30

Yu Fan leaned against the wall, propping his elbow, his head resting in his palm, eyes half-closed.

He wasn't that sleepy to begin with, but the sun was nice today, warming him up, and this was math class—Zhuang Fangqin was spouting a bunch of numbers and formulas he couldn't understand, basically playing a lullaby in his ear.

After nodding off for ten minutes, Yu Fan's head suddenly dropped, about to hit the desk.

His forehead was suddenly caught by someone, the touch slightly cool.

Yu Fan groggily opened his eyes and met Chen Jingshen's fingers holding a pen.

Through the gaps between his fingers, Chen Jingshen's cold jawline was slightly lifted, his Adam's apple prominent. If not for the hand pressed against his forehead, he would've thought this guy was actually paying attention in class.

The next moment, Chen Jingshen's eyes flicked downward, and they briefly locked eyes for two seconds in the spring sunlight.

The spot where the back of the hand touched went numb, and Yu Fan's drowsiness suddenly vanished.

He snapped back to reality, slapped Chen Jingshen's hand away, and woodenly adjusted his chair to sit up straight again.

Zhuang Fangqin had thought Yu Fan just wanted to skip the whole wake-up routine between them, but she didn't expect that during the next two periods with other teachers, when she secretly patrolled the hallway, Yu Fan was actually awake.

Every time they met eyes through the window, both their expressions were a bit subtle.

School let out at noon.

Zhang Xianjing turned around and saw Yu Fan and Wang Luan'an both collapse onto the desk as the bell rang.

'What's wrong with you two?' Zhang Xianjing laughed while reapplying her lip gloss. 'You don't sleep in class, but you sleep when school's out?'

Wang Luan'an wanted to sleep forever, but his stomach was growling.

'You think I want to?' He struggled to sit up. 'It's because someone had to go and be all competitive, sitting straight as a bamboo all morning, leaving my discipline committee deskmate with no one to watch but me. He wrote me up twice in one period—who the hell would dare sleep after that...'

Wang Luan'an tapped Yu Fan's desk. 'Study king, what's up with you today? You haven't touched the desk all morning?'

'It's fucking because someone's asking for trouble—'

A short sound of a pen cap clicking shut came from beside him.

'I...' Yu Fan gritted his teeth, sat up again, and squeezed out through his teeth, 'Not sleepy.'

Wang Luan'an: '...'

If you weren't making that deadpan face, I'd believe you.

'Then let's go eat at the cafeteria, I'm starving.' Wang Luan'an rubbed his stomach. 'We'll come back and sleep after eating.'

Yu Fan lazily hummed 'mm,' tilting his head to search in the desk for the Mobile Phone he hadn't had the energy to touch all morning.

'Wait, I'll go with you guys.' Zhang Xianjing stood up and straightened her uniform. Out of the corner of her eye, she noticed the person still sitting in the back and casually asked, 'Study god, wanna come eat at the cafeteria too?'

'Mm.' Chen Jingshen put his textbook in the drawer, lowered his eyes in thought, then suddenly turned his head and asked quietly, 'Can I go?'

Zhang Xianjing: '?'

Wang Luan'an: '...?'

Yu Fan shoved his phone into his pocket, stood up, turned toward the back door of the classroom, and threw out a cold sentence.

'Suit yourself, it's not like I own the cafeteria.'

Yu Fan was famous at school; every time he entered the cafeteria, he'd attract some quiet attention from classmates—after all, this was where he'd made his name.

This time, with the addition of the grade's top student, who was just as handsome as Yu Fan, Wang Luan'an felt like every classmate in the cafeteria paused their chopsticks when they walked in.

This kind of attention greatly satisfied Wang Luan'an's vanity; he was instantly no longer sleepy.

The cafeteria was packed with students; the doors and windows were all open but it was still hot, and the old wall-mounted fans on the walls twisted their heads, whirring.

Zuo Kuan had arrived early and already saved them seats.

After getting their food, Zhang Xianjing had intended to call Chen Jingshen to sit across from her, but Wang Luan'an let go of his tray and placed it right in front of her.

