Chapter 23.

*Only dogs remember being fed but not being beaten. I feel like I'm not even as good as a dog.

 

On the first day back to school after the New Year 'long vacation,' most students were sleepy and listless.

 

During the early self-study session, Amo drooled on the table while Zhou Xin practiced writing exercises. Even the eyes behind the frameless glasses were a bit sleepy.

 

The rest of the students either took advantage of the teacher's absence to sleep soundly or struggled with yawning while trying to stay awake.

 

School started on the sixth day of the lunar new year. On the fifth day, most people were still enjoying the "singing and drinking under the bright moon," happily gathering with relatives and friends, and even playing all night long... Suddenly going back to school was a stark and stimulating contrast.

 

In this varied world, Bai Xunyin was an exception.

 

On the last few minutes of the fifth day of the lunar new year, she "broke up," but this morning she came to school as if nothing had happened. In a daze, the girl sat upright, completely absorbed in memorizing English vocabulary.

 

The silent atmosphere was suddenly broken by a "bang" from the doorway.

The first class was physics, taught by Mr. Li Zhonghai, also known as "Sanmao." This middle-aged man, proficient in calculation, had a shiny bald head resembling the "Mediterranean Sea," with just three strands of hair left on his forehead, hence the nickname "Sanmao."

Mr. Li always had a stern face, his eyebrows frosted over, and he strode in, slammed the door behind him, and swept his gaze across the room. He furrowed his sparse eyebrows and sternly questioned, "What time is it now? Are there still students in your class who haven't arrived? Isn't Yu Luoyin supposed to be sitting in the third seat in the last row? Hm? Why isn't he here yet?!"

By the end of his speech, his voice was clearly tinged with anger—everyone knew that Mr. Li Zhonghai detested tardiness the most. 

Especially Yu Luoyin... The surrounding students were somewhat surprised.

Because Yu Luoyin was an impeccable "excellent student representative," flawless in every aspect, including never being late for school.

It was rare for him to be half an hour late today, missing the entire early self-study session.

Mr. Li frowned and forcefully tapped the blackboard with his teaching rod. "Does anyone know what's going on with Yu Luoyin? Is your class monitor setting a bad example by being late?!"

Oh, right, Yu Luoyin was still the class monitor.

There was a dead silence in the entire class, and no one dared to reply.

As if in response to Mr. Li's anger, rhythmic knocking came from the door. A slim figure of a boy appeared at the door. Yu Luoyin was wearing only a school uniform, exuding a cold chill. His voice was low and clear, "Sorry, teacher, I'm late." 

His voice was clear and resonant, causing Amo, who had just been awakened by Mr. Li's anger, to become fully awake. 

She belatedly recalled what had happened and couldn't help glaring fiercely at Yu Luoyin, her eyes burning with resentment.

Those absurd words from a few days ago still vividly echoed in her mind. As an outsider, Amo had been furious for several days and couldn't leave her house during the New Year's holiday. She kept texting Bai Xunyin to comfort her. Now seeing Yu Luoyin, she wanted nothing more than to slam her hands on the table.

But the person involved remained unmoved.

Bai Xunyin was as indifferent as if nothing had happened, quietly writing as Yu Luoyin was criticized and lectured by Mr. Li Zhonghai. Throughout the whole process after Mr. Li's arrival, she only did one thing—she took out her physics book.

She didn't even spare Yu Luoyin a glance, causing Amo, who was sitting beside her and could not help but quietly applaud, to feel both relieved and strangely worried. 

On the morning after the holiday,

The first class was a physics class, which opened with Yu Luoyin, the model student, being criticized by the teacher.

After a scolding, Yu Luoyin returned to his seat under the gaze of the teacher, walking quickly.

As he passed Bai Xunyin, a stray strand of hair on the girl's forehead was gently lifted by the wind caused by his passing. A delicate mole on her fair earlobe was particularly conspicuous. 

However, the girl's face showed no emotion, as if the person passing by was just air.

Yu Luoyin couldn't help tightening his sharp jawline slightly, and with a slightly forceful motion, he sat down behind her.

Staring at the girl's slender spine, his dark eyes darkened, almost gathering a hidden "hostility."

During the night shift yesterday, when thousands of fireworks bloomed in the dark night sky, he received a unilateral "breakup notice," with reasons unclear.

In addition, there was a bracelet—the bracelet he had given away, returned to him intact.

He stood still and did not pick it up, simply throwing it on the ground and walking away.

Yu Luoyin's pride prevented him from speaking out, not even believing this turn of events. But Bai Xunyin's texts were never deceitful—

First sentence: When the fireworks stick burned out, I stopped liking you.

Second sentence: Let's break up. 

