Chapter 8: Smiling Insincerely

Xia Zhinian: "......"

Fine, I've already taken revenge.

Black-hearted, small-minded.

Hey, tui!

T/N: 嘿tui is not a word with a concrete meaning, but an onomatopoeia that imitates the sound of spitting. It is the sound you make when you spit.

Xia Zhinian slumped his head and dragged himself back, holding Yan Ci's arm again.

Yan Ci looked down at his fluffy head, his collarbone deep and hollow, his face gloomy, still careful not to touch him with a trace of his body, a trace of irritation flashed through his heart.

Xia Wenhan finished talking to someone and turned his head. His brother was gone. He asked around and found out that Xia Zhinian had put the marriage contract on his mouth again, causing a round of ridicule.

It was still Yan Ci who was always troubled by others who helped him speak.

On the way back, Xia Wenhan wanted to ask if he had apologized to Chu Qingjian, so he turned his head to look.

Xia Zhinian shrank in the corner of the back seat, far away from his big brother, leaning his head on the back of the chair, his long eyelashes falling down, his eyebrows slightly furrowed, not knowing what he was dreaming about.

Quiet and tranquil, his appearance soft and fragile.

Xia Wenhan pursed his lips and didn't make a sound.

The novel transmigrated Xia Zhinian tried to stimulate Yan Ci to push the emotional line but failed. He felt that the white-skinned black-hearted shou was too hard to deal with, so he decided to start with the protagonist gong.

On Monday, Xia Zhinian arrived at the classroom. He had been on sick leave since he had a fever last week. The class was shocked by the big melon that he and Yan Ci were together. The campus forum was also a bloody storm.

T/N: Big melon is a slang term that means a shocking or surprising piece of news or gossip. It is derived from the Chinese word 大瓜 (dàguā), which literally means big melon, but also sounds like 大挂 (dàguà), which means big failure or big scandal.

Zou Ziqian found that his deskmate who was at the center of public opinion came to school. He was very excited and quickly logged on to the forum to post the latest post -

[Real-time report, Xia Zhinian is back to school!!!]

[Good Time and Scenery, Go Study]: The little neurotic still dares to come, why doesn't the school expel him?

[Ysnjx]: The Xia family has money and power, right? I heard that they donated two buildings to let him transfer in.

[When will Yan Shen Marry Me]: Don't talk about these things, ask the poster, someone said last week that Yan Shen and him were together, where did this cold joke come from? It's not funny at all.

[School Grass Yan is Mine]: I heard it was Chu Qingjian who said it. I don't care what Chu Qingjian and Neurotic Xia are like. I only care about the school grass.

[wjdn]: The IDs of the two above are very contradictory.

Xia Zhinian poked Chu Qingjian in front of him with a pen, and took out another envelope of a death Barbie pink and handed it over.

"Brother Chu, this is for you."

Many pairs of eyes around him stared at this side, and Xia Zhinian earnestly pushed it forward.

Chu Qingjian frowned, "Don't you have Yan Ci? Why are you giving it to me?"

Just waiting for you to ask this.

Xia Zhinian lowered his head and smiled shyly, and explained, "Brother Chu, you misunderstood. How could I be with Yan Ci? He smiles insincerely all day long. How can he compare with you?"

"!!!!!!"

"Bang."

Zou Ziqian kicked Xia Zhinian's desk with one foot. Chu Qingjian looked up expressionlessly. The class fell into a deadly silence in an instant.

Footsteps sounded behind Xia Zhinian, getting closer and closer.

"Classmate Xia."

Yan Ci smiled, leaned slightly and approached, "You still owe me a school uniform jacket and a gift to the insincere me."

Classmate Xia: "......"

!!!!!!!

Jiu Min! Jiu Min!!

T/N: I constantly encounter these words... 九敏 is another onomatopoeia that imitates the sound of shouting for help. It is derived from the Chinese word 救命 (jiùmìng), which literally means save life, but also sounds like 九敏 (jiǔmín).

Classmate Xia stiffened in place and didn't move. He felt a breath fall on his back neck, and the shivering feeling spread all the way down. His ears were uncontrollably flushed with a light crimson.

Yan Ci's face didn't change, "Also, you should hand in your homework."

Xia Zhinian's hand trembled slightly, looked at Chu Qingjian's puzzled eyes across the table, and pursed his lips.

Things have come to this point, fight!

Xia Zhinian gritted his teeth and turned around, facing Yan Ci's gentle smile. He swallowed and his heart thumped wildly.

He pursed his lips, stiffly without any expression, "I didn't write it. You write down my name."

The people around widened their eyes in shock.

Fuck, tough guy!

This is math homework!

This is the class leader!

This is Yan Ci!!

Yan Ci didn't speak, Xia Zhinian turned back stiffly like a clockwork, his eyes swept over a pair of sunflower-like eyes that looked at him in shock, his heart bitter, wanting to cry but having no tears.

He gritted his teeth and continued to say to Chu Qingjian, "Brother Chu, you really misunderstood. How could I like Yan Ci? I only like you."

Yan Ci was still standing behind him, Xia Zhinian felt like there's a thorn in his back, his hand resting on the edge of the table, his waist stiff, straight like a piece of wood, and he didn't dare to let anyone see it.

Yan Ci looked down at him from above, watching the fluffy back of his head and slender neck, his dark eyes like ink dots, too dark and heavy -

Almost making people feel a bit creepy.

"Ding Ling Ling Ling -"

"Ding Ling Ling Ling -"

A sudden bell rang out, breaking the silence in the room.

The students slowly turned their heads and went about their own business. Chu Qingjian's face was very strange again. He didn't speak and turned back.

