Translator: EndlessFantasy Translation Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation
Lin Wan had thought it was something big. She sat on the chair beside him. âOoh, the ice is finally melting!â Lin Wan smiled teasingly.
Li Zexuanâs face turned bright red. âMs. Lin, I donât have anyone I can discuss this with. Not my classmates, thatâs for sure. If they find out, they will leak the information, and it will turn into a big scandal. I will end up in the hot search again.â
Lin Wanâs smile disappeared. âOkay. I am sorry. I will stop teasing you,â she said. âTell me, who is this girl who has caught the eyes of a big star like yourself?â
Lin Wan recalled that the book did mention Li Zexuan meeting a transfer student who would later change him completely.
When Lin Wan heard the name âXie Wanyuâ, she was in a daze. Could she see the future now?
Li Zexuan was the male lead in the novel, and Xie Wanyu was the female lead. Lin Wan remembered their story.
Xie Wanyuâs background was very sad. Lin Wan remembered tearing up as she read about her.
âMs. Lin, are you listening? You look like you have zoned out,â said Li Zexuan. He had just finished telling her how he had bumped into her. When he turned to look at Lin Wan, she was staring into the distance with a dazed look.
âOf course, I am listening,â said Lin Wan. âXie Wanyu, you say? She is timid and introverted. She wears a ridiculous pair of glasses to make herself look uglier. But she is very beautiful, isnât she?â
Li Zexuan was shocked. He hadnât mentioned the glasses yet. He had only said that he met her outside the basketball court.
âTo make herself look uglier⦠What does she mean?â wondered Li Zexuan.
âMs. Lin, are you spying on me?!â he asked. âIs it Mr. Li? Has he planted someone at the school to keep an eye on me?â
âSpy on you? What are you on about? Nobody has that kind of time here. Besides, you just told me about her, didnât you? What is this nonsense about spying and all?â said Lin Wan.
âBut I said nothing about the glasses. How did you know?â he asked.
âIt was a lucky guess,â said Lin Wan, trying to come up with a convincing explanation. âYou said you bumped into her. You also said she looks pretty without her glasses. So⦠I just assumed! Besides, in the novels, itâs always like that. Pretty girls wearing glasses to make themselves look less beautiful, which never really works.â
Lin Wan was sure it was the same character. The female leadâs father had a special backstory. Because of him, the female lead and her grandmother faced unfair treatment from others. But the grandmother never told her the truth. There was a right time for the secret to reveal itself.
âGod, you are right!â said Li Zexuan. âIt all sounds like a melodramatic plot from a drama, doesnât it? She does seem very introverted and reserved. Ms. Lin, how can I extend a hand of friendship? At least tell me how I can make her feel safe and not afraid of me!â
Lin Wan wanted to tell him that Xie Wanyu wasnât afraid of him. She was just afraid of the world and everyone in it because of the way she had been treated before.
However, she couldnât say all this to him. He would doubt her again.
âHm⦠Just put yourself in her shoes for a while. If you met a person and you barely know them, would you want to be friends with them so easily?â she asked. âAlso, she is in her second year of high school. She might just want to focus on her studies right now.â
âBut⦠I donât want to distract her from her studies, Ms. Lin,â said Li Zexuan. âItâs not like I want to date her. I wouldnât dare. I just⦠it would be nice to at least exchange a few words when we see each other.â
Li Zexuan knew that dating wouldnât be as simple for him as it was for others. He was a celebrity. It would turn into a spectacle. He didnât want that. He just wanted to be her friend.
âWell⦠you both just met. Itâs only been a few days. Just give her some time. If it was the other way around and someone was trying to cling to you, would you like it? You would need time to think about it, right? Itâs the same for her.â She patted him on his shoulder.
âThat⦠makes sense,â he said. âCan I talk to you about this when I feel confused?â He lowered his head in embarrassment. âI⦠donât know how to deal with this. I donât even know how to talk to girls. Vivi never even told me how to act around them.â
âAlright,â she said. âBut you have to promise me that you wonât let this affect yourself or Xie Wanyu too much.â
Lin Wan remembered that Li Zexuan and Xie Wanyu ended up in the hot search not long after they met in the novel.
âAlright,â he said.
At Yun Xi High School, Lu Wenqian sought out Sun Mingtao. She hadnât spoken with Li Zexuan for two whole days. She treated Sun Mingtao to a meal to find out what was going on with Li Zexuan.
Sun Mingtao told her that Li Zexuan had been acting strange these past two days. He would take his books and go for self-study and firmly dissuade Sun Mingtao from following him. Sun Mingtao had seen him head toward Xingzhi Tower.
âXingzhi Tower? Li Zexuanâs classroom is in the building on the opposite side! You can even head straight to the dorms from there. Why did he go in the opposite direction? Lu Wenqian could tell that something was wrong.
âI know. Maybe he just wanted to take a walk? The place behind Xingzhi Tower is quiet and peaceful.â Sun Mingtao didnât think much of it.
âOkay. He went home today, right? I will look for him tomorrow after school.â
The classrooms of Year 2-6, and Year 2-3 were on the second and third floor respectively.
After the evening self-study sessions, Xie Wanyu packed her bag. Luan
Rongrong approached her. âLetâs go back together.â
Because of Luan Rongrong, Xie Wanyu avoided the Xingzhi Tower and went back to the dorm.
When Li Zexuan returned to his school, he went straight to his room. He wanted to sleep and wake up early the next morning to go have a look at the Year 2-6 classroom. Maybe he could see Xie Wanyu there.
When Sun Mingtao reached his room, he saw Li Zexuan was back. He was at his desk and was scribbling furiously.
âYouâre back.â
âYeah.â
âAre you studying?â Sun Mingtao glanced at the desk and saw that Li Zexuan was solving math problems.
âDid he really go home to get study materials? I thought it was just an excuse,â wondered Sun Mingtao.
âYes,â said Li Zexuan.
âAlright. I wonât disturb you.â Sun Mingtao placed his bag on his chair and went to shower.
In the girlsâ dormitory, Xie Wanyu studied classical Chinese.
âWanyu, you are already so smart, but you still work so hard!â Luan Rongrong put down the comic book in her hand.
Xie Wanyu was smart. She was the top student in their class. And yet, she worked hard.
âHow can I slack off when the top student is working this hard?â thought Luan Rongrong.
Luan Rongrong picked up her language book and started studying.
Xie Wanyu wanted to get into Beijing University, which was one of the top universities in the country. It was very far from Yun City. No one would know her there. Xie Wanyu had a clear goal in her life, and she worked hard for it.
The next morning, she was supposed to be in the classroom at 6:30 a.m., but Xie Wanyu woke up early and left her dorm by 5 a.m.
Luan Rongrong was motivated by Xie Wanyu. She also wanted to learn from her. She followed her to the classroom.
When they reached, they put the lights on in the classroom. Xie Wanyu was just unzipping her bag when she heard someone call her from the door.
Xie Wanyu raised her head to look outside and saw that it was Li Zexuan. She wanted to smile, but she restrained herself.
She sat at her desk and ignored him.
Li Zexuan called out twice for her, but Xie Wanyu didnât even react..