Chapter 27
"Hahahahaha—"
"Hahahaha, I can't take it anymore! Help!"
It was Tang Yue and Chen Yan.
"Can you please stop looking at me! My stomach hurts from laughing!" Tang Yue was laughing so hard she couldn't straighten up, hanging over the sink, clutching her stomach and begging for mercy, tears streaming down her face.
"You are the one! Stay away from me! I didn't even want to laugh anymore! I just went to the bathroom, why did you follow me!" Chen Yan was also laughing so hard that her whole body went limp, leaning against the cold tile wall, feeling like the muscles in her face were stiff from laughing.
"Don't think I don't know, you couldn't hold back your laughter, what do you mean you couldn't hold your pee!" Tang Yue used the last bit of strength to weakly slap Chen Yan.
After a long while, the two seemed to have all their strength drained away at the same time. Their laughter gradually subsided, leaving only heavy breathing.
Tang Yue murmured, as if she had survived a disaster, "Finally... it's stopped..."
Chen Yan leaned against the wall, nodding weakly but with great certainty, as if she had just gone through a fierce battle.
Just then, clear footsteps came from the doorway.
The two turned their heads at the same time and saw Tong Yao walking in.
My heart skipped a beat: Oh no! My funny bone is about to be clicked again!
Tang Yue instinctively wanted to laugh, but as soon as she managed a smile, she realized her abdominal muscles were sore and she couldn't laugh anymore. Chen Yan had the same expression of "willing but unable."
Thankfully! The two exchanged a glance and saw the same relief in each other's eyes—their smile muscles had stopped working!
"Tong Yao—" Tang Yue and Chen Yan cried out almost simultaneously, grabbing Tong Yao's hands on either side and begging for mercy.
"What's gotten into Lin Li lately?" Tang Yue asked.
Chen Yan nodded frantically in agreement: "Can't we just turn him back already? If this keeps up, the cause of death for both of us will really be written as 'laughing to death'!"
Sandwiched between the two women, Tong Yao listened to their exaggerated accusations, and the smile she had been suppressing finally broke out on her face. She tried to purse her lips, but the smile in her eyes couldn't be hidden.
"I can't help it." Her voice carried a hint of helplessness, and even more so, a hint of indulgence that she herself was unaware of.
She turned and opened the door to a cubicle. Before going in, she paused slightly, turned her head to look at them, and a sly glint flashed in her eyes: "But don't you think... this is actually quite interesting?"
Upon hearing this, Tang Yue and Chen Yan paused for a moment, then exchanged a glance, and nodded in unison, their faces showing an expression of agreement that seemed to confirm it.
"It's just too funny." Tang Yue and Chen Yan rubbed their sore stomachs from laughing and muttered to themselves.
_
A few days later...
Tong Yao looked at her phone, a smile playing on her lips.
Li Bala: Hmm
Li Bala: I know
Li Bala: Go
He must have thought that his reply was very aloof, Tong Yao thought, her finger accidentally sliding to the Penguin Space.
This is a new development.
A photo was posted on the confession wall at Yancheng Middle School.
The photo shows a handsome young man with black-rimmed glasses and a serious expression, standing next to a bus stop waiting for a bus.
Attached text: I took this picture of this boy while passing by on the bus. He's so handsome! Judging from his school uniform, he's from Yancheng Middle School.
Soon, a thread started forming in the comments section below.
One netizen commented: "He seems to be a senior in the third year of junior high school."
Another netizen: Lin Li? Not sure, but looks a bit like her.
: Oh my god!
Swallow: This world has gone mad...
After seeing this post, Tong Yao's smiling face gradually returned to calm.
She wanted to open the comments and reply, but she didn't know what to say.
I hesitated for a few minutes.
This post has been deleted.
Then a new update popped up.
The confession wall at Yancheng Middle School: The photo was recently deleted after the person in question contacted me.
Tong Yao stared blankly at the post.
Then he clicked on someone's profile picture.
They replied very quickly.
Li Bala: What's the latest news?
