Chapter 37 "Are you jealous?"
Tang Ci stood there for a while before slowly realizing what Sheng Yu had just said.
During this time, she did sense Sheng Yu's closeness, but she never dared to think about it as a romantic relationship.
Even now, hearing Sheng Yu say words that sounded almost like a confession, she still couldn't believe it.
Her lips tightened and then loosened. Tang Ci stumbled back, staring intently at the floor tiles, and whispered, "Do you want to continue being my deskmate? Or should I go ask Teacher Xu..."
Suddenly, Tang Ci was flicked hard on the forehead. She covered her head and retreated to the corner of the wall.
Sheng Yu scoffed, "Tang Ci, what are you pretending to be stupid for?"
Tang Ci swallowed hard and changed the subject, asking, "Is class about to start?"
"If you don't answer today, we'll just stay here and wait it out." Sheng Yu crossed his arms and casually blocked her way.
When they got closer, they looked more like a couple secretly dating on the playground.
Tang Ci was once selected by the student council to investigate early romantic relationships on the playground, and she still vividly remembers the aggressive expression of the teacher in charge.
She suddenly breathed a sigh of relief and looked up at Sheng Yu directly: "The school doesn't allow early relationships. If you get caught, your parents will be called in."
Sheng Yu: "Will your dad care?"
Tang Jianwei was stationed in Jiangcheng for extended periods to discuss the project, and Qin Ling was too pregnant to travel back and forth. Tang Ci was certain that even if he did receive a call from the school, he would ignore it.
But taking advantage of Sheng Yu's lack of knowledge about her family situation, Tang Ci nodded emphatically: "He once said that if I dared to date in high school, he would... break my legs."
Sheng Yu's face instantly darkened, and his tone was menacing: "Break your legs?"
Tang Ci realized she had spoken too harshly and quickly explained, "He was just saying that, he didn't really mean to hit me—"
"Stop right there!!"
A loud, bell-like voice rang out from outside the playground, accompanied by rapid, whirlwind-like footsteps, instantly shattering the sticky atmosphere.
Before Tang Ci could react to what was happening, she saw the couple under the tree scatter like birds and beasts, quickly darting towards the surrounding cover.
Turning back to look outside the playground, the burly dean of students charged straight towards them with agility, shouting from afar, "I see you!! Don't even think about running!"
Tang Ci was used to being obedient, and her feet felt like lead, so she stood rooted to the spot. Suddenly, Sheng Yu gripped her wrist tightly, and with a pull, Tang Ci automatically started running after him like a wound-up toy.
At first, Tang Ci didn't follow, but Sheng Yu turned his head and said lazily, "If we get caught, I'll admit that you're my boyfriend."
Tang Ci's throat tightened, and she instantly took large strides, rushing forward.
Three buildings stand on the west side of the playground. Sheng Yu was familiar with the hidden smoking spots under each building. He led her through the bushes behind the buildings, quickly leaving the Dean of Students behind.
After the preparatory bell rang for evening self-study, the two tiptoed into the teaching building.
The stairwell was empty and quiet, and Tang Ci unconsciously softened her footsteps.
Sheng Yu didn't care much. He was walking along when he suddenly stopped in the quietest stairwell.
Caught off guard, Tang Ci bumped his head against Tang Ci's back. As he stepped back, his hands, which had been clasped together, separated without him noticing.
Sheng Yu turned around and took a step back. "I haven't even asked you yet, do you like me?"
Tang Ci was startled. She lowered her head and stammered for a long time before asking, "You didn't say that yourself..."
Sheng Yu chuckled: "Then I'll say it."
Tang Ci hurriedly added, "There's no need to be in such a rush."
Sheng Yu looked at her small, flushed face and her gentle eyes that kept darting away, and sighed softly, saying, "I can only wait until after the college entrance exam. By then, you should be able to give me the answer, right?"
The light overhead was as bright as day, shining on the floor and casting their shadows into two clusters, one large and one small, each occupying its own spot.
Tang Ci choked on her words, looked at Sheng Yu's shadow and nodded vaguely, her toes pressed together awkwardly.
"Look up."
Tang Ci subconsciously looked up.
Sheng Yu looked at her calmly: "Since I will only ask for the answer after the college entrance examination, you don't need to consider it now, and you don't need to be nervous."
Tang Ci's lips moved slightly, and she nodded.
Sheng Yu's lips curled up, his cold and handsome face softened, and his pupils filled with light.
