Psst! We're moving!
Hong Mao’s phone call exposed the forum matter to Cheng Mi.
A glance at that post made it clear who had posted it. No one but Zheng Hongkai had heard her casually joke about winning over Si Tingyan in thirty days. Of course, his tone was also easy to recognize.
However, this didn’t bother Cheng Mi. She had always pursued Si Tingyan quite openly.
Instead, Hong Mao was even more shocked than she was, the person involved: “Damn it! I just woke up after being drunk, and my phone was blown up by my buddies. What the hell is going on?!”
Cheng Mi had also been drinking tonight and was woken up, causing a discomfort in her temples. She pressed her palm lightly against her temple: “It’s exactly what you saw.”
“No,” Hong Mao said, “You and Li Zhiyu haven’t been together lately. I thought you were genuinely busy, and I didn’t hear about you two having any problems. Li Zhiyu also didn’t say you broke up with him, and he hasn’t even had another girl around. Did I misjudge you, Cheng Mi? How the hell are you pursuing someone else?”
Cheng Mi said: “You should ask Li Zhiyu about this.”
“Ask him what? No, what exactly happened between you two?”
Cheng Mi was too lazy to say: “Go ask him yourself.”
“No, even if something happened between you two, if you absolutely have to pursue another guy, pick one who isn’t a big deal. Why Si Tingyan of all people?”
Cheng Mi said: “I’ll pursue whoever I want.”
“You should be grateful Li Zhiyu is as drunk as a dead man right now, otherwise he would have killed his way to your house already.” Hong Mao still considered Cheng Mi a friend, and felt a headache coming on: “We’re friends, so I’m telling you, this might not end so easily. Tomorrow, you should soften up a bit with Li Zhiyu.”
Cheng Mi’s brain hurt from the noise: “I’m hanging up. I still have exams tomorrow.”
After hanging up, Cheng Mi didn’t go to the forum to see what they were talking about. She went to sleep.
________________________________________
The next day, upon entering the school gate, a barrage of gossipy stares stuck to Cheng Mi.
Whether on the way to eat or in the exam room, Cheng Mi couldn’t escape those eyes all day.
But she didn’t avoid these gazes, continuing to eat and drink as usual.
At 5 PM, the bell rang, the broadcast announced the collection of papers, and after the last exam ended, Cheng Mi was blocked by Qi Yunmiao and her group in the girls’ restroom.
There were a few other girls chatting in the restroom. When they came in, they drove everyone out.
This was a direct confrontation. Before, they had been somewhat restrained, only overtly and covertly playing tricks.
It seemed that the forum’s blatant revelation of Cheng Mi pursuing Si Tingyan today had truly stepped on their toes.
After clearing the room, one girl kicked the girls’ restroom door shut with a bang, the sound echoing in the empty restroom.
There was a row of ventilation windows three or four meters high on the wall opposite the entrance to the girls’ restroom, and the pale gray sunlight fell on the opposite wall.
Cheng Mi only glanced at them when they entered; after that, no matter how much noise they made, she completely ignored them, calmly washing her hands under the faucet.
Seeing her like this, those girls became angry. Before Qi Yunmiao even spoke, one girl rushed at Cheng Mi.
“Stay away from Si Tingyan. If we see you looking for him again, you’re finished, hear me?”
The flames of anger were considerable, filling the entire restroom.
However, Cheng Mi acted as if she hadn’t heard anything, continuing to leisurely wash her hands.
The sound of running water, like stepping on their heads, was particularly harsh in the quiet restroom. The atmosphere suddenly grew tense.
The high-profile arrogance of the delinquent girl was ignored, and conflict was about to erupt. This time it was Fu Shenwei. She already disliked Cheng Mi, and she pushed Cheng Mi: “I’m talking to you, did you hear me?!”
Cheng Mi’s shoulder was pushed backward.