After a few failed eye signals, Zhang Xianjing could only watch as Chen Jingshen sat diagonally across from her.

After sitting down, Chen Jingshen glanced at the lunch of the person across from him.

Two vegetable dishes and one meat dish, pretty healthy.

'Yu Fan,' Zuo Kuan began, mysteriously, 'Guess who was sitting across from me just now?'

'Who?'

'Ding Xiao!' Zuo Kuan slapped his thigh and laughed. 'Classic, that bastard saw you walk into the cafeteria and ran off without even finishing his food! He'd only been sitting for two minutes.'

Yu Fan, uninterested: 'Oh.'

'...Tch.' No fun.

The person next to Zuo Kuan asked, 'By the way, Wang Luan'an, did your homeroom teacher also receive the photos from the KTV Lounge?'

'Yeah, I got called to the office first thing in the morning.' Mentioning this made Wang Luan'an angry. 'Hey, Zuo Kuan, what's up with that QQ group? Aren't you the group owner? Do you know who leaked it?'

Zuo Kuan: 'If I knew, wouldn't I tell you?'

Wang Luan'an, with food in his mouth, mumbled, 'Why have I been so unlucky lately? I got caught just last week...'

Yu Fan didn't say a word.

Sleep-deprived, his expression was foul; every classmate who passed by him instinctively went quiet, afraid this guy might throw his tray at their head.

Yu Fan ate very fast—a habit he'd developed over the past few years.

Across from him, Chen Jingshen sat with his back straight, his tray full, barely eaten, with a few kernels of corn on his spoon, looking like he was eating a 168-yuan shrimp and corn dish at a Western restaurant.

The others were still talking about the photos. Mid-meal, Yu Fan couldn't take it anymore and looked up. '...What the hell are you looking at?'

'Nothing.' Chen Jingshen plunged his spoon back into the rice, scooped up a big spoonful like Yu Fan's, and ate it.

Two cute-looking girls walked back and forth in the aisle behind their table three times.

The others were chatting and didn't notice; only Zhang Xianjing caught it. She followed the girls' gaze and landed on Chen Jingshen's face.

She took a sip of yogurt, lifted her chin, and asked quietly, 'Study god, those two girls, weren't they in your class before?'

Chen Jingshen glanced over. 'Maybe.'

'...'

So it seems you don't like pretty girls even if they're good at studying.

On a whim, Zhang Xianjing suddenly put down her chopsticks and asked, 'Study god, have you never liked anyone before?'

Before Chen Jingshen could answer, Zuo Kuan was already frowning.

'Obviously not.' Zuo Kuan said coolly. 'Look at the study god, does he look like someone who would date early? His heart's only got studying; he'll definitely wait until after he starts working to think about that stuff. Don't bother.'

Chen Jingshen didn't speak.

Zhang Xianjing frowned, about to ask Zuo Kuan why he was butting in—

'Not really.' Chen Jingshen said calmly. 'There is someone I like.'

'Cough...'

Swallowing too quickly, Yu Fan choked on his rice. He turned his head and coughed violently in an instant.

The others at the table were silent for several seconds.

Wang Luan'an: 'Holy shit.'

Zuo Kuan: '...'

'Holy shit.' Zhang Xianjing immediately put down her chopsticks. 'Seriously? Who?'

Yu Fan turned around to say something, but before he could open his mouth, he couldn't help turning away to keep coughing.

Chen Jingshen: 'Not convenient to say.'

'Wouldn't have guessed, study god!' Wang Luan'an exclaimed, then reached over to pat the back of the person next to him. 'Yu Fan, what's wrong? You okay?'

Zhang Xianjing was dying of curiosity. 'Give us a hint, is it someone from our school? What type? Are you together?'

'No, I have a crush.' Chen Jingshen's expression was calm, his tone like he was answering a question in class. 'The cute type, I guess.'

Yu Fan was coughing so hard he was about to smoke.

No one expected him to be so straightforward; they were stunned again.

Someone who looks like this has to have a secret crush?

Zuo Kuan looked at Chen Jingshen profoundly, suddenly feeling that this study god was ten thousand times more likable.

