Wen Chu shot Xia Yaoyao a look that clearly said, you know what I mean.
Who would have thought that the trend of accompanying your significant other to class would eventually reach Xi Liye too?
At the podium, the professor had already begun the lecture.
Xi Liye took out a medical textbook and calmly started reading, though the corner of his eye unconsciously swept toward Wen Chu beside him.
Wen Chu felt as if she were sitting on pins and needles.
Xi Liye’s presence was simply too strong.
She could even smell the clean, crisp scent lingering on him.
A forty-five-minute class had never felt so long.
To ease her nervousness, Wen Chu lowered her head and started playing on her phone.
She opened a reading app and randomly flipped through a novel.
Her eyes were fixed on the screen, but not a single word entered her brain.
What she didn’t know was that Xi Liye, who appeared to be focused on reading, was unconsciously rubbing the edge of a page with his fingertips.
She was playing on her phone.
While he was accompanying her to class.
Why was it that whenever he sat beside her, her attention wasn’t on him?
Hadn’t Qin Yu said she cared about him?
That she liked his attention and deliberately acted spoiled?
Then why, now that he was sitting right here, had she shifted her attention elsewhere?
Xi Liye’s brows furrowed almost imperceptibly.
He subtly turned slightly toward her.
Without looking at her, he extended a hand and picked up the black gel pen lying on her desk.
Wen Chu blinked.
“…?”
Didn’t he bring his own pen?
Why was he using hers?
She stole a glance out of the corner of her eye.
Xi Liye held the pen and casually began drawing in the blank space of his medical textbook.
The tip scratched softly against the paper.
A few strokes later, the outline of a chubby little cartoon cat appeared.
The cat was curled into a ball.
Its head was tucked against its paws.
Only a pair of round, timid-looking eyes peeked out.
Its ears drooped.
Its tail wrapped tightly around its body.
The drawing was vivid.
And strangely familiar.
Wen Chu leaned closer, staring at the little cat on his textbook.
Her pupils widened.
Wait…
Wasn’t that the exact cat worm sticker she’d sent him before?
Only after noticing that Wen Chu’s attention had returned to him did Xi Liye’s slightly tense brows relax.
Watching her unconsciously lean closer to observe his drawing, he felt unexpectedly satisfied.
Her attention was back on him.
After finishing the final stroke, Xi Liye gently placed the pen back beside her hand.
Then he leaned back in his seat and resumed reading his medical textbook, as though nothing had happened.
The only evidence left behind was the adorable, timid little cat on the title page.
Meanwhile, Xia Yaoyao was practically rolling her eyes into another dimension.
She had never imagined their relationship would have this kind of dynamic.
Chu Chu, you silly goose!
Xi Liye draws one picture and you’re instantly distracted?
You even leaned over to look at it!
This is obviously a man’s tactic to get your attention, sister!
Where did those eight hundred gaming IQ points go? Did a dog eat them?
Still…
She could understand it.
After all, Wen Chu was a complete beginner when it came to relationships.
Failing to recognize a move like that was perfectly normal.
A rookie fresh out of the starter village encountering a top-tier charm demon.
Honestly…
Wen Chu was eating very well.
That evening, Xi Liye returned to his apartment.
He had just taken off his coat and set a cup on the kitchen counter when his phone rang in the silent living room.
It was Qin Yu.
He answered and switched to speakerphone while walking toward the kitchen to pour some water.
“Damn, Xi Liye, not bad!”
Qin Yu’s voice immediately exploded through the speaker, filled with excitement and gossip.
“You actually accompanied Wen Chu to class! Nice progress, brother!”
Xi Liye’s movement paused almost imperceptibly.
“How do you know?”
“How do I know?”
Qin Yu laughed mischievously.
“Your university forum is exploding right now! Hold on, I’m sending you the link!”
Xi Liye said nothing and took a sip of water.
A moment later, his phone vibrated.
Qin Yu had sent the link.
He opened it.
The thread title was exactly as Qin Yu described.
The original post contained several clearly偷拍 photos.
The angles were awkward and the image quality wasn’t great, but it was obvious that the subjects were him and Wen Chu.
One picture captured him entering the classroom through the back door.
Another showed Wen Chu leaning slightly toward him while looking at his drawing.
The photographer had a surprisingly good eye.
The lighting and atmosphere gave the photos an almost romantic-drama quality.
The comments had already exceeded a hundred replies.
