They arrived at their classroom just before morning reading time, and many of their classmates were already there. As Liang Zhiyi and Pei Chen entered the room one after the other, everyone seemed to freeze for a moment, then began murmuring quietly.
As she took her seat, Liang Zhiyi noticed several classmates turning their heads to look at her, their faces full of gossip.
What… is going on?
After putting away his broom and washing his hands, Pei Chen returned. She curiously asked him in a low voice, “Why does it feel like everyone is watching us?”
Pei Chen looked up, scanning the classroom, while Liang Zhiyi sighed dramatically, shaking her head. “It’s over, Ah Pei. It seems our relationship can’t be hidden anymore.”
“…”
Ah Pei? What on earth?
And what kind of relationship could they possibly have?
Pei Chen ignored her, pulling out a book from his backpack. Shortly after, a few boys who were good friends with Pei Chen entered the classroom.
They walked over to Pei Chen, patted him on the shoulder, and smiled, saying:
“Wow, class rep, you’re full of surprises, aren’t you?”
Pei Chen looked at them in confusion, only to see the boys raising their eyebrows and glancing at Liang Zhiyi, who was sitting beside him. “We get it, we totally get it.”
“…”
After the boys left, Fan Gao, who sat in the row in front of them, turned around, eating his breakfast with excitement. He whispered:
“Let me tell you, everyone in class is talking about you two this morning.”
Liang Zhiyi: ????
It turned out that on Friday night, some boys from Class Nine had seen Liang Zhiyi and Pei Chen walking together. They went back and told a few friends, and soon, the news spread like wildfire.
People weren’t oblivious. Many had already noticed that Liang Zhiyi treated Pei Chen differently than others. Seeing them arrive at class together this morning only confirmed everyone’s suspicions, and now, everyone was speculating about their relationship.
After the first class in the morning, Liang Zhiyi went to find Ji Fei’er, who had brought a box of cupcakes and invited her to try some.
Ji Fei’er also shared the cupcakes with other classmates, and a few of them gathered around, chatting.
After a while, someone suddenly smiled and said, “Zhiyi, you came to school with the class rep this morning, right?”
Others, unable to contain their curiosity, turned to her and asked, “Zhiyi, do you like Pei Chen?”
“Yeah, Zhang Tian said he saw you walking alone with Pei Chen last Friday. Are you two dating?”
“When did you two get together? We had no idea!”
Everyone was eager to hear some juicy gossip, their eyes shining like light bulbs, and the atmosphere was thick with anticipation. The whole class seemed to tune in, with several classmates joining in the teasing and egging on.
Ever since Liang Zhiyi had transferred to their school, she had been the center of attention—beautiful, from a wealthy family, with a bold personality. And now, she was rumored to be involved with none other than the aloof, unattainable school heartthrob and top student, Pei Chen.
This couple—who wouldn’t want to ship them!?
In no time, a barrage of gossip and questions swarmed around her like a hive of bees.
Pei Chen, who was quietly working on his homework, could clearly hear the buzz around him. His hand holding the pen paused slightly.
Meanwhile, Liang Zhiyi propped her chin on her hand, sitting at the table. Finally, she looked up at everyone’s eager faces, took a bite of her cupcake, and casually replied, “Didn’t you all already figure it out?”
Everyone: !!!
Ahhh, so it’s true!
With her confirmation, the group got even more excited. “So, are you and the class rep officially together?!”
Liang Zhiyi let out a soft sigh, resting her head on the desk, and lamented:
“I offered my heart to the bright moon, but the bright moon shines upon the ditch.”
Everyone around her: ??!
When she said this, it took a few seconds for everyone to process it. So, was Liang Zhiyi implying that her feelings for Pei Chen were one-sided?
This statement spread like wildfire. In the back row, Chen Sihang, who had been joking with some boys, suddenly heard one of his friends rush over to share the news.
Chen Sihang’s face darkened as he listened.
Damn it, so Liang Zhiyi actually likes Pei Chen!
What’s so great about that bookworm who only knows how to study? How could she possibly be interested in him?!
“But Brother Chen, I heard that Liang Zhiyi quoted some ancient saying about the moon shining on something. Apparently, it means that Pei Chen doesn’t like her back. The class rep is obviously only focused on his studies, so you still have a chance.”
Huh??
Chen Sihang sneered. Fine, at least she has some sense.
Meanwhile, in the front row, a group of girls, including Sang Xunling and Tong Sisi, overheard the news. Tong Sisi and her friends exchanged puzzled glances:
“What does that line of poetry Liang Zhiyi said mean?”
“Are you serious? You don’t know that?”
“Tsk, let me just look it up on my phone…”
Sang Xunling quietly continued reading her book, but a small smile played at the corners of her lips.
As she expected, no matter how forward Liang Zhiyi was, Pei Chen would never like her.
She couldn’t understand where Liang Zhiyi got the courage to openly admit that Pei Chen didn’t return her feelings in front of everyone. Wasn’t that embarrassing? Sang Xunling would never let herself be that humiliated; she would rather keep her crush on Pei Chen a secret.
But…
Could Liang Zhiyi’s words have another meaning? If Pei Chen’s heart is like the moon shining on a ditch, does that mean he has someone else he secretly likes?
Could it be that Pei Chen actually has feelings for another girl?
Could he possibly like her?
After all, out of everyone in class, she was probably the closest to Pei Chen. Even though he was usually aloof, he was always kind to her…
As her thoughts ran wild, Sang Xunling’s heart began to race, her cheeks flushing slightly, and the smile on her lips became harder to conceal.
