Chapter 45 Thank You for Your Concern, Deskmate

Over the next three days, Chen Ciyi remained in his usual state—sleeping through the first class in the morning, waking up to eat breakfast with his head down, playing Happy Match for half an hour on his phone afterward, and then pulling out some problem book to work on quietly. He must have finished that pretentious problem book from before, as he had switched to a new one now.

But just as Xu Yannuo had expected, the teachers no longer called on him to answer questions or reminded him to pay attention when they saw him sleeping or doing other things in class. Now, they would just glare at him as if waiting to see him fail, then completely ignore him and continue lecturing as if he were thin air.

Sure enough, these subject teachers, who felt their pride had been slighted, were now just biding their time to settle scores after the exams.

Xu Yannuo looked at Chen Ciyi, who was next to her, wearing headphones and focused on watching videos, and silently sighed. But even if she worried, it wouldn’t help.

Finally, it was the last day before the exam. Before the evening self-study session, as Xu Yannuo, Zhang Qi, and Zhao Ying walked out of the cafeteria after dinner and reached the campus supermarket at the entrance, it was almost time for the evening session. Xu Yannuo hesitated for a moment but still told Zhao Ying and Zhang Qi that she wanted to buy an ice cream and asked them to go back first to avoid being late. She also asked what flavors they wanted so she could bring some back for them.

Next period was math evening class, and the math teacher could be even more terrifying than the chemistry teacher when he got intense. Zhang Qi and Zhao Ying didn’t dare to eat, and the ice cream wouldn’t stay frozen for long. They said they wouldn’t have any, and Xu Yannuo didn’t insist. Afterward, Zhang Qi and Zhao Ying went back to the classroom first, while Xu Yannuo headed to the campus supermarket. She quickly grabbed a bitter coffee ice cream, paid, and then sprinted back to the classroom.

Upon reaching the classroom, the math teacher happened to be writing on the blackboard with his back to the students. Xu Yannuo gently pushed open the back door, bent over like a thief, and quietly tiptoed in, then scurried back to her seat.

Chen Qiyi observed her bizarre and bold behavior that night, astonished that she’d even dare to be late for math class. Was this really the same “timid” deskmate he knew?

“Deskmate, where were you?” Chen Qiyi suddenly recalled the incident where she’d been bullied a few nights prior and immediately looked at her with concern. “Did someone pick on you again?”

“Who’s chatting in the back?” The math teacher at the front suddenly roared, startling the entire class into a collective jolt. Instantly, the already quiet classroom atmosphere grew even more silent—now no one dared to breathe too loudly.

Because of the silence, Chen Ciyi was also startled by the sudden shout. He looked up with wide eyes at the math teacher, patted his chest, and then immediately turned his gaze to Xu Yannuo.

Xu Yannuo quickly shook her head, mouthing the words “No!” to him. Then she bent down and retrieved the bitter coffee hidden in her uniform pocket, handing it to Chen Ciyi. Afterward, she also looked up at the math teacher on the podium, confirming he was still facing the blackboard writing problems. She lowered her head, pulled out a used test paper, and wrote on the back, “After math class tonight, we’ll have to rearrange the desks for tomorrow’s exam. Since the exam is tomorrow, do you want another bitter coffee and skip sleep tonight?”

Chen Ciyi took the bitter coffee, already confused. The exam was tomorrow, and now she wanted to deprive him of a good night’s sleep? He could understand her giving him bitter coffee before—it was just her messing with him—but what about their current relationship?

He thought to himself that it seemed pretty good. Later, amid his doubts, he took the note from Xu Yannuo and, upon seeing the words on it, Chen Ciyi was utterly speechless. He really had to thank his deskmate for the concern.