Yan Xi got a girlfriend, and she was a super beauty.

When the news spread, the whole school’s boys and girls let out a collective wail.

The girls were simpler – they were wailing about losing Yan Xi.

The boys’ psychology was far more complex. Was it jealousy of Yan Xi? Partly. Was it regret that the beauty had found his beauty? That too. Was it sighing that the beauty wasn’t their beauty, the gorgeous girl wasn’t their gorgeous girl? There seemed to be some of that too. And so, they agonized and wailed…

After that day of howling and crying, Xin Dayi acted as if nothing had happened, playing and fooling around with Yan Xi just as before.

Yan Xi was also strange, acting perfectly normal, his expression bland, showing not the slightest guilt toward Xin Dayi.

A Heng watched from the side until her gut twisted in knots, feeling she wasn’t cut out to be a saint resolving conflicts, so she too pretended nothing had happened, living her simple daily life peacefully.

Well, the most unusual person turned out to be Si Wan, who every day pulled A Heng aside to probe indirectly, taking on the appearance of a gentle and kind older brother, asking her what happened at school. From big things like who quarreled with whom in class, to small things like how many pieces of braised pork were eaten at lunch – anything related to Yan Xi, Dayi, or Chen Juan, no matter how trivial, in exhaustive detail.

A Heng was also gentle and kind, sniffling as she described in vivid half-fluent Mandarin: today Dayi glared at Yan Xi so fiercely, Yan Xi mentioned you, Si Wan, so many times, Rousi Beauty changed to a goose-yellow silk scarf, that scarf was so pretty…

After hearing this, Si Wan’s eyebrows twitched as he smiled more painfully than crying: “A Heng, do you know something?”

A Heng said: “I don’t know anything, I don’t know anything.”

Si Wan looked at A Heng, held back for a long time without uttering a word, only gazing at this biological sister whose gentle eyes were painted with mountains and water.

She didn’t know anything, just that Yan Xi’s treatment of Chen Juan was too fake, clearly deliberately acting intimate and ambiguous for Xin Dayi to see. Chen Juan also truly never went a moment without wearing the silk scarf, not even removing it for PE class.

She was just a clear-eyed observer, that’s all.

Not that A Heng thought too highly of herself, but honestly, in her view, Chen Juan’s attraction for Yan Xi was far less than that of the braised pork she made.

Yan Xi had a quirk when eating – he always saved the best and his favorites for last. So every time he ate, he would first eat the other side dishes and rice, leaving the braised pork for last to savor slowly.

A Heng felt that Yan Xi had an obsessive possessiveness and protectiveness over the braised pork within his sphere of influence. Once outsiders violated his braised pork, the consequences could be as immeasurable as the surging waves of the Yellow River at high tide.

Facts proved she was completely correct.

One day, Yan Xi glanced sideways at Xin Dayi while pinching (judging by Chen Juan’s twisted face, it was pinching) his new girlfriend’s delicate jade-like hand, spewing sappy words with flying spittle: “Rousi, I feel we’re a pair of birds flying wing to wing in the sky, a pair of mandarin ducks in the water, a pair of landlocked ducks on land, our love as firm as gold even if the seas dry up and rocks crumble. No difficulty or setback can separate us, I love you so much I want to dedicate myself to you, oh, darling!”

Chen Juan’s rose-like face darkened.

Xin Dayi’s black hair stood on end one by one, his hand holding the chopsticks trembling.

A Heng’s mouth twitched as she looked at Yan Xi’s lunchbox with only braised pork remaining, and said gently: “Yan Xi, the pork will get cold.”

Yan Xi looked down, saw the neat rows of oily small ribs in his lunchbox, and smiled with complete satisfaction, picking up his spoon to send a piece to his mouth.

Mary curiously leaned over, looked at the braised pork, and said softly: “Is it that delicious?” Then, naturally picked up a piece with her fingers and chewed it, finding that though it tasted good, it was just ordinary braised pork flavor, nothing as rare as abalone or shark fin.

Looking up again, she unconsciously shifted her bottom backward.

A pair of bright black eyes stared at her with unwavering killing intent, the delicate face darker than a pot bottom, the hand holding the spoon completely clenched as he ground out: “Who said you could touch my braised pork?”

