Chapter Twenty-Two
The room fell into an eerie silence, with only the faint sound of the air conditioner lingering in the still air.
He Qi was sitting cross-legged, staring at the idiot opposite him. After a moment, seeing Shen Yue's increasingly obvious expression of suspicion, he clicked his tongue impatiently.
"What's with that expression? Don't you believe me?" He Qizheng said, displeased.
Shen Yue recalled the strategy guide he had found online last time, sneered, and nodded.
I don't know which heartless person wrote it for money, but it ruined him terribly. Since then, he's sworn he'll never believe anything again...
"There's another person in our group who's interested in swimming in the Congxi River."
Shen Yue stood frozen in place.
He Qi calmly dropped a bombshell, watched Shen Yue's mouth slowly widen, and smiled mysteriously.
Shen Yue was so shocked by the news that he felt dizzy and his blood pressure soared to 180.
Taking a breath, he quickly went through the group members in his mind. When he got to one person, Shen Yue almost choked—
As one of only two boys, he looked at the other boy opposite him in disbelief, his index finger trembling as he raised it: "You..."
He Qi was a little confused when he saw him looking like a lord who had been given medicine by Zhen Huan: "What's wrong with me?"
Shen Yue pursed his lips and suddenly stood up, startling He Qizheng.
He Qi watched as the tall, imposing boy, with a vengeful air, walked step by step towards him, blocking part of the light from above. Because of the backlighting, the boy's shadow mostly covered him, his features hidden in the shadows, radiating a strong murderous aura. He looked up, inexplicably feeling that the boy's fist, hanging at his side, would smash into his face at any moment.
"Damn it!" He Qi was about to back away, but forgot that there was a sofa behind him and that his legs, which had been crossed for quite some time, were so sore that he couldn't use them. He flailed around a few times in vain and found that he was still standing in the same spot.
After the initial shock came rage. He Qi felt like his very hair was on fire. He roared, "If you don't believe me, fine, I'll..."
wrong.
He Qizheng suddenly came to his senses.
He glanced at Shen Yue's tightly clenched, restrained fist, and a possibility came to his horror—
Damn it, does Shen Yue think he's a rival in love?!
"......"
Shen Yue was ready to engage in free fighting with He Qizheng.
Of course, out of consideration for their years of brotherhood, he will consider showing leniency.
Looking at the rival still stubbornly resisting on the sofa, Shen Yue slowly raised his hand, placing his left hand on the knuckles of his right, and slowly applied force...
"Shen Yue, you idiot! I was talking about Yin Zixuan!!"
Crack!
A sudden, sharp sound of bones grinding together.
Looking at Shen Yue's dazed expression, He Qizheng became even angrier: "You fucking idiot, I'm really fed up. I'm going to use the megaphone in the group chat to shout that Shen Yue is a homophobic, and you can just wait to die."
Shen Yue: "......"
He sat back down, slowly raised his right hand to cover his chest, his heart pounding heavily. He silently contemplated life, unsure whether to feel fortunate or devastated.
He Qi was still muttering something, but Shen Yue didn't listen. It felt like a hundred little monsters were braiding his brain nerves into a messy tangled mess, and his temples were throbbing slightly.
It's not that he misunderstood He Qizheng; it's just that... who could have imagined this?
He recalled Yin Zixuan's various actions, and his mind became even more troubled.
No, Shen Yue sat up in shock while on his deathbed—didn't she even help him out?!
If she liked swimming in the Congxi River, why did she help him at the bookstore?
The more she thought about it, the more her head ached. So Shen Yue simply lay back down peacefully and then closed her eyes peacefully.
He Qizheng's loud voice rang out: "I'll forgive you this time because you're my brother."
Then, he changed the subject: "But you're really stupid. It's so obvious to you and you still can't see it. It's clear that just getting to the point of understanding has already exhausted all your romantic brain."
Shen Yue kept his eyes closed but his mouth never stopped: "Hmm, you're smart. You're so smart that you can misunderstand that I like Yin Zixuan."
He Qizheng: "......"
Shen Yue opened his eyes and looked at the person opposite him with a probing gaze: "Speaking of this, how can you be sure that Yin Zixuan's feelings for You Congxi are romantic rather than just friendship?"
He Qi was recalling the way Yin Zixuan looked into You Congxi's eyes, and the suppressed emotions she felt when Shen Yue was being cheeky and pestering You Congxi. He instinctively felt that even if he said it, Shen Yue, that idiot with negative love intelligence, wouldn't believe him, so he simply changed the subject.
