The two of them stood very close to each other. The fragrance of the gardenia on the girl and the fresh scent of laundry soap on the boy mingled in the air, becoming even more intense in the oppressive heat, intertwining with one another.
Liang Zhiyi looked at Pei Chen, her eyebrows slightly raised, a seductive charm in her eyes, like a cunning little fox.
The boy looked down at the receipt, his thin lips pressed together, as if he hadn’t heard her words at all.
…Could it be that he didn’t catch her hint?
Why is this person so dense!
Just as she was wondering, Liang Zhiyi turned her head and saw the homeroom teacher walk in. He went to the desk, tossed down his notebook, and noticed her standing beside Pei Chen. He looked slightly surprised, “What’s going on?”
Liang Zhiyi put her hands behind her back, glanced at Pei Chen, and smiled sweetly, “Nothing, I just came to ask the class monitor a few questions.”
The homeroom teacher nodded, not thinking much of it. Liang Zhiyi then said, “I’ll be heading out now.”
In the corner of Pei Chen’s eye, he saw the girl walking away with a light step, her ponytail swaying playfully, looking both mischievous and cute.
He lowered his gaze, the words he just heard swirling in his mind, the calmness in his eyes finally giving way to a storm of emotions. His thin lips tightened into a straight line, and his cold white jawline tensed up.
The homeroom teacher looked up and saw Pei Chen standing at the desk, staring down at the receipt, his face taut, his hands motionless, and the tips of his ears faintly red.
It was as if he had suddenly been caught up in some deep thought.
Slightly puzzled, the teacher called out, “Pei Chen, have you finished counting both sets?”
The boy quickly snapped out of his thoughts, glanced at the pile of receipts he had gone over twice already but lost track of, and replied, “There’s still one more left, I’ll finish it right away.”
Finally, Pei Chen finished counting and walked out of the office with the receipts.
Xuan Xia had just returned from the restroom and noticed him. Once again, he noticed the dark circles under Pei Chen’s eyes and teased, “What were you up to last night? Your dark circles are so heavy!”
He had seen Pei Chen sleeping earlier that morning, but he knew that Pei Chen never needed to spend much time studying, so it couldn’t be that he stayed up late to study.
Suddenly, a thought struck him, and he exclaimed, “Bro, don’t tell me you stayed up late working last night?!”
Pei Chen responded calmly.
“What kind of job keeps you up so late? I remember you tutor people on weekends, right?”
“I found another one.”
“Ah…”
Xuan Xia was about to say more, but Pei Chen handed the stack of receipts to him, “Take this to the class for me, I’m going to the restroom.”
“Alright.”
Xuan Xia returned to the classroom, placed the receipts on Pei Chen’s desk, then slumped in the front row, sighing deeply:
“Staying up late to work, Pei Shen is working way too hard…”
Liang Zhiyi, who had just returned to the classroom and was working on her homework, caught what was said and looked up in surprise, “What do you mean by staying up late to work?”
Xuan Xia was taken aback.
Was he speaking that loudly?
“Did you say Pei Chen was staying up late for work?”
“Well…”
Curious, Liang Zhiyi pressed him for more details. Xuan Xia, who hadn’t intended to discuss this behind Pei Chen’s back, reluctantly explained, “You probably know that Pei Chen does work-study, right? But I only knew that he tutors people on weekends during the day. As for last night, I’m not exactly sure what kind of part-time job he was doing…”
Liang Zhiyi was stunned by this.
She had originally thought that Pei Chen was sleeping this morning because he stayed up late studying, but it turned out it was because he had been working…
Her heart ached. “Is his family… struggling?”
Xuan Xia sighed and didn’t give specifics. “It’s probably something like that.”
Liang Zhiyi, who had been pampered since childhood, had never had to consider such things. She recalled seeing Pei Chen working so hard to move books for others before and couldn’t imagine someone as outstanding as him being forced to bear the heavy burden of life while still in high school.
What kind of situation was Pei Chen’s family in…
“By the way, don’t tell anyone else about this! And it’s best not to ask Pei Chen about it either; he’s pretty proud,” Xuan Xia advised.
“Don’t worry, I won’t.”
She knew where to draw the line on this.
Not long after, Pei Chen returned. He handed out the receipts and then returned to his seat, placing his own receipt back into his drawer.
Liang Zhiyi glanced over and noticed that the boy’s originally long and beautiful hands now bore a few abrasions and scrapes.
Thinking about what she had just heard from Xuan Xia about Pei Chen working, her heart clenched, a bitter feeling welling up inside her. But in the end, she could only suppress all her questions.
