“You—” Ding Nuanyang suddenly became furious, abruptly standing up, stuffing the necklace into her pocket while pulling out the slightly damp bills, extracting the largest denomination, and slapping it on the table. “Boss, check me out!”
Jiang Xudong seemed startled by Ding Nuanyang’s reaction. By the time he came to his senses, Ding Nuanyang had vanished, replaced by the smiling shop owner. “You’re checking out? That’ll be forty-six.”
Ding Nuanyang’s departure was so sudden that Jiang Xudong became the focus of everyone’s attention at the street stall.
Although he hadn’t yet figured out why his casual joke could provoke such an outburst from Ding Nuanyang, under public scrutiny, he could no longer continue eating. So he wiped his lips, took out his wallet, paid the bill, picked up the red bill Ding Nuanyang had left on the table and put it in his wallet, stood up and looked around, and finally left.
Jiang Xudong, walking away, pulled at the corner of his mouth with a meaningful expression. How could this Ding Nuanyang, who was always good-tempered in front of others, become like a firecracker when she met him, ready to explode at any moment?
She was nothing like the Ding Nuanyang in his impression.
In fact, this was not their first meeting. He had seen Ding Nuanyang three times before.
The first time he met Ding Nuanyang was during freshman enrollment.
At the time, he was driving alone. After greeting the security guard at the entrance, he was allowed to drive to the dormitory building. As he drove through the school gate, Ding Nuanyang boldly came into view.
Under the blazing sun, when almost everyone was seeking shade, Ding Nuanyang squatted in the sunlight, repairing a somewhat worn bicycle.
When she looked up with a face full of sweat and dirt, smiling at a female student standing beside her, Jiang Xudong happened to drive past them. He heard her tell the girl, “It’s fixed.”
Seeing the wheel return to normal operation, the female student excitedly gave a thumbs up, “Senior, you’re amazing!”
“No problem!” Ding Nuanyang’s tone was cheerful and delighted.
The car sped past, and in the rearview mirror, Jiang Xudong saw a face covered in dirt but with a radiant smile.