"Don't worry about that. Just know about this." He Qi felt a little sorry for his silly brother. He was already a bit simple-minded, and he finally fell head over heels for a girl, only to find out that there were many powerful rivals lurking around.
He Qizheng's sense of responsibility surged up again.
He patted Chen Yue on the shoulder, as if issuing a military order: "Brother! Don't worry, with me here, this master will guarantee you win the heart of your beauty!"
-
You Congxi felt that the atmosphere in the philosophy group had been strange these past few days.
Then there's Shen Yue, who seems to want to hang it on her schoolbag every day, which annoys her to no end.
Her warnings were useless; Shen Yue's skin was as thick as the back wall of their school. He would always agree verbally, but as soon as he turned around, he would see a familiar figure again.
Unfortunately, this matter was brought to light by Tang Miaosong, who praised You Congxi for his effective supervision. Shen Yue then brazenly used this excuse as a shield, saying things like, "You Xiaoyu, you have to supervise me."
The most crucial point is that the reason why the impatient You Congxi could still barely tolerate it is that Shen Yue's presence did not hinder her at all, and even made things more convenient for her.
You don't have to fetch water yourself, you don't have to carry things yourself, and you don't have to worry about being extorted by thugs when you get home.
One time, when school ended late, Qu Qi was on duty and didn't walk with them. She simply took a shortcut in the alley, while Chen Yue followed leisurely about five steps behind.
She was met with some drunkards who were making malicious noise and staring at her. She ignored them as usual and quickened her pace. The next second, she heard a dull thud as a fist landed on her skin from behind.
She froze, instinctively wanting to turn around, when suddenly a warm and strong touch came from her wrist.
Amidst the chaos, Shen Yue firmly grasped her wrist, and they ran towards the setting sun.
It was only later that we learned that Shen Yue had single-handedly defeated three men, each of whom had given him a fatal kick. Fearing that the group might seek revenge, he waited outside You Congxi's house for a week, returning home each day covered in red and swollen mosquito bites.
Shen Yue was scratching his arm again.
You Congxi rubbed his ears and looked up from his writing paper: "Is your room window broken? Why have you been getting bitten so much these past few days?"
Shen Yue made up a random excuse to brush it off and started scratching again.
You Congxi glanced at him a few times, then lowered his head again.
More than ten days had passed since He Qizheng began his sermons, and he had completely forgotten about it. These past few days, he had been preoccupied with You Congxi and trying to figure out what kind of feelings Yin Zixuan had for You Congxi.
His schedule was packed every day, leaving him no time to study the dating tips He Qizheng had sent him.
He glanced at Yin Zixuan across from him again. When You Congxi was talking to him earlier, she seemed to have looked up at him briefly, but then quickly looked down and went about her business.
Shen Yue fell into self-doubt again.
Based on his observations over the past few days, he couldn't see any interest in Yin Zixuan towards You Congxi. At most, her expressionless face softened slightly and she talked a little more in front of You Congxi.
Isn't this just the affection between friends?!
Shen Yue decided to stop dwelling on the issue and mentally labeled He Qizheng as someone who was making a fuss over nothing.
It's likely that the rumors surrounding him cast a long shadow over He Qizheng, causing him to be overly suspicious of such matters, and Shen Yue felt somewhat guilty.
I should have known better than to talk nonsense.
He lowered his head and ordered a model that He Qizheng had been talking about in his ear lately. With He Qizheng calling him "godfather" again and again, Shen Yue's guilt was finally relieved a little.
Glancing at a message at the top of the chat interface, Shen Yue paused in his exit gesture. More than ten days later, he finally opened the message that He Qizheng claimed was the most authoritative version of the love guide.
"Hey," He Qi nudged him with his elbow, "Class representative, do you have any extra composition paper?"
Shen Yue was frowning as he studied this ridiculous brocade pouch. Upon hearing this, he didn't even look up, but simply tapped his desk with his chin.
"Tsk, could you be any lazier?" He Qi was impressed. He knew it would be like this as soon as he guessed. He complained and then obediently leaned to the side and reached for his desk drawer.
"Don't mess it up," Shen Yue warned him.
"Got it!" He Qi muttered under his breath, "That obsessive-compulsive germaphobe..."
Shen Yue's desk drawer was as neat as his desk, a stark contrast to He Qizheng and the others' desk drawers, which were filled with all sorts of messy, crumpled papers and scraps of paper.
He Qizheng ignored the hard object his fingers touched and continued to explore further.
"Holy crap, finally got it out..."
He Qi was holding the composition paper and took a breath when he suddenly heard a crisp sound.
What fell out of the drawer?