—
In the afternoon, during the last class, which was a homeroom session, the teacher announced a few things about the upcoming National Day holiday. Despite the mountain of homework assigned by the teachers, everyone was still excited about the break.
When the dismissal bell rang, the classroom erupted into chaos as everyone happily packed up to head home.
Liang Zhiyi and Ji Fei’er walked downstairs toward the school gate. Seeing her friend’s low spirits, Ji Fei’er was surprised, “What’s wrong? Are you not happy about the holiday?”
Liang Zhiyi frowned and sighed lightly, “How can I be happy when I won’t see Pei Chen for seven days?”
Ji Fei’er clicked her tongue, “Looks like I need to find someone to like too, so I can cure my reluctance to come to school.”
Liang Zhiyi huffed, frustratedly kicking a small stone at her feet, “Pei Chen is such a blockhead.”
“You’re just realizing this now?”
“This morning, I hinted to him that I was interested in him, and he didn’t even react.”
“What?! Did you confess to him?”
“No, I just hinted.”
She blinked, “But it seemed like he didn’t get it.”
After Liang Zhiyi explained the situation in detail, Ji Fei’er burst out laughing, “Maybe he thought you were suggesting he should aim to be the school heartthrob?”
“…”
“Is that how you rate the comprehension skills of a top student?”
“Then why didn’t he react? Although, there’s also the possibility that you just can’t win him over,” Ji Fei’er patted her on the shoulder. “Maybe you should just give up; aren’t other guys just as appealing?”
Liang Zhiyi’s eyes rolled around, and she mumbled, “No.”
She had decided that she liked him.
When they reached the school gate, Liang Zhiyi noticed the family car already waiting. She said goodbye to Ji Fei’er and walked toward the car.
Once inside, she saw that her younger brother was already there, lounging carelessly in the back seat while playing on his phone.
Liang Tongzhou glanced at her and sneered, “You always make me wait.”
Liang Zhiyi smiled, “If you’re unhappy, you can walk home yourself.”
“Next time, I’ll tell Uncle Zhang not to wait for you. As soon as he picks me up, we’ll leave.”
Liang Zhiyi gave a playful smile and asked upfront, “Uncle Zhang, you wouldn’t be so heartless, would you?”
The driver, who was just starting the car, saw the girl pouting at him through the rearview mirror. He couldn’t resist her charm and chuckled warmly, “Miss Zhiyi, don’t worry, I definitely won’t do that…”
Feeling smug, Liang Zhiyi shot a triumphant look at the disgruntled Liang Tongzhou. Just as she was about to roll up the window, something outside caught her attention, and she called out:
“Pei Chen—”
Outside the car, Pei Chen was pushing his bicycle, walking with Xuan Xia and a few other boys.
Hearing her call, Pei Chen turned his head and saw Liang Zhiyi waving at him from inside the car, her dark, thick eyebrows curved like crescent moons.
The boys around him noticed this and snickered, teasing him. Pei Chen looked at Liang Zhiyi, his black eyes showing a hint of surprise, and his Adam’s apple bobbed slightly.
Liang Zhiyi didn’t have time to chat, so she waved at him, “I’m leaving now, bye~”
The car gradually drove away.
One of the boys exclaimed, “What brand of car is Liang Zhiyi riding in? It looks like a luxury car.”
“You didn’t see the little angel emblem on the hood? That’s a Rolls-Royce, worth tens of millions per car.”
“Amazing, she’s definitely the daughter of a wealthy family…”
Hearing this, Pei Chen thought about what he had overheard in the office that morning. He lowered his eyes and gripped the bike handlebars tightly.
The Rolls-Royce gradually disappeared from sight.
In the back seat, Liang Tongzhou noticed his sister waving at Pei Chen and was surprised by her rare display of enthusiasm. “Who was that guy? You seemed really happy to see him.”
“My deskmate.”
“Oh, the one you mentioned before, the top student in your grade? He’s pretty good-looking.”
“Of course, he’s the school heartthrob,” she replied proudly.
“Well, now that I’m here, the title of school heartthrob will change hands.”
“…Do you have no shame?”
Liang Tongzhou turned to look at her, “You’ve got that lovestruck look on your face. What, do you like him?”
Liang Zhiyi didn’t expect her feelings to be so easily seen through and instinctively denied it, “Can you stop talking nonsense?”
Liang Tongzhou scoffed but didn’t take it seriously. Feeling a bit guilty, Liang Zhiyi looked out the window and didn’t continue the conversation.
—
That evening, after dinner, Liang Zhiyi went to practice the guzheng.
She knew how to play many instruments, but her favorite was the guzheng.
After finishing, she returned to her bedroom and sat by the window, gazing outside in a daze, her mind filled with thoughts of Pei Chen.