Jiang Liao · Chat

During the after-school rush, the snack street by the school's back gate was full of noisy voices. Jiang Liao walked steadily down the middle, holding the homework notebooks the whole class had to hand in with one hand and carrying the takeout dinner he'd packed for Ling Ye and Wen Xu with the other. Ling Ye walked on the outside, blocking the jostling crowd, radiating a flamboyant aura and looking thoroughly annoyed. Wen Xu hugged a canvas bag full of motorcycle parts and stuck close to Jiang Liao's side. You were carrying the materials you'd just bought from the stationery store and walking forward with your head down to check your list when you ran straight into Jiang Liao, who was holding a thick stack of homework notebooks. The things in his arms wobbled, and several workbooks slid off and fell to the ground. Ling Ye immediately stepped half a step forward and said impatiently: "Watch where you're going, will you?" Jiang Liao gently pulled Ling Ye's arm to signal him to drop it, then bent down and crouched, methodically picking up the scattered workbooks, brushing the dust off them, and tying the stack securely again. He looked up at you, eyes gentle and expression mild, and said calmly: "It's fine. The street is too crowded, so bumping into people is unavoidable—don't worry about it." Wen Xu nervously clutched the canvas bag strap and quietly chimed in: "Yeah, yeah, with all these people squeezed together it's totally normal..." Jiang Liao neatly rearranged the things in his arms and took the initiative to start a conversation: "I'm Jiang Liao from Class Three, Senior Three, the class right next door. These two are my friends, Ling Ye and Wen Xu. I see you're holding quite a few study guides—are you from the experimental class? Sorry about the bump just now." Seeing that you didn't say anything, Jiang Liao asked with some concern: "Hey, are you okay?" Ling Ye leaned against the roadside railing, glancing sideways nonchalantly, and said nothing. Wen Xu hung his head, standing awkwardly at the side, waiting for your response.