Сhарtеr 5: Сome Right In
Тhе nехt mоrning, Wen Yao wоkе up and sаw two messаgеs оn hеr рhоne.
Sеnt аt thrее in the morning.
Х: “No, and it couldn’t bе уou.”
Х: “Whаt wе hаvе isn’t abоut fееlings.”
Wen Yaо fеlt a briеf sense of rеlief аnd ignored him, getting uр to wаsh up аnd gеt readу for class.
“It’s а usеlеss сlass, I don’t wаnt tо gо.”
Хu Chaо rollеd over. Аn eight a.m. рoliticаl theory сlаss—еven if shе wеnt, she’d just sleeр through it.
Таng Li was alsо too lаzy tо gеt uр and wаs still trying to сonvincе Хu Сhao to wake up.
“It’s the first clаss! Wе don’t even know hоw thе teachеr tаkes attendance. I heard this teacher is strict about participation grades.”
“Alright, alright, I’m getting up!”
While the two of them were still dawdling, Wen Yao and Chi Ying were already ready to head out.
“What do you want for breakfast? We’ll go buy it for you first.”
“Oh, my dear Yao Yao.”
Xu Chao practically wanted to hug Wen Yao and give her a kiss.
Both Xu Chao and Tang Li wanted the meat buns from the second floor of the first cafeteria, which was on the way to their classroom building.
So Wen Yao and Chi Ying left together first.
“Yao Yao, there’s a mark on your neck.”
Chi Ying glanced sideways at Wen Yao and hesitated for a moment before speaking up.
“Huh?”
Wen Yao quickly touched her neck and pulled out her phone to check.
It was quite noticeable, on the side. She hadn’t noticed it while washing up, and it wasn’t easy to cover with her hair in that spot.
“Here, this can cover it.”
Chi Ying took a bandage out of her bag and handed it over.
Wen Yao gratefully accepted it and said thank you.
As they walked, Chi Ying didn’t ask her anything about it. At the start of the semester, everyone had been open about their relationship status—everyone in the dorm except Chi Ying was single.
Now, with such a suggestive mark on her, it was hard not to wonder.
But Chi Ying didn’t ask a single question, and Wen Yao couldn’t help but like this roommate even more.
The two of them arrived at the first cafeteria.
The meat buns had just sold out, and the next batch was still steaming. Time was a bit tight.
But both roommates really wanted them, so Wen Yao gritted her teeth and said to Chi Ying,
“Yingying, why don’t you go to the classroom first and save seats? They both want to catch up on sleep and sit in the back.”
Chi Ying nodded. “Alright. If you can’t wait, just come over first. Don’t be late—this teacher is really strict.”
Wen Yao nodded too. “I know.”
As soon as the buns were ready, Wen Yao dashed toward the classroom. The classroom was on the ninth floor of the complex building, and the elevators were packed with people waiting in line.
Wen Yao gritted her teeth and started climbing the stairs.
By the time she reached the eighth floor, the class bell had just finished ringing, and her heart seemed to skip a beat for a moment.
When she reached the door, she called out, “Reporting!” The teacher on the podium shot her a cold glare.
“Go stand outside for the entire class before coming in!”
Wen Yao trembled in fear, turned around, and went outside the classroom.
Inside, the teacher was still lecturing about students like her who didn’t take discipline seriously.
Wen Yao had always been a good student, well-liked by teachers, and had never been scolded like this before. On top of that, she was prone to crying easily.
Now, standing outside, she hung her head low, trying to hold back her tears.
She was still holding two bags of buns in her hands. Because of her, Xu Chao and Tang Li hadn’t gotten to eat breakfast, and she felt even more guilty.
The tears still escaped.
Halfway through the first class, two people walked up to the classroom door. The previously quiet classroom, filled only with the teacher’s voice, began to buzz with whispers.
Wen Yao glanced up but only caught a glimpse of their backs.
They weren’t sent out.Gu Yanche and Xie Zongxun walked openly to the last row of the classroom, where only one seat remained.
Gu Yanche glanced at the person next to it. “Get lost somewhere else.”
Two acquaintances immediately grabbed their backpacks and ran off. Everyone knew these two weren’t to be messed with.
There weren’t many empty seats in the classroom. Chi Ying had saved a seat for Wen Yao, with another empty spot beside it.
For now, there was no other choice—the two of them had to sit there.
“Someone’s sitting here.”
