Chapter 3: Brother, It's Su Yueyue
1310 Words
The weather in September was still sweltering, but thankfully, the classroom had air conditioning.
Baili Chen and Su Yueyue's seats were at the back of the room, where a cool breeze gently swept by, offering some relief.
After napping for quite a while, Baili Chen woke up to find himself in the middle of an English class.
The young, pretty English teacher was still going over the grammar from the lesson, repeatedly reminding the students to take notes.
Baili Chen had never liked English class, but this time, he couldn’t fall back asleep. With nothing else to do, he began to pay attention to the little girl beside him.
She flipped a page of her English book gently, then took out a notebook from her bag, gripping the pen so tightly that her fingers turned slightly white. On the notebook, she wrote her name.
"Su Peng?" Baili Chen asked curiously. He didn’t think this sounded like a girl’s name.
Startled by the sound, the girl looked up at him, her eyes wide with surprise.
Seeing her reaction, Baili Chen couldn’t help but feel a brief flicker of guilt, though it disappeared just as quickly.
He couldn’t help but silently mock her. This little thing was so easily frightened, like a startled rabbit.
Perhaps not expecting Baili Chen to speak to her, the girl pushed her notebook toward him, pointing to the name written there. She softly corrected him, "It’s Su Yueyue."
"Su Peng," Baili Chen insisted, not backing down, a mischievous smile tugging at his lips.
"Brother, it’s Su Yueyue," she patiently repeated, pointing at her name again on the notebook.
"Okay. Su—Peng—" Baili Chen stretched the name out with a playful smirk, his gaze cool, though laced with teasing.
What a silly little thing. Didn’t she realize he was clearly messing with her?
"...It’s Su Yueyue..." the girl finally seemed to realize he was teasing her, but she still repeated it.
Her cheeks flushed, her bright eyes glistening as if they were about to tear up, like a little deer lost in the forest.
Baili Chen suddenly realized that, despite the teasing, this girl’s almost crying expression was even more charming than when she smiled.
He quickly hid the surprise in his dark eyes and returned to his usual indifference, lowering his long lashes and turning his attention elsewhere, no longer acknowledging the girl.
The bell rang, signaling the end of class, and the room erupted into chatter and laughter.
It was the golden age of youth, and the classroom was filled with the sounds of boys and girls teasing each other.
"Chen-ge, you’re bullying such a cute little girl, don’t you have any humanity?"
A clear, somewhat childish voice came from behind.
Su Yueyue turned around to see a boy with chestnut-colored hair, stretching lazily from his seat behind Baili Chen.
He had bright, sparkling eyes and a warm smile that could easily charm anyone.
"Hello, I’m Luo Ziyang," he said, looking at the girl.
Su Yueyue blinked in surprise, confirming he was speaking to her. She gave him a faint smile and replied, "Hello, I’m Su Yueyue."
"Little Yueyue," Luo Ziyang continued, "since Chen-ge is so cold and distant, why don’t you sit next to me? There’s nobody sitting beside me anyway."
The girl glanced at Baili Chen before turning her gaze back to Luo Ziyang. "Thank you for the kind offer, but I think he’s... quite fine..."
When Aunt Qin asked her to sit next to Baili Chen, she’d specifically told her to stick close to him. Since Aunt Qin had been so kind to her, she naturally wanted to obey.
"Fine, but I’m telling you, Chen-ge’s like this to girls—ah!"
Before Luo Ziyang could finish his sentence, a textbook slammed into his face.
"Luo Ziyang," Baili Chen’s cold voice rang out.
Only then did Luo Ziyang realize he’d almost talked badly about Baili Chen in front of him.
"It’s not like that, Chen-ge, I was going to say that you’re really gentle with girls!" Luo Ziyang quickly tried to explain.
Baili Chen shot him a sharp, unfriendly look.
"Chen-ge, it’s all my fault! I’m willing to work like a mule to make up for it!" Luo Ziyang put on an exaggerated, pitiful expression.
"No thanks, I don’t want to take care of mules," Baili Chen responded, his tone dripping with disdain.
"Hey, Chen-ge, how can you—"
"LOU—ZI—YANG!" A girl with twin braids stormed into the room and walked straight up to Luo Ziyang, her almond-shaped eyes sparkling with anger.
"Yun Duo? What’s wrong?"
Luo Ziyang looked confused, but before he could say anything more, the girl grabbed him by the collar.
"When are you giving me back my biology notebook?!" Yun Duo’s voice was bright and clear, but tinged with impatience.
It seemed to suddenly dawn on Luo Ziyang, and he gave a sheepish smile. "Oh, I left it at home... I’ll bring it tomorrow, okay?"
"You’re lying! You said that yesterday, and the day before!" Yun Duo glared at him, looking like she wanted to punch him. "Did you lose it?!"
"I—" Luo Ziyang was at a loss for words.
"LOU—ZI—YANG!!!" Yun Duo’s face turned red with anger, her small fists shaking as if she were about to punch him for “killing” her notebook.
Just as she was about to give him a good beating, she suddenly noticed Su Yueyue looking at her from the front row.
The little girl seemed startled by the loud commotion, her big eyes wide with shock.
Up close, Su Yueyue was even more beautiful than Yun Duo had realized, so much so that even Yun Duo—another girl—found it hard to look away.
"Uh, well, even if it’s lost, it’s fine. We’re all classmates. I won’t blame you," Yun Duo’s attitude shifted dramatically, and she gave Su Yueyue a sweet, innocent smile with her little dimples showing.
Luo Ziyang was utterly confused, "Huh? What’s with her?"
Yun Duo didn’t care about Luo Ziyang’s puzzled expression; instead, she leaned on the desk with a grin, looking at Su Yueyue, her voice as sweet as honey. "I’m Yun Duo—like the cloud floating in the sky~"
"I’m Su Yueyue," the girl responded obediently.
Unable to resist, Yun Duo reached out and gently rubbed Su Yueyue’s cheek. It was softer than she had imagined! She couldn’t help but marvel inwardly, What an angel on Earth!
"Yueyue, hehe..."
"Yun Duo, you’re starting to look like a crazy person. You’re scaring Yueyue," Luo Ziyang teased, tugging at Yun Duo and pulling her back.
As soon as he finished speaking, he received a sharp glare from Yun Duo, as if telling him, We’ll settle the notebook issue later!
Luo Ziyang grumbled and then turned to Baili Chen, "Chen-ge, I heard someone say Yueyue is your sister. Is that true?"
He had never heard of Baili Chen having a sister…
"Not my sister," Baili Chen replied coldly, casting a brief, emotionless glance at the girl next to him.
"Tsk, Chen-ge, you’re not being honest! You were just bullying her a second ago," Luo Ziyang teased, poking Baili Chen’s side.
"Touch me again, and I’ll cut off your hand!" Baili Chen snapped, swatting Luo Ziyang’s hand away with a book, his eyes as cold as ever.
Luo Ziyang pouted and rubbed his hand.
"Yueyue, don’t mind them. One’s an ice-cold guy, the other’s a funny guy. They’re so childish!" Yun Duo patted Su Yueyue on the shoulder.
Her words naturally drew annoyed looks from both boys, but Yun Duo pretended not to notice.
Su Yueyue heard this and opened her mouth as if to say something, but in the end, she just smiled softly at Yun Duo, her eyes filled with gratitude.
- Writer
