Chapter 7 Still Waiting
At ten o’clock that night, I locked the lab door and stepped out.
Zhou Chaoqing was still standing downstairs.
Only now there was someone beside him—Bai Yao.
She was holding a laptop.
“Senior Brother, please help me. I’ve been debugging this code all afternoon and it still won’t run. It’s due first thing tomorrow morning.”
Zhou Chaoqing stared at his phone, tone flat.
“I don’t have time. Find someone else.”
Bai Yao’s voice trembled on the edge of tears.
“But you’re the only one in the group who really understands this model. Just half an hour—it’ll be quick!”
“I said I don’t have time. I’m waiting for Lu Siqing.”
Bai Yao reached for his arm.
“But she hasn’t come out yet. You can help me first…”
Zhou Chaoqing stepped aside to avoid her touch. His gaze lifted from the phone. His voice grew colder.
“No. I need to focus on waiting for her. I can’t get distracted by unimportant things.”
The words “unimportant” drained the color from Bai Yao’s face.
I kept walking and passed them both.
Zhou Chaoqing caught up.
“I just went back and read every message you sent me before.”
“I never realized how many you sent, and I never read them properly. I’m sorry. From now on, can I send you messages? You don’t even have to reply…”
I cut him off, voice calm.
“No need. You don’t have to send anything. And you don’t have to wait.”
“Your Junior Sister clearly needs you more. Don’t hold up her report submission.”
He said nothing.
He followed me all the way to the dorm building.
For the next several days, Zhou Chaoqing kept showing up.
At five in the morning when Wen Ci and I headed to the field, he was already at the lab with breakfast.
I ignored him. He stood silently by the roadside and watched us leave.
When I returned to the lab, he waited outside the door.
Senior brothers and sisters coming in and out stared at him in surprise.
He didn’t seem to care.
He squatted in the corner with his notebook, typing. When he finished, he pulled out his phone and messaged me.
My phone buzzed nonstop.
All from him.
[Are you free this weekend? There’s a new movie out. I remember you said you liked this actor before.]
[Was sampling tiring today? I checked the weather—snow tomorrow. I brought an umbrella for you.]
[I wrote a weekly plan to spend time with you in the Notebook. This time I’ll follow through on schedule.]
…
I didn’t reply to any of them.