Chapter 59: Simply Cannot Have It

Xu Yannuo stammered for ages without getting anywhere, thinking his roundabout approach was utterly baffling, like someone with too much time on their hands. He really wanted to crack open Chen Ci’s skull to see how his emotional intelligence had developed—while most people’s brains had walnut-like folds, the part of his brain responsible for emotional intelligence wasn’t just any ordinary ball; it had to be a diamond-polished sphere, smooth without a single wrinkle to carve!

Chen Chenyi moved her finger away. He had said before that he hated it most when people pointed at him—no, wait, he hadn’t actually said that to Xu Yannuo. Or maybe… Chen Chenyi clicked his tongue. Whatever—he could tolerate her pointing at him. After all, she was a bro, not just someone else. He raised an eyebrow slightly, his thoughts circling back to how Xu Yannuo had been stammering “you… you…” for ages without getting the word out. He looked into her eyes and explained earnestly, “The last time I specifically took you to find someone, it wasn’t because I had nothing better to do, and it wasn’t to pick a fight either. I wanted to show you that there are people willing to be your friend. Not only do you have friends, but your friends are also willing to go out of their way to stand up for you, to make someone apologize to your face and ease your anger—not just half-heartedly going through the motions or carelessly handling the situation, and definitely not abandoning you the moment something goes wrong!”

Xu Yannuo was stunned, and at the same time, overwhelmingly touched in a way she never expected. She never imagined that Chen Ciyi would go this far for her. She thought it was already more than enough—and surprising—that he hadn’t given up on her after hearing others recount her past that night. She didn’t even dare to imagine someone would go through so much trouble and do all this for her. In her memory, it was already a lot if people around her didn’t avoid her. Instantly, warmth spread through Xu Yannuo’s heart like a single spark setting the prairie ablaze—waves of emotion made her head feel slightly swollen. And just moments ago, she had been silently cursing him in her mind. Thankfully, she hadn’t said it out loud. But enough of that—from now on, the person in front of her was her sworn brother. She would definitely protect him and treat him well.

Xu Yannuo was watching Chen Ciyi with emotion when suddenly, Sister Hua’s voice came from the front, “Keep it down back there!”

Xu Yannuo was already deeply moved, but the sudden shout startled her so much she nearly jumped out of her seat. Fortunately, the dismissal bell rang right after Sister Hua finished speaking, and the classroom immediately erupted into chaos. This commotion softened the impact of her startled jump, making even the reprimand seem less awkward.

After the evening self-study bell rang, Teacher Hua left with her teaching plan in hand. Many classmates also gradually filed out of the classroom, reducing the number of students by more than half in no time. Chen Ciyi also grabbed his phone and wallet before heading out.

Xu Yannuo came back to her senses and wanted to ask where he was going, but he had already left the classroom. After that, Xu Yannuo withdrew her gaze and leaned on the windowsill to watch the commotion outside.

Within a few minutes, Chen Ciyi returned. When he came back, only a few people had returned to the classroom. He was carrying a bag from the campus supermarket. After sitting down, he took out a Cornetto from the bag, leaned back against his chair, and handed it to Xu Yannuo, who was still leaning on the windowsill behind him.

Looking at the suddenly appearing ice cream—strawberry-flavored, her favorite—Xu Yannuo froze for a moment, suddenly remembering what he had said earlier: “Don’t be mad, I’ll buy you a Cornetto after class.”

He actually remembered—and really went to buy it.

Xu Yannuo took the ice cream, feeling a bit touched. Then she returned to her seat, peeling off the ice cream wrapper. Suddenly, she remembered seeing him leave earlier and wanted to ask where he was going, only to realize she didn’t even have his WeChat.

It was normal not to have it before—not just WeChat, she didn’t even want to see him. But now it was different; he should be in her friend list.

Xu Yannuo opened her WeChat QR code on her phone and handed it to Chen Ciyi. At that moment, Chen Ciyi had just finished unwrapping his chocolate-flavored Cornetto and taken a bite. Seeing the QR code she offered, he immediately and wordlessly took out his own phone, opened WeChat, scanned her code, and added her as a friend.

After adding each other, they both opened the other’s Moments at the same time, only to discover they were simultaneously checking each other’s profiles. Since neither had the habit of posting updates and both had their Moments set to ‘visible for only three days,’ they exchanged a glance and couldn’t help but laugh.

Chen Ciyi looked at her and said, “If there’s anything you want to know, you can just ask me directly. There’s no need to check my moments.”

“No, thank you, just a habit.”

Chen Ciyi nodded, “Alright then.” After that, he leisurely sat there continuing to eat his ice cream.

After finishing the ice cream, Xu Yannuo went to throw away the trash and then stopped by the restroom. At this time, the restroom was quite crowded—not only inside, but even the small area outside with the sinks had groups of people gathered, washing their hands and chatting.

While Xu Yannuo was queuing for the toilet, some girls next to him started talking about Chen Ciyi again. The moment he heard the name Chen Ciyi, Xu Yannuo immediately pricked up his ears.

One of the girls sounded excited, “Guess who I ran into at the campus supermarket just now?”

Another girl immediately played along and asked her, “Who?”

“Chen Ciyi! I just saw Chen Ciyi. This is the first time I’ve run into him at the campus supermarket. Don’t you think it’s fate? Oh my gosh, I’m so excited. Normally, the only way to see him is to wait by his classroom door.”

She couldn’t help but feel happy for her classmate with no emotional intelligence—he was still this popular. And her classmate, with so many admirers… Xu Yannuo tilted her head slightly, stealing a couple of glances at the girl out of the corner of her eye. She was quite pretty. Her classmate really was single by his own doing.

The conversation between the girls next to them continued, “So what did you see him buy at the supermarket? What does he usually like to eat? I’m so curious about the daily life of the campus heartthrob.”

“I saw it, he bought two cute cones, one strawberry and one chocolate.”

“Ah, so he likes these two flavors.”

The lingering taste of strawberry ice cream was still in Xu Yannuo’s mouth. He probably preferred chocolate because he let her have the strawberry one. Suddenly, Xu Yannuo felt a bit happy—while others were still trying to figure out her desk mate’s preferences, she was already eating the ice cream he bought.

“You already saw him, and it’s not like you couldn’t easily enter their class. Didn’t you just ask for his WeChat ID?”

“I did.” The girl’s voice noticeably dropped.

“Did you get it? Ah, quick, share it.”

“Of course not, he wouldn’t give it.” The girl, trying to save some face in front of her friend, quickly shared the results of others attempting to add Chen Ciyi on WeChat. “Not just me—I heard even the campus belle Zhang Huan asked for his WeChat and got rejected without hesitation. Girls from Class Three also said the same thing—it’s impossible to get it…”

Listening to their conversation, Xu Yannuo thought of the WeChat friend he had just added on his phone.