Scattered test papers and draft paper. On top was a scrawled line in fierce handwriting:
HATE CHEN YIYANG!!!
Next to it was a doodle of a smelly pig head sticking out its tongue.
Chen Yiyang was stunned for a moment, then realized the pig was him.
He raised his hand and "smack"—slapped her awake.
Yun Mi felt cold. Being slapped, she looked up groggily, half-asleep, and saw Chen Yiyang's punchable face.
Her first sensation was a burning in her stomach. She asked, "Chen Yiyang, why are you in my room?"
Chen Yiyang pointed at the pear soup and said, "Eat this, then go to bed."
"Oh."
Yun Mi was dazed. It took her a while to wake up fully.
In otome games, the older brother gently puts the sister to bed, but Chen Yiyang wasn't considerate at all.
She sipped the pear soup, her mind a mess. She complained, "Don't just come into my room from now on."
Even though this was the first time.
But it could also be the last.
Chen Yiyang raised an eyebrow, pulled a notebook out of his bag, and tossed it in front of her.
"?"
Yun Mi flipped through two pages—they were all summaries of key problems. She looked up suspiciously. "What's this?"
Chen Yiyang was a bit sleepy and wanted to go downstairs to bed. His eyelids drooped, and he turned to leave, waving his hand and saying, "You have eyes, see for yourself."
"..."
An error notebook.
Yun Mi never looked back during class. She rarely paid attention to what Chen Yiyang was writing. The few times she did glance over, it was always the same competition problems.
He didn't need an error notebook. Had he made this just for her?
A smile crept onto Yun Mi's face. She shuffled in her slippers to the spiral staircase railing and called out, "Chen Yiyang, thanks!"
Her smile was as gentle as a bright sun.
Chen Yiyang's Adam's apple moved. He looked up, tilting his head, with that punchable expression, and asked, "Not calling me brother?"
His low, husky voice carried an unmistakable hint of teasing.
Yun Mi's heart skipped a beat. She stammered, "What if I don't?"
Chen Yiyang raised an eyebrow, his thin lips curling into a smile. "Then I'm off." His tone was crisp.
Yun Mi's eyes widened as she watched him disappear into the second floor without hesitation. Her heart pounded so hard she couldn't breathe.
Her breath stopped.
The sky was completely dark.
The storm had swept through Shancheng, turning the whole world into a pitch-black, sweltering mess.
Wen Liangyu called. "Didn't you want to talk to your grandfather? The guests have all left. Hurry back if you have something to say; the old man is about to go to sleep."
Chen Yiyang said, "No need."
He took off his school uniform. The summer heat, soaked by the rain, turned into a stifling restlessness that gripped his chest. He remembered Yun Mi sleeping sprawled on the desk. Under the warm light of the desk lamp, her soft long hair hung down, covering her face.
She looked so obedient.
Wen Liangyu pressed on, "Really not? Starting tomorrow, visits won't be allowed freely."
"You should get back to work. I'll look after the old man here."
Wen Liangyu hesitated. Chen Yiyang just relayed, "Be careful on the road."
The light in the room was faint. Chen Yiyang's eyes were lowered, his rain-soaked bangs covering them. He hung up the phone, the fluorescent green screen illuminating his cool face.
Some words don't have to be spoken.
What Chen Yiyang wanted to say was:
"Grandfather, I've fallen for someone I shouldn't love."
Author's note: None