Chapter 5 — Auntie, could you praise me too?
Xie Hejing got out of the car first.
Nan Xu straightened her clothes and looked out the window. At the gate of Zhi’an No. 1 High School, the blue school emblem hung above the entrance, with a few security guards and teachers standing below.
Today marked the first day of the new term for the senior year. A number of parents had also gathered at the gate. Nan Xu couldn’t help feeling wistful—if her parents were still here, they would surely be fussing over her just like these parents were.
But then she told herself to bounce back from the thought—things would get better.
It had rained heavily the night before. Fallen leaves littered the road, but the air was especially fresh.
Nan Xu let out a long breath, her body and mind easing. After thanking the driver, she stepped through the school gates to look for Class 37.
Xie Hejing walked quickly and was familiar with the layout of the school, so he arrived at the classroom well before her.
The homeroom teacher, Qi Zhixin, hadn’t shown up yet, and the room was in chaos. Some students were bragging loudly about their vacation, while others were frantically finishing their homework, grumbling as they wrote.
Xiang Weishi, the number-one celebrity chaser and the slowest when it came to homework, was currently hunched over, copying from someone’s workbook.
The moment Xie Hejing sat down, Xiang Weishi complained miserably: “I thought Old Qi wasn’t going to check these homeworks, but just now the class monitor said he’s going to check them one by one to see if we actually reviewed over the break!”
“Tell me, is that even fair?” Xiang Weishi shoved his homework toward Xie Hejing. “Did you finish yours? If not, we can copy together.”
“No need.” Xie Hejing dropped his bag on the desk and instinctively glanced toward the door.
From the back, Wen Qi called out: “Yeah, right—like Xie Hejing would ever have unfinished homework!”
This was the guy who, after gaming with them until late at night, would still go home and finish two more practice sets. Wen Qi found it incomprehensible, while Xiang Weishi thought Xie Hejing had gone completely crazy with studying.
But when it came to games, Xiang Weishi had never once beaten him. In schoolwork he couldn’t catch up, and in games he couldn’t win either.
Xiang Weishi sighed. “True. Ugh, guess I’ll just keep copying.”
Two seconds later—
“Wen Qi! Couldn’t you at least write properly? What kind of handwriting is this? I can’t even read it!”
With so much homework to copy, Xiang Weishi’s hand was about to cramp up.
Wen Qi shot back without missing a beat: “Seriously? Beggars can’t be choosers. Take it or leave it. My writing’s way better than your chicken scratch. Calling it scribbles is practically a compliment.”
She reached over to snatch her homework back, but Xiang Weishi quickly smoothed things over with apologies, grins, and a promise of snacks before managing to keep the workbook in hand.
“Hey, why’s the seat next to you empty?” Xiang Weishi asked as he copied, glancing at the desk beside Wen Qi.
Normally, Wen Qi sat alone, using the spare desk to stack her books. But today all the books were gone.
“Old Qi just told the class monitor to tell me—someone new’s transferring in today and will sit beside me.” Wen Qi blew on her nails casually.
“Damn, it’s gotta be a beauty!” Xiang Weishi exclaimed.
Xie Hejing lifted his eyes but saw no one entering.
“How do you know that?” he asked.
Xiang Weishi chuckled. “I guessed.”
“….”
A few seconds later, the classroom suddenly fell silent.
Xie Hejing turned around to see their homeroom teacher, Qi Zhixin, standing at the door with Nan Xu behind him.
Startled, Xiang Weishi stuffed his workbook into his desk and immediately tried to look innocent, his eyes darting around as if nothing had happened.
The moment Xiang Weishi saw Nan Xu, he got a little excited and whispered to Xie Hejing, “See that? My words really came true today—she’s actually a beauty. Ah, shame she didn’t sit next to me!”
Xie Hejing shot him a sharp look. “Shut up. You’re noisy.”
Time was tight in senior year, so Nan Xu kept her self-introduction short. After that, Qi Zhixin went up and gave the usual speech everyone had heard before.
From the moment she walked into the classroom, Nan Xu hadn’t noticed Xie Hejing. Only when she walked to her seat did she realize he was sitting right in front of her.
Of course, Xie Hejing didn’t look at her. As she passed by, Nan Xu unconsciously paused for a moment, remembering what had happened in the car. She quickly pulled her gaze back and walked naturally to her seat behind him.
Her desk was toward the back of the classroom. After sitting down, she glanced around and realized a few faces looked familiar—some of them were the people who had helped her at the bar that night. Xiang Weishi and Wen Qi, especially, had left a strong impression.
As she stacked her books one by one on the desk, Wen Qi leaned over and whispered, “Hey, I heard during your self-intro your name’s Nan Xu, right? You transferred from Zhi’an No. 3 High School? I’m Wen Qi. I’ve got a friend there—do you know Wei Qingxuan?”
