Sweet Oxygen - Chapter 27

Chapter 27 – Tomorrow

She wanted to tell him she liked him face to face

——

“Little girl, why do you look unhappy?”

Qin Han didn’t know how to explain, so she simply replied sullenly, “I’m not. I should go home now.”

Zhang Yuqing looked at her, feeling that something was off with her mood today.

But he didn’t ask further.

Girls always had their own thoughts and worries.

Asking too much wouldn’t be good—it would make him seem overly fussy.

The woman across from them finished eating her watermelon, wiped the corner of her lips, and stood up. “I should get going too. I’ll come visit you next time. If you need anything, just give me a call.”

Zhang Yuqing responded indifferently, “Mm.”

“Little girl, where do you live?”

The woman glanced at Qin Han, then looked outside again. Her tone was familiar. “It’s really hot today. Let me give you a ride, so you don’t get heatstroke.”

Because of this sentence, Qin Han suddenly felt a little guilty.

She thought she was being too narrow-minded.

But Qin Han didn’t understand why she suddenly felt this way.

Zhang Yuqing helped Qin Han put away her books and made the decision for her. “Give our little girl a ride. She looks a bit weak, probably from the heat.”

“Leave it to me. I promise to get her home safely.”

The woman patted Zhang Yuqing on the shoulder, then turned around, stretched out her hand to Qin Han, and gave a brief yet confident self-introduction. “Du Zhi.”

Qin Han hadn’t figured out the relationship between her and Zhang Yuqing. She weakly shook Du Zhi’s hand and introduced herself. “My name is Qin Han. Qin as in Qin Shi Huang. Han as in ‘containing the sun,’ meaning ‘the dawn of a new day.’”

She sounded like she was reciting from a textbook, completely emotionless.

Qin Han followed Du Zhi into the car and silently fastened her seatbelt.

Zhang Yuqing knocked on the car window. Du Zhi rolled it down. “What’s up?”

Zhang Yuqing looked at Qin Han and made a phone call gesture. “Call when you get home.”

Du Zhi laughed. “You’re really such a worrier. I’ll sell her off in no time.”

“You’re a teacher, watch your words.”

Zhang Yuqing laughed at Du Zhi’s joke, then turned to Qin Han again. “Got it? Call when you get home.”

Qin Han nodded.

Her family was very cautious about safety. When the family driver wasn’t available, she rarely took taxis, because her mother said that public transport was safer.

But now, she voluntarily got into a stranger’s car.

Qin Han had her own little thoughts—she wanted to figure out the relationship between Du Zhi and Zhang Yuqing.

This thought gave her a sudden sense of bravery.

The car carried a faint floral scent, soothing and refreshing. Actually, Du Zhi was the kind of woman who looked very composed and pleasant.

But what exactly was her relationship with Zhang Yuqing?

The car drove out of Yaonan Alley, and Qin Han still hadn’t figured out how to ask. She could only sit quietly and awkwardly in the car.

After holding it in for a while, all she could manage was, “Thank you for giving me a ride.”

But Du Zhi suddenly asked, “Xiao Qin Han, do you like Zhang Yuqing?”

Qin Han’s face turned red instantly. She widened her eyes but didn’t say a word.

“That guy is popular. Back in college, quite a few girls had a crush on him, but he was always so busy that he didn’t have time for them.”

Du Zhi must have known Zhang Yuqing for a long time. Her words carried an air of familiarity. Qin Han suddenly gathered the courage to ask, “What about you?”

“Me what?”

It was sunset. The direction they were heading in was right against the setting sun.

The light was dazzling. Du Zhi reached for her sunglasses but suddenly paused. During a red light, she turned to Qin Han and placed the sunglasses on her face.

Receiving such kindness from a stranger, Qin Han hesitated. After a while, she finally mumbled, “Did you also have a crush on him?”

Du Zhi burst out laughing. “How could that be?”

When Qin Han heard this, she tensed up completely.

Her back was stiff, afraid that the next words out of Du Zhi’s mouth would be “No, he was the one who pursued me.”

But that didn’t happen.

Du Zhi put on another pair of sunglasses for herself. “Do I really look that young? I was his teacher.”

Qin Han was stunned. “Teacher?”

“Yeah, his university professor.”

Even before Qin Han returned to Zhang Yuqing’s shop, Du Zhi had already known about her.

There was a poetry book on Zhang Yuqing’s desk. Du Zhi had asked who it belonged to. Zhang Yuqing said it was his sister’s.

At the time, Du Zhi was surprised. “Dandan can read poetry now?”

Zhang Yuqing shook his head. “Not Dandan. A little girl who just finished her college entrance exams this year.”

Maybe it was because Du Zhi was now wearing sunglasses.

Or maybe it was because Qin Han had just left school and had a natural respect for teachers.

Now, looking at Du Zhi again, Qin Han suddenly didn’t dare to speak carelessly anymore.

Du Zhi, however, remained easygoing. “I heard you just finished your exams. Have you received your admission notice? Which university?”

“Normal University.”

After saying it, Qin Han suddenly realized something was off.

Zhang Yuqing studied at Normal University.

Du Zhi was his university professor.

So… that meant Du Zhi was also a professor at Normal University?!

“Oh, I see.”

Du Zhi glanced at Qin Han and suddenly smiled. She deliberately teased, “Don’t worry, I won’t be your professor. But I might be your dean.”

Qin Han immediately sat up straight, no longer daring to speak.

