Chapter 15: Intimidate

Xia Zhinian: "?!!"

He turned his head, his eyes wide and blank.

Yan Ci looked down at him, the itch in his heart spreading more and more, his eyes slanted, revealing a bit of displeasure.

He then curved his lips in a vague smile, raised his hand and covered the bright and bewitching eyes.

The moment his palm touched, Xia Zhinian shuddered, and the memory of his eyes being covered and imprisoned by someone not long ago surged in his mind, sobering up a bit, reaching out to pull Yan Ci's arm.

"What are you doing? Let me go."

Yan Ci hugged his waist and pulled him forward, making him face Chu Qingjian's direction, letting go of his eyes, restraining the restless rice cake dumpling, and turned to Chu Qingjian indifferently.

"Do you have something to say?"

Chu Qingjian looked at them for a long time, and that hesitant expression appeared again. He turned to Xia Zhinian who was looking at him eagerly, paused-

"Xia Zhinian, don't hang yourself on one tree... Actually, Yan Ci is not bad either."

Xia Zhinian: "???"

"Brother Chu?" Xia Zhinian's expression was blank, he almost didn't understand what this meant. "What are you talking about?"

The protagonist gong let him chase the protagonist shou?

Xia Zhinian's head was muddled, his face temperature quickly cooled down, and his amber eyes stared blankly at Chu Qingjian.

Chu Qingjian's expression was indescribable and complex. He turned his head and left.

Xia Zhinian: "???"

"Brother Chu? Hey, hey Brother Chu!"

Is this still the protagonist gong who was very jealous?

Xia Zhinian was in a trance for a moment, and there was a chuckle in his ear. "He's gone. Don't shout, Classmate Xia. You can't shout him back."

Yan Ci pulled him with one hand, his expression indifferent, as if he didn't care where Chu Qingjian went. Xia Zhinian calmed down for a few seconds, pursed his lips and backed away, breaking free from the restraint on his arm.

...... Trouble. He, this villain, didn't stimulate the protagonist shou to be jealous and unhappy by following the plot. Instead, he made the protagonist gong suggest that he go after the protagonist shou.

The emotional line was getting more and more broken.

T/N: Romance plot.

He lowered his eyes and thought for two seconds. He didn't look at Yan Ci. He walked out with his head down and wanted to chase Chu Qingjian. "Brother Chu misunderstood. I'll go explain to him."

Yan Ci's eyebrows and eyes slowly pressed down. The slight displeasure in his heart spread more and more. He grabbed Xia Zhinian's arm again, his eyes cold and pulled him closer.

Xia Zhinian couldn't resist his strength. He staggered a few steps and leaned over. His heart thumped.

Yan Ci's pupils under his eyelashes were covered with a layer of gloom. The scar at the corner of his eye was particularly striking. The ink color was deep. "Classmate Xia, Chu Qingjian doesn't like you. Do you still want to get closer?"

His wrist was firmly held. Xia Zhinian looked at his eyes and tried to judge whether Yan Ci said this because he was annoyed that he was sticking to the protagonist gong or because of something else.

He felt a chill on the back of his neck from Yan Ci's gaze. He thought for a moment and whispered-

"Brother Chu and I... have a marriage contract."

Yan Ci's expression paused. His black eyes stared straight at him. There seemed to be a cold pool swirling inside. After a while, he tugged at the corner of his mouth and smiled more gently. His voice was soft.

"Oh, a marriage contract. I almost forgot."

Xia Zhinian's arm was pinched with pain. His heart jumped and his body tensed up. He backed away and lowered his clear eyes.

"I know that verbal promises don't count. But those people around Brother Chu only look at his face and money. If..."

He paused, glanced carefully at Yan Ci again, and whispered tentatively: "If there is someone who really matches Brother Chu well, then I might... give up."

For example, you are such a campus idol who is very compatible.

He looked at Yan Ci, trying to see a hint of intention from his expression.

But Yan Ci's gaze fell on him, his lips slightly raised in a gentle smile, his eyes gathering ink, and he whispered: "Classmate Xia, your liking is deep and touching."

Xia Zhinian: "..."

Okay, he had no idea at all.

Xia Zhinian's temples throbbed. His thoughts sank to the bottom in an instant.

He couldn't follow anymore. The original text said that "Xia Zhinian" followed Chu Qingjian to the bar after the midterm exam. Chu Qingjian couldn't shake him off and was laughed at by his friends.

When the protagonist gong came out of the bar, he never mentioned "Xia Zhinian" again.

He was originally planning to follow him to the door of the bar and then go back. But now Yan Ci was blocking him, and he had already been seen by the protagonist gong and his friends. Chu Qingjian would inevitably be asked and laughed at later.

It can also be regarded as completing the plot.

Xia Zhinian didn't follow Chu Qingjian anymore. He turned his head and changed direction. Yan Ci didn't stop him anymore. He let his back go away, raised his hand and looked at his pale fingertips.

The soft warmth seemed to still linger in his palm, delicate and warm, smoothing over his pain.

But maybe it was because he had never had this kind of joy in more than ten years. After having it briefly, the numbness and pain all over his body became more surging.

Shouting, wanting to hold that warmth firmly in his hand.

