#52

There were still half an hour before the first evening self-study class began, and since it was winter, many students had already returned to their classrooms. As a result, only two or three students came back from outside every few minutes.

The area near the wall wasn’t drawing much attention anyway.

The girl in the uniform skirt couldn’t contain her speculation any longer. The scene had been beautiful, but she was utterly shocked—what she saw was a real cigarette.

“…I still think you might’ve seen it wrong. Even if he’s a big shot, there’s no way he’d do something like swallowing smoke.”

“This isn’t a TV drama. Why would he swallow smoke? Is he planning to go to the hospital to get his stomach pumped later?”

The girl in the uniform skirt was getting defensive, visibly agitated: “How could I be wrong when I saw it with my own eyes? It was a real cigarette!”

Although the focus should have been on the fact that the two seemed to be kissing, she couldn’t shake off her preoccupation with the idea of him swallowing smoke.

She looked up again and noticed that Chen Yang had already straightened up. As for the cigarette, it was unclear whether he had swallowed it or thrown it away.

The girl in the uniform skirt stared at them for a second, then replied: “Does Chen Yang have some kind of strange fetish?”

Had he gotten so used to swallowing smoke that he didn’t even react?

“I think you’re overthinking it. They were probably just trying to show affection. What you’re imagining is completely unrelated.”

“Wait, showing affection? Does Chen Yang have a girlfriend now?”

“What?!”

The topic finally shifted in the right direction. Dozens of comments flooded in, filled with exclamation marks, question marks, and blackface memes.

It was common knowledge among all the girls in school that Chen Yang was single and that he kept his distance from women. The news spread by the girl in the uniform skirt almost caused an uproar in the small chat group.

“I reread what you said earlier—it really looks like they kissed. Wait, who’s that girl? How brave of her to be with such a big shot?”

In reality, most of the girls were just spectating.

Very few actually wanted to date Chen Yang. Aside from Lin Xinqiao from the past and a handful of other girls who tried to get close to him, the rest were mostly gossip enthusiasts.

They were all afraid of hearing news about Chen Yang beating up a girl one day.

The train of thought of the girl in the uniform skirt was interrupted as well. She also became curious about this topic and secretly glanced over.

This was Le Ya’s first time trying this kind of snack.

It was a type of small biscuit, somewhat similar to the Pocky that Xie Qingyu had given her before. After chewing it for a bit, she finished it—it was crispy.

Le Ya accused him: “You did that on purpose.”

In truth, they hadn’t kissed—they had only touched lips at the end while eating the snack—but it still gave her a thrilling sensation that made her blush and her heart race.

She lightly patted Chen Yang’s chest, then tiptoed to tug on his ear. It felt a little cold but nice overall.

She never would have dared to do something like this before, but now she did.

The girl in the uniform skirt held her breath as she watched.

She quickly sent a voice message: “I just saw the girl pull Chen Yang’s ear, then slap his chest.”

“Oh no, is she dead meat now?”

“If he lays a hand on her, you have to step in and save her!”

The girl in the uniform skirt silently observed as her friends worried about the situation while looking at Chen Yang, who allowed Le Ya to freely touch him, and sighed.

No wonder they were all single.

“…”

Because they were far away, and the lights in the lobby below the teaching building were off, Le Ya had no idea someone was watching them.

Chen Yang looked at her. “Was it tasty?”

Le Ya thought for a moment. “It was alright.”

It was just the appearance that was a bit frightening.

Chen Yang’s lips curled slightly into a smile as he reached out to pinch her earlobe. It was soft and warm, instantly heating up his fingertips.

He teased her: “Shouldn’t you say it was sweet?”

Le Ya answered honestly: “It wasn’t sweet at all.”

Chen Yang: “….”

He paused for a moment, then let out a laugh from deep in his throat, which made Le Ya’s ears twitch. “What’s wrong?”

Chen Yang lazily said: “I just realized how cute you are.”

Perhaps she grew up eating too much ice cream.

Le Ya didn’t understand why the conversation had suddenly shifted to this topic. Politeness dictated she return the compliment: “You’re pretty cute too.”

After saying that, she blinked.

Another blow to Chen Yang’s heart.

The gloominess that had been weighing on him dissipated, replaced by a sense of fulfillment. He truly adored her.

He loved her so much that he felt like he would give her his life if he could.

Life in their final year of high school remained relatively calm. The biggest factor bringing joy to Le Ya outside of her textbooks was Chen Yang’s presence.

Friday evenings were always moments of celebration.