After a few days of inexplicable "cold war," there was a sudden declaration of breakup. After Bai Xunyin finished speaking, she threw away the burnt-out fireworks stick in her hand and left without hesitation.

The girl's delicate figure was resolute and proud.

This inexplicable "breakup" made Yu Luoyin unconsciously crush the unlit fireworks stick in his hand, his face as cold as ice.

And then, unexpectedly, he found it difficult to sleep.

Until late at night, tossing and turning, Yu Luoyin couldn't help but send a message asking her why, only to receive a red exclamation mark on WeChat.

Fine, Bai Xunyin quickly deleted him.

Yu Luoyin sneered repeatedly, his mind racing uncontrollably. Humans cannot change abruptly without reason. Something must have happened to cause Bai Xunyin's attitude towards him to make a 180-degree turn, but what exactly?

Everything was fine before the holiday...

What happened during the holiday?

This puzzle made Yu Luoyin's thoughts drift unconsciously.

As the class drew to a close, he stared at the girl's back for a while, and then absentmindedly played with Bai Xunyin's ponytail with his pen.

It was like a breeze passing over the water, causing no ripples.

Yu Luoyin's black eyes sank, and he couldn't help but smile self-deprecatingly—perhaps the essence of human nature is to be a glutton for punishment. He had never encountered a girl who ignored him before, and now that he had, it felt refreshing.

From the beginning, it was because Bai Xunyin "ignored him" that Yu Luoyin became interested in her. He thought that after spending some time together and enjoying the girl's obedient sweetness, he would get tired of it. Unexpectedly...

Unexpectedly, now that the girl was back to "ignoring people," he still felt eager to try.

Wasn't this being a glutton for punishment? Yu Luoyin found himself ridiculous.

 Maintaining this unpleasant psychological state of "being a glutton for punishment" until the physical education class, Yu Luoyin endured the torment of the morning and hesitated during lunch. Finally, he couldn't help but walk towards Bai Xunyin—

But he saw Amo eagerly dragging Bai Xunyin somewhere, not knowing where.

Yu Luoyin couldn't help but frown, a hint of displeasure flashing through his black eyes.

He had been watching Bai Xunyin for almost half a day, but all he saw was Ning Shumo pulling Bai Xunyin around.

She followed her even to the restroom, like conjoined twins.

Making Yu Luoyin completely unable to find an "opportunity."

Fortunately, there was physical education class today—unlike other senior third-year classes, physical education classes at Sanzhong were rarely replaced by other subjects and were almost never empty. Students were usually urged by teachers to attend.

Physical education was a class that allowed students to relax, with very little actual teaching involved. Yu Luoyin had hoped to take this opportunity to have a "talk" with Bai Xunyin, but who would have thought that Ning Shumo would...

Yu Luoyin's jawline tightened, and he watched as Ning Shumo dragged Bai Xunyin away, not knowing where they were going. Finally unable to bear it, he followed them.

*

"Yinyin, let me tell you! Mu Anping's school can actually have a ten-day holiday! Ah, the fate of the same senior three is different!" Amo dragged Bai Xunyin towards the school gate, lamenting while muttering, "He actually came back to see us during this time, which is really considerate."

 

During their conversation, the two arrived at the school gate.

Bai Xunyin was pulled along the whole way by the enthusiastic Amo and didn't have a chance to voice her opinion.

But she felt indifferent about it anyway.

Whether it was Mu Anping or someone else, if they were here, then so be it. After all, Mu Anping and Bai Xunyin had once felt some discord between them, but they were friends after all, having grown up together. There was no reason to always avoid each other.

Besides, having just experienced what true "heartache" was, she realized that compared to the past with Mu Anping, their issues weren't that significant.

Many things that once seemed crucial collapsed into just layers of dust-covered paper when recalled after the passage of time.

Everything followed a repetitive pattern without exceptions.

So when they reached Mu Anping, and she saw him awkwardly and eagerly waiting to call her "Yinyin," Bai Xunyin smiled faintly.

She responded to Mu Anping in writing: [Happy New Year.]

"Uh, I should have said it first." Mu Anping, upon seeing her, surprisingly blushed suddenly, the rosy hue evident on his fair and handsome face, his bright eyes fixed on Bai Xunyin.

Mu Anping sincerely and warmly said, "Yinyin, Happy New Year. In the new year, I hope everything goes smoothly for you."

In the coming year, they, as high school seniors, would face the most severe exams in history, and for Bai Xunyin, there were still a lot of chaotic things to deal with...

"Smoothly" was probably the best blessing.

Bai Xunyin hesitated for a moment, then smiled at Mu Anping.

When she smiled, she was always gentle and serene, with a hint of sincerity in the corners of her eyebrows and eyes. However, Mu Anping felt that something was different this time.

