Yun Mi was holding her thermos and almost spat out a mouthful of warm water. She was shocked: "Me—I dare to slap Chen Yiyang?"
Yun Mi thought, how could I be that bold.
Ding Yuan said: "You do have pretty strong hands."
"…?"
Yun Mi glanced at Chen Yiyang beside her. He was catching up on homework. Yun Mi waited for him to speak.
Say it, say it.
It wasn't me, and it wasn't Jiang Miyan.
Chen Yiyang wrote quickly. Yun Mi suspected he was just scribbling randomly, writing ABCD straight down. Suddenly he leaned back and said: "I'm going to turn in my homework."
"???"
Xie Yue kept pressing: "Chen Yiyang, tell us, was it Yun Mi who slapped you? Did you two fight? You've been in a bad mood all morning."
Seeing he was still unhappy, Yun Mi knew he didn't want to talk about it, so she took the blame.
"Yeah, right, it was me, okay?"
Her soft voice was like wind stirring calm lake water.
Xie Yue cursed, outraged: "Hit the face, never hit the face. What did you two do? Did Chen Yiyang break something you liked?" He remembered seeing an expensive unopened lip balm in Yun Mi's bag last time, and said: "Did he ruin your makeup?"
Chen Yiyang slightly raised his eyes and saw Yun Mi suddenly blushing, saying seriously: "I've never worn makeup! Don't talk nonsense! Alright, stop gossiping! I know I was wrong, okay? Just a little disagreement. All of you, get to studying. The final exam is coming soon."
Xie Yue retorted: "Hah, the one with the worst grades is here spouting nonsense."
Ding Yuan cursed: "You're ranked in the forties in the class, don't laugh at others. Stop bullying my Mi."
"You're in the thirties, so impressive."
"Xie Yue, do you want to die?"
"…"
Yun Mi rolled her eyes and muttered: "Kindergarten kids."
Chen Yiyang happened to pass by her and curled his lips at that.
Sunlight spilled on the clean windowsill, and a calm, steady smile appeared on the boy's smooth jawline.
-
As the college entrance exam approached, school let out for a few days.
Yun Mi made plans with Ding Yuan and Xu Zhiyu to study at the Shancheng Library.
Xu Zhiyu had recently, with her excellent grades, found a weekend tutoring job for a ninth-grader. She estimated she could pay back Chen Yiyang's money within a year.
When Ding Yuan went to the restroom, Yun Mi secretly leaned in and asked: "Is that Brother Hu still looking for you?"
At the mention of Brother Hu, Xu Zhiyu's expression momentarily stiffened.
What happened last time had shocked her deeply. She hadn't expected Yun Mi, under her bright exterior, to possess such strength.
Xu Zhiyu said briefly: "He's called, and occasionally he looks… but I just don't go to that street. Shancheng is big enough we won't run into each other."
Yun Mi suggested: "Next time, call the police directly."
"Mm."
Ding Yuan came back with milk tea for the other two girls.
She said: "Xie Yue asked if I want to go see a movie. It's employee benefits from his mom's company. Do you guys want to go? He said there are too many tickets, seven or eight, we can use them all up at once."
Yun Mi sometimes really suspected Xie Yue liked Ding Yuan, but she couldn't understand how someone could secretly like someone while constantly mocking them.
Yun Mi had no objections. Xu Zhiyu was a bit shy: "I'll pass, I guess?"
Ding Yuan held a grudge and said: "It's fine. That jerk just mocked my grades. You're second in the grade; bringing you can boost our courage."
They studied at the library until six in the evening, ate dinner, and then gathered near the cinema.
Yun Mi snuck into the restroom to apply lip balm. When she came out, she heard Chen Yiyang's voice.
They had already arrived.
Today, Chen Yiyang was wearing a loose gray long-sleeved shirt with the cuffs rolled up to his elbows, paired with a stylish black utility pants, and a black cap of the same color. They seemed to still be discussing the earth-shattering slapping incident from last time.
Zhou Shihui was speaking up for her: "Yun Mi seems pretty gentle. Would she hit someone? I don't buy it."
Xie Yue snorted: "Then you haven't seen how much Yang ge deserves a beating."
"…"
After the last school anniversary, almost everyone in the WeChat group had left, only Yun Mi, Ding Yuan, and the three of them remained. Xie Yue sent a reminder in the five-person group chat and suddenly had an idea: "Hey, Chen Yiyang, next time I'm annoyed at you, can I slap you?"
Zhou Shihui was squatting on the ground, thinking Xie Yue was pretty brave.
Suddenly they heard Chen Yiyang say: "Yun Mi can slap me."
"???"
Chen Yiyang said: "You can't."