By this time, there probably wouldn't be much food left in the cafeteria, so Wen Shuangmu and Ji Jiahui decided to go to the noodle shop near the school instead.
As they came out after eating, a wave of heat instantly rolled up from the bluestone pavement. The leaves of the phoenix trees lining both sides of the street drooped under the scorching sun.
Wen Shuangmu bought a cup of milk tea and walked slowly with Ji Jiahui in the shade, chewing on the straw as they went.
Ji Jiahui, sensitive to heat, opened a pack of wet wipes to wipe her sweat and handed one to Wen Shuangmu. "By the way, how come you were with Xia Zhili and Lu Jing after school yesterday?"
Wen Shuangmu replied, "I invited them to go to the bookstore to buy study guides."
Thinking back, in her previous life, Wen Shuangmu had only seen Xia Zhili as an ordinary admirer of Su Qiyan, not even a worthy competitor. But due to possessiveness, she disliked having too many girls fluttering around Su Qiyan, and had privately tried to trip up Xia Zhili many times. Ji Jiahui, on the other hand, neither liked Su Qiyan nor truly valued her friendship with Wen Shuangmu beyond a superficial level. There was no reason for her to join in offending others for no benefit, yet she had always been hostile towards Xia Zhili alongside Wen Shuangmu, even more proactively making small moves against her.
At the time, Wen Shuangmu hadn't given much thought to the reasons behind this. Now hearing Ji Jiahui bring it up voluntarily, she considered that there might be some other history between Ji Jiahui and Xia Zhili that she didn't know about. This could be a good opportunity to observe and potentially use to her advantage.
Ji Jiahui asked curiously, "I noticed your seats are quite far apart in class. How did you suddenly become so close?"
Wen Shuangmu thought to herself that they weren't actually that close before. It was her fault for forcibly pushing the plot, dragging along two people who were too polite to refuse to browse the bookstore with her. After that, it was probably her image as a Good Samaritan that had left a deep impression.
However, she didn't say this to Ji Jiahui, only replying, "Xia Zhili is the Chinese class representative, and I'm the Math class representative. We often run into each other in the office, so we've gotten familiar over time."
Ji Jiahui nodded and then brought up the topic of the online forum: "I don't know who was so mean to post such an unflattering photo of you. Have you contacted the moderators to have them delete it?"
"No," Wen Shuangmu said magnanimously. "The photo mainly captured Lu Jing and Xia Zhili. If I asked for it to be deleted, it would interfere with everyone shipping them as a couple."
Ji Jiahui commented, "The Mingli forum is so active. At first, I thought students from Elite High School wouldn't be into these things."
Wen Shuangmu quite agreed with this point.
The trending post from last night gained dozens of new comments with each refresh. It took her quite some time to read through all the replies, and then she had to stay up late to finish her homework.
Ji Jiahui remembered something: "Oh right, yesterday I saw someone in the gossip group on the forum claiming that Xia Zhili's grades were just average in middle school, but she dated the top student in their grade. Later, that boy helped bring up Xia Zhili's grades, and she ended up becoming the top scorer in this year's high school entrance exam. I wonder if this rumor is true or not."
Wen Shuangmu was so shocked she couldn't even chew the pearls in her milk tea.
She never expected that someone who looked so harmless on the surface could actually be so cunning.
Wen Shuangmu asked, "So what about that boy now? Did Xia Zhili dump him after using him?"
"It's not clear, there are many versions of the story," Ji Jiahui said. "Some say the boy got into a fight for Xia Zhili and had to repeat a year. Others say his parents' work transferred him to another city for high school. Don't you think Xia Zhili sounds quite manipulative from all this?"
"Indeed," Wen Shuangmu nodded in strong agreement.
"Wen Shuangmu."
Wen Shuangmu realized she might be jinxed today, getting caught every time she said something bad about someone behind their back.
Xia Zhili was standing at the entrance of a convenience store across the street, calling out to her. Seeing Wen Shuangmu look over, she waved her hand again.
After the traffic passed, Xia Zhili jogged over.
Xia Zhili's skin tone seemed to be of the fair, rosy type that didn't tan easily. Her cheeks were flushed, and wisps of hair at her forehead were stuck to her fair skin with sweat. The jade pendant hanging from a red cord around her neck had slipped out from her collar as she moved.
Her eyes curved into bright crescents as she smiled.
This kind of red cord with a jade pendant seemed to be standard accessories for pretty, fair-skinned girls in middle and high school.
No matter how you looked at her, she still appeared to be a soft, gentle girl.
How impressive, Wen Shuangmu marveled inwardly.
