Tong Wenjie stared at Zhao Tianhao until he left, her eyes stinging.
Fang Yuan, seeing Tong Wenjie rubbing her eyes, asked, "What's wrong? Are you crying? Didn't I tell you Fang Yifan was faking it? You weren't faking it, were you? The teacher's gone, who are you trying to fool?"
"Nothing," Tong Wenjie replied, offering no explanation. She couldn't very well say she'd stared at Zhao Tianhao until her eyes hurt.
Zhao Tianhao pulled Li Meng back to the pep rally. The rally, after its initial chaos, had resumed.
Li Meng returned to the classroom area, and Zhao Tianhao went back to Song Qian's side.
"How was Fang Yifan?"
Song Qian had also seen that Fang Yifan had fallen.
"He's fine, just pretending to faint, afraid of getting punished," Zhao Tianhao explained.
"Ugh!" Song Qian sighed. Soon it was time for the senior students to write down their wishes and release them. Zhao Tianhao pulled Song Qian to find Yingzi to get balloons.
After receiving the balloons, Yingzi saw Fang Yifan clinging to Huang Zhitao.
"Hey, Fang Yifan, are you alright?" Yingzi still cared about Fang Yifan, but only as a friend.
Perhaps because of Zhao Tianhao, Yingzi had become distant with Fang Yifan.
Before, they might have joked and teased each other like buddies, but since Zhao Tianhao returned, Yingzi hadn't played around with Fang Yifan anymore.
However, Fang Yifan was focused on Huang Zhitao, and the carefree Fang Yifan didn't notice Yingzi's distance.
After Fang Yifan fell, normally, given their relationship, Yingzi should have immediately checked on him and followed him to the infirmary.
But Yingzi didn't; she only asked with concern after Fang Yifan appeared.
Zhao Tianhao was quite pleased with this.
In front of his goddess, Fang Yifan naturally wanted to show off his masculinity, so he boasted, "It's nothing, what's the big deal!"
"You're really cheeky. Luckily you didn't fall," Huang Zhitao said disdainfully.
"Why did you climb up there? It's so dangerous!" Yingzi asked curiously.
"I just wanted to take a picture of my goddess. Let me tell you, I don't care about anything else. Even if I fell from over there and became crippled or a vegetable, I wouldn't care," Fang Yifan continued to boast.
Unbeknownst to him, Zhao Tianhao had recorded everything Fang Yifan said.
Zhao Tianhao had planned to play the recording for Tong Wenjie. He wanted to make this woman glare at him. Indeed, Tong Wenjie had been glaring at Zhao Tianhao, which he could naturally sense. He just couldn't be bothered to pay attention to her.
Now things were different. Zhao Tianhao decided to teach Tong Wenjie a lesson.
"Come on, Yingzi, write down your wishes," Zhao Tianhao said, handing Yingzi a pen. Seeing Zhao Tianhao and Yingzi about to write down their wishes, Fang Yifan and Huang Zhitao left.
Yingzi giggled, took the pen, and wrote "cnsa".
Zhao Tianhao knew this was Yingzi's wish and wasn't surprised at all; on the contrary, he was very supportive. Nothing is happier than having something or someone you truly love.
Many people don't even know what their own hobbies are, so it's rare for a child to have such a clear goal, so naturally he supports her.
Song Qian didn't say anything after seeing this. Her focus had shifted. Before, she had demanded that Yingzi achieve a certain score and get into Tsinghua University or the Capital University.
Now, she didn't want to interfere anymore. As long as Yingzi was happy, that was enough. Song Qian knew that even if she wanted to interfere, now that Yingzi had Zhao Tianhao's support, she couldn't do anything about it.
In fact, it would only lower her good impression in Zhao Tianhao's eyes, so why bother? Song Qian's focus had now shifted to Zhao Tianhao.
Now, Song Qian's only thought every day is how to serve Zhao Tianhao well. She can't let Zhao Tianhao become infatuated with that vixen outside.
Next, Yingzi wrote, "To be with Mom and Brother forever."
Zhao Tianhao patted Yingzi's head after seeing it. Song Qian smiled after seeing it too, and wrote the same words on her balloon, but she added one sentence, not letting Zhao Tianhao and Yingzi see it.
It said, "I hope Zhao Tianhao will always be infatuated with me." After writing it, Song Qian admired her own boldness. She was incredibly embarrassed.
Zhao Tianhao wrote, "I hope my family can get along harmoniously."
