13

"..."

"Ha!"

"Hahahahaha!"

Some people in the classroom couldn't hold back their laughter, and soon the whole class was laughing, creating a chaotic scene.

Lin Tiao was awakened by the sudden noise. When she lifted her head, she looked dazed, not understanding why everyone in the class was staring at her after her nap.

Mr. Yu was still standing at the podium, his temper surprisingly good. "Now that your deskmate is also awake, Jiang Yan, why don't you tell us what you were staring at Lin Tiao for?"

Lin Tiao: "?"

What the heck.

Jiang Yan, under Lin Tiao's "Why are you staring at me?" gaze, helplessly spoke up, "Mr. Yu, I wasn't staring at my deskmate. I was just debating whether or not to wake her up. After all, students should focus on their studies. Sleeping in class isn't a good habit."

Lin Tiao: "?"

What the heck!!!

Ugh!

Mr. Yu: "..."

Everyone: "..."

It seemed neither Mr. Yu nor the onlookers expected Jiang Yan to come up with such an excuse, and they were momentarily stunned.

After a moment of silence, the classmates snapped back to reality and burst into uncontrollable laughter.

Hu Hanghang patted Jiang Yan on the shoulder, "Bro, with excuses like these, who needs a cane when you're old? Just prop yourself up!"

Mr. Yu also laughed. Although he knew Jiang Yan was making excuses, it seemed somewhat reasonable upon reflection.

He cleared his throat, took a sip from his thermos, and said, "You're right, sleeping in class isn't a good habit."

Mr. Yu, holding the thermos, spoke slowly and calmly, "Since that's the case, Lin Tiao, you can stand and listen to the lesson."

Lin Tiao: "..."

With that, Mr. Yu put the thermos back on the podium, looked at the two of them, and said, "Jiang Yan, you should also stand and listen to the lesson."

The two stood there awkwardly.

Sitting behind them, Hu Hanghang and Song Yuan enjoyed the spectacle, "Mr. Yu, with them standing at this height, we can't even see the blackboard."

"We're all good students who love learning, this won't do."

Mr. Yu considered this and realized it made sense. He pointed outside, "Then you two can stand in the corridor."

Lin Tiao: "..."

Jiang Yan: "..."

The class erupted in laughter again, drawing the attention of students from the neighboring class who were self-studying without a teacher, one by one coming out to see what the commotion in Class 18 was about.

Lin Tiao hadn't fully woken up in the classroom and was still groggy. Now, with the cold wind blowing, she came to her senses, glared at Jiang Yan, and snapped, "Are you brain-dead?"

Jiang Yan, confused by her outburst, replied, "What?"

"Why were you staring at me when you should be focusing on your class?" Lin Tiao, just awake and dealing with her period, was fuming with anger, nearly on the verge of exploding.

Jiang Yan, seeing her prickly demeanor, shifted slightly to the side, trying not to laugh, "Who said I was staring at you?"

"Mr. Yu." Lin Tiao turned her head away from him, her eyes fixed on the phoenix tree next to the teaching building.

"So you believe everything Mr. Yu says? If he said I kissed you, would you believe that too?"

"????" Lin Tiao nearly choked on her words, staring at him in disbelief, "Pervert! You have a dirty mind!"

"I was just giving an example." Jiang Yan suppressed his laughter, poked her shoulder with his fingers, and said, "Calm down, we're in class."

Lin Tiao wanted to calm down, but her misfortune continued. Today, the head teacher, Li Kun, was on duty, and he happened to be inspecting classrooms. When he reached Class 18's door, he saw them.

Eyes met, and the scene was very awkward.

"What's going on with you two? Why are you standing in the corridor during class time instead of being in the classroom? Is it hard to listen in class?"

"Playing on your phones or sleeping?"

"If you two admit to it honestly now, I won't punish you."

Lin Tiao fought the urge to roll her eyes and mentally raged, "You're the only one talking, what can we say?"

Since it was hopeless anyway, Lin Tiao decided to go all out and loudly declared, "My deskmate was playing on his phone during class, I was sleeping, and Mr. Yu caught us and kicked us out."

Jiang Yan: "..."

What a formidable person.

The classmates who were eavesdropping on the drama in the classroom: "..."

Li Kun was startled by Lin Tiao's sudden loud voice, but he had to maintain order. "Alright, you two come to my office after class."

After saying this, he knocked on the classroom door, glanced at Mr. Yu standing at the podium, sighed deeply, and said, "Mr. Yu…"

Without elaborating further, he left, making sure to close the door behind him, as if to prevent the two "troublemakers" from ruining the class.

Lin Tiao: "..."

Jiang Yan: "..."

---

When math class ended, Mr. Yu took the two troublemakers to the head teacher's office.

There, they bowed their heads and admitted their mistakes. After writing a 3,000-word self-criticism, Li Kun finally allowed them to return to class.

By the time they got back, the second period had already been in session for ten minutes, and the two spent the rest of the class in silence.

