SC - 28

Thankfully, the doll was on the table because Liang Qian’s shock caused the magnifying glass to tremble. If it had fallen, he’d have no one to cry to.

Liang Qian pretended to put away the magnifying glass, turned around, and smiled. “It looks great—how could it not?”

Chen Yang remained noncommittal as he pulled out his chair and sat down.

“There are words on it, Brother Yang. Did you see them?” Zhao Mingri asked curiously. “They’re on the feet.”

Chen Yang pinched the doll between his fingers, turning it upside down toward himself.

Indeed, there were two tiny characters—too small to see with the naked eye.

The light streaming in illuminated Chen Yang’s clear eyes.

Liang Qian handed over the magnifying glass. “Here, use this—you’ll definitely be able to read what’s written.”

Chen Yang didn’t move. Calmly, he slipped the doll into his pocket. “No time to look—it’s almost class time.”

Liang Qian: “… “

Why did those words sound so awkward coming from him?

During class, Liang Qian and Zhao Mingri exchanged notes. “Why isn’t he curious about what’s written? It doesn’t make sense.”

Shouldn’t he thoroughly examine something handmade by a girl he’s interested in?

Zhao Mingri replied, “Maybe he already knows.”

Liang Qian immediately understood.

Perhaps Chen Yang had already examined it earlier when they weren’t looking—or maybe Le Ya had told him directly.

And here they were, looking foolish and stupid.

“Liang Qian, Zhao Mingri, since you two are chatting so happily, why don’t you stand up and explain this problem to everyone?”

Zhou Mingchun’s voice abruptly woke them both.

Liang Qian wiped his forehead. Why was he so unlucky? Even passing notes under the desk got noticed—did the homeroom teacher have eagle eyes?

Zhao Mingri whispered, “Which problem?”

Liang Qian subtly shook his head.

Both stood up, heads bowed, staring at their desks.

Just as they prepared for Zhou Mingchun’s scathing critique, a test paper was suddenly slapped onto Liang Qian’s desk. He immediately perked up.

He read aloud the circled answer on the paper.

After listening, Zhou Mingchun sneered. “So you got this question right? I didn’t notice while grading.”

Liang Qian shamelessly replied, “I corrected it.”

Zhou Mingchun naturally understood what happened but was stunned by his audacity. “Both of you sit down. If you whisper again, you’ll stand at the back.”

He certainly knew whose test paper it was.

Liang Qian happily sat back down, returning the test paper to Chen Yang. “Thanks, Brother Yang. You’re in a good mood today.”

Chen Yang took back the test paper, expressionless.

Liang Qian rested his chin and zoned out for a moment, then wondered why Chen Yang was acting so unusually today. Normally, he’d just let him answer on his own, only hinting at which question.

Could it be that he was in an exceptionally good mood today?

________________________________________

After class, Zhou Mingchun didn’t leave immediately. Instead, he said, “Chen Yang, Liang Qian, Zhao Mingri—come to my office.”

Then he left the classroom first.

Liang Qian groaned, “Again?”

Zhao Mingri guessed, “Do you think it’s about the cafeteria incident at noon?”

There were so many people in the cafeteria—it was impossible to hide. Many recognized them, so it was natural for the homeroom teacher to find out.

But given the circumstances, surely they could explain.

________________________________________

Le Ya and Xie Qingyu were also called to the office.

Teacher Jiang asked, “Someone reported what happened at noon. What exactly occurred? Explain carefully—how did it escalate physically?”

There were no surveillance cameras in the cafeteria; this report came from inside.

Xie Qingyu explained, “Could it be that the guy complained? He cut in line, and we confronted him. Who knew he’d try to hit us? Fortunately, another guy passed by and helped us.”

Le Ya nodded. “Mm, they didn’t fight.”

Teacher Jiang asked, “Really? Are you two okay?”

Le Ya instinctively masked some emotions. “We’re fine. He didn’t hit us—someone stopped him just in time.”

Teacher Jiang asked a few more details.

