Chapter 3

Chapter 3

I didn’t tell Xiao Yunzhou about that minor episode with Wei Xiaoyun.

To me, it was just an insignificant little matter.

The first time I truly took notice of Wei Xiaoyun was at noon a few days later. My family was hosting a banquet, and since neither Xiao Yunzhou nor I were in the mood to deal with guests, we stayed at school instead of going home.

When we returned to the classroom after lunch, we saw Wei Xiaoyun sitting all alone in the vast, empty room. She was hunched over her desk, clutching her stomach, looking quite unwell.

Hearing us come in, she looked up. Her gaze drifted from Xiao Yunzhou to my face before she pursed her lips and lowered her head again.

Xiao Yunzhou followed my gaze and frowned slightly. He didn’t say anything to her, though. He simply turned to me and said, “Huaishan, I’m going to step out for a moment.”

After he left, I stood there with a frown, glancing at Wei Xiaoyun again. “Are you okay?” I asked.

She looked up. It was obvious she didn’t really want to talk to me, but ignoring a gesture of concern seemed rude, so she gave me a listless shake of her head.

I paused, then decided to let it go.

When Xiao Yunzhou returned, he was carrying two cups of milk tea and a box of cake. I had never been particularly fond of cake, so he handed me one of the teas and then walked over to Wei Xiaoyun with the other cup and the cake box, placing them on her desk.

The classroom was so quiet that every sound was crystal clear. I heard Xiao Yunzhou say to her, “Stop skipping meals to save money for my breakfast. You should eat more yourself.”

Wei Xiaoyun looked up at him with a dazed expression. She didn’t speak, but her eyes welled with tears as she stared at him. It was as if she were halfway through a grueling marathon, or like someone dying of thirst in a desert who had suddenly spotted an oasis within reach.

That look caught Xiao Yunzhou off guard. He quickly explained, “What’s with that face? Don’t overthink it. I just don’t want you to end up with some chronic illness because you’re skipping meals to buy me breakfast.”

Xiao Yunzhou’s gaze and expression were perfectly open and honest. Seeing this, the light in Wei Xiaoyun’s eyes quickly dimmed with disappointment. She forced a quick smile and said, “Thank you, Xiao Yunzhou.”

He gave her a polite nod before coming back to sit beside me. “Huaishan, where do you want to go this weekend?” he asked.

I glanced at him. I believed that his concern for Wei Xiaoyun was nothing more than a classmate being helpful. Perhaps it was due to his family environment; as the only son of the Xiao Family, he had been surrounded by people trying to curry favor since he was a child, which had shaped his distant and indifferent public persona.

But regardless of that exterior, he had always been very, very kind at heart.

After a moment’s thought, I replied, “Let’s go see a live show by that stand-up comedian we both like.”

Xiao Yunzhou smiled at me. “I’ll go buy the tickets in advance, then.”

He rested his hand on the back of mine, the warmth of his palm seeping through. He looked at me with a tender smile, and I smiled back.