WriterFreak001:
Since FanFiction wouldn't allow new categories to exist on the public site without a story, I wanted to write a short fluffy story to fill in the gap. ^_^ Please enjoy!
Note: Dialogue is in Italics to indicate the Chinese spoken language.
Title | I Like You
Fandom | A Love So Beautiful / 致我们单纯的小美好
Description | Senior High wasn't the first time Chen Xiao Xi told Jiang Chen she liked him. In fact, he's heard her confession every school year since primary school. What if, one day, he decides to beat her to it?
Rating| This fanfiction will be rated K.
Disclaimer | I don't own anything except for the storylines. ^_^
I Like You
* Part One: Sixth Year – Primary School (6th Grade) *
致我们单纯的小美好
She waited for him like she always did, but when he walked out of the apartment complex, the atmosphere was different. Just a few days ago, Jiang Chen had bought a book for his younger brother, and he seemed really happy. He smiled, even. And yet… Something was off today… Jiang Chen wasn't himself.
He usually walked the same pace as Xiao Xi, and it never seemed to bother him that she wasn't a fast walker, but he didn't even notice her when she greeted him. Or when she waved. Or started following him. In fact, by the time she tried to catch up to him around the corner, he was already out of site.
She sighed and began walking to school alone, hoping she wouldn't miss the bell.
But with her luck, just as she crossed the first street, it began to downpour with rain, drenching her from head to toe. She picked up her pace and started jogging, grateful the school wasn't too far from the complex. She could see it in the distance! If she ran faster, she could make it in time, she was sure of it! Holding her backpack tightly to her shoulders, she could hear the books in her bag jostling in every direction as she started to run, but she didn't care. All she cared about was making it to school on time because one more tardy meant one more detention, and one more detention meant no walking home with Jiang Chen!
She then grew excited when she spotted him close to the school's entrance and called out to him, hoping he would hear her and wait. But even she knew it would almost be impossible to hear anything with the rain slamming down as hard as it was. As she passed the second to last street before her school, a roar of thunder and a clash of lightning startled her, and she lost her footing. The right side of her temple scraped against the pavement, and her hands and arms stung with red, bleeding scrapes. Her knee was scratched up too. She tried to pick herself up off the ground, but her ankle jerked from a sudden onslaught of pain, and she dropped downward, wanting to cry. As she tried to stand up again, she was startled to find Jiang Chen knelt with his back facing her. She didn't have to ask to know what he was trying to do.
"Jiang Chen…," she sounded pitiful and grateful all at once as she sniffed loudly, the noise drowned out by the rain. Carefully, she hooked her arms around his neck. As he stood up, she wrapped her short legs around his torso, and he looped his arms around her legs for extra support. She didn't know if she should be happy, surprised or embarrassed to have him carry her on his back, but she buried her face into his back as best as she could, in hopes that nobody would notice.
Luckily, they made it inside the gate before the bell rang.
Casually and silently, Jiang Chen walked Xiao Xi inside the school's doctor's office and gently lowered her onto the bed. As Cheng-dàifu rose from her desk, her savior quickly said, "She fell and scraped herself up as well as hurt her ankle pretty badly. I'll let our instructor know where she is." He started to leave, but Xiao Xi grabbed his sleeve. He instantly turned towards her, his eyebrows lift slightly as if he was asking her a silent question.
Xiao Xi bit her lip and flushed a little. "Thank you, Jiang Chen."
The boy nodded slowly. Then he realized something. "Your school jacket…and your pants…," he pointed to the tears in her uniform, "I'll be right back." Without a word, he left the infirmary, leaving Cheng-dàifu to dress her wounds.
Xiao Xi took off her burgundy, soaking wet school jacket as instructed, and Cheng-dàifu hung it up to dry. Her white shirt underneath was nearly plastered to her skin, and she suddenly felt exposed. Cheng-dàifu first cleaned up the blood on the side of her face and placed a bandage on her forehead. "Your white shirt," she said as she dabbed at the scrapes on her arms, "It has drops of blood on it."
"My mama will wash it out tonight." Xiao Xi replied, not really caring about the red stains on her shirt.
