They walked in silence all the way.
The two walked one after the other under the school's streetlights.
The boy's figure was tall and upright. Yun Mi quietly walked in his shadow, not daring to step ahead by half a step.
Chen Yiyang's shadow just enveloped her. Yun Mi unconsciously looked down, counting how many steps they had taken.
She always had to take several more steps than Chen Yiyang.
Finally, they spoke again.
Chen Yiyang asked, "Did you make a bet with Jiang Wenshao?"
The boy's low, magnetic voice drifted from ahead. Yun Mi's heart suddenly felt a fine, dense ache.
So he already knew.
The girl's voice was muffled. "Are you angry?"
"No."
No?
He looked totally furious.
Aunt Qin's car arrived quickly.
After getting in the car, Chen Yiyang went straight to the passenger seat and didn't speak to Yun Mi for the entire ride.
Instead, Yun Mi secretly glanced at him several times.
The boy's eyes were lowered, his profile cold and hard, with an aloof look that suggested he was far from calming down.
She pursed her lips tightly and quietly lowered her head.
Chen Yiyang tapped the screen with his fingertips, typing.
"y2": Watch your mouth.
Jiang Wenshao hadn't slept yet and replied almost instantly.
"Jiang Wenshao": You care a lot. I wasn't talking about you.
"Jiang Wenshao": But with that dead weight around, your Class 1 is definitely losing this average score. Your face is completely going to be lost!
Chen Yiyang's browbone pressed down slightly.
"y2": Because of Xu Zhiyu?
"Jiang Wenshao": Why are you bringing up Xu Zhiyu? What does she have to do with it? Are you crazy?!
"Jiang Wenshao": I was talking about "studying"
"Jiang Wenshao": Your class can't win at studying.
"Jiang Wenshao": Chen Yiyang, times have changed.
"Jiang Wenshao": I'm telling you, with that kind of girl around, you won't win.
Several messages came through at once. What didn't Chen Yiyang understand now?
He asked:
"y2": How do you know we can't win?
"y2": After the monthly exam, go apologize to Yun Mi.
Jiang Wenshao sneered, typing fast.
"Jiang Wenshao": Going this big?
"Jiang Wenshao": Fine! But if you lose, you have to kneel and apologize in front of the whole grade!
Only after sending did he realize what he had said. He was just starting to regret it when a reply came in the next second.
Just one word.
"y2": Deal.
-
Before dawn, the city was shrouded in a pale gray.
Ever since she made the bet with Jiang Wenshao, Yun Mi had been studying even harder. When she got up, Aunt Qin's breakfast wasn't ready yet.
She hurried to buy soy milk and steamed buns from the breakfast shop downstairs and caught the earliest bus.
Just as she opened her vocabulary app, her gaze froze slightly.
Ding Yuan had sent a pile of messages in the middle of the night.
"Ding Yuan": It's over, it's over!!!
"Ding Yuan": Mimi, screenshots from the grade group are all over the place. Battle of the year.
"Ding Yuan": Chen Yiyang made a bet with Jiang Wenshao from Class 2, betting on the class average score. If he loses, he has to kneel. [Image]
"Ding Yuan": That bastard Jiang Wenshao is too scheming! Not only did he mass-send it, he even sent it to a group with teachers in it. He really wants to destroy Chen Yiyang!!!
Yun Mi was sipping her soy milk when she saw the screenshot. The straw fell into the plastic bag.
The conversation in the screenshot was clear, every word eye-catching.
What's going on?
How did Chen Yiyang get involved?
Wasn't he angry with her?
Yun Mi's face turned pale. Her fingers trembled as she directly dialed Chen Yiyang's number.
The phone rang twice and was picked up.
His voice was still husky with sleep. A "Who's this?" hung in the air, but Yun Mi didn't care. The moment she spoke, her voice was trembling with urgency: "This is between me and others—why did you get involved? Why did you agree to such a bet?"
Jolted fully awake by her question, Chen Yiyang realized Jiang Wenshao must have leaked the matter.
He rubbed his forehead and opened his eyes.
"What's up this early?" The boy's voice was still wrapped in drowsiness, a little muffled, lazy.
Yun Mi's thoughts were a mess. She kept asking, "You didn't have to get involved at all. Why?"
The boy countered, "Why shouldn't I get involved?"
Yun Mi was stunned.
"Do you think I'll lose?" Chen Yiyang said. "Or... are you not confident in yourself?"
Yun Mi didn't speak.
"What are you afraid of?" On the other end of the phone, Chen Yiyang lowered his eyes, drowsiness still lingering. His slightly hoarse voice was casual and arrogant. "Go all out and take the exam. I won't let you lose."
Yun Mi's chest suddenly burned.
On the jostling bus.
For a long moment, she took a deep breath. Looking up at the gradually brightening sky outside the window, she said stubbornly and clearly, word by word, "I wasn't going to lose in the first place."
Author's note:
Never try to guess a girl's thoughts.