Watching Xia He follow Lu Renjia away from the classroom door, Jiang Yueming felt an inexplicable surge of anxiety.
But Wen Xiaoyu stood blocking his path, saying she had something very important to tell him.
Normally, if Wen Xiaoyu took the initiative to talk to him—even if it was only to collect homework—Jiang Yueming would have been overjoyed.
But today, for some unknown reason, his attention was completely elsewhere.
His eyes kept darting toward the classroom door. By now, the two of them had already disappeared from sight.
Jiang Yueming didn’t understand why he was so anxious.
The anxiety even made his tone sound off.
“What exactly is it?”
The moment the words left his mouth, he himself was stunned—it came out too harshly.
Wen Xiaoyu was startled by his tone and took half a step back.
She didn’t know why she had suddenly stepped forward either.
Her body had moved faster than her brain.
By the time she realized what she was doing, she was already standing in the middle of the aisle.
She felt off today, as if her hands and feet weren’t fully under her control.
It might have been because the homeroom teacher was late for morning self-study.
The classroom had been noisy, with students chatting nonstop, making it impossible for her to focus on her book.
The topics teenage students gossiped about were nothing but the usual romance stories she had no interest in.
Who broke up with whom from which class today, who found someone new tomorrow.
Normally, these things went in one ear and out the other for her.
She found them far less interesting than the reading comprehension passages on her Chinese tests.
But today, the protagonist of the story had changed.
Jiang Yueming.
He wasn’t a school flower or school grass, nor some rich young master or young miss—just an ordinary, unremarkable student.
Yet today’s discussion was unusually heated.
Compared to those dubious rumors, real events happening right before their eyes ignited the students’ gossip instincts even more.
One was the renowned Young Miss of the Xia Family.
The other was Lu Renjia, the handsome athletic guy popular among the girls in the entire grade.
And caught in the middle?
Jiang Yueming?
Never heard of him.
Compared to those two, his presence was frighteningly low.
He was like a small blade of grass by the roadside that no one paid attention to.
People came and went, never bothering to look down.
But one day, this little grass was suddenly noticed because a butterfly had landed on it—a dazzling, high-born butterfly.
So the passersby stopped, pointing and discussing it. It was suddenly thrust into the spotlight.
Wen Xiaoyu didn’t like this.
She had been paying attention to that little blade of grass for a long time.
Long before everyone else’s eyes turned to it, when it was still growing quietly by the roadside unnoticed, she had already seen it.
Back then, no butterfly had landed on it. No passersby had stopped to watch.
There were no noisy discussions.
It grew there quietly, and she watched it quietly, neither disturbing the other.
Every time she walked past, it would sway gently, as if greeting her.
That feeling was subtle, like two stars gazing at each other from their separate orbits.
They didn’t need to get closer or speak; they simply knew the other was there.
She had watched it for a long time, and there would be many more such long times in the future.
But now, it was being illuminated by spotlights and pointed at by everyone.
Some envied it, some were jealous, some sourly said it didn’t deserve it.
Those voices swarmed around like flies, impossible to shoo away.
She didn’t like this feeling.
The words in her book grew increasingly blurry, making the text hard to read.
It was all their fault.
It was all that butterfly’s fault.
Why did it have to land on you of all places?
Lost in thought, several classes passed until Xia He appeared at the door of their classroom.
When she came back to her senses, she was already standing in front of Jiang Yueming.
“You… didn’t the homeroom teacher say a few days ago that he was going to arrange tutoring for you?”
Jiang Yueming nodded, his gaze still drifting toward the door.
Wen Xiaoyu hesitated, her fingertips rubbing against the homework notebook.
“I… I suddenly had a dream yesterday. In the dream, the homeroom teacher said he wanted me to tutor you…”
Hearing this, Jiang Yueming’s anxiety turned into irritation.
The important thing you wanted to tell me is about a dream you had?
“Got it.”
Jiang Yueming’s toes had already turned to the side, ready to slip past her at any moment.
“What I wanted to say is—” Wen Xiaoyu’s voice suddenly rose slightly.
“That dream felt too real. And it didn’t make sense. Why would the homeroom teacher arrange for someone from another class to tutor you? So during the last period, I went to ask Mr. Zhou…”
Jiang Yueming’s restless movements suddenly paused.
His gaze shifted from the classroom door back to Wen Xiaoyu.
“Mr. Zhou said he couldn’t even remember why he had arranged for Xia He to tutor you. He had originally planned for me to do it…”
Jiang Yueming felt a sudden chill run through him.
“You?”
“Mm.”
“…What are you trying to say?”
His voice tightened.
“Besides, exams are coming up soon. You probably don’t have much time to help someone else review, right?”
A faint pink flush appeared on Wen Xiaoyu’s face, right below her earlobes—somewhere Jiang Yueming couldn’t see.
He heard her say softly.
“Your… your Chinese grades aren’t very good. You need some help. And if it’s you, it’s fine.”
The moment those words were spoken, Jiang Yueming felt as if he had been struck by lightning.
It was like a bolt of electricity had split something open behind him.
Could you help tutor Jiang Yueming in Chinese after school these few days—
If it’s Jiang, then it’s okay—
Strange.
Why does this sound so familiar?
The thought flashed through Jiang Yueming’s mind, and then his head suddenly began to throb with a silent drumming, causing waves of dull pain.
His expression became unnatural.
After freezing for two seconds, a scene actually appeared before his eyes in response to Wen Xiaoyu’s words.
The homeroom teacher was scolding him in the office with disappointment, mouth opening and closing.
Then Wen Xiaoyu appeared beside him.
The teacher said something, and Wen Xiaoyu turned to look at him, nodding gently.
Jiang Yueming bent forward slightly, his brows tightly furrowed from the pain.
Deep in his memory, behind a locked door, those images were desperately pounding to get out.
“What’s wrong? You look terrible.”
Wen Xiaoyu took a step closer, asking with concern.
“It’s nothing…”
At that moment, a wave of soft exclamations came from the doorway.
In the corridor, students leaning on the railing were all looking down, their expressions shocked.
“Wow, is this for real?”
“Xia He actually…”
Several faint gasps drifted over, instantly swallowed by even louder discussions.
Jiang Yueming frowned as he looked over, then rubbed his temples.
“Sorry, let’s talk later. I need to step out for a bit.”
Then Jiang Yueming walked past Wen Xiaoyu and hurried out, one hand still pressed to his head.
Wen Xiaoyu stood there dazed, watching him leave.
The commotion in the corridor continued to grow.
It became even louder after Jiang Yueming left, as if the story was about to reach its most exciting part.
A breeze blew in from the window, making the curtains sway gently.
The shifting shadows danced at Wen Xiaoyu’s feet as she slowly hugged the stack of homework tighter to her chest.
When she turned back to look at the classroom door, Jiang Yueming’s figure was already gone.
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