But they quickly withdrew.
Li Bala: ?
Okay, she understands now, it definitely wasn't Lin Li.
T: It's okay.
Lin Li stared at her phone, completely bewildered. What was going on? Suddenly, she noticed that Tong Yao added a period to the end of every single one of her replies.
He has such a meticulous attitude; he should be like that in the future!
_
After seeing that Lin Li had actually been rescued, Tang Yue quickly contacted the confession wall.
Hello, I am Lin Li, the person in the photo. Please delete this post; I don't like it.
Yancheng Middle School's confession wall: Okay, sorry, I'll delete it right away.
Tang Yue watched as the post was quickly deleted and smiled smugly.
I wanted to take credit from Lin Li, but I accidentally clicked on the class group chat.
Seeing Tong Yao's profile picture, she impulsively clicked on it.
Class monitor, I've already contacted them to delete the photos.
Thank goodness I reacted quickly, otherwise Lin Li would have spotted me.
wrong……
After Tang Yue finished speaking, she suddenly felt something was wrong.
Did she say that backwards? Shouldn't she have said it to Lin Li instead...?
She suddenly felt like she had gotten into trouble.
They quickly withdrew, but...
T: Thank you.
:! You saw that?
T: Hmm.
So, what is your feeling towards Lin Li...?
Tong Yao hesitated for a moment after looking at Tang Yue's message, but still typed a few words.
T: Don't you think he's been quite interesting lately?
Tang Yue felt like she had stumbled upon a lucky breakthrough.
He's always been hilarious. Don't let his sleeping and reading novels during middle school fool you; he was much funnier in elementary school.
T: Have you known each other for a long time?
Yes, we've known each other since we were 4 years old. Back then, Lin Li's mother's shop was right next to our grandmother's shop.
T: Can I ask you a question?
: I know everything!
Tong Yao stared at the screen, thinking and pondering how to ask the question that had been weighing on her mind.
T: Who is Shen Jiayi?
。：I don't know him.
Tang Yue looked at the names Tong Yao had sent and thought for a while. There was one named Li Xinyi in elementary school, and Li Jiahao in junior high.
What are you thinking about...?
Wait a minute, isn't Shen Jiayi...?
。：I remember now.
Tong Yao's breath hitched slightly.
The female lead in the movie "You Are the Apple of My Eye" is named Shen Jiayi.
When her eyes fell on the words, especially the three characters "Shen Jiayi", Tong Yao's heart skipped a beat.
T: Thank you.
. :You're welcome.
The conversation ended there. As if possessed, she opened the video app and slowly typed in the search bar the name that seemed particularly special at that moment—Shen Jiayi.
Page redirection.
A sentimental slogan catches the eye: "Everyone's first love in the world is named Shen Jiayi..."
Without hesitation, she found the movie and pressed play.
Fortunately, Mom is working the night shift tonight, giving her some free time without being disturbed.
Holding her phone, she moved away from the desk, sank into the soft bedding, and created a private viewing space for herself.
The movie scenes flowed by, and the lines of dialogue filled her ears. She suddenly remembered that day when she came out of the hair salon, Lin Li said, "Shen Jiayi has dimples when she smiles."
At this moment, the girl named Shen Jiayi on the screen smiled brightly, and sure enough, shallow, charming dimples appeared at the corners of her mouth.
Time slips away quietly amidst the interplay of light and shadow.
As the story neared its end, when the male lead rushed up and hugged the groom, kissing him passionately, Tong Yao was initially taken aback, but then couldn't help but burst into laughter through her tears, though tears still clung to her eyelashes.
In that instant of crying and laughing, something that had been weighing on my heart seemed to be instantly released.
She seemed to understand everything and have figured it all out.
Shen Jiayi is a complete fabrication, yet she still...
That's right, people always grow up, and Lin Li is no exception. Tong Yao came to this final conclusion while lying in bed.
_
the next day.
The third period has ended.
Tong Yao glanced at the person who was still pretending to be aloof, and the corners of her mouth curled up slightly.
