Chapter 46: Pinky Promise

Chapter 46: Pinky Promise

The group from No. 5 Middle School hurried up the stairs beside them.

The hallway, which had just been filled with footsteps, quickly fell silent again.

Shi Yu, however, remained in his previous position.

His hand still covered Lin Yao's eyes.

His lowered gaze was deep and oppressive, his jet-black lashes making his eyes appear even darker and brighter.

His eyes fixed on the girl's rosy lips without wavering.

Even if Lin Yao was slow to catch on, she could sense that something was off about the current atmosphere.

Shi Yu's breathing gradually became heavier, as if something was spreading in an uncontrollable direction.

Especially after the incident in the changing room, when Shi Yu almost confessed but was interrupted by her.

Even if she wanted to be oblivious and avoid it, some things were about to be said out loud and couldn't be escaped.

Lin Yao's heart raced, pounding so hard it felt like it would leap out of her chest.

She even feared that being this close, Shi Yu might hear her real heartbeat.

"What... what can't you resist..."

She hastily pushed away his hand, turning her face to the side, pretending to be clueless.

"I don't understand what you're talking about..."

The girl's breath grew faint, her lips tightly pursed as she looked elsewhere, timid and retreating.

Her slightly moist, dewy eyes were clear and bright.

Shi Yu didn't miss the clarity in Lin Yao's eyes.

Clearly, his little tease knew everything.

She was actually very smart.

"Youyou, you will understand what I'm saying."

Shi Yu's low voice carried no intention of further pressuring her.

"It's fine if you want to pretend not to understand for now."

Shi Yu didn't push his little tease any further.

Little teases were like that—delicate and timid, always burying their heads in the sand like ostriches.

He propped his left hand against the wall beside her face, while his other hand gently tucked a strand of her messy hair behind her ear.

When Shi Yu's slender fingertips brushed her hair, Lin Yao distinctly felt a wave of tingling in her heart.

It was as if someone was tickling her heart with a soft feather.

As he tucked her hair behind her ear, his fingertips inadvertently grazed her earlobe.

Lin Yao's face turned even redder.

She lowered her head, holding her breath, her petite body tensed against the wall, not daring to move or make a sound.

Shi Yu lowered his gaze, watching the blush spread across the girl's face in his hands.

His eyes darkened, and his voice turned hoarse as he coaxed her softly.

"Youyou, during the final match, come up and give me water."

Lin Yao: What?

"If you agree... I won't force you to understand right now."

Lin Yao: "..."

Her expression clearly changed, her beautiful eyes flashing with shock as she looked up at him in disbelief.

She never expected Shi Yu to use such a thing as a bargaining chip.

"What do you say? Will you agree?"

He looked at her with dark eyes, speaking slowly and gently.

Lin Yao wanted to say no.

But this condition seemed too perfect.

It was like offering a blanket to cover her head when she wanted to hide, or a pillow when she wanted to sleep.

Compared to other things, she feared more that Shi Yu would say "I like you."

She feared him being direct.

She feared him disrupting the main plot and relationships in the original story, ruining the life she had worked so hard to improve.

"Um." She hummed softly, agreeing.

Shi Yu's cold gaze softened.

He hooked her pinky finger, like making a promise.

"Don't go back on your word."

He said.

"This time... don't run away."

Their eyes met, and the atmosphere between them seemed to become intimate and ambiguous once again.

Lin Yao hastily pulled her pinky finger out of his hand and anxiously said, "Oh, so many people from No. 5 Middle School went up there just now. Will they cause trouble for Shi Nian and Qi Yanye? They're still up there; we should go..."

Another stiff and clumsy way to change the subject.

Shi Yu watched as Lin Yao turned into a chattering sparrow again, spouting other people's names.

He really wanted to pull her into his arms and lean down to seal that rosy red lips.

Shi Yu: "Don't worry, Shen Chaowen is up there; he'll explain everything."

In the end, he simply went along with her, casually mentioning someone else's name.

Lin Yao: "But..."

Shi Yu glanced at her with a lazy gaze. "Or do you want to stay here with me?"

Lin Yao: "..."

Lin Yao fell silent instantly.

She reached out to grab Shi Yu's arm, "Let's go, let's go home..."

The girl intimately and obediently tugged at the boy's arm, pulling him out of the hospital stairs.

They walked home together.

*

A few days later, the basketball final finally began.

Lin Yao only found out later when she returned to school that although both Shi Yu and Qi Yanye had left the team simultaneously, No. 5 Middle School also lost Shen Chaowen.

In the second half, relying on the absolute advantage established in the first half, the No. 3 Middle School Basketball Team still won against the No. 5 Middle School Basketball Team.

However, although No. 5 Middle School dropped to the loser's bracket, they managed to make a comeback, defeating Jincheng High School and Jincheng Foreign Language School, eventually climbing back up to reach the finals.

Thus, the final match was still a showdown between these rivals—No. 3 Middle School versus No. 5 Middle School.

"Lin Yao, Lin Yao, come over here!"

"Our spot is the best, come quickly!"

"Cute one, look over here!"

As soon as Lin Yao and the girls from Class 13 entered the basketball gym, they heard three enthusiastic voices.

She looked over and saw three girls wearing No. 3 Middle School uniforms waving at her from the middle of the first row.

