The first day of school was not very busy. After getting acquainted with their classes, they went to the meeting hall for the orientation ceremony.
After the welcome address by Principal Shen, the first year students were informed that they could join the Students Union if they were interested, for a wholesome school life. Club masters also came up to introduce their clubs and solicit members. It was very exhilarating.
Then it was time for more speeches. With the Coordinator for first years taking the lead, speech after speech from different teachers followed.
By the end of the fourth speech, even Han Yichen was ready to do something more exciting. Needless to say, Li Yuchen was already dozing off peacefully.
Fortunately, they broke for a sumptuous lunch shortly after, before coming back for a guided tour round the school.
Due to the sheer size of the school, this tour took up the remaining half a day. It only ended some minutes to the end of the school day.
The students were tired after moving around for so long, but they thoroughly enjoyed themselves. Listening to the school's history, seeing the different sights and getting to know each other was a wonderful way to spend the day.
Everyone understood that beginning from tomorrow, they would be too busy to casually go sightseeing.
The unofficial motto of the school was "work hard, work hard, play hard". In essence, work was still more important.
It was while they were going back to the dormitory that Li Yuchen sighted the troublesome trio, but he pretended not to see. Knowing that they were all in one class gave him a headache.
One thing was for sure: school life was set to be very stimulating.
*****
"Do you really have to do this? I really don't think you should go." Jiang Philip said worriedly as he watched Su Qianhua bend down to wear her shoes.
It was still very early in the day, and City A was shrouded in darkness, even though most workers were up and about already. The rainstorm of the night before left the atmosphere gloomy and the grounds wet.
Hearing him use the word "really" twice, Su Qianhua smiled. In the short time they had spent together, she had come to notice that he had the tendency to repeat certain words when he was nervous.
"You worry too much. It's not like I'm going to arrest the criminal, I'm just going on a stakeout. My colleagues will handle the rest."
Seeing that she was bent for longer than he expected, he knelt down beside her to help her tie her sneakers while saying, "I know, you've said that already, but you know, this still sounds dangerous."
Su Qianhua rolled her eyes. Ever since Doctor Zhong confirmed that she could return to work, Jiang Philip had been hovering around her like a mother hen protecting his chick.
"Philip, Doctor Zhong said as long as I don't do anything strenuous, it would be fine. Besides, you were the one that read that exercise is good for the baby, remember?"
Jiang Philip could not say anything to refute that, but he lowered his eyelashes, hiding his ocean blue orbs.
Su Qianhua understood this stance to mean he wanted to argue but didn't want to upset her. She had secretly named it "the aggrieved little housewife" look. She sighed.
"Fine, I won't go on the stakeout anymore. I'll only stay at the office and handle the paperwork. Either way, I have to go to work. My unit is seriously short-staffed and they've been begging me not to take another impromptu break like I did the last time."
She was really not exaggerating. One of her colleagues knelt down with snot in his nose the day she finally resumed work, begging her not to abandon them just like that again.
They looked so pitiful and sleep deprived that Su Qianhua would have laughed if she didn't feel bad for them. Even the worker they recruited just before her morning sickness began quit in less than two weeks. He couldn't handle it at all.
Jiang Philip's face looked marginally better, but he still didn't look at her. He only said, "That's better than going out at least. Do take care of yourself."
Su Qianhua nodded. Since he was still not looking at her, she narrowed her eyes and decided to go for the big kill.
She stood on tiptoes and kissed his lips.
His lashes flew up as he focused burning eyes on her. Just as he was about to unconsciously deepen the kiss, she pulled back and said, "I'm leaving."
Jiang Philip was so carried away that he just looked at her with unfocused eyes, as if his soul had been hooked away. Su Qianhua beamed at him, her carefree smile making her look even younger than usual.
She then flounced away, leaving Jiang Philip to stare at her back. Her shout of "See you later!" was lost on him.
A good minute after she left, Jiang Philip finally regained his composure and went to sit on the sofa, smiling foolishly.
She had not responded to his confession yet, but she had shown in the past week that she was interested in him, at least a bit.
He felt they were now closer than before. Most of their evenings were now spent discussing everything under the sun, from mundane things like politics to weightier matters about the future.
A few nights ago, they were watching a romantic tragedy, and Su Qianhua shed bucket loads of tears due to the awful experiences of the supporting female lead. This led to them talking about their painful experiences of the past with their exes.
When Jiang Philip heard her story, he trash talked the lawyer guy for throwing away a watermelon to pick up a sesame seed. Then in the next breath, he thanked him for throwing away this pearl and settling for fish eyes instead.
Su Qianhua was so amused that her initial sombre mood was completely overturned.
One thing led to another, and before long, they were sharing a long, lingering kiss on the very sofa he was now sitting on, daydreaming.
The memory brought a smile to his lips. Ah, things were moving in a very good direction.
He had also met with a real estate agent and made an appointment to view a property in the next two days.
He was looking to put down roots here in City A, and owning property was the first step. He had not told Su Qianhua yet, wanting it to be a surprise.
The thought of the look on her face when he breaks the news kept him humming as he bustled around the house, cleaning, folding their laundry and making lunch, while also coding a website for his latest client.
His good mood lasted right until his phone rang abruptly, sounding shrill in the originally peaceful silence.
"Hello."
"Yes, that's me. Who am I speaking with please?"
"Okay."
"What? How? Where is she now?"
Holding his phone in a death grip, he sprang up from the sofa and dashed out on high speed, forgetting his jacket that was still on the rack.
As his long legs raced across the street in home slippers, all he kept mumbling was,
"Please God, let her be fine."
*****