She also wanted Su Qiyan to help her become the top student in their grade, and then the top scorer in the college entrance exam.
Another girl came running over with Xia Zhili. She had a cute baby face with small permed curls at the ends of her hair. She wore casual short sleeves and a short skirt, with a blue and white school uniform jacket tied around her waist. She appeared to be a student from No. 13 High School across the street.
Xia Zhili waved the pack of mint lozenges in her hand and asked Wen Shuangmu, "Do you want some candy?"
Wen Shuangmu was taken aback, not expecting Xia Zhili to run over just to say this. She paused for a moment.
If bringing her food this morning could be considered reasonable, this casual conversation starter now seemed a bit too familiar.
As if they were old friends.
"No, thanks," Wen Shuangmu waved her hand.
She had just had milk tea and felt that eating mint candy on top of that wouldn't be a pleasant combination.
Xia Zhili didn't seem to find anything odd and withdrew her hand. She then enthusiastically introduced, "This is the friend from No. 13 High School I mentioned to you before. Chu Xi."
Chu Xi smiled, her eyes crinkling, "Hello."
Wen Shuangmu nodded politely at her, while her inner thoughts raced:
I know, I know. This is the best friend you helped reject a confession, who might turn against you in the near future.
Xia Zhili then introduced to Chu Xi, "Xixi, this is Wen Shuangmu I just told you about."
"This is..." When Xia Zhili's introducing finger pointed towards Ji Jiahui, her words suddenly trailed off.
Wen Shuangmu blinked, wondering if Xia Zhili had overheard them gossiping behind her back and was now uncomfortable continuing the introductions.
After a couple of seconds, Ji Jiahui, unable to bear it any longer, introduced herself: "Ji Jiahui."
Wen Shuangmu, who had just caught on, almost choked trying to hold back her laughter.
How impressive, after so many days since the start of school, she still hadn't memorized all her classmates' names.
Who could tolerate being ignored like this?
She would have issues with Xia Zhili too if she were in Ji Jiahui's shoes.
However, Xia Zhili just smiled a bit sheepishly, looking harmless with a touch of mischief, making it hard for anyone to get truly upset with her.
She offered her box of mint lozenges as a peace offering to Ji Jiahui: "Would you like some candy?"
Ji Jiahui wasn't the type to make a scene in public. She didn't dwell on it much and graciously accepted a piece.
"Do you know any good dessert shops nearby?" Xia Zhili asked.
Ji Jiahui, softened by the candy, replied, "How about CLASS? It's near the east gate of the residential area."
Wen Shuangmu, still sipping her milk tea, didn't have a chance to interject. She regretted it so much she almost squeezed the milk tea out of the straw.
That place was the regular hangout for Su Qiyan, Li Maozhen, and their group throughout their three years of high school.
She tried to salvage the situation: "I think the desserts at Elite High School are better. CLASS was reported to have cockroaches in their back kitchen counter recently."
Ji Jiahui turned to look at Wen Shuangmu in surprise.
CLASS had a semi-open kitchen layout, with all drinks and desserts prepared in full view of customers. There was no such thing as a "back kitchen counter."
Wen Shuangmu pretended not to notice, maintaining her composure.
Xia Zhili, being rather gullible, let out an "Ah" and said to Chu Xi, "Then let's not go to CLASS."
Beside her, Chu Xi was quietly searching for directions to Elite High School on her phone. Looking at the reviews, she murmured in agreement, "You're right, this place does have better ratings..."
Ji Jiahui: "..."
Seeing that they didn't suspect anything, Wen Shuangmu's mood lifted, and she curved her lips into a smile.
However, her AI assistant Wu Xiaoqi unhelpfully chimed in: "Host, that smile is too villainous. Be careful not to give yourself away."
Wen Shuangmu's smile faded into a pout. She looked away and noticed the glass door of a fruit tea shop ahead opening, with several tall boys walking out. Perhaps due to their wildly varied hairstyles, they gave off a somewhat rowdy impression.
Wen Shuangmu didn't look too closely but saw them heading in their direction. She preemptively moved a step to the side to make way.
The boys were very tall, probably averaging around 6 feet. As they got closer, their group seemed quite imposing, creating a sense of pressure.
The girls unconsciously stopped talking, not daring to make eye contact with the group, intending to resume their conversation after the boys had passed.
Wen Shuangmu lazily gazed at the tree-shaded street across from her, noticing from the corner of her eye that Chu Xi seemed to be intentionally hiding behind Xia Zhili. Just as she found this strange, a deep, slightly husky voice came from behind, carrying a low magnetic quality.
"Wait."
The crowd that had already started to disperse stopped at this command. A tall, slender figure leisurely strolled back.
