Running Wild
Chen Yiyang was paying the bill, and Yun Mi stood nearby, arms crossed, waiting for him.
This place was chosen by Xie Yue—not a flavor they liked. The only thing with a distinctive taste that suited Yun Mi was the store's homemade osmanthus rice wine.
Chen Yiyang pointed to a row of small jars by the counter and asked Yun Mi, "Want some?"
Yun Mi kind of wanted to try it, but she wouldn't admit it. She said coldly, "No need."
Chen Yiyang glanced at her, saw right through her, and said to the boss lady, "One jar."
On the main road in the dead of night, Yun Mi held the white porcelain jar of rice wine and silently rolled her eyes in her heart, cursing what a scumbag, an air conditioner for everyone, being so nice to a 'little sister.'
Zhou Shihui sent a message saying he wanted to invite her to a movie tomorrow.
Seeing the new message, Yun Mi felt like she was going to collapse.
Yun Mi held it in for a long time, then asked Chen Yiyang, "Does Zhou Shihui like me?"
Chen Yiyang hummed in affirmation.
So that was it.
The girl stopped at the corner of the intersection, where the sprawling branches of the banyan tree had dropped a carpet of yellow leaves.
Yun Mi stared at Chen Yiyang, observing him. He didn't seem to care at all, just lowered his head to look at his phone.
Her heart ached.
After thinking for a while, Yun Mi found an excuse. "Chen Yiyang, he's your friend. Could you tell him for me? I don't want to date early. Be tactful."
Chen Yiyang saw the message Zhou Shihui had sent.
Zhou Shihui wanted to take it slow—he was going to invite Yun Mi to a movie, and then to a concert at the end of the month.
Deliberately telling him? Was it a challenge?
Chen Yiyang typed a reply and sent it. Then he lifted his eyes and said, "Okay, done."
Chen Yiyang was being so obedient?
Yun Mi was suspicious. "What did you say to him?"
A car passed by on the road, a harsh horn blasting beside them, the light momentarily enveloping them both.
Chen Yiyang grabbed Yun Mi and yanked her hard toward the inside of the sidewalk. Yun Mi felt the strength of his dry palm, her thoughts short-circuiting for a second. The moment she reacted, her heart pounded like a drum.
In the summer night, she saw clearly Chen Yiyang's dark, mocking eyes—like coldly burning flames, both piercingly icy and blazing like wind.
He lowered his head to look at her, his voice very light, flat and calm. "Don't worry, I was very tactful."
What Chen Yiyang replied to Zhou Shihui was—
Yun Mi doesn't like you. Give up.
...
Chen Yiyang said he'd passed on the message, but it didn't have the desired effect.
Yun Mi hadn't noticed before, but Zhou Shihui was really annoying.
When she was doing problems, he'd look for her.
When she went to pick up takeout, he'd look for her.
He even sent her messages every single day.
Ding Yuan also sensed something off. The 'god of studies' was basically openly pursuing her.
Eating lunch at a fast-food restaurant outside school, Ding Yuan said, "Actually, Zhou Shihui's family is pretty well-off, and he's smart, with a bright future."
Yun Mi lowered her eyes and commented, "He's not my type."
Ding Yuan gave a teasing 'oh' and shot back, "Then tell me, what is your type?"
Before Yun Mi had a crush on Chen Yiyang, she hadn't been enlightened at all. How would she know what type she liked?
Yun Mi thought for a moment and summed it up. "Anyway, he has to be good-looking... smart, good grades, not too clingy. Oh, right, I don't like it when Chen Yiyang has a sharp tongue either."
Xie Yue had just bargained with a street vendor at the door for two bottles of soy milk with Pleasant Goat prints, planning to give them to Ding Yuan.
The next second, he was thunderstruck by the shocking bad news.
Xie Yue: Bro Yang, it's over. I ran into Yun Mi and Ding Yuan at that Lanzhou pulled noodle place behind the school. You know what I heard?
He sent a private message.
On the rooftop of the Affiliated Hospital.
Zhou Shihui glanced at Chen Yiyang's phone glowing on a pile of debris. A message notification popped up.
The first line wasn't fully visible, but the second was clear enough.
Xie Yue: Yun Mi said she doesn't like you!!! She said it herself, holy sh*t.
Zhou Shihui had come with his grandmother—she used to work with Chen Yiyang's grandmother.
His grandmother was a head doctor, Chen Yiyang's grandmother a nurse, so his family always felt his grandmother was better than Chen Yiyang's, meaning he should be above Chen Yiyang.