Chapter 27 Early Romance?!

Looking at the boy's unusually neat and vigorous brushstrokes, Peng Chengyi's lips unconsciously curled up slightly.

She had just put down her pencil case when she secretly texted him from under the desk: "You're the idiot! You had to stuff things into my pencil case when I wasn't looking. Of course I thought you were throwing away trash."

Chen Yubai: "It wasn't because you weren't here, it was because you happened to be away. I was too lazy to go back. I put it in the pencil case because it's easy to find and not easy to lose. Shouldn't you praise me as a genius?"

Peng Chengyi: "...Lazy pig"

Chen Yubai: "Give me back the note."

Peng Chengyi immediately slid to her knees and exclaimed, "Genius!"

Chen Yubai: "That's it?"

Peng Chengyi pursed her lips speechlessly: "Brother."

Chen Yubai: "One more is needed."

Peng Chengyi thought for a moment, then reluctantly tapped the screen: "Teacher?"

Chen Yubai: "This child is teachable."

Peng Chengyi: "..."

This dog is amazing.

She really wanted to show the girls who liked him his true colors.

Just as I was internally complaining, another message from him popped up on the screen: "What did you want from me earlier?"

Peng Chengyi snapped out of her reverie and typed: "Oh, someone just asked me to deliver another love letter to you, but I refused. Praise me!"

Chen Yubai: "Praise"

Peng Chengyi: "..."

The school bell rang, and Peng Chengyi silently hid her phone back in her backpack, while also glaring at Chen Yubai in the back row.

He gave a slight smile and lazily mouthed, "Well done."

-

After that day, perhaps because the news of her refusal to send love letters got out, no one came to her for help anymore.

But inexplicably, rumors surfaced that she and Chen Yubai weren't just childhood friends, and that she definitely liked him too.

Even more, some say that she was actually secretly dating Chen Yubai, because Chen Yubai would pass her notes every evening during self-study.

Peng Chengyi found this utterly absurd.

I thought that the innocent would clear themselves, and that these unfounded rumors would probably fall apart on their own after a while.

Unexpectedly, just two days later, as she was about to unfold the note Chen Yubai had slipped into her pencil case, Chen Peifu suddenly appeared in the classroom and confiscated the note from her hand.

"You, and Chen Yubai, come to my office."

Peng Chengyi was taken aback and looked back at Chen Yubai, unsure of what to do.

He shrugged and slowly stood up.

Unable to figure out what mistake she had made, Peng Chengyi felt uneasy the whole way.

Upon entering the office, Chen Peifu slammed the confiscated note heavily onto the desk, making a loud "thud."

"You should all be well aware of the rule against early romantic relationships at No. 1 Middle School, right?"

Peng Chengyi's pupils contracted sharply as he suddenly realized why the teacher had called them here.

"Teacher, those are all rumors! We're not dating..." Her voice trembled with anxiety.

"Rumors?" Chen Peifu's sharp gaze swept back and forth between the two men, and he tapped the note on the table with his finger. "Then what is this? Irrefutable evidence."

“Those are just study notes, because…” Peng Chengyi was about to explain when Chen Peifu interrupted her with a cold laugh.

"Study notes?" Chen Peifu narrowed his eyes behind his glasses. "If you're going to make up an excuse, at least make it believable. I've been observing you for a while now, don't think you can get away with this."

Peng Chengyi was taken aback.

We've been observing for more than just a day or two.

But those rumors have only been circulating for two days...

While she was still in a daze, Chen Yubai, who was standing next to her, spoke up calmly: "Teacher, why don't you take a look at the contents of the note first?"

His calm and nonchalant demeanor made Chen Peifu frown again, but he still unfolded the crumpled piece of paper.

His expression froze when he saw the mathematical formulas and key points on the page.

The office was so quiet you could hear a pin drop.

After a moment, Chen Peifu cleared his throat awkwardly: "Who knows if you've switched the goods?"

"I've kept all the notes from before!" Peng Chengyi hurriedly stepped forward, her cheeks flushed with urgency. "If the teacher doesn't believe me, I'll go to the classroom right now and get them for you to see!"

Chen Peifu's scrutinizing gaze lingered on her flushed face for a long time before he finally sighed and his expression softened: "Never mind, it seems I misunderstood."

He pushed up his glasses, his tone still serious: "But you should also be mindful of the impact. Don't communicate using notes anymore; it's easy for people to misunderstand."

Peng Chengyi nodded, and was about to say "I understand" when she heard Chen Yubai chuckle beside her: "What else would you use if not a small note? If you use a notebook, you have to pass it back and forth, which is too much trouble."

Damn! This dog is arrogant all the time, but why is he so arrogant with the teacher too!

Peng Chengyi's nerves skipped a beat, and she quietly tugged at Chen Yubai's sleeve, signaling him not to talk back.

But the boy stood tall and fearless, continuing in a neither humble nor arrogant tone: "Besides, the innocent are innocent. Teacher, instead of spending your time educating us, you should arrest those who spread rumors."

"..."

Chen Peifu choked, his expression shifting in a complicated way, before waving his hand with a slight headache: "Whatever, just let me see your grades at the end of the semester. Go back and study."

Stepping out of the office, Peng Chengyi let out a long sigh of relief, then glared at the person next to her with lingering fear: "Why did you talk back just now? You scared me to death!"

Chen Yubai chuckled lazily: "We've done nothing wrong, of course we should argue our case. What are you panicking for, you coward?"

