Fang Bai roughly guessed the reason; it certainly wasn't that Ji Yuning didn't like sweets, otherwise...
Fang Bai took something else out of the cabinet and asked, "Is this canned food expired?"
The canned food wasn't very sweet, so why didn't Ji Yuning eat it?
Because she sent them all.
If it weren't for what happened in the auditorium, Fang Bai thought Ji Yuning would probably still keep her phone in the cabinet and never use it.
A smile flickered in Fang Bai's eyes, but when he looked up again, the smile was gone, replaced by deep emotion. "So Xiao Ning really values the gift Auntie gave her, and has been keeping it treasured in the cabinet all this time."
Fang Bai did it on purpose.
All he wanted to see was an expression on Ji Yuning's face that showed a mixture of wanting to explain but being unable to, only able to silently agree, and feeling disgusted by Fang Bai's words.
However, Fang Bai did not detect any disgust in Ji Yuning's eyes, nor did he see any change in her expression.
Fang Bai seemed to be performing a one-man show.
Fang Bai: "..."
Fang Bai's words did not affect Ji Yuning, but made He Ziyan, who had been standing next to the two, very uncomfortable. She broke the silence and asked, "Aunt Fang, are you going to throw away the canned food? I'll help you."
Fang Bai checked the date; the canned food had expired.
Fang Bai handed the can of food to He Ziyan and said, "Thank you."
He Ziyan said softly, "You're welcome."
The cupboard contained very few items; cans and paper bags took up most of the space, and as they were taken out one by one, there wasn't much left.
Fang Bai, holding the paper bag, asked, "Is there anything else?"
Ji Yuning's expression had returned to normal. "No."
Fang Bai hummed in agreement, then looked into Ji Yuning's eyes and said, "Then take me to the school gate?"
He Ziyan's voice rang out beside them: "Aunt Fang, there are so many things, Yu Ning and I will deliver them to you together."
Although he didn't know why He Ziyan had changed so much, Fang Bai could tell that He Ziyan was getting better.
She didn't refuse He Ziyan, and nodded, saying, "Thank you for your trouble."
Ji Yuning's commuting school life was most enjoyable not because of Fang Bai, but because of Uncle Li.
During this period, Miss has been driving herself around, so Uncle Li has been essentially forced to lose his job and stay at home with nothing to do. Now that he heard that Ji Yuning is going to commute to school, he immediately applied to Fang Bai to have his driver position reinstated.
Fang Bai was amused by Uncle Li's words and readily agreed.
For several weeks in a row, Uncle Li drove Fang Bai to and from school for Ji Yuning. But after a few days, Ji Yuning asked Fang Bai to let her take the bus to and from school by herself. Fang Bai knew the reason, so he only agreed to let Ji Yuning take the bus home, but he still asked her to take her home in the morning.
Ji Yuning had already planned to visit Yuan Yizhen after school, and Fang Bai's arrangement was perfect for her. After hesitating for a few seconds, she agreed.
On the way to school that day.
Uncle Li called out, "Miss."
Fang Bai looked up from his phone and asked, "What's wrong?"
Uncle Li gripped the steering wheel and asked, "It's almost October 1st, Miss, when are you planning to go to Japan?"
The original owner had a habit of going to Japan to soak in hot springs, and every year she would go during the National Day holiday.
Fang Bai is interested in hot springs, but she doesn't want to go abroad.
I remembered the message I just saw on the app: "Not going to Japan."
Fang Bai said, "The old man has invested in a new hot spring hotel in Qing City. Let's go there for the National Day holiday."
The message was sent to her by Fang Maozhou.
Fang Maozhou knew his daughter liked hot springs, so he invested in the hotel. The message he just sent to Fang Bai said that he had arranged everything for her and that she could go and have fun as she pleased.
Uncle Li nodded after hearing this, "Then I'll book a plane ticket for Miss."
Fang Bai hummed in agreement: "Order two tickets."
Before Uncle Li could ask who the other ticket was for, Fang Bai said, "Xiao Ning is with me."
Ji Yuning, who had been looking out the window, turned her head and met Fang Bai's smiling eyes.
Fang Bai asked with a smile, "Is it okay?"
“…”
Ji Yuning lifted her eyelids slightly: "Didn't Aunt Fang already make a decision?"
Fang Bai smiled: "A decision can be changed, so I still need to ask for your opinion."
Yuan Yizhen told her yesterday that she would go back to Beijing for the National Day holiday and would not return until the holiday was over.
