CS - 45

After getting off the bus, Lin Zhe Xia clung to the topic of “blocking” to avoid further discussion.

“Not only have I not messaged you these past few days, but I don’t plan on messaging you for an entire month,” she said as she walked ahead with her backpack. “Anyway, you wanted to block me.”

She knew exactly how to bicker with Chi Yao and spoke more fluently as she went on.

“You clearly don’t want to talk to me.”

“Chi Yao, you’re so heartless.”

“When I get home later, I’ll cry alone to mourn our friendship.”

“…”

As they spoke, the two arrived at the entrance of their building.

Chi Yao, who had been silently following her, grabbed her backpack just as she swiped her access card to enter, forcing her to turn around and face him.

It was already evening, and the entrance was quiet.

Chi Yao looked at her, his pale irises darker than usual. After a long pause, he said, “When did I ever block you?”

“If I really didn’t want to talk to you,” he continued, “you’d already be blocked.”

Chi Yao rarely spoke so bluntly.

Lin Zhe Xia was momentarily stunned. Before she could react, he let go and stepped back. “Go inside.”

After returning home, Lin Zhe Xia struggled to calm her racing heart.

She lingered at the door for a while, ensuring that Lin He wouldn’t notice anything unusual before entering. “Mom, I’m home.”

Lin He glanced at her. “Come eat.”

Lin Zhe Xia put down her backpack. “Okay.”

“Where’s Uncle Wei?”

“He’s having dinner with colleagues,” Lin He replied. “No need to wait for him.”

Dinner was quiet. Lin Zhe Xia talked about what happened at school, mentioning the upcoming school anniversary and Old Xu’s “Clumsy Birds Take Flight First” plan.

Lin He also shared some stories from work and the neighborhood: “Be careful when going out lately. I’ve heard there are some suspicious people wandering around near our community. Auntie next door has seen them several times. No one knows what they’re up to.”

Lin Zhe Xia made a sound of acknowledgment. “Are they like those aimless vocational school students we used to see when we were kids?”

Lin He: “I haven’t seen them myself. They’re probably similar—maybe unemployed drifters.”

As Lin He spoke, she noticed an unusual detail and casually asked while serving food, “Why haven’t you mentioned Chi Yao recently? You used to talk about him all the time.”

Lin Zhe Xia paused mid-bite. “... I think he’s too annoying lately, so I don’t feel like mentioning him.” She then set down her chopsticks and returned to her room.

Back in her room, Lin Zhe Xia took out her homework from her backpack.

Before she could write more than a few words, she heard a voice coming from the living room.

“Chi Yao’s here,” Lin He said in the living room. “Xia Xia is in her room. Are you here to study together? Perfect. I was worried about her keeping up with school now that senior year is approaching.”

“Next time, come up for dinner directly. Don’t be so formal with me.”

“...”

The tip of Lin Zhe Xia’s pen froze on the paper, leaving a blot of ink.

After Chi Yao entered, she moved her chair slightly to make space for him. “Why are you here?”

Chi Yao placed his workbook on the table.

He had brought very little—a black pen and a set of problems specifically chosen for him by Old Liu.

“To do homework,” he said simply.

“I know that, obviously,” Lin Zhe Xia replied, feeling somewhat unsettled. “But why are you doing it at my place?”

She was about to ask, “Don’t you have a table at home?”

But Chi Yao seemed to anticipate her question. Leaning back slightly, he twirled his pen and said, “My table collapsed.”

“...”

Although Chi Yao’s arrival was sudden, and she wasn’t ready to face him just yet, the two had spent countless hours studying together since childhood—it was second nature to her.

After enduring the initial awkwardness, Lin Zhe Xia buried herself in her work again.

She tried to focus on her homework but couldn’t shake her restlessness.

She struggled with a particularly difficult function problem, unable to arrive at the answer after much effort. Just as she decided to skip it and move on to the next question, she heard the sound of knuckles tapping against the desk.

She looked up and noticed a piece of scratch paper sitting in front of her.

On it were a few concise steps of the function problem, along with annotations pointing out where she had gone wrong earlier.

And pressed atop the paper was a candy wrapped in colorful cellophane.

“...” Lin Zhe Xia turned to look at the person sitting beside her. “Where’d you get the candy?”

Chi Yao replied, “He Yang attended a wedding banquet a few days ago and brought back a bunch. He dumped them all on me.”

“Conveniently,” he added after finishing a problem and cracking his knuckles, “I couldn’t find anywhere to throw them away.”

Lin Zhe Xia: “Oh.”

Her mind felt fuzzy, and she wanted to ask, “How did you know I couldn’t solve this problem?” But then she realized he must’ve caught a glimpse while sitting next to her.

