Throughout the morning, only two subject tests were completed.
As the bell rang to signal the end of class,
students flooded out of the classrooms, some returning to their own rooms to find their friends to discuss the difficulty of the exams.
Others headed straight to the cafeteria to meet up.
Hu Yuying stood obediently by the corridor outside Class 1, quietly waiting.
Soon, she saw Long Aotian emerge from Class 6.
Hu Yuying's eyes sparkled with joy as she stepped forward: "Long Bro, what happened to your hair?"
His formerly stylish hairstyle had now turned into a messy mop.
Li Qingxue, overhearing this, couldn't help but chuckle. She knew what happened.
After finishing her tests early and doing a thorough check, she glanced at Long Aotian a couple of times.
She saw him stick a pen up his nose, occasionally scratching his head, looking quite troubled, and eventually started throwing pieces of paper around, presumably for multiple-choice questions.
By the end of the two classes, his hair had turned into a disheveled mess.
"It's nothing, just overthinking," Long Aotian explained to Hu Yuying.
"Oh," Hu Yuying glanced at his messy hair again, suppressing a laugh as she nodded.
Li Qingxue was about to approach when her arm was suddenly grabbed by Wang Rui: "Qingxue, my stomach hurts a bit; let's go to the bathroom first?"
"Alright," after a glance at the departing duo, Li Qingxue shrugged helplessly and decided to accompany Wang Rui to the restroom first.
"Ouch, I almost peed my pants! I should have known not to drink so much water," Wang Rui, after finishing her business, felt much relieved.
Being good friends with Li Qingxue, Wang Rui had a candid personality, especially in front of friends, with no filter whatsoever.
"Let's hurry up; if we're late, we might not get the good stuff," Li Qingxue reminded her.
"Right, right! We gotta rush. Today, the cafeteria will be packed. If we dawdle, we might not even find a seat!"
Upon reaching the cafeteria, the place was indeed bustling.
Li Qingxue and Wang Rui, holding their trays, searched for a spot.
"Ugh, should have grabbed a seat first before going to the bathroom!" Wang Rui lamented.
Li Qingxue didn't respond but looked around, her pretty eyes curving into crescents: "Let's share a table."
Before Wang Rui could react, Li Qingxue had already made her way toward an occupied table.
Wang Rui hesitated but didn't stop her.
Upon seeing who was sitting at the table, Wang Rui froze.
She was about to call out to Li Qingxue, suggesting they find another table, when Li Qingxue beat her to it.
"Excuse me, can we share this table?" Li Qingxue asked with a smile.
Long Aotian, who had been mid-bite with a chicken leg, noticed it was Li Qingxue and pointed to the empty seat beside him: "Go ahead, sit."
"Thank you," Li Qingxue set down her tray, then motioned to Wang Rui: "Come on, sit here."
Wang Rui's mouth twitched; upon seeing Long Aotian, mouth full of chicken, glance at her, she quickly lowered her head and huddled next to Hu Yuying.
Long Aotian chewed the chicken, puzzled by Wang Rui's reaction, unsure why she was so intimidated.
First, he didn't think he was unattractive.
Second, though he did eat rather messily, he didn't think it warranted such a reaction.
Shaking his head, he continued eating.
Looking at Long Aotian now wolfing down his food, Li Qingxue couldn't help but recall his earlier antics in the classroom—sticking a pen up his nose, scratching his head, even throwing scraps of paper around.
The contrast between then and now was amusing.
Unable to hold back her laughter, she quickly covered her mouth: "Sorry, I just thought of something funny."
Wang Rui internally panicked for Li Qingxue, fearing Long Aotian might suddenly lash out and kick her ten meters away.
Sure enough, the next second she heard Long Aotian's voice: "What's so funny? Tell me, so I can have a laugh too!"
Li Qingxue cautiously pointed to Long Aotian's hair.
Long Aotian felt his hair; unable to see, he was unsure what Li Qingxue was referring to.
Li Qingxue pulled out her small mirror and aimed it at Long Aotian.
In the mirror, Long Aotian saw that a strand of his hair was sticking up, resembling the antenna of Teletubbies.
Probably from all the hair-scratching during his test!
It wasn't a big deal—boys often had messy hair—but upon closer inspection, it was indeed somewhat funny.
As Long Aotian reached up to flatten the strand, he noticed, through the mirror, a slender finger slowly rising and finally resting on the rogue hair.
He paused, then looked up to see Li Qingxue leaning across the table, her body tilted toward him.
Upon sensing Long Aotian's gaze, Hu Yuying paused, biting her lip as her breathing quickened momentarily.
Taking a deep breath, her curled fingers relaxed, and she withdrew her hand, returning to her seat.
Li Qingxue, witnessing this, blinked a few times, then glanced at Long Aotian.
Long Aotian, holding the mirror, hesitated, unsure what to do with his hand.
Feigning composure, he pretended to adjust his bangs, sneaking a glance at Hu Yuying, relieved to see her demeanor unchanged.
Rapidly recovering his usual casual demeanor, he handed the mirror back to Li Qingxue: "Here, your mirror."
Accepting the mirror, Li Qingxue stashed it back in her pocket, her sidelong glances occasionally snagging on Hu Yuying.
Intuition told her something remarkable was brewing, and she wasn't wrong.
Li Qingxue was sharp, especially with her memory.
She distinctly recalled Long Aotian mentioning in the corridor earlier: "I think I understand her a little..."
"Long Bro, I'm done eating," Hu Yuying said.
"Oh, alright then, let's go," Long Aotian stood up, glancing at Li Qingxue, who was still eating: "We'll leave first."
"Sure, see you in class," Li Qingxue, having arrived late, ate slowly and thus wasn't finished.
With Long Aotian and Hu Yuying's departure, Wang Rui finally dared to lift her head: "Qingxue, you scared me!"
"If I had known you were talking about sharing a table with Long Aotian, I'd rather stand and eat with my tray."
Li Qingxue chuckled: "You're such a scaredy-cat! You've never even talked to Long Aotian; why so intimidated?"
"Besides, he's not some evil overlord..."
Wang Rui was about to say more when a figure stopped by their side.
A deep, magnetic voice spoke softly: "Sometimes, appearances can be deceiving. Evil never wears its mark on its sleeve."
Ye Liangchen delivered this line, forcing a smile at Li Qingxue before departing!
Ye Liangchen, who had been observing closely, was nearly biting his lip to the point of drawing blood!
"Mark of death! Mark! Long Aotian, you've walked the path of certain doom!"
[Thank you for the gifts, so moved that I'm a bit embarrassed. Please leave a five-star review, and if possible, click the notification button or send some small gifts? (Seriously, too shy, too embarrassed...)]