Cheng-dàifu smiled a little and nodded while lifting Xiao Xi's pant leg to dress her knee. She carefully dabbed a cotton ball doused with hydrogen peroxide against her wound before banding that injury as well. As she began to take off Xiao Xi's right shoe, Jiang Chen came bursting into the infirmary with a bag of clean clothes.
He took a minute to catch his breath before saying, "I got permission to go home and grab these…," he paused when he noticed how her white shirt clung to her chest and tried not to flush from embarrassment. He shook away his thoughts and glanced at the wall behind his childhood friend, avoiding her eyes. "This was my uniform last year before my growth spurt. It might still be a little to large, but it would fit better than anything else."
He placed the folded clothes on top of the bed, next to Xiao Xi and headed for the door. "I've let Li-lǎoshī know why you're late for class. You will not receive a demerit." And just like that, he was gone.
Xiao Xi would treasure his old uniform forever.
School, for the most part, was dull and boring as usual, but the thought that she was still wearing Jiang Chen's old clothes kept her smiling. On their way home, since the rain was no longer around, Jiang Chen carried her on his back like he did before. She thought, maybe, he was only doing that to be nice, but she didn't care. It made her happy nonetheless.
Xiao Xi bit her lip and found herself mindlessly tightening her arms around his neck, but he didn't seem to mind. After what felt like a thousand years of silence, Xiao Xi finally decided she should say something before he arrived home, otherwise, it would be too late.
"Thank you," she whispered quietly into his ear, unaware of the strange sensation he felt from the close contact. He suddenly decided he liked hearing her voice. "Thank you for helping me after I fell and for lending me your old clothes."
"Hmn," was all he said, keeping his focus on the path ahead. And then eventually, "You can keep the uniform. It doesn't fit me anymore, so I have no use for it."
"Let me treat you to hot pot sometime as a 'thank you.'" Xiao Xi was suddenly chipper.
Jiang Chen smirked. "You don't have enough money to buy a hot pot."
She dramatically rolled her eyes. "That's why I said 'sometime.' I'm going to save up for it."
Jiang Chen shook his head slowly. "Have it your way."
She beamed. "I almost always do!" She then tapped him incessantly on the shoulder. "Jiang Chen?"
"Hm?"
"Why were you upset this morning? And don't tell me you weren't because I'm good at knowing these sorts of things. I'll find out eventually, so you might as well tell me."
A small wave of silence washed over pair as they neared their neighborhood. Eventually, he spoke. "My mom's job wanted to transfer her to Beijing to expand the company, and without discussing it, she decided to go. She took my younger brother with her."
"Oh," Xiao Xi pressed her lips together, unsure what to say after that. "Is she… Is she coming back?"
"She'll visit…, but I don't know if she'll ever move back. It seemed like she's planning on staying in Beijing for long term." Jiang Chen replied in a low voice, not really wanting to talk about it.
But when they finally reached their street, Xiao Xi found the courage to say, "If you're ever feeling lonely or don't want to eat alone, our home is always open. Mama always has good food, and lots of it, too!"
She didn't know it, but Jiang Chen cracked a small smile. "Thanks. Auntie is always so nice. I'll keep it in mind." As they reached the front of the complex, he asked, "You think you can make it up the steps by yourself?"
Xiao Xi shook her head. "My ankle is still pretty sore."
Jiang Chen nodded and said nothing else as he opened the door to the inside stairwell. He walked her up to her family's apartment and waited for her to take out her spare key so he could unlock the apartment door for her. She paused while looking for it, suddenly remembering exactly where she left it… on her bed.
"You forgot your keys again, didn't you?"
Xiao Xi sighed in defeat. "Yeah."
Jiang Chen rolled his eyes and tried not to smirk as he knocked on the door for her but didn't hear a response. "I thought you said your door is always open."
"You know what I meant," she playfully smacked his shoulder. "They must be out somewhere…" She thought for a moment. "Usually, they go grocery shopping around this time so maybe they're at the store."
"Then we'll wait upstairs at my place." Jiang Chen said unexpectedly, changing direction to head towards his apartment. Once at the door, he pulled out his keys from his pocket and unlocked the handle before walking them inside. He closed and locked the door before placing her down on the ivory couch. "We'll wait here until your parents come home. Then, I'll help you back down the stairs."
