Chapter 4: Love Letter

Xia Zhinian: “?!?!”

Why did the protagonist shou come back?

He stiffened, turned around abruptly, hid the ink bottle behind his back, and his palm was wet.

Yan Ci's legs were straight and slender, his shirt buttoned up to the top, and his Adam's apple was barely covered by the collar.

Seeing the person who shouldn't be here, he smiled slightly at the corner of his mouth, casually blocked the door, and asked softly.

"Classmate Xia, what are you doing next to my seat?"

Xia Zhinian's ears turned red, spreading all the way up, and even the tips of his ears were flushed. He clenched the small glass bottle.

"I..." He stuttered twice, nervous inside, but couldn't lose face because of his image. He lowered his head and pretended to be gloomy, reluctantly.

"My family asked me to thank you for taking care of me in the cellar and to give you a gift."

"Oh?" Yan Ci's delicate face was smiling and gentle, as if he was in a good mood. "Really?"

"The things Classmate Xia gave me before were not very interesting."

If threatening letters and blood-red posters count as gifts.

Xia Zhinian felt his scalp numb from his smile, and his neck hurt reflexively. He swallowed, a drop of sweat slid down his delicate neck and rolled into his deep collarbone.

Yan Ci's eyes slid over and moved away. He glanced at his side casually and said in a careless tone.

"Classmate Xia, your gift seems to have leaked ink."

Xia Zhinian: "?"

He turned his head and saw that the cap of the ink bottle was half-opened and some ink spilled out. There were already a few drops of bright red color on the ground.

Yan Ci closed the door with his backhand, walked forward a few steps, clearly saw a few red stains on his school uniform exposed from the desk hole, and his smile faded a bit.

Xia Zhinian felt half of his heart cold.

Now that he was close, he noticed that the protagonist shou had a thin scar at the corner of his right eye, slightly hidden behind the double eyelid fold. It softened his slightly cold features when he smiled.

But when he didn't smile, he looked even sharper.

"The school uniform is dirty." Yan Ci stood nearby, his eyes black as ink. "Did Classmate Xia do it on purpose?"

Xia Zhinian shivered in his heart, thinking of the original owner's personality. He simply kept silent, lowered his head and used his bangs to cover his eyes, standing still like a gloomy wooden man without a sense of danger.

The ink bottle had been screwed on. Yan Ci's eyes swept over his hand holding the bottle. His fingertips tingled and he twisted it slightly. He bent down to pick up his uniform and his hand brushed past his back.

Xia Zhinian was sandwiched between him and the desk. He subconsciously moved his hand back and didn't touch him.

"Bang!"

The door was pushed open rudely.

Chu Qingjian appeared at the back door with a basketball. He looked up and saw Xia Zhinian and Yan Ci standing face to face. Yan Ci blocked Xia Zhinian, leaning slightly forward with his hand stretched back.

Like a blatant hug.

Chu Qingjian's expression was blank for a second. "You..."

Xia Zhinian: "...!!"

How come another one came back!

Chu Qingjian looked at them for two seconds, then backed away, then banged the door open again. The two remained in their original positions and looked at him together.

Chu Qingjian's expression was weird. "...You, have you fallen in love with someone else?"

Xia Zhinian: "...?"

Who fell in love with someone else?

Him? Or the protagonist shou?

It was still physical education class. Chu Qingjian stood at the door for a while, looking at them meaningfully. Then he left with his basketball.

"You guys continue."

He also kindly closed the door.

Xia Zhinian: "??"

He slowly raised his head, his eyes wide in confusion. What's going on? The protagonist gong... left?

Misunderstood that the protagonist shou was cheating on him? Jealous?

"Brother Chu."

Xia Zhinian remembered the original owner's nervousness and insistence on following behind the protagonist gong. He immediately wanted to follow the protagonist gong and get away from Yan Ci. But Yan Ci took a long step and casually blocked him.

"Don't rush to leave."

Yan Ci smiled. "I haven't figured out yet if Classmate Xia did it on purpose to dirty my school uniform."

Xia Zhinian: "..."

This still needs to be asked.

He, Xia Zhinian, is a villain!

Xia Zhinian backed away, gritted his teeth, lowered his voice and was unreasonable. "So what? I warn you, stay away from Brother Chu!"

"At least you're honest."

Yan Ci's mouth curled up, looking at his amber-colored clear apricot eyes. They were fierce and round but had no deterrent power. He looked like a spoiled young master from a rich family. He scanned him from head to toe again.

"On purpose?"

