"Achoo!"
Jiang Chen sneezed hard just as he reached the school gate, rubbing his nose with a puzzled expression.
"Who's thinking about me this much?"
He muttered and glanced ahead—just in time to spot a carton of Telunsu milk slipping out of a girl's backpack.
"Hey! You up front—your milk's about to fall!"
The girl turned around.
It was Lin Yuechan.
Jiang Chen jogged over, picked up the milk, and raised an eyebrow in surprise. "Yuechan? New hairstyle? I almost didn't recognize you."
Lin Yuechan glared at him. "Jiang Chen, where the hell were you last night? You didn't come home!"
Jiang Chen gave her a dramatic sigh. "Don't bring it up. I almost didn't make it back alive."
She squinted suspiciously, then leaned in and sniffed him.
"Yuechan, what are you doing?" Jiang Chen flinched. "Are you trying to seduce me in broad daylight just because I'm good-looking?"
"Get lost!" she shoved him back, face annoyed. "Don't flatter yourself!"
Then she frowned. "Why do you smell like perfume? You better start explaining where you were last night."
"Perfume?" Jiang Chen blinked and sniffed his own arm. "I don't smell anything."
Lin Yuechan crossed her arms. "Hmph. Chanel No. 5. Not something you'd find at the corner store. You've been around a girl—fess up!"
Jiang Chen was stunned. Her nose really was sharper than a bloodhound's.
"Hmph," she snorted. "While you were off flirting, I had instant noodles alone."
Jiang Chen's eyes widened. "Again? Yuechan, how many times do I have to tell you, don't eat junk like that."
"What was I supposed to do? No one was home to cook."
"You could've ordered takeout?"
"I don't like outside food!"
"Oh? So your stomach only listens to my cooking now?"
Lin Yuechan rolled her eyes. "Forget it. I'm done talking to you."
She turned around with a dramatic hair flip and headed for the classroom.
Jiang Chen watched her walk away, pouting and fuming, and couldn't help smiling to himself.
"She's still the same tsundere. But I like it."
Just then, Qin Yanyan approached Lin Yuechan with curiosity. "What's wrong? Did Jiang Chen tease you again?"
Lin Yuechan lowered her voice mischievously. "Yanyan, I'll tell you a secret… your Jiang Chen has been cheating behind your back."
Qin Yanyan gasped so loud it startled a bird off the windowsill.
"What?! Jiang Chen's cheating on me?!"
Just as she yelled, Jiang Chen stepped into the classroom. Everyone turned to look.
He froze.
Cheating? What the hell?
He turned and saw Lin Yuechan resting her chin in her hand, a sly smirk on her face.
He immediately knew who was behind the drama.
Sighing deeply, he cleared his throat and raised his voice calmly:
"A branch of pink apricot blossoms climbs over the wall; a thousand, ten thousand pear trees burst into bloom!"
The class burst into laughter.
"Jiang Chen, you idiot! That's two different poems!" one boy howled.
"It's from Ye Shaoweng and Cen Shen, not some nonsense mix-up!" said another.
The one speaking was Cheng Du, the class Chinese rep.
His parents worked in the city's Education Bureau, and he strutted around like a peacock. A few crummy poems printed in the local arts paper had him thinking he was the next Du Fu.
He once wrote a love letter to Lin Yuechan. She handed it straight to Jiang Chen… who happened to have diarrhea that day and, well, used it appropriately.
Cheng Du now grinned smugly, lifting his chin like a rooster.
Jiang Chen glanced at him lazily and said, "Cheng Du, you think red flowers must have green leaves? Trying to make yourself look smarter by standing next to someone you think is dumber?"
He paused, then added, "Or maybe you're just using my good looks to hide that pig-kidney face of yours?"
"You—!" Cheng Du turned red. "Why are you cursing?!"
Jiang Chen raised a brow. "So what if I am? You want me to break your dog legs?"
Cheng Du faltered. "Do you know who I am?!"
"I don't care who you are. You're not my son—why should I spoil you?"
"You—!"
But when Cheng Du met Jiang Chen's cold stare, the threat died in his throat.
Jiang Chen snorted and strolled back to his seat.
Lin Yuechan hissed under her breath, "Jiang Chen, are you crazy?! Cheng Du's dad runs the Education Bureau!"
"So what? If his dad annoys me, I'll break his legs too."
Qin Yanyan beamed and clapped her hands. "That's my Jiang Chen! So fierce! If Cheng Du messes with you again, just beat him up. I'll take care of the rest!"
"Yanyan, stop encouraging him!" Lin Yuechan scolded.
Qin Yanyan pouted. "Why not? Jiang Chen's mine. I won't let anyone bully him!"
Lin Yuechan suddenly felt a strange pang in her chest. Mine? Why did that word feel so sour?
The bell rang.
Jiang Chen leaned forward and poked Lin Yuechan's back.
"What now?" she grumbled.
"What class do we have?"
"English."
Jiang Chen groaned. "Didn't sleep at all last night… cover for me, will you?"
"Hmph, serves you right!" she huffed.
But even as she said it, she straightened her posture to block the teacher's view of him as he dozed off.
Meanwhile, Zheng Shanshan walked toward the building, clutching her English book.
Her mind, however, was still stuck on the smug, mysterious boy from earlier.
That smirk.
That touch on his earlobe.
That name… wait—he never even gave me his name!
Will I ever see him again? she wondered, heart fluttering slightly as she walked through the doors of Class 7.