14

Lin Tiao and Jiang Yan had begun a cold war.

The cold war lasted for several days, and their camaraderie as desk partners had plummeted to zero, with a hint of negativity creeping in.

This made things quite uncomfortable for Hu Hanghang and Song Yuan, who sat behind them.

During this time, they could clearly feel the atmosphere between Lin Tiao and Jiang Yan was off, as if a splash of water could freeze into ice.

They usually spoke in hushed tones and avoided making noise, but as time went on, Hu Hanghang, for his own safety, decided to come up with a plan to help the two leaders ease their relationship; otherwise, how would he and Song Yuan continue?

However, before he could act, someone else took the initiative.

Friday was a splendid sunny day, and the last class in the afternoon was physical education. After taking attendance, the PE teacher instructed everyone to warm up by running two laps around the track.

Lin Tiao, who couldn't use her arm, stayed on the sidelines, waiting for the team to gather. The PE teacher, Zhou Li, stood next to her with the attendance sheet.

Silence prevailed over the field.

Fortunately, the two laps went quickly. After the run and gathering, Zhou Li allowed the students to engage in free activities and lay down on the bleachers to nap with the attendance sheet.

Meng Xin was called to play volleyball, and Lin Tiao sat beside her with her jacket and water.

A small group of four stood by the parallel bars, chatting. Song Yuan, hanging from the bar with his arms stretched, revealed a bit of his abs. He glanced at Jiang Yan and casually asked, "What's going on with you and Lin Tiao?"

Jiang Yan put away his phone, lifted his arms to hold the bar, and did a few pull-ups. "I don't know." He let go, stood on the ground, looked at Lin Tiao sitting nearby, and added, "Who knows?"

Jiang Yan didn't actually think there was a significant issue between him and Lin Tiao. Their communication had just decreased recently, but they never really interacted much anyway.

If there was any conflict, it might be due to the time Lin Tiao was penalized with a 3,000-word reflection because of him. But Jiang Yan didn't think Lin Tiao was that petty.

Boys don't usually dwell on details, so Jiang Yan never figured out what exactly the issue was between them.

"I think you must have upset her," Hu Hanghang said, not having the strength to hang on the bar, so he leaned against it.

Xu Yichuan patted his shoulder. "How about we give you a tip? Go and smooth things over with her?"

Jiang Yan turned his head, lifting his eyelids. "Why should I smooth things over?"

Xu Yichuan patted his shoulder again with a meaningful smile. "Why? Because you're the one who upset her, not us."

"Who told you I upset her?" Jiang Yan shook off his arm and walked forward. "If you want to go, you go. I'm not going."

Before he could walk far, a commotion broke out behind him. "Tang Yushi! Were you doing that on purpose? Didn't you see Lin Tiao standing here?"

Jiang Yan halted his steps and turned around, seeing Lin Tiao being helped up from the ground, holding her forehead, her hands covered in blood.

"Damn it." Jiang Yan cursed.

"Brother Ya—" Xu Yichuan started to call him, but before he could finish, Jiang Yan was already running towards the scene.

"…"

He's actually kind of sweet.

-

When Jiang Yan ran over, the surrounding girls noticeably stepped back.

Meng Xin, not paying attention to this, pushed Lin Tiao into his arms and angrily looked at Tang Yushi standing nearby. "Jiang Yan, please take Lin Tiao to the infirmary. I'm going to deal with this personal grudge."

"Meng Xin!" Lin Tiao called out to her. "Don't be impulsive."

"Lin Tiao, don't stop me. I'm going to deal with Tang Yushi today." Meng Xin, in her frustration, even used some foul language.

Hearing this, Tang Yushi, standing beside them, couldn't help but retort, "Meng Xin, who are you going to deal with? I didn't do it on purpose. Who knew it would hit her so coincidentally?"

"Damn it!" Meng Xin couldn't control her anger and raised her hand to slap Tang Yushi, but Jiang Yan intercepted her.

She turned back irritably. "What are you doing?"

"If you hit her, Lin Tiao will be at fault," Jiang Yan said, letting go of Meng Xin. He glanced at Lin Tiao's forehead injury and asked, "Did she throw the ball at you?"

Lin Tiao's head had been knocked pretty hard, and she was feeling dizzy. Clutching his arm, she whispered, "I was just standing here when the ball suddenly came flying from the side."

She wasn't sure if Tang Yushi did it on purpose, but given their previous conflicts in their first year, it wouldn't be surprising if it was intentional.

Jiang Yan pursed his lips and didn't ask more. He suddenly bent down and picked up Lin Tiao, speaking in a calm tone, "Meng Xin, take Lin Tiao to the infirmary. I'll handle this matter later."

Xu Yichuan chimed in, "Yes, don't worry, Lin Tiao. We'll definitely get revenge for you."

They hurried towards the infirmary, bumping into PE teacher Zhou Li, who had been called over.

Jiang Yan didn't stop, and Xu Yichuan stopped Zhou Li, explaining the situation. The crowd of onlookers murmured among themselves.

Tang Yushi felt a chill run down her spine. She knew Jiang Yan's reputation in the school all too well; provoking him was like seeking trouble.

