NOVEL NEXT Chapter 218: Changes in the School
After the passion subsided, Ge Qin lay on Li Jing's chest, quietly enjoying the calm after the craziness.
After a long while, perhaps realizing that the car was too stuffy, Ge Qin reluctantly got up from Li Jing, and put her clothes back on.
When Li Jing was about to tidy his clothes, Ge Qin reached out to stop him, then softly said, "Let me dress you."
With that, Ge Qin gently buttoned up Li Jing's shirt, appearing exceptionally earnest and tender.
Li Jing looked at her with captivating allure, unable to resist reaching out to caress her again.
Ge Qin pressed her face against Li Jing's hand obediently, then lifted her delicate eyelids and softly said, "It's inconvenient here, I'll accompany you tonight."
Li Jing raised an eyebrow, lightly pinching her fair chin, "You're not going home tonight?"
"Yeah, I'll find an excuse, we're all grown-ups now, my parents don't control me that much anymore."
Having said that, Ge Qin gave Li Jing a final deep kiss on the lips, then opened the car door and walked out of the crowded passenger seat.
Subsequently, Li Jing also got out of the car, looking around, noticing that perhaps due to the New Year, the underground parking lot was empty and quiet, with only Ge Qin's car parked here.
Seeing that no one had discovered what had just happened, Ge Qin breathed a sigh of relief and explained:
"This underground parking lot was meant to solve the parking difficulties of City No.1 Middle School and nearby residents, but it charges a fee. So generally if there are parking spots on the road, this place becomes empty."
Li Jing nodded, glancing around; in his memories, this parking lot hadn't existed back then.
Walking two hundred meters west from the underground parking lot leads to the school gate of City No.1 Middle School.
Due to the New Year, there were almost no people at the school entrance.
Only a few red lanterns hung on the gate swayed slightly in the cold wind, showing a hint of the festive atmosphere.
Seeing the motorized retractable school gate was closed, Ge Qin dashed to the guard house, exchanged a few words with the guard inside through the glass, and the retractable gate slightly opened a gap over a meter.
Ge Qin waved her hand back, shouting, "Li Jing, we can go in."
Li Jing raised an eyebrow and strode over, noticing the guard in the booth smiling at him, feeling a bit odd, but still returned the smile, then walked into the school with Ge Qin.
"What did you say to the guard?"
After entering the school, Li Jing curiously asked Ge Qin.
Logically, during the New Year holidays, schools typically wouldn't let outsiders in easily.
"I said you're an excellent alumni who started a business in Tianhai and came back to revisit the alma mater."
Ge Qin explained with a shining smile.
"Is that possible?" Li Jing was amazed, "The guard actually believed you?"
"Yeah, I have classmates who teach here, so I often come to see her. The guard knows me by sight."
As she spoke, Ge Qin glanced up and down at Li Jing, "Besides, with your demeanor and attire, anyone would think you look like someone wealthy, it's not something easily imitated."
"My attire and demeanor?"
Li Jing looked down at his black trench coat and boots, which indeed seemed unusual.
Moreover, after experiencing numerous high-end places in Tianhai, his demeanor had unconsciously elevated somewhat.
Perhaps even Li Jing himself hadn't realized that as he became wealthier, not only did his confidence and assurance increase, but his mindset and way of dealing with people subtly changed.
At least, if it were before, he wouldn't have had such a calm demeanor in front of Ge Qin.
"Alright, since there are not many people, let's stroll around, though the teaching building should be inaccessible."
After glancing at the teaching building gate that was locked nearby, Ge Qin linked her arm with Li Jing's, leading him to stroll through other areas of the campus.
City No.1 Middle School is one of the most prestigious high schools in Lian City, nurturing many ordinary students who changed their destinies through hard study.
Now, as Li Jing looked at the familiar yet somewhat strange surroundings, his heart was filled with emotions.
The familiar alleys, the renovated playground, the solemn teaching buildings with a few traces of time.
Li Jing could almost trace the remnants of his youth in every corner, feeling inexplicably complex.
"What's wrong? Remembering the past?"
Noticing Li Jing's silence, Ge Qin glanced at his face, then softly said, "Actually, everyone is the same, feeling melancholic upon returning to their alma mater. I was like that when I first came back after graduating from university."
Li Jing nodded, not speaking much, and turned towards the back of the teaching buildings.
Seeing this, Ge Qin immediately quickened her pace, tightly holding Li Jing's hand, unwilling to part even for a moment.
