When Wen Yan returned to the classroom, Jiang Xianshu noticed he was carrying several bags of candy. Just as he reached out to take them, Wen Yan dodged away.
“Yan, don’t you not like sweets? I thought you bought this candy for me.”
Wen Yan shot him a look. “If you want some, go buy it yourself.”
The candy was all bought for the girl.
Wen Yan glanced at the girl studying seriously up front and gently tapped her back with his finger. Hua Tong, pen in hand, turned around and asked in confusion, “What’s up?”
Wen Yan took out a bag of candy and handed it to her. ”For you.”
Hua Tong looked at the candy—it was her favorite—and looked at Wen Yan in surprise. “How did you know I like this candy?”
Wen Yan rubbed his nose. “Oh, your brother told me.”
Hua Tong accepted it happily. “Thank you, Wen Yan. How much was it? I’ll transfer you the money.”
When Wen Yan heard her offer to pay, he had been happy she’d accepted his gift, but now he was instantly displeased.
Wen Yan’s eyelids drooped. “No need. It wasn’t much. Just consider it a gift.”
Seeing that Wen Yan was unhappy, Hua Tong thought that transferring money might seem too distant. After a moment’s thought, she said, “Then next time I’ll treat you to a meal.”
Wen Yan agreed immediately, afraid she might change her mind.
After Hua Tong turned back around, Wen Yan remembered the baffling message Jiang Xianshu had sent him.
He tapped on Jiang Xianshu’s desk and pointed at the message on his phone, gesturing for him to explain.
Jiang Xianshu, who had been sad that the candy wasn’t bought for him, regained his smile upon seeing the message.
He sneakily glanced at Hua Tong up front, and only after making sure she couldn’t hear them did he quietly begin recounting what had happened.
Jiang Xianshu told the whole story from beginning to end in one breath, without pausing.
Wen Yan looked at him skeptically. He was clearly exaggerating.
Seeing that Wen Yan didn’t believe him, Jiang Xianshu’s voice unconsciously grew louder to prove himself. “Really, Yan, everything I said is true. It really took her almost twenty minutes to climb four floors.”
As luck would have it, Jiang Xianshu’s voice stood out abruptly in the quiet classroom, and the whole class turned to look at him—including Hua Tong.
Hua Tong looked at Jiang Xianshu, dying of embarrassment. It was already an embarrassing thing, and now it had been announced publicly. She couldn’t bear to show her face.
Seeing all those eyes on him, Jiang Xianshu instantly realized he had spoken too loudly and the whole class had heard.
Whispers immediately rippled through the classroom.
“Ah! The new student’s health is that bad?”
“Even my seven-year-old niece doesn’t take that long to climb stairs.”
“Then can she not do strenuous exercise?”
…
Seeing Hua Tong looking at him with tears welling in her eyes, he hurriedly apologized, “I’m sorry, sis, I didn’t mean to.”
Hua Tong glared fiercely at Jiang Xianshu and Wen Yan. She had wanted to be a normal person at her new school, and they had ruined it.
Seeing the girl driven to tears by them, Wen Yan was filled with regret. Looking at her red, tear-stained nose, his heart ached as if pierced by needles.
He then coldly warned the entire class with his eyes. The warned students immediately shut their mouths—they couldn’t afford to offend Wen Yan.
The consequence of offending Hua Tong was that that afternoon, no matter what Wen Yan and Jiang Xianshu said to her, Hua Tong wouldn’t give them the time of day.
Wen Yan watched the girl’s soft profile, wanting to talk to her, but she didn’t spare him even a glance. He felt terrible inside.
Jiang Xianshu trembled as he looked at Wen Yan. Yan-ge had been radiating cold air all afternoon—he was terrified!
Wen Yan spun his pen in his hand. He needed to think of a way to coax the girl back into a good mood.
Wen Yan took out his phone and sent Lin Zixuan a message.
[W: Zixuan, I need to talk to you after school. Wait for me a bit.]
[Zixuan: Sure, Yan-ge.]
After school, Hua Tong hurried toward the gate with her little backpack on her back.
Wen Yan watched her with concern. The backpack was so heavy—could her body handle it?
Wen Yan wanted to step forward, but he was afraid she’d find him even more annoying, so he could only follow her at a distance, neither too close nor too far, protecting her. Only when he saw Lin Zixuan take her backpack did Wen Yan finally breathe a sigh of relief.
After seeing Hua Tong into the car, Lin Zixuan said to her, “Tongtong, I’ve still got some things to do. Head home first, okay?”
Hua Tong pressed her lips together. “Okay, big brother.”
Watching the car drive away, Wen Yan and Jiang Xianshu finally emerged from behind the tree.
Lin Zixuan walked up to the two of them. “Yan-ge, I wanted to say hi to you just now—why were you hiding?”
Jiang Xianshu glanced at Lin Zixuan and said carefully, “Yan-ge and I accidentally made your sister angry at lunch today.”
“What? My sister is so adorable—how dare you make her angry!” Lin Zixuan, a devoted sister-complex brother, shouted at them angrily.
Even though he respected Wen Yan, there was no way he’d let it slide if Yan-ge made his sister angry.