Mary was stunned: “It’s just one piece of pork…”

Yan Xi’s lips curved up on one side in a cold hard smile: “It’s still young master’s, not yours!”

Mary pouted: “Just now you were saying you loved me so much you wanted to dedicate yourself to me!”

Yan Xi slapped the table: “Can’t you understand what hyperbole is, you uncultured foreigner!”

Xin Dayi couldn’t take it anymore and also slapped the table: “Yan Xi, can’t you be a bit nicer to someone you’re dating!”

Yan Xi replied coolly: “How am I not nice to her? I even said I wanted to dedicate myself to her!”

Xin Dayi looked truly angry now, dumping the entire lunchbox of braised pork on the ground: “Yan Xi, you bastard, today I just won’t let you eat braised pork, will you die?”

Yan Xi also got angry: “If you don’t like me that’s fine, but why take it out on my braised pork!”

A Heng felt Xin Dayi was like a balloon, being provoked and inflated day after day by Yan Xi, but unfortunately, the balloon’s elasticity wasn’t very good, and now, pop! It burst: “I just don’t like you, so what!”

Yan Xi rolled up his sleeves: “Damn it, let’s fight one-on-one!”

“You think I wouldn’t dare? Fight if you want to fight!” Xin Dayi raised his head and also rolled up his sleeves.

“Getting cocky, huh!” Yan Xi knocked a chestnut onto Xin Dayi’s forehead with a bang, making sparks fly and birds circle.

“Yan Xi, don’t think I won’t hit you!” Xin Dayi’s tone was harsh but unexpectedly carried a crying tone.

A Heng smiled slightly – Xin Dayi was throwing a tantrum.

Yan Xi coldly laughed, his tone becoming serious: “Bottom line, isn’t it all just for a woman? Do you need me to lend you some courage?”

Dead silence.

The classmates exchanged glances, finally fixing their eyes on the two youths.

This aggressive tone would make anyone who heard it feel extremely hateful.

A Heng was shocked, but when she turned to look at that disputed rose-like beauty, she saw a knowing and disdainful smile, with spring’s tender curve at the corners of her lips.

Xin Dayi roughly wiped his eyes with his sleeve, veins bulging on his forehead as he clenched his fist, stepped forward, and grabbed Yan Xi’s pink shirt collar, his eyes rimmed with red as he glared viciously at Yan Xi.

Yan Xi stared back at the youth, his eyes still bright black, peach blossoms scattering to cover all emotion in his pupils as he looked at him faintly, a sneer at the corner of his mouth.

Xin Dayi clenched his teeth, raised his fist, swung through the air, and reached Yan Xi’s eye corner – but stopped.

Turning around, he stormed out like a gust of wind, slamming the door.

A Heng sighed and ran out after him again.

This habit of Xin-style Eve running away when things happened was not endearing. But this time was better – before she could demonstrate her herb-digging-on-the-mountain speed, Xin Dayi had already stopped.

He turned his head, his chest heaving constantly, his tone very serious and aggrieved: “A Heng, tell me, what’s wrong with Yan Xi, why does he always want me to hate him?”

A Heng was stunned – she hadn’t expected Xin Dayi to ask her this question. But then, her brows relaxed, truly envying Yan Xi in her heart.

How fortunate he was, to have in this world such an unsuspecting close friend.

A Heng smiled gently and spoke: “Dayi, help me with something, then I’ll tell you.”

Xin Dayi stood by the narrow washbasin, his nose catching a faint stench, his face turning green: “Wen Heng, why do you have to make me help you in the bathroom!”

A Heng chuckled: “Dayi, bear with it, it’ll be over soon.”

They were in the school’s old faculty bathroom, next to the old teaching building. Being far from the new building, plus having old-style urinals without doors, it was abandoned and rarely visited.

A Heng checked her watch to estimate the time, then had Xin Dayi close his mouth as they quietly observed from the corner.

Footsteps gradually approached from afar, a goose-yellow silk scarf, a rose-like allure.

It was Chen Juan!

Xin Dayi quickly turned his head, his face burning red as he glared at A Heng.