“Xiao Ci, you take care of maintaining your grades, and I'll take care of catching up with you.” Sheng Yu paused for a moment, his expression more solemn than ever before: “I will try my best to get into a university in the city where you live.”
As they went up the stairs again, Tang Ci deliberately slowed down, following Sheng Yu at a distance that was neither too close nor too far.
She had to grip the handrail tightly to keep from dizziness and falling. Her heart pounded restlessly in her chest, even pounding against her eardrums, and her breathing gradually became rapid.
Tang Ci couldn't tell whether her intense physical reaction was due to her illness or Sheng Yu's earnest words.
She watched their figures intertwine and brush against each other on the steps, and a wave of bittersweetness washed over her.
Tang Ci blinked away the rising mist in front of her eyes and slowly thought that perhaps she shouldn't have provoked Sheng Yu in the first place.
/
The school anniversary gala was held promptly at 7 p.m. on Saturday.
As a student council representative, Song Ke led a group of student council members to set up the venue outside the auditorium as soon as school was over in the afternoon. They didn't even have time to eat a proper meal, and each of them was holding a rice ball in their hand, stuffing it into their mouths to satisfy their hunger.
After finishing their meal, Tang Ci and Jiang Chan were about to go back to the classroom to review for a while before attending the party. When they passed by the auditorium, they saw Song Ke looking extremely busy, so they stopped to help him.
"Senior, the name tags are here, how should we display them?" The boy named Song Jian called out to Song Ke, who was holding a tall stack of name tags.
Song Ke was inflating a balloon when he heard the sound. He looked up while pinching the bottom of the balloon and said, "Put the name tag on the first table and come help inflating the balloons."
Song Jian nodded and walked into the auditorium with the name tag in his arms. However, the name tag blocked his view, and he did not see the steps under his feet. He missed a step, and the name tag fell from his arms and crashed to the ground.
Song Ke's eyes widened instantly. He abandoned the balloon and rushed over to check on Song Jian's condition.
Fortunately, Song Jian managed to grab the railing at the crucial moment and was not injured.
Song Ke breathed a sigh of relief, his tone helpless: "Be more careful next time."
Song Jian, with a long face, agreed and squatted down to pick up the name tags scattered at her feet.
Song Ke walked down the steps to pick up some brand-name items that had fallen a little further away. Just as he reached out to pick up the one under the tree, someone else picked it up first.
He looked up and immediately smiled: "What brings you all here?"
Jiang Chan smiled and said, "We were just about to go back to the classroom when we saw you working hard here from afar, so we came to help."
Tang Ci put the brand-name item she had just picked up into her pocket and then asked, "Is there anything else we need?"
Song Ke grinned, revealing a set of white teeth, and took the heavy designer brands from Tang Ci's arms into his own hands: "There really are some, you guys help me arrange them."
At the auditorium door, the three of them huddled together to look at the seating chart. Song Ke pointed to the names of the school leaders on the chart and said to Tang Ci and Jiang Chan, "Just arrange the seating according to this chart. Put the name tags on the left side of the table and the bottled water bottles on the right side."
A student council member outside the door called out to Song Ke, asking him to check the slogans on the banner.
Tang Ci took the form and said to Song Ke, "Go ahead and get busy."
After they finished displaying the name tags, Song Ke, who was outside the door, had already stood on the scaffolding and was stretching his arms to hang the banner, while the remaining students were busy popping balloons.
Tang Ci and Jiang Chan found extra air pumps and joined the balloon-popping team.
After inspecting the banner, Song Ke discussed it with several members and finally decided to hang it above the window on the first floor, but the window needed to be opened before it could be hung.
The taller boys volunteered to bring scaffolding and climb up it, holding one end of the banner.
The auditorium at No. 1 Middle School is quite old. The iron window frames have been exposed to the sun and rain for many years, and the seams have rusted.
The boy fiddled with it for a long time, but the window frame showed no signs of loosening. He impatiently patted the window.
Song Ke called him down, and went up himself.
Although he wasn't very strong, he was patient. The window was rusted solid, and after struggling for a while, he couldn't open it, and his nose was covered in sweat. He shook his arms, which ached from holding it up for so long, and casually took off his coat.
"Could you help me with this?" he asked Tang Ci, who was standing not far away.
Tang Ci quickly tightened the balloon in her hand, straightened up, took Song Ke's coat, and asked with concern, "Still can't open it?"
