The two of them ambled back leisurely. Most of the students had already dispersed, and there weren’t many people on the path, which made Xie Wenxing feel at ease.
“Good thing they left. If a fight had actually broken out, our small frames wouldn’t have stood a chance.”
Song Yuan let out a sigh of relief. He was under 1.7 meters, and Xingxing was only a little over that.
Zhou Yuan looked to be at least 1.75 meters, and Xu Huai’an was even taller. They were already at a disadvantage just by height.
Xie Wenxing retorted, “It’s not that dramatic.”
Song Yuan clasped his hands behind his head. “Don’t be so sure. After observing carefully these past few days, I’ve noticed that most of our classmates are pretty intimidated by Xu Huai’an. I can’t quite explain it, but you can just feel it, wherever Xu Huai’an is, no one dares to speak loudly.”
Isn’t that just like a school bully?
Xie Wenxing thought of the school bully from his previous school, slouching around, all bones seemingly loosened, looking like a street thug with no dignity at all.
He immediately shook his head.
How could those people compare to Xu Huai’an? Xu Huai’an was far better than them, and far better-looking too.
As they passed the school convenience store, Xie Wenxing suddenly stopped.
Song Yuan followed him inside. “The summer in Yancheng is way too hot. I’m getting a drink to cool down.”
Song Yuan grabbed a bottle of iced beverage. He had just paid when Xie Wenxing returned to the counter. “Checking out.”
Two bottles of iced tea sat on the counter.
Song Yuan let out a confused sound. “Xingxing, isn’t your stomach sensitive? Oh, I see. If you were treating me, you should’ve said so earlier. I wonder if I can return this…”
Xie Wenxing swatted away Song Yuan’s reaching hand. “Can’t I just buy two bottles for myself?”
Class was about to start. Xie Wenxing hurried upstairs, his back moving with such haste that it seemed as if something was chasing him from behind.
Song Yuan followed, panting. “Xingxing, slow down!”
The two walked into the classroom two minutes before the bell rang.
As they entered, a girl was standing in front of Xu Huai’an’s desk, holding out a carton of milk.
Xu Huai’an seemed to have been resting his head on the desk for a while before being roused; there were faint red marks at the corners of his eyes.
His gaze lingered on the milk for a moment, then shifted to the girl’s face. Seeing the familiar shy expression, identical to so many others he’d seen before, he instantly lost interest and looked away.
Xie Wenxing thought the girl looked somewhat familiar, then caught snippets of conversation from the classmates around him.
“Here we go again. Brother Huai’s charm is just too much. I wish I had even a fraction of it.”
“You wish. Go take a look in the mirror. If you want charm, you’d need a face transplant first.”
“Get out of here. But isn’t the class beauty still not giving up? She’s been at it for like three months now, since last semester.”
Xie Wenxing remembered now. This girl, the one everyone called the class beauty, was the same person who had confessed to Xu Huai’an this morning.
But hadn’t Xu Huai’an already rejected her?
The thought had barely crossed his mind when Xie Wenxing sensed something. He glanced over—Xu Huai’an had already averted his gaze, leaning back in his chair and looking out the window.
Luo Yinyin’s expression faltered slightly.
She silently ranted to her system, unleashing a string of curses in her mind.
This wasn’t her first time being transmigrated into a book to complete a mission. In her previous tasks, every male lead, supporting male character, or antagonist had fallen at her feet. Yet this time, after more than three months, this male lead remained as unmovable as ever.
Luo Yinyin was nearly at the end of her patience.
“If he’s not drinking it, I will.”
Zhou Yuan smiled and took the carton of milk from Luo Yinyin, the class beauty, offering her a graceful way out.
Just then, the bell rang. Luo Yinyin returned to her seat, while Xie Wenxing sat down and took a sip of his drink to calm himself.
Xu Huai’an rested his wrist on the edge of the desk, his arm muscles taut and smoothly defined. A ballpoint pen spun between his fingers, blurring into a phantom.
“Being your friend has its perks,”
Zhou Yuan said, taking a big gulp of milk. “Never short of free food and drinks.”
