Chapter 12

 *I know you are you, you are unique.

“Today is the first day of senior year, we won’t have classes. The teachers have some announcements to make, so take notes if needed.”

As usual, the first day back at school typically involved cleaning, receiving new textbooks, and then the homeroom teacher giving a long speech before sending the students home to prepare for the upcoming rigorous senior year.

But what Shen Langli announced today took most students by surprise.

“After entering senior year, we will have another round of class redistribution. You all understand the principle of survival of the fittest, right? You're not kids anymore. Those with good grades will enter the advanced classes. The rest of you, if you don’t pull yourselves together, what do you expect?” Shen Langli spoke harshly, almost mockingly, to the stunned students—

“Surprised now? Feeling a bit lost because you didn’t study hard enough? What have you been doing all this time? Exams are like battlefields! High school is a significant hurdle in your life. Can you afford not to take it seriously? Every single one of you needs to wake up! Now pack up and go home!”

As a new member of Class 3 on the first day of senior year, Amo didn't even get a chance to introduce herself before facing the possibility of being reassigned again.

However, since she had attended the same school during her first year, she was somewhat of a familiar face and didn’t really need an introduction.

Before the reassignment, they had to pack their things.

“Well, my relative’s information was accurate, we are going to be reassigned,” Amo, who had nothing much to pack, came over to help Bai Xunyin, whispering excitedly, “Based on our grades, we probably won’t be in the same class as Sheng Churan anymore, right?”

Bai Xunyin smiled, a small dimple appearing at the corner of her lips, her black eyes shimmering like broken starlight.

Both she and Amo had good grades, and they were genuinely happy about this.

While she was thinking this, her phone vibrated in her desk.

Bai Xunyin took it out and couldn’t help but twitch her eyebrows when she saw the name ‘Yu Luoyin’ pop up on the screen.

“Huh?” Liu Yufu, who sat in front of her, turned around at just the right moment and saw this scene. She immediately thought of the time in the cinema about half a month ago—when Bai Xunyin was 'allegedly' seen with Yu Luoyin.

Now it seemed there was no 'allegedly' about it, it was a certainty.

Liu Yufu couldn't help but smile playfully and asked in a low voice, "Bai Xunyin, how do you have Yu Luoyin’s WeChat? I heard his WeChat and QQ are notoriously difficult to add. Even Sheng Churan couldn’t add him."

Having an ‘outsider’ pry into this made Bai Xunyin even more uneasy. She almost instinctively hid her phone under the desk.

“Tsk, stingy,” Liu Yufu muttered, but didn’t say anything more. She just turned back to packing her things, somewhat displeased.

“Who is Yu Luoyin?” Amo, feeling the exchange was strange, couldn’t help but ask, “Someone from our school?”

Amo had only attended this school in her first year and wasn’t really interested in the so-called 'popular figures,' given that she spent most of her time with Bai Xunyin. Naturally, she didn’t know about Yu Luoyin.

But her voice wasn’t exactly low when she asked, and it drew the attention of several students around them.

Sheng Churan, hearing this, even stopped packing her things and rushed over, her eyes bright: “What about Yu Luoyin?”

Amo disliked her on sight, crossed her arms, and raised an eyebrow, “What’s it to you?”

“Ning Shumo!” Sheng Churan, irritated by her sarcastic tone, frowned, her temper flaring, “What do you mean by that?”

“What do I mean?” Taking advantage of the teacher’s absence, the two of them began arguing openly. Amo sneered, “Can’t you tell? I don’t want to talk to you.”

“And who do you think you are to not want to talk to me?” Sheng Churan retorted coldly, “Besides, I came over because I heard Yu Luoyin’s name. Do you think I wanted to talk to you?”

“You came over because you heard Yu Luoyin’s name? Do you like him?” Amo, quick-witted, guessed what was going on by looking at Sheng Churan’s reaction. Recalling what Liu Yufu said earlier, she couldn’t help but laugh—

“Too bad your affection is in vain, you can’t even get his WeChat, right?” Amo patted Bai Xunyin beside her, saying proudly, “Yu Luoyin is the one sending WeChat messages to our Yinyin. Are you jealous?”

....

The classroom fell into a sudden silence, followed by bursts of laughter.

Most students didn’t believe what they heard—who was Yu Luoyin? The school heartthrob, the pride of the school. And who was Bai Xunyin? Though pretty, she was a mute girl. What connection could there possibly be between the two? Yu Luoyin sending her WeChat messages? It was pure fantasy, most people thought.

Except for Sheng Churan, who stood stunned for a moment, something clearly shattered in her eyes, leaving only a fragile veneer. Her dark eyes glared ominously at Bai Xunyin.

The noisy classroom felt incredibly annoying.

Bai Xunyin furrowed her brows slightly, hastily packed her books into her bag, and pushed through the throngs of students to run outside.

She ran all the way to the corridor outside the teaching building, standing under the eaves to wait for Amo.

Only when her surroundings were quiet did Bai Xunyin open her phone to check the message from Yu Luoyin.