Xia Zhinian nodded.

Yan Ci chuckled softly, his gentle skin seemed to be embedded in his face. His voice was soft and caught him off guard. "Then was it on purpose to pretend to sleep in the cellar?"

Xia Zhinian: "!!!"

Damn! This motherfucker!

He was shocked in his heart, took a breath, and kept his face unchanged. He pretended to be puzzled. "What pretend to sleep?"

Yan Ci stared at him straight, for a moment, smiled kindly. "It's nothing."

Xia Zhinian breathed a sigh of relief and wanted to leave. Yan Ci stopped him and said warmly and considerately: "The gift, don't you want to leave it?"

"It's a rare normal gift. I'm very happy."

"..."

Xia Zhinian looked at the leaking ink bottle in his hand, his palm sticky. “This one is broken, and red ink is used a lot by teachers. I’ll give you something else next time.”

The young man's back disappeared. Yan Ci looked at the closed door, his expression still faint.

The feeling of itching to almost pain gathered in every inch of his body. He raised his hand and looked at his fingertips. He clenched and unclenched them, then withdrew his hand.

He wanted to confirm whether it was because of the injection or because of this person himself.

But he ran away quickly.

Yan Ci took a cup of water and took out five white pills. He swallowed them all.

After Xia Zhinian went out, he couldn't see Chu Qingjian's figure anymore. He looked around for a few times and didn't see anyone. He found a shady corner and crouched down, feeling relieved.

The protagonist shou suddenly came back and lied to him about the cellar. Should he say that he deserved to be a black-hearted boss?

Only the original owner didn't know the true face of the protagonist shou and dared to be so presumptuous. If it were him, even in the social circle of his previous world, he would stay away from this kind of person as far as possible.

Fortunately, the ink was spilled. But Chu Qingjian's reaction seemed a bit strange.

...Forget it.

As long as it doesn't affect him going through the plot and returning to his original world, nothing else matters.

It rained heavily as expected after school.

People either ran in the rain or squeezed under an umbrella together.

Xia Zhinian glanced at Yan Ci first. The protagonist shou obviously didn't bring an umbrella. He was too picky to squeeze with others and was sitting at his seat writing papers.

His shoulders were straight, his long pale fingers holding a pen, his eyebrows calm and gentle, and the school uniform on him inexplicably gave off a sense of nobility.

Then he looked at the protagonist gong. Chu Qingjian took off his school uniform jacket and put it on his arm. He was stuffing books into his backpack.

He probably didn't bring an umbrella either.

Good thing he was prepared in advance.

Xia Zhinian leaned forward, raised a shy smile, then lowered his head to cover his eyes. His voice was muffled. “Brother Chu, did you forget to bring an umbrella? I'll give mine for you.”

Chu Qingjian stopped his movement, frowned, looked at him strangely, then turned his head to look at Yan Ci not far away. He asked in a puzzled tone.

"For me?"

Xia Zhinian nodded like a chick, then put on a gloomy look of hard to part with. He looked up at him again. "I have another one in my backpack. This one is for you. My driver is waiting for me. Brother Chu, I'm leaving first."

There were only three of them left in the class. He handed over the umbrella, glanced at Yan Ci, and deliberately said: "Brother Chu, you use it yourself. Don't lend it to anyone else."

This way you can share an umbrella and it doesn't count as lending it to someone else.

Hehe.

Xia Zhinian walked away quickly and left the classroom, leaving space and an umbrella for the protagonists.

Chu Qingjian turned his head and looked at the only remaining Yan Ci in the classroom. He wanted to say something.

Then he saw him motionless, still quietly writing papers. His fingertips suddenly paused, clenched the pen, and his eyebrows lightly frowned.

Only for a moment, then he relaxed and showed no signs of abnormality.

His seat was near the window, close to the window. He was going to continue writing, but he suddenly caught a glimpse of a figure passing by the front of the teaching building from the corner of his eye.

The loose clothes were blown by the wind, outlining the young man's soft waist. The jacket was on his head, but the wind and rain soon soaked him. The young man walked slowly and didn't seem to be in a hurry.

Xia Zhinian walked in the rain. He had his jacket on his head at first, but he took it off after a while. His amber eyes were clear and cheerful.

He liked rain.

He liked this kind of heavy rain that hit his body.

The raindrops hit the ground, making a dense and regular sound. The world seemed to be left with only himself.

But he never dared to get wet before, and now he didn't care.

The driver, Uncle Zhou, was startled when he saw him soaked like this. Xia Zhinian smiled. "It's okay."