'Tsk, who has such high standards? Study god, are you too shy to confess?' Zhang Xianjing said. 'You gotta go for it!'

Shy my ass??

And aren't you supposed to like him? Why are you so excited???

Yu Fan was about to recover, but Wang Luan'an's hard pat made him dizzy again.

Chen Jingshen said lightly, 'I already confessed.'

Zhang Xianjing: '??'

'Study god, how about this,' the clever woman suddenly had a new strategy. 'Tell me who it is, and I'll specially customize a pursuit plan for you. With your conditions, I guarantee I'll help you win her over within a month—a week! As a condition, you help me with every exam from now on... Deal?'

Chen Jingshen was about to say something when, with a slap, the person across from him slammed his chopsticks onto his tray and abruptly stood up.

Wang Luan'an was startled. He recognized this stance; last time Yu Fan was cornered in an alley, he had about the same expression.

So what's wrong?

He was about to ask when he saw Yu Fan, his face red from choking, ask word by word.

'Are you done eating??'

Chen Jingshen's fingers curled, and he put down his utensils. 'Mm.'

'...Come back with me.'

'Okay.'

The others still didn't understand what was happening before Yu Fan had already led the person away.

'Are they... heading back to the classroom?' Wang Luan'an turned to ask. 'They're not going to fight in some corner, are they?'

During lunch break, classmates had either gone home or to the dorms, or hadn't finished lunch yet. The classroom was empty, no one there.

Yu Fan sat down too hard, the chair scraping back with a sharp sound.

He threw his phone on the desk and turned his head irritably, blurting out, 'Why don't you just go to the broadcast room and tell the whole school you have a crush on me?'

Chen Jingshen thought for two seconds with no expression.

'Can I?'

Yu Fan expressionless: 'If you want to fight, go ahead.'

Chen Jingshen was silent for a moment. 'I was just answering their questions. I didn't say your name. Is that not okay either?'

'No,' Yu Fan ground his teeth, enunciating each word. 'You're not allowed to show it at all.'

'Mm.' Chen Jingshen leaned back against the chair, his hands loosely hanging on his legs. 'Got it. I'll secretly like you.'

'...'

This guy, how can he say something like that with such a thick face.

Before coming back to the classroom, Yu Fan had already planned how to give him a stern warning.

But Chen Jingshen's one sentence had stunned him again.

Like a military punch hitting cotton. Yu Fan scratched his hair, then simply pulled his jacket out of the drawer, laid it on the desk, and put his head down to sleep.

After lying down for a few seconds, he heard the person next to him ask, 'Can I wake you up for afternoon class?'

Yu Fan clenched his fist. 'No, get lost.'

Chen Jingshen lowered his head and did a couple of problems. Only after the person beside him's breathing steadied did he lightly rest the end of his pen on the test paper and quietly turn his face to look over.

Yu Fan unconsciously adjusted to a comfortable position, half his face exposed outside his arm. Feeling the sunlight was harsh, he even lightly furrowed his brows.

The afternoon sunlight softly and gently clung to his face, even the fine hairs clearly visible.

Chen Jingshen looked at the shadow under his eyelashes and suddenly couldn't tell if this was reality or another dream.

Noon was a great time for rest.

Feeling the weather was especially nice today, Hu Pang didn't go back to the teacher's dormitory but wandered around the balcony of the Academic Building with his hands behind his back.

When passing by the Class Seven classroom, he instinctively glanced inside.

Then he met eyes with Chen Jingshen, who had just carefully stood up.

Seeing the grade's top student diligently doing test papers even during lunch break, Hu Pang was very gratified. He even found the back of the head of the grade's last-place student next to Chen Jingshen much more pleasing to the eye.

Hu Pang smiled and was about to say something when Chen Jingshen suddenly nodded at him coldly.

Hu Pang instinctively nodded back, then paused.

Wait?

Why does this interaction feel familiar?

Before Hu Pang could react, he heard a soft 'shwoosh,' and suddenly his vision was filled with blue—

Chen Jingshen pulled the blue curtain closed.