The gaze behind him that was staring at him disappeared. Xia Zhinian barely breathed a sigh of relief. The teacher had already entered the classroom. He sat in the last row that protruded out. There was a tall person blocking him in front. No one noticed him.

Xia Zhinian slowly, slowly, let go of his strength and bent down, leaning on the table, his face buried in his hands.

His ears were burning red and hot.

He had never been so embarrassed in his previous life and this life after crossing over.

Now, right now.

Let him die, let him go back.

He couldn't stay in this world anymore.

Zou Ziqian sat next to him. He had just experienced a suffocation. He hadn't calmed down yet. He saw his deskmate's ears red through. He was stunned and took out his phone and aimed at -

Click.

A small sound was covered by the noisy discussion on the class. No one noticed.

Except for Xia Zhinian himself.

The boy in the picture was lying on the table, the sun shining from behind, his back drawing a thin and graceful curve, his face buried in his hands, his ears red to almost translucent, slightly tilting his head, revealing a beautiful apricot eye through his fingers, looking at the camera blankly.

Zou Ziqian held his phone and was stunned for another two seconds.

He had been sitting with Xia Zhinian for two months. Although he knew that his features were good, Xia Zhinian's hair was too long, and he was gloomy and liked to lower his head, so he couldn't see much.

Now he suddenly received a blow from this face, and he couldn't help but be stunned.

"What are you doing?" Xia Zhinian came to his senses, slightly straightened up.

Zou Ziqian showed him the phone screen, a bit embarrassed, "I just took a snapshot, sorry, I didn't ask for your permission."

Xia Zhinian was used to being photographed in school in his previous life, so he didn't care. He glanced at it and looked away. "It's okay."

Maybe it was because his voice was too indifferent, Zou Ziqian suddenly felt that his deskmate was quite easy to talk to. He thought for a while and asked in a low voice.

"Can I post it on the campus forum?"

"That is... it's very good-looking." He explained.

It was so good-looking that even a boy like him could be shocked.

Xia Zhinian pursed his lips and suddenly thought of something. His round apricot eyes lit up and he looked excited.

"Will people scold me if I post it?"

Zou Ziqian paused, "This... probably yes."

After all, his reputation was too bad.

"Then don't post it."

"Post it!" Xia Zhinian said decisively, "You have to post it."

He thought for a while, his eyes sparkling.

"The title is [Rumor Has Been Broken - Neurotic Xia Confessed to Tyrant Chu Again and Was Rejected, Overestimating Himself and Dragging Down the School Grass, Being Ridiculed by Everyone, There Are Pictures and Truth, Don’t Miss It if You Pass By!]"

Zou Ziqian: "......"

Zou Ziqian: "???"

Xia Zhinian didn't explain, nor did he look at the forum. Before the physical education class, Yan Ci stood on one side of the podium, holding a list in his hand, and drew the attention of the students in the class.

"Today we are going to the big playground for physical education class. I need a student to go with me to the equipment room to get some things. According to the list, today it's Xia Zhinian's turn, Classmate Xia."

Yan Ci's tone was light and slow, as if he was not affected by this morning.

The people in the front row hissed lowly.

The equipment room was a separate warehouse far away from the playground. The light bulbs inside were old, and rows of tall iron shelves blocked the light. The room was a bit dim.

Xia Zhinian counted the equipment he needed, and sneaked a glance at Yan Ci, the protagonist shou who was standing not far from his side, tall and jade-like, gentle and noble.

He was caught on the spot for saying bad things about him this morning. It was also a way of looking for trouble. According to the original character setting, the protagonist shou should teach him a lesson with the help of the protagonist gong, but now...

Xia Zhinian's eyes rolled around, black and white, he glanced at him and quickly looked away, biting his lip.

To be honest, he was a bit afraid of Yan Ci.

Good at disguising, accustomed to disguising, and disguising his image deeply into people's hearts... Such a person must not be easy to provoke.

Xia Zhinian held a pair of table tennis rackets in his hand, and suddenly heard a "click" sound, and his eyes went black.

Power outage?

Xia Zhinian paused for a moment, and it was still pitch black in front of him. He couldn't see his fingers when he stretched out his hand. He could only see a faint shadow.

It was quiet around him, and the space in the warehouse seemed to have an echo. He felt a thud in his heart.

"Yan Ci?"

It was quiet for a while, and then a low response came from the other side of the shelf.

"Here."

The boy's voice was low, with a few strands of dull hoarseness.

Xia Zhinian remembered the night in the cellar... Yan Ci, he seemed to be afraid of the dark.

Yan Ci's voice came, his tone depressed and suppressed, as if holding back something. "Classmate Xia, did you bring your phone?"

Xia Zhinian: "In the classroom."

Yan Ci pursed his lips and smiled lightly. "What a coincidence, mine too."

...That's really a coincidence.

Xia Zhinian hesitated for a moment, groped the iron shelf, walked over there, and slowly circled to the other side of the shelf. He opened his eyes wide, trying to see a little clearer, but he could only see a vague shadow.

"You..." He paused. "It might have tripped. I'll go and open the door."

Yan Ci leaned against the corner, his eyes pitch black. After his vision was stripped away, his touch and hearing became extremely sharp.

The wind drilled in from his cuffs, rubbing against his skin, but a crazy desire rose up inside his body, scorching and unbearable, bringing a fine tingling.

The cold wind blew over, alternating with heat. Every nerve of his was screaming and trembling.

He wanted that touch of warmth.

He wanted someone to touch him.

A trace of fierceness crossed Yan Ci's face, hidden in the dark. His eyes looked far away at the source of the sound.

He steadied his voice and called softly: "Xia Zhinian."