Chapter 49 (First Release)
Thinking of this, Ning Wanwan's tension eased a little.
Sensing that the male lead was still waiting for her answer, she lowered the brim of her hat, took a barely perceptible deep breath, and responded with a single, very soft voice: "Mm."
It was as if it was being squeezed out of his throat, filled with a reluctance to answer.
Qi Lin didn't know how he could glean so much from that single soft "hmm".
He frowned, suppressing a slight urge to ask her to say more, attributing the feeling to his dissatisfaction with her perfunctory answer.
His friend, who clearly looked down on him, had already spoken up, but he wasn't willing to say a single word more.
Not to mention, he also noticed that the girl deliberately slowed down her pace, clearly wanting to get rid of him.
Qi Lin scoffed inwardly, no longer focusing on the girl who had turned his friend into a love-struck fool, and strode forward.
Ning Wanwan silently prayed that the male lead would stop talking to her, but then she saw him suddenly quicken his pace and walk past her, seemingly lost in thought.
This made Ning Wanwan breathe a sigh of relief, and she felt that the air had become fresher.
Wait, wait, wait! I can't breathe in this fog for too long! Ning Wanwan quickly stopped breathing, patted her chest to slow her breathing, and resumed her deliberately slowed pace. She then headed back towards the school.
"I perfectly dodged the male lead!" she happily told the system.
The system applauded: "Great job, host!"
Just when Ning Wanwan thought she had successfully avoided the male lead, she stepped into the school's teaching building and suddenly found a tall male classmate standing in front of her.
At first, Ning Wanwan didn't pay much attention. Isn't it normal to run into classmates near the classroom? At most, the figures seemed a little familiar...
Wait a minute! Why is the male lead waiting here?!
Upon realizing this, Ning Wanwan froze in place, unable to take another step, her feet seemingly glued to the ground.
Could the male lead have deliberately waited for her here?!
Thinking of this terrifying possibility, Ning Wanwan dared not move forward any further.
As if noticing Ning Wanwan's gaze, the male lead glanced at her.
Ning Wanwan nervously gripped the breakfast in her hand.
But the next second, she saw that the male protagonist was talking to a classmate next to him.
Ning Wanwan immediately felt relieved. It turned out that he had something to say to someone else. It seemed that he was not waiting for her here on purpose. She had just been presumptuous.
Just as Ning Wanwan stopped thinking about these things and was hurrying to the classroom, she passed by the male lead and suddenly heard him stop talking to the classmate next to him.
Instead, he said, "Wait a minute."
With her head down, Ning Wanwan didn't stop for a moment and just kept walking straight ahead.
It's not calling me, it's not calling me, it's not calling me...
Qi Lin reached out and lightly blocked her with his arm.
It was only a brief stop, lasting only a second or two, but Ning Wanwan stood there, too afraid to move.
She lowered her head even further, moved her lips, but struggled for a long time to utter the words "Is something wrong?"
What is the male lead trying to do? Did I do anything to him? My mask and hat are on properly; there's no way he could see my face...
Qi Lin waited for a long time, thinking that the girl would ask him why he stopped her, but to his surprise, she didn't utter a single word.
She stood there without looking up, not even glancing at him, as if she wanted to shrink into some crack and hide.
Qi Lin initially felt a subtle displeasure at being wronged for his brother, but now, seeing her pitiful, cowering appearance, he felt both angry and amused.
I didn't do anything to her, I just asked her a couple of questions, so why am I being made to look like a villain?
"Why are you sighing while you're on your way with breakfast?" Qi Lin didn't want to dwell on these trivial matters any longer, so he simply asked directly.
Ning Wanwan paused for a moment, and only after the system reminded her did she recall the sigh she let out when she looked at the breakfast Zhou Yanyao had given her.
Ning Wanwan: "..." No, how could the male lead notice this?
Why ask this? It's not because you feel like you're being disrespectful, so you're trying to get justice for your good friend...
Having figured out the reason, Ning Wanwan calmed herself down.
Don't panic, Ning Wanwan. The male lead's character is still quite reliable, at least until the world goes into chaos. He won't do anything impulsive or thoughtless, and it's unlikely that he'll really cause her any trouble because of this.
But to be honest, it's already a bit illogical for the male lead to stop her in the school corridor over this...
Ning Wanwan stopped thinking about it and, in those few seconds, hastily made up a very casual excuse: "I was just wearing a mask and it was making it hard to breathe, so I sighed..."
This time, her words were much longer than the previous meager "hmm".
Qi Lin narrowed his dark eyes slightly, watching the girl's reaction and listening to her obviously rambling words. He knew very well that she was talking nonsense.
"Really?" he said, not knowing what was going through his mind when he blurted out such a question. "Then take off your mask."
He watched as the girl instinctively pressed her mask down, took a step back in a panic, and lowered her head as if she were even more frightened.
The guy who's so afraid of him, yet he follows behind Zhao Rui and Lin Ruowei, shouldn't he be incredibly arrogant and domineering?
Why is he acting like he's the one who bullied her so badly?
Qi Lin frowned, suddenly feeling somewhat bored.
Ultimately, these things have nothing to do with me.
He even suspected that his usually calm mind had suddenly gone mad, and that he was simply wasting his time here.
