His Sweetheart

Chapter 15

The morning sunlight shone on Yan Heng's face through the gap in the curtains. Last night, he had gone to a bar for a drink after getting into a fight at an internet cafe and had fallen asleep when he got back. The result of his hangover was a headache and a feeling of pressure in his brain. He had gotten drunk when he arrived last night, and when he took out his phone from his pocket, a flood of WeChat messages appeared on the screen.

"[Yan Heng, what's wrong?]" "[Are you angry? Can you reply to my message?]" "[Yan Heng, where are you now?]"

Yan Heng looked at each message with a painful feeling in his heart. He threw his phone on the bed and lay down, wondering what he had done wrong. When she asked him for his contact information, he intentionally gave her the wrong number. He knew very well that what he had done was despicable and vile, but he couldn't control himself. His hasty departure was a result of his disturbed and irrational state of mind, as well as his overwhelming sense of guilt.

She was in class at the moment. He could explain everything to her in the afternoon and apologize at the same time. However, if she asked him why he had given her the wrong contact information, what could he say? Should he say he was jealous? Why was he jealous? How should he answer?

After washing his face, he received a phone call from his homeroom teacher. He hesitated for a moment but decided to answer it. The homeroom teacher asked him why he hadn't come to school and if he was sick. Yan Heng said he had overslept and the homeroom teacher asked him to rest early and come to class in the afternoon. It was like he had taken a half-day off.

Take a leave? But he wanted to see her now. Just seeing her smile could make all the noise and restlessness disappear, like a drowning person grasping for something to hold on to.

Tianxin and Zhuting had no interaction after class, and even Zhongyou could tell that something was wrong. When he asked Zhuting, she gave him a cold stare, and he looked at Tianxin, who shook her head and said, "Nothing's wrong. Why hasn't Yan Heng come?" Zhongyou changed the subject. Tianxin felt that Yan Heng was similar to her niece, who also made her worry.

Zhong You turned awkwardly, feeling really embarrassed. Who could come to his rescue? During the second break, students went downstairs to do exercises. The hallway was crowded, but fortunately Tianxin and her friends were on the second floor. There was a rule at their school: students did broadcast exercises in spring and summer, but in autumn and winter, it was too cold and no one wanted to do it, so the school decided to start running exercises. They were learning the exercises from an era of the past. They had been taught it during PE class at the beginning of the school year, and there would be a broadcast exercise competition for all the freshman classes in the future. Usually, Zhu Ting stood in the same row as her, but today she stood behind, which made Tianxin feel very disappointed. She wanted to explain, but didn't know where to start because of Yan Heng's actions. On the playground, everyone was wearing the same school uniform during break time. Even the principal occasionally showed up, and the toughest one was the headmaster who often patrolled around to catch those who didn't wear the school uniform. As Tianxin looked ahead, suddenly there was a lot of chatter and noise coming from their class. Even Yan Heng, who was always calm, looked a little uneasy. Even though there were many people and they were all wearing the same clothes, he could still spot Tianxin from afar. When Yan Heng came down, Tianxin was dizzy, and Yan Heng walked to her right side. Zhong You was standing beside her; usually, girls stood in one row and boys in another row, and those who didn't fit stood at the back. Yan Heng looked at Zhong You and said, "Can I borrow your position to stand for a while?" Zhong You nodded repeatedly and moved back, and everyone behind him followed. Then Yan Heng stood where Zhong You had been standing, and Tianxin stared at the back of the person in front of her, not daring to look around. She didn't know how many people were looking at them. Did Yan Heng lose his mind today? "You're not wearing a school uniform," Tianxin whispered softly, and her low voice made Yan Heng feel itchy in his heart. "I've never worn one," he replied. "The headmaster will scold you if you don't wear it," Tianxin said again. Yan Heng chuckled softly. "Don't worry, I won't get you in trouble," which made Tianxin feel annoyed. Why was he like this? "Just do what makes you happy." Yan Heng, who had been ignored, was now disheveled in the wind. The broadcast started, and everyone was doing exercises, but Yan Heng just stood there motionless, like a wooden sculpture. Even though it was a sculpture, it was a gilded one, and it became a landscape that attracted many young girls to look over at them.

Yan Heng actually couldn't dance at all, and it was extremely awkward. All eyes were on Tianxin. Tianxin jumped and her hair swayed slightly. Her desk mate's dance was really beautiful, with a good rhythm and graceful movements. She looked good from every angle.

Tianxin's face was red and her heart was beating fast, maybe because she was getting a bit hot from the dancing. The intense gaze was hard to ignore. While she was dancing, Tianxin lost the rhythm and messed up, causing a big "*" (emoticon for embarrassment).

Tianxin stopped for a moment and waited for the next beat before jumping again. "Turn around, don't affect me," Tianxin said fiercely like a little wolf pup.

Wow, her angry expression was so cute. Just turn around and sneak a peek, is that okay?