Wei Qingxuan. Back at Zhi’an No. 3 High School, Nan Xu often saw his name on the honor roll.
“I do. He always ranked first.”
“Hah, no wonder—he’s got good grades.”
That little exchange was enough to break the ice. Wen Qi’s cheerful and open personality kept the conversation going for a while. By the time they finished chatting, Qi Zhixin’s long-winded talk had ended, and he started checking homework.
Wen Qi hurried to grab her homework back, and when Qi Zhixin looked it over, he even praised her.
But when it came to Xiang Weishi, Qi Zhixin nearly lost what little hair he had left.
“Xiang Weishi, what is this? You didn’t do a single test paper, and in the workbook you only filled in a few pages. What now, waiting for me to do it for you? Want me to take the college entrance exam in your place too?”
Xiang Weishi prided himself on being flexible—able to admit when he was wrong—so he immediately apologized and promised he’d definitely finish next time. He even swore he’d improve by thirty places in the monthly exam.
Even so, Qi Zhixin added another condition: Xiang Weishi had to clean the classroom for two weeks. If he failed to keep his promises, his parents would be called in. Xiang Weishi instantly deflated.
After checking only a few more, Qi Zhixin decided it was wasting too much time and gave up. He went back to the podium and said, “You’re in your senior year now—I don’t need to tell you how critical this period is. You can judge that for yourselves. Now, pass up the essays I assigned before. Work on the workbook in the meantime—I’ll go over it next class.”
The essays were passed forward from the back. Nan Xu held them in her hand and was just about to pass them on when she noticed Xie Hejing was bent over, sorting through his things. She had no choice but to wait.
Wen Qi glanced at her, then called out directly, “Xie Hejing.”
He looked up, and Wen Qi gestured toward the essay in Nan Xu’s hand. Xie Hejing nodded slightly, expressionless, and took it from her to pass forward.
Wen Qi kindly introduced, “That funny-looking one is Xiang Weishi, and the other one’s Xie Hejing. What do you think—handsome, right?”
Xiang Weishi was still slumping in his seat, but Xie Hejing, hearing the voice from behind, stopped what he was doing.
“Mm. Handsome.”
Nan Xu nodded earnestly. When they were little and she was following Xie Hejing around, she remembered the compliments he received even more clearly than he did. That was because little Nan Xu also loved to be praised, and she noticed when some of the aunties would only compliment Xie Hejing, completely ignoring her as she tagged along behind him.
Little Nan Xu would often patter forward, her soft fair hand tugging at an auntie’s and asking sweetly, “Auntie, could you praise me too?”
“Handsome, sure,” Wen Qi muttered, “but way too arrogant—and mean, too.”
Even though they’d lowered their voices, the desks were close together. Xie Hejing’s hand froze on the book he was arranging, and he glanced back.
No one knew exactly who he was looking at, but both girls instantly stopped talking and busied themselves with their own things. That single glance worked better than the homeroom teacher’s.
The workbook had already been placed on Nan Xu’s desk by the class monitor earlier, so she skimmed it, recognized a few familiar problems, and quickly got to work.
She could follow the lessons well enough, but when the lunch bell rang, Nan Xu hit a snag. Back at No. 3 High School, her mother used to drive her home for lunch. She wasn’t sure if No. 1 High School students ate in the cafeteria or if they were allowed out.
Seeing her still sitting there, Wen Qi asked why. Then, with a look of indignation, explained, “We used to be able to go out. But last semester the school changed the rule—now we can only eat in the cafeteria.”
Thinking of cafeteria food, Wen Qi pulled a face, as if her mouth had gone bland all over. “Come on, let’s go together?”
But going with Wen Qi meant also going with Xie Hejing and Xiang Weishi. Nan Xu instinctively glanced at Xie Hejing, her eyes carrying the question.
She wasn’t sure if he’d want her tagging along.
Without looking at her, Xie Hejing simply gestured to the group. “Let’s eat.”
Nan Xu’s lips curved ever so slightly, and she followed.
The cafeteria was already crowded. Nan Xu stood in place, torn over what to choose. Wen Qi, watching, grew anxious. Seniors were allowed to leave class ten minutes early to beat the rush, but if Nan Xu hesitated much longer, the first- and second-years would be pouring in, and they’d be stuck in long lines.
After asking about Nan Xu’s tastes, Wen Qi recommended a small stir-fry counter.
Wen Qi got her meal first. “Nan Xu, I’ll go grab us a table.”
“Okay.”
But when Nan Xu finished choosing, she realized she’d forgotten to top up her meal card. With classmates waiting behind her, she turned—and spotted Xie Hejing in another line. She hurried over.
“Bro—”
He shot her a look.
