SW - 40

Her voice, like a soft breath, teased at his nerves.

The scenes from last night flooded back.

Lu Chi’s throat bobbed. With his left hand, he pulled open the window, letting the cold air rush in and instantly clear his mind. He closed his eyes.

It was snowing again outside. Snowflakes drifted in with the wind, landing on his face, melting into tiny droplets of water.

After a moment, he opened his eyes.

Lu Chi turned his head and met Tang Yin’s magnified face. He leaned back slightly, shaking his head as he softly replied, “No.”

Tang Yin didn’t speak. She reached out to touch him again.

Unsurprisingly, she missed once more, this time noticing Lu Chi’s frown.

Lu Chi stood up, packed his things, pushed his chair aside, and walked straight out of the classroom, leaving Tang Yin behind.

Tang Yin’s eyes widened.

She hadn’t expected Lu Chi to react this way.

But right now, she was furious—absolutely furious.

Especially with how he was avoiding her like the plague. It was just a wet dream, after all. She’d had them before too, and they were even about Lu Chi.

Tang Yin sat back down and kicked Lu Chi’s chair.

Lu Ye had forgotten something in the classroom and returned from outside. Seeing Lu Chi standing in the corridor, he asked, “Why are you leaving so late? I thought I saw Tang Yin leave with you earlier. Isn’t Miss Boss walking home with you today?”

Lu Chi glanced at him and walked past without uttering a word.

Lu Ye: “… “

What a waste of breath.

Though he understood jealousy, this behavior made him want to punch someone. Lu Chi was becoming more and more infuriating.

He entered the classroom and saw Tang Yin leaning back in her chair.

“I just ran into Lu Chi outside.”

Tang Yin ignored him.

Seeing both of their reactions, Lu Ye sighed. “Ah, don’t couples fight all the time? You know Lu Chi’s personality—he’s just being awkward.”

Though he said this, he still thought there was something wrong with Lu Chi.

It was just a wet dream. He himself had countless wet dreams, and every time he wanted to relive them—not act like this.

Tang Yin glared at him and left the classroom.

Everyone in the dorm was outside.

Tang Ming was the first to return. As soon as he turned around, he saw Lu Chi washing his hands in the washroom.

The school’s washroom was located outside the restroom, separated by a partition, so they always referred to it as the restroom for convenience.

A few minutes later, when Tang Ming went to wash his cup, he saw Lu Chi still there, not changing his posture at all.

Unable to help himself, he spoke, “I saw you washing your hands last night, and now you’re washing again. You’ve been at it for several minutes. What’s going on?”

Lu Chi’s hand froze.

Tang Ming, oblivious, continued, “If you’re really feeling unwell, go to the infirmary. If you keep washing, you’ll rub off a layer of skin. Plus, you have a cold. Washing with cold water is just asking for trouble.”

With that, he left the washroom.

Lu Chi stood alone for a long while, then rotated his hand, which had turned red.

Since noon, Tang Ming felt as though he were living in a cold atmosphere.

It started when Tang Yin moved her desk directly next to Lu Ye’s.

For example, during class, he always noticed the teacher staring at him. Thinking he had done something wrong, he became apprehensive until he realized the teacher was actually looking at Lu Chi.

Later, during breaks, if he asked Lu Chi a question, he had to repeat it several times before Lu Chi responded.

All these signs were extremely strange.

Lu Ye’s behavior was also odd. Suddenly, his relationship with Tang Yin had skyrocketed. They listened attentively in class, but during breaks, they either chatted or left the classroom together.

It felt like he was the only normal person left.

Unable to bear it, Tang Ming found Lu Ye and said, “Stop hanging out with Tang Yin. Every time you do, Lu Chi gets upset.”

When Lu Chi was upset, he wouldn’t explain problems to him.

But Lu Ye smiled. “That’s exactly what I want—to make him upset.”

Otherwise, how would he get Lu Chi to talk?

“What are you planning?” Tang Ming asked suspiciously.

Lu Ye shook his head. “Nothing. I’m just really bored right now. Someone asked me to do something, and sitting next to Tang Yin feels pretty good too.”

As soon as he finished speaking, both of them saw Lu Chi approach from behind.

Tang Ming swallowed. Had he just seen Lu Chi get angry?

Lu Ye stared at him.

Although Lu Chi sometimes appeared shy, he was actually more determined than anyone else. When he was quiet, he was especially calm.

Lu Ye patted Tang Ming’s shoulder and whispered, “Don’t worry about it. Tang Yin and I are just classmates. It’s nothing.”

In reality, though they left the classroom together, they usually split up afterward. Tang Yin would find Su Kexi, and he’d go to the small supermarket to buy snacks.

“Oh,” Tang Ming thought. Poor Lu Chi.

There was a math class in the afternoon.

The new math teacher had a strong personality and loved to ask questions, especially targeting students whose math scores weren’t great in this class.

Lu Ye was naturally the first target.

“Lu Ye, I mentioned another method for this problem last time and told you to think about it during evening study. Come to the board and write it out.”

Lu Ye made a bitter face.

How could he remember doing that? It was almost vacation time; who remembered homework? Evening study was for relaxing.

Tang Ming snickered from behind.

He turned to say something to Lu Chi but saw Lu Chi tilting his head, staring at Lu Ye. His expression seemed quite pleased.

It wasn’t surprising that he hesitated.

Lu Chi rarely smiled. Tang Ming had only seen it once or twice, and each time he thought it was an illusion.

