Around 11 a.m., the morning events had all ended, and the students on the playground gradually dispersed.
Since there were no other activities in the morning, many students didn’t return to their classrooms. After watching the competitions, they went directly to eat.
Liang Zhiyi stayed in the classroom to rest. After a while, a female classmate walked in. When she saw Liang Zhiyi, she paused slightly, didn’t say anything, and walked to her seat.
After packing her schoolbag, the girl finally approached Liang Zhiyi’s desk and softly asked, “Zhiyi, why are you still here? School’s already out.”
The girl’s name was Feng Ke’er, the shortest girl in the class, with short hair and a small burn scar on her neck. She was very introverted and usually had little interaction with Liang Zhiyi.
Liang Zhiyi looked up at her and politely curved her lips into a faint smile. “I’m waiting for Ji Fei’er. Has the match downstairs ended?”
“Yes,” Feng Ke’er noticed the pale color on the girl’s face. “Are you okay? Are you feeling unwell?”
“It’s nothing, just my period.”
Feng Ke’er expressed concern for her a few more times, then seemed to think of something. “Wait a moment.”
She ran back to her seat and returned after a while with a small packet of brown sugar ginger tea, handing it to her somewhat shyly. “I happened to have a packet in my drawer. You can brew it and drink some; it might make you feel better.”
Liang Zhiyi, who usually had no interaction with her and had never spoken to her, accepted it with thanks, feeling unexpectedly warmed by this sudden act of kindness. She was a bit surprised, but Feng Ke’er didn’t say anything more and then left.
Liang Zhiyi felt touched. So many students in Class 9 were so kind.
She went to brew the brown sugar water and sipped it slowly. After a moment, Ji Fei’er came into the classroom from the playground.
Ji Fei’er had wanted to stay in the classroom with Liang Zhiyi this morning, but the girl insisted that she didn’t need to stay and urged her to go downstairs to watch the match.
Upon entering the classroom, Ji Fei’er saw Liang Zhiyi sitting at her desk, daydreaming, with a cup in her hands, her profile illuminated by the sunlight, making her skin look fair and radiant.
“Zhizhi, I’m back!”
Ji Fei’er ran over and sat beside her, gently patting her head, and asked with concern, “How are you feeling? Is your body more comfortable now?”
Liang Zhiyi lazily leaned back in her chair and pouted. “I just took a nap; I’m fine.”
“That’s good. Your period really came at a bad time. Today’s matches were amazing,” Ji Fei’er excitedly described the events to Liang Zhiyi, then linked arms with her. “Babe, let’s go eat. I’m starving.”
Liang Zhiyi responded with a sound and casually asked, “Did you see Pei Chen when you came upstairs?”
Ji Fei’er clicked her tongue, “Oh, still thinking about him?”
“Hmm…”
“Look at you, still so concerned. I didn’t see him; he’s probably gone to eat already.”
A faint sense of disappointment arose in Liang Zhiyi’s heart. “Did you see him at the base camp this morning?”
“Today, the sun was so intense that staying at the base camp felt like I could get sunburned. I don’t understand how Línchéng can still be this hot in October, but I heard someone say that he was sitting inside this morning, working on refueling the draft. Mainly because the base camp is the only place with tables,” Ji Fei’er said, sounding puzzled. “Why are you asking about this?”
Liang Zhiyi rested her chin on her hand, staring at the desk with a slightly unfocused gaze, and softly said, “He wasn’t working on his draft.”
“Hmm?”
“He was helping me write mine.”
“Helping you write?!”
“He came to the classroom this morning and saw that I wasn’t feeling well, so he told me to rest. He initially said he’d talk to the class representative for me, but I didn’t expect him to just write it for me.”
She had always thought that he was indifferent or ignored her, but the boy had quietly done this for her.
Looking back, he had actually helped her many times before, including last time when they were inspecting the classroom’s cleanliness—he had stood up for her.
Ji Fei’er was also quite surprised after hearing this. “It seems like Pei Chen is really good to you. There are others in the class who didn’t write their drafts either, but he didn’t help them. But why is he still being so nice to you when he already turned you down?”
Liang Zhiyi couldn’t help but wonder the same thing…
She lowered her head, her thoughts swirling with a mix of emotions—sweetness and bitterness intertwined, leaving her conflicted.
