Translator: Nyoi-Bo Studio
Editor: Nyoi-Bo Studio
Fortunately, these days didn’t continue for too long. After both families reached a mutual consensus—or, in reality, after Xiaotu’s mother and Cheng Zhiyan’s mother reached a consensus—it was decided that Xiaotu would go to kindergarten half an hour early every day and she would be picked up half an hour after her school was over for the day. This way, her travel to and from school would match Cheng Zhiyan’s schedule.
Regarding this solution, of course Cheng Zhiyan would have liked to make objections, yet no one gave him the chance to voice his own opinions.
After rising to fourth grade in elementary school, Cheng Zhiyan had the feeling that his classmates had changed somewhat.
The girls would frequently gather together and chat with each other as they shyly glanced in his direction. The boys would also randomly start discussing which girls in their class were the most attractive.
Most bizarre of all, a rumor had started circulating in the class, and it was about Cheng Zhiyan’s supposed crush on a girl named Zhai Shiyu.
Often, as Cheng Zhiyan sat in class, his eyes would sweep over his classmates, as he tried his best to recall which one of the girls was named Zhai Shiyu.
Sitting next to Cheng Zhiyan, Xia Feng noticed that he didn’t appear to be paying attention to the lecture. He poked him with his elbow and whispered in a low voice, “Cheng Zhiyan, what are you looking at?”
Cheng Zhiyan turned to glance at Xia Feng, and, without answering him, he continued to glance around the classroom.
As if he already knew Cheng Zhiyan well, Xia Feng shrugged his shoulders and decided not to ask him any more questions.
After making a proper inspection, Cheng Zhiyan stopped looking around. He had come to the conclusion that all the girls in his class pretty much looked the same. Even after really trying, he still had no idea which one of these girls was Zhai Shiyu, but then he barely remembered the names of any of the girls in his class.
Cheng Zhiyan turned around and glanced at Xia Feng, who was secretly doodling a picture of a large dragon in his notebook. Cheng Zhiyan hesitated for a moment before lowering his voice and saying, “Xia Feng, I want to ask you something.”
“What is it?” Xia Feng asked distractedly as he doodled the whiskers of the dragon.
“Who is Zhai Shiyu?”
“Huh?” Xia Feng’s head shot up as he stared at Cheng Zhiyan with an astonished expression on his face. “You…you really do have a crush on Zhai Shiyu?”
Cheng Zhiyan instantly felt defeated. “What in the world makes you think I have a crush on her?”
“Why are you asking about her then?”
“I’m just asking. I don’t know who she is… I keep hearing people say that I have a crush on her…” Cheng Zhiyan didn’t know what else to say. He was at a loss for words.
“Oh…so you don’t even know who Zhai Shiyu is…” Xia Feng threw down his pencil, inched closer to Cheng Zhiyan, and lowered his voice as he whispered dramatically, “Zhai Shiyu is the most popular girl in Class Two, and I’ve heard that all the boys in the class have a crush on her. Ah…why aren’t there any pretty girls in our class…”
“…”
“Ah, by the way, do you or do you not have a crush on her?” Xia Feng reached out his hand to give Cheng Zhiyan’s arm a little shove and asked this question with a sly expression on his face. “I’ve also heard other classmates say that you have a crush on Zhai Shiyu.”
“I do not.” Cheng Zhiyan curtly spat out these three words.
“Why don’t you like her?” Xia Feng stared at him with a disappointed look on his face, as if not liking Zhai Shiyu was some kind of great loss.
“I don’t even know who she is.”
“This’ll be easy. After class, I’ll point her out to you. I will tell you this: She’s super pretty. I promise that you’ll fall head over heels for her at first sight.” Xia Feng pounded his chest as he said this to Cheng Zhiyan with a righteous expression on his face.