Chapter 145: What stage are you and Xie Qin at now?

A faint blue-black still lingered at the edge of the sky. The moon hung low, clear and pale, stretching the shadows of the trees long.

When he first said these things, Shen Li might have been too slow to fully grasp why Xie Qin wanted to tell her all this; it wasn't until he finished that sentence that she understood.

Xie Qin only told her these things because he regarded her as someone important.

She had come from Haishi to Wuchuan to escape, to hide from everything bad in her past.

Yet now, there was someone behind her, trying every possible way to push her forward.

If she was indeed that important person in his heart, then Xie Qin wanting her to repeat a year didn't seem so hateful or repulsive after all.

Because the person who said it was Xie Qin; he was different.

Shen Li looked at him and said, "I am your girlfriend."

Xie Qin: "You still remember you're my girlfriend?"

Shen Li nodded: "I do."

So, being his girlfriend, there were some things she was allowed to know.

The existence of some people is always special.

It has nothing to do with how long you have known them.

From the moment she appeared, free will would lead her to the most important place in his heart.

On the way back together, Shen Li's gaze was a bit vacant as she drifted off. She was thinking about how to tell Xie Qin about her illness, and about the things that had happened to her in the past, but she felt unable to speak of it. In front of him, she always felt inferior; sometimes she even wondered, why could someone as terrible as her meet someone as good as Xie Qin?

She was afraid he would despise her, and even more afraid of making him feel that she, being ill, would be a burden.

She had to take medicine, and it cost a lot of money.

She didn't want to make him feel that she was abnormal.

During this time, her illness had been slowly improving; she didn't feel inexplicably miserable, and every day by his side, she ate well and slept well at night.

She wanted to wait until she was better before telling him; wouldn't he not mind then?

Telling him a little later shouldn't matter.

After all, they would be together for a long time.

Xie Qin...

We will both accompany each other for a long time.

So...

When that day comes, I will tell you everything, once you know I have been ill.

Can you...

Please don't despise me.

Soon, it was December 13th, the day of the English Level 4 exam. However, the weather today was not very good; the sky was overcast, and the forecast said there might be a temperature drop and sleet by the evening.

The winter in Wuchuan was truly too cold, so cold that it made people not want to step out of the dormitory door.

Zhang Zixin had the same thought; she said this season was only suitable for curling up in a quilt, blowing the warm air from the AC, and 'hibernating'.

In such cold weather, ninety percent of the people who could still go out on a date were true love.

Let alone going out, she didn't even have the thought of going out to eat a meal.

She didn't even want to go down to pick up a food delivery.

Zhang Zixin's daily routine was very chaotic, fluctuating between good and bad.

Today, she was the first to wake up in the dormitory. It was unknown what had happened, but she seemed to be in a very good mood. Wearing cotton pajamas and a hairband, with a bare face, she boiled a pot of dumplings in the dormitory.

Shen Li had been awake for a while but didn't want to get out of bed. Seeing the incoming call suddenly pop up on her phone, she hung up with quick reflexes before the ringtone had played for two seconds, then switched it to silent mode.

Because it was Saturday and there was an exam, many people hadn't gone home.

Zhang Zixin stirred the pot with chopsticks and added some cold water, waiting for it to boil a second time. "Baby, you're awake? Get out of bed quickly, I've boiled dumplings for you."

Shen Li lay in bed, replying to Xie Qin's message: 【I'm awake.】 She also responded to Zhang Zixin: "Mm."

The other party replied instantly: 【I didn't call to wake you up, I wanted to talk to you. Did you have to hang up so fast?】

Seeing his message, before she could reply, he immediately sent another one: 【Am I someone who can't be seen in public?】

Shen Li replied: 【No.】

Xie Qin: 【Then why did you hang up so fast!】

Who knew, he immediately called again. She was still debating whether to answer.

Just then, Zhao Zhouyuan, who had also gotten up, lifted her quilt and put on her clothes. Her gaze involuntarily drifted toward Shen Li on the bed diagonally opposite, then she climbed down from the bed as if nothing had happened and went to the bathroom.

Hearing the door close, Shen Li answered the phone and held it to her ear.

"You hung up quite fast, didn't you." After saying that, he added a few words of accusation: "... less than three seconds."

Reminding her how serious the act of hanging up on him was.

Shen Li sat up. Having just woken up, her long, dark, shiny hair was a bit messy, but it didn't affect her looks; instead, it gave her a look that made one want to hold her in their arms and ruffle it.

How could he even remember such a thing?

Zhang Zixin didn't know about the phone ringtone thing; Shen Li didn't have as thick a skin as him and was embarrassed to let her roommates hear.

She had mentioned changing it several times.

He didn't agree.

Shen Li simply stopped struggling.

Especially with Zhao Zhouyuan, they both knew she liked Xie Qin, and they were afraid she was too sensitive, so in the dormitory, she and Xie Qin mostly texted and rarely talked on the phone.

It was only because she had just gone into the bathroom that Shen Li answered the phone. "Xie Qin... I need to get up."

The meaning behind her words was that she was going to hang up, and if there was anything to say, they could talk when they met.

Xie Qin: "You get up, can you not hang up?"

Shen Li said calmly: "No."

Phone bills were quite expensive.

Zhang Zixin, on the side, tutted twice and teased: "Oh my, Shen Li~ How long have you two been dating? It's like when you first started. Calling every morning, this is a bit inconsiderate of others."

"Tell him you won't go out to eat with him. Look, sister has boiled dumplings for you, meat-filled ones. Get out of bed quickly and taste my craft."

Zhang Zixin couldn't cook; the only craft she could show off was boiling dumplings. When it came to controlling the time for boiling dumplings, she had it down pat; she didn't need to look at the time to know how cooked they were.

Shen Li nodded: "Mm."

That was what she thought too.

On such a cold day.

She could spend less time with Xie Qin.

The time spent less could be made up for next time.

Subsequently, she said righteously to Xie Qin: "I'm not going out to eat with you today. My roommate accidentally boiled too many dumplings, and I need to help her finish them."

So, it wasn't because of the cold that she didn't want to go out with him.

Xie Qin on the other end of the phone knew she was clearly afraid of the cold, and chuckled lowly: "Fine, eat up. Remember to bring your admission ticket; you still have to take the exam, don't be late. I'll come to pick you up in a bit."

Looking at the weather outside, it was indeed not very good. If she went out and caught a cold, she wouldn't recover for ten days or half a month.

That was what happened last time.

But that was back in October; it took Shen Li more than ten days to recover.

Shen Li: "Mm."

After a few brief words, the call ended.

Shen Li then climbed down from the bed and tied her hair up casually. The person in the bathroom hadn't come out yet, so she went to the balcony to bring in the clothes; she touched them and they were almost dry.

She walked in from the balcony and quickly closed the door; it was freezing.

Zhang Zixin: "What stage are you and Xie Qin at now?" ===== CHAPTER 146 =====