Seeing her like this, Ji Fei’er sighed, “I think you still like him. You haven’t let go at all.”
Liang Zhiyi pouted and, after a few seconds, said, “I don’t want to think about it anymore. Let’s go eat. I’m really hungry.”
“Let’s go! Eating is the happiest thing!”
The two girls quickly packed their bags and headed out of the classroom. “What should we eat for lunch? How about huangmenji?”
The classroom fell silent as they left.
Five minutes later, Pei Chen, who had just finished his tasks, came upstairs and walked into the classroom.
Almost instinctively, his eyes first looked toward the last desk in the fourth row.
But he found that the girl was no longer there.
His gaze paused for a moment as he walked over and saw that the desk was empty, with only her favorite pumpkin-shaped water cup left on it.
The drawer was empty too.
She must have left.
Pei Chen lowered his eyes, the light in them dimming slightly as he suppressed the worry that had been lingering in his heart for a long time. He sat down and began to pack his schoolbag.
As Pei Chen walked downstairs, Xuan Xia, who was leaning against the wall waiting for him, complained, “You said you’d be back after grabbing lunch at the cafeteria, but you just had to go upstairs to get your schoolbag. Isn’t that a hassle?”
Pei Chen lowered his eyes and didn’t respond.
Finally, as he reached Xuan Xia’s side, he glanced at him and said, “Let’s go. If we don’t hurry, there’ll only be lettuce left at the cafeteria.”
“Hey, man, that’s all because of you…”
At noon, Ji Fei’er accompanied Liang Zhiyi to a café near the school for a short rest. After a half-day of rest, Liang Zhiyi felt much better, her body no longer as weak and soft.
In the afternoon, after returning to school, she and Ji Fei’er went directly to the base camp on the playground.
After all, it was the last leisurely half-day, so they wanted to make the most of it instead of staying in the classroom.
The afternoon sunlight filtered through the tree branches, casting dancing shadows on the ground.
Before the events started, Ji Fei’er went to the restroom, and Liang Zhiyi sat in a chair at the base camp, staring idly at the playground.
A moment later, she noticed something out of the corner of her eye.
A few boys walked up from under the bleachers, and Pei Chen was among them. He was tall and slim, with sharp features, dark hair, and indifferent eyes. The teardrop-shaped mole at the corner of his eye shimmered faintly.
Even in the standard blue and white school uniform, he stood out the most among the crowd.
Many girls from other classes glanced in his direction, secretly admiring the aloof and seemingly unattainable campus heartthrob.
Suppressing her own feelings, Liang Zhiyi lowered her head, pretending not to see him.
On the other side.
As the boys walked up to the bleachers, Pei Chen, listening to the chatter of those around him, happened to catch sight of the bright-eyed girl sitting in the base camp. A flash of surprise crossed his deep eyes.
The boys walked into the base camp, and someone said to Pei Chen, “Class monitor, could you write down this list? I’m afraid I’ll forget it later…”
Liang Zhiyi was looking at her phone when a shadow suddenly fell over her. She looked up to see Pei Chen standing at the table beside her, his gaze resting on her.
His eyes seemed to carry a myriad of emotions, yet also appeared calm and composed.
Their eyes met for a brief moment, and Liang Zhiyi lightly pressed her lips together, then averted her gaze.
Pei Chen placed his schoolbag on the table and took out a pen and notebook.
Seeing that he was about to write something, Liang Zhiyi was about to stand up to give him space, but the boy’s clear yet slightly hoarse voice came from above her head:
“You can stay seated.”
Liang Zhiyi froze for a moment, then remained seated.
Seeing him busy, she didn’t feel it was appropriate to ask about the draft, so she decided to let it go for now.
Pei Chen silently lowered his gaze, noticing that her complexion was no longer as pale as it had been in the morning. Satisfied, he returned his focus to his work.
Just then, the boys from their class started teasing him from the side:
“Class monitor, look over there! There are several girls watching you!”
“They look like freshmen from first-year! The class monitor’s charm is undeniable, haha!”
“Class monitor, just look at them! They all seem so excited…”
Hearing this, Liang Zhiyi instinctively glanced over and indeed saw a few girls looking in their direction, sneaking glances at Pei Chen with infatuated smiles on their faces.
