Chapter 7

Chapter 7

First High School’s winter break starts in mid-January.

After Christmas Eve, we still have about half a month of classes.

Once January arrives, S City gets colder and colder.

After a dull and tedious math class, I lay on my desk and chatted with Nian Nian.

Suddenly, the student sitting near the front door shouted back, “Ji Yunbai, the Class 2 monitor is looking for you.”

The Class 2 monitor? That’s Xu Ge.

I froze, my gaze subconsciously following Ji Yunbai’s back.

My seat is right by the hallway, so I could see their backs clearly.

Outside, a drizzling rain was falling.

Xu Ge leaned against the railing, chatting with Ji Yunbai.

Passersby in the hallway kept casting curious glances at them.

The cold wind blew the boy’s black hair upright, sending it flying everywhere.

They said something unknown, and Xu Ge suddenly laughed.

I had never seen him laugh like that, his eyelashes curving, and even the slightly cool mole on the bridge of his nose came alive.

Just this morning, he had been cold-faced all morning due to waking up on the wrong side of the bed.

“Deskmate? Deskmate?” It was Nian Nian’s voice.

I turned my head to look.

She looked at me with concern: “What’s wrong? Your nails have reddened your palm.”

I was taken aback and looked down.

Sure enough, my palm was covered with nail marks of varying depths.

I wiped it carelessly, smiled at Nian Nian and said it was nothing.

Then I turned back to look out the window.

Their conversation ended, and Ji Yunbai turned and walked back into the classroom.

Xu Ge’s gaze swept past her back, and as he was about to look away, it met mine from my seat by the window.

His smile faded, and he gave me a slight nod.

He turned around and walked away with his hands in his pockets.

I slowly lowered my eyes to look at my reddened palm.

A sour feeling welled up uncontrollably in my heart.

…

On the day of winter break, Nian Nian hugged me exaggeratedly again and again.

“Deskmate, keep in touch! I’m counting on you for my winter homework!”

I said, “I know, I know.”

She laid down three rules: we must chat every day, help each other with homework, and never ignore each other’s messages.

I said, “Okay, okay.”

Then I waved at Nian Nian with my backpack on, saying, “Nian Nian, I’m leaving now. My parents must be waiting anxiously.”

Carrying my backpack, I got into Uncle Zhang’s car. Xu Ge was already waiting inside.

He was curled up in the back seat playing games, his young face clearly showing relaxation and anticipation for the winter break.

I sat upright and quiet at the other end of the seat, and unexpectedly heard: “Aren’t you cold?”

I almost doubted my ears and blinked, looking at him.

Just then, I met the boy’s dark eyes.

Seeing me look, he asked again: “Aren’t you cold?”

I blurted out: “I’m wearing thick clothes, not cold.”

He said “Oh,” and lowered his head again, focusing entirely on his game.

That night, the boy knocked on my door again.

When I opened the door, he was leaning lazily against the doorframe with his arms crossed.

Meeting my surprised gaze, he raised an eyebrow suddenly.

“Was I really that bad to you before?”

I stared at him blankly, not knowing whether to say yes or no.

I also wondered why he had been so unusually talkative with me these past few days.

“Sorry.”

He looked a bit troubled and pinched the bridge of his nose: “I was used to being an only child, so having a younger sister suddenly appear at home was a bit hard to adjust to. I often subconsciously ignored your existence.”

“Anyway, if you ever need my help with anything, just tell me. I’ll help as much as I can.”

Seeing that he was about to leave again, I hurriedly called out to stop him.

When he stopped and turned to look at me, I grew cautious again.

“Can I come to you to play in the future? Can you explain homework problems to me?”

He shrugged casually: “As long as you don’t disturb my sleep in the morning, any other time is fine.”

I watched his slender figure walk away and rubbed my sore eyes.

I seemed to understand why he came to me.

Probably to get information about Ji Yunbai through me.

If he really, really asked…

Then I’d help him find out.

I turned back into my room, slowly closed the door, and wiped away my tears.

Even though I don’t really like doing this kind of thing.