Chapter Eleven

You Congxi had a vague sense of familiarity with her ever since the first time he met her.

But as someone with face blindness, the last thing you should trust is your own impression of a certain face.

So You Congxi didn't take it to heart, assuming that the two of them were just compatible, or that he had seen this kind of appearance somewhere before.

Even today, in the clinic, in the dimly lit room, Yin Zixuan tilted her head back, her face hidden in the gloom, and smiled with her lips pursed, saying thank you.

This reminded her of some old memories.

I think there was a girl in junior high school whose face I couldn't quite make out, but whose smile was gentle and sweet, who thanked me.

She went back after school to get her math test paper that she had left behind. As soon as she came out of the stairwell, she heard the screeching sound of desks and chairs scraping against the ground and a lot of noise. The few people in the stairwell were also walking in a hurry, not wanting to cause any trouble.

She paused for a moment, realizing the sound was indeed coming from her classroom. Without thinking, she immediately strode over.

A group of girls, who were usually quite sharp-tongued, huddled together around something, pushing and shoving each other while hurling insults, which made You Congxi frown.

During the fight, You Congxi saw the girl who was surrounded. She had her head down and her hair covered her eyes, so he couldn't see her face.

Just as she was about to speak up to stop her, a flash of silver light appeared, and her body, before her mind could react, blocked the girl's path.

What happened next was only natural: she took a broom and severely punished these young delinquents, and finally dumped a trash can on the head of one of the loudest girls.

It wasn't until after the game with You Congxi that she realized the girl was the student sitting behind her, a new transfer student.

She didn't remember the girl's name because she was suspended from school for a week and had to read a self-criticism on stage for the only time in junior high. Before she could even ask the girl's name, she learned that the girl had already transferred schools.

The sound of car horns pulled You Congxi back to reality.

Yin Zixuan blinked: "You remember me?"

You Congxi didn't speak. Her gaze swept over the bandage on the girl's face, and she said with a hint of helplessness, "Why are you always getting hurt?"

Then she laughed again: "But you've improved a lot, you can already take on two at once, but please don't use knives like you did in junior high, it's too dangerous."

You Congxi wanted to say something, but the next second she was hugged tightly. Her shoulders were warm and damp. She was stunned for a moment, then gently raised her hand and patted the girl's thin back.

You Congxi said in a low voice, "You've worked hard."

"......"

Yin Zixuan was very withdrawn in junior high school and had no friends in her class. She thought that even if she disappeared from this world the next second, no one would remember her.

Like a speck of dust being swept away by a gentle breeze.

Like a withered, short blade of grass on a lush, green prairie.

It should have died.

Until the appearance of You Congxi.

That girl with the high ponytail and round eyes, who never said a word to the girl in front of her, was the one who would suddenly appear out of nowhere and dump a trash can on the head of the girl who bullied her.

You Congxi took all the responsibility upon herself, and Yin Zixuan was forced to transfer schools by her family. She thought she would never see her again.

Releasing You Congxi's shoulder, Yin Zixuan hastily wiped her eyes and abruptly changed the subject: "Why did you cut your hair?"

You Congxi now has shoulder-length hair with slightly curly ends, which is very different from the high ponytail girls she remembered. This made her have to check several times before she dared to recognize You Congxi.

You Congxi had forgotten the hairstyle she had in junior high school. She glanced at Yin Zixuan's neat high ponytail and winked mischievously, "You admire me that much? You even have the same hairstyle as me."

Her intention was to ease the tension, but to her surprise, Yin Zixuan nodded sincerely and hummed in agreement.

You Congxi: "..."

Yin Zixuan: "Our Chinese teacher said there's a philosopher in the class, and you were the first person I thought of. I originally wanted to secretly give you a philosophy book, but I spent a long time choosing which one to give you..."

You Congxi was bewildered: "...Stop, stop, stop, what philosopher?"

Yin Zixuan: "Isn't that right? I thought you were a philosopher back in junior high. I still have that note you wrote for me. The other day I saw your handwriting in your essay, and it's gotten much better. I knew it..."

You Congxi raised his hand to stop her endless praise: "Wait a minute, what note?"

Yin Zixuan: "It was the time you saved me in junior high school. Before you left, you took my knife and gave me a note."

You Congxi frowned and tried hard to recall, as if there was such an incident. At the time, she saw Yin Zixuan cowering in fear like a quail, clutching the folding knife tightly in her hand. Feeling a little sorry for her, and since she was practicing calligraphy at that time, she had a flash of inspiration and wrote a note and slipped it to her.

What was it written again?

You Congxi scratched his face, only remembering things like chickens and cows, which now seem utterly nonsensical, both childish and pretentious.

"Why use a sledgehammer to crack a nut?"

Yin Zixuan looked at her with admiration: "I've pondered this so many times, it's so philosophical! From then on, I made up my mind to become stronger, so that I can kill those chickens with my fists instead of a knife!"

You Congxi swallowed hard. So that's what her note meant back then?

What was that saying again? What was it about? Misunderstandings and destiny?