Public schools weren’t allowed to hold weekend classes, so even during this crucial period of their senior year, weekends remained unchanged—except for the mountain of homework.

With ten minutes left in the last class, the classroom had already started to buzz with excitement.

Xie Qingyu messaged Le Ya on WeChat: “Liang Qian invited me to hang out. I suggested hot pot. Do you want to join us? You can bring Chen Yang too.”

Piles of books blocked the teacher’s view.

Le Ya covered for herself: “It should be Liang Qian who invites us, right?”

Xie Qingyu: “Hahahaha, you can’t fool me, Yueya. Don’t you realize how obvious your actions have been these past few days?”

Le Ya touched her face and sighed.

Before she could reply, Xie Qingyu sent over a link: “Check this out. The big shot teaches you how to swallow smoke.”

Le Ya didn’t understand what she meant but clicked on the link anyway.

It led to a post on the school’s forum. The post was from a few days ago, but it had quite a few replies. The first comment already had plenty of likes.

She read through it carefully.

[Explosive: Someone from Class 17 is in a relationship!]

Whether or not it was explosive to others, the title certainly shocked Le Ya. Almost instinctively, she thought of Chen Yang.

Original Poster: “I accidentally passed by the teaching building, then accidentally turned around, and another accident led me to see this person standing with a cute girl. Then they started doing some wild stuff.”

“Who’s ‘someone’?”

“Idiot upstairs, who else could ‘someone’ be besides ‘someone’?”

“I love this kind of post. OP, hurry up and spill the beans. Tell us how they’re dating—I need to see everything before the post gets deleted!”

“I’ll just quietly wait for the post to be deleted.”

Le Ya hadn’t expected something like this to happen. Just how many bad deeds must Chen Yang have done for people to enjoy deleting posts about him?

Original Poster: “Hahahaha, you all probably thought the big shot beat someone up, right? Let me tell you: nope! And guess what—he kissed her!”

Immediately, a flood of shocked reactions followed.

Original Poster: “Do you know how they kissed?”

“Count me in to beat up the OP.”

“OP, if you don’t speak up soon, you won’t be able to keep this post alive.”

“Respect to OP for surviving while gossiping.”

Original Poster: “Before this post gets deleted, I have to shout it out loud: I SAW IT! Unless you gouge out my eyes, I’m telling everyone what happened!”

Original Poster: “So, this guy took out a cigarette, stuck it in the girl’s mouth, then leaned in and kissed her. Yes, you heard me right—he kissed her! Even big shots who swallow smoke kiss!”

“Holy crap, respect to the big shot.”

“What can’t this big shot do?”

“I think he really swallowed the smoke—I mean, didn’t the OP say they saw it with their own eyes?”

“They’re dating, but who’s the other person?”

“So what if the big shot swallows smoke? It’s a special skill to scare off those little losers outside!”

“Swallowing smoke??? Could this be how kisses in novels taste like tobacco?”

Original Poster: “Hehe, you think that’s all the wild stuff? Next, the girl punched him lightly, then pinched his ear. But this guy didn’t move at all, letting her do whatever she wanted. Clearly, he’s head over heels for her—if he weren’t, he would’ve flipped her over by now.”

Original Poster: “This teaches us that no matter how powerful a big shot is, when it comes to love, they’ll throw caution to the wind. Swallowing smoke? Getting hit? Who cares!”

Original Poster: “Alright, after much affection between these two lovebirds, it seems like they’re about to head back. I’m out too. That person really is good-looking—no wonder all the teachers adore him.”

…

Le Ya was utterly dumbfounded.

It had been such a simple thing, but after their discussion, it seemed so strange and thrilling.

Most importantly, the phrase “swallowing smoke” was just hilarious.

If you didn’t know better, you’d think it was an actual cigarette. She also found herself laughing at the misunderstanding.

If Chen Yang were to see this post, he’d probably be both amused and exasperated.

She couldn’t understand why everyone in school had such bizarre speculations about Chen Yang. Even before she knew him, she thought he was different.

But after truly getting to know him, she realized he was actually quite nice.

There was no denying Chen Yang’s good looks, but the teachers loved him more for his outstanding academic performance.

Her phone vibrated, and Xie Qingyu’s message popped up: “So? Does our little cutie who ‘swallowed smoke’ have anything to say?”

Le Ya replied: “Stop talking nonsense.”

Xie Qingyu: “How is this nonsense? There’s a post with evidence—you can’t argue your way out of this, trust me.”

Le Ya changed the subject: “What’s going on with you and Liang Qian?”