"Okay," Xiao Xi nodded slowly. He then dropped to his knees in front of her and took her shoes off before tossing them towards the main door. Without warning, his hands were cupped around her ankle, and she hissed in response to his touch.
"Does this hurt?"
"A little."
"What about when I do this?" he asked as hegently and slowly pushed her foot towards her shin. In response, she yelped in pain and nearly kicked him in the face as a jolt of discomfort shot through her body. Xiao Xi wanted to die from embarrassment.
"I'll go get some ice," Jiang Chen couldn't help but smirk as he rose to his feet and walked away only to come back a few minutes later with a bag of said ice. He wrapped the bag in a towel and gently placed it against her ankle. "Does that feel a little better?"
"A little," Xiao Xi replied, biting her lip in response. He then propped her foot up on the coffee table, placing a pillow between her heel and the glass. "Thanks," she whispered, surprised when he sat next to her, voluntarily. He turned on the TV and flipped to a random channel for some extra background noise as if he was trying to distract himself from something. Xiao Xi closed her eyes as the sound droned into her ears, and Jiang Chen eventually followed suit, exhausted from carrying her home.
Neither could remember how or when they dozed off, but when Jiang Chen woke up much later, his eyes popped open to find Xiao Xi's head resting on his shoulder. A small grin found his lips, and he shifted a little, tilting his head towards hers before closing his eyes again, wanting to enjoy the moment while he still could.
His defense: people shift sleeping positions all the time.
About an hour later, Xiao Xi woke up and smiled from the closeness between her and Jiang Chen but knew she must get back to her apartment before her parents decide to send a search party for her. Gently nudging Jiang Chen awake, he slowly opened his eyes and lifted himself off her. "Sorry," he apologized as if his little act was an innocent accident. She only nodded with a small grin before stretching her arms. "How's your foot?" He stood up and walked around the coffee table before extending his hand towards Xiao Xi to help her up.
She tried rolling it, but the pain was too great. "It still hurts," she lied, "but I think I'll manage." She carefully rose to her feet and tried walking the pain off, but it was still too painful to add any pressure to her foot.
She nearly stumbled over, but Jiang Chen was quick to catch her.
"Careful," he sighed, turning around to offer his back again. "I'll carry you down."
Like the time before, she hesitated at first but didn't take as long to climb onto his back before he started heading towards the door. When they arrived at her apartment, she knocked on the door and called out to her parents, but like the first time, no one answered. She frowned. "What time is it? They should be here by now."
"It's almost 5 p.m. Did they say they were going anywhere else? Out of town for instance?" Jiang Chen offered, but Xiao Xi shook her head. As if on cue, her cellphone buzzed in her back pocket.
She reached for it and flipped it open to check it. After reading the message, she sighed. "Looks like I'm sleeping on the stairs tonight. Mama just told me that she had Papa take her to a vendor in Beijing to convince him to sell some of her trotters, and they're not going to leave until the vender caves."
Jiang Chen pursed his lips and thought for a moment. "You can stay in my younger brother's old room for the night, and if your parents aren't back by morning, we can find the landlord and have him open the apartment."
Xiao Xi swiftly grinned ear to ear. "Really?! You'll let me stay?!"
Jiang Chen paused to contemplate his decision, wondering if he made the correct one. He then nodded. "But your parents can't know… I don't want them getting any wrong ideas. Tell them you decided to stay with a friend… any friend… any female friend." Jiang Chen started back up the stairs as he heard Xiao Xi typing away on her phone. Then he realized something. "Are you hungry?"
Xiao Xi nodded swiftly as her stomach growled at the same time. Jiang Chen chuckled lightly as he headed back down the stairs towards the metal door. "Let's eat out. I've got no food in the kitchen."
"Lead the way."
Xiao Xi had been given one of Jiang Chen's old shirts to wear to bed, but no matter how comfortable the bed was, she still couldn't sleep. The mere thought of wearing something that Jiang Chen once wore had her head swimming more so than the uniform he had given her. The shorts he let her borrow proved to be very big and didn't fit her, so she had to go without and just wear her undergarments underneath.
