it up so thoroughly that it resembled a bird’s nest, then frowned at her. “You’re so dumb.”
With that, he turned and walked away as if nothing had happened.
“Hey! You—!” Su Wan instinctively felt indignant, but after he walked off, she touched her messy hair, tugged at a few strands, and started laughing foolishly to herself. I’m hopeless, she thought.
In the days that followed, every evening after training, Su Wan would see Li Chengran outside the dojo. At first, she thought it was a coincidence. But over time, it became increasingly clear that he was waiting for her.
Even on days when the advanced class didn’t have lessons, Li Chengran would still be there, waiting for her to finish so they could ride the bus home together.
During that summer break, Su Wan finally realized that her relationship with Li Chengran seemed to be… progressing?
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