When Will My Childhood Sweetheart Marry Me?-Chapter 14 - 0: Can We Talk About Civilization

"Yaoyao, I just passed by Class 2, guess what I saw?"

Tang Xing spoke as he handed over a cup of milk tea, which was from Teabundance, the new shop across from the school. It was milk green tea with 30% sugar, a choice he remembered her drinking once, and he had actually remembered it.

For girls of this age, milk tea was the best manifestation of friendship between two people.

Jiang Shuyao’s eyes slightly curved as she sincerely accepted this gesture of reciprocity and took a small sip through the straw.

Seeing her drink earnestly, Tang Xing revealed a satisfied smile and quickly continued the topic he hadn’t finished.

"It was at the entrance of the Class 2 room. I saw our class president, right in front of the school bully, confidently placing an umbrella on the ground and then turning to leave. It was so cool."

Jiang Shuyao almost choked.

It was just returning an umbrella, and yet it involved Pei Yan again? Did that little scamp have to meddle in such trivial matters too?

Before she could speak, she saw Lu Chen enter leisurely. The moment he sat down, Tang Xing brought over another cup of milk tea from the desk and offered it, "Class president, to thank you for your help with my dear Yaoyao, here’s a milk tea for you."

Lu Chen shifted his gaze, looking toward the quietly sitting Jiang Shuyao and joked, "If you want to thank someone, thank something else, like this new classmate’s calligraphy hidden in her notebook."

In fact, he had been coveting Jiang Shuyao’s handwriting for a long time but had never found the opportunity to speak up.

The umbrella returning incident provided just the occasion he needed.

Jiang Shuyao didn’t expect Lu Chen to be interested in the calligraphy she’d written offhand. After a few seconds of silence, not hiding or hoarding, she slowly pulled out the "Red Cliffs Ode" she had copied with a brush the other day from her notebook.

This action dumbfounded Tang Xing immediately.

"Good heavens, Yaoyao, your writing is gorgeous, virtually indistinguishable from those characters on Yunzhong’s main gate."

While her deskmate never skimped on compliments, comparing her skill to Master Yuan Ruomei’s seemed a bit excessive.

Lu Chen, unceremoniously, before Tang Xing had his fill of observation, reached out and took the rice paper in front of himself.

...

From a single reed’s sway, dominating the vast emptiness.

Majestically like riding the winds in an open void, without knowing where it ends.

Drifting like one transcending the mundane world alone, metamorphosing into an immortal.

...

Jiang Shuyao had only chosen her three favorite lines to write, tucked them in her notebook, and, really, they served no practical purpose; it was just out of habit.

Lu Chen unfolded the rice paper, and as he thoroughly viewed each character, his eyes filled with admiration.

The strokes were graceful, the touches spirited, lines smooth yet strong; for a girl to control the brush so firmly was indeed rare.

It was also evident that when Jiang Shuyao liked something, she would commit to it thoroughly, not just for novelty, but sustained by determination to the present.

Eventually, she simply gave that piece of writing to Lu Chen as a thank you gift, a trivial matter soon forgotten by her.

After the evening self-study, Jiang Shuyao and Tang Xing parted ways at the school gate. She walked toward the bus station and soon noticed a figure lingering ahead like laying a trap.

Seeing her freeze in place, Pei Yan tugged at the corner of his mouth and clicked his tongue lightly, "Don’t look so worried, I’m not trying to rob you of anything."

"..."

Jiang Shuyao glanced at him speechlessly and slowly approached.

Reminding someone, "You’ve been through nine years of compulsory education; can’t you speak a bit more civilized?"

Oh, the little girl was educating him now.

Pei Yan chuckled and nodded, surprisingly not retorting. 𝐟𝐫𝕖𝗲𝘄𝚎𝗯𝕟𝐨𝕧𝐞𝚕.𝕔𝕠𝐦

However, his expression quickly flipped drastically, as if a book being turned upside down.

Lazily stretching his long legs, he stopped in front of the girl and leaned down to her eyes asking, "Why let someone else return the umbrella, do you lack legs or foresight?"