Chapter 26

He's not my type.

Zhan Xinyue was unaware that yesterday's duty had led to other complications, and she didn't take Xie Wanzhi's words to heart. She was only concerned with subtly inquiring about her and Shi Ziqian's relationship with Xie Wanzhi. Two days later, she finally found an opportunity.

When Xie Wanzhi returned from morning exercises that day, she started complaining about her deskmate.

“I feel like he’s completely like a block of wood. He ignores everything I say to him every day and just keeps doing his homework. I casually said something to him this morning, and he replied, ‘Can you please stop bothering me while I’m studying?’” Xie Wanzhi pulled at her hair. “It was during break time!”

Her deskmate was a boy who was usually quiet and had little presence. Zhan Xinyue actually had no impression of him, only that she seemed to have rarely seen the two of them talk.

"Do you know what's most terrifying? He keeps a small calendar on his desk and updates it every day with 'x days left until the college entrance exam'!"

Zhan Xinyue didn't seem to care much about it: "It's alright. We're not far from the college entrance exam. I guess the school will have to put up a countdown timer in front of the classrooms and update it every day starting next semester."

Xie Wanzhi looked numb: "What if I told you that he started counting from the first day of high school? I was in the same class as him in my first year of high school. I had just finished my self-introduction and came down from the podium when I passed by his seat and saw him with his head down, writing a huge '1011 days until the college entrance examination' on a piece of paper!"

Zhan Xinyue: "...You're quite impressive, you can even remember these numbers."

"There's nothing I can do. It was such a strong mental shock to me back then. It left a deep impression on me that I still can't shake it off." Xie Wanzhi said listlessly, "Back then, I was full of anticipation for high school life. Seeing that number made me feel like my life had turned gloomy."

Zhan Xinyue said, "Why are you so concerned about him? Let him do his thing and you do yours."

"It's not that easy. Sitting next to this 'king of test-takers' is agonizing. Every time I daydream for a moment in class, I glance at that guy sitting next to me, staring intently at his workbook, and I feel like I've committed a terrible crime." Xie Wanzhi sighed to the heavens. "I've already decided that I'll ask to change seats next time they rearrange them. Speaking of which, our seats haven't been moved in so long. We've been sitting like this since the class was reassigned. Can't Teacher Zhou please pay a little more attention to our class?"

Seeing that Zhan Xinyue's reaction was lukewarm, Xie Wanzhi turned her head and continued, "Do you understand the pain of a chatterbox like me meeting a taciturn person? You don't understand... Oh, you should understand."

Xie Wanzhi gave her a subtle smile and said, "We really are two brothers in misfortune."

It took Zhan Xinyue a while to understand what she meant; Xie Wanzhi was hinting at her and Shi Ziqian.

But actually, she didn't feel the same way.

She wasn't a talkative person to begin with, and Shi Ziqian was always quiet sitting beside her. The two of them didn't disturb each other, and everything was peaceful. She had become quite used to this deskmate relationship, especially since she occasionally glanced at him—his appearance was undeniably pleasing to the eye. However…

As Zhan Xinyue recalled her doubts, her mood gradually became heavy.

She quickly changed her mind and said, "Shi Ziqian and I aren't as exaggerated as you two, are we?"

Xie Wanzhi looked at him strangely: "Are you crazy? Before, when you two sat together at the table, it was like there was a 'gossip zone' between you. You two never spoke to each other."

Zhan Xinyue had originally planned to subtly inquire with Xie Wanzhi about whether anything unusual had happened between her and Shi Ziqian. But her direct question left her with nothing to say.

In her memory, she and Shi Ziqian should not have had any interaction, and Xie Wanzhi's words confirmed this point once again.

She frowned in thought, then suddenly noticed a key phrase in her words: "Before?"

“Yeah, before.” Xie Wanzhi glanced at her speechlessly, “I don’t know what’s gotten into you lately. You suddenly went over and asked him a question the other day, which startled me.”

New Moon: ...

She nervously defended herself, saying, "We're deskmates, after all. It was just a question. What's so surprising?"

"Tsk, it's just a question." Xie Wanzhi repeated, mimicking her, "Who was it that used to sit next to him like a quail every day, not daring to even glance to the side?"

Zhan Xinyue had no memory of this incident at all, so she could only give a perfunctory reply: "It's just that I've been sitting here for a while and gotten a little more familiar with it."

As they were talking, the two had already entered the classroom. They should have naturally parted ways and returned to their respective places after entering, but Xie Wanzhi followed them.

“New Moon, there are some things that are hard to say, but as a friend I still have to remind you, you'd better… not get too close to Shi Ziqian,” Xie Wanzhi said.

Zhan Xinyue looked at her with a puzzled expression, raising an eyebrow.

