novelraw Chapter 17
Chapter 17
Chapter 17 Fake YugeAfter Wen Yufeng entered the classroom, he headed straight down the aisle toward Qin Qing.
Li Xiang straightened up with a guilty expression. “Yufeng, I was just—”
“Class is about to start,” Wen Yufeng interrupted him nonchalantly, not even pausing as he walked past Qin Qing.
“Huh?” Li Xiang looked at Qin Qing, then at the retreating figure, feeling completely bewildered. He turned to Zhao Zirui and asked, “Did I correct myself too late, and now Yufeng’s mad?”
Zhao Zirui also found it puzzling. Based on what they’d observed before, there was no way Yufeng would just walk past this girl without acknowledging her…
Even though Zhao Zirui couldn’t quite figure it out, he still moved without hesitation, pulling Li Xiang back to their seats while saying, “If he were really angry, do you think you’d still be standing here unscathed?”
Li Xiang thought about it and nodded in agreement. “True.”
So, the two of them returned to their seats.
Qin Qing had already raised her chemistry book halfway after hearing the boys’ voices. But she hadn’t expected Wen Yufeng to just walk past her, leaving the thanks she had prepared unsaid.
She furrowed her brows slightly.
—Could it be that Mr. Fu had reprimanded him again? Would they actually push for expulsion this time?
Qin Qing felt an inexplicable heaviness in her heart and hesitated before closing the book. As she did, the two black characters on the first page briefly caught her eye.
…The handwriting was really nice.
As she was thinking this, a playful voice interrupted her thoughts from beside her.
“I thought you two were really close.”
Qin Qing turned to look, her eyes puzzled. “Him?”
Fang Xiaojing tilted her chin slightly, a smile on her face that carried an inexplicable undertone of discomfort.
“Wen Yufeng. But I guess I misunderstood. It seems you two aren’t that close after all.”
Qin Qing blinked silently, her soft and harmless gaze still present in her beautiful eyes.
She looked at Fang Xiaojing for a few seconds, long enough that Fang Xiaojing’s smile began to falter.
Receiving no response, Fang Xiaojing felt awkward and was about to turn away when the girl finally spoke.
“You really did misunderstand.”
The girl’s voice was gentle, her tone very serious—
“I really don’t know him well at all.”
Fang Xiaojing: “…”
Even though she got the answer she wanted, why did she feel even more upset?
Seeing her new deskmate’s face darken, Qin Qing turned back to her book with an innocent expression, though a hint of playful mischief twinkled in her clear eyes.
—Her cousin had mentioned this was called “retreating to advance.”
Just as she was feeling pleased for a few seconds, Qin Qing suddenly felt conflicted and lowered her eyes.
…Was she becoming “bad”?
Before she could finish pondering whether her actions were right or wrong, a book was suddenly placed on her desk, interrupting her thoughts.
A long, slender hand still rested on the book.
Qin Qing snapped back to reality, her gaze following the hand upward—
The boy was looking down at her with a faint smile, his sharp jawline indicating toward the desk.
“For the next class,” he said before turning to leave.
“Wait…”
Qin Qing called out, her hand instinctively reaching out and accidentally grabbing the boy’s wrist.
“Hiss—”
From the back of the classroom, where Li Xiang had been secretly watching the scene, came a sharp intake of breath.
Zhao Zirui gave him a sideways glance. “What’s gotten into you?”
“I remember Yufeng hates it when people touch him, right??” Li Xiang turned back, wide-eyed.
Zhao Zirui didn’t need to think long before chuckling sarcastically. “Last time on the basketball court, you bumped into him twice while dribbling, and he turned you into a wreck—did you already forget?”
Li Xiang: “…”
“You could’ve just said ‘yes,’ without all the unnecessary words…”
Complaining finished, Li Xiang quickly added, “This new girl is really bold, grabbing Yufeng just like that… and it seems like nothing’s happening? If it were anyone else, they probably wouldn’t make it out the door today, right?”
Hearing this, Zhao Zirui turned his gaze back to the scene.
At that moment, Qin Qing realized what she had done and quickly withdrew her hand as if she’d been shocked.
Her cheeks flushed slightly, and she didn’t know where to focus her gaze. Even her voice was uncertain.
“Sorry, um… you don’t have to lend me your book just because of what I said earlier. You can keep it for yourself.”
“……”
Wen Yufeng’s gaze slowly and meaningfully lifted from his wrist, where she had grabbed him, as a faint smile played on his lips.
“I don’t need it. Let’s just consider it as repaying the favor for saving my life, okay?”
“……..”
Qin Qing was momentarily at a loss for words, secretly rolling her eyes at him in her mind before turning away in silence.
Wen Yufeng chuckled softly and left.
Meanwhile, in the last row, Li Xiang was still lamenting to Zhao Zirui, “All that cold and indifferent stuff, it’s all fake! Yufeng clearly just looks down on us—did you see how he let that girl touch him just now? Not only was he not angry, but he was even chatting and joking with her. It’s nothing like how he treated me—”
“What about you?”
