Tong Sisi was startled by the ball that was thrown at her. She looked at Liang Zhiyi, her face turning pale with anger. “You… Are you crazy?!”
Liang Zhiyi’s smile faded slightly. “Say that again?”
At this moment, some classmates started to gather around. Tong Sisi, intimidated by Liang Zhiyi’s aura and noticing the onlookers, found herself at a loss for words, the insults stuck in her throat.
Knowing she was in the wrong for badmouthing someone behind their back, she was both angry and cowardly as she grabbed Sang Xunling and another friend, intending to walk away and avoid further conflict. However, just as they were about to leave, Liang Zhiyi blocked their path.
With a smirk, Liang Zhiyi raised an eyebrow. “In a hurry to leave? Haven’t you finished your insults?”
“We’re going to play basketball…” Tong Sisi tried to move forward again, but Liang Zhiyi stopped her, her expression turning cold. “Did I say you could leave?”
Cold sweat began to form on Tong Sisi’s back.
“You said I posted that thread on the forum. Do you have any evidence?”
Seeing that Liang Zhiyi wasn’t letting it go, Tong Sisi glanced at her friend Sang Xunling, who had tears in her eyes, and angrily retorted, “I just suspect it’s you, so what? If it wasn’t you, why don’t you log into the school’s forum and show us?” Because the forum’s backend could trace the post history.
Another girl beside them murmured softly, “Even if you didn’t post it, you might have just supported the thread or agreed with the poster that Xunling isn’t as pretty as you…”
Liang Zhiyi chuckled. “What if I didn’t post anything?”
Feeling the eyes of the onlookers, Tong Sisi gritted her teeth. “If you really didn’t do anything, we’ll apologize to you. Is that enough?”
She couldn’t believe that Liang Zhiyi was entirely innocent!
Hearing this, Liang Zhiyi laughed softly. A few seconds later, she slowly took out her phone from her pocket.
She logged into the platform and showed her phone to the three girls, smiling. “Sorry, I haven’t completed my real-name verification.”
The girls were stunned.
Without real-name verification, you can’t even make a post.
After verifying her identity, Liang Zhiyi opened the post history—there was nothing there, and this record couldn’t be deleted.
“See?”
Now, the surrounding students looked at the three girls with a subtle expression.
Tong Sisi stubbornly insisted, “Maybe… maybe you didn’t post it yourself but asked a friend to do it!”
A nearby classmate spoke up for Liang Zhiyi. “You can’t just slander people like that. It’s never-ending…”
Others chimed in, “This is just wrong. You can’t keep bullying the new student like this…”
Liang Zhiyi put away her phone, lazily lifting her eyelids to look at Tong Sisi.
“You sounded so confident that I thought you had evidence. What, just because you flap your lips, I have to cooperate with you to clear my name?”
Liang Zhiyi’s eyes curved into a smile, still looking as charming as ever. “And do you really think I’m as bored as you guys, caring about some school belle title?”
Tong Sisi’s face stiffened, unable to find the words to respond.
Just then, a cold male voice suddenly sounded from the doorway. “What are you all doing standing here?”
Hearing the voice, Liang Zhiyi turned around and saw Pei Chen, who had somehow appeared outside. His eyes, deep and calm, happened to land on her.
Pei Chen walked in, and when Sang Xunling, who was standing in the middle, saw him, her eyes suddenly turned red as she choked out, “I’m sorry, Zhiyi. I know you’re not that kind of person. They didn’t mean it that way. I’m apologizing to you—can you just let it go? They just didn’t have the facts straight at the time…”
Liang Zhiyi suddenly laughed. “Why are you crying? Did I bully you?”
Sang Xunling was momentarily stunned.
Liang Zhiyi continued, “Who was it that called me disgusting, said I was a manipulative schemer trying to win people over, and accused me of staging everything on the forum? If you believed I wasn’t that kind of person, why didn’t you speak up when your friends were cursing me?”
And now you’re putting on this pitiful act with tears and a runny nose?
Sang Xunling hadn’t expected Liang Zhiyi to expose her intentions so bluntly. Feeling Pei Chen’s gaze on her, she clenched her fingertips, her face turning pale.