“Damn! Wen Heng, how could you make a fine young man like me act like such a pervert?” Xin Dayi gestured frantically, agitated.

“It’s not perverted if you look, only if I look.” A Heng mouthed, sighed, gently turned the youth’s head back, but closed her own eyes.

Since Si Wan was beaten, she had observed Chen Juan for a long time and discovered that she would never go to the bathroom during class breaks, but during lunch breaks, she often turned toward the old teaching building. Originally bringing Dayi here was just trying their luck, but unexpectedly they caught something.

After that rose-like beauty floated away, A Heng opened her eyes to see Xin Dayi’s face green-black, his expression like he’d eaten a fly.

This reaction – seems she had guessed right.

After a long while, Xin Dayi slowly wrinkled his face, wanting to cry but unable to: “A Heng, Si Wan knew early on, then Yan Xi also knew, right?”

A Heng shook her head: “I’m not sure.” Si Wan’s reaction to Dayi pursuing Mary, and Yan Xi’s reaction before and after hitting Si Wan, only revealed traces of clues.

They walked back, both silent the whole way, but A Heng felt Xin Dayi’s emotions had reached some kind of limit.

Sure enough, back in class, Xin Dayi hit Yan Xi.

The youth’s lip corner bore crimson blood.

“Yan Xi, you and Si Wan knew early on, didn’t you?” Xin Dayi’s eyes were full of disappointment and grievance.

Yan Xi was surprised, stunned, then narrowed his eyes to look at Mary.

Mary glanced at A Heng, smiling enchantingly: “No need to glare at me, I didn’t say anything, they happened to see.”

Yan Xi laughed coldly: “Such a coincidence?”

Mary’s eyes reflected sunlight, truly malicious and strange as she softly blew in Yan Xi’s ear: “Indeed, such a coincidence, weren’t you also coincidentally discovering the secret under my scarf?”

“Getting paint from the classroom, that day?” A Heng interjected.

Yan Xi wiped the blood from his lip corner with his index finger and nodded. That day, he returned to the classroom for paint and happened to see Chen Juan remove the silk scarf and throw it in her backpack.

Xin Dayi stared blankly at Yan Xi, his nose turning sour: “Yan Xi, am I so untrustworthy to you?”

Mary stroked her phoenix eyes gleaming with light and sneered: “Ah, that beating Si Wan took was really for nothing. Eve, Yan Xi’s good intentions were completely wasted.”

Yan Xi sighed, his expression somewhat helpless as he softened his brows and spoke gently to Xin Dayi: “Dayi, you know, you’ve been foolish since childhood, never dated, never seen a transvestite, if you got deceived, who knows what might happen… So, big brother sacrificed a bit, preferring you to be angry at me than let you two stay together. Oh, why am I so great, so thoughtful, so universally loved!”

A Heng burst out laughing.

Xin Dayi was originally moved to tears, but the more he listened the greener his face became: “Thanks a lot! I wouldn’t die for a transvestite!”

Mary’s rose-like face twisted: “Who’s a transvestite, get lost!”

Yan Xi’s lips curved into a peach petal arc as he spoke coolly: “Fine, you’re not a transvestite, you just love wearing dresses, love wearing high heels, love painting your nails, have an extra piece down there, and accidentally have a protrusion on your neck, okay?”

Mary snorted, speaking stiffly: “Can’t a person living in this world have hobbies? Are we not allowed to live?” Then, licking her red lips, she cast a flirtatious glance at Xin Dayi.

Xin Dayi burst into tears, despairing: “A Heng, A Heng, am I having a nightmare? Just now a transvestite cast me a flirtatious look, such a clear and shocking feeling…”

Pinch, pinch, I pinch, pinch hard.

“Does it hurt?” Smile.

“It hurts.” Covering face.

“Hehe, not dreaming, you’re awake.” Conclusion.

Chen Juan, age fifteen, male.

Height one meter eighty, interest: cross-dressing.

Back home, A Heng told Si Wan about this matter.

“Si Wan, why didn’t you say?”

“Dayi is so foolish, what if he couldn’t handle it?”

“Yan Xi, why did he hit you?”

“Angry that I kept it from him too.”

“Oh, so that’s why Dayi hit Yan Xi.”