“You don’t live in the dorm, so you don’t know. I didn’t tell you before because I was afraid you would be unhappy. Actually…” Xie Wanzhi hesitated for a moment, then lowered her voice and said, “That night, some people in the girls’ dorm were secretly talking about you.”

"Me?" Zhan Xinyue asked in surprise. "Which night?"

"It was the day you asked him to help you with your problem. He said something was off between you two."

Zhan Xinyue was speechless: "Do these people have eyes in the back of their heads? They could see us even though we were in the last row, and it was just a question, what's there to talk about?"

"Don't be angry," Xie Wanzhi quickly comforted her, gesturing for her to lower her voice. "Actually, no one said anything, they were just talking about when you and Shi Ziqian became so close, and how you two were always so close during breaks, talking about something. I just explained for you, saying you were just asking him a question. They know we're good friends, so they didn't say anything more in front of me. You know, someone like him is too easy to be the center of attention. Every day, countless eyes are secretly watching him, inside and outside the class. If you get too close to him, it's easy to get into trouble."

"Why invite trouble?"

Xie Wanzhi said, "Everyone knows that Shi Ziqian comes from a wealthy family. He's already so cold to people. If someone still insists on going against the grain and trying to get close to him, people will naturally wonder if that person has ulterior motives..."

"Actually, on the first day of last semester, right after the classes were assigned, there were so many empty seats in the classroom, and you just walked in and sat right next to him. I overheard people talking about it, saying that this girl was really bold, so proactive. Luckily, you two acted like strangers afterwards, so no one brought it up anymore..."

Zhan Xinyue was completely dumbfounded. She couldn't even remember how she had ended up as Shi Ziqian's deskmate by some twist of fate. She never expected that people would talk about her like this behind her back.

As more and more people entered the classroom, Shi Ziqian appeared at the front door and walked towards his seat.

Xie Wanzhi glanced at him, then returned to her seat without saying anything more. Seeing him sit down next to Zhan Xinyue, she abruptly changed the subject: "Why didn't I see Xu Shen today? His service seems a bit lacking."

Zhan Xinyue originally wanted to ask her a few more questions, but with Shi Ziqian beside her, she refrained from asking any further. However, she was already somewhat annoyed by what Shi Ziqian had just said, and now that Shi Ziqian had brought up Xu Shen again, she replied irritably, "It's best if he doesn't come."

Seeing her reaction, Xie Wanzhi laughed and said, "Are you being sincere? Who is it that even remembers other people's birthdays?"

"That's just because..." Zhan Xinyue made up without changing her expression, "At the hospital, he helped me register and fill in information. He asked me my birthday, and I casually asked him his as well."

"It's not normal for someone to remember things you ask casually."

Zhan Xinyue: "We are just ordinary classmates. Apart from the injury, we have had no contact at all."

"Fine," Xie Wanzhi said. "You swear you have absolutely no other feelings for Xu Shen?"

She reached out and cupped Zhan Xinyue's face in her hands, staring into her eyes.

Beside him, Shi Ziqian, who was flipping through an exercise book, had his head down, his hand holding the pages lingering in mid-air.

When their eyes met, after a long silence, Zhan Xinyue reached out and pushed her away: "No. Don't joke about us anymore. I have absolutely no interest in him."

"Not even a little? How do you feel when he comes to see you every day?"

Zhan Xinyue said coldly, "I'm very annoyed."

The person next to me turned a page in their workbook.

"Okay, so it seems you really don't have any feelings for him." Xie Wanzhi was still skeptical. "Then what exactly happened between you two at the movie?"

Zhan Xinyue could only give a brief account of what happened that day, and at the end she emphasized, "Teacher Zhang from Class 1 was also there, it wasn't just the two of us watching it alone."

"real?"

"real."

“Well, poor Xu Shen…” Xie Wanzhi shook her head, saying with regret, “What a pity, what a pity.”

Zhan Xinyue frowned and looked at her: "What's a pity?"

“Xu Shen has good grades, a good personality, and is good-looking. He’s a great guy, isn’t he? It would be a real shame if you missed out.” She glanced around the classroom, then her gaze lingered for a few seconds on Xin Wenhua and Lu Meng, who were looking down at each other, and said with disdain, “Look at all the boys in our class, they’re all such idiots.”

Zhan Xinyue's eyes turned colder, but her tone remained unchanged: "If you think he's good, you can give it a try."

"Huh?" Xie Wanzhi looked like she had been struck by lightning, and said with her mouth agape, "What are you saying? Don't you know that you can't mess with your friend's wife? Xu Shen is obviously interested in you, and I won't get involved. Don't say such scary things."

Seeing that her shocked expression seemed genuine, Zhan Xinyue said, "He only did this because he promised Zhang Chao and Lao Zhou. There's really nothing between us. If you're interested, don't miss this opportunity."

Xie Wanzhi pouted, "That won't work either. He's a good guy, but he's not my type."

Zhan Xinyue's gaze swept across her face scrutinizingly: "What type do you like?"

