Chapter Fourteen: Those with Adolescent Delusions Never Mistake Their Lives
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When he returned to the boxing gym yesterday, Wen Liang was nowhere to be found. However, He Tianran received a message from her on WeChat, saying that she had to leave early because her performance class still had lessons. After Wen’s father reprimanded him, Xue Yong no longer dared to trouble He Tianran and became much more subdued.
A two-hour boxing class left He Tianran with explosive muscle soreness the next day, causing him to completely collapse at home for an entire day.
But there was a silver lining. Wen’s father seemed to value his reflexes highly and said that with proper training, he might truly become a promising boxing talent. He even specially invited He Tianran to continue attending trial classes next week.
What was supposed to be a perfect weekend for a homebody thus flew by in a whirlwind under Wen Liang’s transformation plan.
Monday morning, Gangcheng High School.
He Tianran walked briskly into the classroom, intentionally lowering his head with a bandage on his chin.
Along the way, he noticed many people whispering when they saw him—not because of the injury on his face, but because Wen Liang had held his hand and strolled around campus freely before evening self-study that day.
Surprisingly, he thought his class would be at the center of this gossip, but since he came in, no one had approached to tease him.
Of course, there were exceptions, like his deskmate, Ye Jiaqi.
“Hey, Wen Liang said her dad specially told her to come to school to find you and get you to learn boxing at the gym. She said you have great boxing talent. Is that true?” The young girl eagerly asked as He Tianran took his seat.
He Tianran looked back and saw Wen Liang, who had returned to class, chatting with several close friends. Catching the boy’s gaze, she happily waved; several girls nearby glanced over and then covered their mouths, giggling teasingly.
So that was her explanation?
And it seemed the classmates believed it?
He Tianran pondered for a moment; compared to rumors about him and Wen Liang dating, this reason was indeed more plausible.
“Ah... it’s okay, I guess...” He Tianran answered vaguely. Ye Jiaqi immediately put on a “I knew it” expression and said,
“Right? I told you, someone like you, if she didn’t take the initiative to drag you along, you’d probably just go straight home after school. And people guessed Wen Liang liked you? No way! Are they blind? Uh... I didn’t mean it like that... I just...”
“I understand. I wasn’t thinking in that direction either...” He Tianran quickly added, avoiding an awkward moment between them.
Ye Jiaqi smiled sheepishly, then sniffed the air around He Tianran.
“Huh? What’s that smell?”
“Just... a little perfume.”
That morning, He Tianran had stood in the bathroom for three minutes contemplating before finally deciding to follow Wen Liang’s advice and sprayed a small amount of perfume on his wrist and behind his ears.
He expected Ye Jiaqi to mock him as usual, but after hearing the answer, she paused, then turned her head, a little awkwardly saying,
“It suits you... and actually smells quite nice...”
“Thanks...”
They fell silent. Just as He Tianran prepared to take out his textbook and study alone, he heard his deskmate whisper,
“The cut on your chin...”
“I accidentally got hit during boxing practice...”
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“Oh, you’ll need to be more careful next time.”
“Yeah...”
What was going on?
This atmosphere felt... a bit strange...
He Tianran wasn’t used to Ye Jiaqi’s current demeanor, and she seemed to notice his awkwardness. Trying to fill the silence, she said,
“The song you posted on your weekend Moments was pretty good...”
“Huh? When did you get my WeChat?!” He Tianran was surprised.
Ye Jiaqi regained her usual composure and chuckled, “I’m the class life committee member; I have contact info for everyone! But I’m good at being low-key, known as the gossip fairy, so someone like you who only knows anime and games wouldn’t even notice me!”
He Tianran wanted to laugh and cry. He had long forgotten that Ye Jiaqi had been the life committee member since first year. So all his private Moments posts over two years were under her watch?
“But I have to say, when you finally added the school beauty’s WeChat, and others commented on your Moments at night, you told them to sleep early and not reply. Oh my god, I almost died laughing when I saw that. You’re really straightforward~”
Ye Jiaqi laughed, and He Tianran forced a grim smile, following her words:
“So, see, I really wasn’t thinking in that way...”
