Chapter 51

Chapter 51

You Nan invited Jiang Songen to dinner, and Jiang Songen readily accepted.

However, Jiang Songen was prepared to pay the bill himself.

He figured You Nan was treating him to thank him for his help with studies. If he insisted on paying, their relationship would surely deepen, extending beyond just this one meal!

You Nan's invitation at noon left Jiang Songen noticeably different by the afternoon, a change Li Qiutian quickly picked up on.

During the break, Li Qiutian sidled over, whispering, "Brother Jiang, what's got you so happy today?"

Jiang Songen wanted to keep this moment to himself, not even wanting Li Qiutian involved. He shot Li Qiutian a glance, a hint of self-satisfaction in his eyes. "Nothing much."

He was keeping it a secret from Li Qiutian.

Li Qiutian caught on. "Must be dreaming sweet dreams!"

He chuckled slyly.

Jiang Songen's face darkened. He kicked Li Qiutian's leg, scolding, "Beat it!"

Li Qiutian laughed and skipped away.

Jiang Songen couldn't focus in class all afternoon, his attention fixated on his clothes.

Though the weather had cooled, boys sweat a lot. He debated whether to go home and change before heading out, but a round trip would take too long. He also wanted to take You Nan out after school.

Jiang Songen secretly lowered his head to sniff his collar.

A rich lavender scent filled his nostrils.

Perfect!

He was grateful for his mom's fragrant laundry detergent.

Out of the corner of his eye, Jiang Songen noticed a male classmate using the shiny surface of a CD from his English textbook as a makeshift mirror, inspecting and picking at his acne.

Jiang Songen winced.

But it sparked an idea.

He quietly borrowed a mirror from the girl in front of him to check if his hair was messy or if there was any dirt on his face.

After a thorough inspection, he confirmed he still looked as good as ever, better than all the other boys in class.

Relieved, Jiang Songen returned the mirror.

Only then did he pick up his pen to write answers on the test paper, his mood brighter than the midday sun.

Zhang Chun wasn't looking at the blackboard; he was secretly watching Jiang Songen.

None of Jiang Songen's subtle actions escaped his notice.

At first, Jiang Songen was irritated by Zhang Chun's frequent glances. They even fought over it, and Jiang Songen asked the teacher to change seats. But Zhang Chun was like a persistent shadow, impossible to shake off, and eventually, Jiang Songen gave up.

After being stared at by Zhang Chun for over two years, Jiang Songen had developed a thick skin.

Look all you want, he thought. This annoying guy is truly the worst.

Jiang Songen stopped fighting with Zhang Chun over it and simply resigned himself. It seemed to be a male trait: when one party stopped caring, the other's interest waned.

He no longer looked at Jiang Songen as frequently as before, only occasionally when the thought crossed his mind.

But today, Jiang Songen was radiating an unusual energy, and Zhang Chun's gaze couldn't help but drift towards him.

Zhang Chun sent someone to investigate but found nothing useful.

You Nan and Jiang Songen spoke discreetly, careful to avoid being seen and having their conversation reported to Zhang Chun.

Zhang Chun couldn't figure it out.

He instructed someone to keep a close eye on Jiang Songen, then turned to discuss it with his two friends.

"What do you think has him so happy today?"

Cheng Mi shook his head; he didn't know.

Yi Jiahe was on his phone, watching videos of himself and You Nan.

The day these videos were filmed, he had applied a privacy screen, so even someone sitting very close couldn't see what was on his screen.

Yi Jiahe's fingers slid across the screen, and suddenly he remembered the bag of snacks You Nan had bought him and the invitation to dinner.

You Nan had bought him things and invited him to eat as a way of thanking him for his help with school.

But You Nan's progress wasn't solely due to his help; Jiang Songen had also contributed.

You Nan must have invited Jiang Songen as well.

Yi Jiahe's finger paused.

The scene of Jiang Songen and You Nan emerging from the alley of the old residential area seemed to replay before his eyes.

If You Nan had invited Jiang Songen to a meal, no wonder Jiang Songen was in such a good mood.

Yi Jiahe pressed down hard, his fingertip landing right on You Nan's face on the screen.

Zhang Chun had pursued Jiang Songen for over two years without capturing his attention. Yi Jiahe himself had secretly admired Jiang Songen for just as long, competing with him in grades and various subjects, yet Jiang Songen had never given him a moment's notice.

What neither of them had achieved, You Nan, who had only recently transferred, had managed to do.

Not only had he succeeded, but he also seemed to have made Jiang Songen quite fond of him.

Yi Jiahe felt a knot in his chest and put his phone away. He stood up. "I have something to do. I'm leaving now."

Zhang Chun responded lazily, while Cheng Mi, sprawled on his chair playing games, didn't even hear him speak.

Both of them were accustomed to Yi Jiahe's aloof manner of speaking.

Yi Jiahe entered the classroom, walked up to You Nan's desk, tapped it, and asked him to step outside for a moment.

You Nan was asleep with his head on the desk.

He had been so busy lately, exhausted both physically and mentally. If he didn't catch up on sleep, he feared he might fall asleep while eating with Jiang Songen that evening.

You Nan heard Yi Jiahe but didn't get up.

He buried his face deeper and let out a lazy, drawn-out "Hmm~" to simply express his unwillingness to go out.

Yi Jiahe had never heard You Nan respond like this, but his quick understanding grasped You Nan's meaning.

Yi Jiahe placed his hand on You Nan's shoulder and gave a gentle push, his expression serious and earnest. "Don't act spoiled. I just want to ask you a few questions."