[1L]: Holy crap! That’s really Xi Liye! Doesn’t he never attend classes like this?
[2L]: Who’s the girl beside him? She’s so pretty! Is she the girlfriend from the previous rumors?
[3L]: Replying upstairs—yes! Computer Science major Wen Chu. People photographed them eating together before!
[15L]: Spread the word. Xi Liye and his junior getting romantic during class. Society is doomed.
[18L]: Historic moment.
[23L]: Damn, I feel like that guy is really into her.
[42L]: Dude, they’re literally dating.
[23L]: Oh. Why didn’t anyone say so earlier?
[58L]: The cold genius actually drawing in a medical textbook just to get his girlfriend’s attention? The contrast is killing me. I’m shipping them.
[77L]: Stop forcing the ship. Maybe he was just bored and doodling.
[89L]: If he was bored, would he really draw that carefully? Would his girlfriend stare at it that intensely?
[99L]: Keep lying to yourself, bro. Just don’t accidentally convince someone else.
[…]
Xi Liye slowly scrolled through the comments.
His expression remained calm.
“You saw it, right?”
Qin Yu’s voice rang out again.
“Pret-ty good, Xi Liye! Looks like my guidebook really worked! Your flirting skills are improving!”
Xi Liye interrupted his nonstop rambling.
“No.”
“Huh? No what?”
“I didn’t use that book.”
Xi Liye sat down on the sofa.
“It was just… natural.”
Naturally buying her breakfast.
Naturally accompanying her to class.
Naturally wanting to draw that little cat.
Qin Yu choked.
Clearly unconvinced.
“Oh, come on. ‘Natural’? That’s way too convenient. You definitely studied my masterpiece in secret.”
Xi Liye didn’t bother arguing.
“But seriously, Xi Liye…”
Qin Yu’s tone became slightly more serious.
“The forum thing looks harmless, but be careful. When people pay attention to you, trouble follows. Wen Chu seems pretty innocent. Don’t let all this gossip affect her.”
“And the Xi family…”
“I know.”
Xi Liye answered briefly.
His voice carried no emotion.
“Sure, sure. Of course you know.”
Qin Yu quickly returned to his usual teasing tone.
“Anyway… next time something happens naturally, remember to share your experience. Your brother here is very curious.”
Xi Liye hung up directly.
He tossed his phone onto the sofa and leaned back, closing his eyes.
Yet the photos from the forum remained vivid in his mind.
Along with all those passionate discussions.
In other people’s eyes, they were already an openly acknowledged couple.
A strange feeling surfaced in his chest.
Something unfamiliar.
He didn’t like others paying excessive attention to his personal life.
Nor did he care much about other people’s opinions.
But now…
Thinking about how Wen Chu was also at the center of those discussions.
Thinking about how she might see them.
How she might feel troubled because of them…
For the first time, he found himself caring.
Sitting upright again, he picked up his phone.
He opened Wen Chu’s chat window.
The last message was still the little “goodbye” sticker she’d sent after he dropped her off at the dormitory.
His finger hovered over the screen.
Then he typed:
【L.YE: Did you see the forum post?】
Sent.
He waited.
About a minute later, Wen Chu replied.
【ChuChu Hiding: …I just saw it. Yaoyao sent it to me. [Facepalm]】
【ChuChu Hiding: There are so many people…】
Even through the screen, he could almost feel her helplessness and embarrassment.
His eyes softened slightly.
【L.YE: Does it bother you?】
This time she replied almost immediately.
【ChuChu Hiding: Huh? Bother me how?】
【ChuChu Hiding: It’s okay, I guess… I’ve already had one experience like this before. [World-weary smoking.jpg]】
【ChuChu Hiding: Dating you really means having zero privacy, Classmate Xi. [Pointing finger.jpg]】
On the surface, she sounded calm.
Even playful.
But only Wen Chu herself knew that at this very moment, she desperately wanted to travel back in time to the second she’d asked Xi Liye to accompany her to class—
And firmly slap a hand over her own stupid mouth.
Who could understand the level of emotional damage this had inflicted?
She was already socially anxious.
Now every few days she ended up on the university forum’s trending page.
Could everyone please stop torturing an elderly twenty-year-old woman?
Wen Chu buried her face deep into her pillow and screamed silently.
Goodbye forever, old self.
You embarrassing, self-inflicted-disaster of a human being!