Song Ke shook his head: "It's rusted too much. I'll try again. If it doesn't work, I'll hang it somewhere else."
As they were talking, they heard clear footsteps behind them, and the girls passing by whispered among themselves.
Before Tang Ci could turn around, she heard Sheng Yu's nonchalant voice behind her: "What's going on?"
After a pause, Tang Ci turned her head and saw Sheng Yu standing half a meter away from her, his gaze seemingly casually drifting towards her arms.
Since their last conversation on the playground, the two have rarely spoken due to their busy academic schedules.
Suddenly being so close to him, Tang Ci's heart pounded. She instinctively clutched her coat tighter and whispered, "The squad leader needs to hang a banner, but the window won't open..."
Sheng Yu gave a lazy "hmm," shifted her gaze from the men's jacket, and looked up at Song Ke, asking, "Will it work?"
Song Ke sensed the arrogance in his tone, but knowing that was just his nature, he replied gently, "It should be possible."
Seeing that he was covered in sweat, Sheng Yu raised an eyebrow, reached out and climbed onto the scaffolding. The next second, he leaped onto the scaffolding, and before anyone could react, his fingertips gripped the window frame. The moment the veins on the back of his hand bulged, the window clicked open.
After he jumped down, the scaffolding only swayed slightly.
The boy's entire set of movements was fluid and smooth, and in just a few seconds, he solved the problem that everyone had been struggling with for half a day.
Song Ke climbed down from the scaffolding, brushed the dust off his hands, and said politely, "Thank you, you've been a great help."
Sheng Yu nodded slightly and glanced at Tang Ci.
Tang Ci didn't understand, but still said, "Thank you for your hard work."
Sheng Yu lowered his gaze slightly and remained silent.
Jiang Chan, who had been watching the whole thing from a short distance away, chuckled, but quickly covered her mouth when she noticed Sheng Yu's gaze.
Sheng Yu withdrew his gaze, put his hands in his pockets, and walked past Tang Ci, casually saying, "Why are you being so polite with me?"
Tang Ci looked up and only caught a glimpse of his jawline, its sharp lines seemingly taut.
Is he unhappy?
Tang Ci muttered to herself, not realizing what had angered him.
After Sheng Yu's figure had disappeared into the distance, Jiang Chan approached her and whispered in her ear, "The way you and the class monitor were so polite to Sheng Yu just now was like that of a married couple."
Tang Ci knew that Jiang Chan loved to gossip in her spare time, so she said helplessly, "Don't joke like that. The class monitor and I are classmates."
Jiang Chan chuckled, her eyes darting around: "Sheng Yu's face is so cold, is he jealous of you and the class monitor?"
Tang Ci's ears turned bright red: "No!!"
Jiang Chan, observing her drastically different reactions, wore a meaningful expression. Just as she was about to tease her again, Old Xu called out to Tang Ci from inside the auditorium, "Tang Ci, come here for a moment—"
"Coming!" Tang Ci responded immediately, rubbing her ears and running into the auditorium as if her life depended on it.
/
The grand finale of the school anniversary celebration was an English speech, but the boy who signed up suddenly developed a fever and is currently receiving intravenous fluids at the hospital; he hadn't even finished writing his speech.
"You're the best in English in the whole grade." Old Xu said earnestly, taking Tang Ci's hand: "Can you handle the speech?"
Tang Ci hesitated: "But I have no experience in public speaking."
Old Xu raised his hand to look at his watch: "The speech is the last program, there are still two hours left. The teacher will find a classmate for you to practice with, is that okay?"
Tang Cizheng hesitated.
The homeroom teacher of Class 7, Grade 11, led a boy backstage: "Teacher Xu, we've found him. Zhao Meng is studying broadcasting. Let him give the speech."
Old Xu's face still showed doubt: "Young man, can you write the rest of the manuscript?"
Zhao Meng scratched the back of his head and laughed awkwardly: "Then I can't write it."
Old Xu pursed his lips as he pondered.
“I can write,” Tang Ci said, offering her assistance since she had nothing else to do.
Old Xu shook his head slightly, pondered for a moment, and said to the homeroom teacher of Class 7, "How about this, Tang Ci from my class will help write the article, and Zhao Meng should mention her name when she goes on stage."
The homeroom teacher of Class 7 immediately smiled and said, "Teacher Xu is amazing; she can't stand to suffer even the slightest loss."
