Chapter 22: Oh~

As soon as he entered the classroom, Xia Yu immediately noticed that the desk next to him was empty—not even a backpack left there.

“Yu, are you attending some show today? You even put on colored contacts.”

No sooner had Xia Yu sat down than Mu Yiqiu turned around, curiously staring into his eyes.

He wasn’t used to being the center of attention.

Though many classmates had already been staring at him on the way to class, since his eyes and aura were quite different from before.

Previously, his forehead was covered by bangs, hiding his dark blue eyes, giving him a gloomy and fierce look.

Now, with red pupils and a black wig, he looked like a demon straight out of hell, sent to steal lives.

“No, it’s real.”

“What!?”

Mu Yiqiu immediately leaned closer, staring straight into Xia Yu’s eyes.

“It’s really…! But it looks so good!”

“Too close, back off and lower your voice.”

Xia Yu muttered impatiently.

“How did it turn out like this?”

Mu Yiqiu saw that the burns on Xia Yu’s arm had healed and that there was no smell of burning on him, so he must have used some special method.

“Used a Magic Booster. The drug was too strong, so it hasn’t fully recovered.”

“Just your eyes changed?”

“Yeah…”

That wasn’t exactly the truth.

After all, whether vampirism was illegal or not was unknown, and the person who was bitten hadn’t come to school yet.

Even with their close relationship, Xia Yu didn’t dare tell Mu Yiqiu.

Mu Yiqiu also didn’t notice that Xia Yu was wearing a wig, which meant his disguise was working well.

Maybe in time he’d dye his hair black again; no need to say more.

When the class bell rang, Xia Yu noticed someone quietly stepping in with a backpack.

Seeing Mo Yidong’s right arm patched with two Band-Aids, and making sure the other was fine, their eyes met for a moment before Xia Yu quickly turned his head toward the window.

Through the glass, Xia Yu saw Mo Yidong still staring at him.

Those black eyes looked like frosted black onyx through the window, emitting a faint warmth, different from usual yet still saying the same phrase:

“Good morning.”

“Go-…”

Still unable to sleep that day, Xia Yu stared at the history teacher ahead.

Even the teacher was surprised to see Xia Yu actually awake during class.

Xia Yu propped his right hand against his cheek, staring drowsily forward.

Out of the corner of his eye, he spotted an extra sheet of notebook paper on the desk, crossing over the boundary line.

The handwriting was neat and pretty, obviously practiced.

Xia Yu looked at the single line written:

“Are you okay?”

He was quite surprised—he didn’t expect Mo Yidong to be secretly playing the note-passing game.

Opening his long-sealed pencil case, Xia Yu leisurely stared at the paper, wondering what to write.

No matter how he looked at it, “Are you okay?” implied that something was wrong with his health.

He also wanted to ask Mo Yidong about all the chaotic things from yesterday—like why he suddenly ran off—that was the question Xia Yu most wanted to ask.

No… writing too much might expose how ugly Xia Yu’s handwriting was.

He picked up a pen and seriously left a single word on the paper:

“Yeah.”

Then returned the note.

Just one word again…

Mo Yidong stared at the note.

Yesterday’s reply was

“Oh.”

Today’s was

“Yeah.”

Tomorrow it wouldn’t be

“Ah,”

would it?

Unbelievable.

Male Xia Yu spoke far less than female Xia Yu, but why?

Mo Yidong didn’t quite understand this logic.

He just vaguely felt that male Xia Yu seemed to be deliberately keeping a distance from him.

He’d ask about it when he had the chance…

As soon as the break bell rang, while everyone was still at their desks, Teacher Qiu brought a male student into the classroom.

“Sorry to cut into your break, everyone. Let me introduce this new classmate—Zhang Wenshan.”

“Hello everyone, my name is Zhang Wenshan—‘Zhang’ from bow, ‘Wen’ from literature, and ‘Shan’ from mountain. I like traveling, and my hobbies are watching movies and playing ball. Please take care of me in the future.”

