Chapter Thirty-Nine
The two didn't exchange another word until Friday.
The chat history was still stuck on the message You Congxi sent: "It's better for you and me to keep our distance." On the day Shen Yue took leave to go home because of a stomachache, she wanted to send him a message to ask what was wrong, but when she caught a glimpse of the harsh message that had gone unanswered, You Congxi quickly deleted the still-innocent concern and tossed the phone aside to avoid seeing it.
She had just told someone to keep their distance, but then immediately started showing concern for their whereabouts, making it seem like she was playing hard to get. You Congxi would absolutely not allow such an embarrassing thing to happen to her.
Ever since she learned not to eat feces, her life motto has been that face is paramount. Nothing is more important than dignity; the most important thing in a person's life is dignity.
You Congxi closed the door, glanced at her new neighbor's handsome and upright back, took a deep breath, and then exhaled. What's the big deal? It's just riding the same elevator. Whoever feels uncomfortable is the one who feels guilty. She hadn't done anything, so what was there to be guilty about? Besides—
She watched as Shen Yue, who seemed to be invisible since leaving the house, like a water molecule or a speck of dust in the air wearing Harry Potter's invisibility cloak, stepped into the elevator without even looking up and raised her hand to press the close button.
Depend on!
You Congxi woke up late today and left the house just in time for the morning rush hour when the elderly go out to buy groceries. The elevator was incredibly difficult to catch, and if she missed it, she would receive a notice of being late and a one-hour "kind concern" from Tang Miaosong.
Stingy! Holding a grudge!
While cursing under his breath, You Congxi took off running and rushed inside, managing to get there just before the elevator doors closed completely.
In the enclosed space, Shen Yue stood nonchalantly in the middle of the elevator, as if he were the only person on board. You Congxi huddled in a corner, staring down at her toes for some unknown reason, lost in thought.
An elevator, it's an elevator again.
You Congxi stared at her toes, her hair and the corners of her mouth inexplicably itching, so she reached out and scratched them.
As he moved, his gaze inevitably drifted downwards, landing on someone standing in the middle, cosplaying as a load-bearing pillar. He pursed his lips and looked away again.
During the morning rush hour, the elevator doors opened and closed repeatedly. By the time it reached the first floor, the elevator was already packed with people. She subconsciously glanced at the person in the middle; his face was ashen and his eyes were dark with large circles, he looked like he had a miserable life, but it wasn't him.
bite.
The elevator doors opened, and she looked away. Because it was in the corner, she had to wait until everyone had left before she could move. Bored, she moved her feet and watched the crowd walking out like zombies. Suddenly, she remembered what had happened in the elevator that day, which was actually a very small thing.
She stepped out of the elevator.
If that's the case, why does a layer of fuzzy grass grow on her heart?
-
The same principle applies to all situations except when you encounter someone at your own doorstep and pretend you don't see them.
At school, because they were on the same floor, in the same classroom, in the same group of seats, and were both class representatives for Chinese, she had many opportunities to run into Shen Yue.
But Shen Yue was a little taller than her, and when he walked with his head tilted back, You Congxi guessed that she might be out of his sight.
So even though the two frequently bumped into each other, even if they met five times during a short ten-minute break between classes, they still didn't exchange a single glance. You Congxi felt like she might have been kicked out of her privileges by Shen Yue's cornea. She had no doubt that even if she turned into a giant and died in front of Shen Yue, he would only look around, sniff hard, and then ask in confusion, "Who pooped here? Why does it smell so bad?"
Of course, as a dignified person with high self-esteem, You Congxi would not rush to settle for the other party.
He can't see, so she can't see either. If she asks, she'll just say, "Excuse me, I'm blind."
When collecting homework, the two silently divide the space between themselves, one going left and the other right; during group activities, they ignore each other, achieving zero communication; after school, the one who leaves first will definitely stay behind, avoiding any potential opportunities to interact.
After this happened several times, their friends gradually noticed that something was wrong between the two.
"Hey," He Qizheng quietly asked Shen Yue, "What happened between you and You Congxi? Did you have a fight?"
Actually, everyone around heard it.
Shen Yue didn't speak, keeping his head down as he scribbled on the draft paper, as if he hadn't heard He Qizheng's words.
Perhaps the silent gazes falling on him from all around were too intense, Chen Yue briefly raised his head, then lowered his eyes again, slightly curling the corners of his mouth, looking nonchalant: "It's not awkward, they're just strangers."
After saying that, he ignored the ghost-like expressions on the faces of the others and went back to writing his homework.
A few seconds later, the school's large group chat—
What did I tell you?
[These days have been so peaceful that we've forgotten the true face of the local bully.]
[Was this turn of events so sudden...?]
[That was slow enough. I thought the moment the scandal broke, Shen Yue would yell "Go to hell!" and then indiscriminately attack people at school.]
[New high school freshman, if you don't understand, ask: Who is Shen Yue? Is he really as scary as you guys say?]
Welcome newbies!
Welcome newbies!
[Don't even mention you new high school freshmen, we seniors are scared too!]
[No rush, this master has calculated that the time for the district tyrant to display his divine power is not far off.]