Ye Jiaqi rubbed the smile lines by her nose with both hands and nodded:
“I can tell you really weren’t, but I don’t get it. Wen Liang keeps replying ‘future’ and stuff—what does that mean?”
“Oh, that’s because I told her I once dreamed of the moment in the future when she would ask me to learn boxing, so she keeps teasing me.”
He Tianran responded quickly and was glad his usual nerdy persona kept Ye Jiaqi from doubting him. She just couldn’t help bursting into laughter again.
“You’re such a nerd and such a straight guy! Haha, only you would say something so embarrassing!”
Seeing the topic brushed off, He Tianran forced a laugh. To outsiders, he seemed unusually bold today, since he rarely spoke much with girls and now was chatting and joking easily with Ye Jiaqi—truly a rare sight.
Ye Jiaqi glanced around and then covered her mouth with her right hand, lowering her voice mysteriously:
“By the way, did you know today...”
“Ding ding ding...”
Just as she was about to speak, the class bell rang. Head teacher Chen Mei, clicking in her flat shoes, entered the classroom, followed by Zhang Zhifan, who towered two heads above her.
Sunny and handsome like the morning sun, Zhang Zhifan immediately captured most of the class’s attention. Only when he stood on the podium did the shy girls dare to stare unabashedly.
“It’s been a month since school started, and the monthly exam results are out. According to our usual rule, seats will be rearranged based on grades. Everyone, pack up your things and wait in the corridor. When your student number is called by class monitor Zhang, come back in,” Chen Mei announced briskly.
The classroom erupted into noise as students, some happy, some worried, grabbed their bags and headed to the corridor.
“This poor girl really has bad luck—looks like I'll be stuck as your deskmate for another month,” Ye Jiaqi complained to He Tianran in the crowded hallway corner.
“Huh? That can’t be. I think I did well on the exam...” He Tianran felt a bit wronged.
“That’s just an illusion! A life illusion! You both usually score about 550, and so do I. You didn’t secretly study during vacation, did you?”
“No...”
“Then that’s settled!”
“What did you want to tell me just now?”
After confirming no one was paying attention, Ye Jiaqi whispered:
“This morning, the class monitor specially took Wen Liang out. All the girls are going crazy, saying Zhang Zhifan couldn’t hold back after finding out Wen Liang held your hand, so he confessed today!”
He Tianran’s expression turned blank. Ye Jiaqi looked at him for two seconds, puzzled:
“What kind of reaction is that? Aren’t you surprised at all?”
“Ah, actually I’m quite surprised. So Zhang Zhifan likes Wen Liang?” He Tianran smiled.
“No, they have mutual secret crushes! Haven’t you noticed Zhang Zhifan is always in Wen Liang’s selfies on Moments?”
“… I’m not that bored.”
Ye Jiaqi continued, “Oh, Zhang Zhifan was rumored back in sophomore year to have chosen the liberal arts class just because of Wen Liang. You definitely didn’t know that, right?”
He Tianran nodded, and Ye Jiaqi looked disappointed.
“You’re so boring! Let me ask you... when Wen Liang held your hand, did you feel even a little flutter?”
“Don’t you know who I like?” He Tianran countered, and Ye Jiaqi was momentarily speechless.
Then the boy gave a self-mocking smile and said,
“You know, people like me who are nerds often have one advantage.”
“What?”
“We see through life’s illusions better than anyone.”
Ye Jiaqi suddenly felt as if He Tianran had changed...
But she couldn’t quite put her finger on what exactly had changed...
Soon, a short girl in the crowd called Ye Jiaqi’s name. The two joined hands with a few close friends and moved to another corner to whisper. This matter was soon forgotten by Ye Jiaqi.
Alone, He Tianran leaned back against the corridor railing, looked up, and finally exhaled quietly.
“What’s wrong? Talking to girls seems to drain your energy,” a familiar voice said.
He Tianran turned his head and saw none other than Wen Liang.