Before he could figure out why, Amo glanced at her watch from the side and hastily said, "Alright, enough chit-chat. Our PE class will be over in a bit... Mu Anping, are you going home today? If not, let's gather tonight. The three of us haven't had dinner together in a few years."

Mu Anping nodded hurriedly, "I'm not going back. I'll only return to Linhai tomorrow."

Bai Xunyin listened quietly and didn't voice any objections. So Amo and Mu Anping quickly agreed to meet up that evening.

When PE class was about to end in the last five minutes, Mu Anping finally left.

As Amo pulled Bai Xunyin back to the classroom, she massaged her fingers along the way, murmuring softly, "Mu Anping is really strange. Why does he keep coming to see both of us recently? Oh wait, he's actually here to see you."

...

The girl wasn't stupid; she was quite clear-headed.

Bai Xunyin glanced helplessly at her, took out her phone, and was about to type "Don't let him come over again." Before she could finish typing, a dark shadow loomed over her.

Before she could look up, Amo's gentle voice suddenly turned cold, sharp, "Yu Luoyin, what are you doing here?!"

The finger above Bai Xunyin's phone involuntarily twitched. She raised her head and collided with the dark eyes of the latter.

Unlike the astonishment in Yu Luoyin's eyes last night, there was now a hint of sneering.

"Bai Xunyin, I have something to ask you." Suppressing the impatience that would directly grab her away, he pretended to be indifferent, his voice tinged with a brooding air, "Come with me."

"Why should I come with you?" Amo couldn't bear it any longer and frowned, her eyes full of disgust. "Yu Luoyin, you're really shameless!"

But Yu Luoyin saw no reason for Amo's hostility. His eyes flashed with a hint of fierceness, and after a while, he finally restrained himself—there was no point in arguing with a girl.

He just stubbornly looked at the indifferent Bai Xunyin, repeating, "Come with me."

"You..." Bai Xunyin held back Amo, who still wanted to speak, shaking her head at the latter's bewildered eyes, indicating her to be quiet.

Then she looked at Yu Luoyin, her gaze calm and unwavering, simply raising her foot to move forward.

The cold gaze made Yu Luoyin feel his heart constrict. He was silent for a moment and followed her.

One in front and one behind, they didn't exchange words but seemed to have an unspoken understanding as they walked into the quiet corridor of the left wing of the teaching building—a place that was mostly deserted most of the time, like a "secret base."

"Is this the reason you want to break up?" Once in the silence of the empty space, Yu Luoyin couldn't help but speak, "Because of that guy?"

He thought of chasing after the figure of the girl just now to the school gate, seeing Bai Xunyin "enjoying herself" with Mu Anping at that moment, and feeling defeated.

Yu Luoyin found himself ridiculous, controlled by an extremely unfamiliar emotion that made him do things he wouldn't normally do.

Although he appeared composed and refined on the surface at school, deep down, his ingrained arrogance was unchangeable.

Bai Xunyin paused for a moment, then looked at Yu Luoyin, who was obviously suppressing anger, and surprisingly couldn't help but smile.

The slight curve of her lips was full of sarcasm, which startled Yu Luoyin, who asked involuntarily, "What are you laughing at?"

Bai Xunyin smiled because she indeed felt blind.

If she wasn't blind, how could she not see through Yu Luoyin and fall for him?

[Yu Luoyin, why are you so angry?] Bai Xunyin took out her phone, typed on the notepad, and showed it to him: [Haven't you acted enough today?]

She pretended for a day, which was enough. She didn't understand how Yu Luoyin could "persist" for so long.

After saying that, Bai Xunyin saw the surprised expression on Yu Luoyin's face as she wished.

He was like a deep well, calm and undisturbed for ages, rarely revealing a trace of true emotion.

[It's just a game that started with a bet. There's no need to take it so seriously.] Bai Xunyin typed word by word: [You don't have to say anything else to continue acting.]

[I won't be fooled.]

[Only dogs remember what they eat but not the beatings; I won't be worse than a dog.]

Earlier, when Yu Luoyin took her home, she had seen the same stray dog several times on the way, which was presumably raised and fed by the owner of a nearby restaurant. The first time she saw it, it had been kicked out of the courtyard by the owner, lonely and miserable.

The third time she saw it, it was drooling as it sat outside the restaurant door, with a bone lying by its feet.

"Dogs are like this. They can be lured in by a little sweetness."

Bai Xunyin vividly remembered Yu Luoyin's faint smile at the time and casually commented, "They only remember what they eat but not the beatings."

It was just a small episode, but Bai Xunyin didn't know why she remembered Yu Luoyin's expression so clearly—probably because of his overly clear and cruel rationality.

Now it seemed that in Yu Luoyin's eyes, she was probably no different from that roadside stray dog.

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