Just 29 Girlfriends

Ashley's volume was not loud, and her tone was calm. But maybe it was because the content was too shocking. At this moment, it was like using a loudspeaker to amplify the sound and spread it into the ears of two other people.

The silence was broken, and the atmosphere relaxed for a moment. Then, it entered a more embarrassing situation.

Jacob narrowed the corners of his lips but still did not speak.

The woman couldn't see what he was thinking. ‘Was it pricked, or was it just a trivial joke?’ The smile on her face couldn't hold back, and the hand holding the phone was gradually lowered.

Ashley quietly glanced in the direction of Jacob.

She happened to meet his eyes. She immediately lowered her eyes, carried her schoolbag to her chest like a guilty girl, fumbled for the phone inside, as if she was just a background cloth.

A few more seconds passed.

Jacob retracted his gaze and followed Ashley's words and said, "Well, I'm a jerk."

"..."

"And I can't handle it recently." He chuckled lightly, shook the phone in his hand, and said casually, "If you want to call me, you might have to queue up."

His tone was taken for granted. It didn't seem that there was anything wrong with these words, and there was no shame on his face. It would make people feel that he was much more handsome than others, so he was more privileged.

Jacob raised his eyebrows frivolously, “Do you want to think about it again?"

The woman took a deep breath and barely maintained her politeness, “No."

"That's a shame." Jacob sighed and said regretfully, "Why don't you leave a phone number? Maybe you change your idea someday..."

Before he could finish speaking, the woman turned her head and left.

The remaining Ashley and Jacob stood in place.

After being unable to see the woman's back, Jacob tilted his head to look at Ashley, and asked leisurely, “Kiddo, there were just 29 girlfriends, what should I do?"

"..."

The words were warm and calm as if he was really asking.

‘It's like hiding a knife in his smile.’

Ashley even felt that he might as well lose his temper at herself.

"One missed." Jacob smiled, "How can I spend this month?"

"..." Ashley did not dare to speak. She just coughed twice and her back became numb. The timid mood suddenly filled her heart.

Jacob, who was standing on the side, didn't speak anymore and was too quiet.

It seemed that he was brewing some big move.

Ashley was really scared. She didn't even dare to take a peek this time, but just stood there obediently. The unpredictable future made her uneasy. She swallowed and took a step back quietly.

She mustered up her courage and quickly yelled, "Goodbye, brother". Then suddenly she ran forward as if fleeing.

Jacob raised his eyebrows, grabbed her arm easily, and pulled her back.

"Why do you escape?" Ashley was caught just after running two steps.

Ashley suddenly realized that the possibility of escape was basically zero.

She was discouraged.

"It's too late... It's getting dark." Ashley lowered her head with a guilty expression. She yelled with a small voice like a mosquito, "My mother will go home later, and she will be worried if she sees that I haven't gone back."

Jacob looked at the sky symbolically, “It's so late, how can brother let you go back alone?"

Ashley said immediately, “It's okay, the station is nearby, and I'm almost home when I get off the bus. Brother, you have to go back to school, or it will be too late to go back."

"Huh?" Jacob said, "Why didn't I see that you care about me so much before?"

"..." Since she couldn't run away anyway, Ashley decided to face the truth, "Brother, it's just such a small thing, why do you remember it for so long? And you have nothing to lose."

Jacob lazily said, “Why is there no loss?"

Ashley said righteously, “You thought about it for so long, but you didn't want to give that sister your number, and you were embarrassed to refuse. Then I was just helping you. Speaking of this, you have to say thank you."

The little girl's skills of talking nonsense were quite good. Jacob stared at her for several seconds, seeming to smile angrily, he twitched the corner of his mouth lightly and said, "Okay."

"But brother, you also helped me just now." He just responded, Ashley still had no confidence in her heart, so she could only bite the bullet and said, "Then we are even."

"This can't work." Jacob said, "Let's go, brother will visit your parents to show my gratitude."

"..."

The two most feared words for children of this age were probably-"tell the teacher" and "call the parents".

The man in front of her always used these two points to intimidate her, making her lose her temper in an instant. Ashley didn't dare to provoke him again and said aggrievedly, “Your action is so naive."

Jacob raised his eyebrows slightly and said indifferently, “I'm in a bad mood because of the lack of the last girlfriend."

Ashley retorted, “Then you are here to help me meet the teacher, not to have a blind date."

"Okay, you tell me. Who taught you this?" Jacob said with a laugh, "Saying that I change a girlfriend one day like I am a male prostitute."

Ashley blinked without understanding, “Why?"

"..."

Suddenly realizing that standing in front of him was just a kid who had just entered junior high school, Jacob stopped speaking, scratched his face, and then picked up the schoolbag she was carrying and said, “It’s nothing."

Ashley took her arms out.

"Oh."

The pink-blue schoolbag just fell into Jacob’s hands.

Jacob weighed the weight of the schoolbag in his hand, and opened the topic, “Why is it light?"

The two walked in the direction of the station.

Ashley, “I have nothing to take."

Jacob, “How about homework?"

Only then did Ashley's expression changed, and she said slowly, “...I don't want to do."

Jacob said, "Then what do you spend your time for?"

"..."

"Kiddo, you have to behave yourself. Listen carefully in class, don't disrupt classroom discipline, don’t deliberately fight the teacher, and finish your homework well." Thinking of the boy in the office just now, Jacob exhorted again, "Also, don't fall in love with anyone. Besides, your age is good for innocent friendship."

