As he said that, Ji Yi instantly remembered the incident.
He Jichen was still reminiscing. "...At the time, I really didn't know about it. As soon as I walked into the room and saw you, I was confused. Before I could ask what this was all about, you splashed beer all over my face."
"At the time, I was afraid I wouldn't make it back to my performance, so I was a little impatient. That day was your birthday. I shouldn't have done that to you..." At the mention of the beer splashing incident, Ji Yi lowered her eyes apologetically.
"It all happened because of me after all, so you had every right to be mad at me." As he said this, He Jichen looked like he was deep in thought as he suddenly paused for a moment before continuing. "But since you just mentioned Sun Zhang, you made me remember this one thing that happened. The incident with Sun Zhang at the track wasn't the first time we clashed. Before that, I punched him once at the internet cafe."
"Internet cafe?" Completely in the dark, Ji Yi put down the beer she was drinking in confusion and looked at He Jichen.
He Jichen softly replied, "Mhm..." like he was thinking back to what happened. He was in deep thought for a moment then said, "...I think he was at a computer at the time, sitting next to you. When he left, he deliberately tripped and leaned against your body. I happened to see it, so I asked Fatty to bring him up to the second floor and kicked him a few times..."
Ji Yi didn't remember that incident, but after hearing He Jichen's story, she remembered something that she hadn't understood back when she was in school.
Fatty and the gang always surrounded her every time she went to the internet cafe.
At first she didn't notice, but she eventually realized that the gang always stayed with her as she started to recognize a few faces over time. Back then, she assumed it was a coincidence. However, He Jichen just told her that Sun Zhang leaned onto her body and as a result, got beaten up by Fatty and the others...
With that thought, Ji Yi asked, "So back then, did you arrange for Fatty and the others to surround me every time I went to the internet cafe?"
Because they were bringing up the past and He Jichen was deep in thought, he hesitated for a few seconds after hearing what Ji Yi asked. Then he replied, "Yeah."
Hearing this answer, the suspicion in Ji Yi's heart grew more concrete as she continued to ask, "You made them surround me just to stop Sun Zhang from harassing me?"
This arrangement wasn't just targeted at Sun Zhang alone, but at anyone who messed with her. However, seeing as she guessed one part right, He Jichen nodded right away and replied, "Mhm."
So before we even knew each other well, he was already protecting me secretly?
This was clearly something warm and positive, but after Ji Yi found out, she felt even sadder and sorrowful in her heart.
If this was a little earlier, before she developed feelings for Yuguang Ge and before she knew what she now knew, would she be as sad?
Ji Yi didn't say anything else and chugged her beer like her life depended on it.
Because of her conversation with He Jichen, image upon image of their past played like a movie on Ji Yi's mind.
The image of them winning a doll at the funfair; the image of him skipping class with her and going to the internet cafe to play games; the image of him threatening Fatty to help her clean up...