Qing Ye and Xing Wu’s overlapping silhouettes were hidden behind the tree trunk as they heard the rustling of grass and branches behind them. Clearly, someone else had entered the grove.

Qing Ye’s eyes widened instantly as she held her breath. How could they have imagined that even in such a secluded corner, they’d still encounter people while just having a conversation? It was unbelievable.

Qing Ye looked up at Xing Wu in panic. He kept his eyes half-lowered, his brows slightly furrowed as he listened to the movement outside. Fortunately, the footsteps stopped halfway, perhaps deterred by the thick undergrowth, and whoever it was didn’t come in.

A light breeze blew through the grove, making it feel chilly. Qing Ye had left her jacket by the bonfire, and while their mad dash hadn’t left her feeling cold, now that they were standing still, she could feel the chill.

As she huddled her shoulders, Xing Wu looked down and simply pulled her into his embrace, his arms wrapping tightly around her. His arms were broad and warm, and as Qing Ye nestled in his embrace, she heard a male voice outside say, “Fang Lei, you…”

Qing Ye couldn’t hear what was said after that, as the voice was buried under some ambiguous sounds.

When Qing Ye heard Fang Lei’s name, she realized who the two people behind them were and what they planned to do.

Her face instantly turned crimson as she looked up at Xing Wu. His eyes showed understanding – connecting Qing Ye and Fang Lei’s secretive behavior during the day with that box of Durex that Qing Ye said she was helping someone with, he naturally guessed what was happening.

But the frustrating part was that even though they knew what the two people behind them were planning and how awkward things would become, they couldn’t leave now. First, catching people in such a situation would be embarrassing for all four of them, and second, if Fang Lei saw them hiding there so late at night, they couldn’t explain themselves either. Not wanting to be stubborn, their only option was to stay put.

Qing Ye never imagined she’d one day be forced to hide in a grove with Xing Wu, especially in such an awkward situation.

Though their bodies were pressed together, their breathing had become shallow. Their hearing was infinitely amplified in this environment, and even the slightest rustle of clothing from behind was torture for them.

Qing Ye’s heart was beating wildly as she wished she could just vanish into thin air. What kind of mess was this? They had only wanted to escape that stupid circle dancing, why did they have to encounter a live show? Jin Zhong was such a huge place – this wasn’t fair at all. Should they buy a lottery ticket tomorrow?

Though Qing Ye knew Fang Lei planned to seduce Wei Dong, she hadn’t expected it to be in such an environment. Was she really this bold?

Xing Wu’s lips gradually tensed. As the sounds behind them grew louder, his breathing became somewhat turbid. To make matters worse, Qing Ye’s soft body was completely pressed against him, and his palm on her waist grew increasingly hot as if some magical force was guiding his hand, making it hard to maintain self-control.

Soon, Qing Ye felt the change in his body. She stiffened and reflexively looked up at him. That look made things even more awkward – they both felt like they might explode. They turned their heads toward an unknown corner simultaneously, their mingled breaths becoming increasingly chaotic.

However, at that moment, Wei Dong suddenly said, “Fang Lei, don’t do this.”

“Don’t you like me?”

“I, I don’t mean that. It’s just that we can’t be together right now.”

“Why?” Fang Lei’s voice became somewhat shrill.

“Don’t overthink it. The college entrance exam is only a few months away. I don’t want to be distracted. You should work hard too. Can we wait until we get into the same university to be together?”

Fang Lei’s voice began to tremble: “Do you think I can get into the same school as you?”

An eerie silence suddenly fell around them, with neither person making a sound. After a while, Wei Dong said to her, “Don’t give up, okay? I don’t want you to regret it.”

“What makes you think I would regret it? Or are you afraid you’ll regret it?”

“Yes, I’m afraid I’ll regret it…”

“…”

Then Qing Ye and Xing Wu listened as the two got into an argument about this matter, ending with them parting ways unhappily, their footsteps gradually fading.

Qing Ye finally let out a long breath, relieved to no longer endure this torment. She looked up at Xing Wu, only to meet his burning gaze. With just one look, Xing Wu pressed her against the tree behind her and sealed her breath, his voice hoarse as he called out to her while nuzzling her lips: “Qing Ye…”

She responded with a soft “Mm?” that surprised even herself with its tenderness.

Xing Wu’s lips curved into a dizzying smile as he stared at her with liquid eyes: “That bet if it was this, would you give it?”

Looking at his dreamy eyes, Qing Ye could no longer tell if he was being serious this time or still playing with her. Her heart was pounding. Honestly, she hadn’t thought about this question, at least not at this stage. It wasn’t that she was conservative or unwilling to take the next step with Xing Wu, just that she wasn’t ready – everything was happening too suddenly.

Her eyes trembled even more than before as she weakly said: “I…”

“Silly.”

Xing Wu suddenly pinched her nose and laughed freely: “How can you fall for the same trick twice, Miss Top Student?”

Qing Ye suddenly realized she’d been played again. Again???

She immediately punched his chest: “Jerk!”

Just as she spoke, a figure emerged from behind the tree. They both stiffened and turned to look, only to see someone even more shocked than they were… Fang Lei.

