Chapter Seven

You Congxi felt a tingling sensation in the fingertips holding the note.

The geography teacher was engrossed in explaining the world map he had drawn on the blackboard, while some students around him listened attentively with their heads up, while others were working on their own problems with their heads down.

Logically speaking, no one should have noticed her.

But she felt like there was a pair of eyes staring intently at her.

Fold the note haphazardly and stuff it into your pocket, trying to avoid any visual contact with it while swimming in the stream.

Although there are only two simple lines above.

After listening to the lesson in a daze, the geography teacher announced the end of get out of class. You Congxi immediately pulled Qu Qi, who had fallen asleep in a second, out of bed and took her water cup to the water room to get water.

Qu Qi was being dragged along by her, and yawned with her eyes half-closed: "Why are we going out the front door?" Their seats are clearly closer to the back door.

Because there are dangerous elements at the back door.

You Congxi thought expressionlessly.

"Life lies in movement."

She gave a perfunctory reply, and as she passed the corridor window, she continued walking straight ahead without looking to the side, only her steps seemed to be moving at double speed.

Qu Qi stumbled as she was suddenly pulled faster: "Slow down, slow down, there's a dog chasing you!"

You Congxi nodded.

"!!!" Qu Qi's just-woke-up mind accurately caught this word. The two things she feared most in her life were her mother's lion's roar and dogs.

"Help!!" Qu Qi cried out, clinging to You Congxi's neck as she scrambled upwards, looking back in terror. "Director Lu!! Director Lu, where are you?! A dog has gotten into our school!! It's eating people!!!"

The only response she received was the noisy commotion in the corridor. In comparison, Qu Qi's desperate cries for help were like a drop of water flowing into the ocean, without causing the slightest ripple.

You Congxi was nearly strangled to death by her, grabbing Qu Qi's arm to comfort her: "No dogs, not a single one... Give me some air, I'm really suffocating..."

Qu Qi looked around warily, trying to find traces of the dog.

For people who are afraid of dogs, a dog might even fall from the ceiling.

Qu Qi suddenly looked up!

There was no dog, just a quiet ceiling.

Slightly relieved, Qu Qi looked away and finally got off You Congxi, who then pulled her into the washroom.

The water dispenser hummed, and looking at You Congxi's profile as he bent down to collect water, Qu Qi felt as if he had forgotten something.

Tightening the cap, You Congxi straightened up: "I'm ready, let's go..."

What do you think of that guy in Class 7?

Who is it?

"Who else could it be but Shen Yue? He was the one with a ton of admirers when he first entered high school. He was devastatingly handsome."

You Congxi paused, his foot still as he had just lifted it.

The water room was small and there weren't many people, so You Congxi heard every word of the conversation between the two girls next to him.

"He's handsome, but he has a bad personality. I heard that several girls who confessed to him came back crying. When asked, they said it was because Shen Yue rejected them because he only dated the top student in the grade."

"So arrogant?"

"Of course, they have the credentials; they're always at the top of the honor roll."

"But I noticed that the person at the very top of the honor roll this time is a girl..."

You Congxi stopped listening and walked out with her water cup in her hand.

Qu Qi listened to the entire conversation with a frown on his face: "...No wonder I never saw him read his self-criticism about dating in school at the assembly."

She's single by choice.

“Oh right,” Qu Qi suddenly remembered something she had forgotten to mention, “I think I saw Shen Yue looking at you the whole time in the corridor.”

I stare at you intently.

After hesitating for a moment, Qu Qi didn't go into that much detail, feeling that it sounded a bit strange to say it that way.

The last thing You Congxi wants to hear right now is the name Chen Yue.

There's also the top student in the grade.

She replied coldly, "Because he didn't do as well as me on this exam, he's looking for a fight with me."

Qu Qi was a little confused: "I see."

But didn't he say he wanted to date the top student in the grade?

"......"

Shen Yue originally thought that he and You Congxi had reconciled.

At least I don't dislike him anymore.

but--

"Teacher, Qu Qi and I would like to switch seats. We can't see the blackboard very well from the back row."

Shen Yue was called by his Chinese teacher to move some exercise books. Midway through, the teacher was called to a meeting, so Shen Yue squatted under the desk and used scissors to unpack them.