Wen Shuangmu recognized the owner of that raspy voice as soon as she heard it.
A heavy smoker.
Entering with the air of a street-smart guy.
She looked towards Zhou Yu, who had stopped beside them with a cigarette between his lips, and silently raised her hand to cover her nose, blocking as much secondhand smoke as she could.
Chu Xi, hiding behind Xia Zhili, bit her lip as she saw Zhou Yu approach. After what seemed like an internal struggle, she stepped out and said, "Zhou Yu, what do you want now?"
"Not looking for you," Zhou Yu replied in his usual lazy drawl, his gaze fixed intensely on one spot.
He raised his hand and called out to one of his buddies in front, "Lin Zi, pass me the bag for a sec."
The boy called Lin Zi brought over the milk tea bag, his gaze curiously sweeping over the girls.
Ji Jiahui sensed the subtle atmosphere and discreetly tugged at Wen Shuangmu's sleeve. "What's going on?"
Wen Shuangmu leaned back, whispering in her ear, "Can't you see? He's trying to pick up a girl."
Ji Jiahui had a sudden realization and re-examined Zhou Yu and Chu Xi.
It seemed to be a case of unrequited love.
Zhou Yu pulled out a cup of Zhizhi Green Beauty from the bag.
"Kid, this is for you."
As soon as he spoke, the expressions of everyone present changed to varying degrees.
Chu Xi turned her head towards Xia Zhili in disbelief, while Ji Jiahui's face showed surprise, as if she had eaten the wrong melon.
Wen Shuangmu tilted her head back to look at the sky, pressing her philtrum.
What a way to make his intentions clear.
In the distance, his buddies let out a chorus of "Ooh!"
Xia Zhili's cheeks turned bright red almost instantly. "I don't want it."
Zhou Yu's eyes swept over her crimson ears, and he chuckled softly. The cigarette dangling from his mouth curved up in a rakish angle, full of nonchalance. He enunciated each word clearly, "When I give you something, you take it."
Seeing that Xia Zhili didn't move and even retreated a step while shielding Chu Xi, Zhou Yu clicked his tongue impatiently. He grabbed Xia Zhili's wrist and directly pushed the milk tea into her hand.
Xia Zhili instinctively flinched when the unfamiliar touch met her wrist.
Zhou Yu's movement paused slightly, his eyes darkening. He removed the cigarette with two fingers and looked down at her. "Afraid of me?"
Xia Zhili tried to draw a line: "We're not familiar with each other."
Zhou Yu smiled. "Strangers become friends. This is our third meeting, and you're still so distant with me. Don't you have a conscience, classmate?"
Xia Zhili stubbornly straightened her back without saying a word.
Zhou Yu didn't seem intent on pressuring her further. His gaze swept to the side, as if he had just noticed the other two girls.
"Oh, Chao..." Zhou Yu swallowed the words "tian jiao" and corrected himself, "Little Chao, you're here too."
Wen Shuangmu doubted her ears and turned to ask Ji Jiahui beside her, "What did he call me?"
"Little Chao?" Ji Jiahui was also confused and uncertainly said, "Is he complimenting you for being trendy?"
Zhou Yu probably wanted to give Wen Shuangmu a milk tea too, but seeing she already had one, he gave up the idea.
Before leaving, Zhou Yu took a last look at Xia Zhili. With the hand holding the cigarette, he quickly tapped Xia Zhili's forehead with his knuckle. "Next time we meet, you'll tell me your name, right?"
Xia Zhili reacted violently, slapping his hand away. "I said we're not familiar. Don't get so close to me."
Chu Xi, who had been ignored the whole time, started to lose her composure. "Zhou Yu, what do you mean by this?"
Zhou Yu wasn't angry at being hit by Xia Zhili. He smiled and rubbed the back of his hand.
He extinguished the cigarette and threw it on the ground before turning to Chu Xi with an innocent look. "Didn't you say you don't like me? I'm pursuing someone else now. Is there a problem?"
As he spoke, he put his hands in his pockets and said "I'm off" to Xia Zhili before walking towards his group of friends waiting nearby.
Wen Shuangmu felt an intense urge to applaud.
How is this not turning dark?
Shouldn't there at least be a fight?
Wuxiaoqi couldn't help but interject: "Host, your excitement is a bit too obvious. Don't forget that the existence of these supporting female characters and minor villains in the novel is to serve the development of the main couple's relationship."
The subtle smile on Wen Shuangmu's lips immediately vanished.
She pointed at the cigarette butt on the ground and exclaimed, "Oh my, he's littering. That's so unethical. You shouldn't quarrel over a guy like this. It's beneath you."