It was Du Zhi who broke the silence in the car. “Do you want to hear about Zhang Yuqing?”

Qin Han hesitated, then followed her heart and nodded.

“He’s the most self-disciplined student I’ve ever met.” Du Zhi said with a hint of admiration.

Back when Zhang Yuqing was in his first year, everyone at Normal University was an academic overachiever. But Zhang Yuqing wasn’t just a top student—he had a maturity that someone his age shouldn’t have had.

After military training, Du Zhi had approached Zhang Yuqing and said, “Zhang Yuqing, why don’t you be my class monitor? Help me manage these fresh-out-of-high-school troublemakers.”

At that time, Du Zhi was really having a headache.

Freshmen were the hardest to manage. They were like wild horses that had just been let loose, thinking they owned the world.

Du Zhi smiled and asked, “Guess what he said?”

Qin Han shook her head.

In truth, she had some expectations.

She thought, even if Zhang Yuqing rejected the offer, he would definitely do it with a smile.

But Du Zhi said, “He was actually quite impatient. He directly told me, ‘Teacher, find someone else. I don’t have time.’”

Qin Han was surprised.

She suddenly realized that maybe the Zhang Yuqing of that time was someone she didn’t really know.

“Later, I found out that he had five different part-time jobs.”

Every day after school, on weekends, even from 4 to 8 in the morning, Zhang Yuqing’s schedule was packed with work.

It was incredible—despite being so busy, his final exam scores still ranked first in the class.

Du Zhi glanced at Qin Han. “It’s a pity that he dropped out after his first semester. As his teacher, I always felt regretful. Truly regretful.”

Yes, it was a pity.

Wearing Du Zhi’s sunglasses, everything in Qin Han’s vision turned a soft tea color. In this tea-colored city, she felt a deep sense of regret for Zhang Yuqing.

The red light hadn’t changed yet. Du Zhi kept one hand on the steering wheel and reached back with the other, grabbing a small camcorder and tossing it to Qin Han.

“There’s a video I recorded of his class. You can watch it—he only ever participated in that one group activity.”

Qin Han was about to turn it on when Du Zhi suddenly pressed her hand down with a playful smile and asked, “Should I really be showing this to you?”

Qin Han didn’t understand.

“That guy already stands out enough, and I happened to film him looking quite handsome. After watching this, you might fall for him even more. Xiao Qin Han, are you ready for that?”

Without hesitation, Qin Han turned on the camcorder.

The video showed a group of young men and women in white sportswear. Qin Han’s grip on the camcorder tightened.

It felt as if time had rewound, taking her back to that summer during her middle school years.

When Zhang Yuqing appeared in the video, Qin Han froze.

He was wearing a full set of white sportswear, holding his phone, standing under the bright sunlight, looking at something.

A classmate called out to him, “Qing, you finally joined a group activity for once, and you’re still thinking about work? Stop translating documents and come have fun!”

“Yeah! It’s a spring outing! Every moment of spring is precious!”

“Shut up, man. You’re wearing the class uniform—can you not say things that sound so inappropriate?”

“And you think cursing makes our class look better?”

“Damn, when did I say that?”

Amid the playful bickering, Zhang Yuqing slid his phone back into his pocket and smiled. “Alright, let’s go.”

Someone complained, “This arrow is rigged, no matter how I throw, it won’t go in!”

Another person replied, “Stop embarrassing yourself. Don’t you see Teacher Du is recording?”

“I’ll do it.”

Zhang Yuqing’s white sportswear sleeves were rolled up to his arms. He lifted his head, revealing a bright, confident smile.

A classmate handed him the arrow. “Even you won’t make it in!”

Zhang Yuqing smiled without saying a word.

But his eyes carried an undeniable confidence.

The arrow had light-colored feathers. He gripped it firmly and, without even aiming much, threw it smoothly.

This scene was all too familiar to Qin Han.

Not only familiar—she had been replaying it in her mind for years.

The arrow landed perfectly in the wooden barrel. Cheers erupted. Some whistled.

Zhang Yuqing brushed his fringe aside and smirked. “Just a casual throw.”

At that moment, Zhang Yuqing exuded a kind of rare ease and relaxation.

It turned out Zhang Yuqing wasn’t just that “brother’s friend.”

He was the person who, many summers ago, had left her utterly captivated.

——

Du Zhi dropped Qin Han off at the entrance of her apartment building. Qin Han stood there blankly, unsure how long she had been standing still when her phone suddenly rang.

She answered, only to hear Zhang Yuqing teasing her with a chuckle, “Little girl, since when did you start breaking promises?”

Hearing his voice snapped her back to reality.

The night was dark, the city lights twinkled, and Qin Han suddenly had an impulse.

She wanted to tell him.

She had once promised that she would always stay by his side, but Zhang Yuqing hadn’t believed her. He had called her a little girl.

But what if she told him that she liked him?

Qin Han suddenly said, “Zhang Yuqing, when we meet tomorrow, I have something to tell you.”

“First, tell me—did you get home safely?”

“I did.”

Zhang Yuqing chuckled. “Alright then. What are you planning to tell me tomorrow?”

“I’ll tell you when we meet.” Qin Han’s face was burning.

“Why not now?”

Qin Han shook her head. “No, I want to say it tomorrow.”

She might have been new to love, a bit clumsy, slow to even realize when she was jealous.

But she wanted to tell him how she felt—face to face.

Not for any particular reason.

Just because she wanted him to know.