Chapter 1 Her Childhood Sweetheart They grew up together...

Yu Kui put on her shoes and walked out of the house. Qin You was already waiting downstairs.

He wore a blue and white school uniform, had a handsome face, stood tall and straight, and exuded a cool and aloof aura that seemed to radiate light. Every time Yu Kui saw him, her heart would race uncontrollably.

She suppressed her fluttering heart and ran to his side, greeting him with feigned composure, "Good morning."

"Hmm." Qin You nodded, turned and walked towards the bus stop. Yu Kui jogged after him, racking her brains to strike up a conversation with him.

For example, what you ate yesterday, or what you didn't understand in your homework.

But ever since she realized she had fallen for Qin You three years ago, she hadn't dared to speak freely in front of him. She was afraid of saying the wrong thing in her carefree manner, and also afraid that he would discover her girlish feelings. She wanted to become more reserved and ladylike, and confess her feelings to him after graduating from high school.

By then, they had all grown up and could be together openly like adults.

Qin You walked very fast, and Yu Kui couldn't keep up. But she didn't want to make him stop and wait for her, so she could only keep her head down and jog.

Squeezing onto the bus, Yu Kui found a seat and looked up at Qin You, inviting him to sit next to her. The boy, carrying his schoolbag, walked over and sat down beside her; his school uniform smelled pleasantly of laundry detergent.

He lowered his eyes slightly, his gaze lingering absentmindedly ahead, appearing somewhat distracted.

Did something happen?

Yu Kui thought to herself, yesterday was the weekend, and as usual, Qin You would come to her house for dinner, but he stayed out until very late, which made Yu Kui a little worried.

The boy, however, was completely oblivious to Yu Kui's girlish feelings. His mind kept replaying the image of the girl in the white dress, as delicate as a lilac, whom he had bumped into under the camphor tree yesterday afternoon...

"Qin You," Yu Kui couldn't help but call out to him, asking with concern, "Didn't you sleep well last night?"

The boy glanced sideways, his expression somewhat indifferent. "It's alright."

Yu Kui was a little embarrassed. Ever since she realized she had fallen for her childhood friend, she had always been both concerned and awkward around Qin You. She didn't dare to get too close to him, afraid that she wouldn't be able to stay calm, but she was always paying attention to his movements, wanting to know what he was doing.

Upon arriving at the school, Qin You strode out of the car, and Yu Kui hurriedly followed him, only separating from him after they entered the teaching building.

Qin You studied science, while Yu Kui chose humanities because she was bad at math, physics, and chemistry. Their classrooms were not on the same floor.

Watching Qin You go up to the third floor, Yu Kui slowly walked into the classroom, thinking that she would ask him why he came back so late yesterday when she had lunch.

Yu Kui and Qin You were classmates in kindergarten. He came from a single-parent family, and his mother couldn't be with him all the time because of her work. The other students in his class didn't really like playing with him, but Yu Kui liked him very much and often brought him home for meals. Over time, Yu Kui's mother and Qin You's mother got to know each other and became friends, and Yu Kui often helped take care of Qin You.

From childhood to adulthood, Yu Kui and Qin You have always had a good relationship. Every weekend, Yu's mother would cook delicious food to reward the two of them, treating Qin You like her own son, which made Yu Kui jealous several times.

That's why Yu Kui was curious as to why Qin You didn't come to her house yesterday.

"Have you finished your homework?" As soon as Yu Kui entered the classroom, her deskmate Sun Shuya grabbed her backpack strap. "Have you finished your geography homework?"

"What are you thinking about?" Yu Kui's fair face revealed a proud smile. "I'm a good student!"

After saying that, he took out his homework from his schoolbag. His deskmate snatched it away, saying, "Let me see. I was so engrossed in reading a novel yesterday that I forgot to do my homework."

"What novel?" Yu Kui usually reads novels, but they are mostly world classics, and she rarely gets engrossed in them.

"The most popular fantasy novel on Qizi.com," Sun Shuya said without looking up, smacking her lips, "Let me tell you, the male lead is incredibly cool and domineering, invincible, and in the end, he marries eight wives..."

Yu Kui: "......"

She wasn't interested in novels about marrying eight wives; Qin You was enough for her.

“And another thing,” Sun Shuya said enthusiastically, “it seems the class monitor is also pursuing her; I’ve seen him post about it on his WeChat Moments.”

Yu Kui: "......"

After handing in the homework, the morning English self-study session began.

Yu Kui took out her book and reviewed the vocabulary she had learned before with the English class representative who was leading the reading. Her English grades had never been very good. In every exam, no matter how difficult it was, her score on a 150-point paper was always consistently between 90 and 100 points, which gave her a lot of headaches.

Today, the English teacher will definitely go over last week's exam paper and frequently ask questions to students whose scores are below 100. Yu Kui has been asked questions many times, and every time she sees the English teacher's sharp eyes, she reflexively feels intimidated.

That's terrifying.

English terrified her more than math.

After finally getting through four classes, Yu Kui took her meal card and ran to the third floor to find Qin You. She wanted to eat pork rib noodles at the second canteen for lunch.