Xu Huai’an didn’t respond, but Zhou Yuan didn’t mind.
Xie Wenxing had opened one bottle for himself. The other was a peach oolong tea, unsweetened, which he had specifically chosen in case Xu Huai’an didn’t like sweet drinks.
But now, he wasn’t sure whether he should give it away or not.
Tap!
Xu Huai’an stopped spinning his pen and pressed it down on the desk.
His eyelashes fluttered as he casually glanced forward.
After a moment’s hesitation, Xie Wenxing gripped the bottle and nudged Song Yuan.
Song Yuan whispered, “What’s up?”
Xie Wenxing said, “Didn’t you want a drink? It’s for you.”
Song Yuan’s face immediately lit up with joy. He happily opened it and took a few gulps. “I knew it. We’re tight like that. If you wanted to treat me, you should’ve just said so. Look at you, acting all tsundere.”
Xie Wenxing pressed his lips together, too embarrassed to admit that he hadn’t originally intended to give it to him.
He quietly turned his head and glanced back.
Suddenly, he met Xu Huai’an’s gaze.
Xie Wenxing whipped his head back around and sat up straight. Whether from shock or fright, he broke out in a cold sweat on his back despite the hot weather.
Xu Huai’an caught sight of the fine, crystalline beads of sweat on his snow-white nape.
Pressing the tip of his tongue against the inside of his cheek, Xu Huai’an looked on with an air of indifference. “Ha.”
Zhou Yuan casually asked, “What’s up?”
He didn’t expect Xu Huai’an to answer, but to his surprise, he did.
“Nothing. Just thinking that rabbits have way too weak nerves. Too easily startled.”
Zhou Yuan was a sucker for fluffy things. He had a Golden Retriever at home, and since staying at the dorm these days meant he couldn’t see it, his hands were practically itching to pet something. The moment he heard “rabbit,” his eyes lit up. “Rabbit? What rabbit? Since when does our school have rabbits? Why didn’t I know?”
Xu Huai’an wrote the correct answer in his workbook and said in an ambiguous tone, “Rabbits are timid. You’re too ugly, you scared it off.”
Zhou Yuan shot him a resentful look. “…Fine. You’re handsome, so whatever you say.”
It’s not because he couldn’t win in a fight.
And so, life in the new semester began.
Just like Song Yuan, Xie Wenxing’s grades weren’t exactly good. He loved reading manga, getting swept up in the passionate adventures of the protagonists, which often left him brimming with excitement.
Lately, perhaps because he didn’t want Xu Huai’an to think of him as a slacker student who didn’t take things seriously, he stopped reading novels in class altogether. Instead, he opened his textbook and tried to focus on the lesson.
Even though his brows were furrowed tightly, making him look earnest, he was actually completely lost.
Song Yuan watched him studying with such dedication and couldn’t help but say in an admiring tone, “Xingxing, you actually understand all this?”
How could he admit he didn’t? What about his pride?
With an air of profound wisdom, Xie Wenxing nodded. “Mhm.”
Song Yuan immediately felt a sense of crisis, as if his friend was leaving him behind. “No way, I need to study hard too!”
He opened his textbook, but before long, his head started spinning. Still, unwilling to admit defeat and fall behind his friend, he gritted his teeth and persevered.
They had lunch in the cafeteria. When Xie Wenxing went at noon, he forgot his meal card. He told Song Yuan to grab a table and wait in line while he went back to the classroom to get it.
Bending down to take his meal card from his desk, Xie Wenxing was about to straighten up when he caught sight of a worn-down 2B pencil lying on the floor.
It was under Xu Huai’an’s desk, it must be his.
Xie Wenxing picked it up and carefully wiped off every speck of dust with a tissue.
He was about to place it back on Xu Huai’an’s desk when, for some reason, his arm paused in midair for a few seconds. Then, with a sudden change of direction, he slipped it into his own pocket.
It was the first time he had ever taken someone else’s thing. Xie Wenxing was trembling so much even his hair seemed to quiver.
A little excited, and a little nervous.
And also a little—
—satisfied by the touch of something that belonged to Xu Huai’an.