Chapter Three He and She Are Becoming More Alike
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In class, He Tianran was fully focused on the lesson, while Xue Yong was playing a mobile game under his desk, occasionally glancing at his deskmate. After being defeated by the enemy’s Hua Mulan’s combo, Xue Yong immediately closed the game and, propping his head with one hand, asked He Tianran, “What’s going on between you and Wen Liang?”
He Tianran shot him a glance but kept copying the notes on the blackboard without missing a beat. Calmly, he said, “You still want to chase her?”
Xue Yong pondered the implication, testing the waters: “Chase her? She got a major demerit from the school this time and hasn’t come back since. She’ll probably only return for cultural classes after the art exam next semester.”
He Tianran paused for a moment, then went back to normal: “I... didn’t see Zhang Zhifan today.”
The class bully chuckled, grinning widely with a mischievous delight. “After losing face so badly in front of the whole school, how could he possibly stay at Port Middle School? Even if he wanted to, his influential father wouldn’t allow it. I heard he transferred to Eighteenth Middle School.”
After that, he wasn’t satisfied and kept pressing: “Hey, you still haven’t told me, what’s really going on with you and Wen Liang? Did you plan this from the start? You should’ve told me earlier; I wasn’t prepared to egg you on that day on stage, so my performance was mediocre.”
“Hmm—” He Tianran finally looked directly at Xue Yong. “Guess.”
“Whoa... wait a minute... little brother, you weren’t rejected by Wen Liang too, were you?”
He Tianran smiled faintly, giving no direct answer.
Xue Yong couldn’t detect the bitterness behind that smile, but sensing a familiar reaction, he blurted out a detail even He Tianran hadn’t noticed: “Why do I feel like you’re suddenly so much like Wen Liang?”
At last, the pen in He Tianran’s hand stopped moving.
He flipped the page of his notes.
“Just an illusion.”
Xue Yong shook his head like a rattle. “There’s definitely something between you two. Even the way you speak now sounds a bit like her.”
“...”
The influence of a girl on a boy surely goes beyond mere words and gestures.
He Tianran didn’t want to delve deeper and changed the subject: “Zhang Zhifan’s gone, so who’s the class monitor now?”
Hearing this, Xue Yong grinned slyly and called out a name.
“Cao Aiqing.”
Upon hearing the answer, He Tianran turned his attention back to the blackboard.
Xue Yong carefully studied his expression. Seeing him so calm, he couldn’t help but feel disappointed.
“Hey, hey, little brother, who do you actually like now? You’ve completely confused me. You don’t like either of them, do you? But from your looks, it seems like you have no interest in anyone.”
“I’m not in a position to like anyone right now, and I don’t want to either.”
“...”
Xue Yong was dumbfounded. He thought this He Tianran must have overdone it last night and that his cooldown period was bugged.
“Do you know your expression when you say that is just begging to be punched?”
“Little Yong.”
“What?”
“Sitting next to you is really damn interesting.”
“Huh?”
The morning passed without incident. During lunch break, Xue Yong was about to invite He Tianran to eat together when suddenly three underclassmen girls blocked half of the back door of the classroom.
“Looking for someone?”
Xue Yong, closest to the door, looked up and noticed one of the girls was cute and lively. Instinctively, he adopted the posture of a senior.
“Never seen you before. What grade are you?”
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“Senior... we’re freshmen,” the shy girl answered.
“Oh, freshmen, youth is wonderful... cough, no, junior, who are you looking for?”
“I... I...”
The girl stammered nervously. Xue Yong wasn’t in a hurry; in fact, he found it quite endearing, very different from the usual girls he would meet at bars.
“We’re looking for Senior He...”
One of the girls nearby mustered courage and added.
“Senior He? Which He... whoa...”
Xue Yong’s words trailed off as realization dawned. He nudged the drowsy He Tianran beside him with his elbow. Lately, He Tianran had been troubled and sleeping poorly. As soon as the lunch break bell rang, within a minute, he had already laid his head on the desk, asleep.
True to form, he woke up quickly, exhaling heavily.
“What’s up?”
“They’re looking for you.”
Xue Yong pointed toward the girls at the door, looking as if he’d seen a ghost. He Tianran looked clear-headed on the surface but was still a bit dizzy and asked:
“All three of you are looking for me?”
The two girls on either side quickly stepped back, leaving only the cute girl in the middle.
“Ei...”
The girl glanced nervously around. He Tianran didn’t want to embarrass her, so he stood and led the way out of the classroom.