As soon as class ended, Hu Hanghang couldn't contain his curiosity and went up to Lin Tiao. "Sister, if we had met you earlier, we wouldn't have recognized Jiang Yan as the boss."

"Honestly, you're way cooler than Jiang Yan."

"You're my goddess, I'm serious, you really are my goddess."

Lin Tiao turned to look at him, puffing up her cheeks. "Do you know why you'll only live until sixty?"

Hu Hanghang was completely out of touch. "What the hell, how do you know I'll only live until sixty? When I was younger, a fortune teller told me I'd face a life-and-death trial at sixty."

"Sis, I find you really amazing."

"Where did you learn this from? Are you from the same place as that fortune teller I know?"

"..."

Lin Tiao was both angry and amused. Before she could say anything, Jiang Yan, standing beside her, slapped Hu Hanghang's incessantly chattering mouth and used his authoritative tone, "Can you please be quiet?"

Hu Hanghang gave him an OK gesture and quietly fell silent.

Just then, the bell for the third period rang, and everyone returned to their seats.

Lin Tiao and Jiang Yan resumed their silence.

The next class was physics.

The physics teacher was the oldest in the department and was as verbose as Mr. Yu. The teacher was now explaining an important concept, "This part here, you must pay attention to this small detail. Don't ignore it. Remember this when you encounter it in the future…"

Lin Tiao was already feeling frustrated. She struggled with physics as it was, and this semester's teacher was one who was difficult to follow.

She felt doomed.

It seemed she was going to flunk this class.

Meanwhile, Jiang Yan kept a close eye on his little desk mate's actions. Seeing her poking at her draft paper with a pen and looking impatient, he decided against passing her a note.

He was afraid she might mistake him for the draft paper and poke him instead.

For the first time, Jiang Yan felt a sense of personal safety at risk.

---

The two of them managed to get through the afternoon classes without interacting.

In the evening, there was a study period. Usually, after school, Lin Tiao would go out with Jiang Yan and his friends to grab a bite.

Today was different.

Everyone knew the two were having a dispute.

To be precise, Lin Tiao was upset with Jiang Yan, while Jiang Yan didn't seem to realize the seriousness of the issue.

It had been five or six minutes since school ended when Jiang Yan finished a game, casually stuffed his phone into his pocket, and stood up. Lin Tiao did the same.

Jiang Yan paused and naturally asked, "What's for dinner tonight?"

Lin Tiao, still upset and not feeling too great, muttered, "Not eating."

"Really not eating?"

"Yeah, not eating." Lin Tiao looked up at him and said.

Jiang Yan stared at her for a few seconds, as if confirming something. After a moment, he nodded and walked out past her, saying, "Hu Hanghang left."

"Come on."

A group of people left the classroom.

After a while, Tao Jia, who had left the classroom earlier, returned with her purchases. Seeing Lin Tiao sitting alone, she raised her eyebrows and walked over, sitting in the empty seat in front of her.

"Lin Tiao, why aren't you going to eat?"

Lin Tiao looked up at her and said, "I'm not really hungry, so I didn't go."

"Oh, I bought some snacks. Here, have some." Tao Jia was quick; before Lin Tiao could refuse, she had already placed a few items on her desk, including some snacks on Jiang Yan's desk as well.

They were all snacks that girls like—potato chips, preserved plums, jelly, and dried mango.

Lin Tiao frowned and pulled out the bag of dried mango from Jiang Yan's desk. Tao Jia looked at her, surprised, "You like dried mango?I have more."

Lin Tian smiled "No it's for JiangYan)

"Oh… I see." Tao Jia nodded, seemingly understanding.

---

Jiang Yan returned to his seat, holding his school uniform in one hand and a milk tea he bought for Lin Tiao in the other.

Earlier, while eating outside, Song Yuan had suggested that Lin Tiao didn't come out to eat because she was angry with Jiang Yan.

After all, Lin Tiao, a young girl, was disturbed from her nap and had to stand in the hallway for a whole period because of him.

Who wouldn't be angry?

A real man should be able to adapt and make amends.

He could do that.

At this moment, Lin Tiao remembered she had to write a 3,000-word apology. She pulled out a new exercise book from her bag, ready to start writing, but then realized her arm was still in a cast.

Writing was out of the question.

She threw the pen down and bumped her head on the desk with a "thud."

The noise was just enough for Jiang Yan to hear and notice that his desk mate was having a hard time.

After considering it several times, Jiang Yan poked her shoulder with a pen. "Lin Tiao."

Lin Tiao didn't respond, turning her face away, though her impatience was clear even without words.

To be honest, Jiang Yan didn't really know why she was so angry, but girls can be upset for many reasons. He didn't want to spend too much time on it.

Just apologize and be done with it.

"I was wrong about this." The light from above fell on him, highlighting his well-defined shoulder line.

Jiang Yan looked at her.

His eyes were notably sharp, with a slightly elongated shape and a hint of upward tilt at the corners, with a light amber color.

Lin Tiao, lost in thought, heard him say, "But you shouldn't be sleeping in class."

"..."