Xu Baoying spotted Zhu Yaya sitting at her desk first thing in the morning. With her elbows propped on the table and her chin resting in her hands, Yaya was smiling sweetly.
"Hey! Did something good happen? You look so happy!"
Zhu Yaya shot Xu Baoying a mysterious look and replied with a grin, "Something absolutely wonderful!"
"What is it?" Xu Baoying couldn't contain her curiosity and pressed for an answer.
"I'm not telling you!"
"Hmph, as if I care!"
Seeing the exasperated look on Xu Baoying's face, Zhu Yaya's smile widened even more.
Today, anyone could see Zhu Yaya was in high spirits. She usually greeted everyone with a smile, but today her smile was brighter, the two little dimples at the corners of her mouth never fading. She didn't walk properly either, either skipping along or shuffling her feet with a tap-tap-tap. Even while walking, her mouth wasn't idle, constantly humming a cheerful tune.
Even when she ran into the annoying Chen Zicheng, she still wore a hint of a smile. Chen Zicheng muttered "frivolous" under his breath when he saw her, but she, in her good mood, simply ignored him.
As usual, Zhu Yaya went upstairs to find Yan Heng in Class 17 of the second year of high school.
This time felt different somehow. The flight of stairs seemed like a set of piano keys, and with each step she took, it was as if she heard beautiful string music.
Spotting Yan Heng's back from the rear classroom door, the tips of her ears flushed red. She didn't rush over immediately. Instead, she lingered by the door, first smoothing the bangs on her forehead, then straightening her clothes, before finally walking in with feigned nonchalance and sitting down beside Yan Heng.
"Hello, Senior Li," Zhu Yaya greeted Li Hao first, then turned her head to offer Yan Heng a radiant smile, tinged with a bit of shyness, and said softly, "Hello, Yan Heng."
That "Yan Heng" held all the delicate, budding feelings of a young girl.
Li Hao raised an eyebrow, exclaiming in surprise, "Hey, why aren't you calling him 'Brother Yan' like you usually do with me today?"
"None of your business!" Zhu Yaya pretended to be angry, shooting Li Hao a fierce glare.
"Whoa," Li Hao deliberately leaned back, making a show of it. "Brother Yan, look at her! If you don't keep her in check, she's going to get carried away! Brother Yan, your position as the boss is in jeopardy!"
Yan Heng ignored Li Hao's antics. He simply reached out a hand and soothingly patted the head of Zhu Yaya, who was pretending to be huffy. His expression remained cool and detached, but his voice carried a gentle warmth: "Hello, Yaya."
Zhu Yaya's expression instantly softened. She even actively leaned her head into Yan Heng's hand. "I'll call you Yan Heng from now on, okay?"
"Okay."
Zhu Yaya smiled sweetly.
She just knew it. He liked her. He would only say "okay" to her.
Li Hao glanced at Zhu Yaya, then at Yan Heng, and finally understood.
So, I'm the clown here!
He pursed his lips and decided to ignore the two of them.
Zhu Yaya's good mood could have lasted until tomorrow, the day after, and the day after that, but unexpectedly, someone had to show up and ruin it.
Zhu Yaya frowned her delicate eyebrows at Duan Zong standing opposite her. "Senior Duan, what are you trying to do?"
"Fair lady, gentlemen woo her," Duan Zong replied with graceful composure, holding a cup of milk tea.
Zhu Yaya recognized the huge logo on the cup—it was the logo of the Murong Group. So, this was the legendary luxury-grade milk tea, 58 yuan a cup.
They were in the classroom corridor during break time, with many students passing by. Curious, gossipy eyes lingered on Zhu Yaya and Duan Zong.
Some girls even looked at Zhu Yaya with envy.
Duan Zong wasn't as popular at school as Murong Beichen or Ling Yiming, but he was good-looking, his grades were consistently among the top three in the second year, and his family background was miles ahead of Zhu Yaya's.
Zhu Yaya felt a bit irritated. Now that she was sure of her own and Yan Heng's feelings, she didn't want to attract anyone else. A girl should be reserved; she would wait for Yan Heng to confess to her.
She refused decisively: "I'm sorry, Senior Duan. You're excellent, but we're students now and should focus on our studies. So, I cannot accept your pursuit."
Duan Zong gave a gentle smile, seemingly unfazed by her rejection. "It's alright, I will persist."
After saying this, he tried to hand the milk tea to Zhu Yaya, but she sternly refused several times. He smiled helplessly and had to walk away with the tea still in hand.
Xu Baoying gave Zhu Yaya a thumbs-up, full of admiration. "Wow, you actually got Senior Duan Zong from Class 1, second year, to confess to you!"
Zhu Yaya rolled her eyes. "If you like him, you can have him!"
"Senior Duan Zong is top three in the second year, and he's hosted the New Year's Eve party twice! He's handsome and so gentlemanly. Girl, aren't you tempted?"
"Yan Heng is handsome too! And he's the top student in the whole grade!" Zhu Yaya retorted defensively.
"Senior Yan Heng is great and all, but his family is so poor, and isn't there talk about his mother having mental illness? What if Senior Yan Heng has it too..."
Zhu Yaya thought to herself, it doesn't matter, she can work hard to complete her "melon-eating" tasks! She'll have the money.
Fortunately, both Duan Zong and she were nameless characters in "The Overbearing Him, The Pure Love," so although there were many onlookers, it didn't cause a huge stir.
Zhu Yaya initially thought that since she had rejected Duan Zong in front of so many people, and he, though gentle, had his own pride, he probably wouldn't come looking for her after being rejected.
But, Zhu Yaya was still too naive.
The next day, Duan Zong came again, this time with a cute dog-shaped pillow.
He offered it to Zhu Yaya in the corridor and, unsurprisingly, was rejected again.
But on the third day after the rejection, Duan Zong came again! He kept coming for several days after that.
Soon, rumors started spreading on the school forum. The gossip quickly took off.
He seemed completely unbothered by Zhu Yaya's rejections, persistently coming during breaks when the hallways were crowded to give her various gifts. He wasn't overly pushy either; if rejected, he would just leave.
Zhu Yaya remained calm, not dazzled by the array of gifts. Instead, she grew wary. She had a feeling he was acting more like he was completing a task rather than genuinely pursuing her.
Yan Heng had also heard about this. While walking Zhu Yaya home, the usually taciturn boy chattered on and on. To sum it up: focus on your studies, don't get into relationships.
Looking at his serious expression, Zhu Yaya chuckled softly, wondering, what if it's with you?
"Yaya," Yan Heng said to her after seeing her back to the south district, "I was in Class 1 before too. That was back in first year. I had some interactions with Duan Zong then. He's a deep one. You mustn't be fooled by his smooth talk."
"Okay, understood."
