Dark clouds loomed overhead as the rain grew heavier, pelting the tiled steps in a relentless downpour. The school building was quiet after classes, with only a few students lingering in some of the classrooms.
Yu He returned to the classroom from the office.
At a glance, she spotted a green umbrella placed on her desk. Though it bore no name or markings, she already knew who its owner was.
There was no one else but Lu Shinian.
Yu He tucked the test papers into her book and quickly organized the homework handed out during the last class.
Just then, a boy walked into the classroom. He headed straight for Lu Shinian’s seat and asked Yu He, “Hey, is this Lu Shinian’s desk?”
Yu He glanced at him and nodded.
The boy placed a cup of milk tea and a gift box on the desk, smiling in satisfaction. “Do me a favor, if Lu Shinian asks who sent these, tell her it was Li Jingming.”
Yu He’s expression remained indifferent. Without acknowledging him further, she turned and left the classroom, making sure to take the little green umbrella with her.
Lu Shinian had originally planned to eat at the spicy hotpot place by the school gate, but it was too crowded, with no seats left. She had no choice but to pick another place. Yu Jingjing suggested a fish noodle shop, and since Lu Shinian couldn’t get what she wanted, she didn’t really care where they went.
As they reached the entrance of the fish noodle shop, Yu Jingjing stood on her tiptoes and peeked inside. “There are still seats. Let’s go in.”
“Alright.” Just as Lu Shinian was about to step inside, her gaze flickered to the side, and she paused.
The milk tea shop across the street was always packed, especially after school, filled with students from Yanning No. 1 High as well as many from the vocational school.
The vocational school had a rough reputation, and it wasn’t uncommon to see troublemakers loitering around, smoking or causing trouble. Whenever people like that occupied a shop, students from No. 1 High would usually grab their things and leave without lingering.
Right now, Xu Man was sitting at a table with three other girls. Normally, Lu Shinian wouldn’t have paid them any attention, but these three girls had oddly dyed hair and wore flashy, mismatched outfits, giving off a distinctly rebellious vibe clearly not from their school.
Lu Shinian frowned. Why was Xu Man hanging out with people like this?
Yu Jingjing noticed Lu Shinian’s hesitation and took a step back, following her gaze. “Huh, why is Xu Man with them? Are you going to talk to her?”
Lu Shinian shook her head. “No.”
In the past, Lu Shinian might have marched over and dragged Xu Man away, refusing to let her associate with such a crowd. But now, she didn’t want anything to do with Xu Man.
Besides, she couldn’t judge someone’s character just by their appearance. Maybe these girls were Xu Man’s new friends.
Between changing restaurants and waiting in line, they ended up running late. Lu Shinian and Yu Jingjing barely made it back to the classroom on time. Most of the class had already left, and when Lu Shinian spotted the milk tea on her desk, she froze.
A nearby girl teased, “Lu Shinian, who bought you milk tea?”
Lu Shinian shook her head. “No idea.”
The girl grinned, pressing further. “Was it someone trying to chase after you?”
Lu Shinian shook her head again. “No idea. Who’d want to chase me?”
Lu Shinian was telling the truth. Back in middle school, she had quite a few admirers. But ever since the news spread about her relentlessly pursuing Li Jingming, most boys stopped chasing her, directly labeling her as Li Jingming’s girlfriend.
She wouldn’t dare accept something of unknown origin.
When the evening self-study bell rang, Yu He walked over to Lu Shinian’s seat from the back door.
Her gaze was calm as she looked at Lu Shinian, then raised her hand to return the neatly folded umbrella.
Out of the corner of her eye, Lu Shinian noticed someone standing beside her desk. She looked up, squinting slightly, “No need to thank me. Just call me the Young Pioneer.”
Yu He pressed her lips together, hesitated for a moment, then suddenly called her name out of nowhere, “Lu Shinian.”
Lu Shinian tilted her head, “What’s up?”
Yu He: “The milk tea.”
Lu Shinan glanced at the cup on the desk and immediately understood. So that’s what Yu He meant. She waved her hand and lifted the milk tea bag, “If you want it, take it and drink it.”
Yu He: “……”
“Don’t worry, it won’t taste good if it sits too long. I’ll find out who sent it later and return it,” Lu Shinian explained with a smile when Yu He didn’t take it.
Yu He’s lips twitched, her voice still indifferent, “Li Jingming sent it.”
Li Jingming would send her something?
Was he out of his mind?
A flicker of surprise crossed Lu Shinian’s face before she snapped back to reality and asked again, “Do you want to drink it?”
The air around Yu He seemed to drop two degrees as she replied, “No.”
“Mm, it’s better not to. This milk tea feels kinda unlucky,” Lu Shinian said. “Let’s skip it today. I’ll buy you a fresh one tomorrow, okay?”
Yu He repeated, “I don’t drink milk tea.”
Lu Shinian humored her, “Alright, alright, we won’t drink it.”
“……”
Yu He stared at her for a few seconds in silence before turning and walking away.
Was she upset?
Lu Shinian blinked. She hadn’t said anything wrong, had she?
Shrugging, she was about to get back to studying when Yu Jingjing patted her shoulder. “The way you were talking to Yu He just now, it sounded like you were coaxing a kid.”
Lu Shinian frowned, “Did it?”
“Yeah, totally. Your tone was so soft,” Yu Jingjing nodded, mimicking in a high-pitched voice, “We won’t drink it, okay~?”