Old Xu laughed and patted Tang Ci's arm lightly: "It doesn't matter whether I suffer a loss or not, but the kids in my class can't afford to."
After hearing Lao Xu's words, Tang Ci felt a heavy heart towards the manuscript.
The backstage area was packed with people and there was hardly any room to move. In the end, Lao Xu found her a desk outside so she could sit down and write.
The chair had no backrest, so to make it easier to use her hands, Tang Ci tied Song Ke's coat around her waist after sitting down.
The theme of the speech was to praise education and commemorate the century-old history of the school. Tang Ci was not used to continuing the writing, so he simply scrapped it and started over.
She first set an uplifting tone, and then added details one paragraph at a time.
I had only written the beginning when the party started.
As the host announced the program, students continuously entered and exited the stage to perform, accompanied by a constant stream of background music.
Even with Tang Ci's composure, her thoughts were still disturbed, and she began to write haltingly.
She had finally reached the end, but then hesitated over a few words, deep in thought, when suddenly gasps of surprise rang out from the hall outside.
Tang Ci bit her pen tip and looked up to see Sheng Yu coming out of the preparation room, dressed in a cold gray suit, a white shirt and a dark red tie.
Sheng Yu lowered his head to adjust his cufflinks, showing little reaction to the admiring voices around him. His aloof temperament was perfectly displayed under the formal attire.
Tang Ci's breathing became lighter. The moment she noticed Sheng Yu raising his eyes, she hurriedly lowered her head and pulled the pen out from between her teeth.
The host announced the next segment: the students from the previous street dance show returned backstage in groups. Zheng Shuyao, dressed in a white ballet outfit, walked gracefully beside Sheng Yu and followed him onto the stage.
As the red curtain fell, Tang Ci heard deafening noises inside the auditorium, with screams and whistles filling the air.
Her heart pounded against her aching chest until the clear, melodious sound of the piano began, at which point she continued writing.
During the ten-minute piano performance, Tang Ci successfully wrote the ending. The moment she put down her pen, she met the gaze of Sheng Yu, who had returned backstage.
Tang Ci was momentarily stunned.
A high school girl who practices street dance held up a Polaroid camera and whispered, "Seniors, you two look so beautiful standing together!! Can I take a picture with you?"
Zheng Shuyao pursed her lips, her face slightly flushed, and said, "Sure."
A group of boys and girls who had just finished their performance swarmed around them, lining up to take photos with the two.
The Polaroid cameras clicked incessantly, and the entire backstage area was filled with joy.
Sheng Yu stood there lazily, and even without any expression, he was still the most dazzling presence.
However, his brilliance was sharp and intimidating, making people hesitant to approach him.
Seeing that the crowd had mostly dispersed, the boy taking photos asked with concern, "Is there anyone else who hasn't taken a picture yet?"
Tang Ci lowered her head to check the manuscript and did not hear what the boy said.
The boy was about to put away the Polaroid camera.
Sheng Yu suddenly spoke, saying to the girl who was silently sitting at her desk, "Tang Ci."
Zheng Shuyao, who had already left, stopped in her tracks, choking back tears as she followed Sheng Yu's gaze.
Tang Ci looked up slowly and asked softly, "Hmm?"
“Come take a picture,” Sheng Yu said matter-of-factly.
Tang Ci slowly said "Oh," and stood up from the stool. Before she could move, he scoffed disdainfully, "Is this all you're wearing for this photoshoot?"
Upon hearing this, not only Tang Ci, but also the surrounding classmates were stunned, whispering among themselves as they looked at Tang Ci's attire.
Simple, old, and dull.
This contrasts sharply with the glamorous and radiant Sheng Yu.
Tang Ci clenched her fingers helplessly, touching the frayed cuffs of her sleeves that had become fuzzy from being washed too many times, and her heart clenched.
After a two-second pause, Sheng Yu clicked his tongue and strode towards her.
Tang Ci paused, and saw Sheng Yu stop in front of her, lean down slightly, and use his well-defined knuckles to rip open the coat tied around her waist and throw it onto the sofa not far away.
“Don’t wear those weird things on your body anymore,” Sheng Yu raised an eyebrow and said, enunciating each word clearly, “They look bad.”
Tang Ci opened her mouth in a hoarse voice, then, remembering what Jiang Chan had said, a sudden inspiration struck her, and she asked softly, "Were you jealous that I took the class monitor's jacket?"
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