Chapter 4 — Sunlight on the School Desk

7 I trudged my way home, bored. Lately, I was used to riding in Tan Du's family car, but now I suddenly had to walk like usual. My feet actually hurt a bit because of the friction. There was a rustling sound behind me, and I turned around — but saw no one. I rubbed the goosebumps on my hand: "Could it be that some hoodlums noticed?" I took a few more steps, but there were still very light footsteps behind me. Turning around again, I saw Tan Du standing straight and stiff, with a hint of smile in his eyes. I turned around and ran towards him. Tan Du still stood still, as if he wanted to find a place to hide, but there wasn't even a trash can around, so he just stood still. Tan Du's CPU is burned out again. “Tan Du, are you… following me?” His eyes just lightly glanced at my face, then slowly walked forward, walking beside me, without saying a word. “Where is your car?” “Driving my sister home.” “Then why don't you go home?” — was silent again. I laughed happily and leaned closer: "Are you... unable to leave me?" Tan Du's steps slowed down slightly, and he was almost tripped by my words. “My house has many rooms.” I kept chattering along the way. When I got back to the building, Tan Du suddenly opened his mouth: "Stay at my house." I froze, looking at him in bewilderment: "What did you say?" There seemed to be starlight in Tan Du's eyes. He stared at me, not repeating it a second time. I immediately understood - you probably heard about Duong Tham saying my parents were on a business trip and told me to stay at his house for a few days. I found it funny: "I won't go to his house anywhere." Tan Du's expression seemed to soften and he nodded slightly: "Yes." I kicked the pebble under my foot and asked: "Tan Du, do you like me?" A moment of panic flashed across Tan Du's face, a few strands of hair fell down to cover his expression. He bowed his head so quickly, I didn't have time to see anything clearly. I thought I was just teasing him, smiled and waved: "Okay, you can go home. It's truly an honor to have the young master see you off." Seeing Tan Du's shadow disappear from sight, I turned around to enter the house. Unexpectedly, my parents came from the opposite direction, startling me: "Aren't you on a business trip?" My mother's face darkened: "Grandma is sick. I've already asked permission from the teachers for you. After all, there's only one week left until summer vacation, so let's go straight to Grandma's house." My maternal hometown is quite far away, which means I won't be able to go to school tomorrow morning. So I took out my phone and texted Tan Du, then turned around and followed my parents back to my grandmother's house. At night, I scrolled through my phone but still couldn't wait for his reply. I frowned, pulled it up to review the conversation: "Are you still angry with me?" The phone signal in my hometown is not good, all the messages I sent showed a red exclamation mark. Until late at night, I could only send three messages, but Tan Du still did not respond. I sighed helplessly, throwing the phone aside. On the third night, when it was late and quiet, suddenly a pebble fell next to my window. I stopped, unconsciously walked to the door frame — and widened my eyes. Under the window, a teenager with a cold aura was standing there. The silver moonlight covered his body, stretching it into a thin and straight silhouette. I put on my nightgown and ran straight downstairs. Tan Du stood among the weeds in the countryside, his arm was bitten by mosquitoes into red swollen spots, occasionally raising his hand to scratch, his movements as stiff as a delicate doll. I felt funny: "Why did you come here?" I didn't expect you to answer. Yet he looked straight into my eyes and said seriously: "Can't contact you." I was stunned: "I sent you a message?" “Lost my phone.” He pursed his lips, a hint of frustration in his eyes. “The day I brought you home, your phone was stolen.” I laughed - this was probably the first time this young master walked at night and got pickpocketed. “So how did you find this place?” “Ask your friend.” I find it strange - someone like Tan Du would still ask someone else? The more I thought about it, the more funny it became, the corner of my eyes shone with starlight. Being laughed at by me, Tan Du lost his patience a bit and looked annoyed. 