Ning Zhiyu’s deskmate was taken aback, thinking she had misheard. She looked at Ning Zhiyu with surprise.
Ning Zhiyu still had a cold and indifferent expression, flipping through her textbook. Her deskmate felt annoyed. It’s like a dog biting the hand that feeds it, not knowing who the good people are! Let her hang out with those kind of people if she wants to, and cry later when her grades drop and she can’t even get into a decent university! Thinking this way, the deskmate’s mood improved as if she could already imagine Ning Zhiyu failing in next year’s college entrance exam.
In fact, Ning Zhiyu’s deskmate represents a certain group of people.
In the eyes of some teachers, Class 1 and Class 2 are separated by an invisible line from the other 18 classes.
The college entrance exam is the most important exam that can determine part of one’s future. Some are destined to be mediocre, while others stand out. In a few years, it will be a matter of social class… such thoughts may have silently existed from a young age, just like some parents forbidding their children from playing with classmates who have poor grades and only allowing them to play with classmates who have good grades.
There is also a hierarchy in school.
Jiang Yumo never thought that she would be looked down upon by others, seen as someone from a different level. As the bell for the last class of the afternoon rang, the students in the class rushed to the cafeteria like hungry wolves. Jiang Yumo, Yan Qing, and Sun Mengting were the closest friends, walking hand in hand down the stairs.
“What should we eat?” Yan Qing started to worry before even reaching the cafeteria. “I want to eat chicken noodle soup, but also want to have baked potatoes, and knife-cut noodles.”
Sun Mengting said, “There are too many people lining up at the knife-cut noodle counter, let’s pass.”
Jiang Yumo sighed and sucked in her stomach, saying, “I want to lose weight.”
Yan Qing leaned over and said, “You’re still trying to lose weight? You’re almost as thin as a bamboo pole.” She glanced at Jiang Yumo and continued with a smirk, “If you ask me, instead of losing weight, you should think about enhancing your chest.”
Jiang Yumo : Ahhh!
She was infuriated and said, “Yan Qing, stop reading so many novels!”
Sun Mengting chimed in, “Yeah, you’re too perverted.”
Yan Qing blinked her eyes, “You guys are the perverted ones! Did I say anything inappropriate? It’s your minds that are perverted!”
Jiang Yumo & Sun Mengting : …
Sun Mengting tried to change the topic, “But Yumo, you don’t need to lose weight. You’re already very thin. Your health is your most valuable asset. If you’re too thin, you might be malnourished.”
Jiang Yumo shook her head, “I weighed myself yesterday, gained four pounds, and I still want to lose weight. It’s not like I’m not eating, I just eat light. So, I’ve decided happily to buy a corn and a boiled egg. I won’t eat late-night snacks anymore. Now, every night when I go home, my mom makes me late-night snacks, either fried noodles or pan-fried dumplings. I’d be surprised if I don’t gain weight!”
Yan Qing nodded, “Your face does seem a bit rounder. It’s better not to eat late-night snacks.”
Jiang Yumo : (T v T)
Losing weight is one reason, and boiled corn and boiled egg together cost less than four yuan, while chicken noodle soup costs six yuan, and a serving of baked potatoes costs three yuan, and it’s still not filling… She wants to save some money, as Duan Ye’s birthday is in mid to late November, and she wants to give him a special gift.
The idea is great.
But when Jiang Yumo chewed on her corn, watching Yan Qing eat delicious chicken noodle soup, and seeing Sun Mengting munching on a baked potato in one hand and a firecracker sausage in the other, she couldn’t help but swallow her saliva and feel that her mouth had turned into a bird’s beak.
No wonder losing weight is the most difficult challenge for girls.
Duan Ye also came to the cafeteria and looked around. He spotted Jiang Yumo eating corn and walked over with big strides.
Jiang Yumo looked up, with corn kernels still at the corner of her fair face. Duan Ye felt an itch in his heart and reached out to wipe the corn off her face.
“Do you like eating corn?” Duan Ye lowered his head and asked with a faint smile.
Yan Qing, who was straightforward, blurted out, “What does she like? She’s trying to lose weight.”
