Chapter 10 A Short Story from the Sports Equipment Room in the Afternoon
Sports equipment room.
The light streaming in through the window made the flying dust particles clearly visible.
Various balls and equipment were neatly arranged on shelves against the wall, while a few tables and chairs were casually placed in the open space in the middle of the equipment room.
With final exams approaching, physical education classes for all grades have been rescheduled to other classes because one of the PE teachers is feeling unwell, resulting in no one entering or leaving the school for two weeks.
Xie Ling sat in the chair, her head slightly lowered, her face expressionless.
Hearing the faint sounds coming from the playground not far away, he felt a moment of disorientation.
The feeling of being treated casually by Lian Yi was like no longer being a living person, but a puppet that she could manipulate at will.
The idea that I had always believed I could change my fate through hard work and give my family a worry-free life now seemed somewhat naive and ridiculous.
Just two days ago, he was righteously rejecting Lian Yi, but now, knowing full well what he's about to face, he's sitting here nonetheless.
Like a bride wearing a red veil, anxiously awaiting the arrival of that person.
That's wrong.
Neither Xie Ling's long-held values nor his pride and self-respect would allow him to accept such a thing.
He never even considered a normal romantic relationship.
Part of the reason is that Xie Ling has a clear plan for his future; more than romantic love, he urgently needs to change his life. But the bigger reason is that he clearly knows—
At my age, I have neither the mental and physical energy to meet my partner's emotional needs, nor do I have much financial power to do.
His calm and extremely restrained life plan was thus casually shattered.
A girl's low, indistinct voice suddenly sounded from outside the door.
He couldn't hear what she was saying, but he could vaguely make out that she was talking to someone.
Xie Ling pursed her lips, thinking of her parents in the hospital, their eyes reddening and smiling faces filled with relief after learning that the surgery had been scheduled.
He unconsciously clenched his slightly trembling fist, his long, slender fingers turning white, and the veins on the back of his somewhat thin hand were faintly visible.
"Give me your schoolbag, you go back to the classroom first." Lian Yi reached out to Xu Qingyao.
Clutching her schoolbag, looking every bit the little follower, Xu Qingyao bit her lower lip, her eyes brimming with tears as she looked at her. "Miss Lianyi, are you really going to do this? This is school, and..."
Why should we reward him?
Why should I?!
Xie Ling can, she...
Xu Qingyao was almost in tears. In the past, Lian Yi didn't care about reputation, but at most she was just domineering and unreasonable. Anyway, in her eyes, Lian Yi was proud, and those people didn't understand or comprehend her, they were just stupid.
But now that she sees Lian Yi becoming interested in forcibly taking men from the common people, Xu Qingyao knows she can't stop her, but she just doesn't want to see Lian Yi make a mistake.
Lian Yi clicked her tongue; Xu Qingyao's behavior had been getting increasingly strange lately.
She had long seen through Xu Qingyao's sensitive and insecure exterior, realizing that she might not truly be as pure and innocent as she seemed.
But as long as a person can play the role well at all times without giving themselves away, what's wrong with treating it as real?
She even looked forward to Xu Qingyao, this innocent little flower, betraying her one day in the future, which was one of the reasons why Lian Yi kept Xu Qingyao by her side.
However, this little white flower has become increasingly talkative and fussy lately.
"Who are you and who am I? Do you have the right to tell me what to do?" She looked impatiently at Xu Qingyao, whose eyes were filled with tears.
"Could it be that you actually have a crush on Xie Ling?"
Xu Qingyao's brain nearly shut down the moment she heard what she said. Her face turned pale, and she suppressed her soft voice as if she had been humiliated, saying, "Miss Lianyi, how could you say that?"
"ha."
Lian Yi knew, of course, that Xie Ling and Xu Qingyao wouldn't have any romantic relationship.
This little white flower follows me around all day long, where would she find the time to flirt with the real heiress's fishpond?
Don't worry.
She replied dismissively, "I just wanted to mess with Xie Ling. Of course I wouldn't actually fall for him. It's all because he's always so arrogant and aloof. Even after I saved him, he kept babbling on about his self-righteous grand principles."
"It's just for fun, we won't really do anything to him."
Xu Qingyao, her long eyelashes glistening with tears, looked at her cautiously, "Really?"
"Of course—" Lian Yi's face hardened, "Alright, alright, aren't you annoying? If you care about him so much, why don't you go in and keep an eye on him?"
She was willing to explain so much to me.
Thinking of this, Xu Qingyao could hardly suppress the upturned corners of her mouth. She quickly shook her head and said softly, "I believe Miss Lianyi, you know what you're doing. I'll go back to the classroom now."
After saying that, he handed her the schoolbag, turned around, and walked away briskly.
Lian Yi watched her retreating figure, his eyes narrowed into a mischievous smile. He reached out and placed his hand on the doorknob of the sports equipment room, then twisted it downwards.
Pushing open the door, you can immediately see a slender yet tall and graceful young man sitting upright in a chair.
He was still wearing the standard school uniform from Wanghai, with only the top button of his white-gold suit jacket undone.
The shirt was buttoned all the way up, and the tie was tied meticulously, completely concealing the collarbone below the neck.
The young man had delicate and indifferent features, seemingly calm and expressionless, but the trembling eyelashes that followed her in betrayed his unsettled inner world.
"What, Xie, haven't you learned the basic etiquette of dealing with people?"
Lian Yi's malicious intent couldn't be clearer: "Shouldn't you greet your classmates politely and friendly?"
"..."
"Lianyi".
Xie Lingqing's clear, cold voice was slightly deep, just like him—pleasant to hear but indifferent.
He paused for a moment, then said, "Good afternoon."
