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The bell for the third evening study session hadn’t rung yet.

The boys in Class 17 were all gathered in the last row, playing mobile games and watching videos. There was a live broadcast of a gaming tournament happening recently, and they were enjoying it to the fullest, occasionally shouting out loud.

As for using mobile data, that wasn’t an issue at all.

Chen Yang pushed open the back door of the classroom and walked straight in, sitting down at his seat and flipping open a half-written test paper.

“Who’s this? This isn’t a seat you can just take—”

Liang Qian was in the middle of a game, right at the critical moment of wiping out the opposing team. He felt someone sit down beside him and, without looking up, immediately spoke to stop them.

When he didn’t hear the person leave, he impatiently raised his head, only to see Chen Yang. He immediately quieted down and asked, “Brother Yang, you’re back? Everything okay?”

To be honest, tonight he was genuinely worried something might happen. Uncle Chen’s personality was extreme—he spent the whole day yelling at people.

Chen Yang said, “It’s nothing.”

Liang Qian heard the normal tone of his voice and didn’t suspect anything.

He lowered his head to continue gaming while saying, “Today I encountered some elementary schoolers in the game—it made me so mad. The noobs kept feeding the enemy…”

Once or twice was tolerable, but when it kept happening, it really got on his nerves.

Liang Qian truly missed playing games with Chen Yang. They always dominated effortlessly, even if there were noobs on their team, they still carried the entire match.

Wu Yami, who was seated in front, heard the commotion and prepared herself. She picked up the test paper that had been handed out tonight and turned around.

“Chen Yang, I don’t understand this question. Can you explain it to me…?” Her words stopped halfway.

Wu Yami was astonished. “You’re injured?”

She happened to see his face directly—the band-aid on his right cheek was clearly visible, and she could even see a bit of the wound near his eye.

Liang Qian immediately lifted his head. “Injured? Where?”

Zhao Mingri also leaned over, concerned. “Brother Yang, where are you hurt? Should we go get it checked?”

Both of them were sitting on the left side. Since Chen Yang didn’t turn his head, they couldn’t see the wound on his right cheek.

Chen Yang calmly replied, “Just a small wound. It’ll be fine by tomorrow.”

He slightly turned his head to let them see a bit, then turned back, picking out the big questions on the test paper to start writing.

Liang Qian and Zhao Mingri breathed a sigh of relief.

Judging from Chen Yang’s demeanor, it indeed didn’t seem serious. Moreover, he was wearing a band-aid instead of gauze, indicating it wasn’t too bad.

Wait… a band-aid?

Zhao Mingri was the first to react. “Where did Brother Yang buy this band-aid? It has little patterns on it?”

He remembered that the ones in the infirmary weren’t so girly. How did this band-aid end up with two white bears holding bread…

Zhao Mingri realized that the band-aid looked quite out of place on Chen Yang’s face.

And yet, strangely, it didn’t feel wrong.

This must be the power of being a big shot.

Liang Qian said, “Should I go to the infirmary and get some iodine to clean it?”

Chen Yang, unconcerned, flipped the test paper over. “No need.”

Liang Qian shrugged. Alright, if the big shot said no need, then no need.

Wu Yami took a deep breath and asked again, “Chen Yang, I don’t know how to do this question. Can you explain it to me?”

Chen Yang glanced up, then lowered his eyes again.

Seeing this reaction, and realizing that none of them had paid attention to her from start to finish, Wu Yami bit her lip and turned back around.

Truthfully, she had expected this outcome. After all, it had been more than a semester. But she always held onto a sliver of hope.

Sitting in front of him for so long, why hadn’t it made any difference?

Her eyes flickered as she pulled out her phone and sent a message to Lin Xinqiao: “Chen Yang is injured.”

The reply came instantly: “Where is he injured?”

Wu Yami smiled faintly. She couldn’t bear to suffer alone. Besides, wasn’t Lin Xinqiao pursuing him? Let her try her luck.

“On his face.”

Lin Xinqiao: “I see.”

Wu Yami wasn’t close to Lin Xinqiao. They only became acquaintances because Lin Xinqiao, in her pursuit of Chen Yang, had given Wu Yami a bag since she sat in front of him. That’s how they added each other as friends.

Coming from an ordinary family, the bag Lin Xinqiao gave her wasn’t very expensive, but it cost a few hundred yuan, which was quite impressive to her.

Occasionally informing her about things like this was her way of reciprocating.

Right after the third evening study session ended, Lin Xinqiao appeared outside the back window of Class 17, lightly tapping on the glass.

