The biting wind from last night brought winter with it. The temperature continued to drop viciously, the sky was overcast and gray, and the air became dry and harsh. A lifeless, pale shroud suddenly covered the entire city.
“Thank you, Sister Qianxin. See you tonight.”
“See you tonight.” Yun Qianxin gripped the steering wheel, paused for a moment, and then asked, “Xiao Yu, where is the place you work? What time do you get off tonight? I’ll come pick you up. Seeing you come back so late every day makes me a little worried.”
“There’s no need, that would be too much trouble for you, Sister Qianxin.”
“Since you already call me Sister, whether it’s trouble or not doesn’t matter. If you don’t tell me, tonight’s dinner will be nothing but tomatoes.”
Tomatoes were the food Gu Yu hated most. Even if Yun Qianxin was the one cooking them, he could hardly stand it. This aversion had persisted since elementary school, and he had never been able to overcome it.
“Alright, then. It’s just a few hundred meters ahead, that ‘Yishi Fast Food.’ It looks a bit old, and the storefront is quite small. I get off work a little after 9:00 PM.”
“Okay, I’ve got it. I’ll come pick you up tonight.”
“Mhm. Goodbye, Sister Qianxin.”
Gu Yu picked up his schoolbag and got out of the car, closing the door behind him. The black McLaren continued forward, growing smaller and smaller in his vision until it disappeared around the corner.
Turning around, he could only see two or three scattered students outside the open school gate. Several shops on the street hadn’t opened yet. Gu Yu checked the time; it seemed he had arrived too early.
He rushed to the classroom. After he opened the door, the air quality inside the room, which had been sealed all night, was stifling. An unpleasant smell of dust floated in the air.
Gu Yu endured it as he hurried to his seat and dropped his bag. He opened all the classroom windows to their maximum width. The chilly wind swept in, exchanging the indoor and outdoor air. Mixed with a harsh coldness, it made him shiver involuntarily.
The chair was cold and hard, so Gu Yu placed a book under his rear. He leaned against the table, staring blankly at Luo Ming’s seat.
Two stacks of books were piled high at the corner of the desk, and the drawer was arranged neatly. The girl’s area was kept very clean, making it comfortable to look at, just like the girl herself.
Gu Yu noticed a glass water cup sitting by the corner of her desk. It was empty. He reached out to pick it up, grabbed his own, went to the water dispenser to fill them, and then placed hers back in its original spot.
The second person to arrive in the classroom soon appeared. It was the girl who sat a few rows in front of Gu Yu. She had a long ponytail and a clean, beautiful face that carried a hint of youthful cuteness.
After putting away her schoolbag, she turned around to look at Gu Yu.
“Good morning, Young Master Gu.” He Yu curved her eyes, her tone carrying a bit of mockery.
“Likewise. Aren’t you also very early, Boss He?”
“I haven’t seen you on the bus these past few days. Did you change your mode of transportation?”
“Mhm, my neighbor dropped me off.”
“Neighbor?” He Yu seemed to grow interested. She walked to the seat in front of Gu Yu, pulled out the chair, and sat down. “Is it that woman who answered the phone for you last time?”
“Yes,” Gu Yu nodded.
“Her voice was quite nice. She must be very pretty, right? Why was she at your house so late?”
Gu Yu explained the reason. Seeing He Yu’s half-believing, half-doubting expression, he felt a bit helpless. “It really was like that. Boss He, you know me; I wouldn’t lie about something like this.”
“Hehe. You also said you didn’t like Luo Ming, but look at you now that you’re her desk-mate. You’re so happy you could burst.”
“I am not!”
Immediately afterward, Gu Yu realized he had overreacted. The sense of ‘protesting too much’ was very obvious. He no longer denied it to himself, but he still couldn’t admit it to others so openly.
He Yu blinked, keenly sensing Gu Yu’s unnaturalness, but she didn’t call him out. “Yes, yes, yes, you don’t. How long has it been since we’ve chatted after changing classes? Did you forget about me the moment you saw a pretty girl?”
“How could I? I still remember you, Boss. When are you going to take your brothers out for a big job?”
“You’re busy every day with a myriad of affairs, even working on the weekends. Do you even have time in your schedule to mess around with me?”
“I suppose that’s true.” Gu Yu scratched his head and smiled foolishly. “I have to eat, after all.”
“Speaking of which, did you eat breakfast?”
“If I say I haven’t, will there be a bun for me?”
He Yu bent her middle finger against her thumb, placed her hand in front of Gu Yu’s forehead, and flicked his brow. “No. Since I haven’t seen you for several days, I didn’t plan on bringing any.”
“Alright, forget it then.”
“So you really didn’t eat breakfast?” He Yu was still concerned about whether he was hungry.
“I did eat. It’s just… I still wanted to eat Boss He’s buns. I like them very much.”
He Yu shook her head and sighed. “Idiot.”
“Oh, right.” Gu Yu suddenly rifled through his schoolbag and found his English workbook. Covering half of his face with it, he asked timidly, “That… I was busy until too late yesterday, and there was a lot of homework. I forgot to do the English. Could Boss He please provide some relief?”
“Why don’t you ask your dear Luo Ming? She’s rank one in the entire grade.” He Yu raised an eyebrow. Despite saying that, she still went back to her seat, rummaged through her things, and handed a notebook to Gu Yu.
“Well, it’s because you got here early. I might as well get it settled sooner.”
Gu Yu opened the book and began to copy.
The atmosphere fell into a quiet stillness. The cold wind outside stopped invading the room. He Yu remained sitting in front of him without speaking, watching the boy’s serious and hurried expression. His features were clear and handsome, though still tinged with an immature boyishness.
After transferring to Class Three, He Yu quickly became acquainted with most of the girls. Maintaining a proper distance and using the right words served her well, and because of this, she heard a lot of gossip about who liked whom among her classmates.
The only news that could ever make her care was always related to Gu Yu; she didn’t even mind the rumors about who liked her.
She had heard several girls expressing their fondness for him when they talked privately. That face of his, which was very suited for attracting trouble, drew many gazes. However, because such a dazzling girl sat right beside him, most girls never truly entertained the thought of pursuing him.
Luo Ming would still deny it when asked, but girls understood each other best. The real answer was evident in her daily actions and the way Luo Ming looked at the boy.
He Yu often thought about whether she should just give up. Luo Ming and him were indeed a better match, more compatible.
But her competitive nature always made her refuse to quit. If her first time liking a boy ended just like that, then her affection would be far too cheap.
Moreover, she couldn’t convince herself to simply hand over a boy she liked so much to someone else.
“Is this written wrong?” Gu Yu stopped his pen and asked.
“Where?” He Yu leaned her head forward to look at the notebook on the desk. Unaware that the distance between them had vanished, their foreheads suddenly bumped into each other.
“Here. Is this word spelled wrong?”
Gu Yu looked up and ran straight into the girl’s eyes, which were as dark as ink. The surface of the water, which could be seen through at a glance, was right in front of him, reflecting his dazed and flustered face as if it were trying to see right through him.
He Yu looked at Gu Yu like that and said softly, “Mhm, it’s written wrong. The L should be changed to an H.”