Chapter 36: Gossip

Physical Education class.

After running two laps, the teacher announced free activities.

Most of the girls returned to the classroom, while the boys remained on the basketball court to play.

Jiang Yueming sat leaning against the Chinese parasol tree beside the sports field.

He watched the classmates in the distance freely expending their sweat.

Loud shouting and yelling voices came from over there.

This was a rare time for the students to relax.

Don’t believe anyone.

Jiang Yueming was still replaying the morning’s dream and the sentence he saw upon waking in his mind.

He pondered alone what those words really meant.

In the dream, he had met what seemed to be his future self.

That person said someone was taking her position away.

Whose position?

The girl with pigtails who cried until her shoulders shook in the dream?

“Our class only has Wen Xiaoyu who keeps two pigtails…” Jiang Yueming muttered to himself.

The blurry figure in the dream seemed to gradually overlap with Wen Xiaoyu.

He tried to imagine what those tears would look like on Wen Xiaoyu’s face.

For some unknown reason, a strange sense of irritation suddenly surged in his heart.

Footsteps approached from behind.

Jiang Yueming turned his head and discovered that Wen Xiaoyu was walking toward him.

Today she had tied her pigtails tighter than usual, revealing her clean forehead.

A few loose strands of hair swayed slightly in the wind.

Behind her stood another person.

It was a girl with a high ponytail, a round face, and bright eyes.

She was staring at Jiang Yueming with a gaze like she was examining a rare animal.

“Wen Xiaoyu?” Jiang Yueming straightened his posture. “Why did you come over? Weren’t you feeling unwell?”

“A little bit,” Wen Xiaoyu’s tone remained flat. “But staying in the classroom felt even more uncomfortable.”

Wen Xiaoyu didn’t explain further.

Jiang Yueming didn’t ask.

His attention had been completely captured by the girl she had brought along.

That girl’s gaze carried far too much presence.

It swept across his face like a searchlight, making him feel somewhat uneasy.

“This is…” Jiang Yueming looked toward Wen Xiaoyu.

“My friend,” Wen Xiaoyu stepped aside to make space for the girl. “Li Sisi, from the neighboring Class Four. She happens to have PE class right now too.”

“Hello hello,” Li Sisi bounced out from behind Wen Xiaoyu with a brilliant smile. “You’re Jiang Yueming, right? I’ve heard a lot about you.”

Jiang Yueming was a bit dazed by her enthusiasm. “Uh… hello.”

“I’ve wanted to come find you for a long time already,” Li Sisi said in a very familiar manner as she squatted down. “Since we have PE today, I just dragged Xiaoyu over with me.”

“Find me?” Jiang Yueming grew even more confused. “What for?”

Li Sisi tilted her head. The corner of her mouth carried a smile that said “you know exactly why I’m asking.”

“Of course it’s to see—” she deliberately dragged out the ending tone, “what kind of person could actually win over our Xia Xia.”

The way she called her “Xia Xia” made Jiang Yueming feel somewhat familiar.

After thinking for two seconds, he realized that the people in the campus forum’s “Xia He Support Group” seemed to refer to her that way.

“Are you… from that support group?” Jiang Yueming asked.

Li Sisi proudly lifted her chin. Her ponytail swayed behind her head. “Of course! I’m one of the founders.”

Wen Xiaoyu stood to the side without speaking.

Her gaze stayed on Jiang Yueming’s face for a few seconds before shifting to the distant basketball court.

“Founder?” Jiang Yueming was somewhat surprised.

“Yeah. The group was already built back in our first year. I’m an administrator,” Li Sisi said. “I came today just to see what you look like. Nothing else. Don’t be nervous.”

Jiang Yueming sighed inwardly.

Getting tangled up with someone like Xia He who glowed no matter where she went meant this kind of trouble would never be lacking.

“Have you finished looking?”

“I’ve finished looking,” Li Sisi gave her evaluation seriously. “A bit more ordinary than I imagined.”

After she finished speaking, she immediately waved her hands. “No negative meaning! It’s just that the person who could win over Xia Xia should probably have more distinctive features, I thought.”

“…”

Jiang Yueming clicked his tongue silently.