It was simple, just one sentence.

[Meet me at the back playground after school, alone.]

……

Bai Xunyin felt helpless.

The school had strict regulations; without a student ID, you couldn’t enter the school. She had no choice but to go, but alone...

She hesitated and replied: [I need to go home with Amo.]

Yu Luoyin replied quickly: [I’ll take you home.]

The point wasn’t about who would take her home, was it?

Bai Xunyin sighed in frustration, then sent a message to Amo to let her know, and turned to go to the back playground of the school.

Behind the senior year teaching building of their school was a large area overgrown with weeds, left untended by the school. Wild grass grew rampant.

In the middle of the open space was an old basketball court where boys would come to play when there was nowhere else to go. Beside it were two rows of tiered stone benches. Yu Luoyin was sitting at the highest point.

The blazing sun overhead didn’t seem to bother him as he sat at the top of the steps, slightly bent over, resting his elbows on his long legs, holding a bottle of water, and swaying it gently.

Noticing someone approaching, Yu Luoyin looked up to see Bai Xunyin in her school uniform, walking through the wild grass towards him.

The large, empty playground only had the two of them, the atmosphere hot and dry.

As she got closer and stood in front of him, Yu Luoyin looked up slightly to see the hint of her collarbone peeking out from her uniform zipper, adding a touch of intimacy to the scene.

Tsk, that collarbone looked very biteable.

Yu Luoyin resisted the urge to lick his teeth.

Unfortunately, Bai Xunyin didn’t seem inclined to 'communicate' with him. She had a serious expression and straightforwardly reached out her hand—she might as well have written 'give me back my student ID' on her face.

"Good student, want your student ID back?" Yu Luoyin's legs, long even in uniform pants, stretched to the next step, almost touching her knees.

Bai Xunyin moved back slightly, nodded with her head lowered.

So obedient, like a well-behaved cat, thought Yu Luoyin.

But his mischievous side wanted to tease her even more.

Every time he saw Bai Xunyin, Yu Luoyin wanted to provoke a reaction from her calm face—preferably because of him.

"Hmm, then sit down first." Yu Luoyin patted the spot next to him, mischievously, "Otherwise, I won't give it to you."

……

Fuming, Bai Xunyin reluctantly frowned and had to sit beside him.

"If you want your student ID, you need to answer one question." The boy chuckled softly, then asked bluntly, "Why are you avoiding me?"

Bai Xunyin's ears burned uncontrollably. She looked down at her curled fingers, sensing Yu Luoyin’s gaze on her.

The more she thought about it, the redder her ears became.

Bai Xunyin reluctantly took out her phone and typed a message: [I’m not avoiding you.]

"Lying is a bad habit." Yu Luoyin, seeing her message, laughed, "If you’re not, why didn’t you come to the library or reply to my messages?"

In fact, Bai Xunyin’s almost ‘ignoring’ behavior had hit Yu Luoyin hard—it was his first time actively reaching out to someone, only to be so unwelcome.

These questions had been brewing in Yu Luoyin's mind for a long time, held back until now, the start of the school year.

The vast playground fell silent, the only sound seemingly their shallow breaths.

After a while, Bai Xunyin slowly typed out her reply: [I don’t think there’s any need for us to interact.]

The girl’s fair face was serious, her lips slightly pursed, the message clearly well-considered...

But it was like a needle stabbing into Yu Luoyin’s heart, calming him after his initial anger.

No need? That phrase didn’t exist in Yu Luoyin’s vocabulary.

Once Yu Luoyin set his mind on something, it became necessary.

"Why? Are you angry because of what I said that day, when I said you were jealous?" Yu Luoyin paused, shifting the topic to distract Bai Xunyin, his tone teasing, "Bai, I was joking."

His nonchalant demeanor made Bai Xunyin awkward, responding: [No.]

"But I think you were angry that day. Why else would you suddenly ignore me?" Yu Luoyin suddenly scrolled through their chat history, showing Bai Xunyin the messages from the day at the cinema, where she had said—

[They are them, it has nothing to do with me.]

Seeing this rare moment of anger from the usually silent Bai Xunyin, she was momentarily stunned.

What did Yu Luoyin mean by showing her this...?

"When I said you were jealous, it was to tease you, guys are like that," Yu Luoyin seemed to apologize, his tone insincere, his eyes fixed on her, "They are them, you’re different from them."

Their distance gradually closed, crossing into the ‘intimate’ zone, their breaths mingling, making Bai Xunyin’s heart race.

Trying to maintain eye contact with him, her slender fingers unconsciously gripped her school uniform sleeve tighter.

"I know you are you," despite being alone on the vast, empty playground, Yu Luoyin deliberately lowered his voice, the intimate words unavoidable in Bai Xunyin’s ears—

"You are unique."

She was the most special girl he had ever met.

Taking advantage of her stunned moment, Yu Luoyin whispered in her ear, half commanding, half pleading: "Bai Xunyin, do well in the placement exam, get into Class 1."

................................................................................................................

Previous                                                                                       Next