Chapter 24
As the end of the semester approaches, students are almost overwhelmed by a sea of questions. Even during breaks, the corridors are much quieter, and the classrooms are full of students catching up on sleep, with rows of them lying down as far as the eye can see.
In their youthful days, everyone was like a scallion drenched by a downpour, leaning precariously in the crowd. But Jiang Huaiyu, sitting upright, stood out from the crowd.
Even the energetic Lu Mingxiao was catching up on sleep. To reduce noise, he wore Jiang Huaiyu's rabbit fur earmuffs. His seat was by the window. The building materials of the new teaching building were not of very good quality, and the new window was even a bit drafty—judged by the two unruly strands of hair swaying on Lu Mingxiao's head.
Jiang Huaiyu draped her school uniform jacket over Lu Mingxiao's shoulders. Liang Jing walked in and happened to see this. He felt something was off, but he didn't think much of it and casually called out, "Brother Yu..."
Jiang Huaiyu glanced at him indifferently, her finger pressed against her lips.
Liang Jing quickly lowered his voice: "Brother Yu, someone is looking for you outside. Do you know Bai Hongxu from Class 8?"
Bai Hongxu...
I've heard that Jiang Huaiyu and Fu Yucheng are often mentioned together because of their academic achievements, while Jiang Huaiyu and Bai Hongxu are often mentioned together because of their appearances.
There aren't many gossips in the school. Choosing a school beauty or school hunk is a topic of conversation during breaks. If Fu Yucheng once held the top spot in academics, then Bai Hongxu was always second in the school hunk rankings, but now he's fallen to third.
Before Jiang Huaiyu arrived, Lu Mingxiao was firmly at the top of the list. He looked a bit "fierce," but he was undeniably handsome. In his first year of high school, he was seen waiting for the bus with a cold expression and one hand in his pocket. This photo was secretly taken and uploaded to the forum, and his cool image captured the hearts of many girls. Girls from the neighboring vocational school even took the bus specifically to catch a glimpse of him or to find an opportunity to ask for his WeChat ID.
However, the bus couldn't carry all those hearts, and Lu, the school heartthrob, couldn't understand why there were always so many students from other schools whenever he was about to get on the bus. After being pushed off the bus three times...
He went there by bicycle.
Jiang Huaiyu's thoughts wandered far and wide. She recalled Lu Mingxiao saying that he finally understood the reason, but still had to chase after the bus frantically, shouting in despair as he ran: "Weren't we here to see the grass?! The grass hasn't even gotten on the bus yet—!!"
He chuckled softly, his eyes crinkling.
Liang Jing: "...Brother Yu, what's your relationship with Bai Hongxu? Why are you laughing so happily?"
"Ahem..." Jiang Huaiyu coughed, trying to cover up her misunderstanding, and finally remembered this classmate Bai: "What does he want from me?"
Wait, what if another polite guy comes along and asks: "Excuse me, could you please not be number one?"
That's really impossible.
Liang Jing: "He didn't say anything, he just told me to call you out. He was quite polite, offering me a drink when he called someone, but I didn't take it. I didn't like him."
Jiang Huaiyu stood up: "Why do you dislike him?"
Liang Jing's expression was indescribable: "You'll understand when you see it. I hate shrewd people the most."
Jiang Huaiyu went out through the back door of the classroom and immediately saw Bai Hongxu.
From Jiang Huaiyu's perspective, Bai Hongxu is actually not very good-looking. His features are a bit too close together. His hairstyle is carefully styled, with the currently popular three-seven parted bangs, and he even sprayed hairspray. But isn't such a hairstyle unacceptable in school? Why didn't Convex Lens take him to get a haircut?
Then Liang Jing said, "You'll understand once you see it."
The person was wearing an embroidered Dior T-shirt, which looked vaguely familiar to Jiang Huaiyu. After thinking for a while, he remembered that he had worn a similar shirt last week. However, there were so many similar shirts available, he wasn't going to stop the person from wearing it. He looked down further...
The pants and shoes also looked familiar; Bai Hongxu's entire outfit was a carbon copy of Jiang Huaiyu's from last month.
Jiang Huaiyu: ...
It was indeed quite uncomfortable, but according to his observation, he rarely wore the same clothes as others at school because the clothes were indeed not very affordable. Bai Hongxu could buy everything, so his family must be quite well-off.
But he wore this outfit last month. Isn't he cold wearing it now?
