The clamor inside the classroom felt like another world, and Hua Jie suddenly fell into reminiscence.
When she first started having a crush on Yu Tonglin in junior high, it was actually quite joyful, blissfully assuming that maybe he liked her too.
“……”
A weathered expression crossed Hua Jie’s face, and at his puzzled furrowing of eyebrows, she let out a mocking laugh.
Forget it!
Her gaze shifted slightly, and Hua Jie saw Bian Ying standing at the classroom door, chatting with other female students. With her long hair and wearing a white sweater, her smile was gentle and her speech was soft.
Didn’t he like Bian Ying?
Why then did he come over to ask her to be his desk mate?
Yu Tonglin, though young, was quite skilled at keeping a backup.
The dimness brought by unrequited love had long been blown away in the river of time. Hua Jie smiled coldly and declined:
“I think it’s quite good now, I’m willing to sit with Jing Nian.”
“……” Yu Tonglin was stunned, never expecting Hua Jie to have such an attitude.
He opened his mouth to say something, but out of the corner of his eye, he saw Jing Nian returning. He had no choice but to shut up and awkwardly stand up to leave.
“……” Jing Nian stood by his desk, staring with wide eyes at Yu Tonglin’s retreating figure, then at Hua Jie, who was looking down and drawing.
After a long while, he awkwardly sat back down, hesitated for a long time, and then whispered to the girl next to him:
“You don’t think I like you, do you?”
Hua Jie stopped drawing and coldly glared at him.
Is he an idiot?
“……” Jing Nian, feeling the awkwardness of her stare, looked away, then turned back abruptly, his voice harsh:
“The thing I dislike the most is you!”
Hua Jie scoffed, gave him a dismissive glance, and continued drawing. After a dozen seconds, she said:
“Same here.”
“……” Jing Nian choked, gritting his teeth as he stared at the back of her head for a while, suddenly grabbed his water bottle, and gulped down several mouthfuls to calm himself down.
Hua Jie quickly finished the small portrait she was working on, stepped back to look at it, and feeling satisfied, she stretched languidly.
She looked up at the very clean blackboard, pondering over Yu Tonglin’s words from earlier.
It had been nearly a week since school started, and she had been mulling over an urgent issue—
She needed to squint to see the blackboard clearly, a harbinger of nearsightedness.
In her past life, she constantly squinted at the blackboard, which only worsened her nearsightedness, leading to a point where she couldn’t go without glasses.
By the time she graduated from college, her eyes had started bulging and deforming, eventually earning her the cruel nickname “goldfish eyes.” She became so unattractive that she didn’t even want to look at herself in the mirror, a waste of the beautiful, large eyes her parents had given her.
This couldn’t go on; she couldn’t let herself become nearsighted again.
Currently, her condition might still be pseudo-myopia, which could potentially be corrected if she adopted strict eye care habits from now on.
But if she continued sitting in the fourth row, where she couldn’t see the blackboard clearly, it might be difficult…
Previously, she was timid and overly cautious, never handling things well.
Since her rebirth, she was determined to change.
Although she didn’t want to sit with Yu Tonglin, his suggestion to change seats was a good one.
Hua Jie’s gaze drifted to the front row seats, her brow furrowing.
Now standing at 164 cm, she was not short for a first-year high school student. Sitting in the front row might block the view of students behind her, and the teacher might refuse it, right?
Would the excuse that she couldn’t see the blackboard clearly be countered with a ‘let your parents buy you glasses’?
Suddenly, Hua Jie’s eyes landed on the isolated, honorable seat near the window—
When Shen Mo first transferred and sat there, he was already 179 cm tall, and by his senior year, he shot up to 188 cm.
Although it was in front of the first row, its position by the window and parallel alignment with the podium made it so that it didn’t obstruct the view of the blackboard for the students behind.
Her heart racing, Hua Jie felt she had found a good solution.
As for the detailed argument to persuade the teacher… she thought back to what Yu Tonglin had said about Jing Nian always looking for trouble.
Blinking, Hua Jie turned to look at Jing Nian.
“……” Jing Nian was still pondering over what Hua Jie had said to Yu Tonglin about being willing to sit with him.
Considering their fiery and incompatible relationship, along with his tendency to jab at her frequently, he began to wonder if he was being too petty as a guy.
But with their desk-mate relationship already in shambles, she still wanted to sit with him?
What did that mean?
Did she really find him intolerable? Or was it just so she wouldn’t be at a disadvantage when they argued?
…Since she was willing to sit with him, didn’t that mean she wasn’t really angry with him?
Then his resentment toward her, irked that her paintings were more popular than his and constantly belittling and scolding her, was perhaps a bit excessive?
As his thoughts tangled in chaos, he suddenly noticed Hua Jie’s piercing gaze fixed on him, causing the hairs on Jing Nian’s back to stand on end.
A sudden chill.
What did her look mean?
…
In September, the days in the northern small town grew increasingly shorter.
After the third class in the afternoon, it had already grown dim. The lights were on inside, and the long fluorescent lamps brightly illuminated the classroom.
