When Will My Childhood Sweetheart Marry Me?-Chapter 176: Mango-flavored Sweetness
Too proud and haughty.
Jiang Shuyao silently agreed—older people are pretty good at judging others.
But what had that guy done again to make Old Man Jiang so frustrated, as if he was still holding a grudge because Pei Yan had refused to be the class representative last time?
It’s said that people become stingy after turning fifty.
As she was thoughtlessly pondering, He Shumiao came over and took her arm, planning to leave, but then unintentionally overheard the counselor say with a light laugh, "Compared to another student of yours with the surname Pei, this one definitely has more personality."
The young lad is inexperienced, just wait until he gets thrashed by society a few more times to see how high he can still jump.
However, compared to the other student with the surname Pei, Old Man Jiang, sipping his tea, just shook his head, "If Pei Yan were as reassuring as that one—"
Just then, Tan Qian’s phone suddenly rang. He waved at Old Man Jiang and turned to answer the call.
With no outlet for his frustration, Old Man Jiang simply turned to Jiang Shuyao and said, "I’m telling you—don’t follow his example."
...
?
Jiang Shuyao stood still for two seconds.
Unable to hear the next part, she felt unbearably upset.
For the first time, she eagerly wished to learn more about her boyfriend from her teacher.
But in a short while, Jiang Xubai, holding his laptop, knocked on the door.
Old Man Jiang began a new round of explanations, and the topic of Pei Yan naturally concluded.
After leaving the office, seeing a tall figure at the end of the corridor, He Shumiao silently turned around, prematurely ending the life of the third wheel.
As the sky was getting dark, Pei Yan leaned against the railing, smoking, with a laptop under his arm.
From a distance, she couldn’t smell the smoke in the air; timing it, the cigarette in his mouth was at least his third.
Old Jiang at home also smoked occasionally; she didn’t mind it.
But the image from her middle school biology textbook, showing a comparison between a smoker’s lung and a healthy lung, was unforgettable.
Jiang Shuyao slowly walked over, deliberately softening her footsteps, but he still noticed her.
He extinguished his cigarette and tossed it into the trash with a motion he had perfected in front of her.
Even some habits after smoking were simultaneously forming.
Jiang Shuyao grabbed the half-unwrapped chewing gum he was holding, smiling faintly, "If you’re going to smoke, you might as well carry a bottle of mouthwash with you, it’s cleaner and more convenient."
He could tell she was teasing him.
Pei Yan gave up on the chewing gum in her hand, fetched another from his pocket, swiftly unwrapped it, and popped it into his mouth.
He turned away, his jaw muscles clearly tensed as he chewed, "I’m afraid of being disliked by you."
Men are such complex creatures.
They want to smoke, yet they worry about being disliked.
Jiang Shuyao looked down at the object in her hand, brought it to her nose, and smelled the mint scent, frowning, "Buy mango-flavored next time; I don’t like this one."
The man in front of her stiffened slightly.
Then, with a low chuckle full of interest, a sexy sound emerged from his throat.
"Is mango really that tasty?"
He wrapped his hand around her shoulder, leaned close, and brought his face near hers, his gaze deep and dark, "That’d be tough, since there’s something in the world you can’t find in mango flavor."
"What?"
Pei Yan whispered an English word into her ear.
Jiang Shuyao’s naive eyes told him she had never heard it.
Was she genuinely unaware of its meaning, having memorized three thousand words for college entrance exams and missed just this one?
She refused to give in.
"Spell it for me, how is it written?"
Pulling out her mobile phone, she typed "Condom" into the translation box...
As the results auto-popped, Jiang Shuyao gazed intently, her face flushing beet red.
With humiliation, she slapped the back of his hand, "Can’t you think of anything else?"
There was a smack—a bit harder than usual—but it still didn’t really hurt Pei Yan.
He laughed mischievously, his tone slightly wicked, "My vocabulary is rich, want to hear more?"
"No, don’t say it!" Jiang Shuyao bit her lip, turned her blushing face away, but couldn’t ignore the captivating brilliance in his eyes.
Last time they went out, Tang Xing secretly asked her how long they’d been together, wondering if she and Pei Yan had been intimate.
It really hadn’t been that long, just over four months since their final exams.
Seeing her shake her head, Tang Xing’s eyes widened in surprise, exclaiming how could Boss Pei, a boy so clearly full of desire, keep his composure in the face of beauty.
Tang Xing explained that boys of this age have strong desires, and she wouldn’t believe for a second that nothing happened during their several hotel visits.
Girls also experience puberty. Aside from burdensome studies, when lying in bed in the quiet of the night, earphones on, thoughts of a crush or of a classmate stripping off his shirt to reveal abs while playing basketball—could certainly trigger curiosity about their mischievous moments.
After talking to Tang Xing, Jiang Shuyao for the first time seriously considered the matter of sexual relationships.
People who had never dated seemed to understand more than she did. Could it be that she really was a bit dense?
Caught up in her daze, Pei Yan pinched her face, "If I wasn’t afraid you’d cry, do you think I’d hold myself back so painfully? Princess, be sensible. I don’t want to be your father."
He was her man, after all. He couldn’t always act like an old father and keep her innocent about such matters constantly.
What nonsense.
Just as she began to grasp a bit of what was happening, she was immediately back to square one and wanted to twist his waist. Then she remembered that was where the kidneys were and resignedly dropped her hand.
She said angrily, "Keep dreaming, thinking you can be my dad."
Pei Yan grasped her fingers and placed them inside his shirt.
"What are you doing." She was close to boiling over, her cheeks nearly bleeding.
He guided her fingers from his waist to his back. The muscles under her fingertips were firm, and as Jiang Shuyao tremulously thought about withdrawing her hand, she heard him ask in a husky voice, "Why didn’t you look that day?"
She paused.
That day in Seaside City at the performance, she was curious about the tattoo on his back but gave up half way through lifting his shirt.
He was clearly sleeping deeply. She had no idea he was actually awake.
A peek of navy blue, barely outlining the fine lines of hair, Jiang Shuyao gently lowered her eyelashes, her heart feeling as if it had been struck by a fireball.
"If you don’t look, save it for the future," he said, "When you do look, you’ll have to spend your life with me."
Her eyes warmed, both embarrassed and distressed.
She knew well what he meant by the future.
Tang Xing said she didn’t believe it, but the truth was, the man in front of her, who loved her deeply, had always been just waiting for her eager consent.
On the way back, she asked Pei Yan what Old Man Jiang had wanted with him today.
He raised an eyebrow, "How did you know he wanted to see me?"
Jiang Shuyao replied with two words, "Just intuition."
Ha.
Pei Yan smiled.
"That accurate, huh? Then guess again, when will I achieve true fruition?"
"Pei Yan!"
The girl was embarrassingly annoyed.
The Princess was forced to endure his ideological indoctrination daily, her helpless appearance truly pitiable.
But some things require a gradual progression; they had all the time in the world, and Pei Yan planned to let her off for now.
As they walked out of the administrative building, after a brief silence, he talked about the purpose of Old Man Jiang’s summon.
Jiang Shuyao listened and looked slightly surprised, "You didn’t agree?"
Pei Yan gave her a sidelong glance, "Boss here went to learn, not to help him groom flowers for the nation."
His casual, mocking tone really was just as Old Man Jiang had described—wild and prideful.