“But ordinary is pretty good too.” Li Sisi nodded to herself as if convincing herself. “If he was too handsome it would make people feel uneasy instead. Don’t you think so too, Xiaoyu?”

Wen Xiaoyu pulled her gaze back from the basketball court.

She glanced at Jiang Yueming without leaving any trace.

Then she lightly responded with an “Mm.”

Li Sisi took out her phone.

She opened the campus forum and pulled up that vote to show Jiang Yueming.

“Look. Most of the people in our support group support you and Xia Xia. Two hundred thirty-one to five. An overwhelming advantage.”

“I saw it,” Jiang Yueming said.

“So you have to treat our Xia Xia well,” Li Sisi put away her phone and put on a serious expression. “If you dare to bully her, our support group’s two or three hundred people won’t let you off.”

Watching her serious, almost challenging attitude, Jiang Yueming actually felt like laughing instead.

“She bullies me is more like it.”

“That’s fine too.” Li Sisi nodded in satisfaction.

Wen Xiaoyu stood to the side.

Her gaze fell on the distant basketball court.

Dong Ziyang had just taken a shot and missed.

The basketball bounced off the rim.

He chased after the ball, running until he was out of breath.

She watched in that direction.

Her expression didn’t change much.

Her fingers gently twisted the hem of her school uniform at her side, pinching out a small wrinkle.

“Right,” Li Sisi suddenly leaned in a bit closer. Her eyes were sparkling. “How far have you two progressed now?”

“What do you mean by ‘how far’?”

“You know,” Li Sisi brought her two index fingers together and touched them. “After holding hands, have you taken any further steps?”

Jiang Yueming guessed what she wanted to ask and decided to play dumb.

“What do you mean by ‘further steps’?”

“Aiya!” Li Sisi stomped her foot. “I mean besides holding hands, have you two… that…”

“Sisi.”

Wen Xiaoyu, who had not joined the conversation until now, opened her mouth.

Her voice wasn’t loud, but it cleanly cut off Li Sisi’s words.

“Don’t ask anymore. This is… their privacy.”

Li Sisi froze for a moment, then stuck out her tongue.

“Right right right, I was too gossipy. Sorry about that,” she patted her own mouth. “I was just too curious. You don’t know how those people in the group keep urging me to come ask around. The pressure is really big.”

“It’s fine,” Jiang Yueming said.

Seeing that the atmosphere had turned somewhat stiff, Li Sisi hurriedly changed the topic.

“Let’s not talk about this anymore,” she took out a piece of candy.

In just a few moves she peeled off the wrapper and stuffed it into her mouth. “Let’s chat about something else. Xiaoyu said your Chinese grades don’t seem very good. Is that true?”

Jiang Yueming felt a bit helpless toward her acting like a member of Xia He’s family coming to check on things.

But since she had asked, he could only answer honestly.

“Not very good.”

“That’s perfect then. Let Xia Xia tutor you,” Li Sisi said with her words a bit muffled from the candy. “Xia Xia is the top student in the entire grade. No one is more suitable than her.”

Jiang Yueming had been busy dealing with Li Sisi’s questioning and hadn’t noticed that Wen Xiaoyu had reacted to this sentence.

She slowly turned around.

Facing the troubled Jiang Yueming and the curious Li Sisi, she spoke.

“Jiang Yueming’s Chinese already has someone tutoring him.”

“Huh?” Li Sisi’s chewing motion slowed down. “Who?”

Wen Xiaoyu didn’t answer right away.

Her gaze moved away from Li Sisi’s face and landed on Jiang Yueming, pausing there for a second.

Then it moved back to Li Sisi.

The process was very slow, as if she was deliberately letting others see the path of her gaze.

“Me,” she said.

No extra explanation.

Just one word.

Li Sisi opened her mouth. “You? Xiaoyu, you’re the one tutoring him?”

“Mm.”

The atmospheric pressure suddenly grew heavier.

Accompanied by a gust of wind sweeping past, Jiang Yueming heard a faint trace of emotion in this girl’s tone for the first time.

“People from our class shouldn’t be tutored by people from our class?”