Jiang Baiyu never would have guessed that after going around and around for a whole week, he would end up sitting at the same desk as Lu Qingci.
Could it be that even if his thoughts had changed, the plot that was supposed to happen in the book still could not be changed?
Frowning, Jiang Baiyu looked toward Lu Qingci’s seat. The teenage Lu Qingci sat there, back straight, his side profile hard and cold, his whole body wrapped in an aura that kept people at arm’s length.
Zhou Nan, on the other hand, was very happy. “Xiaoyu, let’s switch. We can sit in front and behind, and you can even copy my homework. Come on, I’ll help you move your books.”
Jiang Baiyu was in complete disarray and stood rooted in place.
Zhou Nan took the thick stack of textbooks from his hands and urged him, “Come on, hurry up.”
“Huh? Oh.”
Jiang Baiyu followed behind the tall Zhou Nan, muddled and uneasy, to his new seat.
Lu Qingci was calmly arranging his desk. His expression looked cold and composed, but the corner of his eye kept sweeping over the side beside him. When he saw Jiang Baiyu approach, he immediately stood up.
He turned slightly to make room for Jiang Baiyu.
Lu Qingci was very tall. Though still lean with the crisp build of a boy, he was not slight. Standing there, broad and tall, he cast a heavy, oppressive shadow.
Jiang Baiyu walked under that shadow and sat down in his seat. From start to finish, he did not look at Lu Qingci. He even tried to angle his body as much as possible so there would be no physical contact between them, not even any crossing of eyes.
The seat change period ended, and Old Xu called to the class, “Class is starting, class is starting. Everyone get ready and open your textbooks. Come on, Jiang Baiyu, read the passage I assigned everyone to preview last lesson.”
Jiang Baiyu, suddenly called on: ?!
What passage?
The fair and delicate boy stood up from his seat, blankly flipping through the textbook and looking around.
Old Xu urged him, “Hurry up, everyone’s waiting for you.”
Jiang Baiyu’s face turned red with anxiety. Just as he was about to admit he didn’t know, he saw Lu Qingci push his Chinese textbook slightly in his direction. The open page was a classical Chinese passage.
Was Lu Qingci reminding him?
Jiang Baiyu had no time to think about it. He tried reading the title of the classical Chinese passage, then looked up at Old Xu. Seeing that Old Xu was waiting for him to keep reading, he finally settled down and started reading.
“Very good, sit down.”
Old Xu then called on another student. “Zhang Ruohan, explain the meaning of this passage.”
Jiang Baiyu let out a breath of relief. After sitting down, he could not help glancing toward Lu Qingci and saw him lightly pull back the book he had just pushed over, then turn a page. The movement was natural, his expression cold and detached, and it was impossible to tell whether he had deliberately helped him or not.
But this did remind Jiang Baiyu of one thing.
He still had not started pursuing Lu Qingci, so Lu Qingci still had no hostility toward him. He merely treated him like an ordinary classmate.
Even if the two of them sat at the same desk, it would not be like it had been in his previous life.
Thinking of this, Jiang Baiyu’s psychological pressure about sharing a desk with Lu Qingci instantly eased a great deal.
Zhou Nan, in the back row, reached out and poked Jiang Baiyu’s back. “Did you forget which passage it was? Heh, you almost got scolded by Old Xu again.”
Lu Qingci’s fingers, which were holding the page, paused. Turning his eyes slightly, he happened to see that finger poking Jiang Baiyu’s back.
His expression turned frosty as he warned in a low voice, “Zhou Nan, behave yourself!”
Zhou Nan: ……
What does it have to do with you?!
When lunchtime nap period arrived, Jiang Baiyu and Zhou Nan were called to the playground to run as punishment.
The PE teacher supervising this kind of punishment usually turned a blind eye. Many students would jog slowly while chatting and get through the 1,500 meters that way.
But Jiang Baiyu ran very fast. He wanted to finish as quickly as possible, because then it would mean that the relationship between him and Lu Qingci was completely over.
Zhou Nan followed behind him and kept reminding him, “Xiaoyu, slow down. It’s 1,500 meters. You need to pace yourself at the start.”
Instead, Jiang Baiyu ran even faster.
Zhou Nan anxiously wiped the sweat from his forehead and shouted, “It’s hot. You can’t run like this!”
As if answering Zhou Nan’s words, after Jiang Baiyu ran three laps under the fierce autumn sun, his breathing became ragged and his head felt light.
There was only the last lap left. Jiang Baiyu did not want to stop here. He dragged his exhausted body forward in a sprint toward the finish, and just as he was about to finish the run, his vision suddenly went black and his body toppled over uncontrollably.
He had fainted again……
As he fell, Jiang Baiyu helplessly lamented how weak his body was.
However, just as his body was about to hit the ground, a strong arm suddenly scooped him up and pulled him tightly into a broad embrace. Then a faint wooden scent drifted to his nose, and a gentle, pleasant voice sounded by his ear. “Student, are you all right?”
Jiang Baiyu forced his eyes open and saw an elegant, handsome man holding him tightly. The man was wearing a very fine suit, cool against the skin, and leaning against it felt very comfortable.
He tried hard to thank him, but before he could finish, he completely lost consciousness.
Lu Qingci sat in the classroom, occasionally glancing toward the door.
