Xie Wenxing unleashed a torrent of words at Luo Yinyin, leaving her momentarily stunned. She didn’t expect such an unusual and unique reaction from him.
Her carefully prepared speech stuck in her throat, forcing her to adapt on the fly. “Why would you think that? I see you as my classmate, and I can’t bear to watch you walk straight into the abyss. Getting close to someone like Xu Huai’an, who knows when he might stab you in the back? Don’t you think he’s terrifying?”
With years of mission experience, Luo Yinyin knew that excellent acting was the foundation of success. Standing before Xie Wenxing, she played the role of a caring classmate, unwilling to see him led astray or deceived.
Her disappointment was palpable. Beyond the look of dismay on her beautiful face was a trace of indignation at being doubted. Her acting was so masterful that any boy who saw her would feel an involuntary surge of sympathy.
But Xie Wenxing seemed to be an exception. At his core, he appeared to be the kind of straightforward guy who rarely showed sympathy, or perhaps it was just that he had little interaction with the opposite sex. He nervously raised his arm. “Hold on, don’t act like I’m bullying you. You’re pretty enough, but why do you like badmouthing people behind their backs so much?”
And it was Xu Huai’an he was defending. At the thought, Xie Wenxing’s anger flared, his voice rising. “Stop talking badly about Xu Huai’an! If you don’t, I’ll tell the others you’re nothing but a gossip who loves spreading rumors!”
Luo Yinyin had worked hard to blend into the class, and having her image ruined was a consequence she neither wanted nor could bear. Feeling her good intentions completely wasted, her embarrassment quickly turned to fury. “Fine, be arrogant! Just don’t come crying when you end up getting hurt!”
With that, she stormed out of the corner. But after just a few steps, she froze, her face pale and her mind blank.
Xie Wenxing let out a sigh of relief. He rarely clashed with anyone, and this was the first time he’d been so emotional. His whole body felt hot. He took deep breaths to calm his racing heart, but as he rounded the corner, his heart leaped into his throat.
“Xu Huai’an?”
Xie Wenxing rubbed his eyes, hardly believing who he saw. His expression darkened.
Luo Yinyin fled, covering her face as she sobbed. Xie Wenxing didn’t know what to say. He didn’t dare ask Xu Huai’an when he had arrived, how long he had been standing there, or how much he had heard.
At a loss for words, Xie Wenxing mumbled again, “Xu Huai’an.”
“Wow, [1]“Xiao” (小) means “little” or “young” jQuery('#footnote_plugin_tooltip_2244680_1_1').tooltip({ tip: '#footnote_plugin_tooltip_text_2244680_1_1', tipClass: 'footnote_tooltip', effect: 'fade', predelay: 0, fadeInSpeed: 200, delay: 400, fadeOutSpeed: 200, position: 'top center', relative: true, offset: [-7, 0], });Xiao [2]Xing means Star jQuery('#footnote_plugin_tooltip_2244680_1_2').tooltip({ tip: '#footnote_plugin_tooltip_text_2244680_1_2', tipClass: 'footnote_tooltip', effect: 'fade', predelay: 0, fadeInSpeed: 200, delay: 400, fadeOutSpeed: 200, position: 'top center', relative: true, offset: [-7, 0], });Xing, you really are a star! I knew I wasn’t wrong about you.”
Zhou Yuan, oblivious to the subtle tension, was completely unfazed. If he had been indifferent to Xie Wenxing before, now his admiration for him was through the roof.
He hurriedly moved to sling an arm around Xie Wenxing, but Xu Huai’an quickly pulled him away, avoiding Zhou Yuan’s touch.
Zhou Yuan paused in confusion. Xu Huai’an shot him a glance, and Zhou Yuan belatedly realized. “Ah, I almost forgot I can’t touch you. But no worries, starting today, you’re my friend. Huai’an, you’ve got good taste! I knew you weren’t the type to believe rumors without judgment.”
So that meant… Xu Huai’an had heard everything.
So that meant Xu Huai’an had also heard all the nice things he had said earlier?
Xie Wenxing suddenly covered his cheeks, feeling at a loss.
It wasn’t just his face, his whole body was about to burn up. He felt like a boiling kettle, his veins almost melting from the heat.
He breathed rapidly, his warm breath bouncing off his palms and back onto his face.
Xu Huai’an noticed the red flush spreading across the back of his neck and his flushed ears. He gave Zhou Yuan a light kick. “Weren’t you going downstairs to buy something? Hurry up, class is about to start.”
Zhou Yuan: ???
“Huh?”
Xu Huai’an tilted his head and shot him a glance.
“Ohhh~”
Zhou Yuan finally caught on and slapped his forehead. “Man, my memory’s terrible. I’m going, I’m going.”
The sound of heavy footsteps faded down the stairwell. Xie Wenxing slowly lifted his face from his hands, his moist eyes looking impossibly soft.
“You… heard everything?”
Xu Huai’an kept one hand in his pocket while stroking his chin, pretending to be deep in thought. “Are you talking about the part where you said I have long legs? Or the part about me being tall? Or maybe the one where you said my eyelashes look great?”
Ahhhhhhh!
At that moment, a million prairie dogs were screaming inside Xie Wenxing’s head.
Overwhelmed with embarrassment, he felt like his sanity was about to shatter. Not wanting Xu Huai’an to think he had ulterior motives, he hurriedly explained, “I-I-I was just refuting what she said!”
Xu Huai’an nodded understandingly. “I get it. You don’t have to explain.”
Ahhh, the more he tried to explain, the more he made it worse!
Xie Wenxing rushed through his next words. “Just know that I’ll always be on your side.”
With that, he turned and bolted, as if a ferocious beast were chasing after him.
Xie Wenxing ran back to his seat, panting, the chair scraping loudly against the floor.
His heart was pounding like a drum.
Oh no, oh no. What would Xu Huai’an think of him after hearing all that? Would he think he was some kind of pervert coveting his looks?
Ahhhhhhh!
Xie Wenxing was in a state of panic for a moment, not noticing that the classroom had become much emptier, with most of the students gradually leaving.
It wasn’t until someone tapped him on the head that Xie Wenxing shot up from his seat. Seeing it was Xu Huai’an, the anger rising to his lips quickly faded. “What’s up?”
Xu Huai’an watched him sit back down and pulled out a Chinese textbook, placing it on the desk. He tapped the table with his finger and said, “The next class is swimming. We’ve got a bit of a walk to get there. If we don’t leave now, we’ll be late.”
Xie Wenxing shrank his neck. “Oh, oh, right.”
His mind was still stuck on what had just happened, he hadn’t even thought about it. “Then let’s go.”
The two headed downstairs together, hurrying toward the swimming complex.
As he ran, Xie Wenxing thought to himself.
The swimming complex, swimming class, did that mean…?
Xie Wenxing sniffled hard.
Swimming was just the best.
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