"...Who's a coward!" Peng Chengyi pursed her lips guiltily and defended herself, "I'm just worried that if you talk back, the teacher's lecture time will take even longer."

"Oh—" Chen Yubai drawled, turning his face to give her a teasing glance.

Fearing further teasing, Peng Chengyi quickly lowered her eyes and changed the subject: "Speaking of which, why did our teacher say that he's been observing us for more than just a day or two? Aren't those rumors just starting to circulate?"

"Who knows? Maybe menopause makes people more suspicious. They pay special attention to any close relationship between a boy and a girl." Chen Yubai shrugged lightly.

"Shouldn't we still try to keep some distance from each other in the future?" Peng Cheng asked uncertainly.

"No need. He said it's up to us. Just focus on improving your grades," Chen Yubai replied casually.

Peng Chengyi suddenly became a little nervous and said, "What if I don't do well on my final exams?"

Chen Yubai paused, raised an eyebrow, and said, "With my tutoring, how could you possibly do poorly on the exam?"

Peng Chengyi: "..."

Could this dog be any more narcissistic?

But to be honest, his words did give her tremendous confidence.

-

As final exams approach, a tense atmosphere pervades the entire campus.

The once bustling corridor is now eerily quiet, with only hurried footsteps and the occasional soft rustling of pages turning.

In the classroom, the scratching sound of pens gliding across paper rose and fell, and even breathing became a cautious affair.

Even the girls who usually love gossip are now hunched over their desks writing during breaks, and their occasional conversations have turned into academic discussions such as "How do I do this force analysis problem?" and "How do I balance this chemical equation?"

Those rumors about Peng Chengyi and Chen Yubai disappeared without a trace, like fallen leaves on an autumn campus.

When the bell rang to signal the end of the last physics exam, Peng Chengyi let out a long sigh of relief and gently closed his pen.

As soon as she stepped out of the exam room, she eagerly grabbed Chen Yubai, who was leaning against the wall in the corridor: "What was your answer to the last big question?"

Chen Yubai glanced down at her: "120N."

"Yes!" Peng Chengyi clenched her fist excitedly, her eyes shining like they were filled with starlight. "What about the second to last multiple-choice question? The one about friction."

Chen Yubai: "B".

Peng Chengyi: "It's a sure thing!"

Chen Yubai glanced at her with amusement: "Aren't you afraid that I'm wrong too?"

"..." Peng Chengyi's expression froze, and she glared at him speechlessly, "Can't you be a little narcissistic when you should be?"

Chen Yubai met her gaze with his jet-black eyes for a moment, then straightened up: "Let's go."

"Where are you going? I heard the results will be out tomorrow afternoon. Are you going home first?" Peng Chengyi asked curiously.

He casually put his hands in his pockets and strode off with long strides: "I'm not going home, I'll go to the nearby McDonald's to celebrate for you."

Peng Chengyi: "Hey? Isn't it too early to celebrate now?"

Chen Yubai chuckled lazily, not even turning his head, and said, "Didn't you already go over the answers with me? What are you worried about?"

Peng Chengyi stared at his tall back for two seconds before her lips curled up in a smile again.

"Narcissist," she muttered under her breath, then quickly caught up with him.

-

The results came out the next day, and Peng Chengyi did indeed do well, even better than expected.

Not only did their class ranking jump from 8th to 2nd, but their grade ranking also broke into the top 50, reaching 45th.

Although she is still some distance from Chen Yubai, who is firmly at the top of the list, she has already surpassed some of the top students in the experimental class.

"Wow, Chengcheng, you're amazing!" Zheng Xinyue exclaimed in surprise as she looked at the report card posted on the wall.

Peng Chengyi was secretly overjoyed, but on the surface she remained calm and smiled modestly: "It was alright, I was just lucky this time."

Zheng Xinyue hugged her arm and said enviously, "Luck is also part of ability. It seems you can have a carefree winter vacation. But with my grades, I guess my mom will send me to tutoring classes again."

Peng Chengyi comforted her, "Didn't you also improve since the midterm exam?"

“But I’m still hovering around the middle to lower ranks. My mom hopes I can at least stay in the middle.” Zheng Xinyue sighed, then asked, “By the way, who’s coming to your parent-teacher meeting tomorrow?”

“My mom came, but my dad’s school hasn’t let out for summer break yet,” Peng Chengyi said.

Zheng Xinyue: "Oh! Your dad is a teacher too?"

Peng Chengyi nodded: "Yes, physics teacher."

Zheng Xinyue suddenly realized: "No wonder you got a perfect score in physics!"

"Hmm..." Peng Chengyi smiled vaguely, and unconsciously glanced at Chen Yubai in the back row.

After all, her progress this time was more due to his tutoring and had little to do with her father.

Feeling her gaze, Chen Yubai lifted his eyelids slightly, and their eyes met briefly in mid-air. He raised an eyebrow, as if asking: Why are you looking at me like that?

Peng Chengyi immediately turned her head back, pretending to be nonchalant.

After returning to her seat, she quietly took out her phone and opened her WeChat chat with him.

He sent a panda emoji kneeling at different speeds, then quickly typed out a few lines of text:

"Brother, teacher, please accept my bow."

"You're the most handsome among geniuses, and the most talented among handsome guys!"

"Thank you for being there"

"Will you continue to take me flying in the future?"

After waiting for a long time, Chen Yubai only replied with four ambiguous words:

"It depends on your performance"

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Author's Note: Peng Chengyi: ...

Thank you 75981039, uoow, and arun for the nutrient solution! Please leave lots of comments, everyone! [pity][pity][pity]