The air was still for a moment, then Chu Qing couldn't help but laugh: "Are you pushing the responsibility onto him?"
"I'm telling the truth." Seeing her laugh, Qi Weichen's expression softened slightly, seeming less tense than before. He wore the simplest white t-shirt and jeans, yet still looked stunningly handsome. The bright sunlight seemed to slightly melt the coolness in his eyes, and sweat dripped down his sharp jawline, finally landing on his white sneakers.
Looking at such a face, Chu Qing found she couldn't stay angry. She sighed and said, "Fine, I won't argue with you."
A glimmer of light flashed in Qi Weichen's eyes as he silently held out the plastic bag in his hand: "For you."
"I don't want it, keep it for yourself," Chu Qing made no move to take it.
Qi Weichen paused for a moment, then stubbornly held the bag in mid-air, clearly intending to wait until she took it. Chu Qing met his gaze for a moment, then reluctantly accepted it: "Alright, go back to your dorm and get some rest."
"Okay."
Chu Qing looked at him again, wanting to say that he didn't need to wait for her in the sun over such a small matter, but after a moment's thought, she said nothing and just waved goodbye as she left. When she got back to her dorm, there were only forty minutes left of the lunch break. She casually put the bag on the table and hurried to shower and sleep.
The first class after lunch was math. Afterwards, all the students went to the auditorium for the opening ceremony. For adults, such meetings are tedious, but for high school students, it's like a holiday celebration. Even the studious ones who never fail exams would be a bit distracted before the ceremony began.
The math teacher knew the class was restless and their minds weren't on studying, so instead of lecturing, he handed out a set of test papers for self-study, while he sat at the podium, occasionally walking around the room.
The afternoon classroom air seemed laced with sleeping pills, making everyone inside drowsy. Qi Muyang yawned and passed one of the test papers to Chu Qing.
Chu Qing looked around but couldn't find a pen. She looked up at him and asked, "Do you have an extra pen I could borrow?"
"I'm lucky if I have one for myself, where would I get extras?" Qi Muyang replied lazily.
Chu Qing's mouth twitched: "Your mom gives you so much allowance, can't you buy a few more pens?"
"Buying more would be a waste," Qi Muyang sneered, "Where's your pen?"
"I can't find mine, why else would I borrow from you?" Chu Qing said exasperatedly. Due to her own poverty, she had only bought one pen. Now that it was lost, she had no backup. As she spoke, she saw Qi Muyang about to lay down to sleep, so she quickly said, "If you're not using it now, lend it to me first."
"No way," Qi Muyang clutched his pen vigilantly, "If I give it to you, what will I use as cover when the teacher comes around later?"
Chu Qing stared at him silently for three seconds, but before she could speak, a fountain pen was placed on her desk. The pen was black, without any decorations, just a cold gleam on its body, much like its owner.
She looked up and met his cool gaze, instantly feeling the pressure of being watched while studying. She sheepishly touched her nose and said, "Thanks."
Qi Weichen glanced at her before turning away, and Chu Qing finally relaxed. Qi Muyang's gaze darted between the two of them, and he lowered his voice to ask Chu Qing: "Did you two make up?"
"What do you mean make up? Did we ever fight?" Chu Qing said stubbornly.
Qi Muyang stared at her for a while, then sneered: "A woman's mouth, full of lies."
"Shut up," Chu Qing glared at him.
Qi Muyang wouldn't be so obedient. He leaned closer to her and asked, "How did he win you over? Did he use my method?"
Chu Qing: "..." No, he used the method of selling you out.
But seeing his innocent expression, Chu Qing decided not to tell him this cruel truth. The two of them were whispering about this and that, while Chen Xiu in the front row occasionally glanced back at Qi Weichen, feeling that his deskmate seemed to be in a good mood today.
After chatting with Chu Qing for a while, Qi Muyang lay down to sleep, only getting up to write furiously when there were ten minutes left before class ended.
Chu Qing was surprised to see this: "You know how to do it?"
"It's just math, what's there to do? Just fill in some numbers," Qi Muyang finished writing in a few minutes.
...He's just making it up, Chu Qing thought. She had thought she was slacking off enough, but apparently there was someone even worse. She looked at her own test paper with barely two questions answered, then at Qi Muyang's suddenly full paper, and couldn't help but click her tongue.
As soon as the bell rang, Qi Muyang handed in his paper and whispered to Chu Qing: "Call me when the ceremony is almost over."
"Where are you going?" Chu Qing raised an eyebrow.
Qi Muyang glanced around and said: "To the internet cafe."
Chu Qing immediately felt tempted. Since traveling to 2042, she hadn't been to an internet cafe yet. She wondered if the internet speed was faster in this era, and if the games were more fun.
Noticing her interest, Qi Muyang paused and asked: "Want to come? My treat."
"If I go, who will stay behind as a lookout?" Chu Qing hesitated.
Qi Muyang glanced at her: "If you want to go, just say so. Chen Xiu can stay behind, he doesn't skip class."
