Chapter 12 The Second Bet
The new week began with the usual ringing of the morning self-study bell at Shenghua College. Mondays always seemed to have a heavier air, carrying a sense of post-weekend fatigue.
Gu Ye rushed into the classroom on time, causing a gust of wind and his schoolbag to fall onto the table with a thud. He had barely sat down and was barely catching his breath when a smiling greeting came from the side.
"Hey, good morning, classmate Gu." Chu Yan was already sitting upright, textbooks and notebooks spread out before him, twirling a pen in his hand. Sunlight streamed through the window onto his profile, outlining a gentle, harmless outline. He smiled at Gu Ye, his eyes clear. "How's the holiday feeling? Do you miss your studies?"
Gu Ye's eyelids twitched at his teasing of asking a question he knew the answer to. He turned his face away in annoyance and muttered vaguely, "...That's it." He unzipped his schoolbag with a bit of force, and took out the physics book and the homework book that he had finished staying up late last night, and piled them on the table.
Chu Yan looked at him, who was obviously sleep-deprived, with blue eyes and a bit of irritability in his movements. The smile in his eyes deepened. Just as he was about to tease him a few more times, the head teacher, Teacher Li, walked in with a stern face, holding a stack of notices in his hand.
The classroom suddenly became quiet.
Teacher Li cleared his throat and glanced solemnly around the class. "Everyone, be quiet! I have an announcement to make." He passed the notice to the students in the front row. "The school has decided to hold the first placement test of this semester in two weeks, which is the Friday after next. This test is very important and will form a key basis for the class division for the next semester! Everyone, buck up and take it seriously! Especially for those students with weak foundations, there's still time to start studying hard now!"
"Baseline test", "Senior high school students divided into classes"... These words were like ice picks, piercing Gu Ye's ears unexpectedly. He froze for a moment and subconsciously clenched the pen in his hand.
Almost immediately, he couldn't help but glance at Chu Yan next to him. Chu Yan was looking down at the notice that had just been passed to him. His profile was calm and expressionless, as if the content of the notice had nothing to do with him. But Gu Ye knew that this guy's grades were so good that getting into the top A class was a sure thing.
Although he could partially grasp the knowledge points Chu Yan had forced him to study, he still had so much to learn, like a shaky, unfinished building poised to collapse at any moment. The physics mechanics questions were still a blur, the organic deductions in chemistry were a mystery, and the English reading comprehension was out of the question. He quickly calculated the number of students in the grade, and his heart sank. He was currently struggling in the bottom few percent.
An unfamiliar feeling of anxiety, like a cold vine, silently entwined itself around his heart, tightening ever tighter. He didn't want to be separated from Chu Yan. This thought popped up so clearly and without warning that it startled even him.
Why not? Was it because he was used to studying under this guy's gaze? Was it because of the exhausting but ultimately sleep-depriving training sessions that night? Or was it because of the other half of the bed in Chu Yan's room that night, and the faint, strangely comforting scent of shower gel on him?
Gu Ye's mind was swirling with chaotic thoughts, further irritating him. Unconsciously, his finger exerted pressure, and the tip of his pen pokes a tiny speck of ink into the open physics textbook. He snapped back to his senses and quickly rubbed it with his fingertips, only to have the ink smudge spread slightly. He stared at the unsightly stain, his brow furrowed in knots. A feeling of powerlessness and frustration, mixed with an inexplicable anxiety, weighed heavily on his chest.
Chu Yan casually tucked the notice into his textbook. He saw every ounce of Gu Ye's slight stiffness, the subconscious glance he'd given him, and the way he stared blankly at his physics textbook, his brow furrowed. The boy's overt irritation and subtle anxiety were like ripples in water after a stone was dropped.
Chu Yan's lips curved up slightly, then his gentle, harmless expression returned. He slowly opened his notebook, picked up the pen, and twirled it nimbly between his fingers.
Only when you have something to ask for is there any meaning. Only when you have something to ask for is there any possibility of taming.
All day long, Gu Ye seemed a little absent-minded. While the math teacher was lecturing on analytic geometry at the podium, his voice spitting and spitting, he stared at the blackboard, his eyes blank. In English class, the teacher called on him to read a passage, but he read haltingly, mispronouncing several words, which drew a few suppressed chuckles. He sat down with a stern face, his ears a little hot. During the break, he didn't lie down to catch up on his sleep or sneak out for some fresh air as usual. Instead, he stared blankly at a big problem in the physics workbook, his pen tip hovering over the paper for a long time, without writing a single word.
The bell finally rang for the final class of the afternoon, and the students streamed out of the classroom like birds from a cage. Gu Ye packed his schoolbag slowly, his movements several times slower than usual. He stuffed his physics notebook, filled with questionable symbols he couldn't even understand, into his bag, zipping it up halfway before stopping.
Chu Yan had already packed his things, with his bag slung over one shoulder, and was looking at him leisurely beside his seat, with a slightly inquiring smile in his eyes, as if waiting for his next move.
Gu Ye raised his head and met Chu Yan's gaze. The golden light of the setting sun slanted in through the window, giving Chu Yan's outline a furry golden edge. Gu Ye looked at his face, which always had a hint of false gentleness, and the irritation and anxiety in his heart twisted into a rope, stuck in his throat. He opened his mouth to say something, but felt he had no idea where to start. In the end, he just looked away a little stiffly and zipped up his backpack.
"Let's go." He said sullenly and was about to squeeze past Chu Yan.
"Wait." Chu Yan's voice was not loud, but it clearly stopped him.
Gu Ye stopped, didn't turn around, only turned half of his face to the side, and said in a hard tone: "What?"
Chu Yan took a half step forward and stood in front of him. He lowered his head slightly and looked at Gu Ye's eyes, which were full of "I'm very annoyed". The usual smile on his face disappeared, but his eyes were still gentle, even a little encouraging?
"About the exam," Chu Yan said in a calm voice, as if stating a fact. "Are you feeling a bit stressed?"
Gu Ye was like a cat whose tail was stepped on. He suddenly raised his head, stiffened his neck, and raised his voice a little: "Who is under pressure? It's just a crappy exam?" But the slightly flickering eyes and tense jawline completely betrayed him.
Chu Yan didn't expose his clumsy cover-up. Instead, he smiled softly, a smile that seemed a little blurry in the glow of the setting sun. He reached out and used his knuckles to lightly and playfully tap the thick physics notebook in Gu Ye's schoolbag.
"That's perfect," Chu Yan said with a sly glint in his eyes, "We're free anyway, why don't we make another bet?"
Gu Ye stared at him warily, like a wolf cub with its ears pricked up: "...What are you betting on?"
Chu Yan stretched out his index finger and waved it in front of his eyes, his goal clear: "Let's bet on this test. If you can get into the top 80% of the grade..."
He paused deliberately, watching Gu Ye's eyes widen slightly because of the number "top 80%", with surprise and a hint of ignited, unbelievable flame clearly reflected in them.
Chu Yan captured the flame with satisfaction, his smile deepened, and with a bewitching confidence, he clearly threw out the bait:
"I agree to one condition. As long as it's not excessive, you can ask for it."
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