Guo Shichao and Zhao Zheng, who were standing together, burst into laughter upon hearing Yan Qing’s words. Especially Zhao Zheng, who held a grudge from being compared to a pig by Yan Qing last time, immediately made a sarcastic comment, “Those who should lose weight don’t, and those who shouldn’t lose weight want to!”
Yan Qing became angry and threw down her chopsticks, saying, “If you don’t speak, no one will treat you as a mute. Brother Duan, buy him some medicine to make him mute!”
Sun Mengting also felt annoyed, “That’s right, what’s it to you? Eat your own food and drink your own drink.”
Jiang Yumo was very protective of her friends, saying, “Zhao Zheng, you’re so annoying!”
Duan Ye also looked at Zhao Zheng discontentedly.
Zhao Zheng… he could only keep quiet like a chicken.
Guo Shichao held a bottle of cola and placed it on the table, “He won’t speak, don’t mind him. Here, take the cola as an apology.”
Yan Qing reluctantly accepted it.
Zhao Zheng was sent to buy food, and Guo Shi Chao went to the convenience store to buy drinks. Sun Mengting gave up her seat next to Jiang Yumo, and Duan Ye sat down and glanced uncertainly, “For lunch, just corn and eggs?”
Jiang Yumo nodded, looking miserable, “Don’t mention any suggestions. Don’t say that I’m already thin and don’t need to lose weight. This is a healthy diet. Corn is coarse grains, and eggs are protein.”
Duan Ye smiled, “Alright, what else do you want to eat besides this? I’ll go buy it.”
Sun Mengting said, “You just need a fruit or vegetable to have a balanced nutrition.”
Unfortunately, Jiang Yumo didn’t really like eating vegetables, and there were no fruits available at school.
Jiang Yumo nodded listlessly.
During the first self-study session, Duan Ye arrived late. The teacher didn’t dare to scold him. Guo Shichao saw that Duan Ye had bought a pomelo and almost dropped his jaw in surprise. “Brother Duan, what is this for?”
“It’s a pomelo,” Duan Ye replied.
Guo Shichao said, “I know it’s a pomelo, but why did you buy it?”
Duan Ye ignored him and took out his “tools” from his bag—
Hand sanitizer, a small fruit knife, wet wipes, and disposable gloves.
Guo Shichao was puzzled, “?”
Duan Ye squeezed hand sanitizer into his palm and rubbed his hands together seriously. Then he wiped his hands again with wet wipes, and finally put on disposable gloves with great solemnity.
He used the knife skillfully and quickly.
In just a few moments, he peeled the pomelo skin in three or four strokes, and then changed into a new pair of disposable gloves. He carefully peeled off the membranes and removed the seeds from the pomelo flesh, placing the peeled fruit into a transparent bowl.
Guo Shichao was amazed and even curious. “Since you’re wearing gloves, why do you need hand sanitizer?”
Duan Ye still didn’t answer.
—For peeling the pomelo with bare hands.
Guo Shichao could tell with just his toes who the pomelo was peeled for.
Brother Duan’s unusual behavior made it seem like he had changed into a different person, and only Jiang Yumo had such skills.
—D*mn!
Guo Shichao couldn’t help but sigh, “Why wasn’t I born as a girl?”
Duan Ye turned his head slowly and looked at him.
It was a deathly stare.
Guo Shichao suddenly realized that he had said something disgusting, so he quickly grabbed a random test paper from the desk and pretended to look at the questions, although he couldn’t understand any of them…
The bell for the end of the first self-study session rang, and Duan Ye finally called Jiang Yumo, asking her to come to the stairwell.
Jiang Yumo didn’t know what he was up to, but she hurried over to the stairwell, where Duan Ye was already waiting for her.
As she approached, he handed her the transparent bowl.
She saw that the bowl was filled with peeled pomelo, and her eyes widened. “Wow! What’s this!”
Duan Ye smiled at her reaction. “It’s pomelo, you said you wanted to eat fruit.”
Jiang Yumo took it from him. “Did you peel it?”
Duan Ye nodded, and added, “I washed my hands and wore gloves before peeling it.”
He didn’t mention that he had also used hand sanitizer and wiped his hands with wet wipes.
Jiang Yumo didn’t pay much attention to it. She took a piece of pomelo and put it in her mouth. Her eyes lit up with delight as she looked at him. “So sweet!”
