Summer Green Apples

Chi Sui didn't want to appear too eager to know the answer.

Turning his head to look at the cat peeking its little head out of the carrier, he slowly responded.

It seemed like just a casual question.

"I added it." Ji Xiwen also tilted her head to look at the kitten.

Chi Sui: "..."

He could no longer pretend to be calm as he looked at the kitten.

He turned and stared at Ji Xiwen.

There was a little bit of cream on the corner of her lips, but her lips were a beautiful color, like mashed cherry jam, red with a hint of pink, so the trace of white cream was quite noticeable.

The boy's Adam's apple bobbed, then he awkwardly looked away. "Why did you add him as a friend?"

"Does this even need a reason?"

Ji Xiwen looked at him with a puzzled expression.

"Why don't you need him?" Chi Sui looked at her again. "You didn't have many friends on WeChat to begin with, why did you suddenly add him?"

"He's the sports committee member. I want to ask him to help me sign up for events." Ji Xiwen looked at him with a puzzled expression, not quite understanding why he was reacting so strongly.

Chi Sui: "...What project do you want to apply for?"

His eyes widened in surprise.

He looked Ji Xiwen up and down and couldn't understand what kind of project she could apply for, given her thin arms and legs and how she looked like she could fall over in the wind.

"High jump," Ji Xiwen said.

"Can you do it?" Chi asked.

"Of course I can do it." Ji Xiwen puffed out her cheeks, somewhat dissatisfied. "I never do things I'm not sure I can do."

She signs up for the high jump event almost every year at the sports meet, and her results are always pretty good.

Making it to the second round shouldn't be a problem.

"Is that so..." Chi Sui said, "You want a prize?"

"Yes." Ji Xiwen's brows were still furrowed.

"Then don't sign up. I've signed up for three projects, and I'll give you one of them later," Chi Sui said lazily.

He bent his long legs slightly, and a faint smile appeared on his lips. He was secretly delighted, waiting for Ji Xiwen to show a touched expression so he could shower him with praise.

"I don't want to." Ji Xiwen was taken aback. "You actually look down on me."

She put down her fork, and no longer wanted to eat the cake.

"..."

The expected praise did not come.

Chi Sui was stunned for a moment, "I didn't."

"So what do you mean?"

Ji Xiwen propped her cheek up, clearly a little angry.

"If you're only interested in the prize, I can give it to you," Chi Sui explained. "I'm just worried that you're forcing yourself to sign up for the project just for the prize. Anyway, I have plenty of projects."

Humanities classes are predominantly female, and half of the few boys are weaklings who can't even run as fast as the girls.

Qu Ziyi is still urging Chi Sui to sign up for another long-distance race.

He didn't agree.

I probably would have agreed before.

Who told him to come and harass Ji Xiwen, trying to add her as a friend?

"Why?" Ji Xiwen asked, looking at him.

Chi Sui asked, confused, "What? Why?"

"Why should you be the one to give me the prize I want?"

"...Aren't we pretty close now?"

The word "sister" hovered on Chi Sui's lips for a moment, then he swallowed it back, seemingly reluctant to call her that. "After all, you've helped me a lot before."

"Helping is a two-way street, it's not something that can be calculated," Ji Xiwen said. "But what I want, I will get through my own efforts, instead of waiting for others to give it to me."

Chi Sui: "...But I wasn't interested in the prize anyway, so isn't it perfect to give it to you?"

Ji Xiwen: "..."

The sweet and sour creamy flavor still lingers on the tip of the tongue.

She didn't know what was wrong with her.

I just feel like my current state is strange.

If the person in front of her were Zhang Cheng, she might have agreed.

But it was Chi Sui.

I was already living in his house and eating the small cakes he bought.

If I were to take his prize again, what would that make me look like?

"I don't want it."

She said sullenly.