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In this life, how could one not encounter a few “oddballs”?
After a brief flash of shock, Li Kuiyi looked at the shameless, insufferably pleased-with-himself young rogue standing before her, and suddenly understood this truth with perfect clarity.
Since it had now been confirmed that he was the “oddball” she was destined to encounter, there was no need to waste brainpower trying to trace the origin or destination of his strange behaviors — much as one wouldn’t point at a person having a breakdown and ask: Why is he acting so crazy?
So she crossed her arms and said evenly, “Sure, then go ahead and apologize.”
He Youyuan’s face collapsed instantly.
Do you really think I came here to apologize? I came to enjoy the look of guilt on your face! So why is it that you don’t look guilty in the slightest — and even look faintly expectant? What is that about?
He pressed his lips together in displeasure. “If anything, you should be apologizing to me first.”
“I should apologize to you first? Why?” Li Kuiyi didn’t understand.
He stared at her with barely-concealed irritation. “Take a guess.”
Zhou Ce rested his chin on He Youyuan’s shoulder, letting his gaze travel back and forth between the two of them with an expression that was equal parts curious and slightly vacant. He felt that his earlier judgment had been severely mistaken — the way these two were talking, they had clearly known each other for a while already. Come to think of it, even during their first encounter, there had been a subtle undercurrent between them that was all too telling.
This little fox. Quietly and without a word, he had pulled in a girl — and not just any girl, but the top exam scorer in the city. Ambitious indeed.
Li Kuiyi furrowed her brow in thought, then suddenly realized he must be referring to the matter of the cola. She didn’t quite understand why he was so bothered by it, since it wasn’t as though she had given it to a stranger — she had given it to his own good brother.
But if he was bothered, then she would apologize. It wasn’t as though it was some great ordeal.
“I’m sorry,” she said neatly.
He Youyuan: “…”
The pulse in his temple throbbed with frustration. Why was this not at all how he had imagined it? She was this agreeable? He had assumed she was stubborn to the bone — the type who would refuse to admit fault even when clearly in the wrong!
Damn it, now he looked petty.
So… should he apologize, or not? He Youyuan fumed internally, half-wishing he could kick his past self: Why did I bother getting involved with her in the first place!
He lifted a hand and raked it carelessly through his hair. He had been working himself up to say “I’m sorry,” awkwardly averting his gaze toward the still, dark night in the distance, when Li Kuiyi’s voice came from beside him: “You bumped into me twice.”
“…”
You little prickle-face, don’t push your luck!
Not only did every last shred of that barely-formed remorse vanish without a trace, but He Youyuan even felt a touch of disbelief: she actually dared to bring up old grievances?
If they were bringing up old grievances, then hadn’t she committed far greater offenses than he had?
So he crossed his arms with equal indignation, flicked a cool look at her, and said flatly, “Then I won’t be apologizing.”
Li Kuiyi looked at him from under her lashes. She held his gaze for two or three seconds, then suddenly let out a quiet, contemptuous scoff, the corner of her mouth curving upward with a faint air of disdain — the words “you can’t take it” practically written across her face.
He Youyuan had never suffered such a grave insult in his entire life.
The energy in his body surged up in a rush, shooting straight to his head — and suddenly his nose felt hot, as though something liquid were rising. He raised a hand and wiped it. Two fingers came away stained red.
Li Kuiyi’s eyes flew open in shock, startled. “You…”
The words died in her throat. She caught herself, and immediately started digging through her school trousers pocket for tissues.
Zhou Ce jolted back from his shoulder in alarm. “What the — what happened to you?!”
He Youyuan squeezed his eyes shut. He felt like dying.
Why was the heavens punishing him by making him get a nosebleed in front of a girl? And not just any girl — this prickle-faced disaster! How was he ever supposed to hold his head up in front of her again?
She was going to mock him for the rest of his life. He was absolutely certain of it.
Truly, he wished the earth would explode at this exact moment.
But when he opened his eyes again, what was in front of him was this prickle-face holding out a packet of tissues. And in those eyes that usually held almost no expression at all, there were now a few traces of worry and concern: “Are you still okay…”
The last thing I need right now is your concern!
He Youyuan snatched the tissue packet out of her hand, pressed it against his freely-bleeding nose, and fled without looking back.
“Hey, hey, hey — I, I, I—” Zhou Ce suddenly lost his support. One of his feet stumbled and wobbled awkwardly for two steps before Li Kuiyi’s quick reflexes let her catch him.
Once he had steadied himself, he stared at the fleeing figure in utter stupefaction, then pointed at it. “He — he — he actually abandoned me!”
Li Kuiyi had not yet fully recovered from everything that had just happened. Her heart was still unsettled.
How had He Youyuan suddenly gotten a nosebleed? It couldn’t be… that she had been the one to upset him enough to cause it, could it?
Did that mean she needed to… take responsibility?
Fang Zhixiao came walking over from the bike shed, pulling her electric scooter alongside her. She took one look at the two people standing there dumbstruck and the retreating figure bolting into the distance, and immediately beat her chest in frustration. “Did I miss something spectacular again?!”
Li Kuiyi nodded blankly. “Extremely.”
“Ugh, don’t leave me in suspense — tell me, tell me!” Fang Zhixiao urged.
Zhou Ce spotted the electric scooter and his eyes lit up. He immediately pressed close to Fang Zhixiao, begging in the most earnest manner possible. “Kind soul, please have mercy — give me a ride home. Look at this foot of mine. Without your help, I won’t be making it home tonight. Please, I’m begging you. And I live really close, just right across from the school…”
“Right across from the school?” Fang Zhixiao studied him with skeptical eyes. She recognized him now — the one who had twisted his ankle playing basketball, the same one she had given a thorough scolding. “The Scholar’s Residence?”