After getting a rough idea of what had happened, Pei Chen looked at Tong Sisi and the others, his thin lips parting to say, “So much free time during PE class? How about running a few laps?”
Tong Sisi was rendered completely speechless.
Liang Zhiyi turned to her and the other girl, raising an eyebrow. “What was it you said you’d do if I didn’t make the post?”
Even though the two were reluctant, with so many people watching, they had no choice but to mutter a low apology.
Liang Zhiyi’s eyes curved again as she offered some advice, “If life is too boring, maybe you should spend more time studying to improve your intellect. After all, beauty fades, but the knowledge you gain is the only wealth that lasts.”
Tong Sisi: …
In the end, Sang Xunling, with her eyes red, quickly lowered her head and rushed out of the equipment room, leaving the other two girls to follow her.
Pei Chen glanced around the room and then looked at the others. “Go do what you’re supposed to be doing.”
The rest of the classmates, having collected their equipment, quickly dispersed. Liang Zhiyi remained standing there as Pei Chen looked at her and asked calmly, “What do you need?”
Having calmed down, she glanced around before pointing with her lips. “I want a badminton set.”
“How many?”
“Just one will do.”
Pei Chen walked inside and, after a while, came back with two badminton rackets. He handed one to Liang Zhiyi.
Liang Zhiyi took it, her dimples showing as she smiled. “Thank you, class monitor.”
She was grateful that he had spoken up for her earlier.
Just as Liang Zhiyi was about to say something more, Ji Fei’er walked over. “Zhizhi, did you get the racket?”
Liang Zhiyi nodded and smiled at Pei Chen. “I’ll be off now.”
She left the equipment room with Ji Fei’er. As they reached the playground, two girls, one with a braid and the other wearing glasses, Gao Jia, approached them. They had just heard about how Liang Zhiyi had stood up to Tong Sisi and the others.
The girl with the braid said that Tong Sisi often badmouths people behind their backs. Many people don’t like her, but no one dares to confront her. Now, everyone is praising how cool Liang Zhiyi was just now.
Ji Fei’er, after hearing the full story, chuckled. “Sang Xunling is just afraid that Zhizhi might actually outshine her, so she hoped that Zhizhi was the one who posted the thread. No one else thinks she’s less attractive than Zhizhi. It’s a case of ‘the more insecure you are, the more you care about that insecurity.'”
“I never intended to compete with her,” Liang Zhiyi replied, finding the rivalry over such things quite disgusting.
Afterward, Liang Zhiyi and Ji Fei’er headed to the badminton court to play. As they were playing, Liang Zhiyi noticed a group of boys approaching the court with badminton rackets. Among them, Pei Chen’s tall figure stood out the most.
Was he coming over to play too?
Pei Chen looked up and, as if by instinct, his gaze met hers, which was filled with a warm smile.
Xuan Xia, walking beside him, pointed to the empty court next to Liang Zhiyi and said, “Let’s go over there!”
Xuan Xia led Pei Chen over, and as they passed, they greeted Liang Zhiyi. She smiled and continued her game.
After playing for a while, Liang Zhiyi and Ji Fei’er sat on the grass outside the court to rest. Ji Fei’er winked at her and said, “Zhizhi, I’m too lazy to go get my water bottle.”
Liang Zhiyi handed her own bottle to her. “Here, drink.”
Ji Fei’er accepted it with a smile. Liang Zhiyi glanced over at the adjacent court and saw Pei Chen and Xuan Xia playing a match, with many boys watching them.
Pei Chen was playing, his white shirt clinging to his body and subtly outlining his muscles, exuding a strong sense of masculinity.
She hadn’t expected him to look so handsome while playing sports…
When Pei Chen executed a powerful smash, the surrounding crowd erupted in cheers. Liang Zhiyi couldn’t help but clap as well. “Pei Chen is amazing!”
The boys around them, noticing Liang Zhiyi’s reaction, started making even more noise. Pei Chen briefly met the girl’s sparkling eyes, his own dark eyes narrowing slightly as he suppressed the emotions rising within him, before looking away.
—
The class eventually ended, and as the dismissal bell rang, everyone was free to go home.
