novelraw Chapter 40
Chapter 40
Chapter 40 ApplauseEven many years later, when someone asked Qin Qing what the most unforgettable moment of her life was, she couldn’t help but think back to this day.
In such an ordinary, dimly lit bar, where all the hustle and bustle seemed to come from another world, her eyes could only hold this one figure. In that moment, the entire world seemed to shrink down to just her and the person in front of her.
It was the first time she truly understood the meaning of the word “breathtaking.”
——
No more words were needed; just one restrained and suppressed “please” was enough.
Years later, when Qin Qing described this scene to the friend who had asked the question, the friend was moved for a long time before sighing, “If I had dxperienced such a breathtaking moment when I was young, it would definitely be the most unforgettable moment of my life too—I would still be bragging about it to my grandchildren when I’m eighty.”
But at that time, Qin Qing just smiled serenely and shook her head. “Unfortunately, this isn’t my most unforgettable moment.”
The friend was surprised, “That wasn’t it?”
“This moment could indeed be called ‘the most unforgettable’ for a few seconds,” Qin Qing said, her smile gentle and her eyes soft with a hint of the innocence she once had. “But that only lasted until he finished speaking and then passed out on the couch, completely unconscious.”
“……”
After a long pause, the friend, struggling to keep a straight face, finally asked, “And then… what happened?”
“And then… then he was taken home, of course.”
Qin Qing looked off into the distance, her eyes narrowing slightly, lost in thought.
………
“Careful—yes, just like that—slowly—”
Outside the black sedan parked by the roadside at Fenghua Entertainment City, Qiao An and another person helped the passed-out Wen Yufeng into the car. Only after closing the door did they breathe a long sigh of relief and turn back to the two girls standing nearby.
Qiao An discreetly sized up the petite girl and smiled wryly before walking over.
“I’m Qiao An—Qiao as in ‘Qiaomu’ and An as in ‘Anjing.’ I’ve known Yufeng for about two years now, but this is the first time I’ve met you. How should I address you?”
Feeling a bit uncomfortable with such formal treatment, Qin Qing quickly responded, “My name is Qin Qing—Qin as in ‘Qinhan’ and Qing as in ‘Qingtian.'”
“Ah, so you’re Miss Qin.”
Qiao An smiled and nodded, rubbing his hands together with a slight frown, though his smile remained unchanged.
“It seems like Miss Qin and Yufeng know each other? How exactly are you two—”
Before he could finish, Qin Qing had already understood his intention.
“…Classmates.”
If it were before today, Qin Qing might have said this with confidence, but now, she couldn’t help blushing and feeling a bit guilty as she added, “We just became new deskmates.”
Hearing this, Qiao An, who had been unsure whether Wen Yufeng’s earlier behavior was genuine or just drunken confusion, immediately understood.
——As he had mentioned, Wen Yufeng had never allowed any woman trying to get close to come within a foot of him, let alone interact with someone at such close quarters, day after day.
If Wen Yufeng had no feelings for this girl, there was no way they would have become deskmates.
And… Qiao An glanced back at the black sedan, sighing inwardly.
Judging by Wen Yufeng’s reaction in the bar earlier, those “feelings” were likely very strong.
But considering Yufeng’s family background…
Qiao An sighed deeply in his heart but kept a friendly smile on his face.
“So where do Miss Qin and your classmate live? I’ll arrange for someone to take you both home.”
Before Qin Qing could respond, Lin Manxue, standing beside her, waved her hand. “No need for me. I’ll just catch a cab later. You can take Qin Qing home.”
After a brief pause, Lin Manxue hesitated and then changed her mind. “Actually, I’ll take Qin Qing home myself. After all, I’m the one who brought her out.”
Qin Qing nodded in agreement. “Yes, we don’t want to trouble you. We can get home on our own.”
Qiao An, seeing through the two girls’ cautious attitude towards him and his group, didn’t push further. He nodded, “All right, it’s my fault for not taking good care of you two today on my turf. Next time we meet, I’ll make it up to you.”
This surprised Lin Manxue, who widened her eyes. “That bar… is yours?”
Qiao An smiled and shook his head.
Before Lin Manxue could react with, “I knew it,” he raised his arm and pointed to the brightly lit LED sign of “Fenghua Entertainment City” looming over them in the dimming evening light.
“Strictly speaking, this is mine.”
“…”
Lin Manxue unconsciously opened her mouth in shock.
Next to her, Qin Qing was also surprised, her beautiful almond-shaped eyes showing a hint of astonishment, but her expression remained relatively calm.
Qiao An nodded to himself, subtly reining in his smile.
“Well, I’ll take Yufeng back now. Ladies, take care.”
Qin Qing responded, “Thank you.”
Then, Qiao An got into the passenger seat, closed the door, and the car drove off.
Once the car was out of sight, Lin Manxue finally snapped out of her daze. The words she had been holding back all the way from the entertainment complex finally burst out.
“Xiao Qing, you know Wen Yufeng?? And it’s not just a casual acquaintance??”
“…”
Expecting this reaction, Qin Qing turned to Lin Manxue with a helpless look. “It’s already late. Let’s grab a cab, and we can talk in the car.”
“All right, all right, let’s talk in the car!”
…………
The next morning, Wen Yufeng, who was supposed to be on leave for two weeks, walked into the classroom under everyone’s curious gazes.
The first period was math, and it was just before class started. Shen Liang, the teacher, was standing at the podium, flipping through last week’s exam papers. When he caught sight of the tall figure passing by him, he paused in surprise.
Then, Shen Liang looked up with a smile and asked Wen Yufeng, “Weren’t you on leave? Why are you back in less than a week?”