Hua Jie had made up her mind. She stood up, took a deep breath, and mentally rehearsed for the last time what she was about to say to the teacher.
Suddenly, a classmate in front moved, bumping her chair against her desk, which knocked her eraser onto Jing Nian’s desk.
Jing Nian grabbed the eraser, intending to place it back on her desk.
As Hua Jie turned around, she caught him holding her eraser. The memories of his previous life’s bullying flooded her mind, and she instinctively furrowed her brow with a hostile look.
Jing Nian, quick to flare up, saw her expression and was instantly enraged.
A rebellious spark ignited, and he flung the eraser into the trash can beside the lectern.
“!” Hua Jie stared at him, dumbfounded.
Utterly annoyed.
She wished she could grab a stick and thrash this brat severely.
Confronting Jing Nian’s defiant gaze, she reached out to grab his pencil case, ready to throw it away.
But before Hua Jie could act, suddenly a pair of hands “slapped” down on Jing Nian’s desk.
Both Jing Nian and Hua Jie jumped in shock, shrinking back.
Liao Shanshan slammed her hands on Jing Nian’s desk, glaring at him righteously indignant, and loudly scolded:
“Jing Nian! Mr. Liang just talked about being friendly and harmonious with classmates, and here you are bullying Hua Jie! Are you deliberately defying the class teacher?”
“I—” Jing Nian tried to retort, but Liao Shanshan cut him off:
“What’s wrong with the eraser being on your desk? Is your desk made of gold? Is it that precious?”
While scolding, Liao Shanshan kept slapping his desk, making a loud smacking sound.
“Jing Nian, you are so petty, just like a pinhole, I despise you!”
After saying that, Liao Shanshan turned to Hua Jie and said:
“Hua Jie, you are just too honest and kind, that’s why you keep getting bullied by Jing Nian! I’m going to tell the teacher on him!”
“…” Hua Jie silently put down Jing Nian’s pencil case.
Kind people shouldn’t be throwing their classmates’ pencil cases…
Liao Shanshan had already reached the door. Jing Nian was fuming, but due to pride, he didn’t stop her, even proclaiming loudly: “All you know is to snitch to the teacher! Am I scared of you?”
Liao Shanshan glanced back at him angrily and strode out of the classroom.
Hua Jie paused briefly before chasing after her.
…
…
As Hua Jie followed Liao Shanshan out of the classroom, the surrounding classmates who were watching the drama quieted down.
Bian Ying was standing next to Yu Tonglin’s desk borrowing a compass when she saw this scene and turned her head to gauge Yu Tonglin’s expression.
The young man’s gaze was also fixed on the doorway, clearly paying attention to Hua Jie’s movements.
Bian Ying pursed her lips and puffed out her cheeks slightly, eyes darting around. She silently gathered her long hair and suddenly poked Yu Tonglin’s arm:
“Hua Jie is arguing with Jing Nian again, huh? They really don’t get along.”
She cleverly framed Jing Nian’s bullying as a mere argument between desk mates, as if Hua Jie was also to blame and difficult to get along with.
“Yeah.” Yu Tonglin frowned slightly as he looked towards Jing Nian.
“You have a better temperament. You’ve been sitting with Hua Jie for three years and never argued with her,” Bian Ying sat down in front of Yu Tonglin and continued:
“But Hua Jie doesn’t appreciate your kindness. You wanted to sit with her to protect her from Jing Nian’s bullying, and she still refused, sigh.”
Saying this, Bian Ying sighed, as if she was truly upset for Hua Jie.
“She’s probably afraid of making Jing Nian angry,” Yu Tonglin mumbled, feeling a bit embarrassed.
“So, you’re not afraid of rejecting your kindness?” Bian Ying pursed her lips and poked the back of his hand, “You are the best deskmate she could have ever met. If she doesn’t cherish you, she will definitely regret it.”
Yu Tonglin felt a ticklish sensation as his hand was poked. He diverted his gaze only to see Bian Ying smiling at him with her lips pursed.
His ears turned red involuntarily, enjoying the praise, and he continued the conversation:
“Maybe in a couple of days, she’ll come to her senses and want to sit with me again.”
“…What? You mean to say you can dismiss and summon her at will?” Bian Ying pretended to joke.
“…” Yu Tonglin’s expression stiffened, feeling somewhat embarrassed. He had not been angry about Hua Jie’s rejection before, but now he felt resentful again.
Seeing his embarrassed expression, Bian Ying quickly squeezed the compass in her hand and said, “That’s her loss. There are plenty who would love to sit with you.”
After saying this, she gave him a gentle, tilted head, sweet smile, thanked him for the compass, and returned to her seat.
This way, even if Jing Nian bullied Hua Jie more severely, and Hua Jie changed her mind wanting to sit with Yu Tonglin, he surely wouldn’t want to anymore.
Teenagers at this age care the most about face.
Bian Ying was simply pleased with herself, never considering that at the very front of the classroom, right next to the seats newly arranged for transfer students, there was enough space to add another desk and chair…