Liang Zhiyi and the others left first. Pei Chen handed his racket to Xuan Xia, asking him to return it, and then went to sit alone on the bleachers.
While playing today, possibly because he had to return some difficult shots, his right knee was now aching faintly. His brows furrowed as he massaged the painful spot.
As the pain gradually subsided, Xuan Xia came back and noticed, asking, “Is your leg okay?”
The boy lowered his dark eyes. “It’s nothing.”
Xuan Xia and Pei Chen had been classmates since middle school and were the closest in the class, so Xuan Xia knew about Pei Chen’s situation.
After grabbing their backpacks, they headed towards the parking lot. As they passed the basketball court on the opposite side of the playground, the boys inside were running and dribbling freely, full of energy and radiating confidence.
A flood of memories surged up.
Pei Chen watched them, momentarily forgetting to look away.
Xuan Xia followed his gaze, guessing what he was thinking, and couldn’t help but ask, “How’s your leg now? How’s the recovery going?”
Pei Chen lowered his eyes. “Medication, then exercise.”
“It’s been almost two years, and you still haven’t fully recovered?”
Pei Chen’s Adam’s apple moved as he looked down, his eyes dark and deep like ink. “I need surgery.”
But his family couldn’t afford the cost of the surgery.
Xuan Xia smiled lightly, trying to sound casual. “No worries, with time, it’ll definitely get better. I’m just waiting for you to get back on the court and dominate everyone.”
Pei Chen didn’t say anything. After a while, they reached the parking lot, retrieved their bicycles, and walked towards the school gate.
Xuan Xia suddenly remembered something and teased him with a smile. “By the way, you were pretty eye-catching playing badminton today.”
“What?”
Xuan Xia gave him a knowing look. “You didn’t notice that while you were playing, Liang Zhiyi was watching you the whole time?”
Pei Chen was momentarily stunned.
“I think she might be into you! Remember that night during military training when she called you aside? And today, every time you won a point, she looked so excited, like she was in total awe of you.”
Hearing this, Pei Chen’s grip tightened on the bike handle, and his expression darkened.
Thoughts began to emerge in his mind, but he quickly dismissed them.
His Adam’s apple moved as he paused in silence. “Stop saying things like that.”
It was completely impossible.
“What do you mean ‘stop saying that’? I can clearly tell her attitude towards you is different from how she treats others. Hey, let’s say, hypothetically, just hypothetically, if she really likes you, what would you think?”
Pei Chen’s expression shifted slightly as he replied calmly, “It has nothing to do with me.”
He and Liang Zhiyi were not people from the same world.
He didn’t like her, wasn’t interested, and wouldn’t even consider such things.
“Are you really not even a little tempted?”
Pei Chen pulled up the corners of his mouth in a low, self-mocking tone. “Given my family’s situation, do you think I have the luxury to think about anything else?”
Hearing this, Xuan Xia awkwardly scratched his head. “True, studies are the most important thing, and early relationships aren’t advisable.”
“By the way, want to go see a movie together this weekend? A really great war film just came out, and I’ve heard the special effects are amazing!”
“I don’t have time this weekend.”
“Part-time job?”
“Yeah.”
Xuan Xia knew that Pei Chen almost always worked part-time on weekends and didn’t have much time for leisure. “Alright then.”
When they reached the school gate, they parted ways, and Pei Chen rode his bike home.
After buying some pens at the stationery store near his neighborhood, Pei Chen stepped out to see that only a bit of twilight remained in the sea-blue sky.
Pushing his bike, he passed by the nearby flower shop and noticed a few pots of gardenias still displayed at the entrance.
Most of the buds had bloomed by now, each one as white as snow, looking exceptionally beautiful.
The florist, noticing him pause, came out and asked, “Hello, would you like to buy some gardenias?”
Xuan Xia’s words from earlier that evening resurfaced in his mind.
“No, thank you.”
With that, Pei Chen lowered his eyes and walked away.
—
In the evening, Liang Zhiyi and Liang Tongzhou returned home together.
Upon arriving home, Liang Zhiyi took a shower first. Her father, Liang Tianming, finished his work at the company and picked up his wife, Zhong Xinrou, from the hospital before returning home.
