Love's Affliction - Chapter 5-2

As the wind blew, the fresh fragrance of the girl after her bath enveloped his nostrils.

In the days when he couldn’t hear, Jiang Wang’s sense of smell and vision had become much sharper than before.

That gust of wind, carrying the scent of jasmine and honey, dissipated a large part of his hostility.

The wind brought by the girl was always warm.

Sweat slid down Jiang Wang’s chin, dropping from his jaw and seeping into his collar, leaving a mark on the fabric of his clothes.

He didn’t speak, keeping his eyelids lowered as he looked at her.

Shi Nian Nian approached him a bit, and the girl’s eyes reflected starlight.

She tilted her head back, gently tapping her index finger twice on her own jawbone.

Jiang Wang raised his hand and wiped it.

Blood.

Shi Nian Nian looked at him, her gaze direct and pure.

“Who?”

Who did this to him?

His own father did this.

Jiang Wang found it laughable.

“What’s wrong?” he mockingly curved his lips. “Are you going to hit him back for me?”

Shi Nian Nian didn’t say anything.

She lowered her head, reached into the pocket of her dress, rummaged for a while, and took out a small box.

She pulled out a piece and handed it to him, with a light bear pattern on it.

Due to their significant height difference, her hand was raised high up to her forehead.

She pursed her lips, showing no expression.

She seemed a bit earnestly foolish.

Jiang Wang only then noticed that she also had the same bandage on her hand.

He shook his head, indicating he didn’t want it.

He never put such things on his face.

But Shi Nian Nian still held her hand up, not saying anything.

They remained at a standoff for a moment.

Jiang Wang held the ball with one hand and took the bandage from her hand.

His thumb touched her fingertips.

Shi Nian Nian put the bandage box back into her pocket and continued to look up at him.

Jiang Wang paused for a moment, tearing off the paper on both sides and using his index finger to stick the bandage on his wound.

Shi Nian Nian gently curved her lips.

She took off the black hair tie from her wrist and bit it lightly between her teeth.

She gathered her wind-blown hair and tied it low, giving him a smile and waving her hand.

Then she pointed in the direction behind her.

It meant that she was going home.

She really didn’t like to talk much.

A few strands of casually tied hair were scattered, brushing against her fair neck, moving up and down in the wind.

Jiang Wang stood still for a few seconds.

The faint fragrance from the girl still filled his nostrils. He casually glanced at her retreating figure as she ran out of the basketball court, still showing no particular expression.

He withdrew his gaze indifferently.

But inexplicably, he raised his hand, lightly pursing his lips where his thumb had touched her fingertips earlier.

After a while, Shi Nian Nian heard footsteps behind her.

She turned around and saw Jiang Wang with his hands in his pockets, leisurely following behind her.

He held a cigarette between his fingers, silent, his gaze subtly scanning the hem of her skirt, then exhaling a puff of white smoke.

As Shi Nian Nian walked ahead for a while, the person behind her closely followed. When she slowed down, he slowed down too, and when she sped up, he did the same. It wasn’t on the way; he simply followed her.

She stopped and turned to look at him.

“What… are you doing?”

He wore a black short-sleeved shirt, his face sharp and angular, with a slender and lean figure under the light.

His eyelids drooped, looking a bit tired.

Jiang Wang unintentionally stared at the girl’s legs for a while, feeling a bit absent-minded.

Casually, he responded with a nonchalant “Hmm?”

Shi Nian Nian didn’t repeat herself.

He realized what she said and said in a soft voice, “I’ll walk you home.”

His voice had a nasal tone and sounded hoarse.

Shi Nian Nian understood. The street they were going back to had a broken streetlight that had not been repaired for some reason. Her older brother had warned her before, advising her not to walk alone on this dark road at night.

She didn’t walk alongside Jiang Wang.

They remained one in front of the other.

Only occasionally, the scent of smoke wafting from behind reminded her that Jiang Wang was still following her.

After entering the gate of the residential area, the smell of smoke faded away. With the blowing wind, nothing could be smelled anymore.

After walking inside for a while, Shi Nian Nian looked back.

The night wind howled, pushing the moon out from behind the clouds.

Jiang Wang had already turned around and was walking back. The wind blew against his loose short-sleeved shirt, outlining his well-defined shoulders and narrow waist.

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