Then he got up and left.
Just as Tong Yao came out of the restroom, the music for the morning exercise started.
Tong Yao followed the crowd downstairs.
On the playground.
"The third set of national primary and secondary school students..."
"Stretching exercises."
Tong Yao turned her head and glanced behind her.
But it was all empty.
Where are the Lin Li people?
Just then, the homeroom teacher, Liu Hongli, walked over.
"Tong Yao, where is Lin Liren?"
Tong Yao shook her head, indicating that she didn't know.
Chen Yan whispered to Tang Yue with a smile, "He probably wanted to slack off when Tong Yao wasn't around, and then he fell asleep."
Tang Yue nodded and looked at Teacher Liu, saying, "It seems like she's sleeping in the classroom."
Liu Hongli laughed in exasperation. "So you've been so obedient for so long, and now you can't keep it up? You've started skipping exercises again."
"Tong Yao, go back to the classroom and call him down for me."
Tong Yao nodded, left the playground, and headed towards the teaching building.
She walked down the corridor and stopped at the classroom door.
The weather is lovely today; the warm winter sun feels wonderful on my skin.
The sunlight was streaming in through the window and just happened to fall on the boy who was sleeping with his head on his arm.
The light tinged his thick eyelashes with a pale gold, casting subtle shadows on his cheeks.
Tong Yao was momentarily stunned.
She tiptoed, almost silently, to Lin Li's table.
The boy's breathing was even, and his sleeping face showed no sign of alertness.
Her gaze lingered on his face for a few seconds, her heart pounding faster as if drawn by something invisible. She instinctively took a half-step back and quickly scanned the empty classroom.
After confirming that no one was around, she took a deep breath, tucked her short hair behind her ear, and then, as if she had made up her mind, slowly and very gently bent down toward that sleeping face.
The distance between them was gradually closing, until they could feel his warm breath.
The next second—
"what you up to?"
Lin Li, who was originally "sound asleep," suddenly opened her eyes. There was no trace of sleepiness in her dark eyes, only cunning and a triumphant smile!
"Hahaha! I caught you!" He sat up straight, his face beaming with the satisfaction of "getting revenge," and announced triumphantly, "I spotted you when you reached the classroom door!"
He became more and more excited as he spoke, even starting to mimic Tong Yao's expression and tone on the playground that day, pinching his throat and deliberately vacant with his eyes: "'You don't mean to kiss—' me, do you?"
He deliberately elongated the last syllable of "dear," and looked at Tong Yao with a grin, ready to enjoy her embarrassed and indignant expression.
However, as soon as he spoke, he encountered a trace of panic and affection in Tong Yao's eyes that had not yet completely dissipated due to his sudden awakening.
That look was like a subtle electric current, instantly striking Lin Li.
His smile froze, his mimicking movements stopped in mid-air, and he seemed to be frozen in place.
What is he doing?
Lin Li quickly lay back down, pretending that nothing had happened.
Her expectant eyelashes trembled.
Tong Yao watched his series of actions—falling from the peak to the bottom and then pretending nothing had happened—her face still flushed, feeling both annoyed and amused. In the end, she could only manage a trembling, reproachful rebuke:
"Fool!"
"Teacher Liu asked me to call you downstairs."
After saying that, she stopped looking at the pouting, expectant boy lying on the table and turned to leave the classroom first.
Lin Li's eyelashes trembled, and then she suddenly opened her eyes.
Seriously? What did he just miss?
What exactly am I doing?
Lin Li teared at her collar in regret, but time cannot be turned back!
He slumped downstairs to do his exercises, looking dejected.
Lin Li woke up when the music for the morning exercises started. Seeing that everyone had gone to the playground, she felt lazy. Since she hadn't been taking naps after class lately in order to maintain her image, she was about to go back to sleep when she heard footsteps at the door.
Lin Li squinted and saw it was Tong Yao, then quickly closed her eyes again.
The next second he felt a familiar scent on his cheek, which immediately reminded him of the day he was tricked.
Before I could process it all—
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