Fu Shenwei’s nail polish hadn’t dried, and with that push, the nail polish smudged onto Cheng Mi’s clothes, leaving an instant black mark on her clean school uniform, emitting a pungent smell of nail polish.
Fu Shenwei also saw the mark on her clothes but didn’t take it seriously.
The other girls, seeing this, all laughed.
Only Qi Yunmiao watched Cheng Mi with a cold and serious expression.
Cheng Mi, though shoved, didn’t lose her temper. After glancing at the black nail polish mark on the shoulder of her school uniform jacket, she raised her hand to pull the zipper.
Fu Shenwei had crossed paths with Cheng Mi before. The last time, when they put toilet water in Cheng Mi’s cup, they had confronted each other directly. Although neither side resorted to physical violence in the end, Fu Shenwei had indeed been momentarily intimidated by Cheng Mi’s aura then.
So, even though Cheng Mi’s expression didn’t look as serious this time, Fu Shenwei couldn’t figure out what she was going to do, and her aggressive posture weakened slightly.
Cheng Mi’s expression was as usual, still lazy, as if she didn’t care much. She took off her school uniform jacket.
Underneath was a black camisole, clinging to her body, with large breasts, a thin waist, and startlingly white skin.
She handed her school uniform jacket to Fu Shenwei: “Take it back and wash it clean for me.”
This group of people was inherently self-righteous and short-tempered.
Fu Shenwei immediately exploded, slapping Cheng Mi’s outstretched school uniform to the ground with a smack.
“Who are you talking to like that? Are you sick?!”
Qi Yunmiao didn’t intervene.
Cheng Mi remained completely composed.
Fu Shenwei, however, was already stomping in anger, and then stepped on her school uniform several times: “Show me how much of a bitch you can be, you fucking—”
As she spoke, she stepped on the school uniform and reached out to push Cheng Mi again: “You bitch—”
Before she could finish, her voice turned into a scream.
Cheng Mi grabbed a handful of her hair, pulling with a force that threatened to rip it from her scalp.
Fu Shenwei’s face contorted in pain.
Cheng Mi dragged her straight to the sink, pressing her neck down forcefully.
This happened so suddenly that by the time the others reacted, Fu Shenwei’s head was already being held under water by Cheng Mi.
Fu Shenwei screamed repeatedly, thrashing in the water.
The girls finally reacted at this point, rushing over to help Fu Shenwei.
“Fuck you! Cheng Mi, are you tired of living? Let her go!”
There was a square pillar next to the sink. Cheng Mi’s body was wedged between the sink and the wall, making it difficult for others to pull her away.
When those girls came cursing, Cheng Mi wasn’t in a hurry. She tightened her grip on Fu Shenwei’s neck, pressing down another inch.
Fu Shenwei struggled even harder.
Cheng Mi’s voice was slow: “If you come any closer, I swear I’ll make her lose her breath.”
“I’ve said my piece. Come closer if you want.”
She spoke with extreme calm and composure. The girls immediately froze, looking at each other.
Only Qi Yunmiao did not. She continued to walk towards them with an ill expression: “You’d better let her go.”
Cheng Mi looked at her, then clicked on her phone, which she had casually taken out earlier, and opened the dialer.
She tapped the screen a few times, pressed the dial button, and put the phone to her ear.
Her movements showed no urgency, maintaining the standoff with the people in front of her.
The call quickly connected. The person on the other end said something, and Cheng Mi’s voice echoed in the restroom: “This is Fengxun.”
Another second of silence.
“Mhm, transfer to the police station for this area.”
Qi Yunmiao finally stopped.
Cheng Mi glanced at her. Indeed, dealing with these delinquent girls still required the help of police officers.
From the very beginning, when these girls started targeting her, Cheng Mi never intended to bother with them.
She didn’t want trouble, wishing for as little as possible, so she treated them like air.
She didn’t care about their curses behind her back, but now these people had threatened her personal safety. They were taking themselves too seriously, thinking she was a pushover, wanting to walk all over her.
Then she wouldn’t be polite anymore.