Upon seeing him emerge, the boy who had been posing by the railing stood up straight, first looking Jiang Huaiyu up and down, then smiling and saying, "Hello, Jiang, the academic genius, I've heard so much about you."
Boys at this age aren't good at hiding their feelings, just like Lu Mingxiao...
Pause! I'm thinking about Lu Mingxiao again.
In short, Bai Hongxu's smile was somewhat strange. His chin was raised, which was an angle that conveyed disdain. Jiang Huaiyu frowned slightly, but out of politeness, he still nodded slightly.
He nodded, but the white-clad student's expression tightened. Jiang Huaiyu, puzzled, had no choice but to ask, "Did you need something from me?"
Bai Hongxu didn't recognize what brand of sweatshirt the other person was wearing, but the simple white style made him look clean and refreshing with his red lips and white teeth. Bai Hongxu was so jealous that he snorted before he could speak, remembering his purpose in finding Jiang Huaiyu.
"Then I won't stand on ceremony with you. Duan Yue gave you chocolates, right?"
Jiang Huaiyu: "Who?"
“Duan Yueke from Class 8, two days before the school anniversary, I gave you chocolates in the small woods in the southwest of the school. My brother saw you holding that box of chocolates with his own eyes. Later, you gave them to Lu Mingxiao.”
Jiang Huaiyu: ...
Thanks, but could you please not bring up this awkward moment? He'd almost forgotten he'd grabbed the chocolate, and now someone's reminding him?
"Her chocolate was a gift for..."
Bai Hongxu scoffed, interrupting Jiang Huaiyu with an arrogant expression: "I'm pursuing Duan Yueke. What do you mean by accepting her things?"
"You're chasing..." Jiang Huaiyu repeated the sentence lightly, her long eyelashes fluttering as she glanced at Bai Hongxu with her dark pupils devoid of emotion: "So, that girl has nothing to do with you yet, then what business is it of yours who she gives gifts to? The path through the grove is very secluded, with no obstructions in front or behind. Lu Mingxiao and I didn't see any of your friends along the way, yet you say your friend saw us. Was he hiding to watch? Was he watching us, or was he secretly following Duan Yueke?"
“Or to use another word…” Jiang Huaiyu’s thin lips moved slightly: “Follow.”
"What do you know?!" Bai Hongxu's voice suddenly rose: "I was just finding someone to protect her!"
Seeing that someone in the classroom was looking over, he lowered his voice again: "Anyway, it has nothing to do with you. I'm here to warn you to stay away from Duan Yue. You can't afford to offend me, or you might end up not being able to go to school."
Jiang Huaiyu felt that he did not know the significance of 728 points.
"You're so boring." Jiang Huaiyu didn't want this to affect Lu Mingxiao any further, so she simply said, "The chocolate was confiscated and sent to the school supermarket. You can go ask the supermarket owner."
Just then, the school bell rang. Before leaving, Bai Hongxu pointed at Jiang Huaiyu twice with his finger.
Jiang Huaiyu returned to the classroom. Lu Mingxiao sat up groggily, put on his clothes, and stared blankly for a few seconds before looking at Jiang Huaiyu: "Desk mate, what class is this?"
"Mathematics." After sitting down, Jiang Huaiyu, taking advantage of the fact that the math teacher hadn't arrived, started talking to Lu Mingxiao about Bai Hongxu: "Do you know this person?"
“Oh, I’ve heard of him.” Lu Mingxiao stretched his stiff neck. “His family is quite wealthy. They own several hotels in the city, and I think they have a relative in the government. He always acts like some kind of rich young master, and he even openly dated someone in school, without caring about anything…”
The math teacher walked in, wearing high heels. Lu Mingxiao lowered his voice and asked softly, "Why are you asking him?"
“He just contacted me and said he’s pursuing Duan Yueke and told me to stay away from her.”
Lu Mingxiao asked blankly, "Who is Duan Yue?"
Jiang Huaiyu: "The girl who gave you the chocolate."
"Oh! I remember now..." Lu Mingxiao rummaged under the table for a while and handed Jiang Huaiyu a small box: "This chocolate is a foreign brand. I had someone buy it for me. Eat it. There's gold inside."
Jiang Huaiyu: ...
He held the exquisitely packaged little box, then quickly opened his palm after a moment, afraid that his body heat would melt the chocolate.