Nan Xu instantly corrected herself. “Ahem… Classmate Xie, could you swipe your card for me? I forgot to recharge mine.”
It was her first time addressing him like that, and it felt strange on her tongue.
Balancing her tray, she walked with him to where Wen Qi and Xiang Weishi were sitting, only to find the two of them completely distracted from eating.
Xiang Weishi was showing Wen Qi something on his phone, rattling on nonstop. Wen Qi looked half-convinced, half-doubtful. “Seriously? You’re not messing with me?”
When Xie Hejing came closer, Xiang Weishi spun the phone around and shoved it toward him.
“Xie Hejing, look at this video—isn’t this the girl we helped at the bar that night?”
Bar. That night. The girl they’d helped!
The food Nan Xu was holding slipped right off her chopsticks.
Nan Xu was almost certain Xiang Weishi was talking about her, but she had no idea what exactly he was showing Xie Hejing.
“What video? Can I take a look?” Nan Xu asked with a bright smile, feigning curiosity.
“Of course.” Xiang Weishi held the phone screen up to her.
Her heart clenched at once. Cheng Jia’s band had a social media account, where they sometimes posted practice clips. Nan Xu had joined a few sessions, so she appeared in some of the videos.
But she had always been “fully armed”—disguised and tucked away in a corner. The clip wasn’t even that popular. She couldn’t imagine how Xiang Weishi had stumbled across it.
Completely oblivious to her unease, Xiang Weishi tapped right on the tiny figure of her in the video. “See? This is my new goddess.”
Nan Xu’s chopsticks slipped again, the food tumbling down. She could hardly believe her ears. “Your… goddess?”
Xiang Weishi nodded matter-of-factly.
Nan Xu: “??”
Wen Qi leaned over for another look, baffled. “Xiang Weishi, are you insane? You’ve never even seen her face, and you’re calling her your goddess?”
Xiang Weishi had a look on his face that said, “You guys just don’t get it.” He said, “You know I’m into bands. My old favorite’s lead singer got exposed recently, so I swore off idolizing anyone. But then I stumbled on this band.”
“At first, I was going to swipe past too, but then I saw this guitarist. Can’t really blame me — the more completely she covered herself up, the more recognizable she became. If she had shown her face, maybe I’d have just taken a look and moved on, but dressed like this, I remembered her right away.”
He tapped open a few more clips that also had Nan Xu in them—each one barely liked by anyone else—but he watched with great interest. “Look at that move, so cool. In my mind, she’s already got this image—mysterious, aloof, the ultimate cool girl. And after watching a few more, I realized…”
Wen Qi rolled her eyes. “What now? Why are you making such a fuss?”
Nan Xu’s stomach tightened.
Did he recognize me?
“Realized what?” Wen Qi asked.
Xiang Weishi declared with conviction, “She’s definitely not the type to fall from grace.”
Nan Xu: “…”
Wen Qi huffed. “So you’re saying the girl we ran into at the bar that night was her? Doesn’t even look like her. Maybe she just likes dressing that way—how can you be sure it’s the same person?”
Xiang Weishi tilted his chin up. “I just know. What do you think, Xie Hejing?”
Nan Xu’s hand clenched tight. She followed his gaze to Xie Hejing, holding her breath.
For a moment, all three pairs of eyes were on him.
Xie Hejing studied the video in his hand, then lifted his gaze. By chance, it met Nan Xu’s.
His lashes flickered.
“Don’t remember.”
Xiang Weishi: “…”
Nan Xu let out a long breath of relief, then carefully added, “This guitarist doesn’t really seem all that special anyway.”
Xiang Weishi shook his head. “You guys just don’t get it. Anyway, I go by gut feeling.”
Nan Xu pressed her lips together. The food in her mouth suddenly tasted bland. If Xiang Weishi really recognized her, she felt her peaceful life would be over.
“Hey, Xie Hejing, didn’t you pick up a bracelet outside the bar last time?” Xiang Weishi asked.
At the mention of it, Nan Xu instantly perked up. She’d already looked for it around the house this morning but couldn’t find a trace of it. Even during class, her mind kept drifting off, wondering where that bracelet could’ve gone.
“Yes,” Xie Hejing replied swiftly.
“Give it to me!” Xiang Weishi leaned forward, excited. He knew the band was set to perform at a music festival in three months. “When I finally meet my goddess in person, I’ll give it back to her.”
“I forgot where I left it when I changed clothes.”
A beat of silence.
“Argh!” Xiang Weishi jabbed at the food in his bowl in frustration, letting out a small outburst. “My chance to get close to her—gone, just like that.”
“Your memory, seriously. I’m speechless.”
Nan Xu, however, was quite relieved. At least now she knew the bracelet was still somewhere in the villa. She’d make sure to search carefully when she got back.
The only problem was—
The most likely place it could be was Xie Hejing’s room.