Seeing her close to being embarrassed, Xie Qingyu stifled a laugh. There was nothing between her and Liang Qian—they were just friends for now.

After getting to know him, she realized he wasn’t the stereotypical delinquent.

Just as Xie Qingyu was about to reply, the bell rang, signaling the end of class. The teacher’s voice came from the podium: “Class dismissed.”

Cheers erupted throughout the classroom.

Xie Qingyu stopped typing and patted Le Ya’s shoulder: “Let’s go. Let’s go eat hot pot, okay? I’ve already made plans with Liang Qian.”

Hot pot was always the best comfort food in winter.

Le Ya was tempted and agreed: “Okay.”

As Xie Qingyu packed up her things, she reminded her: “Don’t forget to bring Chen Yang along.”

Le Ya: “….”

Fine. She put down her test paper and sent a message directly to Chen Yang, quickly receiving an affirmative response.

Le Ya said: “He’ll come.”

“That fast?” Xie Qingyu was surprised. “Instant reply, huh?”

Le Ya explained: “Maybe because he happened to be on his phone.”

Xie Qingyu didn’t buy it.

A snowfall earlier that morning had melted by noon, leaving puddles of water on the ground around campus.

When the two girls exited the classroom, they saw Chen Yang, Liang Qian, and Zhao Mingri standing in the hallway. Zhao Mingri waved at them.

Liang Qian glanced over and flattered Le Ya: “Wow, Le Ya, your outfit today is so cute. Is that… little strawberries?”

Xie Qingyu rolled her eyes. “Enough with your rainbow compliments.”

“It’s true,” Liang Qian retorted. “Don’t you think it’s cute? I bet you can’t appreciate this kind of cuteness.”

Xie Qingyu spat at him mockingly.

Today, Le Ya was wearing a knitted cardigan with scattered holes adorned with small patterns—it looked incredibly sweet.

She was naturally petite, and the oversized sweater made her look even more delicate, like a well-behaved girl who would get exposed if she did anything mischievous.

Le Ya exchanged a glance with Chen Yang but said nothing.

After all, they were technically in a secret relationship. Although their classmates had figured it out, admitting it aloud felt completely different—and a bit embarrassing.

Fortunately, no one at school knew it was her.

Le Ya pursed her lips and softly asked: “Did I mention we’re going for hot pot? Have you guys decided on a place yet?”

Liang Qian grinned: “I’m treating today.”

The group turned toward the stairs. Le Ya fell behind, walking almost side by side with Chen Yang.

Chen Yang tilted his face to look at her tense expression and flickered his gaze. He pulled his hand out of his pocket and reached for hers.

Lost in thought, Le Ya suddenly felt her hand being touched.

Startled, she quickly glanced at the three people ahead, who were discussing whether there should be more vegetarian or meat options in the hot pot. None of them noticed what was happening behind them.

Relieved, Le Ya curled her fingers slightly.

Holding hands secretly behind their backs felt like sneaking around in class to avoid the teacher’s notice.

They say you can feel someone’s heartbeat through their hands. Le Ya thought she could sense it, though she wasn’t sure if it was hers or his.

It was a thrilling sweetness.

The motion-sensor lights in the stairwell flickered on and off. They walked slowly until they reached the first floor, where Liang Qian suddenly turned his head: “Yan Ge, what do you think…”

Le Ya quickly pulled her hand back.

Chen Yang: “….”

He sighed but remained calm.

Liang Qian felt his life expectancy might have shortened. He awkwardly laughed and quickly turned his head, silently mourning himself.

Why had he been so careless and turned around at such a moment? And worse, he caught the two holding hands, and the big brother’s hand had even been yanked away.

With the big brother’s dignity damaged, what was he supposed to do?

As soon as they entered the lobby, the motion-sensor lights dimmed.

Chen Yang tilted his head to look at her. In the interplay of light and shadow, her skin seemed translucent. The more he looked, the more he wanted to touch her, to pinch her cheeks.

He felt a bit perverted.

Chen Yang shifted his gaze, moved closer, cleared his throat, and called out earnestly: “Le Ya.”

“Hmm?”

Le Ya looked up at him, her bright eyes immediately meeting his.

Chen Yang’s gaze lingered on her vivid lips, narrowed slightly, then shifted away. He bent down slightly and said, “Are you acting like some kind of seasoned underground revolutionary?”

Le Ya opened her mouth: “Huh?”

Her pretty, pointed chin lifted slightly.

Chen Yang said: “Otherwise, why are you so afraid of holding hands in public?”

Le Ya: “….”