Unexpectedly, I heard a familiar sound when I was only halfway through dismantling it.

Tang Miaosong was working on her lesson plan when she heard this. She looked up and glanced at her from behind her glasses.

"My original plan was to attend classes for a week first to see how it went. The seats would definitely have to be changed, but it shouldn't be a big change."

Tang Miaosong paused, then said, "You girls are quite tall for your age, so you can probably only move forward one row or move sideways. Is that okay?"

Before You Congxi could nod, Tang Miaosong continued, "How about this, you and Qu Qi move forward a row and switch with Yin Zixuan and Liang Jing."

You Congxi breathed a sigh of relief, then smiled gratefully: "Okay, thank you, teacher."

As the door slammed shut, Shen Yue flinched, nearly cutting his own hand.

He squatted there for a few seconds, still completely baffled.

Was it because his handwriting on the note was too bad?

-

You Congxi wiped her still-dripping hair and sat at her desk, staring blankly at the open drawer.

A piece of paper, a band-aid, a grape-flavored lollipop, and a piece of paper that was folded up randomly.

A drawer full of tattered items.

I caught a glimpse of the trash can on the ground out of the corner of my eye.

You Congxi reached out and grabbed everything in a swarm—

never mind.

She put it back in its place, closed the drawer, and moved away from it to avoid further annoyance.

The sky outside the window was a deep blue. The aunt had finished cooking and left, and the house was unusually quiet. You Congxi slowly pulled out a dining chair, sat down, and picked up his chopsticks to eat.

The cell phone on the dining table rang.

Yu Congxi clicked into the philosophy group she had just joined today. The group was full of chatterboxes, and in the blink of an eye, it had already reached 99+. Yu Congxi ate while scrolling through the screen.

[Rat Poison Cookies: Did the teacher assign a group homework assignment today?]

[Drink Jia Duo Bao when you're sleepy: I think it's related to translating classical Chinese texts.]

[When you're sleepy, drink Jia Duo Bao: @黛y @我是一只鱼@.]

[DaiY: Each person should select a section to translate and send it to the group chat. I will then compile them.]

[When you're sleepy, drink Jia Duo Bao: Brother Yue is generous ]

[Rat Poison Brand Cookies: Yue Ge is magnanimous (clasped hands)]

【。 ：】

You Congxi read it twice before he finally understood that Dai Y was not Yin Zixuan, but Shen Yue.

Shen Yue?

That Shen Yue who always has a sour face and acts all high and mighty?

Is her WeChat name Daiyu?

You Congxi scooped up a large spoonful of rice and put it in his mouth. He moved his thumb and gave an "OK". After struggling internally for a long time, he still couldn't resist the temptation of the contrast.

[I am a fish patted "Daiy" and said, "Brother, you're so handsome!"]

!!

You Congxi almost spat out the rice he hadn't even had a chance to swallow.

What did she do?!

She just wanted to click on his profile picture to see his homepage!

Why did you just pat me?!

You Congxi's hands were trembling slightly as he held his phone.

How do I withdraw? How do I withdraw? How do I withdraw...?

You Congxi was in despair.

[Dai: What's wrong?]

You Congxi decided to play dead.

[Daiy: @IamaFish, who should lead the reading during tomorrow's Chinese morning reading session?]

She moved her fingers.

I am a fish: Me.

[Dai: Okay, I'll bring you breakfast tomorrow.]

?

What is the connection between these two things?

[Feeling sleepy? Drink Jia Duo Bao: ?]

[Rat Poison Cookies: ?]

【。 ：。 】

[When I'm sleepy, I drink Jia Duo Bao: Brother, I need to bring breakfast too.]

[Rat Poison Cookies: Even the team leader needs to bring breakfast.]

Please bring breakfast.

【Dai Y: Get lost. All of them.】

[Daiy: Besides @IamAFish]

Whose elementary school kid is out playing online?

You Congxi couldn't bear having her face trampled on like a carpet in the group chat. Fearing that Shen Yue, who didn't play by the rules, would cause some more trouble, she gritted her teeth and sent a friend request.

Half a second later—

The other party has accepted your friend request. You can start chatting now.

You Congxi: "

[Dai: What do you want to eat tomorrow?]

I am a fish: I don't eat anything, and don't bring me anything.

