Near the school, there were many jewelry stores with little trinkets, and of course, they sold nail polish. Shu Er asked Huo Chao to wait for her for a moment, and then she happily ran into the shop.
The shop had a very girly decor, with all kinds of nail polish displayed. Since it wasn’t class time yet, there were many high school girls browsing inside.
There was a wide variety of nail polish colors. Shu Er glanced at the prices, feeling a bit dissatisfied. To her, these nail polishes were too cheap. But given the limited choices near the school, she didn’t want to go all the way to a big mall just to pick a color from the counter—it seemed like too much trouble. By the time she came back, an entire class might have finished.
So, she decided she would have to make do with whatever was available for Huo Chao.
Shu Er paid for a small bottle of avocado-colored nail polish and slipped it into her pocket. The color was quite pretty, so when Huo Chao uses it later, it won’t look bad on him.
The nearby girls, seeing Shu Er buy the avocado-colored nail polish, quickly grabbed the remaining bottles.
“I want to buy this too!”
“This is Shu Er’s style!”
“This color feels trendy this year. No wonder Shu Er picked it—she’s got great taste.”
“Hahaha, this green is so fresh and vibrant.”
Shu Er had no idea she had just started a mini fashion trend. When she returned to Huo Chao, it seemed like she hadn’t bought anything.
Huo Chao raised an eyebrow. “Didn’t you say you were going to buy something?”
With her hand in her pocket, gripping the bottle of nail polish, Shu Er kept a straight face and said, “I did.”
Huo Chao glanced around casually. “Where’s the stuff?”
Shu Er spread her hands with a sly smile. “It’s a personal item for girls. What, brother, you want to see?”
For some reason, as soon as Shu Er said this, Huo Chao’s mind immediately went to sanitary pads. The moment he thought she might have gone into the shop to buy something like that, he didn’t dare ask another word.
Shu Er glanced at her phone. There were still ten minutes before class, so there’s plenty of time. She pulled out the eye mask she had bought at the jewelry store and tiptoed to place it over Huo Chao’s eyes.
Huo Chao: …Didn’t you say you wouldn’t mess with me?
Shu Er smiled brightly. “Brother, you forgot two words. Not messing with you too much doesn’t mean not messing with you at all.”
Huo Chao: …
Shu Er continued, “Brother, don’t be afraid. I’ll hold your hand.”
Huo Chao: …
Shu Er secretly laughed. With the eye mask on, Huo Chao was completely at her mercy!
She had him sit on a stone, his hands obediently resting on his knees.
Huo Chao asked, “Sitting like this is fine?”
“Mhm, just like that.”
Shu Er pulled the avocado-colored nail polish out of her pocket and carefully started applying it to Huo Chao’s nails. Despite the nail polish being cheap, to her surprise, it was odorless. This way, Huo Chao wouldn’t notice anything amiss midway through.
Shu Er worked quickly and quietly, applying polish to Huo Chao’s thumb. She was so worried about being discovered that she didn’t even bother to spread the color evenly. Speed was her priority.
Just as she finished a nail in three seconds, Huo Chao suddenly spoke. “What are you doing?”
Shu Er’s breath hitched. She almost thought her mischievous act had been caught so soon.
She held back a giggle and pretended to be casual. “Nothing, brother. You promised me—you’ll close your eyes and trust me with your hands.”
No matter how much Huo Chao thought about it, he couldn’t have guessed that Shu Er was painting his nails with nail polish.
So, he just sat there silently, not saying another word. With the eye mask on, the sound became more obvious.
He could hear the sounds of students laughing and playing in the teaching building, the wind rustling through the trees, and Shu Er’s shallow breathing.
Shu Er worked fast, and soon she had finished painting all the nails on Huo Chao’s left hand. She looked at her work and found that despite her rushed, careless application, the result wasn’t half bad..
Huo Chao’s fingers were long and slender, with fair skin. His hands were clearly meant for playing the piano, but now, they were adorned with avocado-green nail polish.
The green color made his skin look even whiter.
Shu Er looked at his hand and couldn’t help but chuckle softly.
Hearing her laugh, Huo Chao had a bad feeling. She said she wouldn’t mess with him much and told him to just sit quietly—could it really be that simple?
Huo Chao frowned slightly. “Shu Er, what are you laughing at?”
Shu Er blinked innocently. “Oh, nothing, brother. I’m just in such a good mood every day that I can easily amuse myself.”
Huo Chao: …Okay
Shu Er quickly finished painting the nail polish on Huo Chao’s other hand, taking only about three minutes in total.
Leaning in closer, Shu Er said, “Big brother, are you feeling hot? Let me blow on you.”
Huo Chao: ???
Shu Er blew softly on Huo Chao’s face, neck, and ears. Just as Huo Chao was about to reach his limit, she finally bent down and gently blew on his fingertips.
In reality, his fingertips were her true target all along!
But if she had gone straight to them, it would have been too obvious!
Nail polish dries slowly, and blowing on it would help it dry faster.
Sweat formed on Huo Chao’s forehead.
Was she intentionally teasing him or just using this opportunity to shamelessly flirt with him?
The eye mask, blowing on his fingertips—how could anyone resist this?
Luckily, though the nail polish was cheap, it was odorless and dried quickly.
Shu Er put away the nail polish, carefully placed Huo Chao’s hands back into his pockets, and then slowly removed the eye mask from his face.