Yin Zixuan always remembered those words. If it weren't for You Congxi, she would have been dead long ago. At that time, she had a knife hidden in her sleeve, intending to stab them all to death before committing suicide. If You Congxi hadn't appeared in time, she might have already gone to the eighteenth level of hell with those girls.

You Congxi suddenly remembered something: "Is Yin Zihan your sister?"

-

Before You Congxi could even step into the classroom, he heard a roar—

"Chen Yue, I'll fuck your grandpa!!!"

He Qi was so angry that his face turned red, his hair stood on end, and he looked like a fat sea urchin that had split open.

His hand holding the phone trembled like he had Parkinson's disease, as if he had suffered some great injustice. He pointed at the boy who was deliberately sitting a row away from him, as if he was about to pounce on him and bite him to death.

As You Congxi walked a few steps closer, he discovered an uninvited guest sitting in his seat.

"Who gave you permission to sit in my seat?"

Shen Yue was tall; even sitting down, he reached her chest. When he heard her voice, he looked up. You Congxi looked down and could see his raven-feather-like eyelashes and amber eyes. The angle of his gaze softened the coldness of Shen Yue's features, making him appear like a fierce dog with its claws retracted, somewhat lazy and soft.

You Congxi had always known he was good-looking, but this was the first time she had seen his face up close.

She opened her mouth, the words of dismissal stuck in her throat, unable to be uttered or swallowed.

"Shen Yue!! You fucking get the hell over here!!!"

"How dare you spread rumors that we're a couple! Fuck you! Prove my innocence!!"

You Congxi was taken aback when he heard Qu Qi's suppressed laughter coming from beside him. He didn't know what had happened.

She looked down at Shen Yue and asked, "What couple? Are you two together?"

Shen Yue's ears turned bright red. He wanted to retort but couldn't open his mouth. Seeing He Qi rushing towards him, he braced himself on the table with both hands, said "I'll explain to you later," and jumped up and ran away.

The two chased each other out of the classroom. You Congxi was finally able to sit in her seat. She turned to Qu Qi and asked, "What's going on?"

Qu Qi almost laughed herself out of breath. Trembling, she took out her phone, opened the school's large group chat that You Congxi had blocked for years, and shoved the screen in front of You Congxi's face.

The messages were scrolling by incredibly fast.

Is it true that Shen Yue is gay?

Of course! Would someone who isn't gay really be so heartless as to reject so many beautiful women?

[Didn't he say he would only date the top student in the grade? He was the top student in the grade all year in the first year of high school, is he some kind of narcissist?!]

[Blind student, you've discovered the key point]

[...I seem to remember that the top student in the grade at the beginning of the second year of high school was a girl.]

Holy crap!

Who is it?

[The student representative who gave the speech at the start of the semester, during a trip to Congxi?]

The students from Class 7 have arrived; they're still sitting at adjacent desks.

[Holy crap! Something's up!]

Is Shen Yue gay?

[What's going on? They have a grudge. I heard that Shen Yue is resentful that You Congxi took his first place in the grade, and he even had someone beat up You Congxi in private. You Congxi still has a band-aid on his face.]

Holy crap! That's ruthless!

Can you be called a school bully if you're not ruthless?

[Alright, stop arguing. Shen Yue is either gay or a narcissist, that's all.]

Is Shen Yue gay?

You Congxi: "..."

Yu Congxi: "Is Shen Yue gay or not?"

That was the sentence Shen Yue heard when he was sent back.

His blood ran cold; he felt utterly humiliated, like he couldn't clear his name even if he jumped into the Yellow River: "I'm not gay!!!"

He Qi followed closely behind, grabbing Chen Yue by the neck and shaking him back and forth: "I'm not gay, you bastard!!!"

Almost everyone in the class had arrived, and upon hearing this, they all turned around in surprise. Some people in the group started a live text broadcast, seemingly reporting that Shen Yue and her boyfriend had broken up and were fighting each other in public, causing another frenzy of texting in the group.

You Congxi finally figured out what happened. Basically, Shen Yue lied to a girl, saying he had a boyfriend, in order to reject her advances. Poor He Qizheng was completely unaware of what was going on and hugged Shen Yue, shouting "I love you" in front of everyone. Their relationship was thus officially established in the public eye.

He Qizheng, one of the male protagonists, was woken up by the news the next morning. Before he had even fully opened his eyes, he saw that he had been forced to come out of the closet, and with his good brother Shen Yue no less.

Qu Qi wanted to laugh but couldn't help feeling sorry for him: "The biggest victim in this matter is He Qizheng. I'm laughing so hard I almost threw up. When will Shen Yue get rid of this habit of talking nonsense?"

You Congxi was filled with mixed emotions. On one hand, she felt it was absurd, and on the other hand, she felt as if a pebble that had been weighing on her heart had suddenly turned to ashes...

ash?

What ashes?

You Congxi's body trembled, startled by the thought that had crossed his mind.

Just because Qu Qi said Shen Yue was talking nonsense?

Before she could think about it, class monitor Zhao Rui came over and said that the director wanted her to go to the office.