Yan Ci remembered the moment he touched his skin, the boy's tremor and resistance. He lowered his eyelids and tilted his head with interest.

He looked at the direction where Chu Qingjian and the others left, and his smile gradually flattened.

.

On Monday, the results came out. The wall posted the ranking of this midterm exam. The students crowded up to see it. Someone exclaimed.

"The class leader is still the first in the grade."

"729 points, more than 50 points higher than the second place!"

Chu Qingjian raised his head and looked at the podium, lowly tsked.

"Yan Ci is first again."

Xia Zhinian sat in the back row, hearing this, he suddenly raised his head and stared at Chu Qingjian's back, his expression a bit surprised, and then a hint of joy appeared.

He muttered in his heart: [Like having an extra brain than others.]

Chu Qingjian smacked his tongue. "Like having an extra brain than others."

...... It matched!

Xia Zhinian's eyes lit up, his amber apricot eyes rubbed with glitter-like light, and he bent his eyes in surprise and gratitude.

Although the protagonist gong's character setting was off, some plot lines and words were still fine.

He breathed a sigh of relief. As long as the plot didn't go too wrong, as long as he could die on time in a car accident, nothing else was a problem.

A shadow suddenly covered his side, and a slender and jade-faced boy walked over.

"Classmate Xia."

Yan Ci stood by his desk, holding a pure black pen between his well-defined fingers, tapping the desk twice.

"Teacher Qin asked us to write a homework after the exam, to record our exam mentality and estimate our exam results. Classmate Xia, did you write it? Give it to me."

Xia Zhinian's gaze fell on the pen in his hand.

Yan Ci followed his gaze, curved his lips, "The pen is very useful. Thank you for Classmate Xia's gift. I will prepare a return gift for you."

Xia Zhinian: "??"

"No need."

It was originally just an excuse for spilling ink and being caught.

Yan Ci's eyebrows and eyes were gentle. "I need it."

He ended the topic decisively, circled back to the previous question. "Homework. Classmate Xia, did you write it?"

Xia Zhinian looked up and glanced at Yan Ci's face with a light smile as usual. His apricot eyes were round. He carefully looked at him, bite his lip and coughed lightly.

"Wait a minute. Let me find it."

Thinking of what he was going to do next, Xia Zhinian was a little nervous inside.

Xia Zhinian's eyes were round. He moved his gaze away and didn't look at him.

Yan Ci raised his eyebrows slightly, a bit surprised. "Did you write it?"

"..." He didn't write it.

It was just that according to the original text, the original owner followed the protagonist gong last week and heard him say that Yan Ci had good grades. On Monday, he heard that sentence "he is first again".

So...

So......

Xia Zhinian's face didn't change. He secretly pinched his fingers in secret, swallowed hard, bowed his head and pretended to rummage in the desk hole.

Yan Ci watched his movements, not knowing what this little rice cake dumpling wanted to do. He hooked his lips with unclear meaning. "Did you accidentally lose it?"

Xia Zhinian: "..."

Xia Zhinian cleared his throat. "I just took it out of my backpack. I forgot where I put it. Let me find it."

Yan Ci stood on his left side in the aisle position. The original owner had poor grades, but Xia's parents and elder brother bought him a bunch of tutoring books. The desk hole couldn't fit them all. There was also a small book box under the desk.

It was also on the left side, close to the aisle.

Xia Zhinian felt the gaze from above looking down at him like it had weight, half-smiling and half-not-smiling. He couldn't help but tighten his scalp. He slowly moved his stool back a bit, leaned down on his knees, his heart thumping wildly. He stretched out his hand to open the book box lid.

He couldn't help but take another sneak peek at him.

Yan Ci could clearly see his delicate white neck and slender waistline from this angle. He looked up at him and saw that his eyes were even more round.

He chuckled. "Open it."

Xia Zhinian: "..."

Well then, he opened it.

There was a bunch of stuff in the box. A folded piece of paper was sandwiched between the books. He reached out and picked it up. His fingertips rubbed over the bottom and suddenly touched a wire.

"Click" sounded.

A snake-like black shadow sprang out from in front of him and flew onto Yan Ci's ankle, winding up along his calf.

"!!"

The shadow was too fast. Yan Ci didn't react yet. Xia Zhinian was startled himself. He leaned back subconsciously. His hair flew up and fell back on his forehead, scratching those round eyes. There was a scream around him.

"Snake! Snake! There's a snake!"

Yan Ci was silent. He looked down at the fake snake wrapped around his calf. His voice was flat and he couldn't hear his emotions.

"Deliberate?"

Xia Zhinian: "..."

Help, where did the original owner get the courage to mess with this kind of black sesame dumpling.

Xia Zhinian felt bitter inside. His body was stiff. He maintained the posture of lying on his knees and didn't move. He rubbed his left index finger joint nervously.

Yan Ci leaned over him from above. After a while, he tilted his head and raised his lips slightly. His clear voice had a bit of terrifying gentleness.

"Classmate Xia... It's been a while since I played this kind of game."

"Is it because I stopped you on Friday and didn't let you go after Chu Qingjian? Are you angry with me?"

Yan Ci looked at him, his voice low. "Say something."