[So what exactly is his relationship with You Congxi? Enemy? Friend? Or romantic partner?]
[Now that people are talking like this, what do you think?]
[Just a few days ago there were rumors circulating that the local bully and You Congxi had a close relationship, and now they've changed their tune and haven't even called me, 666.]
They've had a falling out, haven't they?
Is the person upstairs talking in their sleep? Where's the administrator? Kick them out!
[You're too naive, upstairs. Do you really think an arrogant rich kid like Shen Yue would just have a few sarcastic remarks and cause a scene? There's only one truth: Shen Yue is a complete narcissist. He'll only date himself; he doesn't care about men or women.]
[Agree]
【Narcissus! Narcissus! 】
【Narcissus! Narcissus! 】
"......"
Qu Qi silently put away his phone, his head buzzing.
"What's going on? What happened between you and Shen Yue?"
You Congxi pursed her lips: "There's nothing here, we have no connection and no relationship."
It sounded like he was just venting his anger. Qu Qi sighed, realizing there was nothing he could do about it. When You Congxi got stubborn, he was like a donkey, the kind that would bite anyone who tried to control him.
She could only look up and sigh, "Alas, once children grow up, they are no longer under their mother's control!"
You Congxi rolled his eyes, fell silent, and sat down like a mushroom, taking root in his seat.
If it's irrelevant, then it's irrelevant. There's no one in this world who can make this biting donkey change its mind.
"......"
On Friday, the little chicks on the bus were incredibly excited, as if they were on drugs, ever since they received the notice yesterday.
You Congxi and Qu Qi sat in the corner of the bus. Clearly, this excited mood didn't include You Congxi; she leaned against the window, drowsy, with dark circles under her eyes.
Qu Qi was part of the excited group. She glanced at the girl who was as sleepy as a lamb and clicked her tongue: "She was too excited to sleep well last night."
You Congxi gave a weak, lifeless "hmm".
Qu Qi clearly didn't believe her and didn't have time to argue with her. The literature and art committee member in the front seat was leaning on the back of the chair, excitedly telling Qu Qi about the gossip she had recently heard.
You Congxi was spared, and the surrounding noise turned into a soothing sound. Even though she felt like she was open one second ago, she had already fallen into a deep sleep.
Last night, she had an unusual insomnia. She counted sheep up to 4,825 but couldn't fall asleep. Instead, she became more and more irritable as she counted. Towards the end, every sheep that jumped past her muttered something like "none of my business." She was so angry that she wanted to cook all 4,825 annoying, chattering sheep into a mutton hot pot.
Thinking about it, her stomach growled twice more. You Congxi never shortchanged herself. She went to the kitchen and cooked a deluxe instant noodle, which contained shrimp, shrimp paste, and sliced beef. She took out an egg pan and fried a soft-boiled egg. The surface was slightly charred, and the whole house was filled with the aroma of eggs. Only then did she realize that she had forgotten to turn on the range hood.
Then take out a glass that has been chilled for a while from the refrigerator, add a few ice balls, and pour in the juice; it will swirl with cool air.
A soft-boiled egg wrapped around noodles, a bite of sliced beef, a bite of shrimp paste, and a sip of ice-cold fruit juice...
You Congxi smacked her lips, and Qu Qi glanced at her, noticing the corners of her mouth were curved in a smile, as if she were having a sweet dream.
She suffered from insomnia and indigestion last night, tossing and turning all night. She only managed to close her eyes for a short while when the morning light was just beginning to appear. Luckily, she didn't have class today, otherwise she would have been racking her brains trying to figure out how to sleep on her desk all day without anyone noticing.
You Congxi slept all the way to his destination. Qu Qi woke him up in a daze. He got off the bus like a lost soul and then stood in the line pretending to doze off.
When she opened her eyes again, she found that Qu Qi was nowhere to be seen. The group that had been standing haphazardly in a mess had split into two teams. She didn't know which kind person had pulled her into one of the teams. Confused, she rubbed her eyes, trying to clear her head.
You Congxi casually pulled aside a friendly-looking girl to ask about the situation. Out of the corner of her eye, she saw Qu Qi waving at her from the opposite group, so she casually raised her hand and waved back.
The girl who was drafted had a round face and round eyes. Hearing You Congxi's question, she smiled kindly and said, "Teacher Tang said that in order to make this autumn outing experience more fulfilling, our class will be divided into two teams, and the team with the higher score will receive a reward."
You Congxi nodded and said thank you.
"Oh, right," the girl added, "we also chose a team leader."
You Congxi wasn't interested in who the team leader was; all she wanted to do was find a place to get a good night's sleep. She probably only slept for one, two, or three hours yesterday.
But since the other person was so enthusiastic and they weren't close, she didn't want to be impolite, so she went along with it and asked, "Really? Then who's the captain?"
The girl smiled, her eyes crinkling: "It's Liang Jing and Shen Yue."
You Congxi felt a chill run down her spine, a cold sensation rising from the soles of her feet, and a strange sense of foreboding washed over her.
Her voice trembled almost imperceptibly: "Then our team..."
The girl laughed even more heartily: "Our team has Shen Yue!"
You Congxi's vision went black, and he almost fainted on the spot.
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