Qin You tidied up the desk and came out. As usual, she followed Yu Kui to the cafeteria. Along the way, Yu Kui chattered on and on about how "inhumane" the English teacher had tortured her. "I didn't answer a question today. She told me to go to her office this afternoon to memorize grammar. Only a few people in the class went. I'm a little scared."

Qin You listened quietly, and only after she finished speaking did he ask, "Can you recite all the grammar rules?" His voice was as clear and pleasant as spring water, which made Yu Kui squint her eyes. "I can recite them, but I'm still very scared."

The English teacher looks so beautiful, but she's stricter than the other teachers.

"Don't be afraid," Qin You said, taking her meal card. "Just do your own thing." Then he went to line up for food.

Yu Kui found a good spot and sat down, looking at his tall, slender figure standing in the crowd. She felt a sweet warmth in her heart. Although Qin You wasn't very talkative, he was very good to her, and she wanted to be with him forever.

When Qin You returned with the food, Yu Kui placed a large piece of pork rib in his bowl and said, "Don't you have PE class this afternoon? Eat more."

Qin You didn't refuse, but silently finished the ribs. Yu Kui was a little happy to see this, and then asked, "Why didn't you come to my house for dinner yesterday? My mom made your favorite sweet and sour fish. We called you, but you didn't answer. We were all so worried."

"I'm sorry," Qin You lowered her eyes and remained silent for a moment before saying, "I went to the library yesterday and studied a little late."

“But the library doesn’t close that late,” Yu Kui frowned, sensing that he was hiding something from her, and lowered her voice to ask, “Are you having some kind of trouble?”

"No," Qin You said with a hint of helplessness, "I just had some things to take care of myself. I'm sorry I didn't tell you beforehand."

Seeing him like this, Yu Kui really wanted to ask what was wrong. They had grown up together since childhood and had almost nothing to hide from each other. She knew his family and his preferences, and apart from her crush on him, their relationship was so close.

She and her mother called him so many times last night, but he didn't answer. He didn't reply until almost midnight, saying that he had already eaten out.

At that moment, Yu Kui felt disappointed, not only because he didn't come to eat, but also because of his sudden disappearance.

Even though she was upset, Yu Kui didn't question him.

Qin You is free, and she cannot deprive him of his own secrets just because he is her friend.

After dinner, Yu Kui followed Qin You into the teaching building and then turned around and went upstairs without hesitation. She felt a little sad, but she didn't know why she was sad. After all, Qin You had no obligation to come to her house for dinner...

During the afternoon classes, Yu Kui remained sullen, even showing little interest in her favorite music class. Seeing this, Sun Shuya thoughtfully asked, "What happened between you and your childhood sweetheart?"

Yu Kui glanced at her. "His name is Qin You."

“I know his name is Qin You, but he’s also your childhood friend,” Sun Shuya said with a smile. “Every time you’re unhappy, it’s related to him. How many times has this happened?”

Sun Shuya was Yu Kui's junior high school classmate. The two were especially close, as they were in the same classroom in both junior high and high school, and Sun Shuya knew a lot about Yu Kui.

“It’s nothing,” Yu Kui said, not wanting to share Qin You’s affairs with others. “It has nothing to do with him.”

“Just bear with it,” Sun Shuya snorted. “Haven’t you heard what they say online? If you hold it in for a while, you’ll get breast hyperplasia; if you take a step back, you’ll get ovarian cysts. So many girls in relationships get thyroid nodules because they’re always angry. If you’re not afraid, then just keep it to yourself.”

Yu Kui glared at her, "What nonsense are you talking about!"

Sun Shuya: "It's all for your sake."

“You clearly just want to hear gossip,” Yu Kui said softly, pursing her lips. “You’re not trying to comfort me at all.”

“How could that be?” Sun Shuya was stunned for a moment. “You’re my deskmate, of course I’m on your side.”

"Then why did you laugh at me when I told you last time?" Yu Kui's eyes widened.

Sun Shuya touched the tip of her nose. "It was clearly you who said something childish, of course I had to laugh..."

Before she could finish speaking, she immediately shut up under Yu Kui's glare. Yu Kui turned her head away, completely unwilling to talk to her anymore.

After school in the afternoon, Yu Kui ran to the third floor to wait for Qin You. He was packing his schoolbag when a girl stood in the aisle asking him a question. He took the girl's pen and explained the parts she didn't understand one by one, earning the girl's amazed praise, "Qin You, you're so amazing! I asked the class representative about this question, and he didn't explain it as well as you."

The boy frowned and said coldly, "Since you've already learned it, don't come asking me again."

"No..." the girl said somewhat awkwardly, "I didn't fully understand, that's why I came to ask you..."

"Qin You!" Yu Kui interrupted their conversation loudly, "It's time to go home."

The girl turned her head and gave Yu Kui a displeased look. Qin You picked up his schoolbag and said, "Can you move aside?"

The girl reluctantly moved aside, watching Qin You walk to Yu Kui's side, her face showing a hint of hurt.

"Xu Xin, Qin You doesn't like you, why are you bothering him?" Her friend quickly pulled her to a seat and reminded her, "That girl just now is Qin You's childhood sweetheart. I heard they grew up together, and Qin You is like her childhood sweetheart. With her around, you have no chance in this lifetime."

A note from the author:

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