Yesterday, someone randomly shared the video with him, asking if he had abs like that.
Bo Jiangxin’s first reaction was, did she lose a truth or dare game with her friends to send such a nearly harassing message?
Because with her usual cautious and shy way of liking him, she’d never dare send this kind of message.
If she really had that courage, she’d have confessed long ago.
If he hadn’t accidentally heard her inner voice, she’d probably just remain a timid groundhog all her life—liking but never daring to act.
Bo Jiangxin glanced once and immediately closed the video.
He ignored all such meaningless junk messages, and since Xiang Di didn’t send any more, he figured she was just playing a dare game.
Thankfully, it was sent to him—he could see through it at once and pretend nothing happened for her sake.
If it had been sent to someone else, he wondered how she would explain it.
But when he arrived at school this morning, just walking into the classroom, the girl who had asked if he had abs yesterday was now awkwardly lowering her head, admiring another man’s abs.
She even stretched out a silly little finger, clearly planning to touch them.
So her question about abs yesterday was serious?
Not only did she ask him, she also asked Zhou Linxiao. Not only did she ask Zhou Linxiao, but today she also saw Zhou Linxiao’s abs in person and even wanted to touch them?
Turning his head to the right, he saw someone obediently writing the paper—the very hand that had almost touched another man’s abs now gripping a pen.
Just yesterday, Bo Jiangxin decided not to use underhanded methods to spy on her inner voice.
Her inner voice was her privacy; whether she liked him or not, he had no right to interfere.
Even if he responded, someday she would find out, and then she would regret liking him.
Better to give her no hope from the start and just peacefully get through the last few months as classmates with a good relationship.
Besides, he didn’t want to endure stronger withdrawal symptoms once the link disappeared again.
That was Bo Jiangxin’s original thought.
But why was she so unfocused? Her mind was on him, but her body rejected no man with even a hint of charm nearby.
Zhou Linxiao was one, and the male internet celebrity in the video was another.
Zhou Linxiao took advantage of having spent his first eighteen years outside the domestic education system, where academic pressure was lighter, so he had plenty of time to bulk up in the gym.
Now here he was, openly praising himself and indirectly telling Xiang Di that his body was better than Bo Jiangxin’s, with more muscle.
Yet that lustful groundhog couldn’t see through him and was fooled by Zhou Linxiao’s mixed-race looks, praising him as a good person.
Bo Jiangxin’s expression darkened; he clasped his phone face down and sighed heavily at the Language exam paper in front of him.
She always effortlessly shattered his calm and principles.
Without doing anything, she unsettled him.
The Language Teacher on the podium panicked, hurriedly picking up the exam paper to check carefully.
What did Bo Jiangxin’s sigh just mean? Was there a mistake on the paper?
When the bell rang for class to end, the Language Teacher called Bo Jiangxin to the office.
In front of the class, she didn’t want to ask directly, but since she found no errors on the exam paper, she had no choice but to call Bo Jiangxin in.
“Come here.”
The Language Teacher asked, “Be honest with me. Is there a mistake on this exam paper?”
Bo Jiangxin: “Is there?”
Teacher: “There isn’t? You did the paper, didn’t you?”
“I didn’t.” Bo Jiangxin said calmly, “I played on my phone the whole class.”
Language Teacher:
Everything was ultimately a wasted effort.
In the end, the hurt Language Teacher scolded Bo Jiangxin a little more and punished him to copy two long classical essays before letting him go from the office back to class.
The break between the first class was short. Most people were too lazy to leave the classroom and just rested their heads on their desks. When Bo Jiangxin returned, most of the class was present—even Wang Sicheng, who usually liked to sneak out, was resting. Only Xiang Di and Zhou Linxiao were absent.
Just then, the bell rang for the next class, and Xiang Di hurried into the classroom from outside, followed shortly by Zhou Linxiao.
Where had those two gone?
This class was supposed to be Math, but the Class Teacher walked in instead.
“The Math teacher is sick today and took a day off. This class will be Chemistry instead. Take out the Chemistry Exam Paper we handed out last Saturday.”
Before starting to teach the paper, Chen Jinghua informed everyone that next week would be the First City Mock Exam.