As they exited the office, Xie Qingyu said, “This really owes thanks to Chen Yang and the others. We were called in by the teacher—they must have been too.”

Just then, they saw the red-haired and yellow-haired boys pass by in the opposite corridor.

Liang Qian waved at them.

Not too far away, Le Ya saw Chen Yang walking ahead of them, his school uniform unzipped, exuding a calm and indifferent demeanor.

When he looked over, Le Ya quickly averted her gaze.

By afternoon, the news had spread throughout the school.

The school didn’t have many events to begin with, but this incident—both cathartic and audacious—quickly spread like wildfire. Someone even filmed a video, which was secretly shared among students.

However, the footage only captured side profiles, not clear frontal views.

Class One students easily recognized Le Ya and Xie Qingyu, and upon seeing Chen Yang’s handsome profile, girls crowded around after class to ask questions.

“That guy is so hot! Le Ya, do you know his name?”

“What exactly happened in the cafeteria?”

“Did he really just throw the tray like that? Did they end up fighting, or did it just fizzle out?”

“Do you know that guy, Le Ya?”

The windows next to Le Ya were pushed open, and heads popped in to ask questions, startling her.

Xie Qingyu quickly summarized the situation. “Ugh, it was all because of someone cutting in line. It wasn’t a big deal, and no one fought. Why are all of you so obsessed?”

Someone replied, “Because we saw a hot guy!”

“Seeing him doesn’t mean anything,” Xie Qingyu rolled her eyes. “You can try running into him at the cafeteria—it’s all about looks these days.”

A girl chimed in, “We’re just admiring his looks! But honestly, his actions were beyond cool. If I were Le Ya, I’d totally chase him!”

Hearing this, Xie Qingyu knew Le Ya had thin skin and shooed everyone away.

At this moment, Su Hui, sitting in front of them, turned around, cupping her face. “A man’s wrath for the sake of a woman—I thought such scenes only existed in novels.”

Le Ya’s face flushed. “Don’t talk nonsense.”

Su Hui said, “I’m not. Every word I say is true. Even though I couldn’t see his expression, I’m sure he was angry. I’ve studied facial expressions from TV dramas—his clenched jaw and movements clearly showed anger.”

She blinked as she spoke.

Le Ya didn’t deny it further. “Maybe he saw someone hitting a girl.”

Su Hui pouted. “Whatever you say, then.”

Le Ya rested her cheek on her hand and turned to look outside the window. People bustled past the corridor opposite, but she couldn’t see inside the classrooms unless she used binoculars.

After a moment of thought, she suddenly shocked herself.

She slapped her cheeks lightly. What was she thinking?

Le Ya sighed. Seeing that the water in her cup had mostly cooled, she stood up and said, “I’m going to get some water.”

Xie Qingyu waved her off. “Go ahead.”

Just before class started, the water dispenser room was empty.

Le Ya filled her cup halfway, as filling it too much would make it too cold to drink later, which would be wasteful.

As she turned around, Chen Yang was standing behind her.

Le Ya clutched her chest. “Why didn’t you make any noise?”

Even her scolding sounded soft and sweet.

Chen Yang replied, “You didn’t hear anything yourself.”

Le Ya nodded. Fair enough—it was her fault for not hearing.

Chen Yang stepped closer to fill his own cup and asked, “What did those tiny characters say on the bottom of the ceramic doll you gave me at noon?”

Le Ya stared at his slightly bent back. “Nothing was written.”

It truly was nothing—only her name.

Chen Yang straightened up and turned around, narrowing his eyes.

The bell rang just then. Le Ya said, “I need to go. You should hurry back to class too.”

She turned and started to leave, but Chen Yang’s gaze lingered.

His expression hardened as he reached out, grabbing her wrist and pulling her back into the water dispenser room.

Her slender wrist was loosely held, leaving more than a finger’s gap between his hand and her skin.

Le Ya held her cup, completely caught off guard. Her feet stumbled, nearly causing her to fall into Chen Yang’s arms.

