Xia Miao finally handed the photos Lu Yan had taken of her over to Fang Ke’ai. Fang Ke’ai glanced at them, didn’t spot anything amiss, and thus decided Xia Miao had successfully completed today’s task.
Returning to the teaching building, Xia Miao walked a few steps down the hallway and looked back. The trailing figure at the corner instantly scrambled to hide behind the wall, as if that would somehow erase the fact that he had stalked her every step of the way.
She pressed her lips together, but ultimately walked over and grabbed the “stalker” by the wrist. “Why have you been following me all this time?”
Lu Yan stubbornly refused to admit it. “I wasn’t following you. I was just taking a walk.”
He never had anything proper to do. Every day, it was either heading down to the river to catch fish, climbing trees to rob bird eggs, talking absolute nonsense with his conjoined-twin buddies to kill time, or pulling up the old gardener’s flowers. And of course, secretly hiding the head that the headless woman had worked so hard to find—wicked little tricks like that were practically second nature to him.
He bounced around all day long, wilder than any wild monkey.
Yet recently, he had developed a brand-new hobby: sneaking along right behind Xia Miao, staring at her every single move. Such behavior was borderline creepy, even if he didn’t think so himself.
Xia Miao’s grip on his wrist slowly shifted until it was he who was holding her hand. Strangely enough, seeing Lu Yan’s hesitant, awkward expression, she actually felt a tiny twinge of reluctance to part with him.
Abruptly, she asked, “Lu Yan, do you have a phone?”
Lu Yan gave a blank, foolish shake of his head.
True enough, looking as clueless as he did, he definitely didn’t own anything like a phone. Otherwise, he wouldn’t be idling about out of sheer boredom, leaping up and down trees.
Xia Miao told him, “Wait for me here.”
She couldn’t leave the school grounds, meaning she certainly couldn’t go out to a mobile phone shop to buy a new one. With that, she strode straight into the classroom, walked up to the podium, and radiated an overbearing, imperious aura.
“I’ll pay a hundred times the price. Who’s willing to sell me their phone?”
Xia Miao had told Lu Yan to stay put, and he honestly squatted right down behind the corner. Every now and then, he would crane his neck to peek in the direction where she had disappeared. When he didn’t see anyone, he would pull his head back, staring blankly at the wall as his fingernail scratched lines across the surface.
Gradually, a commotion drifted over from not far away. Once again, he stretched out his neck, his deadpan fish-eyes scanning the scene.
“Quick, look! It’s Leng Yeting!”
“Oh my god, he’s so handsome!”
“Leng Yeting is smiling!”
“This is the first time I’ve ever seen him smile at someone!”
The person drawing all the attention was a boy with striking, handsome features. His face could practically be called flawless, but his aura was ice-cold, carrying a chilling, “stay away from me” barrier. His gaze usually held zero warmth either, but the moment he looked at the girl beside him, that changed.
Withstanding the sea of envious glares from the surrounding girls, Ruan Zhizhi shrank back slightly, unconsciously pressing closer to Leng Yeting as she muttered a small complaint, “Leng Yeting, I told you to stay away from me ages ago!”
The girl’s pouty, exasperated expression only made her look all the more delicate and adorable, enough to melt anyone’s heart.
Leng Yeting was in a good mood. He lowered his voice and replied, “I told you long ago, don’t even think about shaking me off, little slave.”
Ruan Zhizhi had only wanted to spend her campus days peacefully blending into the background like an invisible transparent entity. But ever since she accidentally bumped into the campus heartthrob in the cafeteria and spilled food all over him, Leng Yeting had started targeting her.
He claimed the clothes he was wearing were far too expensive, and since Ruan Zhizhi couldn’t possibly afford to compensate him, she had no choice but to become his “slave.”
Her dream of being an absolute nobody had been completely shattered, leaving her mentally cursing Leng Yeting a thousand times over in her heart. Yet, in several of the previous games, Leng Yeting had saved her life time and time again. She couldn’t help but sneak furtive glances at him.
He really was extraordinarily good-looking.
No, no, no!
Ruan Zhizhi shook her head frantically. This guy was just blessed with a pretty face; she wasn’t going to fall for him! She absolutely had to keep her distance!
“Ugh, what on earth did that girl do to catch Leng Yeting’s attention?”
“I’m so jealous. I want to be the one by Leng Yeting’s side too.”
“If only I could turn into her!”
Ruan Zhizhi could acutely feel the heavy stares of envy, jealousy, and resentment raining down on her from everyone around. In the outside world, she had never been the center of such intense attention, and it made her skin crawl with discomfort. The next second, however, her attention was instantly snatched away by a girl walking straight toward them.
It was a girl she had never seen before: long black hair, skin as white as snow, exquisite facial features, and a slender, delicate figure. The unconcealed arrogance radiating from head to toe gave her a formidable, don’t-approach-me aura.
This girl looked like she might not have the friendliest temper, but absolutely no one could deny that she was breathtakingly gorgeous.