Lu Shinian couldn’t help but laugh. From the perspective of her soul’s age, Yu He really was like a little sister to her.
Who would’ve thought Yu He disliked being coaxed like that and even got upset over it? Somehow, that was oddly adorable.
Before the next bell rang, Lu Shinian tossed the milk tea straight into the trash bin at the back. As for the gift box, she didn’t open it. She had someone return it after the first evening study session.
Last time, she had drenched Li Jingming, and now he was sending her gifts? A weasel paying respects to a chicken, who knew what he was really plotting.
Of course, if Li Jingming was the weasel, she certainly wasn’t the chicken. She was a fairy.
But Lu Shinian never expected that after evening self-study ended, the weasel would block her at the door.
Li Jingming intercepted her right outside the classroom, holding the gift box with a dark expression. “What the hell is your problem?”
Lu Shinian really didn’t want to waste words on him. “Exactly this problem.”
“Why won’t you accept it?” Li Jingming was furious. What had gotten into Lu Shinian? How long was she going to stay mad?
Although he had so many admirers chasing after him, and one less like Lu Shinian wouldn’t make a difference, it still irked him. No matter what he did, it felt like something was missing.
Last time when she treated him that way, he chose not to take it to heart and even considered reaching out first to mend things. To his surprise, she had blocked all his contact methods, and now she even refused his gift.
Lu Shinian said flatly, “I just don’t want to accept it, that’s all.”
Li Jingming frowned. “Don’t push your luck.”
They stood right at the classroom entrance, and Li Jingming’s raised voice drew the attention of those nearby.
Lu Shinian also furrowed her brows. “Don’t make a scene here. If you want to talk, let’s go somewhere else.”
There were indeed things she needed to clarify with Li Jingming once and for all. Otherwise, this constant hassle would be unbearable.
“Fine, let’s go.” Li Jingming took a deep breath, forcing down his anger.
Lu Shinian found an empty stairwell, crossed her arms, and got straight to the point. “You don’t like me, right?”
Li Jingming didn’t expect her to be so direct. After a brief pause, he stiffly replied, “Right.”
Lu Shinian nodded. “Good. I don’t like you either.”
“You!” Li Jingming wanted to say, “How could you possibly not like me?” But before he could finish, Lu Shinian cut him off.
“I admit, I used to like you,” she said. “But that’s in the past. I have no feelings for you now. Just consider the old me dead. The current situation is that you don’t like me, and I don’t like you. So I won’t accept your gifts, and I won’t bother you anymore. We have no connection whatsoever. From now on, let’s pretend the other doesn’t exist. Got it?”
Li Jingming inexplicably grew angrier. “What do you mean, no connection?”
Lu Shinian stated plainly, “We were never connected to begin with, and from now on, we’re strangers.”
Li Jingming sneered. “Did you find someone new?”
Lu Shinian was taken aback. “What?”
“If you can say you don’t like me so quickly, doesn’t that mean you’ve fallen for someone else?” Li Jingming retorted. “Seems Xu Man was right.”
Lu Shinian was puzzled. How did Xu Man get dragged into this?
Li Jingming continued, “Xu Man said someone like you, a spoiled rich girl, only cares about novelty. Once the novelty wears off, you can just move on to someone else. Turns out she was right.”
Lu Shinian laughed in disbelief. She had never chased after novelty, she had only ever liked one person, and it ended in complete failure. In this lifetime, unless she lost her mind or a comet hit the Earth, she wouldn’t fall for anyone else.
The boat had long sailed past countless mountains; the past was gone with the wind.
There was no need for her to explain herself to Li Jingming.
Lu Shinian said coolly, “Yes, I have a new target.”
Li Jingming’s gaze sharpened. “Who?”
Lu Shinian replied, “The top student in our grade. Know who that is?”
Li Jingming was clearly stunned. He processed her words for a long moment before speaking, his tone laced with disbelief. “You like Yu He?”
“But she’s a girl.”
“…”
Lu Shinian’s eyelid twitched, and she couldn’t help but snap, “Are you out of your mind? I meant I’m taking Yu He as my academic role model to study hard and catch up to her.”
Li Jingming sighed in relief. “Good.”
Lu Shinian’s expression gradually turned impatient. Talking to Li Jingming was exhausting. “So don’t bother me anymore. My only focus now is studying.”
Li Jingming wanted to say something more, reaching out to grab her like last time. Lu Shinian swiftly dodged his hand, turning her head with a cold voice, “Get lost.”
Li Jingming froze, withdrawing his hand.
The school building was quiet after classes. Lu Shinian turned back toward her own classroom and noticed the lights were still on. Peering through the window, she saw the top student of their grade still sitting inside.
Lu Shinian entered through the front door, “Classmate Yu, want to walk together?”
Yu He looked up at her steadily, silent for a moment.
Seeing no response, Lu Shinian stepped closer and asked, “Are you feeling unwell?”
But Yu He still didn’t speak. After locking eyes with her for a few seconds, Yu He averted her gaze. Under the bright lights, shadows pooled in her eyes, the darkness deepening.
After a pause, she seemed to want to say something but held back, hesitating several times as if unsure how to begin.
Lu Shinian was completely baffled, the thoughts of the top student were hard to decipher. “What do you want to say?”
“I don’t like you,” Yu He took a deep breath, pressing her lips into a tight line, her voice carrying a barely noticeable tension. “Don’t like me.”
???
Lu Shinian stiffly took half a step back, wondering if she had misheard. “Huh?”
“…”
An eerie silence fell between them.