Lian Yi didn't care about his resistant attitude. She picked up her schoolbag and walked over, casually dragging a desk over. The iron chair legs scraped against the ground, making a screeching sound.
The desk was placed in front of Xie Ling, as if a classroom had been set up just for him, and he simply sat down at his own desk as if nothing had happened.
However, as the girl leaned back gently, supporting herself on the table with one hand, she continued to sit down.
She didn't say anything, but lifted her foot, and her thick-soled derby shoes naturally landed on the chair where Xie Ling was sitting.
Xie Ling looked up in surprise, instinctively spreading her legs. Her slender waist and straight back were forced to press against the back of the chair, her posture suddenly changing. Her hands, hanging down at her sides, supported her on the chair to maintain her balance.
His previously expressionless, cold face finally changed.
Lian Yi looked down at him with a smile, watching as his almost pale skin turned reddish to the naked eye.
Even though I know that the other person's change stems more from anger and resentment.
but--
It's really beautiful.
Lian Yi stared into his beautiful, clear eyes, which were so pure and bright that only her reflection was visible within them, and smiled with satisfaction.
"I don't like it when people talk without looking at me. It's very disrespectful. Look, isn't Xie looking at me very attentively right now?"
Throughout Xie Ling's eighteen years of life, despite his introverted and self-disciplined nature, his outstanding qualities have always made him stand out among his peers.
Even the most dissolute and uneducated students in the school, no matter how much they despised him, would never dare to bully or provoke someone who was the apple of the eye of the teachers and school leaders.
He had never been so cornered before.
"Lian Yi..." Xie Ling's calm voice even trembled slightly.
"Don't go too far."
"Too much?"
After admiring the vulnerable and struggling expression on the other party's face as if she had been humiliated, Lian Yi straightened up from her slightly forward-leaning posture. She raised an eyebrow and said sarcastically, "Xie Ling, should I remind you again what kind of relationship we have now?"
She raised her hand to admire the gemstone bracelet on her wrist.
The bracelet, adorned with three colorful precious gemstones and diamonds, shimmers brilliantly in the sunlight as it rotates.
The beautiful light stung Xie Ling slightly.
This also instantly calmed him down, and he quickly understood Lian Yi's unspoken meaning.
Xie Ling smiled to herself inwardly.
Didn't he already know what price he would have to pay the moment he made that call last night?
Besides, I came here at Lian Yi's request.
In the eyes of the other party, his behavior was probably just a pretense of arrogance, an attempt to preserve the last bit of laughable self-respect.
But Lian Yi was never one to let things slide. Seeing Xie Ling's jaw tighten slightly and her thin lips about to open and say something, she smiled and said, "So clueless."
"Is it because I've been too kind to you that you think I'm easy to talk to?"
She reached out and lifted Xie Ling's chin, forcing him to look her in the eye.
"I like your aloof and proud attitude, but I don't like you always being like this. Be more interesting, otherwise... Xie, you wouldn't want your classmates to know what you're like, would you?"
Xie Ling's beautiful thin lips instantly tightened.
He turned his face away, dodging the fingertips that were lifting his chin, and whispered, "What do you mean?"
Lian Yi was somewhat surprised. "Don't ask about things you already know the answer to. You know why I brought you here, right?"
"Don't waste your time."
He knew it very well, more than he could have.
But at this moment, Xie Ling finally realized that she still couldn't remain calm.
The clock on the wall ticked away, and Lian Yi seemed to be enjoying the sight of her prey struggling in its final moments, watching the scene with great compassion, without saying a word or making any move.
They simply maintained this seemingly intimate yet cold and silent posture between them.
His smooth black hair fell across his forehead, failing to conceal the boy's handsome features. His eyelashes trembled slightly, and he slowly raised his fingertips, which extended to his neck, doing the same.
The tie was pulled loose and hung limply down his chest.
The first button was quickly undone, revealing glimpses of her collarbone and her Adam's apple bobbing slightly up and down from time to time.
His movements suddenly stopped.
At this moment, in the sports equipment room, it seemed that only the ticking of the clock and his overly obvious breathing could be heard. The girl's breathing, accompanied by the rich floral fragrance, was very shallow, only sending out a slight airflow.
Xie Ling spoke slowly, her voice slightly hoarse.
"Lian Yi, do you really know what you're doing?"
He raised his head, just as earnestly as when he had righteously rejected Lian Yi at the beginning, only his clear black and white eyes were not like they are now, as if covered with a light layer of gray.
"Both our identities and this relationship are wrong, so do you still want to continue doing this?"
Lian Yi smiled. She hadn't expected Xie Ling to unbutton his shirt so readily, and she was even more surprised that he could persuade her to turn back before it was too late.
So she not only laughed, but laughed out loud.
"Oh."
The soft chuckle reached Xie Ling's ears. He looked away, turned his face, and continued his unfinished action.
The buttons on the suit jacket were unbuttoned one by one.
The shirt, which accentuates slightly broad shoulders and a slim waist, is revealed.
Just as he was about to unbutton the third button and expose his chest, a questioning voice, feigning surprise and not trying to hide his laughter, suddenly came from in front of him.
"Oh, Xie, classmate."
"What are you doing—"
He suddenly looked up.
In my line of sight, the girl's slightly round eyes crinkled into crescents with laughter, her rosy lips curved into a smile, and her long, slightly wavy hair cascaded down her cheeks, revealing a mischievous grin on her sweet and delicate face.
And the surprised expression was poorly acted.
She was holding an exam paper in her hand at some point, and she waved it at Xie Ling, who was looking over.
"The college entrance exam is coming up soon, and I should give you face and study hard, so I'm planning to test whether you're really that smart so you can teach me how to study."
Are you misunderstanding something?
Lian Yi watched the boy with a smile, finally unable to maintain his aloof expression.
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