He still remembered that time outside the playground—Lu Chi definitely smiled.

Today, Lu Chi had been acting strange all day. Even with the air conditioning on in the warm classroom, he felt restless.

The math teacher repeated, “Did you do it?”

Lu Ye opened his mouth, “Ah, I…”

Beside him, Tang Yin passed over a note.

Lu Ye immediately raised his head. “Teacher, I did it!” He strode confidently to the podium.

Then Tang Ming saw Lu Chi revert to his daytime state—clearly, his mood had soured again.

The math teacher praised the answer on the board.

Lu Ye let out a deep breath.

Wasn’t he suffering enough already? Being watched by Lu Chi all the time, who knew—one dark and windy night, Lu Chi might just take him out with a knife.

Lu Ye thought Lu Chi was entirely capable of committing murder under the cover of darkness.

Fortunately, the math class ended, and vacation began.

As soon as the bell rang, the math teacher packed up and left the classroom.

This vacation marked the real start of winter break, and the New Year was approaching soon. Cheers erupted throughout the classroom.

Lu Ye turned his head and asked, “Are you coming along?”

Tang Yin hesitated for a moment, then nodded. “Mm.”

The entire classroom was bustling with activity. Amidst the noise, Tang Yin’s sharp ears caught a brief pause in the movement from Lu Chi’s side.

She smirked slightly.

To others, this expression meant something else entirely.

Lu Ye left the classroom first, waiting outside.

Tang Yin slowly packed her books. She was indeed angry when she did this, but now, she didn’t feel particularly fond of it.

She knew Lu Chi well. If she didn’t take the initiative, he would retreat into his own world.

Even now, he didn’t let her touch him, clearly trapped in some strange mindset without explaining.

Tang Yin stepped out, but before she could leave, Lu Chi blocked her path.

“I…” Lu Chi said one word, his face twisted with hesitation.

Tang Yin looked at him, waited for a moment, and when no further words came, she asked, “What’s wrong? What do you want? If you don’t speak, I’m leaving.”

Reflexively, Lu Chi glanced outside. Lu Ye was pressing his face against the window, his features squished flat against the glass.

He opened his mouth but said nothing.

It was vacation now. If he didn’t speak now, she would leave.

Tang Yin crossed her arms, waiting for him to say something.

“I… I didn’t mean to,” he said hurriedly, his words jumbled together. Finally, he grabbed a pen and wrote a few words on paper.

Then he unfolded it and showed it to her: “I didn’t mean to. I’m sorry.”

Tang Yin reached out to pull him.

Lu Chi flinched again, but this time, Tang Yin didn’t let go. Instead, she firmly held his hand.

“The way you treated me this morning made me very unhappy.”

As soon as she said it, she felt Lu Chi stiffen.

After a while, she finally heard his low voice: “Dirty.”

Hearing this word, Tang Yin finally understood why Lu Chi didn’t want her to touch him.

“Dirty? What’s dirty?” She raised his hand, inspecting it closely. “It’s very clean.”

His fingers were long and slender, perfectly proportioned.

Lu Chi understood her meaning and said nothing, only lowering his head to repeat, “I’m sorry.”

His voice was hoarse due to his cold.

Tang Yin said, “You don’t need to apologize to me. I’m just unhappy with the way you treated me. I don’t like being cold-shouldered without reason.”

It was very annoying.

Suddenly, she smiled mischievously, her lively eyes sparking a familiar feeling in Lu Chi, making him instantly recall something from long ago.

Lu Chi wasn’t meeting Tang Yin for the first time.

In his freshman year, his class was on the first floor. The school was old, and the high school building was still the original structure near the wall.

During class, he sat by the last window. A glance upward revealed the nearby wall, even the grass sprouting from it.

It was midsummer, scorching hot outside, with the cicadas’ incessant buzzing.

The math teacher lectured on a dull new chapter from the required textbook. While taking notes, Lu Chi suddenly looked up at the window.

And there, sitting atop the wall, was a girl.

She was truly sitting on the wall, her back facing him.

He couldn’t see her face, only her snow-white neck and the back of her head. Her playful ponytail swayed with her movements, creating beautiful waves.

She wore a short top, its hem rolled tightly at her waist, revealing a large expanse of fair skin. The sunlight reflected off her, glowing.

Lu Chi opened the window.

He heard the girl speaking, her voice pleasant, though she was cursing. Her curses were refined, not vulgar, and sounded lovely.

Based on the content, he guessed it was about some people from No. 1 High School who had offended her or her classmates, and she was avenging them.

Lu Chi listened through the open window for an entire class period.

The usually dull math lesson seemed to come alive.

When the dismissal bell rang, the teacher, standing by the podium, went to the window to pour water and spotted the person on the wall, immediately calling out.

Then he saw the person on the wall turn her head, pout, jump down, and disappear from view.

Her face was beautiful, her eyes lively and spirited.

Her waist was slim.

So slim it made one’s mouth water.

But afterward, he never saw her on that wall again, as if that day had been a hallucination, a dream.

Until early October this year.

Tang Yin playfully squeezed Lu Chi’s hand.

Lu Chi turned his head to look outside.

Seeing his reaction, Tang Yin said, “Lu Ye has already left. Walking so close to him this afternoon, were you jealous?”

Lu Chi awkwardly replied, “No.”

Tang Yin didn’t believe him. “Vinegar jar.”