After the set was finished, Yan Heng felt like his neck was out of place, while Tianxin was embarrassed and angry. This person was really a hooligan and should be given a good lecture by the head teacher.

As soon as someone mentioned the head teacher, he appeared. "The student from Class 5 of Grade 1 who isn't wearing the school uniform, come here. Don't think I haven't noticed you. I've been watching you for a long time," Tianxin's eyelids twitched in fear. The head teacher had always been like a demon slayer, every one of them was a formidable character.

They had heavy responsibilities, not only managing school affairs, but also enforcing discipline, studying, and preventing early romance. They were simply anxious and stressed.

After the group dispersed, Yan Heng was honored to be invited for a heart-to-heart chat over tea. He had to undergo a profound baptism of his thoughts and soul.

Back in the classroom, Tianxin began to look at the content of the next lesson. Yan Heng was surely going to be punished severely, as the head teacher was said to be particularly strict.

After a while, Yan Heng arrived, as if nothing had happened, and sat in his seat. The classroom was a bit noisy, with students eating snacks, playing around, whispering, but then the classroom door suddenly opened. Everyone looked up at the door, and immediately became quiet and obedient.

"You seem to be quite excited, should we have a party?" The homeroom teacher said, as he walked in and the whole class became quiet.

"I have a few things to tell you. Let's start with the next class meeting. The school rules state that boys are not allowed to have long hair or dye their hair. Boys who have dyed or permed their hair will still look like girls to me, so make sure to straighten it out. Girls should not have hair that falls past their shoulders. Students who don't meet the standards should fix their appearance. In a few days, school leaders and directors will come to inspect us. If you embarrass me, I'll make trouble for you."

Some people started to moan when the homeroom teacher finished speaking. One student timidly raised his hand, "Teacher, my chestnut-colored hair is natural." He had just dyed it yesterday, and now they were already talking about inspections. What was fair about that?

"I think your natural black hair is more handsome," the teacher said.

The male student was speechless. He hadn't finished showing off yet, so could he have another chance?

"Also, no earrings or nail polish for girls. High school life is different from middle school, and you need to find a suitable way to study. The first year of high school is especially important..." The homeroom teacher went on and on.

Yan Heng was listening, but he was getting hypnotized. Tianxin was listening attentively, but Yan Heng couldn't understand why she found it interesting. Wasn't it the same thing every time? Wasn't it getting boring?

Tianxin had a habit of taking notes, and she recorded the key points in her notebook. Yan Heng looked at Tianxin, his little desk mate who was different from everyone else. She was cute and he wanted to tease her.

"Skipping class?" Yan Heng propped up his chin with one hand and drew a rabbit on his notebook with the other. It was soft and fluffy, just like his desk mate. She was cute and he wanted to touch her. Yan Heng was a little scared by his own thoughts. Was he so perverted?

Tianxin remained silent but gave Yan Heng a glare that seemed to say, "Are you crazy?"

His desk mate's glare was so cute. Yan Heng's pen dropped with a slap, interrupting the endless speech of the homeroom teacher. "What's wrong, Yan Heng? If you have any comments, just say them," the teacher said.

Yan Heng cleared his throat, "I slipped," and continued to draw on his paper. The little rabbit was now a black circle. Was he going crazy? Why did he find his desk mate so cute? Was he sick?

"Alright, that's all for today's class meeting. We have some time left, so you can review on your own. Yan Heng, your hair is a little too long. Cut it short. Everyone should make their own decisions, but don't cross me," the homeroom teacher concluded.

After the homeroom teacher left, the students began to discuss. They all complained about how the school was inhumane. Tianxin touched her hair and realized that it needed to be trimmed. She had cut it short during the break, and now it reached her shoulders. She thought about tying it up, but decided against it as it would take too much time to manage long hair. She preferred her current style, which she had maintained for years by simply trimming it shorter whenever it grew too long.

Then, Yán Héng apologized to Tianxin for not seeing her messages. She asked him why he had lied to her and given her a false contact information, which caused her to be misunderstood and have a fight with her roommate. Yán Héng admitted his mistake and gave her Qí Yuè's contact information, promising that it was genuine this time. Tianxin said she believed him, but warned him not to deceive her again. She explained that his behavior had made her worry, especially when he went out and couldn't be contacted.

Yán Héng didn't dare to say anything and remained obedient, but couldn't resist asking Tianxin why she wanted Qí Yuè's contact information. She replied that it was for someone else. This made Yán Héng angry because he thought he was just as good as Qí Yuè and wondered how someone could prefer him over himself. He then started to criticize Qí Yuè, saying that he only knew how to flirt and had too many girls chasing after him. He also believed that Qí Yuè was a boring straight man who had no sense of humor and would be exhausting to date. It sounded like he had some personal experience with Qí Yuè, which made Tianxin feel like he was speaking from his own experience rather than just gossiping.