Xie Wanzhi's eyes darted around, and she turned her face away: "Who knows?"

Zhan Xinyue originally thought she could get some useful information from Xie Wanzhi, but when she tried to inquire indirectly, she not only got no clues, but also became even more confused.

Xu Shen, whose mood was mixed throughout the class, wandered to the door of Class 10 again just after the bell rang, having been told that he "hadn't shown up today."

He walked in with practiced ease, and as he passed a few boys, they teased him familiarly, "Brother Shen, you're late today, you'd better watch out." Xu Shen raised his chin and greeted them, "Next time, for sure."

He didn't rush toward Zhan Xinyue. Instead, he passed by Xie Wanzhi's desk, placed a notebook on it, and said, "Thanks."

Xie Wanzhi took the notebook, clutched her chest, and sighed deeply, "Xinyue, what kind of fate do you have!"

Zhan Xinyue looked up and saw Xu Shen approaching with a smile under her gaze. He placed another notebook on her desk and said, "I've copied all your chemistry notes from the past few days."

In the past few days, Xu Shennian, knowing that it was inconvenient for Xie Wanzhi to take notes in class, often came over to borrow Xie Wanzhi's notes to copy for her, and she didn't miss any of the notes for several subjects.

"Why can't anyone help me take notes?" Xie Wanzhi was still wailing on the other end.

Xin Wenhua, who happened to be getting water behind him, immediately raised his hand: "Me!"

Xie Wanzhi rolled her eyes and turned around: "Xin Wenhua, why are you everywhere? Can't you just get lost!"

Xin Wenhua retorted angrily, "Are you biting the hand that feeds you? I'm responding to you so enthusiastically, why are you cursing at me?"

Xie Wanzhi hesitated for a moment, then asked, "What, are you going to take notes for me?"

Xin Wenhua held up a finger and waved it in front of him, smiled knowingly, and after a long pause, said, "What I want to say is, I... will not help you remember."

"...Xin Wenhua! Are you kidding me?!"

Seeing that it looked like a world war was about to break out over there, Xu Shen shrank back towards Zhan Xinyue as if he was scared and said, "Your class is so lively."

Zhan Xinyue didn't even look up, her tone cool: "Don't pretend."

“Okay.” Xu Shen shrugged, straightened up obediently, and lowered his voice to whisper, “Your best friend’s chemistry notes are really a mess. I’ve been trying to sort them out all morning, and my head is spinning.”

Zhan Xinyue flipped through the notebook and glanced at it. Xu Shen's handwriting was quite different from his personality; the strokes were vigorous and powerful. Indeed, as he said, he had carefully organized the knowledge points. In addition to copying the chemistry teacher's notes from Class 10, he had also added large sections of annotations and elaborations on the knowledge points, writing several pages in a rather disorganized manner. It was clear that he had put a lot of effort into it.

Her gaze slowly shifted from the notebook to Xu Shen's face. Xu Shen was clearly very satisfied with his work, a smirk playing on his lips as he looked at her, his face practically screaming, "How about it? Aren't my notes really good?" He looked like a golden retriever waiting for its owner's praise.

Zhan Xinyue lowered her gaze and closed the notebook. "Xu Shen, you don't need to come here anymore."

Xu Shen was taken aback: "Why?"

Zhan Xinyue sat up straighter, her tone indifferent: "My hand is almost healed. I'm going to pick up the splint this weekend. You've already done what you promised Zhang Chao the other day."

Xu Shen didn't respond, but slowly reached out and rubbed his hair.

After Zhan Xinyue finished speaking, she didn't look at him again, casually tossed the notebook back onto the corner of the table, and lowered her head to do her own thing.

“That’s fine,” Xu Shen said. “Anyway, we’re all on the same floor. If you need anything, just call me. It’s convenient for me to come over.”

Zhan Xinyue neither looked up nor responded.

If it were the Xu Shen of his past life, he wouldn't be so easily appeased; he was always relentlessly persistent in pursuing her. However, in his past life, Xu Shen fell in love with her during the art festival. Although the two of them had met earlier, he was warm and considerate towards her injury but never overstepped his bounds. Upon closer examination, their way of getting along was quite different from that of his past life.

In this life, she never wanted to have anything to do with him again, so let the story end before it even began.

Before leaving, Xu Shen passed by Xie Wanzhi again. Xie Wanzhi had also heard the conversation between Zhan Xinyue and him. She clicked her tongue at him, made a mournful expression, and said, "Brother Shen, have a good journey."

Xu Shen smiled at her and said, "I won't be coming over anymore. If Xinyue needs any help, just let me know."

"Don't worry, what could possibly happen? Besides, I'm here in the class, I'll take good care of Xinyue."

"Thank you so much. I'll definitely treat you to a meal when I have time," Xu Shen said.

Zhan Xinyue ignored them and continued reading her book.