“What are you doing?” She exclaimed, quickly stepping back after steadying herself, ready to leave the water dispenser room—but he pulled her back again.

Chen Yang said, “Take off your uniform.”

Le Ya thought she misheard. “What?”

Chen Yang let go of her hand and repeated, “Take off your uniform.”

His tone was casual, but to Le Ya, it carried an unintended implication. She crossed her arms protectively over her chest.

Le Ya was frightened. “Don’t do anything strange.”

She felt utterly innocent and took another step back. “In broad daylight, don’t do anything inappropriate—we’re still students.”

Chen Yang sighed. “What are you thinking?”

Le Ya reflected on herself, feeling she hadn’t done anything wrong.

Dragging her into the small confines of the water dispenser room without explanation and asking her to take off her clothes—anyone would find it suspicious.

Chen Yang noticed her wary gaze and proceeded to take off his own uniform, revealing the T-shirt underneath.

Le Ya watched his hands emerge from beneath the uniform—long, clean fingers.

She felt a bit scared and lowered her head. “Let’s talk this out.”

Why was he taking off clothes?

Chen Yang chuckled at the multitude of thoughts racing through her mind. He reminded her, “Didn’t you feel something strange on the back of your uniform?”

Le Ya froze.

She glanced back but couldn’t see anything. She tentatively touched it and found it sticky and wet. Her fingertips came away with a faint red tinge.

Le Ya’s entire face turned as red as a freshly boiled shrimp.

She hadn’t expected something like this to happen. After saying so much earlier, she felt like she’d lost all dignity in one fell swoop.

When Chen Yang spoke again, she didn’t dare to jump to conclusions.

Slowly, Le Ya removed her uniform, revealing the delicate and expensive outfit underneath. She hugged her uniform and asked, “What now? Should I tie it here?”

She unfolded her uniform, preparing to tie it around her waist.

Before she could touch her waist, the uniform in her hands was snatched away. A moment later, another piece of clothing was draped over her head, plunging her world into darkness.

Le Ya hurriedly pushed it aside, only to find herself staring at Chen Yang’s chest.

Her face immediately flushed crimson.

Chen Yang remained silent, forcefully grabbing her arm and guiding it through the sleeves. In the blink of an eye, he had her wearing his uniform.

Le Ya was still in a daze.

Her uniform had been a bit long, and when she sat down, the hem had brushed against something. The fabric was light-colored, making the stain painfully obvious.

The boys’ uniforms were large, and she had to roll up the cuffs. On her petite frame, it nearly reached her thighs, resembling a dress.

Le Ya could smell the faint, pleasant fragrance from lunch.

It wasn’t overpowering—just a subtle, comforting scent.

Chen Yang paused while zipping up the collar to her clavicle, his gaze dark and unreadable, before pulling it all the way up.

Le Ya quickly said, “Ah, not so tight.”

Chen Yang narrowed his eyes, watching her lower the zipper slightly, revealing a hint of her delicate collarbone.

After a long moment, Le Ya finally looked up. “Thank you. I’ll return your clothes tomorrow—I’ll wash them.”

She spoke earnestly, completely unaware of the subtext.

Her clear, innocent gaze paired with her naive expression—and completely oblivious allure—was incredibly captivating.

Chen Yang felt a shadow of darkness creep over him.

He shifted his gaze, only to have it return to her hands. Awkwardly, he reached out. “Give me your cup.”

Le Ya obediently handed it over, curious. “What are you going to do?”

Chen Yang took it, poured out half the hot water, added some cold water, and said, “Hold out your hand.”

Le Ya dutifully extended her hand.

Chen Yang grabbed it, rinsing it under the water to wash away the faint bloodstains on her fingertips.

His fingers intertwined with her pale ones, the warm water leaving a tingling sensation that felt almost electrifying.

Le Ya’s heart raced, and she instinctively curled her fingers.

Every sensation traveled from her fingertips straight to her heart.

It wasn’t until Chen Yang’s voice brought her back to reality—soft, as if whispering by her ear—”Done.”