Being the son of a businessman isn't easy, and Ji Nan knows that to well. So when he was forced to move he made sure to not let anyone know about his fathers income. He even made sure not to let anyone get to know him, but when he is tasked with tut...
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I left my house the next morning on time, and although I was tired it didn't bother me that much. As I walked down the stairs I couldn't help but furrow my eyebrows at the slight pain that came from my feet. I appreciated the pond but the walk took some of the magic out of it. I had just reached the bottom of the stairs when I noticed Ba Wei leaning against the wall. He was looking at the ground with his hands in his pockets.
"Hey, what are you doing here?" He looked up at me and smirked.
"Waiting for you,"he said as he pushed himself off the wall. His voice was as it usually was, but somehow it seemed gentler. As he got closer I noticed that his face had a fresh bruise on it.
"What happened to your face?" Without thinking I reached out and touched it. He didn't seem that bothered by it, but when our eyes met I couldn't help but pull my hand back.
"It's nothing. It's just a bruise." It honestly pissed me off how dismissive he was about it. Was he just use to having bruises or something?
"It's not nothing. It's already starting to swell."
He chuckled, "I'm fine. It doesn't hurt so it's fine." Although I didn't want to drop the topic I did because it really wasn't my place to be concerned.
"Okay."
He nudged me with his elbow, "hey, don't be sad."
"I am not sad," I said offended.
"That face of yours says other wise."
I opened my mouth to say something but nothing came out. Could he read me that well? Was I really that untalented in hiding what I was feeling in front of this guy?
I was quiet for a long while before I finally said, "Let's get to school."
Ba Wei nodded and we began to make our way down my normal route. The more we walked the more I was curious on why he had waited for me.I don't think he lives in the area, and he said he doesn't have a girlfriend; so why was he over here.
"Why did you wait for me?"
"I don't know."
"What do you mean? How long did you exactly wait?"
"I didn't wait long." I knew he was lying. I woke up early so in order for him to wait for me he would've had to be out here earlier. Not only that, he dodged my question. Quite sloppily at that. Why didn't he want to answer it? It wasn't like it was a complex question.
"Are you not going to answer my question?" He didn't spare me a glance. His eyes stayed focused on the sidewalk that was in front of us.
"If you don't want me to wait for you, then I won't."
"No, I don't mind it. I just don't want you to travel every morning to get here." I was being completely truthful. I didn't mind him waiting for me, but him going out of his way to get here was something I did mind. He looked over at me and then back foreword.
"It's fine. I'm in this area quite a lot."
"Huh, why?" He was silent for a minute. It was as if he was trying to figure out what to say.
"My grandmother lives over here."
I wanted to call bullshit on that so bad, but I didn't. He didn't have to tell me why he was in the area even if I wanted to know. I just nodded in understanding. We walked the rest of the way in silence and it didn't bother me at all.
When we enter the school Ba Wei spoke first. It surprised me since I usually was the one to start the conversations, and he would end them.
"Did you eat?"
"No, I usually just wait until lunch to eat." He looked me up and down and squinted his eyes. I looked down at myself to try to see what he was looking at. Nothing was on my uniform or anything. I looked at him in confusion, and that's when he said something that made my blood boil.
"That's probably why you're so tiny." My eyes widened and I was truly taken aback. I didn't know what to say initially. I hadn't been called small since I was a child.
"I'm not tiny," I said loudly. Ba Wei didn't react at all. "I am well above the average male height."
"I wasn't talking about your height." I immediately stopped walking and Ba Wei stopped a few steps in front of me and looked back. "What?"
"Then what were you referring to?" I was truly confused. My height was the only thing that I could think he was referring to in this scenario. Nothing else made sense.
"I meant that you're thin."
I was silent, "I'm not thin either." I couldn't help but defend myself even though I wasn't being attacked on purpose. Ba Wei eyed me and he tilted his head to the side before he walked over to me.
"Are you usually this cute when you're called small."
"Of course not." Wait. Didn't I just agree that I'm acting cute right now? Before I could take back what I said Ba Wei fired another question at me.
"So you only act this way when I call you that?"
"No," I said slowly.
"You sure, your face is getting red." I slapped my hands over my face so fast that it hurt. I heard Ba Wei chuckle. "Don't worry I won't ruin your reputation."
"I don't have a reputation to ruin." I slowly removed my hands from my face and Ba Wei cocked an eyebrow.
"You do have a reputation that can be ruined."
"You're lying."
"I am not," he said as he turned and started walking. I followed behind him curious. How come I had never heard about this reputation I'm supposed to have. I needed to know what it was.
"What is it."
"Many people say you're cold. They actually use the word emotionless."
"Is that it," I questioned? If it was, it wasn't that bad at all. I expected to have one like I had at my old school. Womanizer, delinquent, and whore were all words that many people used when my name came up. To be honest, I'm surprised that my past hasn't shown its ugly head yet.
"Yeah." He answered blankly.
"I expected something worse," I answered truthfully without thinking.
He turned to me, "why?" I looked over at him and out eyes met. I knew if I lied he would definitely be able to tell. I'm a good liar but my eyes don't lie. In the end I just said something that was the truth but didn't give all the details.
"We all have our secrets." He didn't say anything and looked back foreword. I did the same and that's when I realized that we were in the break area. I didn't even realize we had walked that far because of all the thoughts that were running through my head.
"What do you want from the vending machine?"
"You don't have to get me anything. I'm not hungry."
"You're going to eat." I was taken aback, but I could hear in his voice that he wasn't kidding. In the end I just old him to bring me back whatever. "Sit down somewhere. I'll be right back."
I stopped and took a seat on a bench and watched as he walked towards the vending machines. I studied him again, and I made a hilarious discovery. Even though he was so tall and looked so intimidating; he acted more like a kid from what I had seen. It was cute.
