Class Eleven was located at the very edge of the fifth floor of the teaching building, far from the teachers’ office, restrooms, and the hot water room. It had originally been the most secluded class.
Suddenly, more and more students began playfully roaming the corridor.
Numerous indistinct glances peeked inside through the back door and glass windows.
They were all seventeen or eighteen-year-old students, unable to hide their emotions well. After sneaking glances inside, they blushed and quickly looked away.
“Whose parent is that?”
“When he asked me for directions, I thought he was a transfer student…”
“Ah, he sat in Pei Ying’s seat.”
The feeling of eyes on his back made Pei Ying feel prickly. His expression turned cold as he glanced outside and shifted his position, deliberately trying to block Xin Hexue from view.
“Why did you come?”
He scratched the back of his head a little awkwardly and asked.
The young man wore only a black shirt on his upper body. The design was thin and draped loosely. The top two buttons were left undone, revealing his hollow collarbones and slender, refined lines.
Pei Ying really wanted to button him up.
The air conditioning in the room was strong. Xin Hexue pressed a loose fist to his lips and coughed lightly twice. His complexion had the pallor of someone just recovering from a serious illness. He explained, “I saw the parent-teacher meeting invitation in your workbook. It’s the second class this afternoon…I wasn’t late, was I?”
Pei Ying, whose expression was now tight, silently took his school uniform jacket hanging from the back of his chair and draped it over Xin Hexue’s shoulders.
Xin Hexue tilted his head slightly to look at him. “Are you angry? Because Guangji didn’t have time, I took it upon myself to come.”
“I’ve already explained everything to your homeroom teacher. I’m here as a friend entrusted by your brother. I’ll report back to him about the parent-teacher meeting.”
“There’s no need to worry about any misunderstandings.”
Pei Ying turned his face away, avoiding eye contact with Xin Hexue.
These weren’t the things he cared about anyway.
Pei Ying said stiffly, “If your body hasn’t fully recovered, then just rest at home.”
“…”
Xin Hexue silently listened to the notification sound of the love value increasing.
Pei Ying’s deskmate was quite enthusiastic. “Oh, so you’re Pei Ying’s brother’s friend! I’m Pei Ying’s deskmate!”
Xin Hexue shook hands with him and exchanged names. “Hello, classmate. I’m Xin Hexue. Thank you for looking after Pei Ying’s studies at school.”
Before his sweaty palm got any damper from nervousness, the deskmate quickly pulled back and fidgeted. “Then can I call you ‘gege’?”
Pei Ying finally couldn’t take it anymore and interrupted, “What kind of relative are you trying to pretend to be?”
He looked very gloomy, and the deskmate’s face turned pale. “I was just joking.”
The atmosphere became cold so the deskmate went outside the classroom to check if his parent had arrived.
Xin Hexue hesitated for a moment, but still gently tried to persuade Pei Ying. “Weren’t you a bit too harsh just now? He didn’t mean anything bad.”
Pei Ying let out a cold sneer from deep in his throat.
The second major class in the afternoon was the parent-teacher meeting. Subject teachers and the homeroom teacher would come to report on the students’ recent exam results.
Students could move around freely, while the classroom was left for the parents and teachers.
Xin Hexue had arrived early. After the other parents gradually entered the classroom and the bell rang, Pei Ying also exited the classroom along with the other students.
But he didn’t leave. He leaned against the corridor railing, hands in his pockets with a cold expression, his eyes fixed on Xin Hexue the entire time.
When the young man received the grade report, a troubled look appeared on his face, yet he still turned to him and gave a consoling smile.
It felt strangely odd.
After his mother passed away in elementary school, no one had ever attended a parent-teacher meeting for him.
The problem was, wasn’t Xin Hexue only two years older than him?
Pei Ying had seen Xin Hexue’s file from the assistant.
Because of face blindness, he had even developed social anxiety. With so many people around this time, was he really fine?
Pei Ying noticed his complexion had been pale the entire time.
The forty-minute parent-teacher meeting ended quickly.
Pei Ying remained standing in the corridor, but hadn’t listened to a single word from the podium.
Xin Hexue exited the classroom with the crowd. Based on the distinctive Klein blue highlights in his hair, he approached Pei Ying with the grade report in hand, “Your performance in certain subjects seems a bit unbalanced. Do you want to go to the office with me to ask the teacher for some advice one-on-one?”
Pei Ying glanced at the disastrous grade report.
It was indeed pretty bad. Except for math, not a single subject had passed.
He had even intentionally turned in blank papers for two subjects.
