“小叶子？这是个什么名字？” Tang Xin leaned her head over, her curiosity piqued after hearing the notification for her special friend.
“It’s nothing.” Pei Xingyan calmly put his phone back into his pocket and changed the subject with a serious face, “You should worry about your client first. Tell me her information.”
“Why do you want someone else’s information?” Maybe she was sulking because she wasn’t Pei Xingyan’s special concern, or maybe she was annoyed at being brushed off—either way, she was a bit displeased.
“A girl like that won’t be helped by just talking to her. If you don’t want to get into big trouble, you’d better tell me everything honestly.” Pei Xingyan started to scare her with these words.
Tang Xin shivered, forgetting her little grudge.
She quickly spilled out all the girl’s information:
The girl’s name is Lin Xiaoyu, a student in the Philosophy Department at our School, and since she doesn’t live on campus, her home must be near the School.
“That’s it?” Pei Xingyan frowned.
“That’s it. Isn’t that enough?”
“Sigh,” Pei Xingyan stood up and sighed, “I should have known you couldn’t be counted on.”
He staggered off in the direction he came from.
“Where are you going?” Tang Xin asked.
“Back to class. I don’t want to fail.” Pei Xingyan shrugged, picking up his pace.
But actually, he didn’t care about failing at all, especially not for an elective.
Just like Tang Xin said, you couldn’t learn how to make a hundred thousand yuan in a month at School.
He was just worried some troubled person might come looking for him at School, and if she saw him not only skipping class but also squatting by the flowerbeds laughing with another girl, who knows what kind of terrifying scene might unfold.
And about this Lin Xiaoyu… he needed to ask around properly, at least to know what kind of person she was…
Although he’d forgotten to ask about the payment method just now, Pei Xingyan felt that the sooner he could untangle her troubles, the sooner he could get paid…
With this in mind, Pei Xingyan dashed back to the classroom.
He quietly opened the back door, doing his best not to disturb anyone. After creating a person-sized gap, he crawled in close to the ground.
Fortunately, his seat was in the last row, and he’d done this countless times before, so he was quite skilled. No one noticed, and the lecturer at the front was still lost in his own world, lecturing away.
After crawling a few steps, Pei Xingyan finally breathed a sigh of relief. He gathered his strength to climb back to his seat.
But his smooth movement was blocked by someone occupying his spot.
A sickly-looking girl sat in his seat. Her complexion was far from healthy—her weakness was obvious—but in the small classroom, she seemed to carve out a world of her own. His roommates, who used to sit nearby, had all disappeared, leaving her completely alone, as if everyone was avoiding her.
She kept her eyes lowered, her long lashes trembling gently in the breeze, as she carefully examined the things Pei Xingyan had left on his desk—notes and books.
She looked at them lightly, pursing her lips in thought. When her gaze swept over Pei Xingyan squatting beside her, her eyes lit up instantly.
The girl, delighted, scooted to the side and pulled Pei Xingyan back to his seat.
Pei Xingyan sighed silently in his heart. He knew his worries weren’t unfounded.
Just a short break between classes, and she’d already come over from the neighboring School—her decisiveness was as terrifying as ever…
“Ziwei…” he whispered the girl’s name, pretending to scold her, “What are you doing here?”
Ye Ziwei buried her head and kept giggling, secretly pointing at the lecturer on the podium, who had been interrupted by Pei Xingyan’s return.
Pei Xingyan didn’t dare say more, so he lowered his head to avoid being remembered by the angry lecturer.
Ye Ziwei laughed even harder in secret. She silently took Pei Xingyan’s hand, rubbing it in her smooth, soft palm.
Her fingers, her palm, between her fingers, even her wrist—she played with his hand as if it were a precious treasure, exploring every corner.
But Pei Xingyan didn’t dare move at all. This sickly-looking girl could be terrifying if she really lost her temper. Letting her play with his hand was nothing—he just had to endure it…
Ye Ziwei had always been frail, so her entire arm was naturally thin and bony, making him quite uncomfortable. Yet her skin was cold and smooth, giving him a refreshing chill in the hot summer weather. The two contrasting sensations scratched at his heart, especially when Ye Ziwei used her fingers to tickle his palm.
So, he spent the second half of class just enduring it. Ye Ziwei never got tired of playing with his hand, and even when the bell rang, she was still lost in her joy.
The lecturer up front was reluctant to stop, but it was already lunchtime, and the students growing restless made him give up on dragging the class out any longer.
Pei Xingyan decided to seize the chance to escape. Just then, for some reason, his roommates had been sent to the window seats and passed by him.
He stood up at once and called out, “Let’s go eat together!”
His roommates shook their heads gloomily, pointing with sad eyes at the girl who had stood up with him. These young men, dreaming of finding love but just having their hopes dashed several times, didn’t want to see Pei Xingyan at all and left in a huff.
“Okay, okay~” Ye Ziwei cheered, her voice carrying a hint of hoarseness, though her cheerful tone hid it well.
Now, Pei Xingyan didn’t even dare sigh in his heart. He could only force a smile, turn around, and go to support Ye Ziwei.
The girl in the cotton dress walked with difficulty, tightly gripping a pure black ladies’ cane.
Her legs weren’t very convenient, and when things got serious, she even needed to use a wheelchair.
Seeing Pei Xingyan come to help, she beamed but refused his support.
“I’ve been recovering really well lately~” she said, her optimism radiating, “I don’t even need a wheelchair now. Maybe soon I’ll be able to walk normally.”
“That’s really something to celebrate.” Pei Xingyan responded coolly, leading her out of the classroom.
Most of the hungry students had already left, so the corridor wasn’t crowded. Still, he kept his hand protectively around Ye Ziwei, so from a distance, it looked like he was holding her waist.
Ye Ziwei walked with a shaky, stumbling gait, deliberately kicking her legs higher, her body losing balance now and then, bumping into the protective circle Pei Xingyan had made around her.
“Brother Xingyan, that job you mentioned… what is it?” she asked, pretending to be casual but lowering her head to hide her gaze in shadow so no one could see.
Pei Xingyan thought to himself, The little fox finally shows her tail. He knew she’d only rushed over because of this.
He wasn’t about to give himself away so easily.
He turned his head, staring straight at Ye Ziwei, and played dumb, “Job? What job?”
Ye Ziwei was stunned for a moment and was about to speak when a few girls ran past them, shouting.
“Xiaoyu! Lin Xiaoyu… wait for us!!”
When she came back to herself, she realized all of Pei Xingyan’s attention had been drawn away.
Ye Ziwei’s daze lasted just a moment longer, then she gripped her cane tightly. On her delicate white hand, the veins bulged violently, like a savage coiled dragon.