CS - 6

Lin Zhe Xia was left speechless by this person’s shamelessness.

But she couldn’t even argue back.

Because, well, she had scammed him out of eight yuan before gym class.

Lin Zhe Xia: “I just forgot my money today. I’ll pay you back later.”

As she spoke, she closed the webpage on her phone.

“And who said I wanted to look at you anyway?” she added. “You’re just… alright-looking, that’s all.”

No sooner had the words left her mouth than the bus arrived at the next stop, jerking violently as it braked.

At the same moment, Chi Yao—who had been standing beside her, looking down—suddenly bent over, closing the distance between them and leaning his face close to hers.

His lips curled into a smirk as he stared directly at her, his tone dripping with mockery: “I’m… just alright-looking?”

“…”

Lin Zhe Xia tilted her head up, studying him carefully for a moment, then admitted frankly: “Even if you get any closer, it won’t help. No matter how I look at you, you’re still just average.”

Chi Yao tugged at the corner of his mouth: “So who was it that sent me messages during break, calling me an ‘Ultimate Super Handsome Guy’?”

Lin Zhe Xia: “Didn’t you say yourself? I was having a meltdown.”

Chi Yao straightened up almost immediately after leaning in, acting as if he couldn’t be bothered to argue further: “Take a sick day tomorrow—I’ll take you to the hospital.”

Lin Zhe Xia: “What for?”

Chi Yao replied coolly: “Your eyes are useless. Might as well donate them to someone who needs them.”

Lin Zhe Xia shook her head at him, genuinely marveling: “Not only do you look mediocre, but your heart’s also small.”

________________________________________

When she got home, Lin He had already prepared dinner and was waiting for her.

Lin Zhe Xia handed over the test paper she’d taken earlier. Lin He was satisfied with the score: “See? I always say, slow birds must start flying early—it’s true.”

Lin Zhe Xia focused on eating, too lazy to correct Lin He about her not being a “slow bird.”

After putting down the test paper, Lin He said: “Though you did well on this opening exam, don’t get cocky. The upcoming studies are important… Oh, and speaking of this good score, you owe it mostly to Chi Yao.”

Lin Zhe Xia couldn’t help but protest: “I think the main reason is that I’m just naturally smart.”

Lin He: “You? Smart? Count how many questions on this paper Chi Yao didn’t teach you.”

Lin Zhe Xia: “….”

“But,” Lin Zhe Xia quickly added, “there’s a saying: even a clever housewife can’t cook without rice.”

Lin He: “I’m too tired to argue with you. After dinner, take this fruit basket to Chi Yao.”

Lin Zhe Xia reluctantly agreed.

That evening, before she could see Chi Yao, she bumped into He Yang while delivering the fruit basket.

He Yang was holding a game cartridge: “Heading to Brother Yao’s place? Let’s go together?”

Lin Zhe Xia hadn’t really wanted to go in the first place, so she seized the opportunity to pawn off the task: “You go ahead and take this to him for me.”

He Yang took the fruit basket: “You’re not coming?”

“Alright, I’m leaving.”

He Yang turned to leave, but before he could take more than a few steps, Lin Zhe Xia called out to him.

“Wait a sec.”

She stopped him and said: “I have something to ask you.”

Night had fallen, and mosquitoes buzzed around incessantly.

The two squatted by the green belt, swatting at mosquitoes while chatting.

He Yang, scratching his legs, complained: “Brother Summer, hurry up and ask. I’ve already got a bunch of bites.”

Lin Zhe Xia remembered those forum replies. She wasn’t sure why she’d impulsively stopped him, but after organizing her thoughts, she asked: “You went to the same school as Chi Yao before. Was he… like, surrounded by blind people who thought he was handsome back then too?”

He Yang’s expression became slightly complicated.

Though he didn’t know why Lin Zhe Xia suddenly brought this up, he answered truthfully: “If we’re going by your standards, there might not have been many people with normal vision in our old school.”

He Yang added: “But why are you asking this?”

