At school, gossip spreads quickly but also fades fast. Li Yaxin had been worried that people would keep talking about her, but after just a few days, she noticed that no one was pointing or staring at her anymore when she walked through the school.
Occasionally, when she encountered Wang Jiayao, he would still look at her with disdain, but he didn't dare to do anything to her. Moreover, Li Yaxin wasn't afraid of him anymore. After that day, she had told her parents about what happened at school, and her father remained silent for a long time before resigning from his job the next day.
After her father quit his job, instead of looking for new employment, he used their family savings to rent a small stall at the nearby farmers' market. Life gradually settled back into a stable routine.
Li Yaxin shared her recent observations at school with Hao Leyun, who had an "as expected" expression on her face.
"It's not a big deal," Hao Leyun said. "Liu Bolin from Class 13 lit candles under the girls' dormitory to confess his love and was chased all over campus by security guards and dorm supervisors. Ke Mingze from Class 8, who got eliminated in the first round of that talent show, actually has fans who transferred to our school just for him, creating daily scenes of obsessive fan behavior. Someone punctured the tires of the discipline director's car, and the physics teacher from Class 12 had his dentures fly out while teaching. With so much going on, who remembers your incident? Besides, the school sports meet is coming up soon, and everyone's talking about that now."
Li Yaxin's jaw dropped. She had never known there were so many events happening at school. She had thought people would keep talking about her incident until graduation.
"I didn't know about any of this," she admitted.
"That's because you never chat with us. If you talk more with everyone from now on, you'll know what's going on. Our classmates are all very nice."
Li Yaxin nodded vigorously. The students in Class 3 were indeed very kind.
At first, it was Hao Leyun and Gu Zhijing who helped her. Later, when she thought all was lost, Hao Leyun held onto her and told her not to be afraid. In the cafeteria, it was her classmates from Class 3 who stood behind her, giving her the courage to stand up for herself.
Li Yaxin had also explained the incident to her homeroom teacher and the grade supervisor. Principal Ge had demanded that Wang Jiayao apologize to her and publicly criticized him during Monday's assembly.
—In the school cafeteria—
"Go... don't go... go... don't go... go... don't go... Why is it 'don't go' again?!"
"What's he doing? Trying to turn green beans into braised pork?" Gu Zhijing and Qu Zizhou returned with drinks to find Chu Mingyan in a pitiful state, counting green beans on his plate while muttering to himself.
Qi Anlu, sitting across from him, explained, "He's debating whether to go talk to his goddess. He's counted the green beans three times already, and now he's even counting the garlic cloves."
"Goddess? You mean Xu Yuan?"
"Of course, who else could be his goddess?"
Chu Mingyan interrupted their teasing, "Hey! Don't mess me up. I've forgotten where I was in my count."
Gu Zhijing advised him, "Why are you counting green beans? That's too much trouble. Just count the pork chop."
"Zhijing, there's only one piece of pork chop. How can I count that?"
"Exactly, there's only one piece, so that means 'go.' Isn't that what you want to do?"
Qu Zizhou and Qi Anlu burst into laughter. "Hahahahaha, you always have the best ideas."
Embarrassed by his friends' laughter, Chu Mingyan felt a bit ridiculous and became defensive. "What's so funny? I have a legitimate reason to talk to her."
"Does she even know who you are? What 'legitimate reason'?" His friends were skeptical about this so-called "legitimate reason."
Chu Mingyan excitedly explained, "The sports meet! The three-legged race! What's the most important thing in this event?"
When the three remained silent, Chu Mingyan continued, "It's coordination and tacit understanding! How do you build that? Through communication! For the honor of our class, don't you think I should go talk to her? We need to communicate more."
The more Chu Mingyan spoke, the more convinced he became. He should go talk to her! Right now, immediately!
Gu Zhijing patted his friend's shoulder. "If you want to talk to her, just go. Don't make up so many excuses. It makes you look pathetic."
Qu Zizhou and Qi Anlu also extended their hands to pat him.
Chu Mingyan angrily shook off the three hands on his shoulders and took a big bite of his pork chop.
Chu Mingyan had been full of determination earlier, but as soon as he left the cafeteria, he lost his nerve. However, fearing ridicule from his three friends, he tried not to show it and even went to the school store to buy a bottle of strawberry milk.
"Are you going in or not?!"
When they returned to the classroom, Xu Yuan was already in her seat, but Chu Mingyan hesitated to enter.
Gu Zhijing, annoyed by his friend's indecisiveness, clicked his tongue and called out to the classroom, "Xu Yuan, Chu Mingyan has something to discuss with you."
As soon as Gu Zhijing shouted, everyone in the classroom looked up. Fortunately, there were only a few people present, all girls, who merely glanced curiously without making a fuss.
Xu Yuan also looked up, her eyes showing a hint of confusion.
"Go for it!" Qu Zizhou gave Chu Mingyan a push, sending him into the classroom.
Chu Mingyan was about to turn back and curse at his friend when Xu Yuan spoke.
"Chu Mingyan, what did you want to talk about?"
Her voice made him instantly forget about his friends at the door. He exclaimed happily, "You know my name is Chu Mingyan?"
"Uh, yes..." Xu Yuan wanted to say that Gu Zhijing had just called out his name, and besides, they had been classmates for months, so of course she knew his name.
Chu Mingyan was overjoyed. If he had a tail, it would be wagging furiously right now.
"I wanted to ask if we should practice for the three-legged race."
"Sure." Xu Yuan had no objections. They did need to practice.
"I know you might be hesitant, but this race is quite important, right? Winning would bring honor to our class. The most crucial element in this race is tacit understanding... Wait! Did you just say 'sure'?" Chu Mingyan was dumbfounded.
At the door, Gu Zhijing and the other two had collectively turned their heads away, unable to bear watching the scene.
Xu Yuan was amused by Chu Mingyan's reaction and smiled. "Yes, I agreed. Let's practice. How about we go to the track field every day after dinner?"
"Hehe, okay." Chu Mingyan stared at the dimple on Xu Yuan's cheek, capable of nothing but a silly grin.
"Ahem!"
It took Gu Zhijing's cough to snap him out of it.
Chu Mingyan quickly handed over the milk bottle. "Xu Yuan, this is for you. Consider it a toast to our pleasant cooperation."
It was just a bottle of milk, so Xu Yuan accepted it without hesitation.
"Thank you."
—In the afternoon—
Qi Anlu: "Mingyan, which test paper are we going over next class?"
Chu Mingyan: "How did you know Xu Yuan accepted my milk?"