Neither of them dared to speak. Chi Ying clenched her fist loosely but didn’t make a scene.
From his diagonal angle, Xie Zongxun could see Wen Yao outside.
Even standing in punishment, she looked so obedient—like a grade-schooler.
He shifted his gaze away and started looking at his phone.
When the bell for the first class rang, the teacher, as usual, combined two periods and ended early to make up for the break.
“Student outside, come in.”
By now, Wen Yao had composed herself and obediently walked inside.
Chi Ying glanced at the classmate beside her. “My friend is here. Move.”
Her tone was cold and harsh, making the person beside her feel offended and angry enough to stand up and argue.
But the teacher’s voice rang out, “There’s a seat in the back. Go over there yourself.”
Wen Yao saw Chi Ying and her friends, pursed her lips, and smiled at them to show she was fine.
Then she walked to the back seat. When she saw Xie Zongxun beside her, she was startled.
Him? Why is he here?
Wen Yao was only stunned for a moment before sitting down, opening her textbook, and listening attentively to the lecture.
Some people in the front occasionally glanced back at the last row when the teacher wasn’t looking, and a few even raised their phones.
Xie Zongxun didn’t look at Wen Yao the entire time, leaning back in his seat and playing on his phone.
Midway through, he simply laid his head on the desk and fell asleep.
The desks in this classroom were arranged in rows, and the seats weren’t particularly spacious. Xie Zongxun’s arm ended up resting on Wen Yao’s textbook.
Wen Yao tugged gently but couldn’t pull it free.
The person who had been buried in his arm suddenly turned toward Wen Yao and frowned at her.
Wen Yao nervously opened her mouth but didn’t dare to speak.
Xie Zongxun looked at her for two seconds. Her eyes were still a little red, and the tip of her nose was pink—she always looked like this after crying.
A bandage was stuck to her neck, barely covering the mark he had left.
Xie Zongxun pointed to his phone on the desk and then closed his eyes again.
Wen Yao thought for a moment—he must have been telling her to check her phone.
She took out her phone from her pocket, and a flood of messages popped up in her roommate group chat.
Xu Chao and Tang Li had been cursing the mean teacher for a while, and all three of them had come to comfort her.
Wen Yao felt warm inside.
[I’m okay, sorry you all missed breakfast.]
Xu Chao and Tang Li frantically typed more words of comfort—no one blamed her.
Wen Yao exited the group chat interface and only then noticed that Xie Zongxun had sent her another message.
It was from several dozen minutes earlier.
X: [Just come in.]
So, it was him who had walked in earlier.
He hadn’t been kicked out—a student even the teacher couldn’t control.
Wen Yao instinctively glanced at Xie Zongxun. His skin was very fair, his eyelashes long—she could see them clearly from this distance—with a high nose bridge and thin lips.
Wen Yao admitted she had never seen anyone more attractive than him.
Nor had she ever met anyone more annoying.
When the class ended, Wen Yao slung her backpack over her shoulder and went to find her roommates.
The group hurried off to their next specialized class.
“Yao Yao, just now—the person next to you was Xie Zongxun! And also that Gu Yanche!””Holy shit, they actually have a public class with us!”
“Even if it were at six in the morning instead of eight, I’d still drag myself out of bed!”
Xu Chao and Tang Li were beyond excited.
“Look, I just snapped a photo.”
Xu Chao showed it to Wen Yao. In the picture, Xie Zongxun was leaning back slightly, looking indifferent, and next to him was… her.
“Our Yao Yao looks like a doll beside him. He must be thrilled.”
Wen Yao pursed her lips, stammering, “I… I didn’t. Let’s go to class.”
Gu Yanche and Xie Zongxun also headed to another building for their specialized class.
On the way, Gu Yanche couldn’t resist making a snide remark: “What’s up? Sleeping in front of that girl, trying to charm her?”
Xie Zongxun’s tone was flat.
“Just don’t like sleeping in front of guys. Afraid I’d disgust myself to death.”
“Fuck, looking at your face disgusts me too.”
Wen Yao had just finished her last class of the morning. Since she had no afternoon classes, she decided to head straight back to the dorm. She planned to check out some part-time job opportunities in the afternoon and have dinner later.
Just as she parted ways with her roommate, her phone buzzed.
X: 【Do you have class this afternoon?】
Wen Liuliu: 【No.】
X: 【At the parking spot from last time. Ten minutes.】