Hui You Tian Shi Ti Wo Ai Ni Chapter 6.1

Chapter 6

  Xiao Mi stared at Zheng Hao Yang, aghast. Within the cla.s.s, students engaged in lowered whispers; while outside the windows, birds flapped their wings, plundering through branches and leaves. The world seemed to abruptly turn into an uproar; her mind was dipped in chaos.   On the stand, Zheng Hao Yang’s gaze found her.   His gaze was dark.   An ebony akin to night, it penetrated the rows of seats onto her, who sat at the farthest end of the cla.s.s. He stared at her.  

She, too, turned to gaze at him. Her face was pale, teeth bit onto her lip, as the fingers grasping the pencil held very tight. As she lost her nerves, with a ‘sik—‘ the pen tip tore a deep line on her book.   And beside her.   Yi Tang Yao was still bent over the desk, asleep. His breathing was even, and the corners of his lips even held a relaxed smile. It seemed as if he didn’t hear anything, didn’t see anything, and wasn’t aware of a new transfer student in their cla.s.s.   “Zheng Hao Yang, you can find a seat and settle down. Cla.s.s is starting soon.” As the civics tutor finished, he left the cla.s.sroom.   The second cla.s.s of World Commerce flew into a low, fervent discussion. Every year has its strange occurrences, but it was especially prominent this year. Xiao Mi transferring in mid-term was odd enough, they would never envision things could get even stranger!  It was only a month to the end of the term, when had Sheng Shu’s charm become this big? Mm, perhaps, Qing Yuan’s renowned reputation isn’t as glorious as the legends speak of.   Zheng Hao Yang walked down the stand, stepping along the pathway between seats. His face was expressionless, but his straight back and dark eyes emitted a strong arrogant aura.   The girls were a little excited, each tidying their desks, hoping he would sit beside them.   His eyes did not take notice of all these.   Straight towards the last row.   Xiao Mi could feel his footsteps approaching, step by step, its repressed, heavy presence suffocating her. She inhaled deeply, holding onto the pen in her hand tightly. Yet, she has no idea if she used too much strength. The pen slipped from her grip, bounced off the table and fell onto the floor with a ‘piack’.   The pencil rolled across the floor.   A pair of black leather shoes. The pencil stopped before it.   Zheng Hao Yang picked it up.   Not knowing why, as his 1.9m figure bent down to pick up that tiny pen, the girls in the cla.s.s abruptly felt a rush of amazement.   He pa.s.sed the pen to her.   “Thank you.” Xiao Mi whispered, without even lifting her head to look at him.   She reached out to take the pen from his fingertips, but he gripped it tightly, very tightly, as if he would never want to let go. She started, fingers paralyzed on the pen. After about two to three minutes, he pulled her hand, placed the pen on her palm, and curled her fingers around it.   His hand was so cold.   Xiao Mi bit her lips hard, and finally looked up. His eyes were a sullen black, the former shine in his eagle-like eyes seemingly hurt.   He turned away and left silently.   Sitting on an empty seat beside her. He and Xiao Mi were only a separated by a pathway. Wordless, he started to tidy his books and stationery.   “Hey! Who is he?!”   Yi Tang Yao growled. d.a.m.n, the first sight his eyes caught as they opened was that b.a.s.t.a.r.d holding Xiao Mi’s hands! He dared to hold her hand! And she even had on a dazed expression!   Xiao Mi was startled. “You’re awake?”   “I asked you - who is he?!”  Yi Tang Yao glared at her, the fumes in his eyes spewing.   “Oh...... he......” She hesitated, and strained to pull out a smile. “He is the new transfer student.”   “From where?”   “....... Qing Yuan.”   Qing Yuan again. Yi Tang Yao surveyed her, his brows creased in a difficult expression. His eyes perused her intently. “You know him?”   Xiao Mi lowered her head towards her book, and spoke vaguely. “Heehee, the teacher just introduced him.”   “Mi Ai!”   