Chapter 61: Are You Sure You Want to Go?

“What? Spit it out!”

Chen Ci let out a “tsk” sound, “Can you stop collecting love letters for me in the future? This is something that really bothers me.”

Xu Yannuo shot a sharp glare his way, and Chen Ciyi quickly explained, “No, I’m not saying I’m annoyed with you. I’m annoyed with the love letters. They take up too much space in the trash bag.”

“…Alright, I’ll try to keep it to a minimum from now on.”

With that topic settled, the two of them sat leisurely, half-heartedly watching the commotion at the front of the classroom while munching on potato chips. After a while, Chen Ciyi suddenly pointed at a boy in the front row and asked her, “What’s that guy’s name?”

Xu Yannuo licked her fingers and replied, “What, do you have some beef with him?”

“No, before you came to morning self-study, he came over to ask me a question. I was sleeping, but he just woke me up directly.” Faced with this clueless and annoying move, Chen Ciyi was speechless, but he couldn’t blow up on the spot and had to hold it in.

Although they were classmates and he didn’t want to cause any trouble, he suddenly remembered the incident and casually asked Xu Yannuo what his name was.

After hearing Chen Ciyi’s explanation, Xu Yannuo suddenly recalled a line from an idol drama: “Woman, you’ve successfully caught my attention!”

Especially since that line perfectly suited Chen Ciyi’s persona—a school heartthrob with low emotional intelligence but plenty of money, cold and aloof in the face of numerous admirers. Just by standing there, his looks, height, and aura screamed “male lead.” Xu Yannuo couldn’t help but laugh, though it was a pity the guy in question was the wrong gender.

After Xu Yannuo imagined a silly, cliché scene from an idol drama and ended up laughing at herself, she followed the direction Chen Ciyi pointed in. Once she identified the target, she scrutinized it for a moment and said, “I don’t know.”

It wasn’t that she was brushing him off or joking around—she genuinely didn’t recognize the guy.

Chen Ciyi seemed to realize this too. He looked at her, puzzled, and asked, “Wait, are you even in this class? How can you not recognize a classmate?” You must be a transfer student too!

Xu Yannuo frowned slightly. “Just because I’m in this class, do I have to know everyone?”

Chen Ci nodded slightly; it did make some sense. After that, he tossed the potato chips into his mouth and pointed at himself, “Then what should I call myself?”

Xu Yannuo looked at him with an expression of utter disbelief, as if asking, “Are you an idiot?” Yet, he still cooperatively answered, “Chen Ciyi!”

After hearing Xu Yannuo finish speaking, Chen Ciyi smiled contentedly. See, that’s what brothers are for—she remembered his name. In a good mood, Chen Ciyi recalled how Xu Yannuo had been bullied. And now, with their current relationship, there was no need for him to keep pretending to be weak in front of her. He nudged her with his elbow and said, “From now on, if anyone bothers you or if there’s someone you can’t stand, just tell me…” From now on, you don’t have to swallow your pride at school either!

Chen Ciyi’s words were cut short as Xu Yannuo interrupted him directly, “Why should I tell you? So you can get beaten up for me?”

“…” Alright, it’s not like he’s deliberately hiding it.

After that, the class preparation bell rang. The two tossed away the potato chip bag, and Chen Ciyi pulled out a pack of wet wipes from his desk, handing one to Xu Yannuo. They quickly wiped their hands and took out the textbooks needed for the upcoming math class.

When the next class ended, right after the dismissal bell rang, the math teacher wanted to hold the class a little longer to finish explaining the problem on the blackboard. But the school’s loudspeaker suddenly blared with the testing “Mic check, mic check” sound, and the speakers above each classroom’s front door amplified it even more, startling the entire class. Although the math teacher wasn’t startled, he was clearly very annoyed by the interruption. He tried raising his voice to continue explaining the problem, but after just a few words, the broadcast finished testing and began its official announcement, completely drowning out the teacher’s voice. In the end, he could only frown in frustration, gather his teaching materials, and leave the classroom.

The content of the broadcast announcement continued: After 3 p.m., the school will have its water supply cut off, but the electricity will remain on. The cafeteria will not provide dinner today. The school gate is open, and for dinner, you can either reserve a boxed meal from the cafeteria or solve it yourself off-campus. However, when leaving the school, be sure to pay attention to safety, and you must return to school before the evening self-study session without being late. The broadcast repeats the announcement again…

The broadcast repeated the announcement once more, but no one was listening anymore. Some were slapping their thighs in frustration while complaining why they cut off the water but not the electricity, wondering if a power outage would mean an early dismissal. Others were excitedly discussing whether they could go out to play if their parents didn’t know.

However, thinking about it the other way, having the water cut off is still better than nothing being cut off—at least the school gates are open, allowing students to go out and get better meals. The only downside is that the toilets will definitely be so smelly no one will want to go in.

After the broadcast ended, everyone who needed to vent had pretty much done so, and the people around were all excitedly discussing where to go for dinner that evening.

Xu Yannuo looked at Chen Ciyi and said, “I heard there’s a really good skewer place near your No. 2 High School, and their fried instant noodles are quite famous too?”

“Yeah.” Although Chen Ciyi hadn’t attended school much before and never eaten at this shop, he had heard Wang Sinan and the others mention it. They often sneaked out during evening self-study to eat there. Once, when they went to his house after school, they even brought him takeout barbecue from that place—it really did taste good.

Xu Yannuo raised an eyebrow. “Want to try it tonight?” It just so happened that Chen Ciyi had been treating her to snacks from the campus supermarket these past few days, so going out for a nice meal tonight would be the perfect chance for her to return the favor. Even though Chen Ciyi seemed like the type to be naive and wealthy, she couldn’t keep taking advantage of him. If a friend was good to her, she had to make sure they weren’t shortchanged.

Chen Ci nodded, “It’s possible we might not make it back in time. Are you sure you want to go?”

“Definitely. Ten minutes before evening self-study starts, someone checks for latecomers at the school gate, but once it begins, no one checks. Tonight is Chinese self-study, and the Chinese teacher took leave this afternoon. The substitute teacher is supervising, so no one will be keeping a close eye. If we come back late, we can just sneak in through the back door.”

After that, the two of them happily made the decision. As soon as the bell for the last class rang, they dashed out of the classroom and hurried toward the school gate. If they waited any longer, the crowd would pour out and block the entrance, making it take several extra minutes just to get out. Besides, this was peak dinner time, and many students from No. 2 High School would sneak out for dinner. The skewer shop was an old, established place with limited seating, so going late could mean no available spots.

The two left the school gate and hailed a taxi, heading straight to No. 2 High School.

When they arrived, only one last empty table remained in the shop. Without glancing at the other patrons, the two headed straight for that vacant spot. After sitting down, the waiter handed them the menu. Once they’d ordered skewers and the specialty fried noodles and were waiting for their meal, the people at the table behind Chen Ciyi kept glancing their way for some reason. When Xu Yannuo looked over, they didn’t even try to hide it—their eyes met directly with his.