[Dai Y: Skipping breakfast can easily lead to low blood sugar. What if you faint while reading on stage tomorrow?]

[Dai: Why did you sit in the front?]

You Congxi didn't know if he was pretending to be stupid or if he was really stupid. She was so tired that she wanted to sigh, feeling that her escapist strategy was ineffective in front of a pure fool.

But her seventeen years of life experience taught her that avoidance is always the most effortless and efficient way.

After swallowing the last bite of rice, You Congxi put the dishes in the dishwasher, washed her hands, and went back to her room to do her homework.

Humanities assignments are full of words. After writing them all night, You Congxi shook his sore wrists and posted a picture of his classical Chinese translation to the group chat.

Feeling stiff from the air conditioning, she turned it off, stood up, opened the window, and stretched.

Snap.

Something was accidentally swept down.

You Congxi picked up the photo frame that had fallen onto the table; it was covered with a thin layer of dust.

Having been kept at the deepest part of the bookshelf all day long, You Congxi had even forgotten the existence of this family photo.

There are three people in the photo: You Yuanming, Jing Ling, and a child who is only old enough to eat feces.

You Congxi stared indifferently for a few seconds, then raised his hand and flipped the photo frame back onto the top shelf of the bookshelf.

-

As the reading leader, I had to arrive at school earlier than the other students and write the memorization assignments on the blackboard after reading aloud.

You Congxi got up early, which was unusual for him, and when he entered the school gate, he received a gratifying and appreciative look from the gatekeeper.

The cook usually prepares breakfast the night before, and then you can just heat it up in the microwave when you go swimming in the morning.

But in order to sleep a little longer, she usually skips this step, either not eating at all, or just eating a piece of bread or something cold straight from the refrigerator.

When You Congxi entered the classroom, he thought he was the first one.

"Good morning. I didn't know what you liked to eat, so I bought a little bit of everything."

After saying that, Shen Yue couldn't help but turn around and cover his mouth to yawn.

"......"

You Congxi walked to his seat and saw a breakfast stall piled up on his table.

"......"

Are you feeding the pigs?

She ignored it, put her schoolbag in the desk drawer, took out her Chinese textbook, and walked towards the podium.

Shen Yue was a little disappointed, but he quickly cheered up and followed behind her.

While You Congxi was picking up chalk, I bent down and suddenly felt dizzy for a second. The dizziness quickly dissipated, almost making me wonder if I was hallucinating.

"What's wrong?"

Seeing that You Congxi paused briefly, Shen Yue frowned and asked.

"It's nothing, I just glanced at the breakfast stall you were at and got full."

Shen Yue: "".

Sharp-tongued and quick-witted.

Shen Yue: "Did you eat breakfast?"

You Congxi hummed in agreement, his hand continuing to write.

breakfast?

We can eat it with lunch.

It's not as important as sleeping for five more minutes.

As more and more people entered the class, Shen Yue distributed the food to the other members of the group. After hesitating for a moment, she decided to keep a box of soup dumplings for herself.

Eating breakfast in the classroom drew a strong warning from discipline committee member Liang Jing.

"...I'm standing right in the middle of you guys, can you please not be so blatant?"

This remark must have tickled He Qizheng's funny bone, because he suddenly burst into silent laughter, swaying back and forth like a roly-poly toy.

Shen Yue silently moved a little further away.

You Congxi has already stood at the front and begun to lead the reading.

Qu Qi turned around, pleading with a grin: "Good Jingjing, handsome Jingjing, please, you're the best, we promise to finish eating in five minutes, no, three minutes!"

Liang Jing hesitated for only a second before her sense of responsibility as a discipline committee member immediately surged up: "No way. If anyone chews again, I'll write down their name."

As he spoke, he picked up the notebook and waved it in the air.

The next second, a steamed dumpling was stuffed into Liang Jing's mouth.

"......"

Yin Zixuan smiled amicably at Liang Jing while holding her chopsticks.

Before Liang Jing and the others could react, a commotion suddenly broke out at the front of the classroom—

"Go get the teacher! Go get the teacher right now!"

Shen Yue's brow twitched, and an ominous premonition welled up in his heart.

He subconsciously took a few steps forward.

"You Congxi fainted!"