She wasn't complaining though.
Quietly, she pulled out her phone and checked the time. 2:17 a.m. Not sure what else to do, she pressed the "Talk" button on her phone and called Jiang Chen. To her surprise, he answered. "Hm?"
"Did I wake you?"
"No." She heard him yawn, and she couldn't help but quietly giggle. "What do you need?"
"I need some water." She replied as she leaned forward to rub her foot. Bad idea. Pain shot through to her knee, causing her to groan. "Can you get me some?"
There was a pause. "Sure. Hang on."
Though the line went dead, she heard him shuffling out of his bedroom and slowly walking towards the kitchen. She heard him turn the water on and then, a few seconds later, turn it off. A few minutes later, he stepped inside his brother's room. She was glad it was mostly dark because the shirt was slipping off one of her shoulders, exposing quite a bit of skin.
"Here," he offered, using the moon light to guide him to her. She took the glass and downed it all in one.
"Thanks, that might help cool me down a little." She smiled in appreciation and then handed him the glass.
He took it and started walking towards the door. "If your hot, don't sleep with the covers on. Or, if you want the covers, then shedding layers of clothes works too." He blushed a little, curious of her reply.
He could vaguely see her suddenly wrapping her arms around herself. "This is the only thing I'm wearing… ex-except for my… Anyway, I'm not doing that. I'll just take off the covers. That's easier and less embarrassing."
"Sure. That's probably the wiser decision." He scratched his head, ruffling his already-messy hair before starting for the door.
"Jiang Chen?"
"Hm?"
Xiao Xi's cheeks were on fire. "Can you help me take off these sheets?"
"Oh," he swallowed thickly, "Sure."
He didn't sleep a wink that night.
Luckily, by the time Xiao Xi woke up, changed back into Jiang Chen's old uniform and was escorted back down to her apartment, her parents were home, making breakfast. Knowing their klutzy daughter, Xiao Xi's parents didn't ask any questions when they watched Jiang Chen carry her inside the apartment, but her mother did run up to her when she noticed Xiao Xi's bandages.
"Jiang Chen helped me," she explained after telling them what happened, "And after my foot heals, I want to treat him with a hot pot." Jiang Chen lifted his eyebrows, curious as to how this conversation was going to go.
"Sure. Of course," Xiao Xi's mother replied. "Treat him well, Xiao Xi."
"Will you give me money, then? When I'm better?" She was so delighted and hopeful.
"Certainly." Her mother smiled brightly. "Anything to reward Jiang Chen for his kindness."
Xiao Xi was grinning ear to ear and then gave Jiang Chen a quick wink. He rolled his eyes and shook his head before heading back towards the door. "I'm glad Auntie and Uncle are back home safely from Beijing. I'll leave Chen Xiao Xi in your care." He bowed with respect. "I'm going back home. I need to finish getting ready for school."
Xiao Xi held onto Jiang Chen tightly as he walked both of them to school later that morning. The last day was quite the whirlwind, but she somehow felt closer to Jiang Chen than she did a few days ago. When she spotted the school in the distance, she whispered his name. "Jiang Chen?"
He turned his head slightly towards her, and their eyes met for a brief second before he returned his attention back to the road. "Hm?"
She poked his shoulder gently. "I like you."
He almost stopped in his tracks but to keep appearances, he recovered quickly, unable to hide the smirk on his face. Before he could say something, she rested her forehead against his shoulder and whispered, "You don't have to say anything. In fact, I don't want you to. I'm too afraid you'll say something I don't want to hear… But from now on, every year on this date, I'll remind you of my feelings. Only respond when you're absolutely sure you like me too. If you remain quiet, at least I know there's hope."
Jiang Chen kept silent as instructed.
He honestly didn't know how he felt for Chen Xiao Xi, but somehow, he really liked hearing those words from her. And one day, when he's mature enough, he hoped he would eventually say them too.
WriterFreak001:
Thank you for reading! This will be a multichapter story so I hope you stick around for more! I hoped I made these two in character for sixth graders since that's around the age that kids start to develop feelings for other kids.
Vocabulary:
-dàifu: Chinese suffix for medical doctor.
-lǎoshī: Chinese suffix for general teacher.