Chapter 2 The new classmate is as beautiful as a lilac...

"Who said I like him?" Seemingly embarrassed, Xu Xin immediately denied it, "I just think he's good at studying and I ask him questions. Don't misunderstand."

Her friend could tell she wasn't being sincere, but didn't call her out on it. Instead, she said, "I also have a lot of questions I don't know. We can ask the class representative together. She's a very good student too."

"Okay." Xu Xin returned to her seat, but the image of Qin You walking towards Yu Kui flashed through her mind. He was such a cold person, but he treated his childhood sweetheart so well. She really envied that girl named Yu Kui.

"How come you're so popular?" Yu Kui said sourly as they walked downstairs. "Every time I come to see you, there are girls surrounding you."

“They’re just here to ask questions,” Qin You explained calmly, not noticing her jealousy. “Helping them isn’t difficult for me.”

"I know," seeing how serious he was, Yu Kui didn't press the matter further. "If you study well, you can indeed help other classmates. You didn't do anything wrong." She was just afraid that someone else would take him away from her.

"Um."

The two took the bus back to their neighborhood and learned that Aunt Qin was going to work overtime again today. Yu Kui took the opportunity to invite Qin You to her home for dinner, saying, "You didn't come yesterday, so let me make it up to you today."

She looked at him with bright eyes, as if she had completely forgotten his breaking their promise yesterday. "I think you seem to have lost some weight recently. If you eat alone, you'll have to make do..."

Qin You's heart stirred slightly. "Thank you."

"What are you thanking me for?" Yu Kui frowned and said with disdain, "We've known each other since kindergarten. You're my best friend. Friends don't need to say thank you."

"Okay," Qin You said in a low voice, "I'll come over after I finish my homework."

For dinner, Yu's mother made sweet and sour pork ribs and urged Qin You to eat more. She didn't seem angry with him at all; instead, she showed even more concern for him, saying, "Although you and Xiao Kui are no longer children, if you encounter any difficulties, you must tell us parents. If you can't solve something, we parents will."

Qin You nodded upon hearing this. After finishing his meal, he explained the English test paper to Yu Kui before leaving.

The next day, he was still waiting for Yu Kui downstairs. His tall figure was like a straight tree, and no matter how many times Yu Kui saw him, she still felt her heart flutter.

Yu Kui had two consecutive math classes in the morning. Apart from English, which was relatively difficult to improve, math was her second biggest weakness. Even if she memorized the formulas, understanding the problems still gave her a headache. It took her a long time to finish her math homework every day.

After the first math class, the homeroom teacher, Ms. Li, suddenly walked in from outside, followed by a girl in a white dress. The students gasped in amazement as soon as she entered the classroom!

"What a pretty girl! Is she a new transfer student?"

"She looks so quiet and gentle, like she stepped out of a comic book!"

"She's fair-skinned and slim, even prettier than the school beauty!"

"......"

"Quiet down!" Seeing the commotion below the stage, the homeroom teacher said sternly, "Shut up!"

Once everyone fell silent, the homeroom teacher said, "This is indeed a new student in our class. Let her introduce herself first."

After speaking, the homeroom teacher stepped aside, and everyone could see the girl's appearance more clearly. She had fair skin and watery eyes, like a white lilac in full bloom in the school in spring.

Yu Kui had once memorized a poem called "Rainy Alley," and her first impression of her new classmate was that of a lilac girl in a rainy alley. She had a sigh-like gaze, hazy and tinged with a touch of melancholy, which unconsciously evoked pity in people.

"Hello everyone," the new student's voice was exceptionally pleasant, gentle and soft. "My name is Tao Jiang. I'm very happy to be classmates with you all. Please take care of me in the future." After speaking, she wrote her name on the blackboard with chalk, her handwriting neat and beautiful, just like her.

Deafening applause erupted in the classroom. The homeroom teacher waved his hand, quieting everyone down again, and arranged a window seat for Tao Jiang.

As Tao Jiang passed by Yu Kui with her schoolbag on her back, Yu Kui smelled a faint fragrance on her, very light and delicate.

So this is what a girl who smells so good looks like.

Yu Kui belatedly realized that she had never worn perfume before in her life, and wondered what kind of perfume her new classmate was wearing.

Tao Jiang's arrival added a pleasant surprise to the otherwise tedious school life. Both male and female students liked her very much, and after class they would rush up to introduce themselves and want to become friends with her.

Even Tao Jiang's deskmate, Sun Shuya, ran over to ask if Tao Jiang wanted to go out this weekend. She said she had a lot of flowers at home and could give some to Tao Jiang.

Upon hearing Sun Shuya's voice, Yu Kui clenched her fists in anger. She had known Sun Shuya for so many years, how come she had never seen Sun Shuya give her a gift? Sure enough, people only care about appearances.

However, even she herself liked Tao Jiang and wanted to be friends with her, but she wasn't anything special, and she didn't know if Tao Jiang would be willing...

"Thank you everyone," Tao Jiang said with a smile, seemingly used to the students' enthusiasm. "Class is about to start, everyone please go back to your seats."

After speaking, she took out the books she would use for the next class, her attitude not particularly enthusiastic. Seeing this, the others felt embarrassed to disturb her any further.

At lunchtime, when Yu Kui went to find Qin You, she told him about the new classmate, "Tao Jiang is exceptionally beautiful. I've never seen such a beautiful girl in my entire life."