8 “I thought you were mad at me.” he said. I was stunned: "Why am I angry?" You didn't answer my question. It's rare to see Tan Du talk so much, so I teased him like I was teasing a puppy: "Tan Du, your pretty little mouth is so talkative today... I want to kiss you." He widened his eyes, as if blaming me for interrupting him and also surprised that I would say such shameless words - his ears were red to the point of being scary. “That day you asked me… do I not want to leave you? I didn't answer… you're angry with me.” Under the moonlight, the teenager's expression was especially serious: "That's right, I can't bear it." I stood there listening in bewilderment over and over again. This kid... is he crazy? It seemed he was not satisfied with my reaction, his eyebrows furrowed even more: "What about you? Can you leave me?” At this moment I suddenly understood - Tan Du thought that on the night of our farewell, I asked him a question, he didn't answer so I got angry and ignored him. That's why he rushed here. What is "will it or not", I didn't ask like that? My eyes lit up: "Tan Du, you mean you like me, so now you want to ask me if I like you?" He stopped, then I saw his neck turn red all the way to his ears. “Yes.” — he replied. I didn't expect you to be so straightforward, it's too cute to bear! I wish I couldn't hold you in my arms and rub your hands. But actually... I really did. After all, I'm also famous as a girl with as big a liver as the sky. “Tan Du, can I touch you?” — I laughed. His voice was filled with helplessness: "You touched it." Under the palm of my hand are solid abdominal muscles, I just want to "sniff" them forever. It's amazing, such a masterpiece that I can fall in love with! “How did you get here?” — I asked. He turned his head and glanced into the distance. I was startled - it turned out that his driver's car was still parked at the beginning of the village. The driver who usually picked us up was now covered in mosquito bites and was trying his best to chase us away. The corner of my mouth twitched slightly: "You go home first, I'll come back tomorrow too." He nodded slightly, removing my hand from his chest. “See you tomorrow.” I was overjoyed. In the past, every time Tan Du said goodbye, he would just silently turn his back and leave, but now... he said "See you tomorrow". “Love is truly great.” I didn't expect that the first person I met when I returned to the city was not Tan Du, but Duong Tham. He stopped right in front of my house: "Where have you been these past few days?" I didn't bother to answer. My parents warmly greeted: "Tieu Tham, Nhuoc Nhuoc's grandmother is not well, so we are going back to the countryside for a few days." "Summer vacation is coming up, let Nhuoc Nhuoc stay at home to rest for the past few days. If you have any homework to do, please bring it home to help me." In front of my parents, Duong Tham always plays the good and gentle role. I didn't bother looking at that fake appearance, picked up my suitcase and went back into the house. As soon as I entered, the phone rang. I opened it — it was Tan Du. You said you were under my house. “Mom, I'm going to take out the trash!” I excitedly picked up the trash bag and ran downstairs. Tan Du was squatting next to the trash can downstairs, looking like a puppy abandoned by his owner. I swallowed. Damn, how can there be such a handsome person in this world? And such a handsome person... is my boyfriend!! Who can understand this feeling?! A pink bubble exploded in my heart, rushing towards him. Tan Du stood up, I jumped in and hugged him, making him stumble back a few steps. Then, a smile appeared in his eyes. Tan Du is still not used to smiling, even though he tries to curl his lips, at most it only creates a facial expression that can be considered gentle. I don't care either. My boyfriend is so handsome that... his nose is also handsome. I pulled him along and chattered away, telling me all kinds of things that happened at my grandmother's house. As always, Tan Du listened quietly, occasionally nodding. He still speaks very little, but just that obedient look is enough to make my heart bloom with sweetness. Calculating the time, I reluctantly said goodbye to him, stood on tiptoe and kissed him lightly on the cheek. Looking at Tan Du blushing like a boiled shrimp, I was extremely satisfied. I pretended to be a rogue and patted his butt: "I'm home." Teasing good guys... it's really fun! But as soon as I reached the staircase door, I almost stopped dead.