A deep voice, unable to conceal its amusement, sounded behind him.
“……”
Li Xiang froze for three seconds, then stiffly turned around and collapsed onto his desk, playing dead.
Wen Yufeng was in a good mood, so he didn’t bother with him and returned to his seat.
Zhao Zirui, barely containing his laughter, whispered, “I think you should thank her properly. If that girl hadn’t cheered up Yufeng, I’d probably be preparing to deal with your remains right now.”
“……”
Li Xiang shot Zhao Zirui a resentful look.
He was just about to retort when the front door of the classroom was pushed open.
A stern-looking Fu Zhengnan walked in, stepping onto the podium as he spoke, “The next activities class is canceled. We’re having a math lesson instead.”
“Huh??”
The classroom erupted in groans of protest.
Qin Qing, however, quietly lowered her gaze to the new math textbook on her desk, curiously furrowing her small brow.
…Could that guy really predict the future?
The groans were quickly silenced by a single look from Fu Zhengnan.
Once the room had quieted down a bit, his gaze fell on Qin Qing.
A smile appeared on his serious face.
“Qin Qing, are you able to keep up with the pace of the classes?”
Being suddenly called out, Qin Qing was caught off guard and took a moment to react before nodding.
She didn’t speak, but Fu Zhengnan didn’t mind. He continued with a smile.
“And have you gotten to know your classmates?”
This question stumped Qin Qing. Apart from Wen Yufeng, she couldn’t really say she knew anyone else.
Fu Zhengnan noticed her discomfort, which was exactly what he’d hoped for. Smiling, he said, “Perfect timing. We’re reorganizing the class committee this semester, and the position of math class representative hasn’t been filled yet. How about you take it? I’ll give you a roster of the class, and over the next couple of days, you can collect and distribute homework. That way, you’ll get to know everyone.”
Qin Qing was stunned. After a couple of seconds, she realized what he’d said and quickly stood up. “Teacher, I—”
Before she could finish, Fu Zhengnan added with a smile, “Don’t worry about anything else. Your classmates will cooperate with you. If you have any other questions, you can bring them up with me later.”
With the conversation ending like that, Qin Qing had no choice but to nod and sit back down, feeling dejected.
Fu Zhengnan, satisfied, turned his attention back to the rest of the class.
…
As soon as the last class of the day ended, Fu Zhengnan handed a brand new class roster to Qin Qing.
“After the first evening self-study session tonight, collect the homework sheets I gave out yesterday. Record who has and hasn’t turned theirs in, and you’ll also get to know your classmates better.”
“……”
Qin Qing frowned as she looked at the roster. When Fu Zhengnan finished speaking, she suddenly looked up, her wide almond-shaped eyes filled with confusion. “Evening self-study?”
Fu Zhengnan was taken aback by the questioning tone before he realized why.
“Right, you just came up from the middle school division, so you’re not familiar with the high school curriculum yet. In high school, there’s evening self-study after dinner. For now, the first and second years have two sessions, and the third years have three. Most students have already submitted their preferences for self-study…”
He paused. “Except for a few who chose not to attend, everyone else is required to participate in at least two sessions.”
Qin Qing blinked.
“But I haven’t told my family yet…”
Fu Zhengnan nodded. “No problem. I’ll notify your parents in a bit. You can have dinner in the school cafeteria. Did you bring cash?”
Qin Qing really wanted to shake her head.
“If not, I have some.”
“……”
Qin Qing, her face scrunched up in distress, lowered her head. “I brought some…”
Her tone was filled with utter resignation.
But Fu Zhengnan didn’t seem to notice, smiling cheerfully as he nodded.
“Good, then take tonight to get used to it.”
Qin Qing made one last feeble attempt.
“Teacher… how late does evening self-study go?”
Fu Zhengnan: “Until 9:30.”
Qin Qing: “……”
As soon as Fu Zhengnan left, Qin Qing slumped over her desk, looking so miserable she was about to cry.
Beside her, Fang Xiaojing, who hadn’t rushed off to dinner, watched the whole scene unfold and couldn’t help but comment—
“It’s just evening self-study. You don’t have to act like it’s the end of the world.”
Qin Qing was too devastated to care who was asking the question. She lay on her desk, looking like she was about to cry.
“I used to be in bed by seven at home during middle school.”
Fang Xiaojing: “…What about your homework?”
“I finished it all at school…”
Fang Xiaojing: “………”
She shouldn’t have asked.
Meanwhile, in the back row of the classroom.
Li Xiang, having packed his bag, eagerly asked Wen Yufeng, “Yufeng, where are we going tonight?”
Wen Yufeng lazily looked up.
“Nowhere.”
Li Xiang was stunned, then cautiously asked, “So, you’re going to…?”
Wen Yufeng glanced toward a certain spot in the front of the classroom, a smirk forming on his lips.
“Self-study.”
Li Xiang: “……”