Wu Yami casually opened it.

Lin Xinqiao was wearing a dress today. Even though it was cold, her exposed arms were still drawing attention.

She immediately looked toward the last row and, upon seeing that Chen Yang wasn’t there, asked, “Liang Qian, where’s Chen Yang?”

Liang Qian casually replied, “I don’t know.”

During break time, Chen Yang wouldn’t bother telling them where he was going.

Lin Xinqiao didn’t ask further and waited outside.

Occasionally, Wu Yami would exchange a few words with her.

After waiting for several minutes, with class about to start and Chen Yang still not back, Lin Xinqiao grew impatient.

She took out something from her pocket and instructed, “Liang Qian, when Chen Yang comes back, tell him it’s from me.”

Liang Qian put down his phone and looked over.

On the desk were band-aids, iodine, cotton swabs—all the basic items needed for treating a wound.

Liang Qian glanced at Lin Xinqiao. “No.”

He placed the items back on the windowsill.

If Chen Yang returned and saw unfamiliar things, especially from a girl, on his desk, he’d get angry.

Lin Xinqiao’s expression soured.

The bell for class rang just then.

Liang Qian spotted Chen Yang’s figure appearing from the corridor and chuckled. “Your band-aids aren’t cute or girly enough. Our Brother Yang won’t use them.”

He pointed to the one on Chen Yang’s face.

Lin Xinqiao followed the direction of his finger. Just then, Chen Yang passed by her with his hands in his pockets and entered the classroom.

“See that? That’s what a cute, girly band-aid looks like,” Zhao Mingri said. “Miss Lin, you lack girlish charm.”

Lin Xinqiao began to feel that her band-aids were indeed plain.

She picked up the items from the windowsill and softened her voice. “Chen Yang, I heard you’re injured, so I brought you some things.”

Chen Yang flicked his eyelids but didn’t say anything.

Lin Xinqiao thought she was making progress and was about to hand them over when that distinctively jointed hand abruptly closed the window.

All external sounds were instantly cut off.

Honestly, it was rude, but both Liang Qian and Zhao Mingri had anticipated this outcome, which was why they had warned her earlier.

Such was Chen Yang’s nature.

Even in this situation, Lin Xinqiao felt somewhat embarrassed. After lingering for half a minute, she took her things and left.

Liang Qian watched her leave and said, “She came to deliver band-aids. Do you still need any, Brother Yang?”

The Chinese teacher on the podium had already sat down and was reminding them not to talk, even calling out a few names.

Chen Yang leaned against the wall. “No.”

He took another band-aid out of his pocket. This one was black, different from the white one on his face, but from the same series—only one bear.

Liang Qian stroked his chin.

He really was impressive, unknowingly making Chen Yang accept something like that. Just who exactly was this person…

A name suddenly surfaced in her mind.

The last evening study session was the homeroom teacher’s class.

Teacher Jiang had an announcement to make and brought over some documents. “Starting this week, we’ll begin selecting students for financial aid. Each dormitory will nominate one person to join the selection committee. Those who wish to apply should submit their applications. There will be a class vote, followed by further evaluation.”

Financial aid recipients were selected every semester.

Teacher Jiang handled it this way every year. Although some students had objections, voicing them wouldn’t change anything because the process was still relatively fair.

However, the applicants always caused a bit of chaos.

At the start of freshman year, there was even a student wearing designer brands who applied. Their application was well-written but entirely fabricated.

Things improved later on, especially with additional documentation requirements, which significantly reduced the number of applicants.

Le Ya never participated in these activities and had never submitted an application. Though she didn’t explicitly say so, everyone knew about her family situation.

Xie Qingyu nudged her back and whispered, “Zhou Xiaoqing will definitely submit another application. She’s been doing this for two years now—doesn’t she have any sense of shame?”

Since each dormitory had representatives, she naturally knew all the gossip.

Every year during the financial aid application process, Zhou Xiaoqing would submit the same application, continuing to do so even after being rejected semester after semester without changing a single word.

Though she was never selected, her persistence was quite audacious.

Xie Qingyu rolled her eyes. “Le Ya, it was clever of you not to tell her anything today. Let her suffer a little.”

Le Ya helplessly shook her head.

Xie Qingyu, impatient, moved on to another topic. “By the way, you still don’t know the name of that guy? You didn’t even ask anything.”

This was someone who had helped them, yet they hadn’t asked a single question.

Le Ya felt a bit ashamed. “I keep forgetting.”

