novelraw Chapter 18
Chapter 18
Chapter 18 Grumpy Wake-Up MoodLi Xiang was taken aback for a moment before regaining his composure. He couldn’t help but widen his eyes as he looked at Wen Yufeng.
“Self-study?? Yufeng, are you serious? You’re not joking, right?”
Wen Yufeng didn’t say anything, just turned his gaze back, lazily glancing at Li Xiang.
Li Xiang shrank back and nervously replied, “Um, I guess we’ll head out first, then.”
“…Wait a minute.”
Wen Yufeng called out, “There’s something I need to ask you.”
“Huh?”
Hearing that Wen Yufeng actually wanted to ask him something, Li Xiang curiously leaned in.
“Yufeng, what is it?”
…
Twenty minutes later, the students of Class 6, Year 2, were dumbfounded as they watched from the front of the classroom—Wen Yufeng, who had never shown up for evening self-study, walked in from outside.
In his left hand, hanging by his side, was a neatly packaged dessert box.
As Wen Yufeng walked through the classroom, a playful smile lingered on his handsome face, but his eyes remained fixed on a particular spot.
He stopped walking, leaned down, and the smile in his eyes deepened.
At that moment, the girl sitting behind the desk in front of him was still slumped over, looking dejectedly at some random spot in the air, clearly unaware of his presence.
Her usually clear and beautiful eyes lacked any focus.
“What are you brooding about?”
The deep, clean voice suddenly broke the silence, causing Qin Qing’s thin shoulders to tremble. She quickly straightened up.
Still somewhat lost in her previous thoughts, she looked up at the boy with a dazed expression.
This was the first time Wen Yufeng had seen such a look and emotion on the girl’s face.
She looked like a small, lost kitten, huddled up and gazing at him with wide eyes, hiding a tentative curiosity deep within her pupils.
But before Wen Yufeng could examine her closely, the girl had already composed herself, lowering her gaze.
Her slightly curled eyelashes cast a faint shadow on her porcelain-white skin.
“I’m fine.”
Her voice was very soft.
Wen Yufeng frowned slightly, but quickly smoothed out his emotions.
He raised his hand and placed the dessert box he was holding on the girl’s desk, his voice calm, with a hint of reassurance.
“Your dinner.”
“…”
Qin Qing stared at the beautifully packaged gift box, momentarily stunned.
It took her a few seconds to snap out of it, and she quickly shook her head. “Senior, I—”
“For the last time, I’m not your senior.”
Wen Yufeng interrupted her, straightening up, the sharp lines of his brows softening into a lazy smile.
He looked at the girl, his expression playful. “And besides, according to you, this is just repaying a favor.”
After speaking, Wen Yufeng didn’t give Qin Qing a chance to refuse and immediately turned and walked back to his seat.
Sitting in the front row, Qin Qing stared at the dessert box for a long time, hesitating. She then pushed the box away, distancing it from her sight.
No effort, no reward—this was something she couldn’t accept; more importantly, her mom had strictly forbidden sweets and fried foods…
Qin Qing kept a stern face as she tried to calm her slightly agitated heart.
She had only been doing this for less than half a minute when Fang Xiaojing returned from dinner at the cafeteria.
As soon as she sat down, Fang Xiaojing noticed the dessert box on the desk.
She looked at Qin Qing in surprise. “I didn’t realize you had such good taste in desserts!”
Qin Qing’s almond-shaped eyes widened slightly, a curious look in her gaze.
Fang Xiaojing pointed at the dessert box. “This place is famous for its desserts; it’s probably the most well-known shop near the school. They often sell out—especially this one, which is limited in quantity every day and always in high demand. I’ve never managed to get one.”
Hearing this, the girl’s eyes brightened a bit.
“Is it really that good?”
“…”
Feeling a bit overwhelmed by the girl’s sincere gaze, Fang Xiaojing turned her head, her expression stiffening as she replied, “I’ve never been able to get one, so how would I know…”
Even if Fang Xiaojing had said it was delicious, Qin Qing probably wouldn’t have been this intrigued. But hearing “I don’t know” and “I couldn’t get one” suddenly made Qin Qing feel as though a cat’s paw was scratching at her heart.
Just one look at the box made her heart itch uncontrollably.
After a minute of inner struggle, a pair of small hands finally began untying the beautiful ribbon on the box.
…Just one bite.
Qin Qing thought to herself seriously, her face still stern.
A few seconds later.
Qin Qing held a small fork, savoring the soft texture that melted in her mouth, and couldn’t help but curl her lips into a soft smile.
Her eyes gently closed, her expression like that of a contented kitten basking in the afternoon sun.
It was really, really good.
Looking at the dessert she had just taken a bite of, Qin Qing hesitated for less than a second before happily overturning her previous decision—
Yeah, just one bite would be wasteful… I’ll just eat it this once.