Lin Zhe Xia wanted to ask about the part where people supposedly got rejected badly, but upon reflection, she realized the question sounded strange. So she dropped it: “Never mind. I just suddenly realized there are quite a lot of blind people in this world.”

“Beep.”

He Yang opened the door to Chi Yao’s apartment.

As soon as they entered, they ran into Chi Yao, who had just come out of the shower.

Chi Yao had been adjusting the oversized collar of the shirt he was wearing, which looked somewhat unkempt. Seeing that it was He Yang, he stopped bothering.

“What’s that in your hand?” Chi Yao said. “Don’t leave it here.”

He Yang: “It’s a fruit basket. Lin Zhe Xia gave it to me earlier, saying I should bring it to you.”

It was obvious Lin Zhe Xia hadn’t sent the basket on her own initiative—it was clearly Lin He’s idea. Chi Yao didn’t say anything further.

But He Yang had more questions: “Why didn’t she come herself? Did you two fight again?”

Chi Yao raised an eyebrow lazily: “Did she say we fought?”

He Yang: “No, but she did say some pretty weird stuff.”

Chi Yao gestured for him to continue.

He Yang: “She asked me how many blind people there were in our old school. I told her, quite a few.”

Chi Yao: “…”

Though it sounded ridiculous, it was exactly the kind of thing she would ask.

With his hair still damp, Chi Yao slumped onto the couch. His shirt collar hung open, revealing the hollow of his collarbone. He picked up the remote, turned on the TV, and glanced at the game cartridge in He Yang’s hand: “Wanna play?”

He Yang nearly got lost staring at the “male beauty” in front of him.

Perhaps Lin Zhe Xia’s strange question earlier had stirred something in his mind, because he suddenly recalled scenes from their school days.

Chi Yao had indeed been famous in their old school.

But that fame wasn’t loud or ostentatious—it was more like an unspoken understanding.

Everyone knew he was distant, untouchable, and unreachable.

Chi Yao was academically gifted, but he was casual in class.

Sometimes, he’d secretly play games during lessons and get punished by teachers, standing in the hallway.

The young man would lean against the shadows, his back against the wall, tall and long-legged, clad in his school uniform.

——Drawing many covert glances.

After a moment, He Yang snapped out of it: “Let’s play.”

“But can you at least fix your shirt first?” He Yang added. “Even though I’m a guy and very straight, what if I lose control?”

Chi Yao pulled at his collar and shot back: “Idiot.”

A moment later, the two sat on the couch, each holding a game controller.

He Yang maneuvered his character: “But hey, did you finish your homework? Is Second High really that laid-back? Not much homework, huh?”

Chi Yao: “Just some preview assignments. No need to do them.”

“You already know everything?”

“Thanks to someone,” Chi Yao rested his fingers on the controller, speaking indifferently, “I studied it all during vacation to teach her.”

________________________________________

Lin Zhe Xia found that she was learning the new semester’s content surprisingly quickly.

Over several days of classes, whether it was the material covered in lectures or the challenging problems assigned afterward, she grasped everything well.

Soon, it was time for another gym class.

Thinking about the eight yuan she’d scammed from Chi Yao last time, Lin Zhe Xia decided to buy something to repay him.

She and Chen Lin went to the convenience store. Chen Lin suggested buying sandwiches, but Lin Zhe Xia refused: “He doesn’t like bread.”

“Fast food either.”

“Snacks are out too.”

“…”

“This is so troublesome,” Lin Zhe Xia muttered, scanning the shelves. She realized none of the things Chi Yao liked were sold here. Finally, she turned to the fridge: “Water it is. Practical enough.”

Chen Lin: “How do you make water cost eight yuan?”

Lin Zhe Xia: “This time, I’ll buy something pricier. Like this imported mineral water for twelve yuan—four yuan more than eight. Shows my generosity.”

Chen Lin: “….”

Chen Lin remembered sending Lin Zhe Xia the link yesterday, only to receive a single “speechless” emoji in response.

Curious, she couldn’t help but ask: “You really didn’t know? That he was famous?”

Lin Zhe Xia, finishing her payment, said: “I didn’t go to the same middle school as him, so I wasn’t aware.”