“Let’s find somewhere to talk.”
“Okay...”
The junior nodded obediently and followed He Tianran away.
At the classroom door, Xue Yong peeked out, watching the pair leave. He glanced back at the two girls who accompanied the junior. Seeing them blushing and whispering teasingly, the experienced Xue Yong knew exactly what was about to happen.
He withdrew his head and saw most of the class staring in their direction. He sighed sourly:
“People, there’s always one or two times in life when the wheel of fortune turns. Just unusual to see, that’s all! Tsk!”
Whispers rose in the classroom. Bai Tingting lowered her gaze and glared at Cao Aiqing, who was quietly studying nearby.
“Look at He Tianran, still so ambiguous with Wen Liang, and now the moment he sees a freshman girl, he rushes out immediately. Not a single decent guy in our class.”
Cao Aiqing blushed from Bai Tingting’s teasing and said, “Oh, Tingting, I don’t have anything going on with He Tianran, and he and Wen Liang are just friends...”
Bai Tingting rolled her eyes and asked, “Then do you think he’ll agree to that freshman? I think she’s kinda cute...”
“Uh... what does it matter to me... I want to study, don’t bother me...”
On the campus’s cobblestone path, the ground was littered with maple leaves. He Tianran walked ahead with his hands in his pockets, taking long strides. The junior girl behind struggled to keep up, running a few steps faster but not daring to surpass or walk beside him, slowing down when she was about three steps behind.
This cycle repeated as they walked.
Suddenly, He Tianran stopped. The junior girl stopped abruptly too, almost losing balance and leaning forward. He Tianran stepped back without any intention of steadying her.
Fortunately, she regained her balance.
“Senior...”
The junior girl hid her hands deep in her uniform sleeves, lowered her head, and dared not meet He Tianran’s eyes.
He Tianran glanced around: “Say what you need to say. There’s no one else around.”
“I just wanted to ask... Senior He... do you have a girlfriend?”
The junior was nervous, covering her mouth with the round sleeve of her uniform, as if that made it less embarrassing to speak.
“What’s your name?”
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“I... I’m Jiang Xixi... Class 10, Grade One...”
He Tianran misheard and said, “Dirty...?”
The junior blushed, waving her arms. “No, no... it’s Jiang, like Jiang Ziya, Xi for ‘regret’, and Xi... Xi...”
“Like the ‘xi’ in ‘the wind rustles’?”
He Tianran prompted, and Jiang Xixi nodded vigorously.
“Yes, yes!!”
He thought for a moment, asking knowingly, “Does whether I have a girlfriend have anything to do with what you want to say?”
“Well... if you don’t have a girlfriend... can I... can I... date you?”
Jiang Xixi stammered out the question, stealing a glance at He Tianran’s expression, which seemed calm...
Then she heard something that made her heart race.
“What kind of relationship do you mean by ‘date’?”
“Ei... ei... just... just...”
Jiang Xixi looked at the mischievous smile curling at the corner of Senior He’s mouth. She felt like a little sparrow caught in a hand—no matter how much she fluttered, she just couldn’t break free.
“Just... just... the kind where we’re a couple.”
“Ah, so you like me?”
Only then did He Tianran seem to realize what was happening. He took a step closer. The little girl stood frozen, only able to shyly nod. He continued:
“Hm—how did you come to like me?”
Jiang Xixi had already pulled her hands out from her sleeves, intertwining her index fingers nervously.
“At the welcome party... when you played the guitar... I thought you were very handsome... I can play guitar too... and... I know for sure you’re the big NL...”
He Tianran was slightly surprised to hear that; encountering a fan in real life was a rare event indeed.
After a moment, he asked again, somewhat absentmindedly:
“You’re confessing to me?”
“Mm...”
“So confessing is this simple...”
“Y-yes, I’m sorry... I’ll work hard!”
Jiang Xixi was almost in tears. The outcome was exactly as she feared. She wished she hadn’t listened to her friends’ encouragement. Feeling utterly embarrassed, she turned and fled a short distance away, covering her face.
“Hey, wait.”
Hearing the call behind her, Jiang Xixi stopped, but dared not look back.
“Okay.”
Those three words made her turn back in surprise to see Senior He standing alone on the maple leaf-strewn path. Though his voice carried a hint of melancholy and no obvious happiness, it was enough to fill the little girl’s heart with joy.
She couldn’t help but ask, “S-Senior, really...?”
“Mm, okay. We can date.”
She saw her admired senior nod at her,
and then,
he even smiled.