The other students in the class glanced over, then quickly looked away.

The student behind You Nan remained completely calm, acting as if they hadn't heard the conversation between them.

Now, when everyone saw the two of them together, they no longer made a big fuss.

Ever since Yi Jiahe and You Nan were seen working on problems together at noon, they no longer avoided everyone's gaze. Everyone knew there was some connection between them.

Seeing that You Nan was ignoring him, Yi Jiahe moved his fingers to the back of You Nan's neck, gently squeezing the small, rounded protrusion of bone there.

You Nan couldn't stand being squeezed like that. He reached out and brushed Yi Jiahe's hand away, not letting him disturb his rest. "I'm not acting spoiled. I just want to sleep."

Yi Jiahe's attempts to talk were repeatedly rejected by You Nan. He pressed his lips together, looking displeased, but he suppressed his frustration.

The boy bent down to whisper in You Nan's ear, "Are you trying to sleep now because you're going out to eat with Jiang Songen tonight?"

You Nan had thought he was going to ask him to go out and cosplay, but instead, it was about this.

Surprised, he lifted his head. You Nan raised his head too quickly, and Yi Jiahe was too close to him.

Yi Jiahe's lips brushed against You Nan's cheek. His eyelids twitched, and he met You Nan's shocked eyes.

You Nan covered his ears with his hands and looked at him. "You..."

Yi Jiahe's expression changed abruptly. He had gotten the definite confirmation he wanted, but he hadn't expected things to turn out like this.

Yi Jiahe touched his lips with his fingers. The fleeting sensation from moments ago seemed to linger.

Suddenly, he was pushed away forcefully. You Nan reacted quickly, making sure the surrounding students didn't notice anything unusual between him and Yi Jiahe. "I'm so tired."

He deliberately spoke loudly, "Can I do my homework later, okay?"

Yi Jiahe tried to meet his eyes, but You Nan avoided his gaze.

You Nan looked away and lay back down.

Yi Jiahe had no choice but to walk away.

The teacher for the next class noticed Yi Jiahe's distraction. She rapped the blackboard with her pointer stick and asked, "Class monitor, how do you solve this problem?"

Yi Jiahe snapped back to attention. He stood up, glanced at the problem, quickly calculated in his head, and gave the answer.

The teacher motioned for him to sit down and reminded her star student, "Are you feeling unwell? If you're not feeling well, remember to tell the teacher. Don't sit there not looking at the blackboard or your workbook."

Yi Jiahe nodded and said, "Mm."

The class was surprised that the teacher had called out Yi Jiahe for being distracted.

In their eyes, their class monitor Yi Jiahe was the perfect student.

He had good grades, was handsome, excelled in sports, and was consistently ranked first or second in the grade—a favorite among the teachers.

Even if Yi Jiahe slept in class, the teachers wouldn't say anything. They would even look at him with "indulgent" eyes.

The classmates' glances subtly drifted toward Yi Jiahe.

They noticed that the page of his workbook had already been covered—the teacher had covered it at the beginning of class and had moved on to later content.

There was only a pen on his desk, nothing else.

No wonder the teacher thought Yi Jiahe was acting strangely. They also felt that Yi Jiahe wasn't quite himself.

You Nan also glanced at Yi Jiahe briefly before quickly looking away.

What did Yi Jiahe's distraction have to do with him?

After school, You Nan slowly packed his things. By the time most of the class had left, he finally picked up his backpack and headed toward the school gate where students parked their electric scooters.

Jiang Songen saw him from upstairs and immediately ran down to catch up with him.

The boy wrapped his arm around You Nan's shoulder from behind, squeezing in next to him. He startled You Nan, who turned around in a fluster. The two of them were face to face, less than five centimeters apart.

You Nan could even clearly see the peach fuzz on Jiang Songen's face.

You Nan tried to shake off Jiang Songen's hand, but he wasn't as strong as Jiang Songen and couldn't break free. He could only sigh and say, "Can't you just walk properly? Do you have to scare me like that?"

Jiang Songen's heartbeat skipped a beat when their eyes met. He let out a hearty laugh to cover up his racing heart. "My bad, I won't do it again."

Jiang Songen spotted You Nan's electric scooter and let go of his shoulder. He climbed onto the back seat of You Nan's electric scooter. "Let's go now!"

You Nan inserted the key into the electric scooter and said it was too early. "I still have to go to work today. You go home first and come back at seven."

Jiang Songen let out an "ah," his smile instantly replaced by a pout. "Why? I was thinking we could go shopping together and then have dinner."

Jiang Songen was tall with long legs. You Nan's electric scooter was small, and while Xiao Ruan fit perfectly on the back seat, Jiang Songen sitting there made You Nan worry it would be uncomfortable for him.

You Nan tried to placate him. "Then why don't you take Xiao Ruan out? Pick him up after school and bring him to meet me for dinner."

Jiang Songen's eyes lit up. That worked! Hanging out with Xiao Ruan sounded good too.

"Deal!" Jiang Songen cheered himself up, thinking he could go change into even cooler clothes later.

Jiang Songen seized the opportunity, sliding from the back seat of You Nan's electric scooter to the front. "And I want to drive your electric scooter."

You Nan couldn't refuse him. He was powerless against someone so outgoing and kind.

You Nan awkwardly sat on the back seat, and sure enough, he found it uncomfortable.

He held onto the small grab bar behind him to steady himself, not wrapping his arms around Jiang Songen's waist. "Fine, since I'm treating you to dinner today, I'll indulge you in everything."

Jiang Songen beamed again, turned the key, and drove off into the distance with You Nan.