Ji Yi's breathing slowly faltered under He Jichen's gaze as she gradually withdrew the smile on her lips.
The atmosphere in the room became a little odd. He Jichen fluttered his eyelids gently, put the beer bottle to his lips and took a big gulp. All of a sudden, it looked like he remembered something. "Actually, the same for me too. The first time I found out about you wasn't that time you were at my house."
Wasn't the time I was at his house... Ji Yi stared at He Jichen's eyes with a flash of curiosity.
He put on the same expression Ji Yi had when she told the story of the first time she heard about him. Like before, he didn't wait for her to ask and continued by saying, "It was over a year before then, on the school's outdoor track. You walked out of the restroom with two girls and happened to pass by me. I heard you say something and glanced back at you. That was the moment I found out about you..."
Then I remembered you and fell deeply in love with you.
Over a year earlier... At the time, she hadn't been in Sucheng for too long... But, how could she not remember seeing him as she walked by the track?
Ji Yi thought about it deeply for a while then realized that she forgot something important. "What did I say to make you glance back at me?" she asked hurriedly.
He Jichen didn't reply Ji Yi but looked down and laughed.
Ji Yi looked at the expression on He Jichen's face and grew even more curious. "What did I actually say?"
He Jichen still didn't say anything but reached into his pocket to grab his phone.
Ji Yi stared at He Jichen who was typing on his phone. Just as she was going to rush him, she heard her phone go off - "ding dong." She picked up her phone that she'd so casually tossed aside and immediately saw He Jichen's text that read: "a condom each."
Ji Yi's eyes suddenly widened.
When did I say this?
Confusion flashed across Ji Yi's head as another message popped up on her phone screen. It was He Jichen again. "Let me ask you guys - if one night, you went out on your own and were stopped by two thugs who wanted to rape you, what would you do?"
After reading that message, Ji Yi vaguely started to remember that it really did happen.
Her face flushed in an instant.
Conversations between girls were wilder than wild, so she felt a little embarrassed that a guy heard such a thing. Ji Yi couldn't help but try to explain her younger self in a hushed voice, "At the time, I just said it randomly."
"Mhm." He Jichen knew she was embarrassed, so he didn't linger on the topic for too long and changed the subject. "Later, I even saw you once or twice, but I only found out your name that time you were at my house."
"But after that, I think we weren't really close. We saw each other at school, yet we never said hello," said Ji Yi as she couldn't help but continue for him.
"Yeah, we weren't really close until the second year of senior high. I think that's when we started to talk," said He Jichen.
"Yeah, it was that time with Sun Zhang. That's when we became friends."
He Jichen shook his head. "I don't think we started talking after what happened with Sun Zhang..."
Even though it happened several years ago, He Jichen could still clearly remember what was said and where, after the first time they met. "...That day was founder's day and my birthday. Fatty was messing around and brought you over to KTV..."