White Rabbit Creamy Candy
Yun Mi was the last to leave the classroom. She finished her homework and also went through the supplementary books recommended by the subject teacher.
Outside, the sky was already pitch black. Yun Mi walked alone, her black shadow stretched slender by the streetlights.
She got home at midnight.
Chen Yiyang, as her brother, didn't care at all—not even a single message. In the afternoon, he had been perfectly fine, saying that Aunt Wen asked him to take care of her, but then he flipped his face faster than turning a page.
Yun Mi felt a dull, stifling frustration, but the words of complaint that came to her lips were forced back down.
What was that White Rabbit candy supposed to be?
A "reward"?
Clearly, it was a "bribe" to shut her up and prevent her from telling Aunt Wen!
Yun Mi couldn't be bothered to argue with him. She silently twisted the doorknob and entered the house.
As soon as she changed her shoes, she heard voices coming from the small reception room on the first floor. Warm yellow light spilled through the gap in the ajar door.
"Chen Yiyang, take the money. I know this small change isn't even enough..."
Yun Mi hadn't meant to eavesdrop, but the next sentence drifted clearly into her ears: "When you've saved enough, you can pay it back in one go."
In the small reception room, Chen Yiyang hadn't even offered anyone a cup of tea. He just stood there, his attitude businesslike, exuding a cold aloofness.
Xu Zhiyu was in need of a favor, so she could only lower her eyes, her voice cooling a few degrees: "I'll do my best to pay you back." She took a deep breath, then remembered something and softened her tone. "My grandma... still wants to thank you in person. Can't you come to the hospital with me? She has two weeks until her official surgery, and she's already in preparation. The doctor said the success rate isn't high."
Chen Yiyang's tone had no emotion. He just looked up and refused: "No need. Xu Zhiyu, you don't owe me anything."
He turned to leave, when suddenly, through the crack in the door, he met the girl's amber eyes.
Yun Mi froze, her heart skipping a beat.
She instinctively shrank back, wanting to explain that she hadn't meant to eavesdrop.
But before she could react, Chen Yiyang's dark, sharp eyes narrowed slightly. He curled his lip and closed the door.
...
Yun Mi sent a WeChat message to Ding Yuan.
Grow Up Well: I'm done for! Done for!!!
Grow Up Well: So awkward.
Grow Up Well: Bang my head against the wall. Bam. Dead.
The night outside the window was silent. After her shower, Yun Mi curled up in front of her desk, hugging her legs. She was still thinking about Chen Yiyang's final expression in the reception room—tall nose bridge, lean figure, the condescending glance that mixed with disdain. Yun Mi's heart was in turmoil. She bit the cap of her pen and lowered her eyes.
He seemed to hate her.
And she seemed to have misunderstood Chen Yiyang.
Just then, on her desk, she saw the "love letter" she had witnessed being rejected at the snack stall the other day. Half of its contents were pulled out of the thin kraft paper envelope. It wasn't a girl's betrayed feelings, but more than ten red banknotes.
Chen Yiyang hadn't made the top student Xu Zhiyu cry.
He had only lent her money to help cover her family's surgery expenses.
To act as an ex-boyfriend to this extent... Yun Mi shouldn't have insulted him.
He was only a scumbag in love.
Yun Mi let out an "ah" and tugged at her hair, her heart in disarray.
Ding Yuan was already fast asleep in the middle of the night. In her dream, reading comprehension was chasing her like a ghost. Woken by the phone vibration, she was about to lose her temper, but when she saw it was a message from Yun Mi, she rubbed her forehead and replied: Do you know what time it is?
Yun Mi hadn't expected Ding Yuan to have message notifications on. She replied, "Sorry."
Ding Yuan was about to go back to sleep when a call came through.
The girl's voice on the other end was still sleepy: "Stinky Yun Mi, if I doze off in class tomorrow, you're done for."
Yun Mi apologized with a hint of guilt: "I'm sorry, okay?"
She wanted someone to talk to, or maybe she was in a hurry to help that bad guy Chen Yiyang "clear his name."
Since she'd already woken her up, she might as well sleep a little later.
Yun Mi clutched her pen, speaking seriously and cautiously about her major discovery: "Da Yuan Zi, I found out that Chen Yiyang isn't that bad after all."
Ding Yuan asked: "Really? Tell me more."
The next morning during early reading, the class was promoting the latest school anniversary event. Each class had to perform a program. The propaganda committee member was smilingly lobbying Ding Yuan, who slapped him away. Ding Yuan stared at Chen Yiyang, who sat diagonally across from them, as if seeing a ghost.
While secretly watching, Ding Yuan whispered to Yun Mi: "So Chen Yiyang lent money to Xu Zhiyu, not confessing his love and then making her cry, right?"
Yun Mi nodded.
She remembered Chen Yiyang's words, "You don't owe me"—a low, husky voice not gentle, but definitely objective.
Ding Yuan still looked shocked: "So my goddess didn't bother that scumbag after the breakup? Great!" Then she mused, "Why would Chen Yiyang even lend money? What's he after..."
Lately, there had been rumors flying around school. Some said Xu Zhiyu was at fault, but since the girl was in a weaker position in the relationship, sensible students still criticized Chen Yiyang.
Being attacked by public opinion wasn't pleasant either.