She was lost in her sweet daydream when Tong Sisi, still looking at her phone, slowly read out what she had found: “The phrase ‘I offered my heart to the bright moon, but the bright moon shines upon the ditch’ means that I wholeheartedly long for the moon, but the moon chooses to shine on a filthy ditch instead…”
Sang Xunling’s face froze upon hearing this.
…Wait, does that mean she’s the filthy ditch?!
A little later, as class was about to start, Liang Zhiyi finished her cupcake and returned to her seat.
In the front row, Xuan Xia and Fangao were laughing hysterically about something and turned around to sing a parody of “Water Melody” at Pei Chen: “When will the bright moon appear, turn around and look at Pei Chen…”
Pei Chen: “…”
He took a deep breath, clearly irritated, and looked up at them. “Turn back around.”
The two boys, sensing they were pushing their luck, wisely stopped. Liang Zhiyi covered her mouth, laughing quietly. When she glanced at Pei Chen, she saw him intently reading his book, the lines of his profile tense, not even sparing her a glance.
It was obvious that he had heard what she had said in front of their classmates.
She rested her chin on her hand, lightly tugged at his sleeve, and teased, “Pei Chen, are you embarrassed?”
She let out a small huff, still smiling. After a few moments of silence, he quietly asked, “Why did you say that to them?”
She could have chosen not to respond, so why did she openly admit it in front of everyone?
Liang Zhiyi understood what he meant, her eyes curving into a smile as she leaned closer and whispered in his ear, “Because I really do like you.”
She wasn’t concerned about what others thought.
No matter what anyone else said, she liked him openly and proudly.
Pei Chen lowered his gaze, his pen paused on the paper, a small ink blot slowly spreading. He couldn’t find the words to respond.
After a while, the bell rang, signaling the start of class. The teacher walked in with a math book, temporarily putting an end to the morning’s gossip explosion.
Forty-five minutes later, as the class ended, the teacher assigned homework and then announced, “The two students in our class who are receiving the poverty relief scholarships, please come to my office after class to pick up a form.”
Pei Chen slightly lifted his eyes, looking towards the podium.
Several students in the class glanced in his direction.
After the announcement, class was dismissed. As Pei Chen began packing his books, Liang Zhiyi asked, “Pei Chen, do you want to go to the convenience store together?”
“No.”
“Alright then.”
Seeing him stand up, she handed him her pumpkin-themed water bottle. “Are you going to fill up your water? Could you fill mine too, please? Pretty please?”
Pei Chen lowered his eyes and took the water bottle from her hand, his voice soft and a bit hoarse, “I need to go to the office first.”
He turned and walked out of the classroom, leaving Liang Zhiyi blinking in confusion. She recalled what the teacher had mentioned earlier and suddenly realized something.
He must be one of the students receiving the scholarship…
Liang Zhiyi sighed quietly and returned to her homework.
Since there was no gym class during this period, they had a full half-hour break. The classroom was filled with the sound of laughter and chatter as everyone relaxed and enjoyed the free time.
A group of girls headed to the water station to fill their bottles and ran into another girl from their class who had just come out of the office. She was the other student receiving the scholarship.
“Did you finish with the homeroom teacher?” one of the girls asked.
“Yeah, just had to fill out a form,” the girl replied casually.
As they filled their bottles, they continued chatting. “When will you get the scholarship money?”
“Probably next month,” the girl answered, her tone bright despite her family’s financial struggles. She wasn’t shy about discussing it.
“Hey, isn’t our class rep also getting a scholarship?” one of the girls asked.
“Yeah.”
“I heard that his father is paralyzed and in a wheelchair, and they’re pretty poor. He lives with just his dad.”
“What about his mom?”
“I don’t know. I only heard from someone who used to be his classmate that his mom insisted on divorcing and marrying a rich man, leaving Pei Chen behind.”
“That’s so sad.”
Then, one of them quietly asked, “I’m actually curious… If the class rep’s family is struggling, and Liang Zhiyi’s family is so wealthy, how did she end up liking him?”
“Maybe she doesn’t care about that. The class rep is smart and good-looking, so it makes sense, right?”
“I originally thought Liang Zhiyi would go for someone from a wealthy family too.”
“Yeah, me too…”
After they finished filling their bottles, the girls left the water station. Standing by the sink in the nearby boys’ restroom, Pei Chen had overheard their conversation as he washed his hands in silence.
His gaze remained fixed on the running water for a long time before he finally turned off the faucet, his expression unreadable.
Returning to the classroom, Pei Chen sat down and placed the filled water bottle on Liang Zhiyi’s desk.
The girl, who was resting her head on her desk, grabbed the bottle and turned to look at him, her dimples deepening as she smiled warmly. “Thank you, Pei Chen. You’re so kind.”
Pei Chen met her gaze for two seconds before quickly looking away, his throat feeling increasingly dry.
The conversation he had overheard in the restroom echoed in his mind, replaying over and over.
Each echo of their conversation pulled him back to a harsh reality.
Yes, many people knew that they weren’t a good match.
He was the one receiving poverty scholarships, living in a family like his. No matter how good his grades were, in the eyes of others, he would always be someone to be pitied.
Liang Zhiyi, in her innocence and affection, might seem like a fool to the outside world for liking someone like him.
He knew he shouldn’t harbor any feelings for her.
But this morning, when he heard her say with a smile in her eyes, “But I just like you,” he felt something inside him nearly break free, a wave of emotion he could hardly control.
Pei Chen lowered his eyes in embarrassment, a wave of self-deprecation washing over him, ashamed of how his heart had uncontrollably raced for her in that moment.