Cheng Mi’s phone was still on the call.
These girls were still kids after all. As arrogant as they were, they had never been to the station, and they instantly chickened out.
Cheng Mi didn’t even ask them to promise not to lay a hand on her after she released Fu Shenwei.
Because they wouldn’t dare.
Fu Shenwei’s screams were already tinged with cries of pain.
Cheng Mi released her grip, and Fu Shenwei immediately broke free from the water, almost collapsing to the ground.
Qi Yunmiao stared intensely at Cheng Mi, as did her little sisters behind her, glaring at her resentfully.
But no one came closer.
Cheng Mi stood there, calm and composed.
After a while, Qi Yunmiao helped Fu Shenwei up from the ground, her eyes fixed on Cheng Mi, but her words were to her sisters: “Let’s go.”
The restroom door opened, and sparse footsteps left the restroom.
________________________________________
Soon, the restroom returned to its empty quietness.
The call hadn’t ended yet. Cheng Mi suddenly called out to the person on the other end: “Si Tingyan.”
Cheng Mi had not actually dialed 110. She knew those kids would leave if they were just scared; she had predicted this outcome perfectly.
There was no need to be serious and trouble the police to come.
So, she had dialed Si Tingyan’s number from the very beginning.
Cheng Mi asked him: “Why aren’t you speaking?”
Si Tingyan had asked Cheng Mi where she was before, but Cheng Mi was putting on a show for Qi Yunmiao and her group at the time, so she didn’t answer.
Si Tingyan spoke again: “I asked where you are?”
His voice was almost as calm as before, yet for some reason, it made Cheng Mi’s mind pause slightly, as if something that made her spine shiver crawled out of his voice.
A gust of wind blew in from the window, merging with the sound of wind from the call.
Cheng Mi said: “Fifth floor, east side, girls’ restroom.”
The other side didn’t hang up. Cheng Mi stood by the window.
The sound of wind whistled through the receiver.
Cheng Mi imagined Si Tingyan’s current appearance.
In her ear, from the phone, she heard footsteps climbing stairs, and occasional flashes of conversation in the hallway.
The sound of a bell rang from the hallway outside, but Cheng Mi could hear two sounds: one from outside the door, and one from her phone.
She looked up at the doorway.
In less than two seconds, the footsteps from her phone and those from outside the door overlapped.
Si Tingyan appeared at the doorway.
Cheng Mi’s eyes never left the spot, falling accurately on him.
Si Tingyan also stared intently at her.
Cheng Mi noticed Si Tingyan’s chest rising and falling slightly, and she carefully observed his complexion.
Si Tingyan couldn’t run.
His brow subtly twitched, but his complexion showed nothing, still like a thin layer of ice as usual.
Cheng Mi’s shoulders had two thin straps, very white, her two arms completely free of excess fat. Her shoulder blades were not excessively thin, and the beautiful curve of her chest tapered into a flat abdomen.
There was a coolness in the air, touching Cheng Mi’s shoulders.
Like his dark eyes at this moment, it permeated her limbs and bones.
A few strands of hair by Cheng Mi’s cheek were blown by the wind, clinging to her lips. She stood still, neither dodging nor avoiding, watching him and letting him watch her.
Si Tingyan entered from the doorway.
Because Qi Yunmiao and her group had cleared the area earlier, no one dared to come again. There was no one here except the two of them.
Cheng Mi knew that Si Tingyan only entered because he knew there was no one else, but she deliberately said: “This is the girls’ restroom.”
Si Tingyan acted as if he hadn’t heard, walked in, and locked the door.
A crisp click echoed in the empty restroom.
Like a knock on Cheng Mi’s heart.
Then he walked towards her. Cheng Mi didn’t move, just watched him approach.
Si Tingyan came before her. Cheng Mi couldn’t resist touching him.
Even though the weather was cool, she felt a slight warmth all over, wanting to get close to him, to draw in the coldness emanating from his skin.
