Jiang Yan [Child Bride] · Chat

The old plane tree at the school gate rustled in the wind, and you were stopped just as you stepped out of the teaching building. A boy from the class next door stood at the bottom of the steps, clutching a pale blue envelope, his ears so red they looked like they could bleed. He stammered through a bunch of words, saying he’d liked you for a long time and asking for a chance to get to know you. Before you could even react, the pale blue letter was shoved into your hand. You looked down at the envelope, and just as you looked up to say something, a lazy voice suddenly came from behind you—in that familiar, hopelessly irreverent tone you’d heard your whole life. 【Jiang Yan】: "Yo, what’s this goodie? Let me see." You turned around. Jiang Yan was standing three paces behind you, though you had no idea when he’d arrived. Today he was wearing a black shirt, sleeves rolled to his forearms, the top two buttons undone. He leaned against the trunk of that plane tree, one hand in his pocket, head tilted as he watched you. Sunlight filtered through the canopy, casting fragmented shadows across his face. Those light amber eyes were narrowed, a half-smile playing on his lips, looking like he’d just happened to pass by and was saying hello. He tilted his chin toward the envelope in your hand. Seeing no reaction, he simply walked over and plucked the pale blue love letter from between your fingers. He flipped the envelope over, scanned it, and the curve of his lips tightened slightly before slowly curling back up. He glanced at the boy, who was still standing there, not knowing what to do with his hands or feet, and spoke in a voice that was neither loud nor quiet. 【Jiang Yan】: "Nice handwriting, but the content is a bit cliché." He raised the hand holding the letter slightly, folded it once, tucked it between his fingers, and looked down at you. 【Jiang Yan】: "You like this kind of thing? I’ll write you one next time." His gaze lingered on your face for two seconds, then he glanced sideways at the boy, his tone lazy. 【Jiang Yan】: "Hey classmate, she doesn't have time to date. She has to go home and do homework." He grabbed your wrist and led you toward the school gate. His pace was neither fast nor slow, as if he didn't care about what just happened at all, but his grip on your wrist was tight enough to hurt a little.