Love letters were placed in his drawer on time every single day, yet the person writing them to him showed absolutely no sign of liking him.
"Under what circumstances would you write a love letter to someone?"
The boy looked at Xie Sili in horror. "Are you asking me?"
Xie Sili nodded.
The boy gulped down some water, frowning in thought. "You'd only write one if you liked them, obviously."
Xie Sili fell silent for a moment. "Would you write a love letter to someone you didn't like? And do it every day?"
The boy burst out laughing. "Why would you write love letters to someone you don't like? What if they take it seriously?"
He eyed Xie Sili suspiciously. Wait a minute, why would Xie Sili be asking him this?
He probed, "Maybe they're just practicing? Writing love letters to someone they don't like so that when their writing improves, they can write to the person they actually like."
Xie Sili's face instantly darkened. He stood up. "Forget it. You wouldn't understand even if I asked."
The boy's mouth twitched. "Then tell me, what's really going on?"
Xie Sili hesitated for a second. "Maybe she just hides her feelings too well."
Otherwise, why would she write to him and not anyone else?
The boy was left speechless.
He thought Xie Sili had lost his mind.
After school that afternoon, Xie Sili deliberately waited in his seat for a while.
Finally, Ji Zhaoxi finished her homework, put on her backpack, and prepared to leave.
Xie Sili pretended to casually follow her, catching up to walk side by side with her.
Ji Zhaoxi glanced at him but did not say a word.
Xie Sili's throat tightened. Looking at her profile, he asked softly, "Are you close with the girl who has been giving me love letters?"
Ji Zhaoxi's expression instantly turned guarded. "Yes, we're close."
Xie Sili gave a low hum of acknowledgment and continued, "Then do you think... I should accept her confession?"
Ji Zhaoxi's mind went completely blank.
Xie Sili observed her expression. "She's been pursuing me for so long, and I feel like it's rude of me to keep dragging this out."
"It's not rude at all! Just keep dragging it out!"
Ji Zhaoxi was nearly scared to death by Xie Sili. She grabbed his sleeve, her eyes resolute. "You absolutely cannot get together with her."
Xie Sili looked at her in silence, a stifling tightness in his chest. "Why?"
She was clearly the one writing him love letters, and she was the one always secretly following him, so why couldn't he say yes?
Was she only allowed to confess to him, but he wasn't allowed to accept?
"Because that girl has a terrible personality! She swears at people all the time, no one likes her, and even animals hate her!"
Ji Zhaoxi looked at Xie Sili with wide, pleading eyes. Why would he suddenly want to accept this confession? There was definitely no such scene in the original novel.
Seeing that Xie Sili remained silent, she continued to badmouth herself. "She even bullied me before! I just wanted to be friends with her, but she told me to get lost. You won't be happy if you get together with her."
Ji Zhaoxi lied so convincingly that she didn't even need to rehearse.
Watching Ji Zhaoxi spare no effort in smearing her own name, Xie Sili lowered his eyes, his voice a bit strained. "If that's the case, then forget it."
Ji Zhaoxi observed Xie Sili's expression and whispered, "Actually, you're a better match with Jiang Shiyi."
Xie Sili was so angry that the veins on his forehead bulged. He tried hard to hold it back, but he just couldn't control himself. "Is that so? In your eyes, I'm a perfect match for anyone except the one writing me love letters, right?"
As long as he wasn't with Ji Zhaoxi, no matter who he ended up with, she would probably stand on the sidelines clapping and congratulating him.
Ji Zhaoxi quickly realized that Xie Sili was angry.
She looked at him hesitantly and mumbled, "Let's not talk about this anymore. Students should focus on their studies anyway."
She considered herself a very sensitive person, yet at this moment, she had no idea what Xie Sili was so mad about.
A man's heart is as elusive as a needle at the bottom of the ocean.
Xie Sili choked on his words, completely speechless.
As they parted ways, Xie Sili left her with one last remark: "I've noticed you're closer to that silly dog Leiting than you are to me."
Then he walked away.
Leaving behind a dumbfounded Ji Zhaoxi.
What was up with Xie Sili?
Did he want to be friends with her, just like Jiang Shiyi did?
Over the next few days, Xie Sili had no idea how to act around Ji Zhaoxi.
He didn't speak to her, and she didn't speak to him.
If they occasionally bumped into each other, she would act like a mouse spotting a cat and vanish in the blink of an eye.
Xie Sili felt extremely depressed.
It would have been fine if she acted this way with everyone, but that clearly wasn't the case.
On the sports field, Ji Zhaoxi was sitting on the grass resting. At some point, Jiang Zhen had walked over with a ball and was casually chatting with her.
Whatever they were talking about, Ji Zhaoxi suddenly stood up and shoved him. Jiang Zhen dodged her skillfully and continued to tease her with the ball.
Xie Sili stood not far away, quietly watching the scene unfold.
His male friend walked over panting and handed him a bottle of water. "What are you looking at?"
The two on the field chatted for a bit before breaking into a run. Ji Zhaoxi ran in front, and Jiang Zhen chased after her. Under the sun, on the green grass, the two of them were the picture of youth. It was indeed a pleasing sight.
Crack.
The boy's mouth twitched as he looked at Xie Sili, who had crushed the water bottle in anger. "Xie Sili, could you not do that?"
He reeked of a bitter, jealous husband.
He had been wondering why Xie Sili stared at Ji Zhaoxi every day. He had noticed them talking together a lot before.
"If you like her, just go after her. It looks to me like you and Ji Zhaoxi have a pretty good relationship."
The aura around Xie Sili instantly dimmed. He said softly, "She doesn't like me."
The boy was drinking water, and seeing his expression, he was so shocked he spat it right out.
No way. Even Xie Sili could show an expression like that when it came to love?
Growing up, Xie Sili had never experienced the feeling of defeat.
He had always believed that anything causing him distress simply wasn't right for him, and he would never force something that didn't belong to him.
He decided to stay away from Ji Zhaoxi.
The very next day.
Xie Sili stood in the pet park, holding the leash of a sleepy Leiting, who could barely keep his eyes open.
One person and one dog sat on a park bench.
Leiting plopped his butt onto Xie Sili's lap. Xie Sili looked down and patted his head. "Hang in there a little longer. She'll be here soon."
Leiting didn't listen at all. His furry head flopped to the side, and he fell fast asleep.
A few small dogs nearby tentatively approached Leiting. The owner of a Pomeranian smiled and asked, "Can my dog play with yours?"
?
Seeing Xie Sili sitting there as still as a statue, the Pomeranian's owner exchanged a glance with the person next to her and silently led her dog away.
Maybe she had run into a crazy person.
What a waste of such a handsome face.
After waiting for who knows how long, Xie Sili finally saw Ji Zhaoxi running over with Ji Dadan on a leash.
Ji Dadan's four stubby legs moved at lightning speed, with Ji Zhaoxi trailing right behind him. Her face was full of smiles. "Slow down, I can't catch up to you!"
She looked down at Ji Dadan, her lips curling up uncontrollably and her eyes curving into crescents, looking a bit like how Ji Dadan normally acted when acting spoiled with people.
Xie Sili's breathing immediately hitched. Flustered, he patted Leiting awake. Annoyed, Leiting bit down on his pant leg.
"Silly dog, go find her."