As Lin Zhe Xia unwrapped the candy, its sweetness spreading, she suddenly realized something.

Chi Yao had come over because of what she said on the bus earlier—that she was feeling overwhelmed by her studies.

Amidst the busy and monotonous grind of schoolwork, the school anniversary performance was a rare source of excitement for all the students at Second High. Each class was preparing fervently.

One day, Lin Zhe Xia was called to Old Liu’s office again.

“Old Liu,” she said, having grown more familiar with him after nearly two years, “what’s up?”

Old Liu set down the homework he was grading and looked up. “Xiao Lin, there’s something I need to ask of you.”

Lin Zhe Xia: “Go ahead.”

Old Liu: “We have that ‘Clumsy Birds Take Flight First’ plan, right? Poetry recitation requires the least preparation time. What do you think?”

Lin Zhe Xia replied, “I think it’s a brilliant strategy that fully demonstrates the planner’s ingenuity.”

Old Liu: “Well then, here’s the issue. The poetry recitation group needs a leader, and I want to entrust this important task to you. The reason I chose you is because...”

Lin Zhe Xia naturally finished his sentence: “Because I won first place in the speech competition?”

Old Liu nodded. “Exactly.”

Unlike the last time she was in Old Liu’s office, feeling uneasy and unlucky, Lin Zhe Xia was calm this time and didn’t hesitate. “I understand. I’ll go prepare.”

Her response surprised Old Liu. He watched the girl standing in the office, realizing how much everyone had changed over the past two years. The timid and shy Lin Zhe Xia from freshman year had transformed significantly.

He still remembered how flustered she had been when refusing in the office, claiming she wasn’t capable.

“Alright,” Old Liu said with satisfaction. “Teacher believes in you. Prepare well.”

Lin Zhe Xia selected a few poems and printed them using the office printer. Holding a stack of papers, she headed upstairs to her classroom. As she walked, she thought about how easy this task would be.

It wouldn’t take much effort—just selecting participants and rehearsing twice during breaks would suffice.

While passing by Class One, she was stopped by Xu Ting.

Standing in the corridor, Xu Ting spread his arms wide, blocking the entire hallway with an exaggerated pose and an overly enthusiastic voice: “—Young Miss Lin!”

“...”

Lin Zhe Xia stopped and tried to sidestep him. “Can I pretend I don’t know you?”

Xu Ting: “Nope. You’re Lin Zhe Xia from Class Seven, my good buddy’s good buddy. By rounding up, that makes you my good buddy too.”

Lin Zhe Xia: “If that’s the case...”

Xu Ting: “?”

Lin Zhe Xia sidestepped him while saying, “Then I’ll have to sever ties at the root and stop being friends with Chi Yao.”

Xu Ting followed her. “Don’t do that! I need to talk to you.”

The corridor was bustling with students.

Uncontrollably, Lin Zhe Xia glanced toward Class One’s window and noticed the familiar seat was empty.

She stopped. “I’m busy with schoolwork, so I can only give you two minutes. Speak quickly.”

Xu Ting’s purpose was simple. “Isn’t the school anniversary coming up?”

Lin Zhe Xia gestured for him to continue.

Xu Ting: “Someone with as much charm as me is bound to shine on the school anniversary stage, right?”

Lin Zhe Xia rolled her eyes internally.

Xu Ting: “So I told our homeroom teacher that I’d take charge of Class One’s performance for the school anniversary.”

Hearing this, Lin Zhe Xia guessed, “I’m in charge of Class Seven’s performance. So you’re here to challenge me because your competitive spirit is too strong?”

“...”

Xu Ting: “Who said I’m challenging you? Everyone in the grade knows about your Class Seven ‘Clumsy Birds Take Flight First’ plan. There’s no need for challenges.”

“It’s ‘Clumsy Birds,’ not ‘Clumsy Chickens,’” Lin Zhe Xia corrected him instinctively.

But after correcting him, she paused.

The two terms didn’t seem all that different anyway.

“Forget it,” Lin Zhe Xia said. “It’s not important. Get to the point.”

Xu Ting: “The point is, our homeroom teacher said the performance must involve at least two people—I can’t perform alone. So I thought of asking Chi Yao to join me. I figured his popularity would make him perfect for the stage, and my performance would surely be unforgettable.”

Lin Zhe Xia’s immediate reaction was, “How could you have such a dangerous idea? Isn’t life good enough?”

“...”

Xu Ting: “You don’t need to crush me again. I’ve already been mercilessly rejected.”

“But I don’t want to give up,” Xu Ting continued. “Help me persuade him, okay?”

Lin Zhe Xia: “He doesn’t like being on stage.”

After a moment’s thought, she added, “And why do you think I can convince him?”

