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Chapter 20
Editor: Princess
However, Luo Changzhou didn’t answer Yu Pei’s question right away. He stayed silent for a few seconds, his fingers tightening on the strap of his bag. Then, suddenly, he looked down at Yu Pei and asked in a low voice, “Do you think I should go see her?”
Yu Pei froze. Luo Changzhou was staring straight at him, his deep eyes glimmering faintly. He couldn’t figure out why Luo Changzhou would ask him something like that, so he just followed his instincts and said, “Go…”
However before he could finish, he saw Luo Changzhou’s frown deepen, so he added quickly, “After all she’s a girl. Even if you don’t like her, meeting her and turning her down isn’t a big deal.”
Hearing this, Luo Changzhou’s brows finally relaxed, but Yu Pei looked a bit lost.
He was thinking, if Luo Changzhou was going to the field to meet that girl, he’d have to go home alone today…
But just as that thought crossed his mind, Luo Changzhou reached out a finger, hooked it lightly on his bag, and said in a low voice, “You’re coming with me.”
“Huh?” Yu Pei tilted his head up, looking at him in confusion. Someone was confessing to him, so why did he have to go too?
But Luo Changzhou didn’t give him time to think. He just grabbed his bag and started walking out. “Let’s go.”
“Oh.” Yu Pei followed quickly.
The vibrant flame trees were blooming in every corner of the school, with many planted by the steps of the field. The evening breeze swept through, scattering petals everywhere. Yu Pei stared at the red petals on the ground, his mind blank, and it wasn’t known what he was thinking.
Suddenly, Luo Changzhou spoke, his voice as calm as ever: “How do you know I’ll definitely turn her down?”
Yu Pei’s pupils shrank at his words. And stopping in his tracks, he stared at Luo Changzhou, stunned.
Luo Changzhou also stopped walking, and his eyes lowered slightly, the deep blue reflecting Yu Pei and the brilliant sunset behind him, he continued, “What if I say yes to her?”
Yu Pei’s adam’s apple bobbed as he swallowed, however although his lips moved a few times, he couldn’t get any words out.
Luo Changzhou didn’t seem to need an answer either. Because after asking, he lifted his foot and kept walking forward. Not far ahead of him stood Zhu Yueming, the girl who had secretly taken his photo and posted her confession on the school’s wall.
Yu Pei stared blankly as Luo Changzhou walked farther away. He thought of Zhu Yueming’s bold and passionate confession on the wall: “Luo Changzhou, I like you. Be my boyfriend!”
What if… what if Luo Changzhou really said yes to her?
Yu Pei had never been in a relationship, but he’d seen others date. Those couples were always together, whether it was going to school or going home. If Luo Changzhou really agreed to be Zhu Yueming’s boyfriend, then they’d never be able to go to class or walk home together every day again.
He’d be with Zhu Yueming, doing everything together with her. Even the little cloud-shaped hand warmer Luo Changzhou gave him on cold mornings would probably end up being Zhu Yueming’s.
He took a few labored breaths. His chest felt tight, like he was about to suffocate. But it wasn’t the same as an asthma attack—it was a sour, unbearable kind of discomfort.
He lifted his head and saw that Luo Changzhou had already reached Zhu Yueming. He started walking toward them quickly. Whether Luo Changzhou said yes or no, he had to hear it with his own ears.
Nan Hua High School was the best public high school in South City. Aside from the rich second-generation kids who could afford private schools and students like Yu Pei, who got in through art or money, Nan Hua was filled with the brightest students in the city.
But here, looks and grades didn’t always go hand in hand.
Some students were good-looking but total headaches for the teachers. Others were geniuses, acing advanced math and physics problems and adored by teachers and classmates alike, but their appearances weren’t remarkable—some even had faces full of acne…….
So a student like Luo Changzhou, who was both academically excellent and tall, handsome, and mixed-race, was a once-in-a-century rarity.
When Zhu Yueming found out about this mixed-race heartthrob in school, she perked up immediately. Coming from a wealthy family, she had no interest in marrying into another rich household and wasn’t drawn to the spoiled, underachieving rich boys at school. Which was why she stayed single—until Luo Changzhou showed up.
She thought to herself, even if Luo Changzhou was terrible at school, she’d be happy just staring at his face every day. The closer he got, the faster her heart raced. She cleared her throat and, in a voice softer and sweeter than usual, began, “Classmate Luo Changzhou…”
“Hmm?” Luo Changzhou responded softly, his brows slightly furrowed. From a distance, it was hard to see his expression clearly.
Zhu Yueming didn’t notice the two or three steps of distance between them. From where she stood, she could see his deep blue eyes clearly, and it was just like the rumors among their classmates. They sparkled like sapphires.
“I, I…” Under the gaze of those eyes, Zhu Yueming felt nervous and shy for the first time in her life. “…Can you be my boyfriend?”
