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In Class Three, those who generally knew Xie Ye rarely associated him with Chi Zhiyu.
After the class rearrangement, people were naturally curious about Chi Zhiyu and Xie Ye being desk mates. But after observing their completely natural interaction, strange rumors inevitably surfaced.
However, some heard from classmates who knew them that the two weren’t in a relationship, nor were they dating—they were just neighbors who had grown up together.
And given how Su Le and Li Taoran kept calling Chi Zhiyu “little sister,” plus the fact that Xie Ye was older than her, most people came to accept the idea that it was probably just sibling-like affection. After all, if they were childhood sweethearts, they would’ve gotten together long ago.
Still, some felt the vibe between the two was too natural, not quite resembling that of siblings.
In the end, opinions remained divided.
Even if they investigated, there was no definitive answer.
The people in Class Three, who interacted with both of them the most, didn’t see any major issues. They thought it was pretty normal and assumed at most they were childhood friends.
Some initially called Chi Zhiyu “Chi classmate,” but after hearing Su Le call her “little sister” a few times, they followed suit. Seeing Chi Zhiyu nod in acknowledgment, they naturally assumed Xie Ye must be like an older brother.
It seemed like a given.
But unexpectedly, Chi Zhiyu firmly denied it.
They were childhood friends.
But not siblings.
The key point—and she emphasized this—was that they never would be.
...
The male student didn’t expect such a reaction and was momentarily stunned.
He had assumed Chi Zhiyu would respond with a joke as usual, saying something like, “I’m his older sister,” or “He’s my son.”
But this time, she didn’t. Instead, she spoke seriously, almost as if correcting a misunderstanding.
As her calm voice drifted over,
Xie Ye paused what he was doing and turned to look at her.
His gaze was ambiguous.
Feeling his eyes on her, Chi Zhiyu blinked. “Why are you looking at me?”
Xie Ye casually placed the wet wipe on the table, glanced at her, and said lazily, “Get me another one.”
“...”
Chi Zhiyu glared at him. “Don’t you have hands?”
Xie Ye replied slowly, “Dirty.”
Too lazy to argue, Chi Zhiyu reluctantly pulled out another one for him.
The neighboring boy watched the two—one asking for a wet wipe, the other handing it over.
Their interaction was perfectly natural.
He was stunned for a while before finally coming back to his senses and asking Chi Zhiyu, “Didn’t you two grow up together?”
Chi Zhiyu thought for a moment. “No.”
“Huh?” The boy frowned. “You didn’t? Aren’t you two neighbors?”
“We’re neighbors, but we only met when I was nine—oh, no, wait.” Chi Zhiyu corrected herself. “He moved across from my house when he was ten.”
“He only moved here when he was ten?” The boy raised an eyebrow. “I thought you two had known each other since you were little.”
Chi Zhiyu shook her head. “There was no way we could’ve known each other earlier.”
“How is that impossible?”
“I didn’t live here until I was seven. Even if he lived here then, he wouldn’t have seen me.”
“Not that,” the boy chuckled. “But according to what you’re saying, isn’t it kind of a rare coincidence that you two ended up meeting?”
Chi Zhiyu raised an eyebrow. “Haven’t you heard that fate is predestined?”
“Of course I’ve heard that.” The boy nodded along, then asked again, “But regardless, you two did grow up together. Haven’t you ever thought of him as a brother?”
Xie Ye finished wiping his hands, placed the used wet wipe aside, and looked up.
Leaning back comfortably in his chair, he appeared composed, watching her with an unreadable expression, as if also waiting to hear the answer to this question.
Chi Zhiyu glanced at him, gestured toward him, and calmly countered, “Do you think this guy has any potential to be a good older brother?”
Upon hearing this, the boy turned to look at Xie Ye, scanned him for a few seconds, and then said earnestly, “Honestly, no.”
“So why would I think of him as a brother?” Chi Zhiyu retorted naturally.
Xie Ye lifted his eyelids slightly.
“This...” The boy hesitated, unsure of what else to say.
Wasn’t there actually some logic to her words?
Chi Zhiyu observed his expression, then subtly glanced at Xie Ye’s face. He seemed to have no objections or questions.
Her slightly tense palms quietly, silently relaxed.
He probably hadn’t noticed.
Meanwhile, the boy, caught off guard by her response, quickly gave up and turned to Xie Ye instead. “Have you ever thought of Chi Zhiyu as a little sister?”
Xie Ye looked at him, smirked, and asked, “Do I look like someone with a mental problem?”
At this, Chi Zhiyu lowered her head and resumed helping someone with their math problem.
“?” The boy furrowed his brow. “Aren’t you the one with problems? You always act like everyone owes you money.”
After scolding him, the boy suddenly realized something. “So does that mean the answer is no?”
Xie Ye didn’t respond. He picked up the used wet wipe from the table and casually tossed it toward the trash can in the corner. The paper ball traced a perfect parabolic arc through the air and landed squarely in the bin with a dull thud.
The boy stared at the seemingly skillful move, momentarily speechless.
Xie Ye turned around, glanced at him, and asked, “Can’t understand human language?”
“?” The boy retorted, “What human language did you even speak?”
“I don’t have a sister, and she doesn’t have a brother.”
Xie Ye leaned back in his chair and drawled, “Childhood friends. Get it?”
“...”
Chi Zhiyu paused briefly in her explanation, smiled at the girl she was tutoring, and continued.
The boy muttered, “Oh, so childhood friends are special now?”
Xie Ye raised an eyebrow. “What do you think?”
The boy looked utterly confused. “How would I know? I don’t have childhood friends.”