He bent down, picked up the green rubber stick that had rolled to his feet, and held it up in front of Chen Yue.
He asked Shen Yue, "Why did you buy glue sticks?"
Shen Yue stared at the unfamiliar thing for a moment, stunned.
He never bought it...
He squinted and read it aloud, word by word.
"Mosquito repellent roller...?"
Who put it in his desk drawer?
Attracted by the commotion, Qu Qi looked up at the familiar ball bearing in He Qi's hand, "Hey—"
The bell rang, interrupting Qu Qi's words, and the scraping sound of a chair being dragged on the floor came from the side.
He looked in the direction of the sound and saw You Congxi walking out with one arm around Qu Qi's neck. He could faintly hear Qu Qi's puzzled voice.
"...That's not...how did it end up with him...?"
Shen Yue was taken aback. The girl with shoulder-length hair quickly covered Qu Qi's mouth and disappeared from his sight as if she were on fire.
-
After school, as usual, Chen Yue stood between Qu Qi and You Congxi as a third wheel.
From initial anger to current numbness, Qu Qi has become able to completely ignore him, and sometimes, when in a good mood, she will even mercifully allow him to join the sisters' tea party.
At the crossroads of parting, Shen Yue finally managed to get Qu Qi to leave and began to enjoy his time alone with You Congxi.
The sun slowly set, and the sky gradually turned deep blue.
You Congxi kicked at the pebbles listlessly, the gurgling sound mingling with the steady footsteps of the boy behind him.
In just over ten days, she had even gotten used to someone following behind her, just like that, facing the sunset, in the world that was slowly turning blue, slowly, slowly, accompanying her as she kicked pebbles home.
"Travel along the Congxi River".
The boy called her.
"Um?"
"I have something to do after school tomorrow, so I can't take you home."
Glug glug.
The pebble underfoot veered off course and rolled all the way to the wall beside it.
You Congxi withdrew his foot and gave a nonchalant "hmm".
"I was just about to tell you, from now on you should go straight home after school and stop following me."
Then she added, "Even if you complain to the big tree, it won't do any good. I'm not responsible for supervising your activities outside of school hours."
Shen Yue said "Oh," and quickly took two steps to stand beside her, raising an eyebrow as he stared at her lowered eyelashes: "So, you agree to supervise me during school hours?"
You Congxi: "..."
She didn't talk to the scoundrel. Luckily, the building entrance was right in front of her. She walked over in a few steps, walked around the moving truck blocking the entrance, and before she could even touch the doorknob, she heard the voice of a scoundrel behind her.
"Is anyone moving out of this building?"
Are you blind? There's such a big moving truck right in front of you.
You Congxi glanced at him, turned back, determined to ignore him, and pulled hard on the door.
There was no sound behind her, and she immediately saw an older woman carrying a shopping basket in front of the elevator.
The older woman obviously saw her too, and snorted coldly. Whether it was because she naturally had a lot of white in her eyes or something else, You Congxi had the illusion of being rolled her eyes ten times when she looked at her.
"......"
The older woman rolled her eyes, feeling pleased with herself. Just as she was about to look away, she saw that spineless young man suddenly appear out of nowhere, grab the little brat's backpack strap, and stuff something into it.
Hmph, these kids these days, instead of studying properly, they're all thinking about how to have early romances. The world is going to the dogs!
The little brat seemed to be trying to push the spineless boy away, but somehow she ended up bumping into his arms. The old lady quietly put on her reading glasses clipped to her collar and tried to sneak a peek, thinking she was being discreet.
Tsk tsk tsk, their ears are redder than the apples in her shopping basket. What are they up to? They're so thin-skinned, they're not even as shameless as she was when she was young!
The spineless brat was acting strangely, wandering around aimlessly. The little brat said a few words and turned to leave, but the spineless brat grabbed her wrist and pulled her back.
Wow, so domineering? Let's fight! Let's fight!
The older woman silently encouraged the little brat.
As a result, by a twist of fate, not only did a fight not break out, but the old lady couldn't bear to watch!
The little brat's stray hairs were gently tucked behind her ear, and only then did the spineless boy reluctantly let go and let her go.
Just then, the elevator doors slowly opened, and she stepped inside. In her mind's eye were the little brat's tense face but her ears were flushed, and the spineless boy behind her had eyes that were soft as can be.
Before the brat could come in, she frantically pressed the close button, retaliating by locking her out of the elevator just a step away. After a moment of stunned silence, she pulled her phone, which was wrapped in layers of packaging, from her pocket, opened her contacts, and dialed—
"Hey Lao Li, are these young people going crazy these days?!"
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