Back at school, there's still half an hour before class starts.
Xu Chuning moved silently to her seat to sit down, preparing to sneak in a short nap.
Hearing the noise, Deng Xitong, who was secretly playing with her phone on the desk, looked up at her and whispered, "Did you go home?"
Xu Chuning hummed, "Did I wake you?"
"No," Deng Xitong shook her phone at her, "I'm reading a novel."
After a brief chat, Deng Xitong continued reading her novel, and Xu Chuning lay down on the desk to sleep; she was actually somewhat sleepy, but as she closed her eyes, the scene from earlier at the school entrance involuntary came to mind—she knew Xu Zhiyan and Shen Yubai were quite familiar with each other, and there were rumors in school about the close relationship between their families, suggesting more than meets the eye between them.
But hearing rumors is one thing, seeing it with your own eyes is another.
Lost in thought, Xu Chuning thought about it until the bell rang for class, but she couldn't fall asleep.
The bell for class rang, and Xu Chuning resignedly sat up.
Noticing her dejected mood, Deng Xitong casually asked, "What's wrong with you?"
Xu Chuning was surprised, "What?"
Deng Xitong looked at her sideways and whispered, "You don't seem to be in a good mood."
"No, I'm not," Xu Chuning responded with her usual expression as she pulled her books out from her desk, "I don't have a bad mood."
She was in quite a good mood.
Deng Xitong uttered an "Ah," blinked hesitantly, "Really?"
Xu Chuning: "Mhm, class is starting."
Deng Xitong raised her eyebrows but didn't continue the topic.
The afternoon passed slower than the morning.
Not long after class started, many students in the class began to feel sleepy, Xu Chuning saw several classmates lying down in front of her, and she too felt a bit drowsy. She raised her hand to rub her eyes and forced herself to concentrate on the lesson.
Coming from a modest background, if she does not perform well academically, she might never have a chance to stand out in life. Xu Chuning understood this when she was very young.
The bell rang for the end of school, and the teacher dragged on the class for a while.
Once the teacher left with her teaching plan, Xu Chuning packed up her bag and walked out; she hadn't made it to the school gate when she was stopped by a few girls, "Are you Xu Chuning?"
Xu Chuning looked at the four girls in front of her and frowned slightly, "What's up?"
"Did we hear that you're chasing Shen Yubai?" One of the girls with long curly hair sized her up and scoffed with contempt, "You're really overestimating yourself."
Xu Chuning: "…You heard wrong."
She said expressionlessly, "I am not chasing Shen Yubai."
"Not?" Another girl with short hair sneered, "If not, then why were you on the rooftop with Shen Yubai? You're the one who followed him there, won't you admit it?"
After listening to the girl's words, Xu Chuning had three black lines across her forehead and blurted out, "Diseased."
She couldn't be bothered to argue with the four and shifted to leave but unexpectedly was grabbed by the backpack.
Xu Chuning paused, turned her head to look at the person, her eyes slightly cold, "Let go."
"You—" The long curly-haired girl met her gaze, her breath hitched, and inexplicably, she felt short of breath, "If you weren't guilty and we hit a nerve, why would you run?"
She said, gathering her courage.
Hearing this, Xu Chuning tugged at her lip, with a cool tone, "I'll only say it once, are you letting go or not?"
"I'm not letting go, what can you do to me?" As she spoke, the girl pulled even harder on Xu Chuning's backpack, apparently wanting to drag Xu Chuning back.
Xu Chuning, who appeared slim and somewhat undernourished, really stumbled backward two steps when pulled by the girl, but quickly, she steadied herself, "I won't do anything to you."
Xu Chuning turned and raised her hand, grabbing the girl's wrist and twisting it to pin her to the ground.
"Ah…" The girl screamed in pain, cursed, "Xu Chuning, are you—"
Before she could finish her last two words, Xu Chuning gripped her wrist even tighter, twisting it downward, causing so much pain that the girl couldn't speak.
"What do you mean?" Xu Chuning asked in a detached tone.
The girl's forehead broke out in a cold sweat as she was gripped by Xu Chuning, unable to utter a word.
The other three, seeing this scene, turned pale with fear. They had never imagined Xu Chuning could be so resolute.
While the group was still in shock, Xu Chuning slightly smirked and said, "Let me emphasize again, I'm not chasing Shen Yubai, I have no interest in him. Whoever likes him can pursue him. If this happens again, I won't be lenient."
Having said this, Xu Chuning let go of the girl's wrist, picked up her own backpack that had its stitching undone in the scuffle, and without a glance at the young man watching the ordeal from a distance, she walked straight out of the school.
"F*ck," exclaimed Ban Shu, standing next to Shen Yubai, having witnessed the entire scene, "Xu Chuning is actually this tough?"
Shen Yubai didn't respond. He was thinking about the final look Xu Chuning gave him, feeling it was somewhat off-putting.
Before he could ponder it further, Ban Shu patted him on the shoulder, "Brother Yu, what do you say now?"
Shen Yubai's thoughts snapped back to the present, and he glanced at Ban Shu, "I have things to do, I won't be going to the arcade today."
"Ah?" Ban Shu was taken aback, "What do you have to do?"
Shen Yubai started walking, following Xu Chuning's footsteps, without answering Ban Shu's question.
Watching the two leave one after the other, Ban Shu's lips twitched—his Brother Yu had really fallen deep.
*
As she exited the school, Shen Sinian was already waiting at the gate.
Seeing Xu Chuning, he broke into a smile, his tousled short hair shining brightly in the sunset, "Ningning."
Xu Chuning was amused by his cheerful voice and smiled subtly, "Have you been waiting long?"
Shen Sinian shook his head, "Did your class run late?"
Xu Chuning nodded, "Let's go."
They were about to head to the bus station when a clear voice came from behind them, "Taking a cab?"
Shen Sinian turned back, his frown barely perceptible, "What do you mean?"
Shen Yubai's expression was cold, "Hasn't she told you?"
On hearing this, Shen Sinian turned to look at Xu Chuning.
Xu Chuning: "He's coming with us to the hospital."
Shen Sinian's voice was low, "Since when was this decided?"
He had no idea about it.
Xu Chuning: "Over lunch."
Shen Sinian's lips moved slightly, as if he wanted to say something else, but Xu Chuning said, "Let's go, it will get busy at the shop later."
The school finished quite early, around 5 p.m. The shop would usually get busier with customers around 6 p.m., so Xu Chuning would usually finish her homework after school before going to help at the store.
Now that they had to go to the hospital, she would have to do her homework after the shop closed for the night.
With Xu Chuning putting it that way, Shen Sinian naturally had no objections. Since Shen Yubai was taking a cab, Xu Chuning didn't bother being courteous about it, as it saved her and Shen Sinian the cost of taking the bus.
Two yuan may not be much to others, but to Xu Chuning, it was a significant amount.
The three of them took a cab to the hospital and smoothly obtained the appraisal report from the hospital.
After seeing the numbers on the report, Xu Chuning glanced at Shen Yubai, who remained silent.
After a while, Shen Yubai folded up the report and looked at Shen Sinian with a complicated expression, "Can we talk outside?"
Shen Sinian looked at Xu Chuning.
Xu Chuning nodded lightly, "Go ahead, I'll wait for you."
After speaking, she reminded Shen Sinian, "Don't fight with him."
"..."