Zhu Yueming stammered as she finished her sentence. She had assumed that since Luo Changzhou was willing to meet her after school on the field, he was already inclined to say yes. After she spoke, her group of girlfriends started teasing her, and plenty of other students gathered around to watch the show unfold.
Amid the laughter and teasing, Zhu Yueming’s face burned brighter and brighter. She looked up at Luo Changzhou with hopeful eyes. Even Yu Pei, who had jogged a few steps to catch up, was holding his breath, waiting for Luo Changzhou’s answer.
He wasn’t any more relaxed than Zhu Yueming. He was just as nervous. He was genuinely afraid that if Luo Changzhou said yes to being Zhu Yueming’s boyfriend, they wouldn’t be able to walk home together anymore. But if that was the only reason, it wouldn’t have made him this anxious.
Just as he was about to pull out his asthma inhaler for a couple of puffs to ease his suffocation, Luo Changzhou finally spoke. He said, “I can’t, I don’t want to.”
Zhu Yueming froze at his words, the entire field falling silent as well. Luo Changzhou’s rejection was so blunt, without any preamble at all.
Most people, when rejecting someone’s confession, would at least start with something nice, like “You’re a good person, but we’re not suitable”. But Luo Changzhou didn’t even give Zhu Yueming that courtesy. He outright said, “I don’t want to.”
The heat drained from Zhu Yueming’s face instantly. And maybe Luo Changzhou, realizing he’d been too harsh, added after a pause, “You’re great, but we’re just not suitable. After all, feelings can’t be forced.”
But why did these words almost sound like he was complaining about Zhu Yueming’s group cornering him in the classroom?
Seeing that his explanation only made things worse, Luo Changzhou looked a bit helpless. He opened his mouth to say more, but Zhu Yueming, afraid he might say something even harsher, quickly interrupted with teary eyes, “It’s fine, I understand.”
Luo Changzhou replied subconsciously, “It’s good that you understand.”
Zhu Yueming: “…”
Luo Changzhou: “I…”
Zhu Yueming interrupted him again, took a deep breath, forced a smile, and raising her arms as if generously, said, “If we can’t be a couple, let’s just be classmates.” She didn’t even dare to suggest being friends anymore. “But before you leave, can I get a hug? I can’t win your heart, but at least give me a hug, right?”
After saying this, she even stuck her tongue out playfully, and the atmosphere on the field started to lighten up a little thanks to her cheerful tone.
But Luo Changzhou once again shocked everyone. Because his expression turning serious and his brows furrowing, he said to Zhu Yueming sternly, “No, that’s like drinking poison to quench thirst. It won’t end well.”
The onlookers: “…”
Yu Pei: “…”
Zhu Yueming, both embarrassed and aggrieved, asked Luo Changzhou, “Then why did you even come to see me?” She asked this completely forgetting that she had sent her group to block him in the senior science class.
Luo Changzhou, still serious, said, “I came out to see you out of respect. Also, I wanted to tell you to stop taking pictures of me. You make me look ugly—”
Yu Pei grabbed his arm, motioning for him to stop talking, because Zhu Yueming looked like she was about to cry.
Tan Qiming, who had come to watch the confession, was also stunned. He had never imagined that Luo Changzhou could be this clueless about romance. No wonder someone so handsome and smart didn’t have a girlfriend—no girl could put up with a guy this straight-laced, right?
Zhu Yueming didn’t want to see Luo Changzhou anymore. She had embarrassed herself to the max today. So turning her back, she ran off, and her group of friends, after cursing Luo Changzhou a few times, followed her.
But Yu Pei heard Luo Changzhou mutter under his breath, “Bitter medicine cures the disease, and harsh advice improves conduct. I was just being honest, and they still scold me…”
Unable to hold it in anymore, he burst out laughing.
Looking down, Luo Changzhou shot him a glare. Yu Pei immediately shut up and let go of his arm. But Luo Changzhou’s gaze slowly shifted to his hand, and thinking he was still mad about the laughing, Yu Pei quickly softened his tone and said, “Changzhou, let’s go. I’ll treat you to snow velvet milk tea today.”
“En.” Luo Changzhou nodded, stuffed his hands back into his pockets, and started walking.
And catching up with him, Yu Pei walked beside him. And when they reached the milk tea shop, he hesitated but still couldn’t hold back and asked, “Changzhou…”
Luo Changzhou replied, “En, what is it?”
“Why didn’t you accept Zhu Yueming’s confession?”
Luo Changzhou took the snow velvet milk tea handed over by the staff. He first inserted a straw into one cup and handed it to Yu Pei, then picked up his own. He asked in return, “Why should I agree?”
“She’s really pretty, and her grades are decent too.” Yu Pei listed Zhu Yueming’s good points.
Luo Changzhou responded bluntly, “I don’t like her—” However just as the word “her” came out, he suddenly changed it to, “…girls.”