Ahem, yes, Zhao Tianhao is thinking that far ahead.
After Zhao Tianhao finished writing, he saw Huang Zhitao writing her wishes quietly not far away.
Zhao Tianhao thought Huang Zhitao left to go find Pan Shuai, but it turns out Pan Shuai is still busy.
Huang Zhitao's parents have been away for many years, and even at the oath-taking ceremony, they couldn't come back to attend. So Huang Zhitao, being sensible, wrote her wishes on the balloons by herself. Seeing her best friend Yingzi and Zhao Tianhao enjoying themselves, she didn't come over to disturb them.
"Taozi, come here," Zhao Tianhao called to Huang Zhitao.
"What's wrong?" Huang Zhitao ran over and asked. She thought Zhao Tianhao wanted to talk to her about something.
"What's wrong? You still ask what's wrong? Didn't we agree that you and Yingzi are both my little sisters? Why didn't you come to your brother when you were writing your wishes?"
Zhao Tianhao ruffled Huang Zhitao's hair, "scolding" her.
Huang Zhitao felt Zhao Tianhao's concern. Having rarely experienced parental care, Huang Zhitao's eyes instantly welled up with tears. Moved, she threw herself into Zhao Tianhao's arms.
She began to sob. How could Huang Zhitao not be heartbroken? She was still just an adult.
Seeing everyone else's families so harmonious, happy, and joyful, while she was the only one filling out her wish, she felt sad. To say she wasn't envious would be a lie to herself.
Now, Zhao Tianhao's gentleness and care instantly broke down her defenses, as if all the emotions and grievances she had suppressed for so long were about to burst forth.
Yingzi, unusually, didn't feel jealous of Huang Zhitao; instead, she felt sorry for her and comforted her.
After a long while, Huang Zhitao, having vented her emotions, came to her senses and saw that she had soaked a large part of Zhao Tianhao's clothes with her tears.
Feeling apologetic, she said, "Brother, I'm so sorry I got your clothes wet. I'll wash them for you tonight."
"You've already called me brother, why are you apologizing? It's okay, it's just a piece of clothing. Your happiness is the most important thing," Zhao Tianhao said nonchalantly.
Looking at Zhao Tianhao's doting eyes, Huang Zhitao felt her heart pounding.
Just as Huang Zhitao was wondering what to say, her uncle Pan Shuai's voice pulled her from her chaotic thoughts.
It was time to release the balloons. Huang Zhitao breathed a sigh of relief, but then felt a pang of disappointment. She should have said something, after all, Zhao Tianhao had been so good to her.
Thinking of this, Huang Zhitao looked at Zhao Tianhao's large hand. Then, looking straight ahead, she glanced at it out of the corner of her eye and slowly extended her hand.
Closer, closer, soon they touched.
Huang Zhitao felt like those few seconds had dragged on endlessly. Even her forehead was covered in sweat from nervousness.
Finally, they touched. Huang Zhitao relaxed.
Zhao Tianhao was taken aback when he saw Huang Zhitao's small hand, then found it amusing to see her looking straight ahead with such seriousness.
Zhao Tianhao grasped Huang Zhitao's small hand in his large one, saying nothing.
Huang Zhitao stiffened for a moment when her hand was grasped, then, seeing that Zhao Tianhao didn't say anything... Huang Zhitao smiled and tightened her grip on Zhao Tianhao's hand.
After Pan Shuai counted down "three, two, one," parents and children released balloons filled with their wishes.
Watching the balloons slowly rise into the sky, the students felt a sense of moving closer to their dreams.
The final activity of the pep rally was for students and parents to inquire about application information from various universities.
Zhao Tianhao knew Huang Zhitao wanted to apply to Tsinghua University, so he took her there to check it out. Yingzi naturally followed closely behind. The three of them went together.
Song Qian didn't go with them; she simply stood there waiting for them to finish looking around before heading home together.
At this moment, Tong Wenjie walked over. She and Fang Yuan were also looking at the schools.
She happened to see Song Qian standing there, looking more than ten years younger. Standing next to Yingzi, they looked perfectly natural, like sisters. Tong Wenjie was naturally curious about what cosmetics Song Qian used that were so effective.
For women their age, maintaining their appearance is of paramount importance.
At this age, their sexual desires are high, but their husbands aren't always supportive. If they become haggard and their husbands lose their erections, they'll feel even more lonely, unless they resort to male prostitutes.