His Sweetheart

Chapter 2

"It hurts a lot at times, and then it gets better, but it keeps throbbing," she thought to herself. This was an old problem she had, and she only took painkillers when the pain was unbearable. Taking too many pills was not good for her health.

The saleswoman behind the counter handed her a box of pills. "Take these, two at a time. Drink plenty of hot water, and if it's really bad, there are warm patches for sale at the school gate that you can use."

Tianxin took the pills, paid, and went back to her dormitory. She lay on her bed like a withered flower, finally falling asleep slowly as the pain subsided.

Military training had its ups and downs. Tianxin spent her free time practicing calligraphy, and her roommates praised her for her diligence. Tianxin felt a little embarrassed, as her handwriting was too ugly. Without military training, there was nothing to do, and the textbooks had not yet been issued. Whenever she had nothing to do, she would start daydreaming. It was better to find something to occupy her time.

In the blink of an eye, seven days had passed, and the final day of military training arrived with a performance report. Tianxin finally saw the principal of the school, who was a graduate of the liberal arts. His speech was eloquent, full of literary allusions, and he was called "Mo Yan" by the alumni because of his resemblance to the famous author and his scholarly demeanor.

Each class was sitting on the playground, holding chairs and listening to the leader's speech. Tianxin was sitting there obediently, listening carefully. Zhu Ting was reading a novel, while others were either chatting quietly or eating sunflower seeds. Sitting next to them was a student from Class 4, "Do you know? Yan Heng from the second year of high school dropped out and started from the first year this semester. I heard he's very handsome and studious. It would be great if he could be in our class."

Another girl was also excited, "I've heard about him too. I heard he has a bad temper and made the girls who confessed to him cry. He's very aloof and doesn't like to talk to people. He's also a tough fighter. He was a boss in middle school."

Tianxin's attention was forced to focus on them, mainly because their voices were a bit loud and hard to ignore. She immediately thought of the gangsters in the TV drama - with dyed blonde hair, tattoos on their arms, wearing torn clothes and smoking cigarettes. Such a boy should not come to their class. Little did she know that someone who had not yet formally met had already been labeled as a "cool guy".

After the lecture ended, everyone had three days off and planned to go home. Tianxin looked at herself in the mirror and noticed how much darker she had become. "This sunscreen isn't really that useful. I'll just have to get tanned," she said. Zhu Ting complained that her mother might not even recognize her when she got home.

Zhao Xuexi sighed, "Yeah, my skin wasn't that fair to begin with. When I go home, my mom will probably think I came out of a coal pot."

Chen Yan shrugged, "It's okay. This is just my skin color. It doesn't matter. I'll be fair again in a few days." She was the type that didn't get tanned easily.

They said their goodbyes, and those who lived nearby started to leave. Pan Xiaojiang and Zhao Xuexi were leaving the next day, while Tianxin was getting ready to go home.

When Tianxin got home, her mother had prepared her favorite food. Jiang Yizhou rolled his eyes, "Mom, I'm leaving soon, and all you care about is Tianxin." He wondered why other families' sons were their parents' treasure, but in their family, he felt like he was just a stray they picked up from the streets. Jiang Yizhou put down his phone and patted Tianxin's head, "Tell me secretly, is there a handsome boy in your class?" His voice was low, and only Tianxin could hear him.

Tianxin reminisced about her classmates, "I don't really have any impressions," she thought. During the military training, everyone was so tired that there was no energy left to pay attention to who looked handsome. Jiang Yizhou smirked, "Those who are handsome are often unfaithful. And if any boy is too attentive to you, remember to tell your big brother." Tianxin was so innocent and she couldn't be fooled by those scoundrels.

Tianxin raised her head and blinked her eyes, "Brother, do you not want me to date?" Tianxin hit the nail on the head, making Jiang Yizhou a bit awkward. "Of course not. It's normal to have feelings for the opposite s*x during adolescence, but big brother has to keep an eye on everything."

"Don't worry, I won't date anyone and I won't be a player like you," Tianxin assured him.

Could they still have a happy chat after this? It really struck a chord with Jiang Yizhou. He thought back and realized that he had only had three girlfriends, but two of them cheated on him. Since then, he has been single. "Don't worry, brother. I won't tell mom and dad about your dating history," Tianxin reassured him. The Jiang family was strict about dating and never allowed it before a certain age. Tianxin wouldn't be allowed to go out after 10 pm on weekends.

Jiang Yizhou felt hopeless and had to go to his room to calm down. Meanwhile, Tianxin propped up her chin and wondered if her brother was feeling guilty.

Actually, my older brother is very outstanding, but why is his love life so bumpy? Oh well, he's already in college, he's sure to meet someone he likes. "Mom, I'll come help you cook," Tianxin walked into the kitchen, watching Auntie Jiang busy in the kitchen.

The three-day holiday quickly came to an end. Tianxin carried her backpack and got on the bus. There were no seats on the bus, so she had to stand. There was a boy sitting on her right, half of his face blocked by white Adidas, his hands crossed on his stomach. Tianxin had never seen anyone sit like this on a bus before, so languid, like a little kitten at grandma's house.