Before Huo Chao had a chance to react, Shu Er pulled his arm and began leading him toward the teaching building.
With his hands in his pockets and his eyes still adjusting to the light after wearing the eye mask, Huo Chao squinted slightly, looking a bit lazy.
Shu Er walked quickly, while Huo Chao moved at a more relaxed pace, making it seem to others as if Shu Er was dragging him along.
Huo Chao checked his clothes but didn’t notice anything unusual.
“So, are you not mad anymore?”
“Yeah, so you see, brother, I’m really easy to coax.”
Huo Chao remained skeptical.
But since Shu Er wasn’t really giving him too much trouble this time, he didn’t argue.
The two parted ways at the entrance of the teaching building.
Shu Er cheerfully waved goodbye to Huo Chao, “See you after school, brother.”
Huo Chao shrugged and walked inside the building.
When Huo Chao got back to his seat, Xu Chen and Zhao Zhi Feng immediately hurried over.
Zhao Zhifeng said, “Ah Chao, don’t blame us, we really had no choice.”
Xu Chen scratched his head, “Ah Chao, did you manage to make up with her?”
Huo Chao hummed.
Xu Chen continued, “Ah Chao, there’s a quiz in class later.”
Huo Chao, hearing this, reached for his books, ready for an open-book test.
But as soon as he took his hand out of his pocket, the sharp-eyed Zhao Zhifeng immediately noticed something unusual. His eyes nearly popped out of his head. “What the—bro, did you just…”
Xu Chen also stared, shocked, at Huo Chao’s… nails. “This… this… So this is your secret hobby?”
When Huo Chao saw the avocado-colored polish on his nails, a strange sense of relief washed over him.
It was like, “Ah, so this is what she did this time.”
Huo Chao felt like he was getting used to being toyed with by Shu Er.
After knowing exactly what she had done made him at ease.
Huo Chao frowned, “How do I get this off?”
Zhao Zhifeng smirked mischievously, “Did little Shu Er do this to you?”
“Yeah.”
He chuckled, “Don’t take it off, this forgiveness green looks great.”
Huo Chao’s eyes darkened, and Zhao Zhifeng shrank his neck, deciding not to tease him further.
Xu Chen said, “You can use nail polish remover to get rid of it.”
Huo Chao sighed and stood up from his seat.
“Hey, Ah Chao, class is about to start!”
“Ah Chao, where are you going?”
With his hands still in his pockets, Huo Chao didn’t respond and coolly walked out of the classroom.
When he reached Class 12 of Senior 2, Shu Er was sitting beside Jiang Xici, listening intently as he explained key points to her.
It was their study period, so Shu Er had temporarily swapped seats with Jiang Xici’s deskmate.
Jiang Xici is quick-witted and sharp. He has a thorough understanding of the materials in the textbook.
Resting her chin in her hands, Shu Er remarked, “With your skills, you can actually become the top scorer in the college entrance examination this year.”
A rare blush appeared on Jiang Xici’s usually cold face. To this day, Shu Er was the only one who had ever complimented him so bluntly.
Others also think he is brilliant, but they wouldn’t casually throw around the title of “top scorer”.
Jiang Xici lowered his gaze and, in his usual cold tone, said, “There are many excellent people.”
Shu Er quickly added, “But you’re the most excellent one.”
A warm feeling slowly spread through Jiang Xici’s heart, and a faint, barely noticeable smile appeared on his face. “Thank you.”
At that moment, a classmate whispered to Shu Er, “Shu Er, Shu Er, Mr. Huo is here looking for you.”
Shu Er, still focused on her notes, was startled when she heard the name “Mr. Huo”.
It was already class time, yet Huo Chao had actually skipped his class to come find her? How angry must he be?
Telling Jiang Xici to wait, she nervously left the classroom.
She couldn’t help but ask herself—had she gone too far this time with her prank?
A straight guy probably wouldn’t tolerate having nail polish on his nails, especially in such a conspicuous green!
As soon as Shu Er stood before Huo Chao, she was ready to lower her head and apologize. After all, a wise woman knows when to yield. Apologizing isn’t a big deal, right?
But before she could say anything, Huo Chao extended his hand toward her and said, “Where’s the nail polish?”
For a moment, Shu Er was too stunned to respond.
What did he want the nail polish for?
To smash it?
Well, if he wanted to destroy the evidence, she could understand.
With this in mind, Shu Er casually took the nail polish out of her pocket.
If he wanted to be angry, then let him. He was always the one comforting her, so this time she could comfort him for once.
But to her surprise, Huo Chao didn’t get angry. He didn’t lash out, and he didn’t say much at all.
In fact, Huo Chao only said four words from start to finish: “Where’s the nail polish?”
Shu Er was completely confused. For the first time, she had no idea what Huo Chao was up to.
Then, she watched as Huo Chao opened the nail polish, lifted her left hand with his own left hand, and clumsily began to apply the nail polish to her nails.
“Hey, hey, brother, I don’t want to wear nail polish.”
Huo Chao looked up at her and said softly, “No, you do.”
“But, brother, this is ‘forgiveness green.’”
Huo Chao hummed in agreement, “Mm, it suits me perfectly right now.”
Shu Er: ???
She suddenly thought of a popular saying: “A family should be perfectly in sync.”