Chu Qing looked at Chen Xiu in the front row, who was frowning as he pondered a math problem, indeed looking like someone who wouldn't skip class. She snapped her fingers, about to agree, when she saw Qi Weichen returning from getting water. The days of being watched studying by the class genius seemed like just yesterday, and her words changed to—
"I'm not going, I like the opening ceremony."
Qi Muyang immediately conveyed a question with his eyes: Are you crazy?
Chu Qing regretted her words as soon as she said them. They had broken up, and Qi Weichen had no reason to control her anymore, so why was she still being a coward? But having said it, to maintain her image, she could only casually remind him: "If you don't leave now, you won't be able to go."
Qi Muyang snorted and immediately called his friends to sneak out. Qi Weichen watched them leave, then turned back to Chu Qing: "Where are they going?"
"Oh, to the bathroom," Chu Qing casually lied.
Qi Weichen fell silent, not believing they looked like they were going hand-in-hand to the bathroom. Afraid he would ask more, Chu Qing quickly lowered her head pretending to know nothing, and Qi Weichen indeed turned his head back.
The ten-minute break after the first class was free time for everyone. According to what the homeroom teacher said in the morning, they would go to the auditorium after the second class started, so when the bell rang, the students sat down in the classroom.
Unable to go to the internet cafe, Chu Qing felt more and more regretful. She sat listlessly in the corner, lost in thought, when she saw the homeroom teacher Zhao Zihan come in.
Zhao Zihan hurriedly announced as he entered: "We just received notice that there's a problem with the auditorium, so today's opening ceremony is cancelled."
Upon hearing it was cancelled, there was a wave of disappointed sighs in the class. She frowned and clapped her hands twice, waiting for quiet before sternly saying: "It's good that it's cancelled. You're in your senior year now, every minute should be spent on studying. The Chinese teacher can't make it this class, so do test papers instead. Hand them in after class."
She paused, looking at the empty seats in the back and asked: "Where are these students?"
"Ah... Teacher, they have stomachaches, they'll be back soon," Chen Xiu answered smoothly despite his quiet voice, clearly no stranger to this.
Zhao Zihan nodded, leaving the rest of the arrangements to the Chinese class representative before turning to leave. The students in the class were all listless, with some quietly complaining about having to do test papers for two consecutive classes, then the class representative started banging on the desk to maintain order, which led to arguments.
In the chaos, Chu Qing didn't listen carefully, but instead poked Chen Xiu: "Should we call them back?"
"Mm, I've already texted them. They'll probably be back by the end of this class," Chen Xiu replied quietly, straightening up instinctively when Qi Weichen glanced at him.
Chu Qing nodded, yawning as she received her Chinese test paper.
"Chu Qing, can you give me their three test papers?" Chen Xiu asked in a low voice.
Chu Qing paused: "Are you going to write for them?"
"We have to hand them in after class, and the Chinese teacher checks very strictly. We can't not write anything," Chen Xiu replied.
...They really were the best of friends. Chu Qing clicked her tongue and handed him the test paper. Chen Xiu started writing as soon as he got it, but he underestimated the power of the Chinese language exam. Each question required a pile of words, and he had to repeat this pile four times.
With ten minutes left before class ended, he was nearly in tears. However, he didn't dare ask his deskmate for help and could only turn to Chu Qing: "Lord Chu, can you help me out?"
Chu Qing had also rushed through hers half-heartedly. She didn't want to write at all, but seeing little Chen Xiu looking so pitiful, she held out her hand: "Give it here."
"Thanks, Lord Chu. Could you do the boss's too? Remember to write his name on it." Chen Xiu said as he handed the test paper to Chu Qing.
Chu Qing scribbled away, finally signing the name at the end, and handed it to the class monitor before the bell rang. When Qi Muyang returned and heard that she had written his paper, he specially treated her to dinner that evening.
However, early the next morning, Qi Muyang was singled out by the Chinese teacher.
"Lord Chu, didn't you write it for him?" Chen Xiu asked nervously.
Chu Qing looked utterly innocent: "I did write it, and I even changed the handwriting. There's no way they could have noticed."
"Then why..." Chen Xiu's words were cut short as Qi Muyang returned with an exasperated look. He quickly asked, "What did the teacher call you out for?"
Qi Muyang gazed at Chu Qing, too tired to even get angry: "Chu Qing, did you write my name on the test paper after you finished it?"
"I did," Chu Qing said, puzzled.
Qi Muyang sat down, showing rare patience: "What did you write?"
"Just your name, what's the problem?" Chu Qing grew increasingly confused.
Qi Muyang let out a cold laugh, slamming the test paper on the desk and asking through gritted teeth: "Are you sure this is my name? Look at what you wrote!"
There on the Chinese test paper, three large characters were neatly written: Qi Muyang (but with the last character written incorrectly as 'sheep' instead of 'sun').
Chu Qing: "...Is there a problem?"
