Chapter 8: With Her
“Su Yu, what are you standing there for? Hurry up and get back to your seat.”
Su Yu slowly withdrew his gaze, glanced at his homeroom teacher, whom he had blocked at the door, and quickly stepped aside with an apologetic smile. Then… he walked step by step towards his seat.
He sat diagonally behind the girl. If he reached out, he could touch her shoulder.
As Su Yu approached his seat, he drew closer to the girl. The homeroom teacher’s question had obviously caught her attention. The girl looked up at Su Yu, their eyes meeting briefly before quickly looking away.
The girl lowered her head and continued reading, and Su Yu returned to his seat.
“Let’s start morning reading. Starting today, there’s only one month left. You don’t have to attend the flag-raising ceremony anymore.” The homeroom teacher stood at the podium, encouraging the students. “Just hold on for another month, and then the sky’s the limit. Everyone, work hard.”
After the teacher finished speaking, the noisy sound of morning reading filled the classroom. However, only a few energetic students were contributing to the noise; most were secretly dozing behind their books.
“Su Yu, there’s homework due today. You came late, you’re the only one left.”
The girl in front of him suddenly turned around, her big eyes looking at Su Yu, inquiring about his homework.
“Huh? Xia Qian Ge… your hair is so short.”
Su Yu stared at the girl, such a familiar face. Even the ugly school uniform couldn’t hide her beauty. Without makeup, she was still the most beautiful gardenia this summer. But Su Yu wasn’t used to it. After college, Xia Qian Ge always had shoulder-length hair. In high school, she still had youthful short hair.
“Hmm?” Xia Qian Ge furrowed her brows, touching the ends of her hair. “I cut it a bit shorter yesterday. Does it look bad?”
“No.” Su Yu shook his head, speaking sincerely. “It looks good, really good.”
“Flattery won’t work. Didn’t you do your homework?” Xia Qian Ge’s eyes narrowed, immediately grasping the main point. She stared at Su Yu.
“Uh…”
Su Yu touched his neck. Of course, he hadn’t done it. He hadn’t been in the mood for homework yesterday. He honestly admitted, “I didn’t do it.”
“As expected… you were still playing truth or dare yesterday?” Xia Qian Ge puffed out her cheeks, every expression familiar to Su Yu. She stared at him. “But you promised me you would work hard.”
“Next time… I’ll definitely do it next time.”
“Fine, I won’t report your name this time.”
Xia Qian Ge seemed to be just asking. She turned back and continued reading.
But Su Yu still sat there in a daze. In high school, since Xia Qian Ge sat diagonally in front of him, they naturally interacted often. But their conversations were usually limited to school matters, which gave Su Yu the idea to confess.
From Su Yu’s current perspective, his high school self clearly had no redeeming qualities that could attract Xia Qian Ge. His confession… was no different from a moth flying into a flame.
Xia Qian Ge wouldn’t fall for his high school self. As long as their paths diverged in college, they would be parallel lines that never intersected.
Morning reading ended. The subject teacher walked into the classroom, carrying stacks of test papers. Senior year revision consisted of endless practice questions.
Su Yu twirled his pen between his fingers. He was no longer the naive high school boy. Now, his mind was filled with too many things. Looking at the complicated questions, he couldn’t focus.
Su Yu knew Xia Qian Ge would go to a good university, so he had worked tirelessly in his senior year to catch up and get into the same university as her.
But what about this time? Su Yu looked at the questions on the test paper. He actually knew how to do them all. It seemed like fate was playing a trick on him. Su Yu’s memories of high school knowledge were exceptionally clear. He had thought that years of working had made him forget these things, but his rebirth had brought them all back.
This meant that Su Yu, knowing the exam questions, could definitely get into the university Xia Qian Ge wanted to attend. This was a choice, leaving Su Yu no excuse. His rebirth needed to prove its worth through these choices.
Su Yu couldn’t bring himself to look at the questions any longer. The lecture on the test paper continued until noon, the oppressive atmosphere hanging over the classroom like a spiderweb.
Su Yu glanced at Xia Qian Ge. She was correcting the test she had just completed. Su Yu watched her slender eyebrows furrow and relax, clearly dissatisfied with her accuracy.
“Class dismissed. Get a good rest. This afternoon, we’ll go over the questions on this practice test.”
The teacher left with the test papers, opening the door and letting fresh air into the stuffy classroom. Sighs of relief rippled through the room. Students left in groups, hurrying to eat lunch before their break ended.
“Su Yu, are you going to lunch?”
Someone patted Su Yu’s shoulder. Su Yu didn’t need to look up to know who it was.
“I don’t feel like it… I’ll just have some bread later.” Su Yu shook his head, declining the offer.
“Seriously?” Chen Kai was clearly unhappy. He looked at Xia Qian Ge, who had her back to them, and raised his eyebrows at Su Yu. “Didn’t work out? Heartbroken?”
“I didn’t confess, I was joking with you.”
“You’re lying, bro.”
Chen Kai pouted. He would have been happy if Su Yu had succeeded, but… the chances were too slim. He wasn’t optimistic about Su Yu’s chances, and it was better that he hadn’t confessed now; at least they could still be friends.
“Mu Qing knows too. You can betray your bro, but I can’t?” Su Yu looked up at Chen Kai.
“Hehe…” Chen Kai chuckled awkwardly, feeling guilty. “He Mu Qing… she bought me some food and promised to introduce me to a girl in her class. I lost my mind for a moment and…”
“Get lost. If you feel bad, buy me some bread.”
“Okay, I’ll go now…”
Chen Kai suddenly looked towards the door, where there was some commotion. He mumbled, “Damn, someone’s confessing. The sports rep from Class 2, I think. He’s pretty handsome, almost as handsome as me.”
The other students in the class predictably looked towards Xia Qian Ge. She was still looking down, checking the questions she had gotten wrong. If someone walked into Class 1 with flowers and gifts, the recipient would undoubtedly be the girl sitting diagonally in front of Su Yu… Xia Qian Ge.
Su Yu wasn’t surprised. In the original timeline, the day after his failed confession, which was today, someone had also come to Xia Qian Ge with a gift.
The boy’s attire was clearly carefully chosen. He walked quickly towards Su Yu’s side and stopped in front of Xia Qian Ge’s desk.
“Actually, I’ve been paying attention to you for a long time. The college entrance exams are coming up…” Under everyone’s gaze, the boy looked nervous, his prepared words coming out jumbled. “There’s a letter in the flowers, please read it.”
The boy dropped his last sentence and left, leaving behind a chorus of teasing.
Xia Qian Ge stopped writing, glanced at the flowers and gift box practically thrown on her desk, then looked back at Su Yu and Chen Kai with a puzzled expression, seemingly wanting to ask something.
“I’m going to buy bread. Let Su Yu explain.” Chen Kai chuckled, patted Su Yu’s shoulder, and slipped out the back of the classroom.
Xia Qian Ge’s gaze naturally fixed on Su Yu. Su Yu smiled and shrugged. “It’s from the guy next door, in Class 2. I forgot his name, he’s the sports rep. Pretty handsome…”
Xia Qian Ge didn’t speak. She looked at Su Yu intently, then suddenly turned back. Beneath Su Yu’s seemingly indifferent expression, his heart was pounding.
“Can you return this to him for me? My reply is in the letter.”
“O-Okay.”
Su Yu looked at the letter in Xia Qian Ge’s hand. Her reply was written on the envelope. Su Yu could easily see the delicate handwriting. He saw that Xia Qian Ge had rejected the boy’s confession.
Su Yu took the letter from Xia Qian Ge, his racing heart finally calming down.
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