The apartment complex directly across from the First Affiliated High School was called “Scholar’s Residence” — a name that was both auspicious and fitting. Its price per square foot had soared right alongside the school’s rising admissions rate, and in recent years it had leapt to become one of the most expensive residential properties in Liuyuan City.
“That’s the one. He Youyuan lives there too, but that heartless creature just abandoned me and ran. If you can get me home, I’ll tell you every last thing that just happened — every single detail, nothing left out!” Zhou Ce raised three fingers in a solemn oath.
Fang Zhixiao thought this over carefully and decided it was a reasonable proposition. It did seem a little cruel to leave him here alone, so she nodded. “Alright then.”
Li Kuiyi immediately said, “Then let’s walk you back together.”
She wasn’t comfortable with Fang Zhixiao sending a boy home alone — even if that boy was her own classmate, even if his foot genuinely was injured.
Fang Zhixiao patted the back seat of her scooter. “But there’s only room for one person back here.”
“That’s right,” Zhou Ce chimed in. “And it’s this late already, class rep — you should head home too. Don’t go out of your way for me. It’s not safe for a girl to be wandering around at this hour.”
Us.
Li Kuiyi couldn’t help but silently protest: Who’s ‘us’ with you? Fang Zhixiao and you are not on the same side.
But there was nothing to be done.
“Alright then. Remember to message me once you get home,” she told Fang Zhixiao.
“I will!” Fang Zhixiao winked at her. “You let me know when you’re home too.”
The moment Li Kuiyi got home, the first thing she did was pull her phone from the drawer and send Fang Zhixiao a message: “I’m home!”
After a while, Fang Zhixiao replied: “Got it.” Then she tossed over a photo of grilled skewers.
Li Kuiyi: ?
Fang Zhixiao: Heehee, we passed a barbecue place that was still open, so he treated me.
Li Kuiyi: …
Li Kuiyi: It’s this late and you’re not going home yet? Didn’t your parents contact you?
Fang Zhixiao: They called me, I told them I was eating barbecue with you — don’t you let it slip.
Li Kuiyi: Hmph, using my name as cover again.
Li Kuiyi: Stay safe! Don’t just focus on eating!
Fang Zhixiao picked up a skewer of potato slices, glanced at the notification that popped up on her phone, and pressed the voice message button with her pinky. “Yeah, yeah, I know. Stop nagging.”
Then she turned to Zhou Ce. “Continue.”
“Where was I?” Zhou Ce thought for a moment. “Oh right — Li Kui had apologized to He Youyuan, but that guy clearly didn’t want to apologize to her. He was hemming and hawing about it…”
Fang Zhixiao interrupted him. “Why was Li Kui willing to apologize to He Youyuan? She doesn’t respond well to force, only to gentleness.”
“How would I know — I figured they must have some history or other.”
Fang Zhixiao slammed the empty bamboo skewer down on the table with a righteous thwack and swiped at her mouth indignantly. “Oh, so she has things she’s keeping from me!”
“Obviously!” Zhou Ce fanned the flames enthusiastically. “You absolutely have to interrogate her. And when you find something out, don’t forget to let me know — I’m dying of curiosity myself.”
“Deal! Then you’re in charge of interrogating He Youyuan — ask him if he’s actually interested in our Li Kui, because what else explains him coming to bother her again and again and again!”
“Done!” Zhou Ce immediately pulled out his phone, grinning from ear to ear. “Then let’s add each other — share what we know.”
The next morning during homeroom reading period, Li Kuiyi went with Liu Xinzhao to Chen Guoming’s office.
Huang Xing was also there.
Chen Guoming was seated in his chair, holding a thermos mug, blowing the tea leaves aside before taking a sip, then smacking his lips several times with evident satisfaction. He cleared his throat. “I’ve gotten the full picture of what happened. First of all, as a student, talking back to a teacher is simply not acceptable.”
He looked toward Li Kuiyi and spread his hands. “And was Teacher Huang saying something unreasonable? You are Class One — a collective, and the most outstanding collective in the first-year grade. That means you should be setting an example for the other classes, letting them see what a truly excellent, united, and cohesive collective looks like. If — and I say if — someone in your class could have, when the PE representative was injured, voluntarily stepped up and taken on the responsibility that needed to be taken on…”
Li Kuiyi listened expressionlessly.
Liu Xinzhao stood right beside her, listening with the same unmoved composure.
“You are a good student — I know that. You have your own ideas and your own convictions.” Finally, Chen Guoming stood up and walked over to stand before Li Kuiyi. “I also saw the letter you wrote to Principal Wang. A young person who dares to think and dares to act — all of that is very commendable. But our thoughts and actions must not stray from a good direction. They should guide us toward becoming better, not give us license to indulge ourselves, to let ourselves slide. Wouldn’t you agree?”
Li Kuiyi understood that there was no room here for any defense. And honestly, given her academic record, the fact that Chen Guoming was speaking to her this cordially was already fairly lenient treatment.
“Understood.” She turned to face Huang Xing and bowed deeply. “I’m sorry, Teacher Huang.”
Afterward, outside the teachers’ office, Liu Xinzhao gave her head another pat and asked softly, “Feeling unhappy?”
Li Kuiyi looked at Liu Xinzhao — and to her own surprise, pressed her lips into a smile and shook her head. “No. I had anticipated all of this, and I had already prepared myself to apologize. The only thing I didn’t anticipate was…”
She paused. Her eyes were bright and luminous. “You.”
“Oh?” Liu Xinzhao raised an eyebrow playfully. “Well, you’ve surprised me quite a bit too. Confess — exactly when did you manage to rally everyone into signing that letter to the principal right under my nose?”