“You…” Jiang Huaiyu’s ears burned again, and she asked in a low voice, “Why did you actually buy chocolate? When did you buy it? I didn’t know.”
"I asked Mr. Liu on WeChat. He's the owner of the dessert shop we went to during the summer vacation. He often travels abroad. He said this is delicious, so he buys it to give away..." Lu Mingxiao quickly deleted a word: "give away to his brothers."
Jiang Huaiyu suppressed a laugh: "You can buy about twenty of these for five hundred yuan. Boss Liu is really good to his brothers."
Jiang Huaiyu had tried this chocolate from the same series in first class on her flight to Switzerland, but Lu Mingxiao bought the limited edition containing 2% gold powder, which did indeed contain gold.
“Boss Lu,” Jiang Huaiyu said, “you’re also very good to your brothers.”
"Of course." Lu Mingxiao felt a little proud, then remembered the topic from earlier: "Didn't Duan Yue give me the chocolates? What did that nouveau riche Bai Hongxu want from you? That kid's dad is a bit shady, like father, like son. He's bullied a lot of people at school. What did he say to you?"
"Lu Mingxiao!" A piece of chalk flew from the math teacher on the podium.
Lu Mingxiao instinctively raised his hand and caught it.
The drowsy students around him were awakened by the math teacher's shout, and seeing that there was something interesting to watch, they immediately widened their eyes.
Lu Mingxiao is handsome and has a sweet tongue. He handles things with a touch of adult shrewdness. When his grades were bad, few of his teachers disliked him. Even the old chemistry teacher disliked him only because he was disappointed in him. But ever since Lu Mingxiao's grades started to improve steadily, the teachers have been even more friendly towards him, except for this math teacher...
"Talking in class? Do you think the classroom is your bedroom?!" She pointed to the hallway: "Get out and stand there."
Liang Jing muttered under his breath, "It can't be that bad..."
Talking in class was indeed wrong, so Lu Mingxiao grabbed his coat and went out, taking the math test paper from the table with him. Actually, the math teacher's teaching level was not very high, and he would ask his teacher, Ms. Jiang, for the questions he didn't know at home.
He was doing math problems on the windowsill in the corridor when, less than a minute later, another person stood next to him.
Jiang Huaiyu also came out with the test paper and stood with him by the window.
Seemingly knowing what Lu Mingxiao was going to ask, Jiang Huaiyu answered directly, "I also talked in class."
Lu Mingxiao twirled his pen, a roguish smile playing on his lips: "Boss Jiang, that's a real friend~~"
"She seems to be targeting you a bit," Jiang Huaiyu said.
"It's not just a feeling, it's definitely targeting me." Lu Mingxiao sneered: "The previous supermarket owner was also her relative. The nearest express delivery point to our school is still two kilometers away. That supermarket owner would often bring back the packages for her when he went to buy goods. Now that convenience is gone."
Jiang Huaiyu frowned.
Lu Mingxiao then asked, "What did Bai Hongxu say to you?"
The topic, which had been interrupted several times, was finally picked up again, and Jiang Huaiyu relayed Bai Hongxu's words.
Lu Mingxiao's comment on this was: "He's crazy. He has too little homework and is too idle."
"Hmm." Jiang Huaiyu took out a small, delicately printed paper ball from her pocket and handed it to Lu Mingxiao.
Lu Mingxiao brought his palm close and smelled it; it smelled of chocolate and caramel.
Jiang Huaiyu: "...So you really are a dog in disguise?"
"Cough..." Lu Mingxiao touched his nose: "When I was a kid, I used to hang out with Hu Zi every day. I got used to it. Is this the chocolate I bought?"
"Hmm." Jiang Huaiyu opened the wrapper, and a small chocolate lay in his palm, caramel brown in color, with a beautiful metallic sheen, like a magical button.
Two boys stood by the window, where snow was falling, secretly eating chocolate. The sea salt flavor perfectly balanced the sweetness of the caramel, and even Lu Mingxiao, who didn't particularly like desserts, found it delicious.
Perhaps what's delicious isn't the chocolate itself, but the same aroma melting smoothly between your lips and teeth.
Lu Mingxiao said, "So sweet."
Jiang Huaiyu: "Mm."
Author's Note:
Sorry for the wait, my darlings! Leave a comment below and I'll send you a red envelope (cash gift). I'll also be posting another 5,000+ words later. [heart emoji]
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