Chapter 11

Chapter 11

Ni Jiajia left in a huff that day.

From then on, she never set foot in Cen Yi’s house again.

But I went every week.

To be honest, I liked Cen Yi.

A large part of it was because his house was filled with so many toys I had never played with before.

Even though Cen Yi still didn’t talk much.

But since I played with his toys,

I had to take responsibility for him.

The pretty auntie said that Cen Yi didn’t like to talk and had no friends.

But in reality, no matter what I said, he would always respond.

I officially placed him within the circle of “good friends.”

One day, as I was coming back from Cen Yi’s house,

I passed by the edge of the playground in our residential complex and saw Ji Shu sitting alone on a swing, swaying back and forth slowly.

I pretended not to see him, intending to circle around and walk past from the other side.

“Ni Xiaoxiao!”

Ji Shu called out to me.

I pretended not to hear him and quickened my pace.

He jumped off the swing and chased after me.

“Ni Xiaoxiao!”

He grabbed my sleeve.

I shook him off and turned to look at him.

His expression was awkward, his lips pressed tightly together.

He didn’t say anything either.

We just stood there, staring each other down.

I turned to leave again.

“Hey!”

He hurriedly grabbed me again, his voice dropping lower. “Where… where have you been lately? I looked for you in the courtyard, but I couldn’t find you.”

Unable to fully swallow his pride, his gaze flickered around. “I mean, didn’t we agree to come out and play? And you said we’d pick out a gift for my brother together… Where on earth have you been? I can’t find you at all on the weekends!”

He spoke a bit fast, but the more he talked, the more natural he became.

It was as if he wanted to lightly brush over the fact that we had ended our friendship.

“Why are you looking for me?”

Ji Shu’s face flushed red. “You know why!”

He said with a mix of shame and annoyance:

“Is it really necessary to stay angry for this long? I know I was wrong… I shouldn’t have said those things about you, and I shouldn’t have…”

He lowered his head and pulled a pack of strawberry milk from his hoodie pocket, shoving it toward me.

“It’s the last pack. I couldn’t even bring myself to drink it… Here, take it. Stop being mad, okay?”

The packaging still carried the warmth of his body.

I looked down at the milk, remembering how many times we had fought in the past.

But every single time, I was the one who reached out to him first.

I always felt it was no big deal-friends fight and then make up.

Compared to my pride, I was more afraid of losing a friend.

I didn’t have much to begin with.

So, every person who stayed by my side was precious.

“I’m not angry anymore,”

I said.

Ji Shu’s eyes instantly lit up.

“Then come over to my house to play tomorrow! I bought new game cards…”

I shook my head and handed the milk back to him.

“But I don’t want to be your friend anymore, either.”

He froze.

Panic flickered in his eyes, and he opened his mouth to say something.

But I simply turned around and headed home.

The wind blew against my face, feeling a bit chilly.

Friends are very precious.

But my sincerity is just as precious.

I know that in the eyes of others, it might seem light and not worth mentioning.

But the more it’s like that,

the more I have to value myself.

I didn’t want to give him a second chance.