With this holler, every student’s watchful gaze turned towards them. Even the World Economics teacher, who just pushed open the door, got a shock.   Zheng Hao Yang turned his head to look at Yi Tang Yao. His gaze was dark.   Yi Tang Yao stared back at him.   Within that eerie silence, it was as if the cla.s.s could hear the electric currents which erupted as their eyes met.   “Cla.s.s, attention! Good afternoon, teacher!”   The cla.s.s representative, Cheng Yuan stood up to greet the professor. The others followed suit. Zheng Hao Yang turned back, concentrated on cla.s.s.   Xiao Mi tugged at Yi Tang Yao’s shirt, careful to contemplate the suppressed fury on his face.  She lowered her voice. “Cla.s.s has started.”   “So what!” He snarled. “Tell me, who is he?!” The way she looked at him, it couldn’t be that they just knew each other. Especially how that b.a.s.t.a.r.d eyed Xiao Mi, it’s intolerable!   “I want to make notes......” She subdued her voice even more.   “To h.e.l.l with making notes!”   “Writing good notes, is to ensure that when you revise for exams in future, you would have a greater certainty of scoring well.” She smiled adorably at him, eyes arched into crescents.   “Like anyone would care about scoring well.” He mumbled. In front of her smile, the anger his heart miraculously vanished.   “You shouldn’t sleep already, this economics professor’s lectures are pretty good.”   “Do you want to die! I don’t need you to supervise me!” Yi Tang Yao shot her a glare, and laid back onto the desk. Mm, the sunlight at noon is too piercing; it isn’t suited for lesson, only sleep.   “You’ll turn into a pig if you sleep too much......” She nagged softly.   “Piack!”   A flick exploded on her forehead.   Xiao Mi moaned softly. Ugh, isn’t he asleep, how can he still hear her.   The Yi Tang Yao in his dreams cracked a huge smile, just like a child. Xiao Mi quietly watched him in a trance, as every bit of content in the Professor’s words glided past her ear.   She really wished she could just stay by his side like this forever.   Quietly, staying by his side.   The afternoon lessons ended in a flash.   Yi Tang Yao slept for the entire afternoon. He yawned, climbing up from the desk. Every bone in his body was sore. He worked out his muscles, and said languidly. “I’ll bring you to a place later.”   Xiao Mi packed her books. “Where?”   “You’ll know when you get there! Asking so much!” He grumbled, irritated, and looked at her. She was wearing a white dress. Her short, even furry hair made her look almost transparent under the sun. “You.......”   “What?”   “Cough, you’re really pretty today.” His voice was obscure, Xiao Mi almost couldn’t hear him clearly.   “Oh, heehee.”   “Why are you always wearing white?” Except for that one ‘date’ where she adorned the green dress he gave her, it seems as if she is eternally wearing white.   “White, is an angel’s colour.” She smiled.   “Angel?” Why does she always put this stupid thing on the tip of her tongue.   “Mm, angels are most sacred and flawless. That’s why I like white. Wearing white clothes makes it easier for an angel to find.”   “Find what?” Yi Tang Yao was incredulous, why does he understand less the more he listens.   “Xiao Mi.”   A deep voice, akin to crepuscule, interrupted them.   Xiao Mi’s hand shook, and the books fell onto the floor with a ‘bam’. She hastily bent over the pick them up. G.o.d, useless me, why do I have to be so clumsy and helpless.   As if coming from a manga panel.   Two hands simultaneously reached out in front of her.   She was stunned.   One managed to reach ahead; the books were lifted and thrown with a ‘pak’ in Xiao Mi’s chest. Then, another familiar flick found its way to her forehead.   “So stupid! Later on, when you meet my friend, you’re not allowed to be this embarra.s.sing. You hear me!” Yi Tang Yao spoke spitefully. Ever since that new transfer student stepped into the cla.s.s, she started to act weirdly. There must be something in this.   “Oh.”   Xiao Mi ma.s.saged her forehead, smiling awkwardly.   “Apologise to her.”   