…
Thanks to that dessert, the first evening self-study session, which Qin Qing had expected to be dreadful, wasn’t that hard to get through. In fact, her mood during the first half was almost cheerful.
However, due to her usual sleep schedule, she started nodding off less than halfway through the session.
When the piercing bell signaled the end of self-study, Qin Qing jolted awake from her sleep.
Still groggy from waking up, she raised her head and stared blankly at the hustle and bustle in the front of the classroom, her sleepy eyes unfocused for a while before her consciousness and reasoning gradually returned.
Realizing where she was, Qin Qing slowly lowered her head again, looking like she was about to take another nap.
Fang Xiaojing, who had been silently enduring this for half a class, finally couldn’t hold back any longer—
“The math papers.”
“…”
Qin Qing, still drowsy, blinked. “What?”
Fang Xiaojing slammed her own math paper in front of her deskmate.
“Collect them.”
Qin Qing blinked, and then suddenly came to her senses.
Her mind instantly cleared, and she picked up the class roster and a pen from beside her, quickly standing up.
Before stepping away from her seat, she hesitated for a moment and then softly said to Fang Xiaojing, who had already turned away, “Thank you, I really forgot.”
“…”
Fang Xiaojing didn’t respond, but her hand, which was holding a pen and working on a problem, paused for a moment.
Qin Qing didn’t pay much attention to it, and she walked over to the first student’s desk in the first row.
…
Class 6 of the second year had nearly fifty students, and by the end of the first evening self-study break, Qin Qing had completed about three-quarters of her task.
Fortunately, no one disturbed the self-study session, and there wasn’t much order to maintain. When the second evening self-study session began, Qin Qing continued her class representative duties, collecting the test papers.
As Mr. Fu had mentioned, the classmates were very cooperative, handing in their papers and signing their names in an orderly manner, without causing any issues.
That was until she reached the last seat in the last row.
Out of the 47 students in the class, apart from the two who didn’t show up for evening self-study, only one had not turned in their paper.
Qin Qing wrinkled her small nose and helplessly looked at the boy who was peacefully sleeping on his light gray cushion, seemingly more soundly than she had been earlier.
His black hair fell over his handsome profile, and his high nose bridge cast a faint shadow. With his usual deep, dark eyes closed, Qin Qing realized that his eyelashes were long and thick, with a slight curl.
His narrow eyes had a gentle, feminine beauty when he slept.
But the next moment, Qin Qing recalled his gaze when he was awake.
Even when he was relaxed and casual, his eyes would occasionally reveal an unintentional but intimidating ferocity that made people want to avoid him…
After spacing out for a while, Qin Qing slowly came back to her senses and looked down at the roster in her hands.
She sighed, walked over to the boy’s desk, and stopped.
Her pale, delicate hand reached out and gently tapped the boy’s arm.
“…Wen Yufeng, it’s time to hand in your math test paper.”
Her voice was soft and gentle, but in the quiet classroom, it was loud enough to make several students in the back row freeze before they turned around in horror.
Their expressions were as if she had just called out a dangerous beast.
—Which, in a way, she had.
The entire school knew that Wen Yufeng was not someone to mess with, but only the students in Class 6 knew that compared to his state after waking up, the usual Wen Yufeng was “friendly” like an angel.
Sure enough, two seconds later, under the frightened gazes of the class, the boy slowly sat up straight.
His handsome face was expressionless, his thin lips pressed into a sharp line, and the air around him was heavy.
His dark, unfocused eyes seemed frozen over, emitting a menacing aura that sent chills down anyone’s spine just by making eye contact.
Even Qin Qing was startled by the terrifying look in his eyes and expression.
She involuntarily took half a step back, letting out a soft “ah” before quickly apologizing, “Sorry, I…”
But before she could finish, the focus in his dark eyes gradually sharpened.
“…Qin Qing?”
The girl’s slender figure and slightly panicked expression reflected in his dark eyes, melting away the coldness. He narrowed his eyes slightly, still carrying traces of danger in his demeanor.
Under his gaze, Qin Qing felt her body tense, inexplicably reminded of a predator about to pounce.
After hesitating for a few seconds, she finally raised the stack of papers in her hand.
“I’m here to collect the test papers… You’re the only one in the class who hasn’t handed yours in yet, and Mr. Fu will scold you.”
Her voice was soft and gentle, her delicate features warm and endearing under the light. Even her slightly nervous breathing, caused by the intimidating look in his eyes, had a soothing effect.
Wen Yufeng stared at her without saying a word, his dark eyes flickering with an unknown emotion.
After more than ten seconds, he turned his face away, the emotion in his eyes fading, revealing sharp and defined features.
His voice, low and slightly hoarse from sleep, carried a hint of helplessness and restraint—
“…I have a terrible temper when I wake up, little classmate.”