She wasn’t rejected!
Jiang Zimin sat in her seat, extremely conflicted, her feet restless, wanting to step out but not daring to.
She thought about it all night yesterday and still couldn’t figure out what to do.
She didn’t know how to start a conversation, didn’t know how to speak up.
She hadn’t made friends on her own before!
What if Qiao Mingxue didn’t want to be friends with her?
What if Qiao Mingxue had so many friends that there couldn’t be one more? What then?
What if, what if…
The strap of the school bag in her hand was gripped even tighter.
Her feet seemed firmly nailed to the ground; the more worried she was, the more unable she was to move.
Fear made her sit upright and tense.
In her mind, the image of Qiu Baiyu unconsciously emerged.
She missed her auntie.
She missed her auntie’s courage and straightforwardness.
She missed her auntie’s protection.
And… her encouragement.
—— If it doesn’t work, it doesn’t work; trying is always better than not trying.
—— Anyway, you still have me. I have always been your friend.
Jiang Zimin’s tense body suddenly relaxed.
Yes, aunt is right. Trying is always better than not trying. Anyway, no matter what happens, her aunt will always be her friend!
—— Don’t be afraid, Jiang Zimin, go for it!
She cheered herself on in her heart and stood up in one go.
The next second, Qiao Mingxue suddenly turned around to look at her.
Jiang Zimin’s steps hurriedly came to a halt.
“Why aren’t you going home either?”
Qiao Mingxue’s voice reached her ears, full of curiosity.
“Is the person picking you up busy today too?”
Too?
Jiang Zimin caught the key point: “Are your mom and dad very busy today?”
She remembered that Qiao Mingxue’s parents had always picked her up from school.
Qiao Mingxue calmly nodded her head: “They have something to do today, so they’ll come to pick me up a bit later. They’ve already informed the teacher, so the teacher told me to stay in the classroom and wait for them, not to run around.”
Jiang Zimin suddenly realized.
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No wonder she was sitting so steadily after school…
“And you,” Qiao Mingxue asked, “why aren’t you going home yet?”
Jiang Zimin blinked and blinked again.
“I, I… I’m also waiting for my family to pick me up!”
After holding it in for a while, she only managed to say this sentence.
Anyway, she was indeed waiting for Qiu Baiyu to pick her up…
“Oh.” Qiao Mingxue’s response was concise and clear.
Then she turned back to continue doing her homework.
She was always so cheerful and outgoing, never shy or hesitant to start a conversation.
And with these few words as an opening, Jiang Zimin’s heart gained a bit more courage.
Look, they could chat too.
Qiao Mingxue didn’t mind her at all.
Jiang Zimin made up her mind to take a step forward, then carefully sat in the seat next to Qiao Mingxue.
She glanced at Qiao Mingxue’s homework book and then looked at her leg.
“Qiao Mingxue, is your leg already better?”
This was the only topic she could think of.
Qiao Mingxue nodded: “Mm, it’s better.”
Jiang Zimin asked, “Does it not hurt anymore?”
Qiao Mingxue nodded again: “It doesn’t hurt anymore.”
Jiang Zimin suddenly empathized: “Was it very painful on the day you got injured?”
Qiao Mingxue nodded again: “Yes, it was super painful!”
It hurt so much that she cried out loud, not even knowing if she was calling for her dad or mom.
Fortunately, now it’s fine. Her dad and mom took great care of her, and she can jump around again!
“Now it’s fine, I don’t feel any pain at all.”
“That’s good to hear!”
The two first-grade kids started chatting naturally like this.
Qiao Mingxue put down her pen and asked: “And you?”
Jiang Zimin was puzzled: “Me?”
Qiao Mingxue asked: “When I wasn’t around, did Liu Jianhui bully you again?”
Jiang Zimin saw that after she went back, Qiao Mingxue was still thinking about her, and she was extremely happy. She couldn’t help but proudly say, “Nope, he doesn’t dare to bully me now!”
“Why?” Qiao Mingxue looked at her with great curiosity.
“Because my auntie will protect me. She’s very powerful and can deal with big bad guys and naughty kids. She’s super invincibly cool!” Jiang Zimin mentioned Qiu Baiyu with a face full of pride. “If you don’t believe me, you can ask Liu Jianhui!”
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“Liu Jianhui got dealt with by your auntie?”
“Yeah! My auntie came to school that day to stand up for me, gave Liu Jianhui a good lesson, and Liu Jianhui cried really hard! She even told Liu Jianhui that if he bullied me again in the future, she would make him cry even harder!”
“Wow…”
“My auntie can even hold up the sky, not letting the clouds press down on me!”
“Wow—!”
In Qiao Mingxue’s exclamations of admiration, Jiang Zimin unconsciously got more and more exaggerated.
Auntie said she could hold up the sky for her, so she definitely can!
A tall and mighty image of a cool aunt faintly emerged in Qiao Mingxue’s mind.
Then she became curious.
“Your auntie is so amazing, why didn’t she come to help you before?”
Jiang Zimin immediately looked heartbroken: “Because Auntie was also sick at that time, so she couldn’t come to protect me…”
She believed that if Qiu Baiyu hadn’t been sick, she would have come to protect her earlier, making her even happier and more cheerful than she is now!
“Ah…” Qiao Mingxue didn’t expect this development and her eyebrows furrowed slightly in concern, “How is your auntie now?”
“She’s fine,” Jiang Zimin said with a smile, “She’s completely recovered!”
Qiao Mingxue nodded: “That’s good.”
“With your auntie, you don’t have to be afraid of anything in the future.”
“Mm-hmm!” Jiang Zimin nodded vigorously.
The relaxed conversation made their relationship seem to grow much closer.
She glanced again at Qiao Mingxue’s homework and finally summoned the courage to ask, “Can I do homework with you?”
“Mm.” Qiao Mingxue nodded.
“Then, can I also come to you to do homework together in the future…”
Jiang Zimin’s fingers unconsciously traced circles on the table, her eyes darting elsewhere, both expectant and afraid, not daring to meet Qiao Mingxue’s gaze.
She was really afraid of being rejected…
This was her first time actively trying to make friends, and being rejected would be really upsetting.
She really, really wanted to be friends with Qiao Mingxue…
“Of course!” Qiao Mingxue said cheerfully.
Jiang Zimin was stunned for a moment, and then, in the next second, a joyful expression appeared on her face.
She wasn’t rejected!
Qiu Baiyu didn’t see Jiang Zimin at the school gate.
Usually, Jiang Zimin would wait obediently inside the school gate for her, sometimes coming out a bit late but never more than two minutes.
But today…
Qiu Baiyu checked her phone screen—it had already been six minutes.
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Something was off.
She hadn’t received any detention messages from the homeroom teacher either.
Without a second thought, Qiu Baiyu walked directly into the school.
She followed the familiar route all the way to Jiang Zimin’s classroom door.
As soon as she reached the door, she saw the child sitting safely at her desk doing homework, and her tense nerves finally relaxed.
So she was just doing homework in the classroom… As long as she’s okay.
But who was the child next to her?
The next second, Jiang Zimin seemed to sense something and looked up. Upon seeing her, a happy smile suddenly appeared on her face.
Immediately, Jiang Zimin pointed at her and said to the child next to her, “Look, this is my super invincibly cool auntie.”
The child also looked over and exclaimed, “Wow, this is the auntie who can hold up the sky!”
Qiu Baiyu: “?”
Wait, what are you talking about?