Pei Chen retracted his subtle gaze and left with the water.
At this moment, there was a moment of silence in front of the shelves. A faint blush appeared on Liang Zhiyi’s face. After a few seconds, she turned her head to look at Ji Fei’er and asked, “Was I speaking… loudly just now?”
Ji Fei’er tried to suppress a smile and analyzed the situation, “I don’t think it was that loud. Probably only the entire base could hear it.”
“……”
“But as for whether Pei Chen heard it or not, I can’t say.”
Liang Zhiyi shot a glance at the gloating Ji Fei’er, feeling utterly dejected.
After a while, she quickly made up her mind, “Forget it. If he heard it, he heard it. He’ll find out sooner or later anyway.”
“Find out that you have the kind of thoughts about him that a hungry wolf has for its prey?”
“Shut up. What do you mean, ‘hungry wolf’?”
“You practically said about kissing him—how is that not?”
“……”
Liang Zhiyi, rarely flustered by teasing, blushed, threw a bag of chips at Ji Fei’er, and turned to walk towards the checkout counter.
A few seconds later, Liang Zhiyi couldn’t help but turn back to Ji Fei’er, “Do you think Pei Chen has realized that my intentions towards him aren’t pure?”
“Not necessarily. In his eyes, you might just be an old pervert with a thing for the innocent, seventeen-year-old boys.”
“…… Get lost.”
–
After causing a bit of a ruckus, the girls finally returned to the playground.
At this time, the instructor hadn’t called for assembly yet, but many students had gathered in a group, seemingly receiving something.
They soon found out that the homeroom teacher had just bought several bottles of mosquito repellent to help everyone out, as many students had been badly bitten by mosquitoes.
Liang Zhiyi had taken precautions against mosquitoes in the dormitory, so she wasn’t bitten too badly, but there were still a few red spots on her fair arms.
Seeing her classmates going to Pei Chen to get mosquito repellent, Liang Zhiyi’s eyes curved into a smile, and she walked towards him as well.
Approaching him from behind, she called out, “Class monitor—”
The boy turned his head at her voice and saw her smiling face, her eyes sparkling with a bit of light. “I want some mosquito repellent too.”
As he met her gaze, the words he overheard in the convenience store earlier resurfaced in his mind.
The next moment, Pei Chen averted his eyes indifferently and handed her the mosquito repellent in his hand.
After applying it, Liang Zhiyi returned it to him, “Thank you, class monitor.”
Her voice was light and playful, like a small brush gently sweeping across the heart.
Pei Chen remained silent. Seeing that the surrounding classmates had all walked away, Liang Zhiyi leaned closer to him and asked with a smile, “Pei Chen, did you hear something at the convenience store earlier?”
Liang Zhiyi was very close to him, and the scent of gardenia from her filled the air, drifting to Pei Chen’s nose. His brows furrowed slightly as he pulled back to create some distance between them, his tone cold as he responded, “I didn’t hear anything.”
Liang Zhiyi smiled.
He was clearly denying it.
“Good, it’s better if you didn’t hear anything. I was just joking, don’t take it seriously.”
“Alright, I’m leaving now.”
Liang Zhiyi turned and walked away, feeling quite pleased. A few seconds later, Pei Chen instinctively glanced at her retreating figure before quickly looking away, his expression tense as he forced himself to abandon any distracting thoughts.
—
After training in the afternoon and dinner in the evening, the schedule included a patriotic education class.
Because Ji Fei’er and Liang Zhiyi left a bit late, by the time they arrived at the classroom in the base, most of the seats were already taken. There were no empty tables, so the two had to sit separately.
As Liang Zhiyi was searching for a seat, a few boys in the back row excitedly shouted at another boy, “Brother Chen, go for it!”
Chen Sihang, looking slightly embarrassed, picked up the backpack on the adjacent empty seat as Liang Zhiyi approached and casually said, “Hey, classmate, sit here, there’s no other spot.”
Liang Zhiyi turned at the sound of his voice and saw the tall boy lounging lazily in his seat, looking at her with a nonchalant, yet somewhat cocky demeanor.
