Chao Youye reached out and held his waist. The touch was soft and firm, and her body temperature could be felt through the thin school uniform fabric.
The distance between the two of them was instantly shortened. Mu Xinrong could see the willow catkins stuck on Chao Youye's eyelashes, and his own frightened reflection in his pupils.
"Idiot, be careful." Chao Youye's voice was smiling, yet extremely gentle. Her warm breath brushed across the tip of Mu Xinrong's ear, causing it to quickly turn red.
After finally stabilizing himself, Mu Xinrong retreated to the side of a willow tree, leaning against its rough trunk to catch his breath. Chao Youye leaned against the opposite willow tree, a leaf still tucked between her fingers, casting a fine shadow in the sunlight.
He looked at Mu Xinrong's red ears, the smile on his lips deepened, but his eyes were extremely focused, as if he was observing some rare butterfly.
The ripples in the pond gradually subsided, and their reflections became clear again. Mu Xinrong looked at herself in the water, a few willow leaves still stuck in her hair, and the collar of her school uniform slightly open, revealing a small patch of skin below her collarbone.
The reflection of Chao Youye appeared particularly clear, with the blue sky and willow shadows reflected in his purple pupils, and a gentleness that made one's heart skip a beat hung on the corner of his mouth.
"Actually..." Mu Xinrong suddenly opened his mouth, then quickly shut it again. He wanted to say, "Actually, what I saw wasn't just a reflection," but the words turned into a silent sigh.
The spring breeze swept across the pond, lifting a willow branch that just covered his hot cheeks.
Chao Youye seemed about to say something, but was interrupted by the distant ringing of the school bell. He straightened up, fished a mint candy from his trouser pocket, and tossed it to Mu Xinrong: "Let's go, the next class is physics—let me borrow your notes."
Mu Xinrong took the candy, the metal box making a crisp sound in his palm. He looked at the hair that flew up as Chao Youye turned around, and suddenly remembered the body warmth his fingertips had touched just now, and the tiny starlight flowing in his eyes.
A soft emotion grows quietly in my heart, like a new bud, trembling gently in the breeze with pain and joy.
They walked back along the cobblestone path, willow catkins fell on the tips of Chao Youye's hair. Mu Xinrong wanted to reach out and pick them off for him, but she never had the courage.
The teaching building in the distance was flashing white light in the sunlight, and the lingering sound of the school bell was still echoing in the air, but his heartbeat could not calm down.
When passing by the pond, Mu Xinrong inadvertently looked back and saw the two people's reflections still floating quietly on the water, with willow branches and sunlight giving them a layer of golden edge.
He suddenly realized that some things had been laid out unknowingly, just like the reflection in the water, which seemed illusory but more real than reality.
The spring breeze picked up again, and willow branches brushed his cheeks. Mu Xinrong clenched the mint candy in his hand and followed Chao Youye into the sunshine, but the ripples in his heart did not subside for a long time.
When Zhang Xiaoli returned to the classroom, the bell for the third class had already rung.
Her deskmate was sorting out watercolor pens. Seeing her red eyes, the tip of the pen drew a sudden blue line on the palette.
"What's wrong?" The classmate lowered his voice and reached out to grab her wrist. "You look so bad."
Zhang Xiaoli slumped over the table, her face buried in her arms. The love letters in her schoolbag pressed against her chest like a piece of red-hot charcoal.
She remembered Mu Xinrong's eyes when he refused, gentle yet firm, like a stream in spring, seemingly soft but always flowing in her direction.
"What's wrong with me?" Her voice was muffled in her sleeves, with a sobbing tone. "Is it because I'm not pretty enough?"
"What nonsense are you talking about!" Her deskmate patted her on the back, and the purple paint on the palette splashed onto the desk. "That guy Mu Xinrong is just a blockhead! Last time I asked him a math problem, he talked for ten minutes without even looking up."
Wang Yutong in the front row turned her head, the bow in her curly hair swaying as she said, "Don't be sad. Men are just like that. If I refuse, I'll just refuse. Isn't our math representative quite handsome?"
"Come on," Li Yue from the back row interrupted, twirling a pen in his hand. "If we talk about handsome, it has to be Chao Youye—that's the real rich and powerful young man. I heard he attended the charity ball last week and wore emerald cufflinks."
Zhang Xiaoli looked up suddenly, tears still hanging on her eyelashes: "Chao Youye...are you close to Mu Xinrong?"
The deskmate nodded, his tone filled with gossipy excitement: "More than good! I heard that they were deskmates in junior high. Chao Youye even copied his math homework from Mu Xinrong - but Mu Xinrong was willing to let him copy, after all, they were good friends."
The classroom was filled with "Oh!" sounds. Zhang Xiaoli bit her lip, suddenly remembering the silver sliver peeking out from Mu Xinrong's sleeve when he rejected her in the hallway. It was the pen Chao Youye had given him, with the Chao family crest engraved on the cap.
"Maybe... they are the most suitable." She said softly, not knowing whether she was comforting herself or stating a fact.
At the end of the school day, the setting sun tinted the school building a warm orange. Zhang Xiaoli stood under a sycamore tree by the playground, watching the crowd gradually disperse.
The sound of a basketball hitting the ground, mixed with the girls' laughter, was particularly clear in the twilight.
"Xiao Li!"
A clear voice called out, breaking the silence. Hua Jinyue came running over, the ribbon on her pigtail fluttering in the wind.
She was wearing a purple dress with small daisies embroidered on the hem and holding a comic book with a picture of a beautiful boy in a suit on the cover.
"I went to confess my feelings today," Zhang Xiaoli whispered, kicking a stone away from her feet. "I was rejected."
Hua Jinyue's smile froze. She put down the comic book, reached out and hugged Zhang Xiaoli, the jasmine scent of her hair wafting in her face. "That boy has such bad taste! Xiaoli is so cute, he must be crazy!"
A familiar ringtone rang out. Hua Jinyue knew it was her brother calling, and she called out sweetly, "Brother."
The person on the other end of the phone said "hmm", left a sentence "go home early" and hung up.
Hua Jinyue snorted with a hint of dissatisfaction. Zhang Xiaoli, noticing the subtle change in Hua Jinyue's expression, kindly asked, "What's wrong?"
"It's nothing. My brother never mentioned anything about gifts from the beginning to the end. If my brother doesn't prepare any, I will kill him~" Hua Jinyue said dangerously with a smile.
"You're so cruel! Nani! And there's even someone who wants to kill his own brother because of this!"
"What's wrong with this world?"
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