Is Pei Chen really such a big deal? What’s so great about him anyway…?
Feeling a bit jealous, she glanced back at Pei Chen, only to see him still focused on writing, not even bothering to look up at the teasing remarks. He responded coolly, “What does that have to do with me?”
Everyone was already used to Pei Chen’s aloofness, but Liang Zhiyi withdrew her gaze, realizing that he had never been that cold to her…
Throughout the afternoon, Liang Zhiyi mostly stayed at the base camp.
As the teachers’ relay race, the final event of the day, concluded, all the competitions were over.
In the evening, the golden light of the setting sun bathed the playground.
The entire student body gathered on the playground for the closing ceremony of the sports day. The teachers announced the top five classes in each grade for the group points, as well as the names of the outstanding athletes, and awarded them certificates.
Class 9 secured second place in the group points. Although it wasn’t first place, everyone was still quite happy.
After the closing ceremony, students were allowed to go home, but some from the class had to stay behind to help clean up the base camp. With nothing else to do, Liang Zhiyi and Ji Fei’er joined in to help.
As she worked, Liang Zhiyi noticed Pei Chen busily moving around. Today, she truly understood just how many responsibilities he had as a class monitor.
She also wondered how he managed to find time to write the draft for her despite being so busy.
Midway through, Ji Fei’er received a call—her parents had come to pick her up, so she had to leave early. As other classmates finished helping out, they gradually left as well, leaving only a few people to wrap things up.
After helping put the class signboard in the equipment room, Liang Zhiyi returned to find that only Pei Chen, Xuan Xia, Zhi Mian, and a couple of others remained at the base camp.
She asked, “Is there anything else that needs help?”
Pei Chen glanced at her and replied softly, “Everything’s done.”
Zhi Mian walked up beside Liang Zhiyi, her eyes curving into a smile. “Zhiyi, let’s go.”
Liang Zhiyi smiled back and nodded, then glanced over at Pei Chen, who was also looking at her. She felt a subtle, indescribable feeling in her heart. Just then, Xuan Xia threw his arm around Pei Chen’s shoulder and cheerfully called out:
“Let’s go, let’s all leave together.”
So, the few remaining students headed out of the school together. Pei Chen, who hadn’t ridden his bike that day, walked with them.
Xuan Xia, always the lively one, chatted with the girls and horsed around with the boys, seamlessly blending everyone’s conversations together.
As the group walked to the school gate, laughing and joking, a few students headed home separately. Zhi Mian, who had a ride waiting, left first, leaving only Liang Zhiyi, Pei Chen, and Xuan Xia behind.
Xuan Xia looked at the two of them, grinning as he patted Pei Chen’s shoulder, “I’ll be off now! We’re not going the same way, so you two take your time! No rush! You’ll definitely get home before dark!”
Both of them: “…”
With that, Xuan Xia dashed off, disappearing from sight, leaving just the two of them.
They stood in front of the small shop at the school gate, and the atmosphere suddenly felt particularly delicate.
Pei Chen slung his bag over one shoulder, his gaze lingering on the girl with dark hair and red lips in front of him. His Adam’s apple bobbed slightly before he asked after a pause, “Are you waiting for a ride here?”
“My family’s driver isn’t picking me up today, so I have to get home on my own.”
The Liang family had some business today, so all the drivers had been dispatched.
“How are you getting home?”
The word “taxi” was on the tip of her tongue, but Liang Zhiyi hesitated, then naturally changed her answer, “I’ll take the bus, but I need to check how to get to the bus stop.”
Just as she was about to pull out her phone, Pei Chen spoke up, his voice slightly awkward, “I’ll show you the way. The bus stop was recently moved, so it might not show up on your phone yet.”
“Is it convenient?”
“I’m taking the bus too.”
She responded with an “Oh,” and after a delayed moment, added, “Th-thank you.”
Oh no, why did she have to sound so deliberate…
Pei Chen noticed her unusually polite demeanor, so different from before. A flicker of emotion crossed his face, his throat tightening slightly as he said, “Let’s go.”
So, Liang Zhiyi walked alongside Pei Chen down the sidewalk. At that moment, students from a nearby elementary school were being dismissed, chattering and walking together, creating a noisy backdrop.