She glanced around and indeed didn’t see any other available seats.
At the last table of the first row, Pei Chen was sitting, but the seat beside him was already taken.
Feeling a bit disappointed, she had no choice but to sit next to Chen Sihang.
She didn’t know him, so she didn’t say anything after sitting down. Chen Sihang noticed his buddies in the class giving him knowing looks, then glanced at Liang Zhiyi, with her black hair and red lips, and nervously licked his lips, silently cursing himself before breaking into a sheepish smile.
It was the first time he didn’t know how to start a conversation with a girl.
Mostly because Liang Zhiyi was too beautiful and had an air about her that made her seem unattainable.
After the class started, the instructor asked everyone to come up and get a copy of the materials. Just as Liang Zhiyi was about to stand up, the boy beside her rose first, his deep voice falling on her ears, “I’ll get it for you. Just sit down.”
She paused for a moment, and he was already walking to the front.
When he returned, Chen Sihang handed the materials to her. She thanked him and took them, then politely asked, “Classmate, what’s your name?”
“Chen Sihang.”
Liang Zhiyi nodded, and the boy took the initiative to ask, “Did you study at the No. 1 High School branch before?”
“Yes.”
The boy curved his lips into a smile, “I know Su Yang from the branch. He’s my buddy. He told me you two were in the same class over there and that you’re friends?”
“Yes…”
Surprised at the coincidence, they exchanged a few more words.
From a spot diagonally behind them, a few boys couldn’t help but laugh, “Brother Chen, you’re good! Already chatting her up this quickly!”
“Brother Chen really knows how to charm the girls, impressive…”
Their teasing voices floated over to the back of the room.
Pei Chen lifted his gaze and saw Liang Zhiyi sitting with Chen Sihang, her face bright with a cheerful smile.
After a moment, he lowered his dark eyes and continued reading the materials.
—
An hour later, class was dismissed.
That marked the end of the day’s military training. The instructor told everyone they could head back to the dorms. Chen Sihang turned to Liang Zhiyi and asked, “Want to go to the convenience store to buy something?”
“No, thanks.”
“Alright,” he replied, still with a lazy, carefree smile. “See you later.”
Ji Fei’er came over to find Liang Zhiyi, and as they walked towards the dorms, she noticed Liang Zhiyi didn’t seem very enthusiastic and asked what was wrong. Liang Zhiyi pouted, “I was hoping I could chat with Pei Chen tonight.”
Ji Fei’er lifted her chin playfully, “Woman, am I not enough for you? Always thinking about someone else.”
Liang Zhiyi slapped her hand away with an exasperated look, “Can you not be so gross?”
Back in the dorm, Liang Zhiyi pulled out her phone. After replying to messages from her parents, she was feeling a bit bored when she noticed in the class group chat that Pei Chen was posting some important updates about the military training.
Suddenly, she realized something very important—
She hadn’t added Pei Chen on WeChat yet!
Once she added him, she wouldn’t have to worry about not being able to chat with him in the future!
She quickly grabbed her phone to take action.
…
Half an hour later.
In the lower-floor boys’ dormitory, several boys returned from the showers.
After his shower, Pei Chen grabbed his phone and a notebook and headed towards his bed. Fan Gao called out to him, “Pei Shen, how about a round of gaming with us later?”
“No, you guys go ahead.”
Pei Chen climbed onto his bed, avoiding his roommates’ lively chatter. He pulled out some medicine he had prepared earlier from his bag, rolled up the right leg of his pants, and revealed a scar on his knee. The scar looked rather grim and unsightly.
He lowered his eyes and applied the medicine, gently rubbing it in. The wound ached slightly after standing for such a long time today.
His thin lips pressed tightly together as he endured the pain.
After finishing with the medication, he put it back in his backpack and picked up his phone, only to see a new friend request on WeChat.
The request didn’t include any notes indicating who it was, which wasn’t unusual—he often received random friend requests. Without giving it much thought, he dismissed it without accepting.