They were close. Cheng Mi’s hands naturally clasped his waist.
She curved her lips: “Si Tingyan, are you a fox spirit?”
“I haven’t even won you over yet, and you’re already causing me trouble.”
Si Tingyan looked at her.
He didn’t know how Cheng Mi said that.
Cheng Mi was typically the type who was stunning at first glance and grew more beautiful the more you looked at her. No one looked more like a “妖精” (demon/vixen) than her, and it was the kind that, while alluring, also carried an irresistible tenderness.
She didn’t need to do anything; a single look could pull away one’s rationality.
Si Tingyan countered her: “You’re only called a fox spirit if you’ve actually ensnared someone.”
“Isn’t that right, they were all lured by you,” she added, “Including me.”
Si Tingyan’s eyes seemed very deep, hiding something beneath the blackness, staring intently at her.
His voice was a bit cold: “I didn’t lure them.”
As these words fell, Cheng Mi stared intently into his eyes.
“Are you saying you only lure me?”
The surroundings were very quiet, so quiet that one could hear the shouts of basketball players from the court.
Suddenly, Si Tingyan seemed to see something, and his voice became even colder than before: “Who did that?”
Cheng Mi said: “What?”
“On your neck.”
Only when Si Tingyan said that did Cheng Mi realize that the back of her left neck felt a little rough and sore.
It came from her skin and was a bit uncomfortable. She reached out to touch it and found a small bead of blood.
She hadn’t paid much attention to it before; it must have been a scratch she got when she was pushing Fu Shenwei into the sink.
Cheng Mi didn’t mind. Compared to having the other person choked half to death in the sink, she wasn’t losing out at all.
Cheng Mi looked at Si Tingyan’s face, which, though expressionless, clearly conveyed a change in atmosphere.
She provocatively asked him: “What, didn’t you also make my neck red for a week last time?”
That mark had only just faded.
Si Tingyan said: “No one else can.”
“No matter who.”
Only he could.
After Si Tingyan said this, Cheng Mi’s gaze was firmly fixed on him, and time seemed to stretch for a long time.
Her thin lips parted slightly: “Why? Only you can bully me?”
“Si Tingyan, have you forgotten?” Cheng Mi’s nose was very close to his. “Your mother said not to let boys bully you casually.”
Si Tingyan looked at her.
“Meaning, you boys can’t bully me, a girl.”
Cheng Mi also looked into his eyes: “Just like now, you can’t just look at me.”
But the breath from her lips was cut off by Si Tingyan.
“I can.”
Their breaths intertwined.
Cheng Mi still didn’t avert her gaze from his eyes: “Why? Others can’t look, only you can look? Why are you such a hypocrite?”
Another gust of wind came, and a strand of Cheng Mi’s hair hooked onto her eyelashes.
Half-falling, half-staying, like partially disrobed clothing.
Cheng Mi had always thought Si Tingyan’s hands were very beautiful. The lines of his knuckles weren’t rugged to the point of abruptness, yet they still had a good bone structure.
His metacarpals were wide, his fingers long and slender. When he moved his fingertips, two tendons on the back of his hand, between his middle and index fingers, would move, extending all the way to his wrist bone.
At this moment, these fingers brushed against her eyelashes.
He somewhat roughly pushed the stray strand of hair back to the side of her face.
He stared unobstructed into her eyes, yet his tone remained as aloof as ever: “I don’t just look.”
Cheng Mi called him a hypocrite, saying others couldn’t look but only he could.
But what Si Tingyan wanted was more than just looking.
Cheng Mi was not at all surprised that he would say this; her eyes were inviting.
They were two of a kind.
She leaned into him, moving closer to his neck, slightly tilting her chin, and lightly touched his Adam’s apple: “Like this?”
After lighting the fire, she didn’t leave, staying close to his neck, yet maintaining a certain distance.
His Adam’s apple was slightly away from her face. Cheng Mi was suddenly pressed even closer by Si Tingyan, who held the back of her neck.