After Jiang Baiyu died, he neither ate nor drank and kept vigil over the boy’s body for many days. In a daze, he actually returned to this day five years ago and once again saw the teenage Jiang Baiyu at the school gate.
He could not help calling out to the boy.
He saw that Jiang Baiyu was still the same as back then, deliberately not wearing his tie just so he could talk to him, not caring even if he was punished to run.
He even went to speak to the teacher so he could sit at the same desk with him. In the future, he would bring him breakfast every day, bring him gifts, and confess to him.
It was wonderful, really wonderful!
The relief and joy in Lu Qingci’s heart nearly burst out of him.
He secretly made up his mind that this time, he would never fail the boy’s feelings for him again.
It was just that, if he had not stopped Jiang Baiyu that morning, Jiang Baiyu would not have been punished to run.
Lu Qingci felt guilty and silently thought, This is the last time. This is the last time I’ll make Jiang Baiyu suffer.
Suddenly, someone walked into the classroom and shouted, “Jiang Baiyu fainted on the playground!”
Lu Qingci sharply looked up.
“Huh, he fainted? What happened?”
“Did he get heatstroke while running? It’s pretty hot today, and the sun is so strong.”
“He also seemed to have caught a bit of a cold today. Was he just too weak?”
…..
Several students sitting in class began talking at once.
Lu Qingci grabbed the boy’s arm and asked anxiously, “How is he? Where is he now!”
“Class monitor?”
The boy was startled by Lu Qingci’s urgency and said, “You’re asking about Jiang Baiyu? He’s been sent to the infirmary. I don’t know the exact situation.”
Lu Qingci immediately rushed out of the classroom, the image of Jiang Baiyu fainting in front of his company building and never waking up again flashing through his mind.
“Qingci, hey, Lu Qingci!”
Old Xu saw Lu Qingci running down the hallway and called after him from far away.
“Teacher Xu.”
Lu Qingci stopped and turned back, standing where he was, urgency hidden in his eyes. “What is it?”
“What are you running so fast for? Come to my office first.”
“Jiang Baiyu fainted. I’m going to see how he is.”
“I already looked. He’s awake.”
Old Xu beckoned him with a wave. “Come to my office first and help me handle this month’s exam results.”
“Teacher.”
The boy was still standing where he was, his voice calm and clear. “I’ll go see him first. I’ll come find you later.”
Old Xu froze. “Oh, oh, then… then go first.”
After Lu Qingci had gone far away for quite a while, Old Xu finally reacted and left in a huff.
Honestly, he had just been intimidated by the aura of a 17-year-old student!
In the infirmary.
Jiang Baiyu was half lying on the bed with an IV in his arm.
Zhou Nan tore open a fever-reducing patch and stuck it on the boy’s forehead, scolding him, “I told you not to run so fast. You got heatstroke, didn’t you? Don’t you know your own body? Stop forcing yourself.”
Jiang Baiyu, however, thought of the man who had promptly held him in his arms after he fainted, and hurriedly asked, “Zhou Nan, who was the person who carried me over here just now?”
Zhou Nan said, “Someone from the Yan family, I think he was called Yan Jinzhou. I heard he’s here to plan our school’s anniversary event.”
Yan Jinzhou.
Jiang Baiyu found the name familiar. After silently repeating it a few times in his heart, he suddenly widened his eyes in shock.
Yan Jinzhou, the biggest villain in this novel world, was the great boss who later made the male lead, Lu Qingci, suffer a lot.
And he also had some connection to Yan Jinzhou.
Because not long from now, Old Master Yan would mention, because of an agreement between their grandfathers, a marriage alliance with the Jiang family, and his marriage partner would be Yan Jinzhou.
In his previous life, he had been fully focused on Lu Qingci and firmly refused the marriage alliance with the Yan family, so he had never even met Yan Jinzhou.
It turned out that he was actually such a gentle and refined man, with the bearing of a gentleman.
Recalling the man’s warm, broad embrace, his handsome and elegant face, his pleasant voice, and his courteous words and actions, Jiang Baiyu thought that this kind of marriage partner seemed pretty good.
Most importantly, the Yan family was rich.
Even if they divorced by agreement, he could still get a considerable amount of compensation from the Yan family. As long as there was money, the Jiang family would never again fall into such a miserable situation.
Suddenly, with a swish, the infirmary curtain was yanked open, and Lu Qingci appeared before them, sweat from his hurried arrival hanging on his sharp, handsome side profile.
Jiang Baiyu widened his eyes in surprise.
Zhou Nan’s expression tightened. “Class monitor? You came in without even saying a word?”
“I came……”
Lu Qingci’s gaze fell on the boy’s face, and all his urgency was gradually hidden in his dark, deep eyes. He swallowed back everything he wanted to say and asked calmly, “I came to find the doctor.”
Zhou Nan said, “The doctor’s office is over there. You still got it wrong?”
“Sorry to bother you.”
Lu Qingci’s gaze fell again on the back of the boy’s hand with the needle in it, and he said in a low voice, “Sorry.”
Just as he was turning to leave, the cold, indifferent boy looked back and said in a low, hushed voice, “Jiang Baiyu, don’t forget to wear your tie to school again in the future.”
“I know.”
The boy’s pale face carried a flush from illness and weakness as he said softly, “I won’t forget again in the future.”
He looked very well-behaved.
Lu Qingci’s heartbeat quickened a little. He knew it. Jiang Baiyu had always listened to him, always been very obedient in front of him.