They had heard the two argue for a while and had deliberately waited a bit after hearing no more movement before relaxing, but who could have guessed that after Wei Dong left, Fang Lei hadn’t gone anywhere. Now all six eyes showed expressions of shock.

Of course, the most shocked was Fang Lei. When she discovered movement behind the tree and saw that it was Qing Ye and Xing Wu, her worldview was instantly refreshed multiple times. She asked shakily: “Are you two… in an incestuous relationship?”

“…”

This was exactly why they hadn’t wanted to come out earlier. It wasn’t that they were afraid of Fang Lei knowing about their relationship, but some things were just difficult to explain. However difficult it might be to explain, now that she had discovered them, they had no choice but to try.

After the initial shock, Xing Wu quickly recovered his usual calm demeanor. Qing Ye awkwardly glanced up at him before telling Fang Lei: “Well… we’re not siblings. We’re not related by blood, our families just know each other.”

Fang Lei’s eyes grew huge as she quickly absorbed this information, then tentatively asked: “So you’ve been together for a while?”

Qing Ye lowered her eyes and told her: “For some time now.”

Fang Lei froze for a good while, seemingly trying to connect all this sudden information. After a long moment, she said: “No wonder.”

It was an ambiguous comment – no one knew what she meant by “no wonder.” No wonder their sibling relationship seemed so close.

As Fang Lei processed everything, she also felt somewhat awkward. She looked at the small red box in her hand that she had planned to throw away and said somewhat embarrassedly: “This is too sudden, and I’m not prepared, but why don’t you take this? Wishing you… early success in your relationship.”

She tossed the Durex to Xing Wu and ran away.

So after all that, the Durex that Qing Ye had carried for several days had come full circle back to them. Xing Wu looked down at the small box in his hand, confused as to why Fang Lei had run away.

He tossed the small red box up and down, squinting with a half-smile: “It would be rude to refuse such hospitality. Want to use it?”

“…” Not again? She wouldn’t fall for it a third time.

When they walked back to the bonfire, Qing Ye bumped him and asked: “Seriously, I can grant you one unconditional request. What do you want me to do?”

Xing Wu stood against the light, his Adam’s apple clearly defined. Though Qing Ye didn’t know why she noticed his Adam’s apple, she suddenly thought it looked very attractive, especially when it moved up and down – it was particularly sexy.

As she kept staring, she couldn’t help herself and reached out to touch it. Just as her finger was about to make contact, Xing Wu grabbed her hand, his gaze sharp as he looked at her: “You can’t touch a man’s Adam’s apple carelessly.”

“Why not?”

“It’s fatal.”

“Really?” Qing Ye instantly withdrew her hand, full of questions.

Xing Wu gave her an ambiguous look and said: “I haven’t decided what I want you to do yet. Let’s keep it as an IOU.”

“Well, hopefully, you’ll forget about it as time passes.”

“Don’t worry, I won’t forget.”

When they returned to the bonfire, the stupid circle dancing had finally ended. Some people who didn’t want to leave were still playing around – if the teachers hadn’t set a 9 PM curfew, these people looked ready to party all night.

Someone had connected their phone to the speakers via Bluetooth and was playing some intense music, with everyone dancing wildly.

Qing Ye thought it was fortunate that Jin Zhong was in a remote location with no residential areas nearby, otherwise, someone would have called the police.

She walked around the edge of the area but couldn’t find her jacket. Xing Wu also helped her look around and asked: “Still nothing?”

“No, I left it right here. My phone was in the pocket – try calling it.”

Xing Wu took out his phone and called Qing Ye’s number, but it showed as unreachable. Qing Ye went back to find Shi Min, who was filming Xiao Lingtong’s funny dancing with her phone.

Qing Ye ran over and asked: “Shi Min, have you seen my jacket?”

Shi Min turned her head to glance at where they had been sitting earlier: “Isn’t it there?”

“No.”

Panghu, who was nearby, heard them looking for the jacket and suddenly remembered something: “Oh… oh no, that jacket that was thrown into the fire earlier… wasn’t that yours?”

Qing Ye’s face instantly went pale as she asked: “Where?”

Panghu pointed to the bonfire pit. Qing Ye ran over and saw a small piece of military green trim at the edge of the fire pit. The fur on the hood had already burned away. Since she couldn’t find it anywhere else, this burned jacket was most likely hers.

Xing Wu also came over and asked: “What happened?”

Shi Min and Panghu both ran over. Qing Ye was quite angry, turning around with a dark face to look at Shi Min and Panghu: “Did you see who took my jacket?”

Panghu shook his head: “About, about half an hour ago, someone asked whose jacket was on fire, but no one answered, so I, I didn’t pay attention.”

Shi Min was still recording video on her phone. Xing Wu noticed her action and frowned, asking: “How long have you been recording?”

“I started recording right after the bonfire dance ended. Luo Xin from Class 3’s phone died, so she asked me to record it for her to give to the publicity department later.”

“Can you stop recording now?”

Shi Min suddenly understood Xing Wu’s intention and immediately stopped the video. Everyone gathered around Shi Min.