Each time, the person did something unexpected, and by the end, she completely forgot to ask his name. Plus, tonight, he hadn’t mentioned it either.

Whether or not he was Chen Yang was still uncertain.

As soon as she finished speaking, Zhou Xiaoqing turned around from the front, gritting her teeth. “Xie Qingyu, are you talking bad about me again?”

Xie Qingyu retorted, “Don’t flatter yourself. I’m just speaking the truth.”

Just then, the classroom buzzed with chatter, masking their conversation until Teacher Jiang banged on the desk. “Quiet.”

Le Ya said, “Just let it go.”

It was Zhou Xiaoqing’s own choice to apply. Whether she got selected or not was her own business. The evaluators and she herself should both be aware of the reality.

As soon as the bell rang, the classroom erupted into chaos.

Teacher Jiang didn’t linger, leaving immediately with her books. As soon as she stepped out, someone shouted, “Hurry up!”

Zhou Xiaoqing came over with her bag. “Were you just talking about me?”

“Paranoid much,” Xie Qingyu rolled her eyes. “Who’s talking about you?”

When Zhou Xiaoqing had asked during class, they had already changed the topic. If she had asked a moment earlier, they might have been talking about her, but not anymore.

Le Ya said, “She wasn’t talking about you.”

“You’re both in cahoots—everyone knows that.” Zhou Xiaoqing snapped, “If I hear it again, I’ll make sure you regret it.”

Xie Qingyu snickered.

Who would make whom regret it was uncertain—it was all just empty talk.

Just as Zhou Xiaoqing was about to confront Xie Qingyu, a girl behind her exclaimed, “Ah, hurry! There’s a hot guy over there! Zhou Xiaoqing, what are you doing?”

Hearing this, Zhou Xiaoqing’s attention shifted entirely.

They moved so quickly that even Xie Qingyu became curious about this supposed handsome guy. “Let’s go take a look too.”

Before Le Ya could even pack her books, she was dragged away by Xie Qingyu.

Zhou Xiaoqing and her group had already secured the best spot, staring intently and even preparing to approach him.

And indeed, it was him.

Though Le Ya had guessed, seeing him in person still came as a surprise.

Not too far away, she could still see the band-aid she had applied on his right cheek.

The feeling was strange.

Perhaps sensing the intense gaze, Chen Yang directly turned his head and caught her.

Even with something on his face, he still looked good. Under the lights, it was like admiring a beauty through clouds—a stunning sight.

Le Ya didn’t expect to be caught red-handed while sneaking a peek. Her face flushed slightly, and she quickly averted her eyes.

Zhou Xiaoqing blushed. “He’s looking at us.”

She had been planning to “accidentally” bump into him and casually ask about his class, but she hadn’t managed to encounter him until tonight.

Xie Qingyu burst out laughing. “How funny. Who’s looking at you? He probably doesn’t even remember what you look like.”

Le Ya tugged at her sleeve.

When she looked up again, the person was already gone. That brief glance felt almost like an illusion.

Le Ya went back to pack her things, then left with Xie Qingyu.

After that incident, there weren’t many people left in the school. Some classrooms were already completely dark.

Xie Qingyu was still thinking about what had happened, constantly ranting about Zhou Xiaoqing, then switching to other topics.

After rambling for a while, she suddenly exclaimed, “Why does that thing on his face look so familiar?”

Le Ya’s heart skipped a beat, and she didn’t dare say anything.

Xie Qingyu narrowed her eyes, turning to the person beside her who was looking down. “Yueya, if I’m not mistaken, that’s your band-aid, isn’t it?”

Seeing no way to deny it, Le Ya softly hummed in agreement.

Xie Qingyu said, “No way, such a coincidence?”

Going out to fetch a lesson plan and running into him twice—she began to suspect whether he had planned it all along.

Le Ya sighed. “Let’s not talk about this.”

“No, no, I won’t say anything.” Xie Qingyu pushed everything to the back of her mind and picked up her phone to play with it. “My brother’s coming to pick me up. What about you?”

Le Ya checked her phone. “My family is picking me up too.”

She hadn’t checked her phone all evening, and her notification bar was filled with messages. She prepared to delete them all at once but paused when she saw the content.

She grabbed Xie Qingyu’s arm.

Xie Qingyu looked suspicious. “What’s wrong? Why are you so excited?”

She suddenly thought of something and leaned over slyly, asking, “Did something amazing happen? Tell me quick.”

Without saying a word, Le Ya showed her the phone screen.

The logistics updates indicated that all the packages had arrived.