Chapter 4
Chapter 4
If this were a typical drama, this would be the moment the male lead got angry.
Maybe his eyes would fill with jealousy and rage, and he would demand to know who the female lead really loved.
But Pei Zhiyu wasn’t that kind of boy.
The distance in his eyes only deepened.
As if he didn’t know me at all, he stepped forward on his own through the mortifying silence that filled the room and brushed past me.
He didn’t look at me again.
The screech of a chair being pulled out sounded especially sharp.
As calm as ever, he spoke without the slightest warmth in his voice.
“Aren’t we here to eat today?”
Only then did everyone around us feel as if they’d been granted a reprieve. They withdrew their gazes, pretending nothing had happened.
Chu Siwei smiled too, as if satisfied, as if victory was already in her hands.
She ignored me as well and simply stood up, naturally taking the seat beside Pei Zhiyu.
The atmosphere was forcibly lively again.
I smiled self-mockingly.
Of course. Someone as high and mighty as Pei Zhiyu-how could he possibly care about something as trivial as who Qiao Xiaoyu liked?
Amid the embarrassment and gloom, I turned away, not daring to look at Jiang Zhouyuan for even a second longer.
There were hardly any stupid students at Qingtan High School.
Some were favored by the heavens, born into prominent families, and gifted with sharp minds.
Some were extraordinarily talented and careless in attitude, yet always ranked at the top.
Jiang Zhouyuan belonged to one of those categories-and yet not entirely.
He was good-looking, his grades were always near the top, and he was remarkably gifted in music.
His only flaw was probably that he wasn’t in the experimental class. I’d heard it was because he had firmly refused to join.
Jiang Zhouyuan was romantic and unruly by nature. You could even call him free-spirited to a fault.
He formed a band and wrote all the subject teachers into his lyrics.
The teachers were angry and amused in equal measure.
He skateboarded, and while showing off, broke his leg.
The entire class took turns pushing his wheelchair and bringing him meals from the cafeteria.
But all of that was only hearsay.
My only impression of him was from that autumn when he broke his leg. A group of boys and girls pushed his wheelchair back to the classroom.
Each of them was holding a roasted sweet potato, laughing and joking as they passed by my window.
For some reason, that scene had stayed with me very clearly.
In short, he was someone dazzling yet very far away.
And now I had dragged him into this completely unnecessary mess.
I sighed and found an empty corner to sit down.
I had to find a chance to apologize to him.
But just then, the chair beside me was pulled out.
A pair of long legs entered my line of sight. I looked up blankly.
It was Jiang Zhouyuan.
He looked down at me, his gaze direct and unwavering.
Then, in a voice only the two of us could hear, he asked quietly,
“Why did you lie just now?”
His eyes were as clear as a spring night after rain.
They seemed full of innocent purity untouched by the world, yet they saw through my clumsy lie at a glance.
“I’m sorry… I don’t really know how to explain it to you, but about what I said just now, if possible, please just pretend you didn’t hear it. I’m really sorry…”
Like a quail, my voice grew smaller and smaller.
Jiang Zhouyuan, however, let out a laugh. His voice was as beautiful as the clear chime of strings.
“Ah… what a shame.”
I looked at him in confusion, not understanding what he thought was a shame.
But Jiang Zhouyuan had already looked away, his gaze shifting toward Pei Zhiyu on the other side of the room.
Yan Fei arrived late and immediately cupped my face in her hands, squishing my cheeks together.
“Your dark circles are so bad! My precious Xiaoyu, waaah!”
“Can you not remind me how miserable I look right now? First explain to me why Pei-”
Why Pei Zhiyu, who had clearly said he wasn’t coming to the dinner, was here after all.
And why he’d brought an uninvited guest.
But at that moment, a burst of cheers erupted in the room, cutting me off.
Over there, Wang Shuang’s face was glowing as he declared passionately,
“My dad said he’s inviting the whole class on an island trip this time. Every single person has to come! We absolutely have to make wonderful memories together as a class!”
I had almost forgotten that Wang Shuang’s family was literally loaded.
He and his father were cut from the same cloth: big mouths, but generous and straightforward people.
Chu Siwei sounded regretful.
“But Zhiyu and I really can’t go. The coach arranged our training schedule ages ago, and the competition is next month…”
“I’m not going either.”
For once, Chu Siwei and I were actually on the same side.
With everything going wrong, I really wasn’t in the mood to run off on vacation.
I’d be better off packing up and considering whether I should repeat the year.
Yan Fei immediately clamped a hand over my mouth and answered in an even louder voice,
“Qiao Xiaoyu is going!”
I was just about to struggle when Yan Fei glared at me, as if blaming me for refusing a pie that had fallen straight from the sky.
Jiang Zhouyuan thought for a moment, then tilted his head.
“If everyone present gets a share, can I come and claim a spot too? I can pay for myself.”
Wang Shuang was in high spirits and wished things could be as lively as possible.
“Of course you can! Jiang, you have to come. If you come, everyone will be happy!”
The other classmates laughingly agreed.
“I’ll go too.”
Pei Zhiyu suddenly spoke in his usual flat voice.
It landed in my heart like a crack of thunder.
Why would he…
Chu Siwei seemed a little disgruntled, but her expression remained unchanged. She immediately changed her tune.
“Then let’s all go together. I just happen to want to relax before the competition anyway~”