6 – Where is my desk mate?
“Thanks, I’m not thirsty.”
Though surprised that Zhou Yuchuan had offered her water, Xin Jushang adhered to the principle of “not accepting charity” and firmly declined.
Seeing that class was about to end, Xin Jushang put away her TEM-4 vocabulary book and stood up, preparing to return to the classroom.
Just as she turned to leave, a strong hand firmly grasped her wrist.
Before she could even react, Zhou Yuchuan had already resolutely placed the icy bottle of lemonade into her arms, his voice carrying a barely perceptible hint of anger—
“Take it.”
At the same moment, the class bell rang.
A few boys not far away called out “Brother Chuan” several times, signaling Zhou Yuchuan to join them at the convenience store to buy drinks.
Xin Jushang stood there holding the bottle of lemonade. The cup’s surface was still beaded with condensation, cool to the touch, clearly indicating it had just been taken from the refrigerator.
A strange, unfamiliar feeling stirred within her.
This sensation was something she had never experienced before.
Since childhood, many boys had actively tried to win her favor, but Xin Jushang had always found them increasingly annoying and never accepted their carefully prepared gifts.
Looking at the misty cup of lemonade in her hand, the corners of Xin Jushang’s eyes couldn’t help but lift slightly.
She removed her mask, unscrewed the bottle cap, and took a small sip.
Refreshing and sweet, like a girl’s first love in summer.
Unbeknownst to her, everything that had just happened had been witnessed by Xue Yingying from a distance.
Clutching the towel and water she hadn’t been able to give away, Xue Yingying burned with rage.
She couldn’t understand why Zhou Yuchuan had refused her water only to go and buy some for Xin Jushang.
That ugly, worthless girl from No. 3 Middle School wasn’t worthy of Zhou Yuchuan at all—she didn’t even deserve to carry his shoes!
Xue Yingying felt the only thing she had lost to Xin Jushang was one point—
She wasn’t Zhou Yuchuan’s deskmate, while Xin Jushang had lucked out from the very beginning and become his deskmate.
Thinking of this, Xue Yingying grew even more jealous, her eyes reddening with envy.
Every Wednesday afternoon, the last two periods were designated as school-wide free time, during which homeroom teachers usually arranged for students to study independently in their classrooms.
Just before the study session officially began, Xin Jushang returned to the classroom from the restroom and was surprised to find someone sitting in her seat.
If she remembered correctly, the girl now occupying her seat should be the English class representative, Xue Yingying.
Seeing Xin Jushang return, Xue Yingying showed no intention of vacating the seat. Pretending not to notice her presence, she remained seated as calmly as ever.
Xin Jushang paused for a moment before speaking softly, “Move aside.”
Xue Yingying acted as if she hadn’t heard, sitting as firmly as Mount Tai.
At that moment, Xu Zhiyan in the front row seemed to notice the situation behind her. She turned around and looked down at Xue Yingying. “Why are you taking up Jushang’s seat? Don’t you have your own?”
Xu Zhiyan didn’t have a very good impression of Xue Yingying. Although many boys in the class found her appearance pure and innocent, Xu Zhiyan had always believed that Xue Yingying had a scheming, manipulative nature deep down.
Usually, Xue Yingying relied on her innocent looks and the favor of various teachers to act coy and order some boys in the class around.
Xu Zhiyan couldn’t stand girls like that the most.
Hearing Xu Zhiyan questioning her, Xue Yingying put on a deliberately delicate and weak posture, her voice soft and gentle as she replied, “Isn’t this a self-study period? I wanted to switch seats with Xin Jushang.”
At the sound of this, Xu Zhiyan turned to Xin Jushang. “Did she discuss this with you?”
Xin Jushang shook her head, then patiently reminded Xue Yingying, “Please move aside. Self-study is about to start.”
Unexpectedly, Xue Yingying looked up at her with a pitiful expression, her tone full of pleading. “Please, just switch seats with me.”
She was using the same coquettish tactics she usually employed on boys, but it turned out Xin Jushang wasn’t buying it at all.
“My books are all here. I don’t want to switch seats. Please go back to your own seat.”
Xin Jushang was trying her best to stay calm.
Never in her life had she seen a girl act so arrogantly in front of her, even going so far as to cling to her belongings.
What a clownish, ugly display.
Seeing that Xin Jushang showed no appreciation for her act, Xue Yingying felt a bit deflated. But she still seized on a loophole in Xin Jushang’s words and deliberately raised her voice—
“I’ve already brought all my books, and I even moved your books to my desk.”
Before occupying Xin Jushang’s seat, Xue Yingying had made thorough preparations!
She was afraid Xin Jushang wouldn’t agree.
As soon as she finished speaking, displeasure was clearly written in Xin Jushang’s eyes. But she didn’t want to continue arguing with Xue Yingying here. Rather than wasting time with this troublemaker, she’d rather use the time to work on a few more competition problems.
So she compromised and turned to walk toward Xue Yingying’s seat nearby.
Seeing this, Xu Zhiyan sighed helplessly and rolled her eyes at Xue Yingying.
Xue Yingying, of course, didn’t care about the eye roll. She was overjoyed, already eagerly looking forward to spending the next two periods in close proximity to Zhou Yuchuan!
She had to make the most of these two self-study periods and try to make Zhou Yuchuan develop more favorable feelings toward her.
Just as she was lost in a sea of pink bubbles, the bell for self-study rang.
Zhou Yuchuan walked into the classroom right as the bell rang. When he saw that his deskmate had suddenly changed, he froze.
“Where’s my deskmate?” he asked, lifting his eyelids to glare at Xue Yingying.
At the same time, his mind was racing, quickly trying to recall whether he had done anything to upset Xin Jushang in the past few days.
Xue Yingying looked up at him with a pitiful gaze, putting on a sweet voice as she replied, “She said she wanted to switch seats with me for these two periods, so I agreed.”
When it came to fabricating facts, Xue Yingying had it down to an art.
Unfortunately, she overlooked one detail—she forgot that Xu Zhiyan, sitting in the front row, had ears and a mouth.
Upon hearing those words, Xu Zhiyan immediately turned to Zhou Yuchuan, like a goddess of justice. “Don’t listen to her lies. She was the one who insisted on taking Jushang’s seat and refused to leave, and she even moved Jushang’s books away.”
After saying this, Xu Zhiyan stuck her tongue out triumphantly at Xue Yingying.
Zhou Yuchuan’s expression instantly turned cold.
Xue Yingying tried to struggle, quickly defending herself. “That’s not true! Don’t believe what she said! Xin Jushang was the one who asked to switch seats with me!”
Even she felt guilty saying this, but she still desperately tried to put on an expression as if she had been wronged, her eyes quickly welling up with tears that nearly spilled over.
“Switch back.”
Zhou Yuchuan’s voice was icy, devoid of any warmth.
Xue Yingying still wanted to struggle a bit more, but Zhou Yuchuan’s suddenly cold and fierce glare made her tremble all over, not daring to even breathe loudly.
“Don’t make me lose my temper.” His knuckles tapped the table unhurriedly. “You have ten seconds to return to your own seat.”