The mock exam was the first comprehensive simulation of the college entrance exam during senior year, designed to test the results of students’ first round of revision. It would definitely be harder than the real exam to help students identify and fill gaps in time and adjust their study strategies accordingly.
“After the mock exam is the Parent-Teacher Conference. Take it seriously,” Chen Jinghua said. “These scores will be shown to your parents. If you do badly, you won’t be able to explain it.”
A chorus of groans arose. No one liked these exams paired with parent meetings—wasn’t this a death sentence?
Chen Jinghua knocked on the desk. “Enough. What’s the use of crying now? Instead of whining, why not spend more time studying? Look at Bo Jiangxin, did he cry?”
The whole class looked over at Bo Jiangxin. Xiang Di glanced too.
No wonder he was her “husband.” Even with the mock exam approaching, he remained so calm as if nothing could break his composure.
She wanted to learn from him.
After sitting through the entire Chemistry lesson seriously, Xiang Di’s weak subject, she still found some points unclear despite the teacher’s explanation.
As the saying goes, it’s no shame to ask questions, so she went to ask someone else.
Asking Zhou Linxiao was no good—his English was decent but Chemistry wasn’t his strong suit.
The SAT Chemistry covered a broad range but was relatively easy and didn’t involve complicated calculations, unlike the domestic college entrance exam, so she couldn’t seek his help.
Xiang Di turned to Bo Jiangxin. “Class Monitor, Class Monitor.”
“What is it? Wait till I’m done taking a dump and I’ll talk!”
Ye Minjia grabbed a pack of tissues and rushed out of the classroom.
Liang Qianqian commented, “Lazy people poop a lot.”
Xiang Di had no choice but to ask Liang Qianqian, “Qianqian, do you know how to calculate the mass fraction of magnesium oxide in this question? I didn’t really get it.”
Liang Qianqian glanced and shook her head. “I’m also waiting for Ye Minjia to come back from the bathroom and teach me.”
“Alright then.”
Xiang Di looked around. The Chemistry Class Committee member wasn’t here either.
Wait! Bo Jiangxin was here.
Her heart suddenly beat faster.
They’d eaten cream puffs together, been to the bookstore together, and she had even ridden on his Electric Scooter, holding his waist.
Xiang Di, you’re not strangers anymore! What are you scared of? Go for it! Now’s the time!
She stood up and sat down at Wang Sicheng’s seat.
Suddenly, the scent of Baby Milk Cream wafted from beside her. Bo Jiangxin’s Adam’s apple moved as he glanced at her, then looked back at his exam paper.
Bo Jiangxin lowered his head and asked, “What’s up?”
Xiang Di: “Mm-hmm.”
He kept writing without stopping. “If you have questions, why not ask your deskmate?”
“Zhou Linxiao?” Xiang Di waved her hand. “No way. He’s no good. He’s not as skilled as you.”
Bo Jiangxin paused, looked at her with a complicated expression.
His voice low: “How do you know I’m better than him?”
Xiang Di said, “Isn’t it obvious?”
Bo Jiangxin was taken aback for a moment and let out a soft chuckle, “Flattery.”
Xiang Di answered firmly, “I’m not flattering. Isn’t it a fact?”
Bo Jiangxin stared at her, and she blinked, smiling sincerely.
A few seconds later, under her “Ov0” gaze, Bo Jiangxin’s expression softened, as if giving in.
His throat moved as he said, “You…”
“Want to see my abs?”
“Mm-hmm, I have a Chemistry question to ask you.”
Both sentences slipped out almost simultaneously, then the two fell silent.
In the quiet classroom where most people were quietly resting, a few seconds of silence hung in the air.
Bo Jiangxin shut his eyes in despair, stiffly turned his head, and propped his forehead with his hand, cursing himself for acting so rashly for the first time.
Xiang Di’s face suddenly flushed bright red and she also awkwardly lowered her head.
Damn! That harassing message wasn’t just sent to Zhou Linxiao!
He even got it from her secret crush, Bo Jiangxin! The pure little girl image she had painstakingly maintained in front of Bo Jiangxin was completely gone! She wanted to disappear!
Because both felt embarrassed in front of the other, neither dared to look, so neither saw the other’s brilliant expression at that moment.