He then took out his notebook and began writing in his journal. A little while later, a boy from the neighboring room came over, and soon they were all playing cards and chatting, eventually steering the conversation towards the girls in their class.
Someone mentioned Liang Zhiyi, and the group started teasing Chen Sihang: “Brother Chen, you were pretty obvious with your intentions today!”
“Brother Chen, how was it sitting next to her? Did you make any progress?”
“Looks like no progress was made. She didn’t even go to the convenience store with him tonight, haha…”
Chen Sihang smirked, “Nonsense, she even asked me what my name was today.”
“Oh wow, does that mean she’s interested in you?”
The teasing grew louder, and Pei Chen, sitting on his bed, could hear every word clearly. His pen paused slightly.
“But Liang Zhiyi looks like she’d be hard to pursue. Her family is well-off, she’s beautiful, and she probably has high standards.”
“No worries, I believe Brother Chen can win her over! I’m rooting for you!”
“Brother Chen, you should add her on WeChat quickly…”
On his bed, Pei Chen focused on his own tasks. Suddenly, his phone vibrated again. Glancing at it, he saw that it was another friend request—from the same person as before.
This time, however, there was an additional message:
“You can’t recognize me if I don’t leave a note?”
Only then did he notice the sender’s ID—Zhizhi Doesn’t Eat Peaches.
He paused for a moment, then opened the class group chat and checked the member list. The ID matched the name in the group—
It was indeed Liang Zhiyi.
His grip on the pen tightened slightly. The phone screen dimmed, and after a moment of silence, he resumed his work.
Meanwhile.
Liang Zhiyi lay on her bed, resting her chin on her hand, mumbling to herself, “Why hasn’t he accepted it yet?”
After all, it was rare for her to take the initiative to add a boy on WeChat.
Can’t he give me a little face?
Could he really be so dense that he didn’t recognize it was her?
Ji Fei’er leaned over, gripping the railing of the top bunk, with a sly grin on her face. “What’s up? Pei Chen still hasn’t accepted your friend request?”
Feeling frustrated, Liang Zhiyi buried her face into her pillow.
The other girls around them overheard Ji Fei’er’s comment and were a bit surprised, but Liang Zhiyi brushed it off, saying it was just for class-related matters.
In a quieter tone, Ji Fei’er tried to comfort her, “I told you, his WeChat isn’t that easy to add. Last year, plenty of girls in our grade got his number, but he didn’t accept any of their friend requests.”
Liang Zhiyi rolled over onto her back, staring up at the ceiling, and eventually, a smile tugged at her lips.
“It’s fine, I refuse to believe I can’t add him.”
A little while later, just past ten o’clock, the dormitory building suddenly went dark.
Lights out was very punctual.
Since there was no homework and they were all exhausted from the day’s military training, everyone gradually climbed into bed.
Before falling asleep, Liang Zhiyi checked her phone one last time and found that Pei Chen still hadn’t accepted her request.
Is this guy really that aloof…
She rolled over, but sleepiness soon overtook her, and she closed her eyes.
The dormitory building gradually grew quiet.
But just after midnight, a sudden whistle shattered the silence of the night:
“Beep beep beep, emergency assembly—”
The whistle pierced through the night, waking up the students who had been sleeping soundly. They soon heard the rough voice of the instructor from below: “Everyone, assemble downstairs within three minutes. Anyone who’s late will face the consequences!”
All the students were bewildered, scrambling out of bed and hastily getting dressed. The boys’ dormitory was in complete chaos:
“What the hell, are they really pulling an emergency assembly?”
“Dude, wake up, stop sleeping! Get downstairs!”
“Hey, where did my clothes go?”
“Dammit, which idiot put smelly socks in my shoes!”
The girls also quickly got out of bed, rushing to get ready.
After changing clothes, Liang Zhiyi and her roommates hurried downstairs. The emergency assembly was taking place in the dark, and the corridors were dimly lit. Still half-asleep, Liang Zhiyi stumbled down the stairs with her eyes barely open.