Perhaps it was influenced by Zhou Yanyao's recent behavior, which seemed to have made him act unusually irrationally because of his relationship.
He didn't want to say anything more, but due to some subtle psychological influence, he still casually tossed out a sentence: "If you really don't like someone, don't string them along."
After saying that, he turned to leave, but then he heard a girl's voice behind him: "Wait a minute."
Qi Lin turned around with some surprise and saw that the girl no longer kept her head down. After a brief moment of hesitation, she raised her head and chose to look him in the eye.
Qi Lin: "What, is there anything else you want to say...?"
"No." The girl interrupted him in a soft but unwavering voice.
Qi Lin: "...What?"
"I didn't," the girl repeated, her voice soft. "I didn't hook up with anyone."
The girl's tone was firm, and even though she looked up and met his gaze, Qi Lin couldn't see her face clearly under the mask.
But his gaze inexplicably fell on her slightly drooping, trembling eyelashes.
Having just passed through the thin mist outside, a tiny, glistening drop of water clung to her long, transparent, butterfly-wing-like eyelashes.
It seemed that if the owner of the eyelashes trembled and blinked even slightly, the drop of water formed from the mist would be shaken off like a tear.
Qi Lin had always been aware of his strong eyesight and observation skills, but this was the first time he had ever realized that his eyesight was actually so good and his observation skills so sharp.
"..."
For some reason, the rest of my words suddenly got stuck in my throat.
For a fleeting moment, he even doubted whether his poor communication skills were genuine, and he was unsure of what to say next.
After saying that, Ning Wanwan seemed unwilling to say anything more, and without lingering, she turned and left.
Qi Lin, left behind: "..."
He, who is usually calm and rational, was unusually speechless and uncomfortable.
How did things get to this point? I feel like I really bullied someone.
That's so strange.
Whether looking at the overall development of the matter or his own subconscious actions.
He had just fallen into deep thought, analyzing his own subtle abnormality, when a classmate who had deliberately walked a little further away came over and patted him on the shoulder with a grin: "Qi Lin, something's up with you?"
Qi Lin: "...What's going on?"
"You're still hiding it?" His classmate winked at him, gesturing towards the direction Ning Wanwan had left. "The one you just stopped, you two had a fight."
Qi Lin realized that his classmate had misunderstood their relationship. He frowned and denied it: "It's not what you think. This is the first time we've met."
Classmate: "Oh, judging from the way you two were acting just now, I thought there was something going on..."
Qi Lin frowned deeply, wondering what kind of story could possibly exist. It was more likely that his good brother had a past with her.
"Sigh, mainly it's your expression that makes people overthink things..."
"You've misunderstood, don't talk nonsense." Qi Lin's brows relaxed, and he said this in a very calm tone before walking straight towards the classroom.
Upon entering the classroom, Zhou Yanyao was still doing his duty. When he saw Qi Lin, he greeted him with a carefree smile.
"By the way, Lao Qi, you saw Wanwan this time, right? Isn't she adorable?"
Zhou Yanyao beamed with pride as he boasted to his best friend.
Qi Lin disapproved of his smug, love-struck look: "What can you tell from a mask?"
Zhou Yanyao, however, said matter-of-factly, "Wanwan is cute even with a mask on!"
Qi Lin: "..." Tsk, hopelessly in love.
"But it's good that Wanwan is wearing a mask, otherwise I'm really afraid that if you saw Wanwan, I would have one more competitor, haha." Zhou Yanyao scratched his short black hair and laughed brightly.
"Old Qi, you wouldn't argue with me about this, would you?"
Upon hearing Zhou Yanyao's joking words, Qi Lin's mind flashed back to that tiny drop of clear water that might have carried a cool temperature.
It trembled precariously on the girl's delicate, slightly upturned eyelashes, almost slipping off.
Qi Lin sat in his seat, frowning, trying to banish this inexplicably vivid image from his mind.
“Of course not,” he said coldly. “You’re overthinking it.”
...
Ning Wanwan was sulking.
"Male lead, you're so mean, so unfair!" It was bad enough that he suddenly approached her to talk, but he also said such inexplicable and unpleasant things.
Feeling a cool dampness on her eyelashes, Ning Wanwan rubbed her eyes haphazardly, not paying much attention. It was probably because the morning fog was quite thick, causing some moisture to condense on her body.
The system quickly comforted its host, sharing her indignation: "Yes, I never expected the male lead to be this kind of person!"
Ning Wanwan decided to make a mental note of the male lead's actions.
But I guess I won't encounter any more unexpected people next time, right?
As soon as she reached the top of the stairs and turned the corner, Ning Wanwan heard a gentle greeting: "Wanwan, good morning."
Ning Wanwan was startled and stammered in response, "Good morning, Shen Wu..."
Are the male and female leads appearing together today?
By the way, the female lead probably didn't see the conflict between her and the male lead... right?
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Author's Note: Wanwan: I do nothing, I can't see, I can't see, I can't see myself.
Everyone: If you don't move, we will!
Thank you to all the little angels who voted for me or watered my plants with nutrient solution between 15:23:28 on January 3, 2024 and 18:01:49 on January 4, 2024!
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