As dinner was served, the family ate together, and her parents, as usual, asked about her day at school. Liang Zhiyi casually mentioned how she was falsely accused of posting something on the forum.
Zhong Xinrou sighed, “Girls these days can be a bit more scheming.”
Liang Tongzhou, sitting across from her, laughed. “Was it that Sang Xunling? You might be just average-looking, but you’re at least better-looking than her, right?”
Liang Zhiyi glared at him. “Get lost! If I’m average, then you’re just plain ugly.”
“Pfft…”
The siblings bantered back and forth, and Zhong Xinrou chuckled, “Alright, you two, why are you still acting like little kids?”
Liang Tianming suggested that if something like this happened again, Liang Zhiyi could let the teachers handle it. She obediently nodded and shot a glance at Liang Tongzhou before continuing to eat.
Then Zhong Xinrou started reminding the two kids to focus on their studies this semester. Liang Zhiyi smiled and said, “Don’t worry, Mom and Dad, I’m serious about my studies. Besides, I’m sitting right next to the top student in the grade.”
“Top student in the grade?” Zhong Xinrou was surprised. “What’s their name?”
“Pei Chen.”
“A boy?”
“Yes, he’s really good at studying, super smart.”
“Then you should definitely learn from him.”
Liang Zhiyi smiled sweetly, “Of course.”
“Just don’t get involved in any early romances,” Liang Tongzhou teased with a smirk.
“What are you talking about? Do I seem like that kind of person…”
Feeling a bit flustered, Liang Zhiyi grabbed her water cup and took a few sips, then quickly buried her head in her food.
—
The weekend passed in the blink of an eye.
Monday morning came, which was also the last day of September.
Pei Chen arrived at the classroom a bit early. He first checked on the classroom cleaning duties, placed the homework that needed to be turned in on the desk, and after completing all the tasks, he returned to his seat and took out his Chinese textbook.
Today, Lincheng experienced an unexpected warm spell, and the morning sun was already blazing. The classroom had started to get hot.
Pei Chen walked to the door to turn on the fan overhead, but for some reason, the fan was broken and wouldn’t spin.
He had no choice but to return to his seat and continue reading, but the stifling heat combined with his exhaustion made his eyelids grow heavier. Before long, he couldn’t resist and closed his eyes, laying his head down on the desk.
Last night, he hadn’t gotten home until one in the morning.
During the day on the weekend, he tutored a few elementary and middle school kids in his neighborhood one-on-one. Some of the neighbors, knowing about his family’s situation and that he was a good student, had asked him to tutor their children. During the breaks in the students’ study sessions, Pei Chen would do his own homework or read.
In addition to tutoring, he had also found a job at a rice shop, where he mainly handled unloading goods. He earned a hundred yuan a night, which was a significant amount of money for him.
After finishing work and returning home last night, he had only slept a few hours before getting up.
Now, he was utterly exhausted.
The sunlight streaming in from outside was glaring, and the surrounding air was thick with heat, clinging to his white shirt.
Lying on the desk, tiny beads of sweat formed on his face, gathering and rolling down his forehead, sticky and hot.
As more and more students filled the classroom, Chen Sihang and a few boys were making a ruckus in the back, their noisy chatter rising and falling. In his sleep, Pei Chen frowned slightly, drifting between half-asleep and half-awake.
Gradually, in the haze of his consciousness, he began to notice that the light around him had dimmed considerably. Suddenly, a refreshing breeze blew through, dispersing the surrounding heat and soothing his tired heart.
He dozed comfortably for a while longer, then slowly woke up and opened his eyes. As his vision cleared, the bright and clear face of a girl came into focus bit by bit—it was Liang Zhiyi.
The curtains behind her were drawn, and at that moment, she was lying on her side, propping her chin on her hand as she looked at him. In her hand, she was holding a small fan aimed at him.
When Liang Zhiyi saw that he was awake, her lips curved into a smile. The warmth in her dark eyes spread, forming a small dimple on her right cheek. Her voice was soft and gentle as she asked with concern, “Pei Chen, did I wake you? Do you want to sleep a bit longer?”