Chapter 25: The Prefix of a Contact Name
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“Hmm…”
Lying flat on the sofa in her pajamas, Cao Aiqing held up her phone and stared at the two “hi” messages He Tianran had sent her, feeling somewhat puzzled.
He rarely contacted her on his own. Even when they chatted, she was usually the one to start the conversation, and most of the time it was about studying. Why was he looking for her at this hour? It had to be something important, surely.
“Meow~”
The little orange cat she kept at home leaped onto the sofa and paced across her body, swaying from side to side. Finally, it gave a cry against her chest and settled down there.
Cao Aiqing freed one hand and stroked its back. The kitten lifted its head and licked her fingertip.
“Bodhisattva, you’ve gotten fat…”
Feeling the weight pressing against her chest, Cao Aiqing said this quite seriously. The orange cat named Bodhisattva responded with a sneeze, then curled its tail around itself, tucked in all four paws, and ignored its owner completely.
When no reply came from He Tianran, Cao Aiqing began talking to herself.
“What do you think He is looking for me about this time? Bodhisattva, you’re so powerful. You must know, right?”
The cat in her arms basked contentedly in the girl’s caresses, purring softly. Perhaps in proof of its supposed supernatural abilities, Cao Aiqing’s phone received a message at that very moment.
He: [Image]
The girl opened the picture. It was merely an ordinary screenshot of a chat, showing the exact two lines he had just sent her. There seemed to be nothing unusual about it…
Wait.
That contact name?
“Cao Aiqing Who Cries When She Sees Ghosts?!”
The moment she read it aloud, Cao Aiqing sat bolt upright. The orange cat let out a startled cry and jumped to the floor. Smiling apologetically, the girl picked it up by the scruff of its neck and placed it back on her lap, where she soothed it.
He: I happened to notice this nickname while organizing my contacts. It suits you pretty well, doesn’t it?
Blushing, the girl replied.
Cao Aiqing Who Cries When She Sees Ghosts: o(≧口≦)o You said you wouldn’t bring that up again?!
He: …Ah, sorry, sorry. I like using a person’s characteristics plus their surname when naming contacts, so it may have been a little… offensive?
Thinking of He Tianran’s peculiar personality, Cao Aiqing could easily imagine him doing something like that. Offensive was perhaps too strong a word, but still…
Cao Aiqing Who Cries When She Sees Ghosts: When have I ever cried?!
He: Then how about… Cao Aiqing Who Is Afraid of Ghosts and Acts Aloof?
Cao Aiqing Who Cries When She Sees Ghosts: I’m not aloof either!! He, do you have some kind of misunderstanding about me?!
He: Huh? No, it’s just that you usually seem rather cold and unapproachable. “Aloof” is a neutral term here. Speaking of which, I’m actually rather curious about how you see me. Why don’t you send me your nickname for me too?
Cao Aiqing puffed out her cheeks. If she sent him the simple three-word nickname “He,” she would obviously lose this battle. So she changed it to “The Eccentric, Antisocial He,” but her finger stopped above the send button.
“Words like that sound a bit too much like personal attacks… Would that be inappropriate?”
After thinking it over, she changed the nickname to “He with a Teardrop Mole.”
She sent the picture. The other side fell silent for half a minute.
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Cao Aiqing looked at it again and again. There shouldn’t be anything wrong with that name, right?
He with a Teardrop Mole: Cao actually noticed me!!! Even my mother has never told me I have a teardrop mole!!! You were paying such close attention!!
At this unexpected message, the girl’s face instantly flushed crimson. She tossed her phone aside, grabbed the orange cat, gave it a couple of vigorous rubs, and threw it back down before springing to her feet. She paced back and forth, utterly at a loss for how to respond.
Poor Bodhisattva crouched on the sofa, watching the foolish human with its tail swishing from side to side.
“Ding~”
A new message arrived. Cao Aiqing stopped in her tracks, but she did not dare look at it immediately. Instead, she crouched in front of the cat, resting her chin on the edge of the sofa as she said pitifully,
“Bodhisattva, my Bodhisattva, what strange thing do you think He is going to say this time…?”
“Meow~”
The orange cat gave a disdainful cry, jumped off the sofa, and returned to its cat tree.
