Those words brushed past her ear, making Lin Yue’s heart inexplicably beat two beats faster.
She had no idea how Xie Yan Si had managed to say something like that—it sounded like coaxing a child.
The key was that on that pink strawberry candy, there was an adorable little white rabbit, completely inconsistent with Xie Yan Si’s casual and unruly style.
If before this, she had merely changed her opinion of Xie Yan Si, now it was completely overturned.
Maybe this person was actually… quite gentle.
Just as Lin Yue’s thoughts were racing, Chen Feng walked in carrying a thick stack of test papers. Seeing this, Lin Yue instinctively clenched the strawberry candy on the desk in her palm.
As soon as Chen Feng entered, he got straight to the point: “Math class representative, hand out these papers.”
A boy in the front row stood up, walked over to take the papers, and began distributing them row by row.
These weren’t just simple test papers—they were practice booklets, thick as a math textbook.
Taking advantage of the distribution time, Chen Feng said, “These papers contain carefully selected questions I stayed up all night compiling. Finish them before the school sports meet.”
The students below were used to this and replied in unison, “Okay.”
After saying this, Chen Feng was about to leave. Just as he reached the door, he remembered something and turned to look at Lin Yue in the back row.
“Lin Yue, how’s the sports meet registration going? Just five events are enough. If you can’t fill them all, don’t force it—I’ll talk to the principal.”
Lin Yue tightened her grip on the strawberry candy and stood up. “If it’s only five events, then we’ve filled them.”
Chen Feng was momentarily surprised, not expecting his classmates to be so proactive this time.
“Then give it to me. I’ll submit it.”
Lin Yue: “Okay.”
Lin Yue took the registration form from her desk drawer, walked around her classmates to the front door, and handed it to Chen Feng.
Chen Feng took it and saw that the five events were filled, but there were only two names on the list.
One was Lin Yue, the other Xie Yan Si.
Chen Feng: “…”
“Just the two of you?”
“Mm.” Lin Yue said, “Anyway, the school requires at least five events, and each person can participate in up to three. So it works out perfectly.”
Chen Feng looked at the events they had signed up for—all high-difficulty ones: women’s 3000 meters and men’s 5000 meters, plus long jump and shot put for Lin Yue.
Chen Feng glanced at Lin Yue—her slender, petite frame, looking gentle and soft—hardly the type to run 3000 meters.
Chen Feng thought she must be pushing herself too hard.
He said, “Maybe we should just pick three boys instead.”
“No need.” Lin Yue said, “It’s already written down. Or… teacher, don’t you trust me?”
This counter-question left Chen Feng momentarily at a loss for words. As a teacher and the homeroom teacher of the experimental class, he shouldn’t distrust his own student.
Chen Feng thought again—it didn’t matter if they didn’t win any rankings; participation was what mattered.
“Alright then.”
From this incident, Chen Feng felt that Lin Yue was a responsible kid—even if she wasn’t up to the task, she was willing to step up bravely.
Chen Feng praised her inwardly—hm, this kid is really something.
No sooner had Chen Feng left with the registration form than the bell rang for the end of class.
Before Lin Yue could return to her seat, she heard the boy from the next class named Lu Hao shouting at the door.
“Yan Ge, Yan Ge! Let’s go play basketball!”
“We’re one short—can’t do it without you!”
Xie Yan Si didn’t respond, but Lin Yue saw him lazily stand up. Just as she was passing through the aisle back to her seat, Xie Yan Si stopped right in front of her.
Lin Yue: “…”
Xie Yan Si was a full head taller than her. From Lin Yue’s position, when she looked up, her gaze just swept over a small black mole on Xie Yan Si’s Adam’s apple, which subtly softened his unruly aura.
Lin Yue met Xie Yan Si’s indifferent expression. The way he looked down at her seemed like he was deliberately blocking her path.
In the past, Lin Yue would have chosen to go around him, not bothering to deal with him. But now, she was still holding the candy Xie Yan Si had given her in her hand.
Whether out of curiosity or a desire to verify whether Xie Yan Si was still the same as before, Lin Yue wasn’t sure.
She tilted her head up to meet Xie Yan Si’s gaze and pursed her lips. “Let me pass.”
The Xie Yan Si of the past would never have let her pass. Instead, he would have glared at her fiercely and told her to get lost.
But now—
As soon as she finished speaking, Xie Yan Si hesitated for a second before taking half a step back to make way for her.
It was just this small half-step, but it instantly cracked a fissure in the defenses of Lin Yue’s heart.
After she sat down, Xie Yan Si leisurely sauntered out.
Lin Yue unfolded the pink strawberry candy in her hand, which had grown warm from her grip. She unwrapped it and put it in her mouth.
The fruity strawberry flavor swept across her tongue. She gently bit down, and the sweet and sour taste instantly spread in her mouth as the slightly sour candy center flowed out.
For a moment, her entire being felt both sour and sweet.
The sweet and sour taste in her mouth hadn’t yet faded when, after school in the afternoon, Lin Yue and Shen Weiwei made plans to go out for a meal.
But unexpectedly, she ran into an acquaintance at the school gate.
—Xu Qiao.
Her bright yellow hair was eye-catching, and she was standing with a green-haired guy and two red-haired ones. They looked like the epitome of nonconformity.
Their outfits were even more over-the-top, reminiscent of 90s QQ avatars.
Xu Qiao spotted Lin Yue immediately because of her fair skin and tall, slender figure. Even in the same uniform as everyone else, she stood out.
Xu Qiao hated Lin Yue for this very reason—it was as if Lin Yue were a piece of uncut jade, while they were all worthless shards of broken tile.
That morning, when her drunken foster father had beaten and kicked her, calling her a filthy bitch, Xu Qiao gritted her teeth, pushed him to the ground, and ran out.
Looking at the bruises on her body and thinking about how Lin Yue attended a good school and lived a privileged life while she felt like a rat living in a filthy gutter, Xu Qiao couldn’t help but seethe with anger.
Why?!
Furious, she gathered her friends and headed to Chengbei No. 1 High School.
Shen Weiwei, standing beside Lin Yue, tightened her grip on Lin Yue’s arm, clearly intimidated.
“What do these people want? Yueyue, we haven’t offended them, have we?”
Lin Yue patted her hand, trying to reassure her. “It’s fine.”
She said, “They’re here for me.”
Then, she turned a cold face toward Xu Qiao.
“Whatever issues we have, don’t drag others into it.”
“Fine.” Xu Qiao took a deep drag of her cigarette and blew the smoke in Lin Yue’s face. “It’s been a while since we caught up. Why don’t you come with me to have a little chat?”
Lin Yue wasn’t afraid at all. She wasn’t the same pushover she used to be, so she agreed immediately.
Just like that, Shen Weiwei watched with reddened eyes as Lin Yue was taken away by these troublemakers.
Tears blurred her vision, and suddenly, the commotion from the playground reached her ears. Shen Weiwei looked over and immediately spotted the tallest figure in the crowd.
It was Xie Yan Si.
Without a second thought, she ran toward him.
During dinner time, the playground was crowded and noisy.
Shen Weiwei tried to push her way through to call out to Xie Yan Si, but the girls surrounding him were shouting louder and louder.
Anxious about Lin Yue’s situation, Shen Weiwei could no longer hold back. She raised her voice and yelled.
“Xie Yan Si!”
“Lin Yue has been taken away!”