She never imagined that Jiang Yan would be involved with Lin Tiao.

"Yushi…" Her friend tugged at her sleeve. "What should we do if Jiang Yan really comes after you? It's over."

Tang Yushi's face turned pale, but she still tried to stay strong. "What's there to be afraid of? Can he hit a girl? Besides, it wasn't intentional."

Her friend looked at her pale face, thought for a moment, and then chose not to say anything more. "Let's hope so."

-

Lin Tiao's injury wasn't deep, and by the time she arrived at the infirmary, it had already stopped bleeding.

The school nurse treated her wound and said, "Luckily, it's not very deep. If it were any deeper, you'd need stitches."

Meng Xin sighed in relief. "Thank you, nurse."

"You're welcome. Just pay attention to hygiene and diet to prevent scarring," the nurse advised.

Lin Tiao nodded. "Got it."

"Alright, you can chat now, but try not to be too loud."

The nurse left with the medicine tray, and Meng Xin sat down next to Lin Tiao, gently touching the bandage on her forehead, still fuming. "Damn it, if Tang Yushi dares to say it wasn't intentional, I'll use her head as a volleyball."

"…"

The three boys sat on the opposite bed. Hu Hanghang couldn't help but ask, "Who is Tang Yushi? How did you get on her bad side?"

"We were in the same class in the first year," Meng Xin said, puzzled. "I don't know why she's targeting Lin Tiao so much. She's been against Lin Tiao since the start of the school year."

"Seems like there are secrets we don't know about."

Song Yuan nudged Jiang Yan's shoulder. "What are you going to do about this? You can't just let Lin Tiao suffer for nothing."

With everyone's eyes on him, Jiang Yan looked at Lin Tiao and then averted his gaze, speaking casually, "Well… we'll deal with her in the same way she dealt with us."

Hu Hanghang frowned. "But she's a girl. Are you really going to hit her?"

Jiang Yan's gaze fell on Lin Tiao's bandaged wound, his tone indifferent. "She's a girl. Isn't my desk partner a girl too?"

Lin Tiao's eyelids twitched, but she remained silent.

The group continued chatting casually in the infirmary.

As the class was about to end, Xu Yichuan came back, saying that Zhou Li was asking about their situation. They realized they were still in class.

Before leaving, Song Yuan instructed, "Brother Yan, you stay here with Lin Tiao. We'll come back to find you later."

Jiang Yan hadn't planned on returning, but being so directly told made him feel oddly uncomfortable. He responded with a nonchalant, "Mm."

Lin Tiao glanced at him and, after everyone had left, said, "If you have something to do, you can leave first."

Jiang Yan looked at her but didn't respond. Instead, he lay down on the bed, "Sleep for a bit. Wake me up in half an hour."

"…?" What is this?

Lin Tiao remained silent for a moment, feeling groggy, and decided to lie down as well. The dim evening sunlight filtered through the window, and the gentle breeze lifted the curtain slightly.

The rest room fell into a brief moment of tranquility, feeling somewhat tender.

In a half-dream, Lin Tiao seemed to hear someone calling her name. She mumbled in response, "…Hmm?"

"Can't you stop being angry with me?"

Lin Tiao couldn't remember whether she had answered the question or if it was a dream or reality; all she knew was that the sensation felt very real.

-

Lin Tiao had slept for over two hours. When she woke up, the lounge was completely dark, with the curtains drawn to block out all light.

She rubbed her eyes and pulled her phone out from under the pillow.

The screen showed it was already 7:20.

She turned on the flashlight and shone it over to the adjacent bed. It was empty, just a blanket and a pillow. She couldn't help but complain, "Damn, so inconsiderate to leave first."

Just then, a hoarse and lazy voice came from the other bed, "...What are you talking about?"

Immediately, the lights in the lounge came on.

Lin Tiao was startled, and her hand shook, causing the phone to drop onto the blanket. She turned to look at him, "Aren't you sleeping over here?"

Jiang Yan had just woken up, with the blanket bunched at his feet. His eyes were still half-closed, and his voice was a bit hoarse, "The bed over there is uncomfortable."

"..."

Lin Tiao picked up her phone and turned off the flashlight, "Let's go back to the classroom."

"I've already taken leave." Jiang Yan, who seemed to have slept poorly, leaned against the white wall. His pale cheeks had impressions from sleep, "Song Yuan got you a sick leave."

"What about you? We can't both take sick leave."

Jiang Yan finally looked at her, "Song Yuan said we fought and injured each other, so we're in the infirmary."

"? Mr. Yu believes that?"

Jiang Yan's lips were a bit dry from sleeping too long, and he licked them absentmindedly, "He didn't, so Mr. Yu counted me as skipping class twice."

Lin Tiao suddenly found herself speechless, not because of Mr. Yu's skipping classes but because of Jiang Yan's lip-licking gesture.

Jiang Yan had very attractive lips, slightly thinner on top, with a prominent cupid's bow, and a reddish color. Plus, he had just moistened them, giving them a glistening appearance.

Lin Tiao suddenly felt a bit thirsty and quietly turned her gaze away.

He's just too charming.

He's simply too good at this.