Wen Yufeng stopped when Shen Liang spoke to him. He turned back, pulled his hand out of his pocket, and with a lazy smile on his handsome face, he replied, “I realized I’d already missed the first monthly exam, so I hurried back to study hard. I didn’t want you, Mr. Shen, to change my seat again.”
Shen Liang’s smile deepened. “It’s good that you have the intention, but you needn’t worry too much—given your usual grades, whether you take the exam or not doesn’t make much difference.”
As soon as he said this, someone in the classroom couldn’t hold back a laugh, though they quickly covered their mouth, casting a nervous glance at Wen Yufeng, worried about offending the school bully.
But Wen Yufeng, with his back to the class, didn’t react, nor did he seem upset by Shen Liang’s comment.
The students heard the boy’s slightly hoarse voice, tinged with an inexplicable smile——
“With your guidance, Mr. Shen, how could I dare let you down?”
Shen Liang chuckled. “I wonder how much your grades will improve with your new deskmate. But it seems you’ve certainly become more talkative.”
Wen Yufeng lowered his eyes slightly and gave a dry laugh.
“…Maybe it’s because my new deskmate is too sweet.”
His voice was so low that even the students in the front row couldn’t hear it clearly. Without saying more, Wen Yufeng nodded slightly to Shen Liang and then turned around, casually walking back to his seat with a relaxed smile.
When he reached his desk, Wen Yufeng placed his left hand on the tabletop and leaned over to the girl sitting inside.
“Why didn’t you wait for me this morning?”
Qin Qing was taken aback.
—From the moment he walked into the classroom until just before he approached her, she had been wondering how he would explain his absence from the exam and yesterday’s events, and how she should respond. But she never expected that he would start by questioning her first.
This was truly a classic case of the pot calling the kettle black.
However, as soon as she regained her composure, Qin Qing quickly retorted, “You’re the one who stopped it last time.”
Wen Yufeng raised an eyebrow. “I was waiting in the elevator at seven this morning. If you weren’t deliberately avoiding me, how could we not have run into each other?”
Qin Qing responded, even more innocently, “I was on duty today, cleaning the school grounds, so I had to get to school early.”
“…On duty?”
Since Wen Yufeng joined this class in his first year, the hygiene committee had practically erased the word “duty” from his vocabulary.
Now hearing it again, it felt almost foreign to him.
Seeing Wen Yufeng’s reaction, the girl sitting at her desk pursed her lips slightly and gave him a disapproving look with her dark eyes.
“As a member of the class, it’s everyone’s responsibility to maintain the class’s cleanliness and honor.”
Wen Yufeng: “…”
Perhaps her words made too much sense; he found himself unable to argue.
Standing at the podium, Shen Liang shifted his gaze from the papers and smiled at the class.
“This time, in the monthly exam, our class has seen improvements in both math scores and overall subject averages compared to the first year. Besides the collective progress of everyone in the class, I must highlight two key contributors.”
Shen Liang paused, lifting his eyes and directing them toward the back of the classroom.
“The first one is our classmate, Qin Qing. As everyone already knows, Qin Qing topped the grade rankings with first place in math, English, physics, and chemistry.”
After this announcement, even though the students were already aware of the results, they couldn’t help but feel impressed. Applause gradually started from a corner of the room, spreading throughout the class.
The only one in Class 6 who was unaware, Wen Yufeng, looked to his side with a half-smile, his gaze falling on the girl beside him.
In a voice still tinged with the hoarseness left by yesterday’s alcohol, deliberately lowered and infused with a teasing tone, he asked, “Hey, little classmate, care to share some study tips?”
Qin Qing, who hadn’t reacted much to the applause, blushed slightly at his words. She straightened her small face and said, “Study tips… well, I guess the minimum would be not to get into fights, not to get injured, and to actually be able to take the exams.”
“…”
Clearly, this was directed at him, but instead of getting annoyed, Wen Yufeng’s lips curved even more into a smile.
“As for our second key contributor…”
As the applause died down, Shen Liang cleared his throat with a smile on his face.
“That would naturally be Wen Yufeng.”
The moment he said this, everyone, including Wen Yufeng and Qin Qing, looked up in surprise.
On the podium, Shen Liang continued to smile.
“Thanks to Wen Yufeng taking a leave of absence and missing the exam, his scores weren’t entered into the system, which allowed our class average to significantly improve.”
He raised his hands and clapped twice.
“Come on, let’s give Wen Yufeng a round of applause to encourage him to keep up the good work.”
“…”
The classroom fell silent. Many students struggled to hold back their laughter, their faces turning red from the effort, but none dared to clap.
In the absence of cooperation, the atmosphere became slightly awkward.
However, Shen Liang’s expression remained unchanged.
After a few more seconds of silence, a soft clapping sound suddenly came from a corner of the classroom.
“…??”
The students were shocked, turning their heads in the direction of the sound.
They were all curious—who was brave enough to clap, risking everything just to give Mr. Shen an out?
After scanning the room, everyone’s gaze finally converged on the last desk at the back of the classroom.
—Right next to Wen Yufeng.
At this point, Wen Yufeng had already turned his gaze, his expression one of amusement, with a hint of something unreadable in his dark eyes.
He looked at the girl beside him, who was staring straight ahead, sitting upright, proudly clapping her delicate hands. Wen Yufeng’s gaze grew deeper and darker.
After a couple of seconds, he slowly licked his upper palate, the smile in his eyes deepening.
Then Wen Yufeng turned his attention back to the front and raised his own hands.
With long, slender fingers and palms coming together, under the bewildered stares of the entire class, the usually laid-back school bully lazily squinted his eyes and joined the girl in clapping.