Summer Green Apples

"Tch, what's so great about it?"

Xu Jiyang scoffed and turned away, no longer wanting to humiliate himself.

With the results released, the midterm exams came to an end, and the semester was already halfway over.

After entering December, Ji Xiwen's least favorite thing every day was getting up in the morning.

The temperature difference between inside and outside the blanket is too great.

She always had to put on thermal underwear under the covers before she dared to lift the covers, sit up, and slowly put on her sweater and long johns.

Every time I wear a sweater, my hair gets static electricity, and it stands on end like it's been struck by lightning.

Day after day, she felt her temper getting better and better.

There's Christmas at the end of this month, and a week before Christmas, shops outside the school started their pre-holiday promotions.

Santa Claus signs are pasted on the transparent windows, a red hat hangs at the door, and most of the newly displayed goods are related to Christmas.

The atmosphere in the class is also more lively than it was a while ago.

At this time of year, Ji Xiwen and Zhang Cheng would exchange "peace apples" (a traditional Chinese gift of apples) and that would be the end of it.

This year, however, is somewhat of an exception.

Because she had promised Chi Sui that she would give him a handmade gift.

Ji Xiwen wasn't very skilled with her hands, so at the beginning of the month she asked Zhang Qingyan for help, just in time for Zhang Qingyan to knit a scarf for her boyfriend.

This is easy and suitable for winter.

So she also bought a ball of yarn, and every night after returning to her dorm and washing up, she would sit on her bed, chatting with her roommates while knitting a scarf.

At first, I would make mistakes and have to undo and redo them, but once I got the hang of it, my speed improved.

I finished knitting it just in time for the day before Christmas.

Christmas Day was a rainy day.

Boarding students are generally on time, while day students are mostly late.

Riding a bicycle or electric scooter is such a mess; whether you're using an umbrella or wearing a raincoat, your hair and clothes will be half-soaked.

People like Chi Sui, who arrived by car, faced even greater despair, stuck in traffic with commuters dropping off their children at school or clocking in at their companies.

Chi Sui arrived at school halfway through the morning reading session.

He stuffed his schoolbag into the desk drawer, pulled out a carton of milk, and turned to look at Ji Xiwen.

She still wore her hair in a bun, with a few stray hairs falling beside her ears. Her history textbook was spread on her desk, and she was reciting it quietly with her eyes downcast.

The man's gaze was so intense that even Ji Xiwen found it hard to bear.

She turned her head and looked over, blinking in confusion.

Chi Sui asked dryly, "It's raining, do you have an umbrella?"

"Yes, I do."

It was out of concern. Ji Xiwen's eyes crinkled into a smile. "Didn't you bring an umbrella?"

"I brought it. I was worried you might not have brought it," the boy mumbled, a straw dangling from his mouth. "After all, you have a bad memory."

"I have a pretty good memory," Ji Xiwen retorted.

"..."

Chi Sui smirked, "Then let me ask you, what day is it today?"

"Christmas," Ji Xiwen said naturally.

Chi Sui: "..."

He's about to die of anger.

He took a deep breath. "And then?"

"and then?"

Ji Xiwen looked puzzled, thought for a moment, and said, "Merry Christmas."

Chi Sui: "…………"

He pursed his lips and remained silent.

It's impossible to expect the young master to ask for a gift; it would be too undignified.

This person has been good at putting on an act since childhood; when he was in kindergarten, the teacher would hand out yogurt to each student.

Every time he gets a copy, he has to talk to the person in front of him, the person behind him, or the person sitting next to him, or look down at his book and pretend he doesn't care.

He rarely paid attention to Christmas before, at most exchanging gifts with a few close friends.

This holiday was nothing special to him.

He had been looking forward to this gift from Ji Xiwen since the beginning of the month.

We've been looking forward to Christmas for so long!

"……OK."

Chi then forced out a sentence through gritted teeth.

He didn't say anything more, and pulled out his political textbook from the desk drawer and began to recite.

Ji Xiwen scratched her cheek, feeling that he was acting strangely.

She thought for a moment and said, "Our homeroom teacher said last night that the student council will be checking our class's cleanliness today. Why don't you tidy up your desk?"

"don't want."

Chi refused, saying, "If you're going to inspect the hygiene, then you can inspect the hygiene. The student council members can't exactly drag me up and check my desk drawer, can they?"

Ji Xiwen: "...Alright then."

Chi lowered his head to read, but in reality, he was holding back a lot of anger.

This early morning reading session was undoubtedly torture for Chi Sui.

After the morning reading session, there was a ten-minute break between classes. Xu Jiyang took out his schoolbag, which was full of wrapped gifts.

"Here, Junjun, these are your headphones."

He first gave one to his deskmate, then took out a square box and handed it to Chi Sui, saying, "This is yours."

Chi Sui: "What is this?"

Xu Jiyang looked inscrutable. "This is something that will be very helpful to you. I carefully selected it. You can open it when you get back."

Chi paused for a moment, then said, "I always felt it wasn't anything good."

"cut."

Xu Jiyang pursed his lips, "You'll know when you get back. You'll definitely thank me."

Chi Sui was half-believing and half-doubting, so he threw the box into the desk drawer.

Ji Xiwen noticed his movements and couldn't help but say, "Your desk drawer is a bit messy, aren't you going to tidy it up?"

"don't want."

Chi Sui, with a sour face, said, "You look down on me?"

"No," Ji Xiwen quickly denied.

"Little sister, this is for you." Xu Jiyang pulled out another rectangular one. "This is a souvenir I bought from a local museum while traveling abroad last year. It's an umbrella, and it's really pretty. I don't know what you like, but Chi Sui told me you're very interested in flying..."

He paused for a moment, then smiled and said, "I hope you can go to many, many places in the future."

"……Thanks."

Ji Xiwen never expected that she would have one too.

After the initial shock subsided, the school bell rang.

Before the geography teacher came in, she leaned close to Chi Sui's ear and whispered, "Does he have any favorite things? Or is there anything he's missing?"

The boy glanced at her. "Why are you asking that?"

"Give him a gift."

Ji Xiwen has never liked owing others anything.

She always finds a way to return it.

Even the best relationships can be like this. Perhaps because her parents weren't around when she was young, she finds it hard to feel at ease doing anything or getting anything.

Just like how her grandparents usually treated her very well, even when her aunt occasionally spoke ill of her, ordered her to do chores, and ruined her reputation in front of others, she didn't hold it against her.

She would endure it for the sake of harmony and peace in the family, not wanting her grandparents to worry about it.

Chi Sui: "..."

"You still have the nerve to give him a gift?" He took a deep breath, feeling like he was about to faint from anger.

Ji Xiwen was taken aback. "Why didn't I?"

Looking into her dark, bright eyes, Chi Sui realized that if he didn't ask her for clarification soon, he would probably be furious.

Being driven to death by your deskmate would surely earn you a place in the history of Pingzhong High School.

He raised his hand and pinched her cheek, venting his anger, very hard, grinding his teeth as he said, "What about mine?"

"You haven't forgotten, have you? Ji Xiwen."

Ji Xi frowned in pain. "What do you mean, 'your'? A gift? I put it in your desk drawer a long time ago, didn't you even look at it?"

She had just been trying to get him to clean up the desk drawer.

Chi Sui's expression changed from gloomy to sunny in an instant. He immediately put down his hand and started rummaging through the desk drawer.