I took the bus to school by myself after waking up from my afternoon nap.
Gu Fan isn’t my personal chauffeur—I can’t rely on our close relationship to keep asking him to give me rides to and from school.
More importantly, that kind of behavior kills good impressions.
I didn’t want to waste the goodwill I’d worked so hard to build over something so trivial.
I could afford a few yuan in bus fare, after all.
One class listening, one class dozing off, and another class spent brainstorming ways to probe Gu Fan’s hobbies—just like that, the afternoon flew by.
I quietly packed up my bag and stayed in the classroom a little longer.
Suddenly, someone came to find me.
“Um… hey, it’s your turn for classroom duty today.”
Uhh… really? Was that a thing?
I blinked and looked up at the top right corner of the blackboard—sure enough, my name was written there.
It had been so long since it was last my turn, I nearly forgot.
I set my bag down and trudged toward the area where cleaning supplies were kept, feeling rather downcast.
I had originally planned to check the parking lot and see if I could ‘accidentally’ bump into Gu Fan.
After all, he never said he’d drive me home every day, and I couldn’t shamelessly ask him to.
I could only rely on lucky encounters.
But now this sudden classroom duty ruined everything.
All the courage I had built up over the afternoon just evaporated.
And who knows when I’ll get another chance for a casual meeting.
I swept the floor half-heartedly, not even sure if it was actually clean.
Responsibilities?
Whatever—just good enough.
Please forgive my irresponsibility.
As I lazily waved the broom back and forth in one spot, my mind drifting in its own world, the scenery in front of me stayed fixed for quite a while… until a distinct, slender-boned hand suddenly appeared and waved a few times in front of my eyes.
I froze for a moment, as if snapping back from a distant daydream.
When I looked up, I saw—sure enough—it was Gu Fan.
Just seeing his bright, easy smile was enough to lift my mood.
“Gu Fan… What are you doing here?”
At this hour, he should’ve already ridden his motorcycle home.
Could he have come here just for me?
“I’m waiting for you to finish cleaning. Otherwise, you’d be stuck at the bus stop waiting for the next one.”
“You’re giving me a ride home? Really?”
“Hmph. I’m already here—do you think I’d lie to you?”
Leaning against the wall behind him, Gu Fan glanced around at the scattered trash.
“Looks like there’s a lot. Need a hand?”
“Eh? No, no! This is my job. I’ve got it.”
I absolutely refused to let Gu Fan help again.
I already owed him too much.
If I kept piling on more debts, I’d probably have no choice but to repay him with my body…
With Gu Fan watching, my motivation shot through the roof.
It was like I’d been injected with pure adrenaline—sweeping the floor seriously and efficiently, I had the classroom clean in no time.
The other boy on cleaning duty volunteered to take out the trash, so I immediately dashed over to Gu Fan, who was standing absentmindedly at the door.
“Gu Fan! All done!”
“Mhm. Let’s go.”
Once we’d walked a bit farther—out to the open school field—I quietly asked.
“Um… how about we stop by a milk tea shop for a bit? You don’t have anything urgent, right?”
“Nope. That sounds like a good way to relax.”
Yes!
It worked!
That went smoother than expected.
I clenched my fists in quiet triumph, secretly celebrating.
* * * * *
There weren’t many people on the second floor of the milk tea shop.
I pulled Gu Fan into a quiet little corner, where the warm yellow lighting cast a cozy glow.
The peaceful atmosphere made me squint and shiver slightly.
My tail swayed a bit before I caught it and wrapped it snugly around my waist.
Gu Fan propped up his face with one hand as he scrolled through his phone, browsing the menu for milk tea and snacks for us.
“Zhi Nian, can you eat fried food?”
“Choose whatever you like. As long as it’s something you enjoy, I’m fine with anything.”
Food always tasted more or less the same to me—but if it had something to do with Gu Fan, it somehow took on a special flavor.
Everything felt more delicious when shared with him.
Gu Fan ended up ordering a box of popcorn chicken, a serving of fries, and two waffles topped with jam.
For drinks, he got one hot grass jelly milk tea and one hot cocoa.
After ordering, we looked at each other for a moment.
Gu Fan didn’t seem particularly in the mood to chat—his pretty amber eyes blinked a few times, just about to look away.
No.
If we start eating soon, there won’t be a chance to talk.
And once we’re done, it’ll be close to dinner time—he’ll definitely want to head home quickly.
If I’m going to ask something, it has to be now.
“Gu Fan.”
“Hmm?”
“In the future… will you keep giving me rides?”
Maybe it was selfish of me, but instead of asking about Gu Fan’s interests like Shiratori had asked me to, the first thing that came out of my mouth was whether I’d get another chance to hug Gu Fan’s waist and press against his warm back.
“From now on? As long as I’ve got the time, I’ll give you a ride whenever it’s on the way,”
Gu Fan chuckled, the corners of his lips curling upward. He reached out his hand toward me, and before I could process what was happening, he gently cupped my cat ears and started rubbing them softly.
A tingly jolt ran through me, and I almost let out a moan. I quickly pressed my thighs together and held my breath.
“As compensation, Zhi Nian has to let me pet her head more from now on, okay?”
“Mm~ okay~”
Even as he spoke, his fingers didn’t stop—they only grew more delicate and thorough, almost digging inward. My breathing turned shallow as I tilted my head up to give a shaky reply.
He kept petting me for what felt like thirty seconds before finally pulling his hand away, looking satisfied.
I weakly pressed both palms to the table, my eyes unable to focus.
The stimulation had been so intense that I’d nearly rolled my eyes several times.
Not long after Gu Fan withdrew his hand, the server arrived with our drinks and snacks—thankfully sparing me from any further embarrassment.
While unwrapping the straw wrapper, I casually asked.
“Wanna skip class tomorrow afternoon? It’s been a while.”
Ever since that time at the church, Gu Fan had refused to skip class again, saying he needed to study for exams.
Though we still spent time together, I couldn’t help feeling a little disappointed.
But now the exams were long over, and I’d made it into the school’s top 50—Gu Fan couldn’t use that excuse anymore, right?
I’d wanted to say this for a while.
Today was just the perfect excuse, using Shiratori’s request as a cover.
Once we skip class successfully tomorrow, I can finally have a proper chat with him about his interests.
And I also wanted to get him a birthday present—after all, his birthday was in just five days.
Saturday… there should be plenty of time.
“Alright. I’ll take you home after school tomorrow. Once you’ve had your afternoon nap, message me and I’ll come pick you up—we’ll go for a ride.”
“Mm-hmm, thank you, Gu Fan.”
I gave Gu Fan a sweet smile, gently biting the straw as I sipped the sweet liquid.
Pairing milk tea with high-calorie snacks like chicken poppers and fries, Gu Fan scratched his head a bit regretfully after finishing.
“Feels like I won’t be able to eat dinner later…”
I thought for a moment—this was my chance.
I leaned slightly toward him, eyes locked on his.
“Then… want to take a walk with me in the outskirts? We can walk off the food a bit before heading home.”
I’d gotten more and more skilled at finding ways to ask Gu Fan for things.
Thankfully, he didn’t seem annoyed—instead, he nodded happily.
“Let me just message my family. We can head out in a bit.”
As we walked out of the milk tea shop shoulder to shoulder, I looked up at the orange-red sunset on the horizon.
A quiet, winding sense of happiness lingered in my heart.
Looks like… tonight is still long indeed.