"I can't get into the school. Young master, next time it rains like this, you run faster."

Xia Zhinian smiled and didn't say anything.

There were no spare clothes in the car. Uncle Zhou could only hurry to the Xia family. He saw the young man in the back seat looking out of the window quietly. His lips were slightly pale, but his apricot eyes were clear and bright.

Not quite like the gloomy and depressed look he used to have.

Uncle Zhou controlled the car smoothly, smiled at the corners of his eyes and eyebrows. "Young master, it's good to smile more. This way your family can worry less."

Xia Zhinian's left hand habitually rubbed his index finger joint.

The original owner was a rare villain in the sweet novel, with a rough life and a gloomy personality.

He was born in the Xia family, one of the top wealthy families in Nanjia City, but he was abducted by accident when he was a child. The Xia family spent countless efforts and money, but they never found him back.

Until two months ago, the original owner was surrounded and extorted by a group of gangsters. Chu Qingjian happened to pass by and saved him. He also found that he looked like the lady of the Xia family next door.

That's how he returned to the Xia family.

It was a good thing, but after being saved by Chu Qingjian, the original owner fell in love with him and ignored everyone's advice. He followed him every day, expressing his love and pursuit in this way. He also occasionally gave Yan Ci, the protagonist shou, trouble.

He dragged Yan Ci to the Xishan Daoist Temple, which made Chu Qingjian see his true face clearly. He took good care of Yan Ci and broke through the layer of window paper between them. They went from ambiguous to openly dating.

The relationship between the protagonist gong and Yan Ci progressed rapidly.

As for the original owner, they wanted to beat him up from time to time.

...He didn't succeed in Xishan Daoist Temple scenic area. He guessed he would have to find an opportunity later to deepen his image as a gloomy villain.

But Xia Zhinian didn't expect that before he could deepen his image, the protagonists gave him a big surprise.

The next day in class, Xia Zhinian’s head was a bit dizzy. He guessed it was because of the rain yesterday. He didn’t care and sat back in the last row.

There were thirty-four students in class one, eight in a row and four at a desk. Only Xia Zhinian and his deskmate were left behind.

The original owner was about the same height as him, not too tall. Because he had just transferred to class one of senior two two months ago, there was only one empty seat in the last row.

Chu Qingjian was at his front right desk, and Yan Ci was at his front left desk, separated by an aisle.

The morning reading class was about to start, and most of the people in the class had arrived. Xia Zhinian took out a breakfast from the thermal box in his backpack, plus an exquisite envelope with the same death Barbie pink as in physical education class. He poked Chu Qingjian with his pen.

Chu Qingjian was holding a pen to make up his homework. He turned his head and saw Xia Zhinian bending his eyes at him. His voice was thin and dull. He handed over the breakfast and love letter together.

"Brother Chu, I brought you breakfast. It's from the Chaoyang Breakfast Shop you like."

Chu Qingjian glanced at it and was stung by the overly pink envelope. He moved his eyes away and looked at Xia Zhinian. His expression was indescribable.

"You... are you not awake?"

His cheeks were still pink.

Xia Zhinian lowered his head sadly, bit his lip, and his voice became smaller. "I'm very awake. Brother Chu, this is for you."

There was some noise around him. "Every day, it's annoying. Brother Chu, you've given enough face to the Xia family. Who can stand this kind of person?"

"Exactly."

"Knock knock."

The classroom door was lightly knocked twice, interrupting the voices of people who couldn't help but curse.

Yan Ci stood by the door, tall and slender, with a handsome face. He held his backpack in one hand and said gently: "There are ten minutes left for class. Please collect the math homework each group leader. I'll hand it to the teacher in five minutes."

"Ah, I haven't finished yet!"

"Help me out, Brother Chu, Father Chu, have you finished? Save my life!"

There was a wail in the class. Chu Qingjian hadn't finished his own homework either. He frowned and looked at Xia Zhinian. "Actually, I already know. You take it back and give it to--"

"Sorry to interrupt."

A clear voice sounded, interrupting the mess here.

Yan Ci’s eyebrows and eyes were delicate. He looked at the love letter envelope and breakfast in his hand, and smiled gently.

"Classmate Xia, what about my gift?"

Xia Zhinian: "??!"

Yan Ci saw his apricot eyes widen, as if he didn't hear clearly. He smiled pleasantly and repeated.

"My gift, you promised me yesterday."

Chu Qingjian stopped talking and stared straight at Xia Zhinian.