Cao Aiqing drew a deep breath and picked up her phone.
He with a Teardrop Mole: In that case, I’ll change it to “Cao Aiqing Who Is Beautiful All by Herself.” How does that sound?
Fortunately, he had not pursued the previous subject any further.
Cao Aiqing Who Is Beautiful All by Herself: Why “all by herself”? It sounds strange. I’m not that difficult to approach.
He with a Teardrop Mole: Really?
Cao Aiqing Who Is Beautiful All by Herself: (=•ω•=) Of course it’s true! I’m very good to my friends!
He with a Teardrop Mole: Then I’ll have to think carefully about how to describe you. We haven’t had that much contact, after all.
After waiting for a while, Cao Aiqing even began to look forward to seeing what nickname He Tianran would come up with for her. But nearly ten minutes passed, and he still had not replied.
Was it really that difficult to think of one?
Could He’s impression of her really consist of nothing more than the flustered girl he had seen in the classroom?
“Bodhisattva, come down here and let me hug you.”
Cao Aiqing stood beside the cat tree with her arms open. The orange cat, perched high above her, showed no intention of paying the human any attention.
“Ding~”
A reply finally arrived. Cao Aiqing spun around and hurried back to the sofa.
The orange cat watched her retreating figure, then coldly turned around to face the wall.
He with a Teardrop Mole: Then I’ll change it to…
That was all he sent, deliberately keeping her in suspense. The girl’s eyes swept over the screen, and then a new message appeared.
He with a Teardrop Mole: “Cao Aiqing Who Would Offer to Buy Me a Meal.” How about that?
Cao Aiqing Who Would Offer to Buy Me a Meal: Σ(っ°Д°;)っ What?!
…
…
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Wen Liang tossed the phone back to He Tianran. The straight-minded boys who had witnessed the entire exchange stared at one another in shock, wearing expressions as stunned as the emoticon Cao Aiqing had sent.
“W-Will she agree?” Xue Yong muttered.
Wen Liang glanced at He Tianran, who was still dazed.
“That depends on He Tianran himself.”
Hearing the girl address him by his full name, He Tianran hurriedly put away his phone and offered her a stiff compliment.
“Wen Liang… you really know what you’re doing. If you hadn’t saved me, I wouldn’t have known how to end this.”
Wen Liang replied coldly, “There’s no need to thank me. You were the one who gave her those nicknames. Apart from the last one, you came up with all the others yourself. I merely made use of the opportunity.”
Xue Yong cut in at once. “Liang, if you hadn’t helped this time, Tianran would definitely have fallen flat on his face. Why don’t we treat you to a late-night snack?”
He Tianran immediately nodded along.
The girl frowned at Xue Yong. “I helped him. Why are you treating me to food?”
Xue Yong’s expression froze. He then cast He Tianran a helpless, pleading look.
He Tianran also wanted to take advantage of the opportunity to break the ice, so he made an earnest appeal.
“Classmate Wen… Well… We haven’t seen you for several days, and you’re never around at school either. I think the barbecue downstairs is pretty good, so why don’t we…”
Wen Liang folded her arms. “Add a prefix.”
“What?”
He Tianran was still staring blankly when Xue Yong kicked him in the backside and hissed urgently,
“Are you stupid? Just like before!”
“Ah… Uh…”
He Tianran’s mind raced. After fumbling for a long while, he finally ventured, “The Quirky… no, the Adorably Quirky Classmate Wen, would you like to come have a late-night snack with us…?”
A trace of awkwardness appeared on Wen Liang’s face. Her eyes flickered away, though she pretended to remain composed as she answered stiffly,
“O-Okay. I’ll go upstairs and change. Wait for me downstairs.”
She turned around, only to hear someone behind her shout,
“Our junior brother is treating us to barbecue! We all helped out too, so everyone’s coming along later. No one’s allowed to leave!”
“Sure, sure, no problem!”
“Brother Yong, you can really eat, so go downstairs first and order some food. Tell the owner to start grilling!”
“Got it. Leave it to me!”
As He Tianran continued begging for mercy amid the others’ teasing and cheers, Wen Liang’s perpetually stern face finally blossomed into a smile.
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