Qin You stopped in his tracks. "What did you say her name was?"

“Tao Jiang,” Yu Kui looked at him questioningly, “do you know her?”

Qin You didn't answer, and continued walking forward. Yu Kui didn't think much of it either, "I heard that she transferred from another city because of a school registration issue, and she'll be taking the college entrance exam with us."

"Um."

Qin You remained silent, his mind replaying the weekend when he spent the entire time at the amusement park with a girl he'd only met once, not returning home until the early hours of the morning. Was it Tao Jiang, the girl he knew?

After school in the afternoon, Yu Kui was packing her schoolbag when Sun Shuya nudged her and whispered, "Look who's at the door?"

Yu Kui looked up and saw Qin You standing at the classroom door. She immediately wanted to greet him and tell him she would be ready soon. Tao Jiang, who was sitting by the window, suddenly stood up and said to her deskmate, "Can I go out?"

Her deskmate was a shy boy who blushed and moved aside. Tao Jiang's white skirt swept across the corner of the table as she walked steadily toward the door.

She paused for a moment in front of Qin You, as if Qin You had blocked her path. The boy subconsciously took a step back, and she, like a pure and cool cloud, slowly walked away.

"Why did you come to wait for me today?" Yu Kui ran to Qin You's side and said happily, "I was just about to go up to find you."

"get out of class ended early today." Qin You seemed a little absent-minded as she turned and walked downstairs.

Yu Kui hurriedly followed, but her short legs couldn't keep up with Qin You's figure. She said somewhat dejectedly, "Wait for me, I can't keep up with you."

"I'll wait for you downstairs," Qin You said without turning around.

Upon hearing this, Yu Kui stumbled and almost fell down the stairs. She quickly grabbed the handrail beside her and looked down, but Qin You was no longer in sight.

He left, and left very quickly.

Yu Kui stood in the bustling stairwell, staring blankly down below, feeling a pang of sadness for some reason.

Qin You used to walk very fast, but if she said she couldn't keep up, he would stop and wait for her. But he didn't today.

"What's wrong?" Sun Shuya came downstairs and saw her standing there dumbfounded. She frowned and asked, "Weren't you supposed to be going to catch the car? Where's Qin You?"

"It's nothing," Yu Kui said, looking at the red scratches on her palm. "Qin You is waiting for me downstairs." She then carefully walked downstairs.

Sun Shuya didn't say anything more after hearing this. She went downstairs and found Qin You waiting for Yu Kui by the flower bed. He seemed to be in a good mood and was fiddling with his phone, chatting with someone.

Yu Kui walked over and subconsciously asked, "Have you been waiting long?"

Qin You slowly raised her head, not asking Yu Kui why she was getting down so slowly, and said to herself, "Let's go."

Yu Kui followed behind him. This time he was finally not in such a hurry, and Yu Kui no longer had to exert herself to chase after him.

"I won't come over to help you with your homework tonight," Qin You said as they walked downstairs. "If you have any questions, just send me a message."

"Okay." Yu Kui wanted to ask him what was going on today, but remembering that he had been tutoring her for half a month, she couldn't bring herself to ask. Perhaps, he was tired.

Her math, physics, and chemistry grades were not ideal from high school onwards. When she chose her major in her second year of high school, she decisively chose humanities. However, she was still lacking in math and English. After Qin You found out, he offered to come and tutor her for two hours every day.

Yu Kui originally didn't want to take up his time, but when she thought about being able to spend time alone with him during tutoring, she despicably nodded in agreement and even persuaded her mother, just to satisfy her own selfish desires.

Now that he has taken the initiative to say he can't come anymore, she has no reason to persuade him to stay.

She and Qin You were just friends. Although they had a good relationship, she couldn't treat him as someone who belonged exclusively to her.

After dinner, Yu Kui first finished all the easiest homework assignments, and then tackled the more challenging math and English problems. Both the math problems and the short articles in the English newspaper were a bit difficult for her. In the past, she could always ask Qin You for help without hesitation, and he could always easily explain the solutions and the meanings of the complex words in the articles.

Today she could only send him messages, but he replied very slowly. It took him over ten minutes to reply to each message, so much so that in the end, the screen was filled with her questions, while he didn't reply at all.

When Yu's mother came in to deliver fruit, Yu Kui was flipping through an English dictionary.

Yu's mother stepped forward and patted her daughter's head. "What's wrong? Are you in a bad mood?"

Yu Kui put down the dictionary and hugged her waist. "Mom, am I really stupid?"

"What nonsense are you talking about!" Yu's mother glared at her and said, "You got into the best high school in our area, and our house is full of your past awards. We can solve any difficulties you encounter slowly, but don't be discouraged. Mom believes in you."

After saying that, she gently patted her daughter's back, "Mommy will study with you?"

"No," Yu Kui snuggled against her, seemingly feeling a little better. "Studying is my own business, Mom, you should go to sleep."

Seeing how sensible she was, Yu's mother kissed her forehead and said, "At worst, we'll enroll you in a tutoring class. We can afford that."

Yu Kui: "......"

By the time she had translated the short article word by word and finished all the questions, it was already past midnight.

Qin You still didn't reply to the message, just like he suddenly disappeared over the weekend.

A note from the author:

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