Behind the several teaching buildings are dormitories and family quarters.
The dormitory building was empty now, with only a few scattered white short sleeves hanging in the corridor, as if waiting for the return of the students.
Behind it, the residential area was filled with old houses from the 1980s, mostly four stories high, with weathered walls and climbing vines exuding a sense of time.
"This used to be where the old teachers stayed, but later many of them moved out, and the vacant rooms were temporarily used as dormitories for new teachers."
Ge Qin walked alongside Li Jing, explaining gently and attentively, while constantly reminding Li Jing to watch out for stones and moss on the road.
"Who is that?"
Suddenly, Li Jing frowned slightly, seeing a slender figure approaching from afar, somewhat surprised.
Following his gaze, Ge Qin saw a simply-dressed young woman and said, "She's probably a teacher here; I've seen her a few times before."
At this moment, the plainly-dressed woman with sallow skin walked past them with a bag in hand, her expression calm and eyes lifeless.
Seeing Li Jing and Ge Qin looking at her, she merely cast them a puzzled glance before continuing to walk out of the school, with no intention of engaging.
Li Jing turned to watch her leave, remaining silent for a moment before he spoke, "That's Chen Lin."
"Chen Lin?!"
Ge Qin was surprised: "Isn't she the girl you mentioned that Tian Feng liked?"
"Yes, I didn't expect her to become like this."
Li Jing's expression was complicated: "Although her features haven't changed much, her original aura has changed so much, it's like even her personality is different."
Ge Qin curiously watched the departing figure, blinking: "I've seen her holding a child before; it should be her son. It seems she is already married with children."
"Is that so..."
Li Jing recalled the once cheerful and smiling girl, feeling inexplicably melancholic: "I didn't expect her to stay at this school all along. I remember she said her dream was to travel around the world by the age of thirty."
"Travel around the world?"
Ge Qin shook her head: "Looking at her current situation, that dream seems unlikely now.
But that's just how life is; if everything went as expected, nobody would live badly."
"You're right."
Li Jing withdrew his gaze, nodding slightly: "I wonder what expression Tian Feng would have if he saw her, although it's possible they've already seen each other."
After seeing Chen Lin, now a housewife but with a subdued aura, Li Jing seemed to lose interest in wandering further and said to Ge Qin, "Let's go."
Hearing this, Ge Qin was somewhat surprised but agreed, looking at Li Jing several times with curiosity, as if wanting to say something but hesitating.
Li Jing glanced at her: "What do you want to say?"
Caught out, Ge Qin's expression changed, hesitating for a moment before curiously asking, "Did you ever... have feelings for Chen Lin in the past?"
Li Jing was slightly surprised, looking at Ge Qin unexpectedly, then remained silent for a while before replying, "Yes, back then I was young, and it's easy to develop feelings for lively, cheerful, and rather nice-looking girls, but that's all it was, it can't be called liking."
"I knew it."
Ge Qin had a knowing look: "Otherwise, you wouldn't be so affected by running into an old classmate just randomly."
Li Jing said nothing, gazing at the old Catalpa trees full of dry branches ahead, and only after a long while did he say, "You're right, it's because I was once attracted to her sunshine that seeing her changed by life this way now feels especially uncomfortable.
People seem to dislike seeing beautiful things destroyed, especially when those things have intersected with themselves."
Hearing this, Ge Qin pondered his words for a while, then nodded slightly.
Then she seemed to recall something, looked up, and asked, "You've seen me before too, now seeing me again, do you think I've changed a lot? Is there anything different you feel?"
Li Jing was taken aback, not expecting her to steer the conversation towards herself.
After thinking for a moment, Li Jing replied, "I always thought you were very beautiful, leaving a deep impression."
"And now?" Ge Qin blinked, showing some anticipation.
"Now..."
Li Jing looked at her and smiled: "You're still very beautiful, especially just now when we were in the car."
Mentioning the incident in the car, Ge Qin's cheeks instantly turned red, casting a playful roll of her eyes, then tightly wrapped her arm around his, saying no more.
But her eyes once again drifted towards the direction Chen Lin had gone, and a complex feeling inexplicably arose in her heart.
Perhaps one day in the future, she would become like her too...
Thinking of this, she stole a glance at Li Jing beside her, suddenly feeling that this time of unrestrained madness with him added some waves and differences to her ordinary life, and perhaps it wasn't a bad choice after all.