With a sharp yellow short haircut, wearing an expensive, stylish gray short jacket paired with limited edition sneakers, Zhang Wenshan left many classmates gaping in amazement.

Zhang Wenshan had traveled the world with his parents, had a well-proportioned figure, and carried the sunny, confident aura of a wealthy heir in every word.

“Two of you come with me to move a desk.”

After Teacher Qiu took two students away, Zhang Wenshan headed straight to the back row and smiled as he approached Mo Yidong.

“You really came.”

“Of course.”

Mo Yidong curled his lips into a slight smile.

“You skipped first year and went straight to second. Can you keep up?”

“Just because I didn’t attend first year doesn’t mean I can’t keep up with second year. But you…”

Zhang Wenshan glanced at Mo Yidong’s desk.

“Why are you sitting in the last row?”

“Temporary. After exams, seating will be rearranged by grades.”

This school was built by Zhang Wenshan’s father, and many teachers were classmates with him, so class placements…

“Is this your deskmate? We met earlier. I’m Zhang Wenshan, and you?”

“Xia Yu.”

Xia Yu reluctantly replied.

Out of the corner of his eye, Xia Yu noticed Mo Yidong looked at Zhang Wenshan with an expression different from usual, staring somewhat dazed.

So this guy can smile too…

“My family and Mo Yidong’s family know each other. We even went to the same elementary school for a few years.”

Zhang Wenshan said happily, facing an old friend:

“How about next exam you sit with me?”

“Only if you can beat Xia Yu first.”

Xia Yu sat there dazed, suddenly snapping back to attention when he heard Mo Yidong mention his name, staring calmly at him.

“What’s that got to do with me?”

“Didn’t you say your grades are really good?”

Xia Yu was puzzled; he didn’t remember ever saying that.

“When did I say that?”

Mo Yidong kept a straight face and casually replied,

“You said you could get first place blindfolded.”

Xia Yu’s fists clenched.

Mo Yidong sure knew how to hit a nerve!

Suddenly Xia Yu remembered casually mentioning that once to Mo Yidong, but never expected him to remember.

“Yeah…”

Xia Yu’s mouth twitched as he suppressed his rising temper and seriously told everyone present:

“I can get the lowest score blindfolded.”

“Oh~”

Mo Yidong said, slightly surprised.

“What’s your ‘oh~’ supposed to mean?”

That meaningful “oh~” from Mo Yidong made Xia Yu see the expression in his eyes.

Sometimes Xia Yu sensed that Mo Yidong didn’t accidentally say things to piss him off; he did it on purpose.

Finally, it was lunchtime.

After Zhang Wenshan dragged Mo Yidong off to the cafeteria, Xia Yu finally enjoyed some quiet.

It had been a long time since he’d slept so soundly and comfortably, head resting on his own desk.

Half asleep, he suddenly felt the noise was overwhelming—he could hear sounds from every corner of the teaching building.

Covering his ears, Xia Yu tried hard to block out the many noises.

Amid the mixed sounds, familiar voices came through.

“You don’t know how uncomfortable it is sitting next to the podium.”

“Just right to pay attention. That seat suits you.”

“No way. When it’s exam time, I’m definitely moving to the back.”

Zhang Wenshan and Mo Yidong were chatting idly as they walked.

Xia Yu was more curious about how he could hear them from so far away.

Not wanting to eavesdrop, he was thinking of how to block their voices when he heard Zhang Wenshan say:

“By the way, someone told me during break that Xia Yu has a bad reputation.”

The one who said this was Zhang Wenshan.

Xia Yu had known this for a long time.

People have their own mouths; what they say is their business.

“I know.”

“This guy often gets into fights outside school. Someone advised me not to get too close to him.”

Mo Yidong said nothing but calmly replied as usual:

“So… you mean I should keep my distance from him?”