Yet between the two of them, there was an awkward silence.
Liang Zhiyi, usually lively and cheerful, always had plenty to say when she was alone with Pei Chen. But now, she had no idea how to start a conversation, so she kept her head down, occasionally glancing at the tips of her canvas shoes.
Pei Chen lowered his gaze and noticed the girl walking quietly beside him, her long, curled eyelashes fluttering. Her face showed little trace of a smile.
After a long pause, Pei Chen broke the silence again, “Tomorrow morning there’s an English dictation on the Unit 2 vocabulary. The class rep announced it at the base camp this morning, but you might not have heard.”
Liang Zhiyi nodded in understanding. “Is it all of Unit 2?”
Just as Pei Chen was about to reply, he caught sight of two elementary school students about five meters behind them, riding skateboards. One of them shouted, “Come on, let’s see who can go faster!”
“Race it is! Hey, why are you grabbing me?”
The two boys continued to pull and push each other as they skated, one of them not paying attention to where he was going and quickly headed in Liang Zhiyi’s direction.
Seeing that he was about to crash into her, Pei Chen reacted quickly, grabbing Liang Zhiyi by the shoulder and pulling her toward him.
However, they couldn’t completely avoid the collision. The skateboard still brushed past her foot, and in the next moment, Liang Zhiyi felt a sharp pain in her ankle as she was suddenly yanked to the side.
“Sorry, sorry…” the boy on the skateboard quickly apologized before laughing and skating off with his friend.
Liang Zhiyi sucked in a breath through clenched teeth, the pain in her ankle intense. Pei Chen let go of her shoulder, his dark brows furrowing with concern as he asked, “Are you okay?”
He guided her to the side of the road, bending down to check if she was hurt.
Liang Zhiyi had always had a sensitive pain response, and her tear ducts were easily triggered by pain—it was a physiological reaction. When she felt pain, she couldn’t help but cry, no matter how hard she tried to control it.
At that moment, the searing pain in her ankle felt like it was piercing right through her. Pei Chen, looking down at her, saw her head lowered, her eyes reddened, and tears beginning to fall.
Pei Chen was suddenly at a loss. He hadn’t noticed her foot getting injured and thought it was his pulling that had hurt her. His brows knitted together even more tightly as he tried to comfort her, “I’m sorry, did I pull you too hard?”
Liang Zhiyi: What is he talking about…
She tried to speak through her sobs but couldn’t get the words out. Pei Chen, experiencing this kind of situation for the first time, felt utterly helpless, not knowing how to comfort her, so he just kept apologizing.
After a while, Liang Zhiyi managed to catch her breath. Still crying, she looked at him and chided, “Pei Chen, you’re so clueless…”
Pei Chen: Huh?
She pointed to her ankle and said, “My ankle got hit, that’s why it hurts, not because of you…”
Why is he such a clueless guy…
Pei Chen froze for a moment, then quickly knelt down to check her ankle. He saw that the skin had been scraped, now bleeding, and the sight of the injury against her fair skin was particularly striking.
His heart tightened as if someone had suddenly gripped it. He looked around and, seeing no chairs nearby, helped her lean against the wall. Spotting a pharmacy across the street, he said, “Wait here, I’ll go buy some bandages.”
Before Liang Zhiyi could react, Pei Chen had already crossed the street. Moments later, he returned with bandages and a packet of tissues in hand.
Pei Chen opened a bandage, hesitating slightly when he saw that she was still wiping away tears. He then crouched down in front of her.
Liang Zhiyi watched as he gently placed the bandage on her wound, his movements careful and tender, as if he were afraid of hurting her further.
As she observed him, the mix of emotions she had been feeling over the past few days suddenly overwhelmed her. Pei Chen’s unexpected tenderness brought a lump to her throat, and her eyes grew misty once more.
After he finished, Pei Chen stood up and noticed the tear-filled glimmer in her eyes, as if she might start crying again at any moment. Seeing her delicate skin and knowing how much pain she must have been in to cry like this, he felt a pang in his chest.
Pei Chen leaned in closer, meeting her gaze with a voice that was hoarse and laced with restrained emotion. He softly asked, “Don’t cry. Does it still hurt a lot?”