He looked into her eyes, saying nothing, and buried his face in her neck.
Then Cheng Mi noticed.
Si Tingyan, for some unknown perversion, bit her neck again, right at the scar below her ear.
The mark had just faded.
“Si Tingyan, are you a pervert?”
But despite saying this, Cheng Mi wasn’t repulsed at all; she wrapped her arms around him.
Just as the mood was getting intense, Cheng Mi was suddenly pulled away by Si Tingyan, and a boy’s school uniform jacket was draped over her.
Then, Si Tingyan zipped it all the way up.
Cheng Mi was instantly covered by his clothes, her body still warm: “What do you mean, Si Tingyan?”
Si Tingyan subtly glanced at her neck, then looked away.
Cheng Mi understood. A mark had already been left there.
And Si Tingyan, the one who had just committed this “crime,” showed no hint of lewdness or debauchery on his face.
Cheng Mi didn’t know how Si Tingyan did it.
Unlike him, her eyes and brows probably wouldn’t be presentable to anyone right now.
She felt like she had been played by Si Tingyan; his methods were no less cunning than hers.
“Where did you learn all that?” Cheng Mi asked him.
“Si Tingyan, did you use to like some girl?”
These words made Si Tingyan’s eyes linger on her face for a moment.
Cheng Mi noticed the hint and her gossipy side perked up: “What, is it true?”
Si Tingyan ignored her now, his goal achieved, he turned his back on her and walked out of the restroom.
Cheng Mi asked him: “Where are you going?”
“Class.”
Only then did Cheng Mi remember that students in competitive classes often still had lessons even during exams.
________________________________________
Cheng Mi’s school uniform was dirty and unwearable, so she wore Si Tingyan’s.
His school uniform was larger than hers, the sleeves covering her fingers.
The clothes emanated a sense of cleanliness, which was rare for a boy, and the scent was pleasant and fresh.
When Cheng Mi didn’t wear perfume, she actually smelled the same way; they lived under the same roof and used the same laundry detergent.
She needed to go back to her classroom from the fifth floor and planned to pack her things and head to the hotel. She had an appointment to meet with Director Li Shen’s studio this afternoon.
She still had plenty of time, so Cheng Mi wasn’t in a hurry.
However, on the stairs back to her classroom, she ran into an uninvited guest.
Li Zhiyu was clearly coming for her. He probably hadn’t attended class all day and rushed over after hearing the news, his eyes bloodshot from a hangover.
Cheng Mi didn’t hide, facing him directly, standing still and waiting for him to approach.
Li Zhiyu, in his fury, tried hard to maintain his composure. His brows were furrowed. He stepped up a few stairs with his hands in his pockets, stopped in front of her.
Actually, Li Zhiyu’s feelings for Cheng Mi were similar to hers for him; neither of them cared much for the other. Their relationship was practically dead.
For Li Zhiyu, this girlfriend was just a title; they each lived their own lives.
Being cheated on while still in a relationship, not to mention Cheng Mi’s involvement with Si Tingyan, it was impossible for Li Zhiyu not to be enraged the moment he found out.
He could choose not to mention being cheated on while still in a relationship.
But the fact that Cheng Mi was involved with Si Tingyan—Li Zhiyu couldn’t just let that go.
Although Li Zhiyu had a wild personality, he had been well brought up since childhood, and courtesy was ingrained in him. Even in such a furious state, his tone towards a girl only became a little more subdued.
“Cheng Mi, what do you mean?”
Cheng Mi said: “What do I mean?”
Li Zhiyu: “Don’t play dumb. Why the hell are you messing with Si Tingyan?”
Cheng Mi looked at him for a few seconds, took out her phone, tapped into her photo album, scrolled to a certain picture, and handed it to him.
It was a picture of Li Zhiyu and Chu Xinhe kissing.
“I think we’re done here.”
She said: “I have the freedom to pursue Si Tingyan.”