Zheng Hao Yang stood before Yi Tang Yao. With a height of 1.9m, there was some kind of imposing air to him. His gaze bore onto Yi Tang Yao, cold.   “Who do you think you are!” Yi Tang Yao raised his eyebrows.   “She’s not someone you can pick on.” Zheng Hao Yang glimpsed at the faintly red mark on Xiao Mi’s forehead, his heart afflicted. “Apologise to her!”   “I’m okay! It doesn’t hurt at all!” Xiao Mi interjected hurriedly.   “What has it got to do with you! My......” Yi Tang Yao fired Xiao Mi a stare. “My girlfriend. It’s none of your business, whether I enjoy being brutal to her, and scolding her!”   “Girlfriend......?”   A stricken gaze slowly directed towards Xiao Mi.   “You—are his girlfriend?”   Xiao Mi clenched down on her lips. Under Zheng Hao Yang’s aggrieved gaze, she suddenly found herself unable to breathe.   There are some who still haven’t left the cla.s.s. They inquisitively looked over at the trio at the back of the cla.s.sroom. The infuriated Yi Tang Yao, a repressed, anguished Zheng Hao Yang; between them, stood a pale Xiao Mi.   The afternoon sun scattered into the cla.s.sroom.   The leaves by the window gave off a refreshing scent.   Yi Tang Yao slowly turned around. He stared at Xiao Mi, who was for a prolonged while, wordless. “Hey! Tell him, whether you are my girlfriend!”   It’s the first time he has seen Xiao Mi like this.   Her face so white, it was as if her soul was sapped out from her. She was standing there, under the sunlight, yet it seemed as if he couldn’t reach out and touch her.   “You hear me! Tell him!” A indecipherable panic struck Yi Tang Yao’s heart, and he stared to shake Xiao Mi’s shoulders.   “Let go of her!”   Zheng Hao Yang grabbed his hands.   “Bam—!”   Yi Tang Yao’s fist impelled Zheng Hao Yang’s face to the side!   “Hao Yang!” Xiao Mi gasped, and rushed over to support staggering Zheng Hao Yang. At this time, she had already recovered her senses, and was struggling to breathe, to calm herself.   Blood gradually trickled from his nose.   Xiao Mi frantically took out a tissue, and tiptoed t help Zheng Hao Yang to stopper it. He held down the tissue, along with her fingers. Stunned, she quickly jerked from his grip, and looked at Yi Tang Yao uneasily.   Yet, Yi Tang Yao had strangely calmed down.   He surveyed Xiao Mi and Zheng Hao Yang coldly. “You and he knew each other all along.” This wasn’t a question, but a statement.   “We were together since young.” Zheng Hao Yang affirmed softly.   “Shut up! I was asking her!” The chill in Yi Tang Yao’s gaze cut like a knife, its focus straight on Xiao Mi. “Speak!”   “...... Yes.”   “Does he like you?”   Xiao Mi fell silent. She doesn’t know how to answer this question.   “Whether I like her, is none of your concern.” Zheng Hao Yang gripped her shoulders, his tone pressed. “Is it him? The one with......”   “Zheng Hao Yang!” Xiao Mi cut him off, terrified.   Zheng Hao Yang laughed bitterly. “Something like this can actually occur in this world......”   “Mi Ai.” Yi Tang Yao enunciated word by word. “Tell me, what is your relationship with him?” Cold has coagulated the blood in his body. He felt like the biggest idiot on Earth.   “I......” Xiao Mi knew he had misunderstood, but Zheng Hao Yang’s sudden appearance has thrown her into a state of disarray. Her relationship with Hao Yang? Tell him he is Yi’s best friend? Tell him that he has always liked her?   “We used to be cla.s.smates.”   She finally came up with this one line, and lowered her head.   “Only cla.s.smates?” Yi Tang Yao scrutinized her relentlessly. The shadows of the both of them standing together, made him yearn to throw a few more punches and batter him up.   “Mm.” She forcibly nodded, her fingers stiffly intertwined.   Yi Tang Yao glared at her.   She’s lying.   It’s the first time she has lied to her, or has she always been cheating him?!   “Come with me.”   Zheng Hao Yang couldn’t bear to listen anymore. He grabbed her arm, and strode towards the door. Xiao Mi struggled against him. No, she can’t leave. Yi Tang Yao is already furious. His astringence from keeping his temper is even scarier than his violence.   “Let go of me! Hao Yang! I can’t leave, I have matters......” She struggled to break free from his grip.    “What matters would you have?!” Zheng Hao Yang’s tone has already reached its ultimatum, spelling the brew of a thunderstorm.   “I......”   Xiao Mi bit on her lip, and gazed towards Yi Tang Yao at the back of the cla.s.s.   Yi Tang Yao stood there, forlorn.   The sun casted a slanted shadow on the floor.   The diamond on his nose radiated a frigid glow.   He stared at her emotionlessly.   “If you leave with him, don’t ever talk to me again.”   His voice is even more chilling than the glow of his diamond.   “I have something to say to you as well!” Zheng Hao Yang suppressed his anger. “If you don’t want to leave with me, then we’ll talk here!” Why, for a b.a.s.t.a.r.d she has barely known for a month, is she so careful to protect.   “You--!” Xiao Mi spun her head, horrified. In Zheng Hao Yang’s eyes, she glimpsed desperate pain. He...... he is able to do anything......   Zheng Hao Yang stiffened his expression, yanking her out of cla.s.s. She didn’t even have time to explain to Yi Tang Yao.   Seeing her leave with him, Yi Tang Yao’s face paled, his fingers slightly trembling.   “Crash--!”   Yi Tang Yao flipped over the desk in front of him with a kick!   The remaining students in the cla.s.s were terrified, their faces ashen.   “What’re you looking at! All of you, scram--!!”     ♥          ♥          ♥     The dessert store in evening. The dizzying scarlet of sunset pervaded through the gla.s.s windows. There weren’t many people in the shop, only a few visitors. The atmosphere was serene; a guy and girl sitting by the window had been silent for very. The guy’s iced water in front of him had not been touched, while the hot milk tea before the girl had long gone cold.   “Go back with me.”   Zheng Hao Yang finally spoke, his voice condensed with melancholy. He couldn’t see her act so ludicrous over a ridiculous reason.   “No.”   He raised his head; his eyes flashed a transient light.    “He’s not Yi!”   Xiao Mi clenched the straw in her hands. “Hao Yang, go back. Your academics are outstanding, even transferring back to Qing Yuan shouldn’t be a problem.”   “Unless you come with me!” His tone didn’t leave any room for negotiation.   Xiao Mi started.   He was still the same as before. As long as it’s something he’s set his mind, it’s like there is no possibility of compromise or return.   “No.” She told him.   “Xiao Mi!”   All this time he has known her, she had already given him countless ‘No’s. Yi is outstanding, that deific man is someone he can never win against, and to that he is already speechless. But, Yi is already dead; why is she still saying ‘No’ to him?   Xiao Mi fell silent for a while.   “Go back. Take it as you have never known me.”   As she finished, she stood up to leave.   Zheng Hao Yang flew into a rage. He grabbed her hand, and forcibly pulled her back onto her seat, hard! “How many times do I have to tell you, before you remember! Yi is dead! He is already dead! That man completely isn’t Yi! You hear me!”   “Splash--!”   Milk tea was tumbled down Zheng Hao Yang’s head!   Fluid, a light shade of peru, trickled down, its minuscule beads pathetically landing on his cheeks.   Xiao Mi inhaled, the quivers in her body making it hard for her to breathe. “I had told you before as well. If you let me hear you say that word, you will no longer be my friend.”     ★             ★             ★    “I don’t like Zheng Hao Yang!”   She pouted, and whined unhappily. So annoying, why did she, Yi and Hao Yang have to be neighbours? Since young, he had always stared at her with that sharp, eagle-eyed gaze.   He was sourcing for materials on the computer, and only smiled slightly at her complaints.   “Let’s ignore him, and stop talking to him from now on, shall we?” She fumed, as she scooped fruit jelly and stuffed it into her mouth angrily.   He was still smiling. In a month, she would always grumble like this to him two to three times.   “Hey! I’m talking to you, are you even listening?! I’m angry now!” She bolted beside his ear, and bellowed. She wanted to render him deaf with her high decibels.   Smiling, he finally turned away from the monitor.   “What is it now?”   Her face was slightly red. “That...... he...... actually...... kissed my fingertip!” d.a.m.n it, the stupid jerk Zheng Hao Yang insisted that she watched him play basketball. Since he is still considered Yi’s friend, she reluctantly sat down and watched, even holding his clothes in her hands. But, at the final match, when she pa.s.sed the clothes to him, he gazed at her with those annoying eyes. She flung the clothes to his chest, and he actually—grabbed her fingers and kissed it!   Disgusting!   But, heh heh, she immediately slapped Zheng Hao Yang!   He creased his brow, and fished out a square handkerchief. He pulled her fingers out, and gently wiped them. “Is this better?”   “I still feel gross!”   He planted a kiss on her finger; that kiss seemed to contain the scent of pine. Her heart instantly became sweet and soft just like jelly. She burrowed into his arms, finding a cosy position.   “Anyway, I hate him.”   “He likes you.”   “...... I know.” She pulled a long face. Since young, the number of times that Zheng Hao Yang has confessed to her; formal and informal, big and small; have been more than a dozen times. “That’s why I hate him.”   “Zheng Hao Yang is our friend.”   “No way!”   “Have you forgotten, that year when you were gravely ill and admitted to hospital, that night I had to hand over a huge sum of hospital fees. I took out all the money I had and it still wasn’t enough. You were in so much pain, you cried in my arms, and no matter how much I begged that doctor, he insisted that I raised the money required first......”   “I hate that hospital!” She cursed, her voice m.u.f.fled. She recalled, at that time Yi had pleaded with the doctor, his face ashen. Her Yi, her refined Yi, she would rather die from pain then to tolerate Yi begging others for help. But, the panic-stricken Yi during that time could not even hear her protests and anger.   “It’s lucky we have Hao Yang......”   “It’s just that his family is rich.”  She mumbled.   “Xiao Mi!”   “Okay, okay.” She surrendered. “Friend, good friends, that’s okay now right.”   He shook his head, smiling. “Hao Yang has always been good to you.”   She rolled her eyes, and suddenly giggled. “Oh yeah, come to think of it, Hao Yang is indeed quite good to me...... why not......”   “Mm?”   “I’ll try dating him for a while.” Her eyes flashed. “Okay?”   He gazed at her.   Her smile was incandescent.   He grinned. “Okay.”   Her smile gradually crumpled. She glared at him, her chest inflated in infuriation. If a gaze can become a flying knife, she would slice that G.o.d-d.a.m.n smile into pieces!   “If you have the guts, say it again!”   She really wanted to bite him to death! Ugh~~~ he doesn’t like her at all! He doesn’t even get jealous, or green with envy! It isn’t written like that in novels! He should be hugging her anxiously, all senses lost, screaming, no, no, you’re mine!   “Snort!” Playing that scene in her imagination, she choked from laughing.   He patted her back, helping her breathe. Earlier on, she had been furious, her eyes unrelentingly fierce. Now, she’s chortling, rocking back and forth. He shook his head, laughing softly, the smile in his lips akin to sunlight scattered from between the leaves.   “You should be jealous!” She straightened her face, glaring at him.   “Why?”   “Because I’m about to go out with another guy!”   He laughed, coughing slightly.   “What’re you laughing at! Don’t laugh, be serious!” She continued to glare at him. “If you make me unhappy, I will...... will......” She grabbed a huge cup of Strongfood[1] jelly, half eaten, and threatened him callously. “I won’t let you eat a single bite of jelly!”   He stroked his nose, with a bitter smile. “Oh.” He loves jelly as well, even though it’s strange for a guy to like it.   “Say it quick!”   “Because I know you won’t, so there’s no need for me to be jealous.”   “Like real, why wouldn’t I?!”   He smiled mildly, his lashes sweeping a faint shadow on his cheeks. “Because, I like you.”   “......”   “Because, you like me too.”   “......” The fingers that were clutching onto the jelly cup abruptly turned soft and gentle.   “In this world, there’s no one who likes you more than me, and you like me most as well.” He embraced her, placing his face lightly on her head, sighing softly. “I know you like me, just like how you know I like you.”   The wind drafted from outside the windows.   He delicately hugged her.   In that moment, she could only close her eyes in bliss, and allow the smile of happiness to slowly climb onto her lips.   But—   “What if I die?” Her eyes jerked open, wide. “After I die, will you still like me?”   He released a quiet sigh.   She clung onto him in her anxiety, her face creased.   “After I die, will you like someone else? In the past, I read this stupid poem, talking about how after his wife died, in order to let her rest in peace, he had to live every day happier than when she was alive, each day happier than the last! It was infuriating! Also, the novels and dramas often have this kind of story, narrating this lover or girlfriend who died in the past, and then the protagonist finds another, and that adulterous pair said something hypocritical. If she heard about this from her grave, she would definitely be happy that he had found happiness again, and bless them ...... Utter c.r.a.p! c.r.a.p!”   She glared at him.   “Pei Yi, I’m telling you—I! Won’t! Be! Happy!”   “Mm, okay.” He didn’t know to laugh or cry.   “Even if I die, you can’t like other girls, you got me!” She spoke between her clenched teeth. “You said just now, you like me the most, that’s not enough!”   “......”   “You can ‘only’ like me! You can’t like any other woman!”   “Why about my mum?”   “Rubbish!” She punched his chest with her fist. “Don’t interrupt! Even when I die, you can’t like other girls, you hear that, otherwise I’ll climb out from the depths below and turn into a female ghost to haunt you at twilight! And I will never, never bless you! Hmph!”   “You.” He ruffled her hair playfully; a furry sensation, when she bared her fangs and claws, she looked just like an adorable porcupine.   “Promise me!”   “Okay.” He stared at her. “I will love only you forever.”   She smiled contentedly. “Me too.”   “Don’t, if I die first, remember to find a good guy to love you.” His fingers gently caressed the dimples beside her lips. “Don’t be sad, don’t cry, don’t love only me. You have to be happy, just like how you are now. Because my Xiao Mi looks most adorable when she smiles. Remember, I will bless you two, it’s enough if you occasionally think of me......”   “Hmph! Why don’t you just say to forget you completely? Wouldn’t that make you appear n.o.bler?” She pouted. “Always like this, making me feel like I’m a bad person, while you’re the perfect good guy. Annoying!”   He broke into a laugh. “I won’t bear to let you forget me entirely. If you erase me from your memories, I will still be very upset. You can just put me in a small corner in your heart, that smallest corner, and I would be really happy.”   “No way!” She started to eat her jelly delightedly.   “......?”   “You won’t die, you’ll definitely pa.s.s away after me.” She hesitated, gazing at the cup with little jelly left. Her mind fumbled over whether to give him a little. “Because you won’t bear to leave me behind, you won’t rest a.s.sure whoever else takes care of me...... Here, I’ll give you a bit, you can only eat a bit......”   The curtains swayed with the breeze.   She carefully fed the jelly into his mouth.   “Just a little bit......”   ★             ★             ★     The milk tea slowly trickled down Zheng Hao Yang’s face. He didn’t wipe it with a tissue; his eyes merely focused on Xiao Mi, melancholic.   “He is, in actual fact, dead.”   A piercing cold penetrated her body. She inhaled, opened her bag for her wallet, and placed the money for a milk tea on the table.   