11 – Come over and apologize to my deskmate
Seeing the sincerity written all over Zhou Yuchuan’s handsome face, Xin Jushang silently swallowed all the words she had wanted to say.
Forget it, the exam results would be out in a couple of days anyway. By then, she wouldn’t have to go through the trouble of explaining that she wasn’t actually an academic failure.
“Jushang, this exam was so hard!”
Xu Zhiyan turned around, clutching Xin Jushang’s arm as she began to complain tearfully, “I was only ever good at English, but this time, the English reading section completely crushed me. Out of five options, I wasn’t sure about three of them.”
Xin Jushang wasn’t very good at comforting others, but she still offered some symbolic consolation to the sorrowful Xu Zhiyan, modestly saying, “Actually, I wasn’t sure about a few options either. The difficulty level of this six-school joint exam was indeed quite high.”
In truth, she was basically certain about every option, but she forced herself to tell a well-intentioned lie.
Zhou Yuchuan, who was sitting nearby, couldn’t stay calm after hearing this.
His silly little deskmate was only unsure about a few options?
Was that even possible?
Just as he was about to speak up, a few girls from the class passed by and happened to overhear the conversation between Xu Zhiyan and Xin Jushang. They laughed with extreme arrogance.
One of them was He Jiansui, the girl who had openly challenged and mocked Xin Jushang’s academic performance in class before.
When she heard Xin Jushang’s earlier remarks, it was as if she had been struck by something hilarious. She laughed so hard that tears nearly streamed down her face.
He Jiansui patted the shoulders of the girls beside her while doubling over with laughter, “Hey? Did you guys hear what the new student from Third High just said? She was only unsure about a few questions! With her English foundation, could she even understand the questions?”
Every word dripped with blatant contempt.
The girls around He Jiansui snickered incessantly.
In their eyes, with Xin Jushang’s level from Third High, it would be a miracle if she didn’t rank third from the bottom in this class.
Xu Zhiyan, hearing these vile remarks targeting Xin Jushang, immediately flared up. She was just about to stand up and argue with those foul-mouthed girls when Xin Jushang firmly held her back.
“Let them talk. It’s fine.”
Seeing that Xin Jushang herself didn’t seem to care much about their words, Xu Zhiyan had no choice but to try to calm her inner anger, though she still felt unsatisfied.
Just as the group was about to leave, suddenly, He Jiansui tripped and fell flat on her face—literally face-first onto the ground.
He Jiansui scrambled up from the floor, looking utterly disheveled and flailing her arms like a resentful woman. She scanned her surroundings, her furious expression resembling a dog that had been pushed to the edge—
“Who tripped me just now?!”
She clearly remembered that she had been tripped by a leg that suddenly stretched out.
“Me.”
Zhou Yuchuan lazily raised his head, looking directly at the wide-eyed, furious He Jiansui, and spoke unhurriedly.
Seeing that the culprit was Zhou Yuchuan—a handsome guy who was both good-looking and academically outstanding—He Jiansui’s anger instantly vanished, replaced even by a hint of shyness—
“Oh, it was you. It’s fine, I know you didn’t mean it.”
Zhou Yuchuan seemed to have heard an incredibly funny joke. He narrowed his long, peach-blossom eyes slightly, scrutinizing He Jiansui before him, and spoke with precision, “I did it on purpose.”
He Jiansui was instantly stunned, her brain suddenly crashing.
What’s going on? How did I suddenly catch the attention of someone like Zhou Yuchuan? Could it be… that Zhou Yuchuan has taken a liking to me?
He Jianhui even imagined countless idol drama scenarios in her mind in an instant. It seemed like the most obvious sign of the male lead falling for the female lead in an idol drama was—deliberately provoking the female lead.
After reaching this conclusion, He Jianhui’s face flushed even redder. She covered her face with her hands, looking coy and shy. “Oh, whatever you say.”
Zhou Yuchuan: ?
Is this person out of her mind?
Her tactic of retreating to advance caught him completely off guard. But he quickly adjusted, crossing his arms and leaning back in his chair, staring coldly at He Jianhui—
“Come over and apologize to my deskmate.”
He Jianhui’s expression looked as if she had swallowed something disgusting and gotten it stuck in her throat—utterly unpleasant. She couldn’t move forward or retreat, so she had no choice but to stand there.
“What? Playing mute now? Weren’t you quite talkative just now?” Zhou Yuchuan’s merciless mockery made He Jianhui’s face alternate between red and black.
“If you don’t apologize, I’ll make sure none of you can stay at Hengmu High School from now on.” His tone was as calm as if he were commenting on the weather.
Zhou Yuchuan crossed his hands behind his head, eyeing the girls in front of him with amusement. “Don’t believe me? Feel free to test it.”
The Zhou family’s influence in the entire C City was so extensive that it wouldn’t be an exaggeration to say they could cover the sky with one hand. The girls had all heard about Zhou Yuchuan’s family background to varying degrees, and now they were all terrified.
He Jianhui hurriedly stepped forward first and spoke sullenly, “I’m sorry.”
Then, the other girls followed suit one after another, but their voices were barely audible.
“Apologizing to whom? To me?” Zhou Yuchuan wore an innocent expression.
So the girls repeated, “Xin Jushang, I’m sorry,” but Zhou Yuchuan still frowned tightly.
“Your voices are too soft.” He furrowed his brows and shook his head. “When you were mocking my deskmate just now, your voices were loud enough for the whole class to hear. Why are your apologies now as faint as a mosquito’s buzz?”
The perfectionism of a Virgo was vividly displayed in Zhou Yuchuan.
He Jianhui gritted her teeth, then led the girls in repeating, “Xin Jushang, I’m sorry.” This time, their voices were unified and loud.
“Is that enough now?”
He Jianhui looked at Zhou Yuchuan anxiously, afraid that this apology still wouldn’t satisfy him.
Hearing this, Zhou Yuchuan turned to Xin Jushang, who had remained silent beside him, and asked, “Deskmate, do you forgive them?”
Xin Jushang nodded and replied softly, “Zhou Yuchuan, don’t make things difficult for them. They’re standing here blocking everyone else from passing through.”
Upon hearing Xin Jushang’s response, Zhou Yuchuan nearly burst out laughing.
His little deskmate really had a unique way of looking at things.
After sending He Jianhui and her group away, Zhou Yuchuan tilted his head and looked at Xin Jushang, finding her more and more pleasing to the eye.
The girl’s bright almond-shaped eyes were fixed intently on the book in front of her, her pen occasionally making marks on the pages. Occasionally, a breeze blew in from outside, lifting a few stray strands of hair by her ears.
It was as beautiful as a painting.
Even though Xin Jushang was wearing a mask, and even though Zhou Yuchuan had seen her face without it before.
At this moment, he still thought Xin Jushang was beautiful.
“I’m going crazy,” Zhou Yuchuan murmured.
He must have lost his mind.
He had just entertained thoughts about his little deskmate.
The boy’s flushed earlobes resembled the color of strawberries just beginning to ripen.