Ashley glanced at him and gave a perfunctory reply.

Seeing that she didn't listen at all, Jacob seemed to inadvertently add, “If your teacher invites your parents again, the incident that I came over by impersonating your brother will be exposed, then I will really be done. You can't just do it. You can't just bite the hand that feeds you, right?"

Ashley, “It will be great if you come back next time..."

Jacob didn't respond and hid his smile.

Ashley didn't know why she was a little afraid of him being angry, so she suddenly lost her position, “Got it."

Jacob smiled, “Good girl."

The tone was like a reward.

Jacob leaned down and rubbed her head affectionately.

"Let's go, brother will take you home."

Getting to Ashley’s home downstairs, Jacob didn't mean to go up. He put the schoolbag in front of her, “Go back."

Ashley nodded and said obediently, "Thank you, brother."

Walking to the door, Ashley took out the key from her pocket and opened the door slowly. She didn’t know if they would meet again in the future, and she couldn't hear the footsteps of him leaving. She stopped and turned her head cautiously.

Jacob was still standing there, just looking at her.

As if she was caught on the spot, Ashley's face flushed, and she immediately shouted, "Goodbye, brother!"

Then she hurriedly ran into the building.

No one has returned yet, and the house was empty.

Ashley put her hand on her hot face, quickly kicked her shoes away, ran to the balcony, and looked down while holding the anti-theft fence. Jacob was almost out of the community. At this time, he held one hand to his ear, as if he was making a call.

After a few seconds, he seemed to notice something. He suddenly raised his head and looked in the direction of Ashley.

Ashley was caught off guard, then she turned over and squatted down.

Her heart was pounding heavily as if it was about to jump out of her body in the next moment. She swallowed, her unprovoked guilty conscience and helplessness made her afraid to move, and it took a while before she looked out again.

But Jacob was no longer visible.

Ashley sighed, inexplicably feeling a little empty in her heart.

The matter was resolved exceptionally smoothly.

The teacher didn't notice anything wrong, and her parents didn't know about it. Therefore, Ashley didn't receive too many lessons. But it seemed to have brought her endless sequelae.

She began to think of the same person over and over again.

Something with sourness and a hint of sweetness was budding.

Ashley felt this feeling was very inexplicable and at a loss. She didn't dare to tell anyone about it, she felt a little ashamed, and she seemed to have grown up overnight, with her own secrets that she couldn't tell anyone.

Ashley began to wander away constantly.

The draft and the diary were filled with the name of a man.

This feeling only lasted for a while.

Maybe it was because she didn't see him again, and was gradually diluted by time. Or maybe it was that the secret was pressed hard in the bottom of her heart, wanting to treat it as if it didn't exist.

In a blink of an eye, the mid-term exam was over and the Dragon Boat Festival was ushered in.

Ashley returned home early, took a bowl of strawberries from the refrigerator, and gnawed slowly on the sofa. Before her parents came back, she was the only one at home, and the cartoons on TV gave out joyous background music.

Suddenly, the door of the hallway was opened.

Ashley looked over subconsciously and saw Liam's face in an instant.

She didn’t expect that he would come back this holiday, Ashley was stunned for a moment, then as if she didn’t notice him, she withdrew her gaze and continued to watch TV.

Liam laughed angrily, “Your brother is home. Any response, sis?"

"Why don't you tell me in advance?" Ashley said while holding a palm-sized strawberry in her hand, "Mom just called you to make two bowls of rice. Hurry up."

Liam said coldly, “I didn't even tell her that I was going home, why did she tell me to cook?"

Ashley never looked away from the TV, fumbled for the phone from the side, dialed Grace, and then pressed the PA, “If you don't believe me, I'll call her."

Liam didn't bother to care about her and took a bottle of ice water in the refrigerator to drink.

Her mother quickly picked up the phone and shouted, “Ash, what's the matter?"

"Mom." Ashley said, "Brother is back, did you just ask me to tell him to make rice?"

Liam closed the refrigerator and looked in Ashley's direction.

Then, he heard their dear mother on the phone being silent for a few seconds, and then said, “Yes, has he done yet?"

Liam, “..."

Ashley swallowed the strawberry in her mouth, raised the volume, and said to Liam, "Brother, mom asks if you have done!"

Liam stared at Ashley for a long time, without saying a word, and went straight into the kitchen. Upon seeing this, Ashley got up, walked to the kitchen, leaned against the door, and looked at him, “He is cooking now."

After speaking a few more words to Grace, Ashley hung up the phone. Looking at Liam's back, she suddenly remembered that she recognized Jacob as him. After a long silence, she said inexplicably, “Liam, did you have a girlfriend in college?"

Liam ignored her.

"No? Not one?" As if interested in this matter, Ashley didn't even watch the cartoon. "I'm serious, brother."

Liam turned his head, his tone was not very good, “What?"

Ashley seriously said, "I think you should have plastic surgery.

"..."

Liam was speechless. He didn't want to see her again, so he turned his back and sneered, “Do you remember the brother who came back with me last time?"

Ashley lowered her eyes, and said slowly, "Yeah."

"He said you look like me."

"..." Ashley was silent for a few seconds, then suddenly said, "Did I piss him off?"

"What?"

Ashley pursed her lips, and said unhappily, "If not, why did he think I’m ugly?"

"..."