It was Ye Lanyue, Xie Yao, and Tan Xiaoyou.

The trio who had 'become friends after a fight' in the restroom and later stood up for her at the school gate.

After that, whenever they ran into each other at school, they would occasionally have meals together.

Lin Yao happily tugged at Shi Nian and Zhou Yuwei beside her, "Let's go over there; my friends saved us seats..."

Shi Nian and Zhou Yuwei nodded.

They had arrived earlier.

Since it was the final, Stephen took it seriously and personally bought plenty of snacks and drinks, which were carried by their class's boys.

The girls came early to distribute various cheering props like horns and confetti to the students of No. 3 Middle School, and they would raise banners to cheer for their school.

Both teams hadn't entered yet, and there weren't many people in the gym yet. Ye Lanyue and the others had reserved quite a large area.

When Lin Yao and the others arrived, they used their backpacks to reserve seats for the rest of their classmates and hung up the banners.

She distributed the cheering props to Ye Lanyue and the others.

Lin Yao: "This spot is really great; thank you guys."

Ye Lanyue: "No problem, it's all for cheering our school on... Come, help hang the banner a bit more, don't let the No. 5 Middle School people overshadow us."

Lin Yao looked over and saw that No. 5 Middle School's cheering was even more extravagant.

They had already hung several rows of banners.

No wonder, being the home team.

Fortunately, their class had ordered plenty of banners too. Lin Yao, Shi Nian, and Zhou Yuwei went to the back rows to distribute and hang more banners, ensuring they wouldn't be outdone.

By the time Lin Yao, Shi Nian, and Zhou Yuwei finished hanging the banners in the back rows and came down, they suddenly heard an argument from the front row.

Ye Lanyue: "Hey, this spot is ours; who told you to sit here!"

Xie Yao: "Exactly, didn't you see our backpacks here?"

Tan Xiaoyou: "You guys are so rude, why did you throw our backpacks away?"

The three of them always had a strong fighting spirit when they spoke up.

But now, the three of them were pushed aside by five girls wearing Jincheng Foreign Language School uniforms.

"There are no names on the seats; whoever sits down first gets the seat."

One of the girls from Jincheng Foreign Language School pushed the trio aside with an arrogant expression.

She plopped down and didn't move.

The other girls followed suit, sitting in a row behind her.

Lin Yao turned her head to see the face clearly; the leader from Jincheng Foreign Language School was actually Xiao Ning.

What a small world...

"Who said that whoever sits down first gets the seat?"

Unexpectedly, Shi Nian's cold voice came from the back row.

Xiao Ning and the others sitting in the front row turned around, stunned to see Shi Nian.

"Shi Nian, you're here... I was looking for you everywhere earlier." Xiao Ning subconsciously forced a smile, trying to get closer.

Xiao Ning: "I'm here today to present awards on behalf of Jincheng Foreign Language School. By the way, I also came to cheer for Shi Yu. You and Shi Yu..."

Shi Nian: "Didn't you hear what I just said?"

Shi Nian disliked how Xiao Ning tried to curry favor with her but bossed others around.

Xiao Ning: "What?"

Shi Nian: "I said these seats aren't first-come, first-served. The organizers allocated this area to No. 3 Middle School students, and the opposite side to No. 5 Middle School. Which school do you belong to, Xiao Ning?"

Xiao Ning: "I..."

She was left speechless.

Of course, Xiao Ning belonged to Jincheng Foreign Language School, neither No. 3 nor No. 5 Middle School.

If she weren't representing one of the four schools today, she wouldn't even have the chance to be here.

Lin Yao ignored Xiao Ning's speechlessness.

She and Zhou Yuwei, along with other classmates, went down to pick up the bags and cheering items that had been swept aside by Xiao Ning and the others.

Lin Yao saw her own bag and the cheering items prepared by her classmates, all with footprints on them.

Her face instantly fell.

The young girl picked up her bag and, for the first time, spoke in a catty tone to Xiao Ning, who was still sitting there: "Oh, why are you still sitting here? You're so impressive, with such thick skin, being able to stay despite everyone telling you to leave... unlike me, I can't do that."

Boom—

Xiao Ning's face instantly turned red.

Laughter erupted around them.

Leading the laughter were Zhou Yuwei and Ye Lanyue.

Even Shi Nian couldn't help but smile gently, wanting to ruffle Lin Yao's hair.

She was too cute.

Xiao Ning: "Lin Yao, you..."

Lin Yao quickly pursed her lips and hid behind Shi Nian, peeking out from behind her, "Shi Nian, look, she's so scary..."

The young girl pouted, her eyes misty and trembling with fear.

Xiao Ning: !!!

She had never seen Lin Yao like this before!

In junior high, Lin Yao was easily manipulated, barely daring to speak up, only silently enduring everything while trying to please her classmates.

Now... now she was even learning to act cute with Shi Nian!

Xiao Ning feared Shi Nian would fall for it: "Shi Nian, don't listen to her, she's just..."

Shi Nian's face hardened as she protected Lin Yao: "If you don't leave now, I'll call the volunteers to remove you. It will be your own embarrassment then."

Xiao Ning: "..."

Xiao Ning didn't want to offend Shi Nian.

She was here today to present an award to Shi Yu, and offending Shi Nian might upset him.

Xiao Ning could only hold back her anger and stand up, reluctantly leaving.