Chapter 49: Did They Kiss?

“No, why do those girls at the door always stare at me?” This was a question he had noticed and wanted to ask ever since he first transferred here. Back then, he wasn’t close to Xu Yannuo, and she wouldn’t even respond when he talked to her. Plus, there weren’t as many girls gathered at the door back then, so he eventually forgot about it. But today, he realized—why are even more girls crowding around the classroom door to watch him?

Xu Yannuo had been bending down to pick up the books from the floor. She had just grabbed two when she heard Chen Ciyi’s words. At that, she stopped collecting the books, placed the ones in her hand on the desk, and looked at him with an utterly speechless expression. After staring for two seconds under Chen Ciyi’s confused gaze, she finally spoke up, “Are you actually this stupid, or do you think I’m the stupid one here?”

After saying this, Chen Ciyi grew even more puzzled. Looking at his utterly sincere and bewildered expression, Xu Yannuo felt that he must have been possessed by some era’s award-winning actor. Xu Yannuo waved her hand dismissively. “I already played along with your dumb act last time; don’t keep dragging it out.” After all, being charming and liked by others isn’t a bad thing—what’s there for a guy to be so fussy about? Xu Yannuo ignored him and went back to picking up the books.

But for some reason, Chen Ciyi beside her just wouldn’t let the matter go. “When did you ever play along with my dumb act? I’m just asking why they were staring at me. What does that have to do with whether we’re dumb or not?”

This time, Xu Yannuo truly couldn’t hold back. She swept up all the books from the floor and stuffed them back into the desk compartment, then sat up straight, crossing her arms as she scrutinized Chen Ciyi. “Why were they looking at you?”

Chen Ciyi gave a vague hum in response, and Xu Yannuo decided to lay it all out. “They like you. Is that clear enough? Or do I need to explain what ‘liking you’ means?” She stared at him, emphasizing each word: “They want to chase you, flirt with you, be your girlfriend, hug you, and even kiss you!” She paused, glancing toward the door, where a few usually quiet, studious top students—and even some girls who already had boyfriends—were mingling. Turning back to him, she added, “Though, of course, some might just be admiring your looks or idolizing your grades.”

Seeing Chen Ciyi’s face full of disbelief, as if he was still processing and hadn’t fully digested the barrage of words she had just blurted out, his expression was so genuine it didn’t seem like he was pretending not to know—but rather that he truly didn’t know anything. Besides, given his personality, if he were to pretend, it wouldn’t be over something so trivial for this long. They were in high school, not a drama academy.

Xu Yannuo frowned slightly in disbelief. “Wait, so you really can’t tell that they like you? Then how did you figure out that Dark Eyeliner liked you before?” Could it be that he prefers Dark Eyeliner’s type, but seeing her as the victim made his conscience get in the way, ultimately forcing them apart against their will?

This time Chen Ci finally understood. He wasn’t confused anymore and replied quite quickly, “She said it herself. She stopped me and asked if I had a girlfriend. I said no, then she said ‘Well now you do?’ I didn’t understand, so she laughed and explained that she meant herself. Then she stood on tiptoe and leaned in to kiss me…”

At this point, Chen Ciyi suddenly hesitated, finding it difficult to speak.

Hearing this, Xu Yannuo suddenly perked up, her eyes lighting up.

She never expected there was such a backstory—this was earth-shattering gossip about her deskmate! Recalling how girls from other classes would huddle together during breaks in the restroom, chattering about Chen Ci and exchanging tidbits about his life, Xu Yannuo now had to admit that her proximity gave her front-row access to the juiciest scoop.

And judging by Chen Ciyi’s embarrassed expression, it seems like… did they kiss? Is he blushing?

Xu Yannuo asked him with an excited expression, “And then what?” Did they kiss or not?

Chen Ci’s face darkened. “Stop asking.”

Seeing his unwillingness to talk, Xu Yannuo grew even more excited. She reached out and tugged at his school uniform sleeve. “Come on, tell me! We’re desk mates, we’re close! Just tell me!”

Chen Ci looked at her, his expression dark. It was clear that he had gone through a painful internal struggle before speaking. “Of course not!” He paused, lowered his head, and almost whispered the rest in a breathy tone, “I was scared, pushed her away, and ran off.”

Although his voice was so soft it was almost inaudible, the close proximity allowed Xu Yannuo to hear him clearly. Immediately after, she couldn’t hold back her laughter and collapsed onto the desk, clutching her stomach as she nearly laughed herself breathless.

“Hey, hey, desk mate, where’s your sympathy? I got bullied and you’re laughing like this.” Chen Ciyi paused, then leaned closer to Xu Yannuo, whispering as quietly as when he mentioned being scared off earlier. “I was so embarrassed I planned to take this shame to my grave without telling anyone, yet I confided in you—and instead of comforting me, you laugh this hard? Desk mate, do you have no humanity! What about our friendship? Our supposedly unbreakable bond?”

Xu Yannuo couldn’t stop laughing and took quite a while to finally calm down a bit. Afterward, before she could even fully suppress her laughter, she comforted him, “Don’t worry, I won’t tell anyone, ahahaha!”

Chen Ciyi ignored her after that.

It wasn’t until a while later, when Xu Yannuo had finally completely calmed down, that she nudged his arm and whispered her analysis, “Honestly speaking, Black Eyeliner isn’t bad-looking. Besides, as a guy, it’s not like you’re at a disadvantage getting kissed—even if it got out, it wouldn’t hurt your reputation. Was running away really necessary?”

Chen Ciyi looked at Xu Yannuo in utter disbelief. “You call that ‘not bad-looking’? Other than those two black eyeliner marks, I couldn’t even tell what she looked like! And seriously, desk-mate, what were you thinking?” He began defending himself indignantly, “How am I not at a disadvantage? Just anyone can kiss my face? At the very least, it should be someone I like, right?”

His face.

Xu Yannuo looked at his handsome face, which was not only striking but also somewhat bewitching—the narrow corners of his eyes, the tall bridge of his nose, those naturally captivating yet indifferent eyes that seemed to regard everyone with coldness. Xu Yannuo’s gaze drifted downward, and for the first time, she took a proper look at his lips. The shape of his lips was so perfect it made one want to lean in and kiss them…

Tsk tsk~

With looks like that, who would have thought his mindset was so conservative!

Alright then, Xu Yannuo patted his shoulder as if taking on a responsibility, “From now on, Brother Nuo will protect you, only letting girls you like kiss you.”

Chen Ciyi snorted through his nose, “That’s more like it.”

The midterm exams were over, and the sports meet was about to begin. After morning classes, the afternoon P.E. session was reserved for each class to practice their sports events. Xu Yannuo couldn’t be bothered to watch and stayed in the classroom to study. Chen Ciyi didn’t go out either. With most of the class gone, he started dozing off with his head on the desk.