The Monthly Exam
y2: If there's anything you don't understand, you can ask me.
Seeing this message, Yun Mi's heart felt squeezed. In the midst of her busy studying, she couldn't help but show a hint of a smile.
Chen Yiyang had promised to teach her a few days ago. Before that, he'd been half-hearted—sometimes teaching, sometimes not.
With this commitment, Yun Mi felt at ease.
She carefully went downstairs, passing by Chen Yiyang's room, and thought... well, better not disturb him too often. Once a day would be fine—save all the questions for one session. Try to keep it to thirty minutes... no, an hour. Otherwise, that annoying guy would probably give her a sour face again.
Yun Mi finished plotting in her head and felt sleepy. She rubbed her face and yawned.
---
Late at night, Chen Yiyang saw a new message on his second-floor windowsill. The pale moonlight fell on the dusty electric guitar, his eyelids slightly lowered.
Wen Liangyu: I'll handle things on your father's side.
Wen Liangyu: Chen Yiyang, you saw your grandfather in the ICU because of you. Can you think about the consequences before you act next time?!
Wen Liangyu: Forget it.
Wen Liangyu: Take good care of your sister. Since you're helping her with tutoring, be serious about it.
Xu Zhiyu had been bothered by Chen Jici. She called but Chen Yiyang didn't answer, then texted to ask if he was okay—she must have found out something. Chen Yiyang didn't reply.
Suddenly, a loud crash came from downstairs—"Bam!"
Chen Yiyang checked the time.
02:24 AM.
It was Yun Mi.
The boy frowned.
The exam was the day after tomorrow, and she was still not asleep?
Yun Mi had been severely sleep-deprived these days. Just now, she was so tired that she ran downstairs to sneak an ice cube tray from the fridge. She was icing her eyes when she stumbled in the dark, hitting her head on the corner of the dining table.
Pain. Ouch. Wuwu.
Yun Mi was about to jump in pain when suddenly—"Click"—someone turned on the lights on the first floor. Yun Mi crouched in front of the fridge in her pajamas, holding the huge ice cube tray, and looked up.
"..."
"Still awake at this hour?"
Chen Yiyang's voice was flat.
The ice cube in Yun Mi's hand slipped and fell into the tray with a clatter. She was startled.
Her heart tightened under his gaze, waking her up. But her mouth was stubborn: "Chen Yiyang, I should be asking you. Why are you up in the middle of the night? Catching a thief?"
Chen Yiyang wore a gray-black loungewear set with a jacket thrown over it, his cold white collarbone faintly visible from the collar. His figure was tall and his features cold. He stood against the wall with his arms crossed, looking like a judge.
His gaze dropped, and a smirk tugged at his lips—clearly amused, a mischievous grin with a hint of a rebellious teenager's charm—as if her question had made him laugh. He asked, "Did you confess without being accused?"
"..."
He was calling her a thief.
So unfair.
They faced off across the distance. Yun Mi felt guilty, expressionlessly looked away.
She wasn't going to play word games with him.
She was too sleepy. Coffee only gave her a mental boost, but her body was still exhausted; the moment she relaxed, her eyelids would close.
Yun Mi pouted and retorted, "No, I didn't."
Chen Yiyang didn't indulge her. He teased, "Next time, remember to turn on the light. Don't bump into anything and get caught by me again."
"..."
Next time?
He was cursing her.
Yun Mi replied softly, "Oh."
Chen Yiyang said, "Get to bed early. You're too noisy, disturbing my sleep."
Yun Mi had learned a different textbook edition in Shanghai than in Shancheng. Plus, she was a sports student and hadn't taken her studies seriously, so she had accumulated quite a few gaps. But over the past few days, Chen Yiyang had already helped her go through the basic knowledge points.
Yun Mi silently put down the ice cube tray, pinched two ice cubes, and rolled them over her eyes. The icy sensation seeped into her skin, and she finally felt it less effortful to open her eyelids. Her finely long lashes were wet with water droplets, as if the all-nighters had made her cry. "Chen Yiyang, this is all for you. Who told you to mess around and make a bet with Jiang Wenshao?"
She pursed her lips. Although she hated him, she still had principles.
Yun Mi complained, "So cold."
Chen Yiyang had originally intended to send her straight back to sleep on the third floor, but her words made him pause for a moment. After a while, he asked, "So?"
"So I'm doing a modern version of 'stabbing my thigh to stay awake,'" Yun Mi said matter-of-factly, picking out a few ice chips from the tray into a bowl and shoving one into her mouth to chew. The cold jolted her whole body awake. Her face scrunched up as she said, "Physiological arousal! Refreshment! I'll go over the wrong science problems one more time to solidify them."
Chen Yiyang suspected that the little girl's soul was about to float out of her mouth.