“There’s still more than half a year until the college entrance examination, so there’s a lot of room to improve your scores.”
The young man was still gently trying to persuade him.
Pei Ying was a full head taller than him. When he lowered his gaze, he could see the faint pink of the collarbone hollow exposed by the thin shirt.
He pursed his lips tightly. Before Xin Hexue could react, he grabbed his hand and yanked him into a quiet corner by the stairwell.
Xin Hexue’s back slammed against the wall, and the sharp pain made him frown.
The Alpha braced a hand on the wall, body pressing in. “Why are you being so nice to me?”
Pei Ying was very close, so close their breaths intertwined. Xin Hexue turned his face away uncomfortably, eyelashes trembling lightly. “You’re Guangji’s younger brother, and we’re living under the same roof. I just want our relationship to be better.”
Pei Ying’s brows drew together in sharp lines, and hearing that answer only made the restlessness in his heart grow stronger.
His brother again!
Every time they talked, it always circled back to his brother!
The Alpha’s intense jealousy blazed like fire.
Xin Hexue’s next words only added fuel to the flames. “If it makes you uncomfortable, I’ll keep a more appropriate distance.”
Pei Ying screamed rejection in his heart. The stairwell window let in a shaft of light, but because of his position in the shadow, his face looked even darker.
“No.”
He ground the word out between clenched teeth.
He raised his hand and gripped Xin Hexue’s chin, forcing it up. Pei Ying stared deeply at that faint rose-pink hue, the malicious stirrings in his heart growing stronger and stronger.
He wanted to kiss Xin Hexue.
“Is it really just because of my brother?” Pei Ying’s voice was cold. “I thought… you were being good to me because…”
‘Because you should have some feelings for me too.’
He closed his eyes and, driven by impulse, pressed a kiss to the young man’s lips.
The young Alpha was too reckless and this didn’t even count as a proper kiss. It was more like their teeth clashing in an almost vengeful way.
Xin Hexue winced in pain and his eyebrows knit together tightly.
With a loud “pa!”–
The sound echoed through the empty stairwell.
Pei Ying’s body froze, his turned left cheek exposed in the evening light. The red palm print was glaringly obvious.
There was still a faint taste of blood in his mouth.
Pei Ying looked back at Xin Hexue coldly, only to be stopped by the flush of red at the corners of the young man’s eyes due to anger.
Xin Hexue’s chest heaved as he let out a few weak coughs.
After a long while, he calmed his breathing. “You went too far.”
He brushed past Pei Ying’s shoulder and walked downstairs without looking back.
Leaving the Alpha standing there, dazed.
[Pei Ying love value -1]
[Pei Ying love value +1]
[Pei Ying love value -1]
[Pei Ying love value +1]
Xin Hexue walked forward without saying a word.
K asked: [Are you angry?]
Xin Hexue smiled with narrowed eyes, [I’m not angry, gege.]
K observed his smiling kitten-like face, unable to analyze any signs of anger.
But judging by what just happened, any normal person should be angry.
K tactfully rephrased the question, [Then… have you calmed down?]
After all, his host had just slapped the target.
Xin Hexue: [What he did was within my expectations.]
Rather, it was something Xin Hexue had deliberately guided.
Every flutter of his eyelashes was carefully designed.
Xin Hexue said: [There’s nothing to calm down from. I slapped him, shouldn’t he be the one feeling thrilled?]
Sure enough, the very next second, Pei Ying seemed to have figured something out.
[Pei Ying love value +20]
Xin Hexue’s eyes curved as he smiled, proving to K, [See, humans are such baffling creatures.]
What you can’t get is always the most tempting, the easiest to stir interest at first.
From the very first meeting, Xin Hexue had deliberately crafted the illusion of being madly in love with Pei Guangji in front of Pei Ying.
The second young master of the Pei family, neglected by family, lacking in friends, and long accustomed to repressing himself…after mistakenly believing someone had feelings for him, would first react with embarrassment and anger. But once those emotions passed, his interest and feelings for Xin Hexue would finally start to transform into serious “love”.
A rebellious little brother’s thoughts were easy to guess.
Now that things with Pei Ying were mostly settled, the line involving Pei Guangji could also be temporarily tied off. Xin Hexue mentally calculated the timing of that aircraft accident in the script.
K noticed the host’s steps slowing down.
He even stopped in front of a stray dog at the edge of campus to tease it for a while.
K: [What’s wrong?]
Xin Hexue patted the head of the enthusiastic puppy, [I’m waiting for Pei Ying to come apologize to me.]