She didn’t want to speak to him anymore.   “That guy isn’t Yi! If he knew you got close to him for his heart; if he knew that your smile, your care was only for another, how would he feel?!” Zheng Hao Yang bemoaned.   “Are you threatening me now?”   Xiao Mi’s voice was light, light as a whisper.   Not knowing the reason, that airy voice of hers abruptly made him lose his repose. He recalled their younger days, when she was always beside Yi laughing and fooling around. Yet when she saw him, she’ll always shoot him a glare.   She stood up, and spoke.   “I know he isn’t Yi, but, Yi is with him.”   Her words finished, she left the dessert store.   The shades of the setting sun in dusk slanted through the windows. Zheng Hao Yang stood there, motionless. She never turned back to look at him.   She never did look at him.   It didn’t matter that ever since Yi died, he had stayed by his side every day, hoping to make her happy again. He wanted to put a smile back on her face. But, only at that moment, when she found out that Yi’s heart was transplanted into a guy named ‘Yi Tang Yao’, did he see a glimmer in her eyes. She went to Sheng Shu, to that guy, so he too transferred from Qing Yuan to Sheng Shu. Even then, she could not afford him a welcoming smile.   Yet, she smiled towards ‘him’.   Despite knowing he isn’t Yi, for an illusion, she was still more willing to lavish a smile, rather than slightly turn her gaze towards him?   Zheng Hao Yang closed his eyes.   Cold milk tea slowly seeped down his neck.     ♥          ♥          ♥     Noon, a light drizzle scattered outside the windows. In cla.s.s, the Accountancy lecturer was conducting her cla.s.s, while students anxiously took down notes.   This teacher is among the infamous Four, detaining many people for revision cla.s.ses every semester. Moreover, a lot of the materials she covered were not on books, one has to scribe notes meticulously to comprehend everything. Also, she takes attendance every lesson. There were a few seniors who mentioned, as long as you weren’t present thrice, you wouldn’t have hope for a pa.s.s in exams.   I’ll have one student answer this question.” The Accountancy lecturer nodded, and opened her attendance list. Everyone held their breaths in prayer. “Yi Tang Yao.”   The lecturer’s gaze swept across the cla.s.sroom.   “Yi Tang Yao?”   Xiao Mi turned her gaze to Yi Tang Yao’s seat. She bit her lip, brows in a frown. Even Zheng Hao Yang raised his head. He looked towards Xiao Mi, his gaze dark.   The seat at the back of the cla.s.sroom, closest to the window, is empty.   A sparrow flew over, chirping towards it.   “Truancy, is it.” The teacher made a mark on the attendance list, expression unchanged. “Yi Tang Yao has already skipped lesson twice.”   “He’s sick!”   Xiao Mi hastily stood up from her seat, ‘explaining’ it to the teacher frantically.   “Sick? What illness?”   “Flu.” This is the first word that squirmed into Xiao Mi’s mind.   “Does it mean you don’t have to attend cla.s.s, if you’re down with flu?” The teacher’s expression didn’t even flinch.   “Then, he had a fever!”   “How many degrees?”   “...... 39.” Xiao Mi’s face was flushed. It looked as if the one who’s running a fever wasn’t Yi Tang Yao, but herself.   The Accountancy teacher surveyed her skeptically for a moment, and turned toward Cheng Yuan on the first row. “Cla.s.s rep, has Yi Tang Yao applied for sick leave from you?”   Cheng Yuan slowly raised her head. Her eyes flitted sideways to Xiao Mi, who was clutching her hands uneasily, hesitant. She murmured.   “Mm, yes.”   The teacher nodded, and made amendments to the attendance.   Xiao Mi let out a sigh. Her forehead felt chilly, perforated with sweat surfaced from the panic earlier. She couldn’t help but look back, toward Yi Tang Yao’s seat.   The sparrow flapped its wings, and flew away.   The desk was coated with a thin layer of dust.   It had already been three days since he turned up for cla.s.s.     ♥          ♥          ♥