Tianxin was lost in thought, feeling like she had seen him somewhere before. Her eyes drifted over to the boy, and he lightly muttered, "little rascal," which scared Tianxin into turning her head and bumping into the iron rod. She blushed and covered her forehead, too embarrassed to look again, caught in the act of peeking.

Tianxin heard him laugh softly, but it was too short for her to distinguish why he was laughing. Maybe he was laughing at her.

As soon as the bus stopped, Tianxin quickly fled as if her life depended on it. The guy on the bus took off his hat and adjusted it, then rubbed his wrist. "What a little coward," he muttered.

Back in the dormitory, Tianxin still felt the heat on her face. It was so hot outside. She lay on her bed hugging her teddy bear and tugged on its ear. "Why was he laughing? Was he laughing at me because I'm stupid?" Tianxin was tangled up in her thoughts, but she couldn't come to a conclusion. She had never heard that kind of laughter before. After a while, she gave up and decided to ignore it. She would never see him again anyway. His laughter had nothing to do with her.

Tianxin heard a knock on the door and opened it to find her roommate, Zhuting, standing there. "I forgot my keys last time I left. Luckily, you're here. Otherwise, I would have had nowhere to put my things. I'm so tired," Zhuting said as she put her things away in the cupboard. She had a bag of snacks in her hand as she climbed onto the bed. "Tianxin, here are some cat ears for you." Without warning, a bag of cat ears flew past Tianxin's ear and landed on her bed.

"Thank you, I like cat ears," Tianxin smiled at Zhu Ting. "I like the snacks you have here too. You bought so many snacks." Zhu Ting said as she threw snacks onto each person's bed. Tianxin was amazed by her accuracy and thought it was impressive.

She promised Zhu Ting that she would not eat her snacks since her roommate loved snacks so much. Tianxin grew up not being allowed to eat snacks at home, only allowed to have them once a week. Spicy snacks like Spicy Sticks were strictly forbidden, but Tianxin often secretly ate them and got scolded. One time, she and her brother ate Spicy Sticks together, but only Tianxin was caught with chili seeds stuck in her teeth during dinner.

Her mother immediately got angry and questioned her if she ate Spicy Sticks Tianxin was scared and instinctively said no. Her mother was furious and threw her chopsticks, accusing her of lying. She was so scared she cried. Her mother then picked up a chicken feather duster from the cupboard and started hitting her. Even Tianxin 's brother cried and tried to protect her. If their father hadn't intervened, Tianxin would have been beaten badly. After that incident, she never lied again and never ate Spicy Sticks without permission.

Jiang Yizhou personally taught Tianxin the secret to stealing and not getting caught - always rinse her mouth, and eat sweets to cover up any odors from snacks with strong flavors. This habit was formed from her childhood love of sweets.

As Jiang Yizhou grew older, he stopped eating snacks as much, especially when it came to stealing them. He thought it was embarrassing, so whenever relatives brought over good food, he acted uninterested on the surface but would often ask Tianxin for some behind their backs. Tianxin understood that her brother was just putting on an act - he would say he didn't want any, but his body language was honest.

Thinking back now, Tianxin felt quite nostalgic for that exciting feeling. Nowadays, she doesn't care if she eats snacks or not - she can eat whatever she wants, and nobody will stop her.

Half an hour later, Chen Yan came in with a black backpack on her back. "I'm telling you, I'm definitely not my mom's biological child. She said she doesn't recognize me just because I got a little darker," she said.

"Don't worry, you'll lighten up again. Auntie's just kidding with you," Tianxin said. How could parents not recognize their own children?

Zhu Ting smiled. "Zhu Yan is still as dark as ever, but Tianxin is really fair-skinned. Her skin is as soft and tender as tofu. Tianxin, did you start taking care of your skin from a young age?" she asked, envious of her skin that didn't even get dark during military training.

Tianxin shook her head, "No, I've always been like this. I don't know why." She remembered her skin being good ever since she was young, even her brother envied it. Her brother had a whole set of skincare products, including facial cleanser, moisturizer, and oil, while she only used facial cleanser and rarely applied oil.

"Well, what did you often eat when you were young? Maybe that's why," Zhu Ting asked.

"Well, does candy count? I've been eating candy a lot since I was little," Tianxin really didn't know.

Zhu Yan leaned over from the upper bunk and touched Tianxin's cheek, "Don't think about it anymore. It's too late for you. Put your hope on the next generation." Her skin was so smooth and tender.

"You're thinking too much. The next generation can't be relied on. Ah, I use face masks to protect my face," Zhu Ting touched her own face, which was also quite smooth.

"I'm the darkest one here. But don't you think I'm pretty manly?" Zhu Yan winked at Tianxin.

Tianxin nodded vigorously, "Zhu Yan's wheat-colored skin is so beautiful. My dad said that wheat-colored skin is healthy. I even went to the hospital for a check-up because my skin was too pale."

The two burst out laughing after Tianxin finished speaking.