During the long break, Su Nuonuo finished tidying her desk. Just as she stepped out of the classroom, she saw several girls near the stairway pointing at her and whispering.
“That’s her…”
“She’s really bold…”
“Just wait and see how Lu Zhiye deals with her.”
Su Xiaoyu hurried up from behind, grabbed her wrist, and pulled her into a quiet corner of the corridor. Lowering her voice anxiously, she said, “Nuonuo! Are you crazy?! You actually threw yourself at Lu Zhiye?!”
Su Nuonuo adjusted the hem of her school uniform skirt, her expression calm as if nothing had happened. “So what if I did?”
“What do you mean ‘so what’?!”
Su Xiaoyu stomped her foot in frustration. “That’s Lu Zhiye! The school bully no one dares to provoke! Aren’t you afraid he might—”
“He won’t do anything to me.” Su Nuonuo cut her off, her tone firm.
Su Xiaoyu wanted to say more, but from the corner of her eye, she noticed several girls from the neighboring class peeking and obviously eavesdropping.
She leaned closer to Su Nuonuo and lowered her voice even further. “Do you know your stunt has already spread? The whole school is talking about you now!”
Su Nuonuo tilted her head, her ponytail swaying lightly over her shoulder. Not only was she not flustered, a faint smile even curved at her lips. “Isn’t that perfect?”
“Perfect?!” Su Xiaoyu’s voice rose a few pitches before she quickly covered her mouth and glanced around. Then she stared at her in disbelief. “What are you even thinking? Don’t tell me you… like Lu Zhiye?”
Su Nuonuo did not deny it. She simply lifted her gaze toward the end of the third-floor corridor—where Lu Zhiye stood.
Facing the warm afternoon sunlight, her eyes shone with startling brightness. Her voice was soft, yet unmistakably clear:
“I’m chasing him.”
The words drifted lightly, yet they struck Su Xiaoyu like a stone thrown into still water. She gasped sharply. “Nuonuo! Aren’t you afraid your aunt will find out—”
Not a single word of their conversation escaped unheard by Lu Zhiye not far away.
He had originally been leaning against the corridor railing, absentmindedly spinning a basketball at his fingertips while listening to his close friends tease around him. Yet his gaze had unconsciously fallen toward the figure at the corner.
When he heard the words “I’m chasing him,” his hand abruptly paused. The basketball hit the railing with a dull thud before bouncing back into his palm.
The chestnut-haired boy beside him was still chattering, “Brother Ye, do you think that Su Nuonuo is—”
Lu Zhiye did not respond. His left hand unconsciously rubbed the pull-tab ring on his thumb, his eyes darkening slightly as the air around him seemed to drop in temperature.
He looked at the girl downstairs who was gazing up at him. The sunlight tinted her cheeks a soft red, and the stubbornness in her eyes was like a small flame, unexpectedly brushing across the tip of his heart.
Su Xiaoyu was still earnestly trying to persuade Su Nuonuo, but Su Nuonuo no longer listened. Her gaze collided with Lu Zhiye’s across the distance.
She curved her eyes at him, her smile dazzlingly bright.
Lu Zhiye’s Adam’s apple bobbed. He abruptly turned his head away, tossed the basketball to his friend, and walked off, leaving behind only a cold sentence:
“So noisy.”
The boys exchanged glances, none daring to speak.
Following Su Nuonuo’s gaze, Su Xiaoyu saw Lu Zhiye’s retreating figure, her heart tightening. “See, see! He’s definitely angry!”
Su Nuonuo withdrew her gaze and smiled even sweeter. “I think… he’s flustered.”
After watching Su Xiaoyu leave, Chen Che was waiting at the other end of the corridor, holding two boxes of strawberry milk. Seeing Su Xiaoyu run toward him like a happy little bird, Su Nuonuo let out a soft sigh.
In her previous life, because Su Xiaoyu had stayed by her side, she had left all of Chen Che’s efforts hanging. Even until Su Nuonuo died, the two of them had never married.
How nice. In this life, she would no longer delay them.
It was Su Nuonuo’s turn for cleaning duty that day. After letting Su Xiaoyu and Chen Che leave first, she picked up a broom and began to clean.
The setting sun dyed the classroom a warm orange, dust floating slowly in the light.
Halfway through cleaning, the back door of the classroom was kicked lightly, making a dull “bang.”
Su Nuonuo’s hand holding the broom paused as she turned to look.
Lu Zhiye leaned lazily against the doorframe, his windbreaker draped loosely over his shoulders, revealing his sharply defined collarbone.
His right hand was tucked into his school pants pocket, while his left hung by his side. On his thumb was a silver ring worn smooth with use—a pull-tab design.
In her previous life, when Lu Zhiye had pushed her out of the burning building, she had noticed that very ring.
At this moment, only the two of them remained in the classroom. The noise outside seemed cut off, even the drifting dust appearing to slow.
Su Nuonuo looked at him without speaking, her fingers curling slightly around the broom handle.
She stared at the strange “ring” for two seconds, finding its design odd, but thought no more of it.
Lu Zhiye stepped inside, his footsteps echoing clearly in the empty classroom.
He stopped three steps away from her, his gaze landing on her face without warmth, his tone equally cold:
“Stay away from me.”
Three words, each clear and unquestionable, carrying an undeniable distance.
Su Nuonuo came back to herself and looked up at him. Not only did she not retreat in the slightest, a faint smile instead curved her lips. “I won’t.”
Lu Zhiye frowned, clearly not expecting that response.
His usually indifferent peach-blossom eyes flashed with a trace of irritation. His left hand unconsciously rubbed the pull-tab ring, the thin calluses of his fingertips brushing against the cool metal.
Even he did not notice this habit—only when his thoughts were in chaos would he do it subconsciously.
His voice turned colder. “Don’t you understand human language?”
“I do.” Su Nuonuo set down the broom and stepped forward, her gaze meeting his directly. “But I don’t want to listen.”
The sunset fell upon her hair, outlining it with a soft golden glow. Her eyes shone astonishingly bright, carrying an almost stubborn determination.
Lu Zhiye stared at her for a few seconds, his Adam’s apple moving uncontrollably.
Her eyelashes were long, tinted gold by the setting sun. Her nose was small and delicate, and the curve of her lips resembled a tiny sun, so bright it made his eyes ache.
As if struck by her appearance, he abruptly turned away and left.
At the back door, he paused for a moment but did not look back. He only left behind an even colder sentence:
“Don’t make me say it a second time.”
The back door slammed shut behind him with a heavy sound.
Su Nuonuo stood where she was, looking at the now-empty doorway, then lowered her head and smiled.
She raised her hand to touch her slightly flushed cheeks, her heart filled with a quiet sweetness.
At the very least… he had come to find her in person.