“Why don’t you take a good look at yourself in the mirror before daring to confess to Shen Lishu? If you delay her studies, how are you going to make up for it?”
Xie Changyan was the first to step out of the alley. He glanced at his wristwatch and softly reminded, “We’re going to be late.”
Pei Yu responded with an indifferent “Hmm.”
Because she was in the elite class, Shen Lishu’s dismissal time was nearly an hour and a half later than other classes.
The three of them walked toward the school.
On the other side.
“Shen Lishu, thank you for helping me with the problem,” a girl wearing thick glasses said gratefully.
The elite class operated on an elimination system. If a student from another class scored higher than an elite class student in the annual exams, they could replace the original student in the elite class.
Jingda High School was filled with hidden talents, and among the top scorers, most students were separated by only a few points.
In such fierce competition, helping others was akin to harming oneself.
And most people were self-interested.
Shen Lishu was the only exception.
Whenever someone came to ask her for help with a problem, Shen Lishu would patiently and meticulously explain it.
If they didn’t understand the first time, she would explain it again.
Shen Lishu smiled and said, “You’re welcome.”
By the time Shen Lishu finished packing her bag, almost everyone in the classroom had left.
In April, Wangjing was already starting to get warm.
Carrying her backpack, Shen Lishu felt a slightly stuffy heat hit her as soon as she stepped out of the classroom.
Just as she turned toward the staircase on the right, a slender, well-defined hand suddenly appeared from behind and lifted her backpack.
Feeling the weight on her shoulder lighten, Shen Lishu immediately knew who it was without even thinking.
“Pei Yu!”
The boy standing behind Shen Lishu was already a full head taller than her.
With a rebellious look in his eyes, Pei Yu took Shen Lishu’s backpack and casually slung it over one shoulder.
Feeling the weight of the backpack, Pei Yu’s expression darkened for a moment. “It’s this heavy, and you still dared to carry it yourself?”
Shen Lishu blinked, defending herself guiltily. “It’s just for a short distance anyway.”
Pei Yu lazily snorted. “Keep carrying such a heavy bag, then. It’s not like I’m the one who won’t grow taller.”
Shen Lishu glared at him indignantly.
Height had always been a sore spot for Shen Lishu. Growing up together, she had watched as Pei Yu and Xie Changyan shot up in height, while she seemed to grow at a leisurely pace.
Shouldn’t girls develop earlier than boys when it came to height?
Pei Yu took Shen Lishu’s hand and led her toward the staircase.
Not far from the school gate, under the bicycle shed designated for parking bikes, Xie Changyan and Jiang Jingheng were already waiting.
Seeing Shen Lishu approach, Jiang Jingheng, who was munching on a fully loaded jianbing guozi, immediately waved at her.
Looking at the jianbing guozi in his hand, Shen Lishu’s eyes lit up, unable to look away.
It was even slathered with spicy sauce!
It looked so delicious.
Suddenly, Jiang Jingheng felt the half-eaten jianbing guozi in his hand wasn’t as appetizing anymore. He whispered a suggestion, “Lili, do you want me to tear off a piece for you?”
Shen Lishu felt a bit embarrassed but tilted her head, her dark eyes filled with hope. “Is that okay?”
It was okay.
But this matter still needed Pei Yu’s approval.
Shen Lishu gently tugged at Pei Yu’s sleeve. “Pei Yu, can I have a bite?”
Pei Yu sneered, “Go ahead, take a bite and see.”
Shen Lishu pretended not to understand the sarcasm, turning to Jiang Jingheng happily and saying, “Pei Yu agreed.”
Jiang Jingheng’s eyelids twitched.
He felt that tone didn’t sound like agreement at all.
Ever since Jiang Jingheng had known the two of them, Pei Yu had been extremely strict about what Shen Lishu put in her mouth.
Even if Pei Yu was momentarily careless and let Shen Lishu eat some junk food she shouldn’t have, he would directly reach in and take it out of her mouth.
For his own safety, Jiang Jingheng simply stuffed the remaining half of the jianbing guozi into his mouth all at once.
“Hot, hot, hot…”
It was too big a bite, making it difficult to chew.
Shen Lishu: “…”
“Let’s go, it’s time to head home,” Xie Changyan, who had been silent until now, finally reminded them.
Shen Lishu stood beside the back seat of Pei Yu’s bicycle, her eyes downcast, not making a sound.
“Sweetie, what’s wrong?” Pei Yu asked lazily.
Shen Lishu: “It’s dirty.”
The back seat had been wiped clean by Xie Changyan before Pei Yu went upstairs to pick up Shen Lishu.
Although Pei Yu and Xie Changyan had never gotten along since childhood, Pei Yu trusted Xie Changyan to do things properly.
Pei Yu bent down to take a closer look and indeed spotted a stray piece of fluff, likely something that had accidentally floated onto the seat after it was wiped.
“Who spoiled you with these bad habits?”
If her shoelaces got a barely noticeable stain when going out, she absolutely had to go back and change them.
Her textbooks had to be kept perfectly neat; after a semester of use, they still looked practically brand new from the outside.
Shen Lishu blinked her eyes and said softly, “Pei Yu spoiled me. Go give him trouble.”
On the surface, Pei Yu grumbled as he pulled out the cotton T-shirt from inside his black windbreaker to wipe the back seat, but inwardly, he was overjoyed.
He even wished Shen Lishu could be more willful, more picky. After all, even if she tore a hole in the sky, he, Pei Yu, would be there to cover for her.
Not long ago, someone who wanted to confess to Shen Lishu but was dealt with by Pei Yu and his friends had angrily questioned:
What was Pei Yu to Shen Lishu, and why did he have the right to control her so much?
Because ever since Shen Lishu was six, every time she fell ill, it was Pei Yu who took care of her.
Because Pei Yu had personally raised Shen Lishu.
The person who changed Shen Lishu’s sweat towels the most was him, Pei Yu.
The person who wiped Shen Lishu’s tears the most was also him, Pei Yu.
Heck, even the clothes Shen Lishu stained during her first period were hand-washed by him, Pei Yu.
And they still asked why Pei Yu had the right to control her so much?
If even he, Pei Yu, wasn’t qualified to look after Shen Lishu, then no one else was.
By now, it was very late, and the campus was empty everywhere.
Shen Lishu sat on the back seat of Pei Yu’s bicycle, one hand tightly wrapped around his lean waist, but her mind unconsciously drifted to the knowledge points the teacher had covered in class today.
“Stop thinking about studying,” Pei Yu suddenly said from the front.
How did he know?
Shen Lishu widened her dark eyes and whispered defensively, “I wasn’t.”
Pei Yu snorted lightly, “If your brain is filled with too much knowledge, it’ll weigh you down and stunt your growth.”
Shen Lishu grumbled unhappily, “Nonsense.”
She drank a glass of milk every morning without fail; she definitely wouldn’t be short.
But thinking of this, Shen Lishu felt inexplicably guilty because she could only finish half a glass each time, and without exception, Pei Yu drank the other half for her.
Shen Lishu thought to herself, starting tomorrow, she must finish a whole glass.
Strive to grow taller, preferably even taller than Pei Yu!