Chapter 4: Not the Least Bit Concerned About Him

Standing in the hallway, Zhang Qi gazed at the direction where the fight had just taken place from a distance and patted her chest. “That was so intense. It’s the first time I’ve ever seen a fight up close like that.”

Zhao Ying felt the same way. The two of them looked at Xu Yannuo, who was as soft and adorable as a little bunny, and noticed her still-pale complexion, which hadn’t fully recovered yet. They immediately asked with concern, “Are you okay, Nuonuo? Feeling any better?”

Zhao Ying then comforted her, “Don’t be scared, okay? Next class, let’s go buy some ice cream to calm our nerves.”

Xu Yannuo nodded, forcing back the moisture welling up in her eyes.

Afterwards, her vision cleared, and Xu Yannuo raised her eyes. At the door of Class 8, she saw Chen Ciyi. At that moment, he was leaning leisurely against the classroom door, arms crossed over his chest, watching her with evident interest!

He truly was the kind of handsome that would make both gods and mortals seethe with envy—towering height like a crane among chickens, neatly cropped short hair, pale and cool-toned skin, long and narrow eyes with deep, pronounced double eyelids, and a pair of gold-rimmed glasses that screamed “model student” at first glance… Not to mention the clean, crisp school uniform that carried the faint scent of laundry detergent, exuding an aura of effortless, icy elegance in every detail.

Yet, looking at the way he gazed at her, Xu Yannuo could only think of one phrase—a wolf in sheep’s clothing. She truly wanted to step forward and tear that face apart.

The class bell rang, and Chen Ciyi curled the corner of his lips slightly, letting out what seemed like an inadvertent scoff before turning to head back to the classroom. Behind him, Xu Yannuo and the other students who had been watching the commotion also filed into the classroom and returned to their seats as the preparatory bell sounded.

This period was math class. The official class bell hadn’t rung yet, and the teacher hadn’t arrived, so the classroom remained noisy. Everyone flipped through their books while continuing the gossip they hadn’t finished earlier. Xu Yannuo glanced at Chen Ciyi. The way he had looked at her earlier made her think he would say something she didn’t want to hear—perhaps even question her—but unexpectedly, he hadn’t.

Xu Yannuo waited for a while, but he still said nothing. He merely flipped through his book casually, turning a couple of pages before propping his chin on his hand and sitting there listlessly. Behind his gold-rimmed glasses, those beautiful eyes were unfocused—whether he was reading or staring at something else, it was impossible to tell. Everything was calm until, a few seconds later, as if noticing Xu Yannuo’s gaze, Chen Ciyi tilted his head slightly and lazily glanced at her. Then, his thin lips parted as he suddenly asked, “Enjoying the view, desk mate?”

Damn it… Xu Yannuo didn’t want to deal with him anymore.

The morning passed without incident, and he didn’t cause any trouble. After two class breaks and one morning exercise session, when everyone returned, their attitudes and the way they looked at her remained unchanged. This indicated he hadn’t blabbed about her to others, which gave Xu Yannuo some slight relief.

As long as he didn’t provoke her, she could tolerate his presence by pretending he didn’t exist.

But when lunchtime came, Chen Yiyi was nowhere to be found. Xu Yannuo had no idea where he went, nor did she care. However, the other girls were very concerned about him. After Xu Yannuo, Zhao Ying, and Zhang Qi got their food and sat down at an empty table, Zhang Qi immediately started gossiping, “Nuo Nuo, I looked around while we were in line—why didn’t I see your deskmate? The school’s under closed management, and you can’t leave during lunch break. If he’s not eating in the cafeteria, what’s he having for lunch?”

Zhao Ying asked again, “Does he not know where the cafeteria is? Nuo Nuo, didn’t you tell him?”

Xu Yannuo thought to herself, whether he eats or not is his business—skipping lunch every day won’t starve him to death. But she could only keep these thoughts to herself. She didn’t want to appear strange or out of place, nor did she want to hurt Zhao Ying and Zhang Qi’s feelings. She was about to explain that she forgot to tell him, and he didn’t ask either—she assumed he already knew.

But before she could get the words out, two girls from another class who knew Zhao Ying came over and asked, “Hey sweetie, which one is the new transfer student in your class?”

Another girl chimed in, “We didn’t see him during the morning exercises! We just heard about it—everyone says he’s super handsome. So which one is he? Point him out!”

Xu Yannuo “…”

After lunch, Xu Yannuo, Zhao Ying, and Zhang Qi took a stroll around the campus to walk off their meal. Zhao Ying and Zhang Qi looked everywhere—the sports field, basketball court, the back playground—but didn’t catch a glimpse of Chen Ciyi. Afterward, they went to the school’s milk tea shop, bought three cups of milk tea, and returned to their classroom.

Chen Ci’s seat in the classroom was also empty. A few unfamiliar girls from other classes were peeking in through the door—something that had never happened before. The boys in their class were generally average-looking, as the school’s handsome guys were mostly concentrated in the arts and sports specialty classes, along with a few in Class 2 and Class 10. These were all things Xu Yannuo had been forced to hear about. So, these girls were likely here to catch a glimpse of Chen Ci.

Xu Yannuo and the others walked past those girls and took their seats in the classroom. Zhang Qi and Zhao Ying took sips of their milk tea, opened the entertainment magazines they had bought from the newsstand that morning, and continued reading with their heads lowered over their desks. Meanwhile, Xu Yannuo flipped open her workbook and resumed her exercises.

Throughout the entire noon break, Chen Ciyi’s seat remained empty. It wasn’t until the preparatory bell for the first afternoon class rang, accompanied by a commotion in the hallway, that Chen Ciyi appeared at the classroom door. His school uniform was draped over his shoulders, and he was wearing a fresh T-shirt. He walked in at a leisurely pace, followed by a few tall boys from the sports specialty class, chatting and laughing with him as if they were very familiar—likely having played basketball together during the break. As he passed by Xu Yannuo, a distinct scent drifted over, clearly indicating he had showered after the game. *What a neat freak*, she thought.

As he entered the classroom, the students once again buzzed with discussion. Some of the top students questioned whether he was truly an academic prodigy, given that he hadn’t stayed in the classroom for self-study during the break and was hanging out with the sports students. However, most of the chatter came from girls expressing curiosity and admiration—wondering how he had already become so close with those aloof, elite athletes despite being a new transfer. Even standing among the sports students, he still stood out like a crane among chickens. Among the voices were those of Zhang Qi and Zhao Ying from the front row: “No wonder we didn’t see him during the break—he was playing basketball with the sports students at the school gym.”

Chen Ciyi returned to his seat as if no one else was around, pulling out the English textbook needed for the first class in the afternoon. He flipped through a couple of pages casually, noticing that Xu Yannuo continued to act as if he didn’t exist. Adjusting his gold-rimmed glasses, he rested his chin on his hand and gazed leisurely at Xu Yannuo. “Deskmate, why don’t you ever show any concern for me?”

Xu Yannuo pretended not to hear, having absolutely no desire to care about him.

Chen Ciyi paused for a moment, then suddenly put on a pitiful expression. “They bullied me.”

Xu Yannuo frowned slightly but still ignored him.

Chen Ciyi: “They said I’m the new kid, and if I don’t play basketball with them, they’ll beat me up!”

In the hallway, the few sports-specialty students who hadn’t yet reached their classroom suddenly sneezed in unison—it must have been because the air conditioning in the gym was turned up too high earlier. They sniffled and continued walking toward their specialty class, completely unaware that their top athlete was spouting nonsense.