Half-asleep, she didn’t see the person ahead of her clearly. As she reached the corner of the second-floor staircase, she bumped into someone who was also descending the stairs, unaware of her presence. The collision caused Liang Zhiyi to stumble backward, nearly falling, but before she could, a hand grasped her wrist and pulled her forward, making her crash slightly into a firm chest.
The fresh scent of soap mixed with a hint of masculine cologne filled the air.
She looked up, and suddenly, her eyes met Pei Chen’s cool, deep gaze.
At that moment, with her drowsy, slightly dazed expression, Pei Chen quickly released his grip, his voice still carrying the faint huskiness of just waking up, “Sorry, are you okay?”
Liang Zhiyi’s sleepiness faded a little as her lips curled into a smile. “I’ll deal with you later.”
She turned and ran down the stairs.
After everyone had gathered for the emergency assembly, they began to count off.
The head instructor stood at the front, surveying the group. Holding a megaphone, he scolded, “Look at yourselves! Take a good look at each other! Just look at what a mess you all are! Especially the boys—some of you have your clothes on backward, even your pants! And hey, you over there, where are your shoes?”
“Reporting, sir, my shoe got stepped on and left in the stairwell…”
The crowd burst into laughter.
The instructor, clearly frustrated, shouted, “You’re lucky this is just military training! If you were my soldiers, none of you would be getting any sleep tonight! I’d have you all out here doing emergency drills until dawn!”
After a bit more scolding, he finally said, “Today’s drill was to give you a better understanding of military life. Since you’re still students, I lowered the standards, so you only had to assemble now and not in the middle of the night…”
The students, wearing exhausted smiles, muttered, “Thanks a lot, the experience was incredible. We’re all wide awake now.”
“Damn, I thought there was a fire or an earthquake.”
“Haha, you’re such an idiot…”
After a few more words, the instructor finally announced the dismissal, and everyone could return to their dorms.
As the crowd began to disperse, Ji Fei’er grabbed Liang Zhiyi, giggling, “I wasn’t actually asleep earlier; I was secretly reading a novel.”
She rubbed her stomach, “I’m a bit hungry. Didn’t have enough for dinner.”
Liang Zhiyi, no longer feeling sleepy, wrapped an arm around her, “Let’s go. My treat.”
“You’re the best!”
The two of them hurried to the convenience store. As they passed a small hall with vending machines, Ji Fei’er nudged Liang Zhiyi with a grin, gesturing towards it, “Look, the person you’ve been thinking about is right over there.”
Liang Zhiyi turned her head and saw a group of boys from Class 9 standing there.
Among them was Pei Chen.
The boy was dressed in a camouflage uniform and work pants, his eyes still carrying a hint of drowsiness. He stood tall with a relaxed, yet youthful demeanor.
Liang Zhiyi’s long lashes fluttered as a thought crossed her mind, “I have something to take care of. You go ahead and buy your stuff, I’ll cover the cost.”
“What? You’re abandoning me already??”
At the vending machine, Pei Chen had been dragged along by Xuan Xia and the others to buy drinks.
Just as the boys were about to leave after making their purchases, a girl walked in—
Liang Zhiyi was wearing a simple short-sleeved top and a pleated skirt, her slender, long legs under the skirt were fair and translucent. With an oval face and dark, shining eyes, she was stunning even without makeup.
Seeing her, the boys were surprised, “Hey, Liang Zhiyi?”
She greeted them with a smile, “Hi…”
Pei Chen’s cool gaze landed on her, a subtle emotion flickering in his eyes, but he remained composed, continuing to walk out with the others.
As the boys passed by her, however, Liang Zhiyi suddenly lifted her hand, her delicate fingers hooking onto the hem of his shirt.
The others froze in place, stunned. “Huh…”
Pei Chen lowered his eyes, his gaze falling on her.
His Adam’s apple bobbed slightly, his eyes dark and intense.
Liang Zhiyi looked up and met his gaze, smiling softly as she spoke, her voice a whisper in his ear:
“You guys go ahead. I need to have a little chat with the class monitor—just the two of us.”