“So,” Xie Ye glanced at him, “are you jealous of me?”
“...” The boy shot back, “Jealous of what?!”
The boy glanced at Chi Zhiyu, who was still explaining the problem. “I’m talking about envying having a childhood friend like Chi Zhiyu—kind and good-hearted.”
“Oh.” Xie Ye nodded. “You’re envious.”
“...”
“Not really,” the boy narrowed his eyes. “I was just saying you seem to be in a pretty good mood today.”
At this, Chi Zhiyu tilted her head slightly and glanced in his direction.
At some point,
his perpetually cold and aloof eyes had slightly softened. The corners of his eyes were slightly upturned, exuding a hint of laziness. His posture was relaxed, giving off an air of self-satisfaction that was somewhat captivating.
Chi Zhiyu snapped back to reality, cleared her throat, and said to the girl in her class, “Let’s go to your seat to talk. It’s too noisy here; they’ll interrupt my explanation.”
“Huh?” The girl was a bit surprised, glanced at the two beside her, noticed the earlier conversation, and nodded, “Alright.”
Chi Zhiyu stood up, picked up her pen and notebook, and led the way.
After watching them leave, the boy turned to Xie Ye, “You scared Chi Zhiyu away. Can’t you say something less shameless?”
Xie Ye ignored him and casually put the wet wipe from the table into his own desk.
The boy watched this audacious act, “What are you doing? Taking Chi Zhiyu’s things without permission?”
Xie Ye showed no reaction, raising an eyebrow, “This is my childhood friend’s thing.”
The boy felt something was off but still asked, “So what?”
Xie Ye calmly stated, “So it’s mine.”
“...”
•
Chi Zhiyu had no idea this dog was spouting nonsense.
When she returned after explaining the problem, she found that Xie Ye had disappeared.
She glanced at the time; it was almost time for self-study.
Chi Zhiyu skillfully took out his homework and placed it on the desk.
After finishing, she paused, feeling something was amiss.
Why did she feel like a housewife?
Chi Zhiyu clicked her tongue and hastily stuffed the homework back into his desk with one hand.
Just as she withdrew her hand, Li Taoran from the next seat came over looking for someone. After scanning around and not seeing anyone, he leaned on the window and asked, “Pool sister, where is your desk mate?”
“I don’t know where he went.” Chi Zhiyu guessed, “Maybe he went to the restroom?”
“I just came from the restroom and didn’t see him.”
“Then how would I know?”
Li Taoran said matter-of-factly, “You two are desk mates now.”
“So what if we are desk mates?” Chi Zhiyu found it amusing, “Should I follow him around all the time?”
“But before, you two were in different classes. Now it’s rare to be together and even become desk mates.” Li Taoran spoke from experience, “You should be close, right?”
Upon hearing this, Chi Zhiyu raised an eyebrow and slowly asked, “So do you think I should love him or... be close to him?”
“?” Li Taoran paused, suddenly realizing something was off, and looked at her suspiciously, “What do you mean by that?”
Chi Zhiyu blinked, “What do you think?”
Upon hearing this, Li Taoran immediately widened his eyes, “Little sister Chi! Are you trying to mess with me?”
“...”
Chi Zhiyu laughed in exasperation, “What’s wrong with you guys today? Do Xie Ye and I really look like siblings?”
“You guys?” Li Taoran noted this word, “Are there others?”
Chi Zhiyu sneered, “Plenty.”
Li Taoran shrugged, “That just means everyone thinks so.”
“You’re overthinking it.”
“...”
Li Taoran coughed, “So, could you two be a couple?”
“Not possible?”
“Yeah, possible.” Li Taoran casually nodded, but then realized something was wrong, “Ah, what?”
Chi Zhiyu remained calm, “What do you mean, ‘what’?”
Li Taoran frowned, “Didn’t you just say something?”
“Huh? Did I?” Chi Zhiyu blinked, “You must have misheard. I didn’t say anything.”
“?”
Li Taoran stared at her face, which looked very calm and innocent. He was confused for three seconds but was sure he hadn’t misheard. Just as he opened his mouth to ask her, Chi Zhiyu preemptively asked, “By the way, did you need something from Xie Ye?”
“Oh, yeah.” Li Taoran quickly changed the subject, forgetting what he was going to say, and asked, “I came to ask Xie Ye where he’ll sit during the exam.”
The second half of the year starts early for senior three students, giving them an extra month compared to the first and second years because they need to study hard and make progress every day.
Not long after school started, the first monthly exam arrived.
On Monday, each class’s homeroom teacher had already distributed the exam lists and seating arrangements; it was only a matter of time.
After finding out his seat number, Li Taoran came and went several times. However, Class Three received their information late, and despite asking multiple times, they still hadn’t been informed.
Upon hearing this, Chi Zhiyu said “Oh,” seemingly unsurprised, and replied, “Both of us are in Room Five. I’m in seat eleven. Where are you sitting?”
“Wow!” Li Taoran’s face lit up with joy, “Really? I’m there too!”
“What about him?”
“Twenty-one, probably.”
“Tsk.” Li Taoran was disappointed, “I’m in thirty-five.”
“What’s the use of knowing?” Chi Zhiyu blinked, “Xie Ye won’t let you cheat, will he?”
Li Taoran shook his head, “Of course not.”
Chi Zhiyu: “Then why are you asking?”
“Originally, I wouldn’t,” Li Taoran looked at her and smiled, “but now that you’re here.”
Chi Zhiyu was taken aback, “Why?”
Li Taoran whispered mysteriously, “Because he cares about you.”
“?”
“Xie Ye cares about you.”
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