Over the weekend, Liang Zhiyi stayed at home the entire time. Ji Fei’er initially wanted to invite her out to lift her spirits, but she declined.
Except for meals, she spent most of her time in her bedroom, doing practice problems from morning until night.
Whenever she was in a bad mood, she liked doing problems.
The more difficult the problems she solved, the more it helped her relieve stress.
On Sunday evening, after finishing dinner, she returned to her room and completed all the practice exercises.
Feeling bored, she rested her head on the desk and stared blankly at the dark blue planet-shaped earrings in her jewelry box.
She absentmindedly took them out, and it reminded her of the first time she met Pei Chen downstairs at the hotel.
Who would have thought that such a fleeting glance back then would lead to him becoming the person who now influenced her emotions so deeply?
Feeling frustrated, she buried her head in her arms, puffed out her cheeks, and after a while, she remembered something and took out her phone to send a message to Zhi Mian:
“Xiao Jiu, sorry, I have something to do tonight, so I can’t go to the supermarket with you guys.”
Originally, she had planned to use this opportunity to meet Pei Chen, but now she didn’t want to see him and didn’t know how to face him.
A moment later, her phone rang, and she saw it was Zhi Mian calling.
She answered, and a soft voice asked, “Zhiyi, where are you? We’ve all arrived.”
The girl was momentarily stunned. “Huh? Didn’t I say I wasn’t free tonight?”
Zhi Mian opened WeChat and realized she had missed the message, feeling silly and embarrassed, she said, “I didn’t see it. I thought you hadn’t arrived yet…”
Liang Zhiyi heard a lot of noise on the other end of the line, with classmates talking in the background. “Class president, should we grab another shopping cart?”
“Let’s just push one for now…”
Pei Chen’s cold voice sounded from the other end.
Remembering how much she had been looking forward to going shopping with him tonight, the girl felt a pang of bitterness in her heart and quickly said, “Well, you guys go ahead and shop. I’ll hang up now.”
“Okay.”
On the other end, Zhi Mian hung up the phone, and someone asked, “So, where is Zhiyi?”
“She said she’s not coming tonight.”
“What happened?”
“She said she has something to take care of.”
“Oh, alright then…”
Zhi Mian’s words reached Pei Chen, who was standing nearby. His hand, which was pushing the shopping cart, paused slightly.
“Shall we go in now?” someone asked Pei Chen.
He lowered his gaze and softly replied, “Let’s go.”
On the other side, after hanging up the phone, Liang Zhiyi felt a wave of disappointment wash over her. She got up, threw herself onto the bed, and hugged her Stellalou plush, burying her face into it.
Even though she had spent the past few days mentally preparing herself not to like Pei Chen anymore, why did she still feel so unhappy?
Boo-hoo, that bad guy Pei Chen…
If he weren’t so handsome, she might not have noticed him in the first place…
But now, her feelings for him weren’t just because he was handsome.
Liang Zhiyi felt a lump in her throat as her nose started to tingle with the urge to cry.
She stayed depressed for a long while until she heard a knock on the door. After responding, she saw Liang Tongzhou push the door open and come in.
She was lying on her plush, looking up at him, and mumbled, “What do you want?”
“What’s with that attitude? I’m just bringing you some fruit, and you look all unhappy,” Liang Tongzhou said as he placed a plate of peeled grapefruit on her desk. “I even peeled it for you.”
She wasn’t in the mood to eat. “Just leave it there.”
Liang Tongzhou put his hands in his pockets, leaned against the wall, and looked at her. “What’s wrong with you these past couple of days? You’ve been locking yourself in your room.”
“Huh? Why are you asking that…”
“We’re twins, after all. Don’t you think I’d know how you’re feeling?” Liang Tongzhou chuckled. “So, what’s up? Feeling down? Did you get dumped?”
Liang Zhiyi froze and then quickly retorted, feeling guilty, “You’re the one who got dumped.”
Liang Tongzhou pressed her for the real reason. Liang Zhiyi lowered her eyes, her expression melancholic:
“Nothing… It’s just… there’s something I really wanted from a store, but I haven’t been able to get it.”
Liang Tongzhou was puzzled. “What is it? Is it that important?”
The girl’s voice was tinged with sadness as she softly murmured, “Yes, I really want it.”
“Can’t you find it at any other store?”
“No, this is the only one…”
There wasn’t even a substitute available.
Liang Tongzhou, still somewhat puzzled, just chuckled, “I thought it was something serious. It’s just buying something, isn’t it? Since when has Liang Zhiyi ever failed at anything she set her mind to?”
The girl was momentarily stunned.
Yes, from childhood until now, whenever she set her mind on something—whether it was going somewhere or doing something—she had never failed. No one had ever been able to stop her.
In the end, Liang Tongzhou said, “If you really want it that badly, then find a way to get it, no matter what. Is it really worth feeling so down for half a day over this?”