Before Duan Ye could say “I’m glad you like it,” she picked up a piece and offered it to him. “Try it too, it’s really sweet.”
Duan Ye hesitated for a moment, then lowered his head, his eyes showing a suspicious flicker.
“Eat it,” she urged.
He opened his mouth and tasted the pomelo, as if savoring the flavor.
“Isn’t it sweet? It’s the sweetest pomelo I’ve ever had!” Jiang Yumo said.
Duan Ye nodded gently. “Hmm.”
…
The class bell rang, and Jiang Yumo happily returned to the classroom with the bowl of pomelo. Yan Qing and the others gathered around. “Where did you get that?”
“You guess.” Jiang Yumo winked playfully.
Yan Qing and the others exchanged knowing looks. “We get it, we get it. Brother Duan is really a good husband material for you!”
“Good husband material” had become an adjective now.
Duan Ye entered the classroom with a slight quirk of his lips, seemingly savoring something in his memories, and his steps were brisk.
Zhao Zheng and Guo Shichao exchanged text messages to gossip : [Don’t you think Jiang Yumo looks like a bewitching concubine?]
Guo Shichao replied : [And who do you think you are, a loyal minister? At most, you’re just a eunuch in charge.]
Zhao Zheng : [… D*mn!]
It was still raining today. Father Jiang came to pick Jiang Yumo up. Jiang Yumo had even asked her father to wait at the bus stop for a while, but she didn’t see Ning Zhuyu. She could only disappointingly say, “She may have already taken the bus back.”
She didn’t see that until her family’s car had driven away for a while, Ning Zhiyu walked out of the school while carrying a backpack that had been washed to a pale color and holding a rusty umbrella.
Seeing that there was no one at the bus stop, she finally breathed a sigh of relief.
She knew that Jiang Yumo was friendly to her, and she also knew that Jiang Yumo was a good person. But she was scared of forming friendships with others.
Perhaps she had very little in terms of possessions since she was young, and she cherished whatever little she had. If someone became distant from her in the future, she would feel extremely, extremely hurt.
The next bus would take a long time to arrive, and there weren’t many buses at Fifth High bus stop. She decided to walk to a farther stop.
The rain drizzled down, and she gripped the umbrella handle tightly as she walked, lost in thought, oblivious to someone riding a bike behind her. When she realized it, she had already been knocked down, feeling a sharp pain in her palms and limbs. The umbrella was also thrown aside, and she looked up abruptly at the culprit.
It was a handsome boy.
Lately, Zhou Ji had been in a bad mood, riding his bike with earphones on, ignoring everyone. But he didn’t expect to bump into someone and knock them down. The rain soaked his hair, and he looked at the girl on the ground with a trace of impatience in his eyes. He put down one foot, took out his wallet, and took out several red bills1 to hand to her. “Medical expenses, is that enough?”
Ning Zhiyu clenched her hand.
Her face turned slightly pale, her eyes lowered. Maybe it was ten seconds, maybe even less than five seconds, she lifted her head, her gaze calm and clear, as she accepted those few bills.
Zhou Ji didn’t bother with her and rode away on his bike.
Duan Ye arrived at Deep Blue.
It was an internet cafe owned by one of his friends. Zhao Zheng and Guo Shichao also came along.
The few of them lazily stood by the front desk.
Duan Ye suddenly remembered something and said to the person at the front desk, “Help me recharge my yellow diamond and red diamond.”
Jiang Yumo’s space2 was decorated in a flashy manner, and her account was also cool. Duan Ye would often help her hang around, and with the acceleration effect of the red diamond, her level was already quite high.
Zhao Zheng burst into laughter and said to his buddies beside him, “No need to ask, it’s for Sister Mo.”
Guo Shichao chimed in, “What’s that called again? Iron man with a soft heart!”
Duan Ye laughed and cursed, “Feeling mischievous again?”
rokumi’s note : Where can I find a Duan Ye…?
my standards are getting higher and higher that even my height can’t reach it anymore 😩
Tl sama do not even talk about ML *biting handkerchief*.
I start to remember what I was doing at my school year *oh yeah studying*.
Right now I feel so much envy towards MC.
School love ah school love. I have always wanted to experience it, but alas, I am already 24, but no relationship. If there was a guy like ML, I would have married him already
Yeees , me too