Chapter 24: Are You Out of Your Mind?

In the photo, she was walking straight toward him. Although it was completely dark with no streetlights and the lighting was very dim, upon closer inspection, one could clearly see her face—even the expression on it. That expression was completely unlike her usual demeanor at school, filled with a murderous aura. Moreover, she was gripping that fire poker used for fighting…

No normal, well-behaved student would appear there late at night, let alone with such a belligerent expression!

Xu Yannuo felt her hair stand on end the more she looked at it. By the time she fully processed the photo, she was on the verge of snapping—barely restraining herself from immediately standing up and beating Chen Ciyi to a pulp.

But the noisy clamor in the classroom finally pulled back the last shred of her rationality. She realized she had stood up at some point without noticing. Taking two deep breaths, she slowly sat back down. Her face was tense, her gaze icy as she glared at Chen Ciyi, forcing out two words through gritted teeth: “Delete it!”

Chen Ciyi was also looking at her, as if observing her series of expression changes, or perhaps waiting to see if she would finally explode. Then, the corners of his lips curled up, and his eyes gleamed with amusement as he gazed at her. “I won’t delete it unless you tell me why, deskmate?”

Xu Yannuo clenched her fists, staring fixedly at Chen Ciyi. It was clear he wasn’t going to delete it.

Now, being at school, she couldn’t just explode. Regaining most of her composure, Xu Yannuo quickly began to recall—WeChat Moments…

Chen Ciyi had transferred here a week ago. In that time, how many of their mutual acquaintances had he added? Nearly ten minutes had passed since he posted that status. Xu Yannuo swiftly glanced around the classroom. Many students would sneak a peek at their phones during breaks—how many were scrolling through Moments? How many had already seen that post? Would someone soon cast a questioning look her way?

She didn’t care about her classmates’ opinions, but what if some blabbermouth reported it to the teacher? There were more than one or two such students in the class. Someone as diligent and responsible as Hua-jie would definitely call Cheng Yun immediately—maybe even during the next class. She didn’t want to cause Cheng Yun any more trouble. Or worse, what if Cheng Yun didn’t answer the phone, and Hua-jie ended up calling Xu Cheng instead…

Xu Yannuo didn’t dare to think any further.

If she told Xu Cheng, then she and Cheng Yun would face another round of brutal beatings when they got home!

Xu Yannuo couldn’t help but start trembling at the thought of Xu Cheng. Even though he wasn’t around her now—in fact, he hadn’t come home for days—she still felt uncontrollable fear.

She didn’t look at Chen Ciyi anymore, just lowered her head, clenched her fists, and tried hard to control her emotions, forcing herself to stay calm. She told herself in her heart, *Don’t be afraid, nothing has happened yet.* She had to stop this immediately.

Then, in a pleading tone, she said, “Can you… please… delete it?” That single word, *please*, seemed to drain all the strength from her body, and in an instant, it dragged her back into that dark alley from middle school—the one that had left her with deep-seated terror.

Can you, please, let me go!

But what she got in return was more beatings and endless mockery ringing in her ears!

Xu Yannuo only felt a buzzing in her ears, beads of sweat beginning to roll down her forehead. The warm afternoon sun of summer streamed through the open window, casting a scorching heat on her back, yet Xu Yannuo only felt cold, surrounded by endless fear.

Chen Ci watched Xu Yannuo’s series of changes and suddenly felt bewildered. Xu Yannuo had always seemed so strong—he never expected that his mere playful curiosity could reduce her to this state.

Clearly, she was afraid, though he couldn’t fathom what exactly she was afraid of

Chen Ciyi suppressed all his curiosity and investigative interest, immediately moving his finger away to tap on the two small figures his finger had been covering, then handed it to Xu Yannuo.

Xu Yannuo still kept her head down, her gaze empty as if lost in thought. Chen Ciyi tugged lightly at the sleeve of her school uniform and called out softly, “Deskmate!”

Perhaps she heard the sound, or perhaps she sensed someone pulling at her—either way, she finally snapped out of her daze and looked at the phone screen Chen Ci had held out in front of her.

That status was set to be visible to only one person, and that person’s profile picture was Chen Ciyi’s, with the username “Ciyi’s Alt Account.”

Xu Yannuo looked at Chen Ciyi. This sudden twist felt like a resurrection to her, as fear instantly vanished and was replaced by an emotional breakdown. She couldn’t hold back anymore, and tears immediately streamed down her face. Not wanting others to see, she quickly buried her face in her arms on the desk.

But Chen Ciyi beside her had been watching her the whole time, and naturally, he didn’t miss the moment her tears fell.

He suddenly panicked. He had actually made his usually domineering deskmate—someone he even felt like calling “bro”—cry!

Chen Ciyi hurriedly rummaged through his desk drawer for tissues. He remembered there were always some inside, along with wet wipes and hand sanitizer. But today, perhaps due to panic, he couldn’t find anything at all.

He immediately got up and ran out. It was almost time for class, and the hallway was filled with people heading back. Chen Ci went against the flow, sprinting all the way to the nearest convenience store at the back building. He bought a pack of tissues and rushed back without delay.

After returning to his seat, Xu Yannuo seemed to have recovered somewhat. Although he still appeared somewhat lifeless, he was no longer slumped over the desk. The tears at the corners of his eyes had been wiped away, leaving no trace behind.

So the tissues he bought were no longer needed.

He hesitated for a moment. To ease the tension and to let Xu Yannuo know that he realized the joke had gone too far, he still took out the tissues and quietly placed them on the desk in front of Xu Yannuo.

Seeing the tissues, Xu Yannuo froze momentarily.

Had he just run out to buy tissues? From the classroom to the small shop at the back of the building—even the nearest one wasn’t exactly close—yet he had returned in less than a minute?

Xu Yannuo looked at Chen Ciyi, who was panting slightly from running beside him, and burst into laughter. The thick, lightless fog in his heart gradually dissipated.

She knew that in fact, none of Chen Ciyi’s actions were wrong—he had kept his promise and never told anyone about her affairs. All of this was her own problem; if it were someone else, they wouldn’t have reacted so strongly.

As for him, he was just too idle and utterly annoying!

“Chen Ciyi, are you out of your mind?” Xu Yannuo laughed. “Then delete that too.”

This time, Chen Ciyi didn’t ask anything further. He cooperated immediately, took out his phone, tapped a few times to delete it, and then handed the phone to Xu Yannuo for her to check.

Xu Yannuo took a glance.

He immediately took back the phone and deleted the original photo from the gallery right in front of Xu Yannuo.