Chapter 774: Hug First, Talk Later

"Don't look at me! The speech! Give the speech!"

The girl clearly didn't hear his low murmur, and by now she was as anxious as an ant on a hot pan: "The flag-raising ceremony speech, the principal and the dean are both watching!"

Qin Jian, however, acted as if he hadn't heard, just looking at her like that.

The teachers on the stage were whispering to each other, the students below were murmuring, and the noise gradually grew louder.

But in Qin Jian's eyes, there was only this girl before him.

Except for the long black hair and pitch-black pupils which were different from his memories, everything else, whether it was her face or her figure, was exactly the same!

"Na'er!"

He couldn't care less about the occasion; he turned directly, pulled the girl into his arms, and held her very, very tightly.

"Whoa!"

A commotion broke out on and off the stage.

"You, you, you... let go of me!"

The girl was clearly shocked as never before and began to struggle violently.

"Na'er... I... I missed you so much..."

But Qin Jian's murmur, deep as if it pierced straight into her Spirit, stabbed right into the girl's heart.

Her struggling stopped all at once, and slowly, a blush stained her cheeks.

The teachers, who had originally thought she was being forced and were preparing to come over and pull Qin Jian away, froze in their tracks; as they looked at each other, their faces were filled with speechless gossip.

Is this... voluntarily exposing a puppy-love relationship?

Have these two high schoolers gone crazy?

"Qin Jian..."

Unable to bear the gossiping gazes of the crowd, the girl shrank her head and buried it in Qin Jian's chest.

She whispered: "You... you let go of me first, okay... whatever it is... let's talk about it after we get down..."

But in Qin Jian's heart, these were all just his illusions; how could their opinions be more important than holding Na'er?

Therefore, he couldn't bear to let go at all.

"Student Qin Jian!"

Just then, a cold, stern woman's voice rang out: "The flag-raising ceremony speech, what are you doing! Let go this instant!"

Qin Jian subconsciously let go and turned his head in surprise: "Xue'er, why are you here?"

It turned out that this person in a suit and skirt, looking every bit the professional woman, was actually Qian Renxue!

"What are you talking nonsense for? Hurry up and apologize to the dean, hurry!" The girl beside him hurriedly tugged at Qin Jian's sleeve.

The dean, who looked like Qian Renxue, had a dark face: "Who are you calling Xue'er?! Don't think that just because your grades are good you can do whatever you want! This is a school! Get down there, both of you! And write a 100,000-word reflection and self-criticism for me!"

"100,000 words?!"

Qin Jian was dumbfounded.

"Alright, alright, Qin Jian and Gu Yuena are both top students in the senior experimental class, candidates for Tsinghua and Peking University, don't waste their time..."

At this moment, another voice that Qin Jian was incredibly familiar with rang out.

Bibi Dong!

"You two, as long as you don't let your studies slip, just mind your boundaries with other things," she said indifferently.

Qian Renxue frowned and said: "Principal, they did this in front of the whole school's teachers and students, if we just let it go so lightly, how am I supposed to manage the school's atmosphere in the future?"

"Principal... Dean..."

Qin Jian's mouth twitched violently.

The settings of this illusion of his were quite consistent with their personalities.

Bibi Dong pondered for a moment: "Then go stand below the stage until the flag-raising ceremony is over."

Qian Renxue: "..."

This was putting her favoritism clearly in front of all the teachers.

There was no helping it; candidates for Tsinghua and Peking University were treasures in any high school.

"Thank you, Principal!"

Before Qin Jian could react, the girl called Gu Yuena immediately grabbed his wrist and rushed off the podium without looking back.

Clearly, she also knew the principal was intentionally letting them off, so why not hurry and slip away...

But when she and Qin Jian stood under the podium facing students from all three grades, she realized it was even harder to endure than being up there.

Those pairs of gossiping eyes made her head hang so low it was almost on her chest.

Where the leaves of the Tree of Life dance, fire also burns endlessly; the spirit of gossip was like a prairie fire, burning one down, only for another to rush up.

"Don't keep looking down, you'll sprain your neck."

Qin Jian naturally ignored those illusory gazes, his eyes only burning as he stared at Gu Yuena's profile.

"None... none of your business!"

Gu Yuena said shyly and angrily: "Don't look at me! You've ruined me!"

"What do you mean ruined? Isn't it just a hug?" A smile appeared on the corner of Qin Jian's mouth.

Although he didn't know why the Na'er in his consciousness would be called Gu Yuena, nor why she seemed to lack those memories, it didn't matter; just finding her made him very satisfied.

"What do you mean 'just a hug'?!"

Gu Yuena almost bristled: "Do you know this is a flag-raising ceremony?! Now we're going to be the laughingstock of the whole school!"

"So... you mean the occasion for the hug was wrong, right?"

Qin Jian's reading comprehension was perfect: "Then if we change to another place, can I hug you whenever I want?"

"Non... nonsense..."

A visible red flush rose from her cheeks, burning all the way to her earlobes: "We... we are just classmates... how can you just hug me like that?!"

"Just classmates?" Qin Jian said softly.

Gu Yuena seemed to sense the disappointment in his tone and hurriedly added: "And desk-mates... mm... and... and... we can be considered friends... yes... good friends..."

"Good friends?"

Qin Jian chuckled in a low voice and quietly reached out, grabbing her soft, tender hand.

Gu Yuena: "!"

"Let... let go!" she cried out coquettishly.

"Whoa!"

A few low murmurs of commotion came from the phalanx in front.

At a time like this, who still cared about the flag-raising ceremony? They had long since shifted all their attention onto them.

The small act of holding hands was seen clearly by the few rows in front.

However, this kind of spectacle was a small scene for Qin Jian; he was too used to it, so used to it that he could ignore it entirely.

Thus, he seemingly loosened his hand, letting Gu Yuena breathe a sigh of relief, but the next moment he interlaced his fingers with hers, holding her hand tightly.

Gu Yuena: "!!!"

"You!"

She tried to shake it off, but couldn't.

And not daring to struggle with any big movements, what else could she do?

She could only stomp her feet and endure it with her little face flushed red...

The quarter-hour flag-raising ceremony felt as long as a century to Gu Yuena.

Having finally heard the music signaling the end, she instantly shook off Qin Jian's hand and fled in a panic.

Under the countless envious gazes from behind, Qin Jian smiled and chased after her, stepping into the classroom together.

His and Gu Yuena's seats were in the third row, the best position for studying, neither too close nor too far.

Naturally, Qin Jian paid no attention to these classrooms from his distant memories, nor to the mountains and seas of test papers on the desks.

All his thoughts were focused on Gu Yuena.

As soon as she entered the classroom, she slumped onto her desk and refused to lift her head at all.

"Hey, Na'er..."

Qin Jian poked her arm.

"Don't, don't touch me!"

She twisted her body and buried her head, scolding coquettishly: "Who gave you permission to call me Na'er?!"

"Then what should I call you?" Qin Jian asked with a smile, propping up his head.

"Of course, Gu Yuena!" she said indignantly.

Qin Jian sighed: "Fine, Na'er."

Gu Yuena: "..."

(End of this chapter)