Without hesitation, Xu Ting replied, “Because you two are close.”

Lin Zhe Xia initially didn’t want to get involved, but Xu Ting pleaded earnestly, even elevating his reasoning to a philosophical level, telling her, “I don’t want to leave any regrets in this once-in-a-lifetime youth.” Eventually, she agreed to help him try.

“But I can’t guarantee he’ll listen to me,” Lin Zhe Xia said before leaving. “I can’t promise he’ll agree.”

Since she had promised to help, she intended to keep her word.

Lin Zhe Xia spent the whole time thinking about how to bring it up to Chi Yao.

She mulled it over repeatedly, hesitating to speak on the way home after school several times.

Finally, Chi Yao stopped at her doorstep. “Speak.”

Lin Zhe Xia circled her words in her mind, finally settling on a ridiculous excuse: “I’m thirsty. Can I come in for a glass of water?”

“...”

“I mean,” Lin Zhe Xia quickly added, “I haven’t had water from your place in so long, and I miss it.”

As soon as she finished speaking, she regretted her words under Chi Yao’s incredulous gaze, wishing she could bite her tongue off.

Five minutes later, she sat on Chi Yao’s couch, sipping water from a glass.

After finishing one glass, she still hadn’t figured out how to broach the subject, so she asked, “Can I have another glass?”

Chi Yao watched her amusedly. “Do you think this is some unlimited-refill coffee shop?”

Though he teased her, he still refilled her glass.

Feeling like she might burst if she drank any more, Lin Zhe Xia finally spoke: “The school anniversary is coming up soon. Our class is preparing a performance. How’s your class doing?”

Chi Yao tilted his head slightly. “Not as creative as yours.”

“...”

Old Xu’s plan had indeed spread far and wide.

“I heard Xu Ting wants you to perform on stage,” Lin Zhe Xia finally got to the point. “Did you reject him?”

Chi Yao hummed in affirmation. “I told him to drain the water from his brain before speaking again.”

Lin Zhe Xia: “Actually, Xu Ting came to me today and asked me to help persuade you.”

Chi Yao picked up a bottle of water, unscrewed the cap, and walked over to her. Surprisingly, instead of rejecting her outright, he asked, “How do you plan to persuade me?”

Lin Zhe Xia blurted out, “A handsome guy like you belongs on stage, admired by everyone.”

“This school anniversary stage would be incomplete without you.”

“If you perform, you’ll be like a ray of winter sunshine or a refreshing summer stream for the audience below.”

Lin Zhe Xia paused. “I’m running out of words. Give me a few minutes to think.”

In truth, her agreement to help Xu Ting stemmed partly from selfishness.

Xu Ting’s remark about “this once-in-a-lifetime youth” had touched her.

She thought of Chi Yao’s fleeting seventeen years.

If he could perform on stage with his friends during high school, it would surely add more memories to his high school life.

With this in mind, she abandoned her flowery rhetoric and spoke sincerely for once. “Besides, I really hope you’ll perform.”

Chi Yao didn’t indicate whether he would agree or not.

He simply held his water bottle, lowered his eyes, concealing his emotions. When he looked up again, he appeared composed, his throat moving slightly as he asked, “... Do you want to see me perform?”

Lin Zhe Xia had the strange feeling that his tone suggested he would agree if she simply said “yes.”

The next moment, Chi Yao revealed his mischievous side.

Looking away, he said, “Then you think about it.”

“...”

The failed persuasion was within Lin Zhe Xia’s expectations.

She wasn’t too disheartened. After returning home, she found Xu Ting’s contact and sent him a message: “Sorry, I couldn’t convince him. Maybe you should find someone else.”

Xu Ting replied quickly, starting with two words and an exclamation mark: “Haha!”

Lin Zhe Xia: “... Are you insane?”

Xu Ting: “Haha! Stop pretending. I’ve already seen through your little scheme.”

Xu Ting: “You’re trying reverse psychology, aren’t you? Pretending you failed so you can surprise me with a twist later.”

Lin Zhe Xia typed slowly: “No, you’re overthinking. I’m not joking with you.”

Before she could send the message, Xu Ting sent over a chat screenshot.

He added: “Surprise! Chi Yao already told me he agreed. You can’t fool me!”

Lin Zhe Xia: “...”

She opened the screenshot.

Most of it consisted of Xu Ting’s rambling, interspersed with bursts of madness: “Please, please perform with me! Pretty please! Pretty please!”

Amidst Xu Ting’s chaotic ranting, the familiar cat-head avatar had replied ten minutes earlier with a single line.

Cat Head: “Sign me up.”

Xu Ting, momentarily confused: “??? Sign up for what?”

Cat Head: “My name.”