After he left the room, Liang Zhiyi’s mind kept echoing with his words, lingering long after.
Once she decided to do something, no matter how difficult or exhausting it might be, she could always grit her teeth and push through. If she truly wanted something, there was nothing she couldn’t obtain.
So how should she face Pei Chen…
Liang Zhiyi gazed at the night outside her window, lost in thought.
The next day, Monday, the morning sun gradually rose, casting its light over the streets and alleys.
Today marked the long-awaited school sports day at No. 1 High School.
In the early morning, Pei Chen arrived at the classroom very early. He first went downstairs with a few class committee members to set up their class’s base, then returned to the classroom to continue preparing for the sports day.
As it neared seven o’clock, he finished his tasks for the time being and sat back in his seat, planning to take a moment to review some English vocabulary.
As he was engrossed in memorizing words, a familiar floral scent suddenly wafted over, accompanied by a slight noise beside him.
He instinctively glanced to the side and saw Liang Zhiyi sitting down next to him.
Today, she was wearing an avocado-green preppy short dress, her hair tied up in a high ponytail, her skin glowing with a radiant fairness.
Her delicate, beautiful face was framed by long, curled eyelashes, light and fluttery like butterfly wings, exuding an air of youthful innocence.
As she sat down, Xuan Xia and Fan Gao, who were seated in the front row, turned around to greet her, and she responded with a bright smile, “Good morning!”
“Did you go downstairs to watch the competition this morning?”
“Yes, I did.”
“Let me tell you, there are a few matches today that are going to be absolutely thrilling. They are the highlight of our school’s…”
As she spoke, the girl slightly shifted her chair closer to the window, putting some distance between herself and Pei Chen, before happily chatting with the two boys.
Pei Chen lowered his eyelids, his gaze falling on his vocabulary book. His expression was hidden in the shadow, making it hard to discern his emotions.
The classroom buzzed with noise that morning. Since there were no classes, everyone was full of excitement.
Once all the students had arrived, Fang Zhang also entered the classroom.
Fang Zhang made a few announcements regarding the sports events and finally addressed the topic of cheering submissions. He mentioned that aside from the athletes and designated logistics personnel, everyone else was required to submit six original cheering essays. If any were found to be copied from the internet, the team would lose points.
By a little after 8 AM, the opening ceremony concluded, and the schedule for the sports events officially kicked off.
The sports day was quite flexible; students could stay in their classrooms or head to their class base on the sports field to watch the competitions.
Liang Tongzhou was also participating in the sports day, with the men’s 100-meter preliminary race scheduled for the morning. Liang Zhiyi, feeling bored, decided to visit his class base to find him.
Even though she often complained about her brother, she still cared for him when it mattered.
Several of Liang Tongzhou’s friends, seeing such a beautiful sister, enthusiastically started chatting with her. Liang Zhiyi, having no other plans, stayed with Liang Tongzhou and his group.
Not far away, in Class 9’s base, everyone was chatting and laughing.
Pei Chen stood at the front of their base, looking over the event schedule. Suddenly, Fan Gao patted him on the shoulder, pointing in a direction and jokingly said:
“Pei Chen, look at Liang Zhiyi. She’s defected—she’s over at another class!”
Pei Chen lifted his gaze and followed Fan Gao’s finger, spotting Liang Zhiyi sitting among a group of boys in another class, smiling brightly.
Wherever she went, she was always the center of attention.
Fan Gao squinted his eyes. “The guy sitting next to Liang Zhiyi is pretty handsome. Don’t you think they seem to be getting along really well?”
At that moment, Liang Zhiyi and Liang Tongzhou were chatting about something. Liang Tongzhou’s lips curled into a smile as he reached out to ruffle her hair, causing the girl to playfully pretend to hit him, their interaction showing a close bond.
Liang Zhiyi loved to laugh.
She was like that with all the boys.
Pei Chen averted his gaze, staying silent. Fan Gao noticed his cold expression and scratched his head in confusion, asking:
“Pei Chen, did something happen between you and Liang Zhiyi? Why haven’t you two talked at all today?”
Pei Chen didn’t respond. His long lashes lowered, and his Adam’s apple bobbed slightly.
He had succeeded.
Succeeded in making sure she no longer hovered around him all the time.
…
A while later, the men’s 100-meter race began, and Liang Tongzhou won first place in the preliminaries.
Pei Chen had some business to attend to, so he headed toward the finish line. As he approached, he happened to cross paths with Liang Zhiyi, Liang Tongzhou, and their group.
The girl handed a bottle of mineral water to Liang Tongzhou, laughing and chatting with those around her, her eyes curved in joy.
As they drew closer, Liang Zhiyi glanced in Pei Chen’s direction.
The next moment, she deliberately looked away first and passed by him without a word.
Pei Chen’s grip on the event schedule briefly tightened, and his eyes darkened.