Ji Yuning thought for a moment, then touched her pink lips together and said, "Either is fine."
Two truck horns blared, drowning out Ji Yuning's voice.
Ji Yuning frowned slightly.
The horn stopped at that moment, and without the noise, Ji Yuning could clearly hear the heavy breathing around her.
Ji Yuning looked over and saw that Fang Bai's pupils had shrunk slightly, a reaction that could only come from seeing something terrifying. His lips, which had been smiling gently just a second ago, were now pursed, as if he was trying hard to suppress his cries.
As the truck roared past, Fang Bai's shoulders trembled slightly, and his phone fell to the ground with a dull thud.
The sound woke Fang Bai, and her tense shoulders slowly relaxed. Noticing that Ji Yuning was looking at her, Fang Bai responded with a forced smile.
His smile was forced, but Fang Bai didn't care about anything else anymore.
The familiar back seat, the familiar truck horn.
In an instant, she was pulled back to the day she transmigrated into the book. The suffocating feeling of death swept over her entire body, causing every pore to widen rapidly, dragging her into a state of weightlessness.
Uncle Li's voice rang out: "Miss, what's wrong?"
"It's nothing..." Fang Bai said softly, "I lost my phone."
Fang Bai bent down to pick up her phone, but another hand picked it up faster. Then, Ji Yuning asked, "What's wrong, Aunt Fang?"
Ji Yuning's voice was very low, so low that only the two of them could hear it, and it even had a seductive quality, trying to get Fang Bai to tell the truth.
Fang Bai, not daring to be negligent, said, "I just clicked on a scary picture and got frightened."
Ji Yuning's gaze swept over Fang Bai's eyebrows and eyes; Fang Bai's state did indeed resemble the reaction of someone who had been frightened.
Unable to determine whether Fang Baihua's words were true or false, Ji Yuning withdrew her probing gaze.
Ji Yuning propped herself up from her seat, placed her phone in Fang Bai's hand, and said nothing more.
The little incident passed quickly.
The car stopped in front of the school gate ten minutes later.
During this time, although Fang Bai's heart was still unsettled, her expression remained normal. She said to the person who opened the door and got out of the car, "See you tonight~"
Her voice was soft, and the rising intonation made it seem as if she was really looking forward to meeting him that evening.
Ji Yuning's hand, which had been turning to open the door, froze for a few seconds before she straightened up again.
Fang Bai was wondering what Ji Yuning was going to do when he saw her reach into her school uniform pocket, pull something out, and then hold it out to her.
"Um?"
Fang Bai looked down and saw that Ji Yuning was holding a White Rabbit milk candy between her two fingers.
Fang Bai asked instinctively, "Don't you not eat candy?"
After spending a few days together, Fang Bai had figured out Ji Yuning's tastes.
"A classmate gave it to me," Ji Yuning said indifferently. "If you don't want it, I'll just throw it away."
How could a sweet tooth like Fang Bai hear such a thing? He opened his palm and said, "Yes."
The candy instantly landed in Fang Bai's palm.
The candy wrapper brushed against my skin, causing a slight itch that reached deep into my heart, and in doing so, it scratched away the shadows that had settled there.
As he opened the candy and put it in his mouth, the sweetness filled his mouth, dispelling some unpleasant images, and Fang Bai's heartbeat gradually calmed down.
Putting away the candy wrapper, Fang Bai looked up and said, "Thank you."
Fang Bai was met with the sound of a door closing, neither too loud nor too soft.
Ji Yuning has already gotten off the bus.
Fang Bai: "..."
I don't know if I heard her thank you.
Author's Note:
Xiao Ji: I just haven't figured it out yet, are you all going to arrange for Aunt Fang to be assigned to someone else?
Xiao He: (Laughs with hands on hips)
Chapter 40
With the seven-day holiday just around the corner, students are inevitably becoming restless, whispering and disrupting classroom order.
After the teacher scolded them a few times, they quieted down again, but continued to whisper until the end of get out of class, when they resumed their passionate discussion.
Caught up in the atmosphere, Mu Xuerou looked at the person next to her who was taking notes, hesitated for a moment, and then asked, "Yu Ning, do you have any plans for the National Day holiday?"
Ji Yuning didn't even look up, uttering only a single sound: "Mmm."
Mu Xuerou was taken aback. She thought Ji Yuning would stay at home and study, and not go anywhere.
"What arrangements?"
Ji Yuning held the pen. "Go to Qing City."