Chen Lin was still amazed that the super-hot guy causing such a stir on the forum turned out to be her deskmate’s childhood friend.

“Let me ask,” Chen Lin said, “Growing up looking at that face every day, how does it feel?”

She almost said, “If it were me, I’d dream of laughing in my sleep.”

But Lin Zhe Xia thought for a moment and answered earnestly: “…Itchy hands.”

Chen Lin: “?”

Lin Zhe Xia: “Like, often wanting to punch him but knowing I can’t win.”

“…”

After assembly, this class period was free activity time. Lin Zhe Xia carried her extravagant imported mineral water to the basketball court. Before she could approach, she saw a crowd gathered around the court from afar.

Chi Yao was already on the court. He dribbled past several players, and the next second, the ball sank perfectly through the hoop. Cheers erupted immediately.

Though they weren’t overt about it, it wasn’t hard to tell who the crowd was specifically watching.

Amidst the cheers and the intense gazes, Lin Zhe Xia hesitated.

Last time, she had approached before class, unaware of Chi Yao’s popularity.

But this time was different.

She glanced at the crowd and thought, with so many people, pushing through would be awkward, right?

She wasn’t here to watch Chi Yao play basketball.

And…

She had to hand him the water in front of everyone.

No matter how expensive this bottle was, it still felt…

Impossible to give.

“Maybe I’ll give it to him after school,” Lin Zhe Xia muttered to herself while standing near a group of girls. “There seem to be others planning to give him water too. Those girls nearby look eager. Since he’s not short on water, maybe I’ll just drink it myself.”

Just as Lin Zhe Xia was about to enjoy her expensive mineral water alone, the whistle blew.

The first half ended, and it was halftime.

Chi Yao walked off the court.

He seemed to have noticed her long ago and headed straight in her direction.

When he reached her, he naturally held out his hand.

Seeing her freeze, he prompted: “Water.”

Since she was here to repay her debt, Lin Zhe Xia ignored the surrounding crowd and handed over the water like serving a lord: “Here you go.”

Before twisting the cap open, Chi Yao hesitated for a second.

Lin Zhe Xia quickly said: “Today I’m doing charity work—I won’t charge a delivery fee. Drink up.”

“And this water,” Lin Zhe Xia emphasized its price, “is twelve yuan.”

“Don’t worry, no extra charge either—because I’m such a generous and wealthy person, unlike someone who charges fifty just for a glance.”

After handing over the water, Lin Zhe Xia planned to leave.

But Chi Yao, well-versed in being treated like royalty, finished drinking, screwed the cap back on, and shoved the bottle back into her hands.

Lin Zhe Xia: “Can’t you carry it yourself?”

Before heading back onto the court, Chi Yao said: “Someone with a bad temper who charges exorbitant prices doesn’t like carrying their own water.”

“…”

Resisting the urge to smash the water bottle over Chi Yao’s head, Lin Zhe Xia found a spot on the empty ground outside the court, sat down, and held the water for him while watching him play from afar.

Under the scorching sun, the entire court was bathed in blinding light, including the players.

Chi Yao had the ball again, dribbling with alternating hands while being guarded by two players.

After a fake move, he jumped, and the wind rushed under his shirt, lifting it slightly. His body seemed to soar through the air—

“Bang.”

The ball plummeted straight through the hoop.

Lin Zhe Xia stared at the ball, and Chen Lin’s words from before suddenly surfaced in her mind: “He’s very famous.”

Near the end of class, the second half ended.

Chi Yao came off the court, presumably to retrieve his water, and headed toward her again.

But this time, halfway there, someone stopped him.

Lin Zhe Xia noticed it was the two girls who had been standing near her earlier. One of them was holding a bottle of water. Her ears were red, likely from mustering her courage, and she whispered something to Chi Yao.

Lin Zhe Xia didn’t catch what was said.

But she heard Chi Yao’s reply clearly.

His tone was casual, polite yet distinctly distant.

He said: “Thank you, but I’m allergic to water given by strangers.”