Sure enough, the murmurs of the surrounding crowd gradually shifted tone. All eyes locked onto the approaching girl. In the blink of an eye, she had completely usurped Ruan Zhizhi as the center of everyone’s attention.
Ruan Zhizhi instinctively glanced over at Leng Yeting. Seeing that he, too, was staring straight at the approaching girl, she pressed her lips into a tight line, completely bewildered by the sudden, heavy sinking sensation in her chest.
The corridor was only so wide, and both sides were clogged with onlookers watching Leng Yeting. Xia Miao needed to pass right through the middle, but with Leng Yeting and Ruan Zhizhi blocking the path, she glanced at them and intended to skirt around them. Somewhere in the crowd of spectators, a clumsy hand gave Xia Miao a sudden shove.
Losing her footing, Xia Miao’s shoulder slammed into Ruan Zhizhi.
Ruan Zhizhi let out a soft cry of “Ah,” a delicate, tender sound capable of stirring the heartstrings of even the most cold-hearted guy.
Leng Yeting hurriedly steadied Ruan Zhizhi as she stumbled into his arms, asking with concern, “Are you alright?”
Ruan Zhizhi shook her head, replying in a small voice, “I’m fine.”
Even so, her brows remained furrowed, the expression on her petite face less than pleased.
Leng Yeting cast a cold glare at Xia Miao. “Apologize.”
Xia Miao thought she caught a glimpse of Lin Gaoshan in the crowd; she wasn’t entirely sure if he was the one who had shoved her. Rubbing her shoulder, she looked back at Leng Yeting and Ruan Zhizhi. Figuring it was true that she had bumped into Ruan Zhizhi, she offered, “Someone pushed me, which is why I accidentally bumped into you. Sorry.”
Seeing that Ruan Zhizhi’s expression still hadn’t cleared up, Leng Yeting let out a cold sneer. “Is that any way to apologize? Where’s the sincerity?”
Leng Yeting was actually standing up for her?
Ruan Zhizhi’s heart fluttered wildly, her cheeks flushing a faint pink.
Xia Miao’s temper certainly wasn’t the gentlest either. Crossing her arms, she tilted her chin up with a half-smile, “Why don’t you give me a demonstration, then? What does a ‘sincere’ apology look like?”
Leng Yeting’s face turned even frostier. Up until now, no one had ever dared to provoke him like this.
His gaze lingered on Xia Miao’s face a fraction too long, sparking a sudden sense of crisis in Ruan Zhizhi. She instinctively gripped tighter onto Leng Yeting’s arm.
Abruptly, a chorus of high-pitched squeaks—“Squeak, squeak, squeak, squeak!”—erupted from all around them.
Ruan Zhizhi looked around in alarm. “Who’s calling my name?”
The next second, a literal tide of black rats came swarming in. Everyone shrieked in absolute terror, scrambling desperately to flee in every possible direction.
Terrified out of her wits, Ruan Zhizhi hurled herself into Leng Yeting’s embrace. Leng Yeting grabbed her hand and hastily fled along with the rest of the crowd.
Xia Miao stood her ground. As if possessed by a consciousness of their own, the swarm of black rats parted around her spot, streaming past to chase the scattering people into the distance.
She tilted her head, her gaze drifting toward the corridor corner.
A dark figure was hidden behind it. The youth’s hands were pressed flat against the wall in a death grip, his fingernails clawing terrifyingly deep gouges into the surface. Worse still were his lifeless eyes, which had shifted back into cat-like vertical slits; the whites were tinged with a heavy aura of resentment, while his pupils blazed with pure fury.
The edges of his silhouette were blurred by a swirling shroud of black mist. At a glance, he genuinely looked like a bristling, feral beast ready to pounce at any second and sink its teeth into its prey.
Xia Miao blinked and strode over. The closer she got, the further the boy shrank back into himself.
By the time Xia Miao reached him, he was already curled into a tight ball in the corner of the wall, clutching the hood of his cloak and presenting only his back to her like a rotting mushroom about to sprout mold in some dark, gloomy alcove.
Without a shred of politeness, Xia Miao gave him a kick. “What’s wrong with you?”
He stayed silent.
Xia Miao prompted, “I’m going to start deducting points, you know.”
He muttered darkly, “That guy…”
“Hmm?”
He choked out a demand: “Is he good-looking?”
Xia Miao froze for a moment, then suddenly asked, “Are you jealous because I was talking to another guy?”
Lu Yan snapped, “I am not!”
Xia Miao fell silent again.
Lu Yan gripped his hood tighter and tighter, his fingers digging into the fabric. Ultimately unable to endure this deathly silence a moment longer, he snapped irritably, “I just think he’s annoying! Deduct my points if you want!”
The next second, a body suddenly launched itself onto his back.
Lu Yan lurched forward, though he quickly caught the weight on his back with both hands to keep from tumbling over.
The very next instant, a soft pair of lips pressed a quick kiss to his neck.
“You look so cute when you’re jealous. I love it. Plus ten points!”