Zhuang Yijing put her hands in the thick, furry pockets of her coat and stopped walking.
She stood nearby with an amused expression, watching Shi Wangyue being confessed to by a girl, entangled in the situation.
Shi Wangyue, with a look of impatience, finally dismissed the foreign girl, and caught sight of Zhuang Yijing standing not far away, grinning at the scene.
He paused, then strode over to her with his long legs.
As Shi Wangyue approached, Zhuang Yijing remained still but spoke with a smile: "Didn’t our little teacher tell you to be a bit more gentle with girls? If a girl likes you, and you’re sure you don’t like her back, you can refuse, but you mustn’t disregard her feelings for you, right?"
She continued, "In this world, there’s no one who should like someone else. Everyone’s affection is limited; if they give some to you, there’s less left for others. We can refuse, but we shouldn’t trample it."
A fleeting smile appeared in the youth’s eyes but vanished quickly.
Zhuang Yijing teased further, "Why are you still so cold to beautiful girls, aren’t you afraid of freezing someone in this chilly weather?"
Shi Wangyue stopped beside his old classmate, pursed his lips, and asked, "Want to grab a coffee?"
Zhuang Yijing nodded.
The two of them left the school together, found a café outside, had a simple meal, and chatted about their recent circumstances.
But the most relaxed topics they discussed were always concerning Ning Youguang.
"Last time we were out, she was holding Xiaoxiao’s hand, and now Xiaoxiao is so chubby... haha."
Zhuang Yijing’s hair had grown long, no longer short but down to her shoulders, neatly groomed, matching her well-defined exquisite features that captured attention effortlessly.
With her height, long legs, and slight grooming, she held an undeniable charm.
Since entering the café with Shi Wangyue, they had attracted countless gazes.
The youth’s brows lightly arched: "Seems like Xiaoxiao is being well taken care of."
His voice was as clear and cold as water dripping from a roof, yet he himself was gentle and elegant.
Despite being someone who seemed aloof like cold jade, Zhuang Yijing had seen countless facets of his gentleness.
Just like now, despite his earlier indifference, when talking about her and Xiaoxiao, an uncontrollable tenderness flowed from his deep eyes.
"You miss her a lot, right?"
Shi Wangyue paused, looking at her with profound eyes from which a coldness spilled over.
Zhuang Yijing, however, still kept her smiling demeanor: "You don’t need to look at me that way, I’ve known for a long time that you like her, even... love her."
After she spoke, she saw the usually calm and almost emotionless person across from her freeze.
She became more confident in her guess: "In this world, there are only two things that can’t be hidden, one is poverty, the other is love. I noticed you had unusual feelings for her in our first year of high school. Yes, you hid it well, and after some initial misunderstandings, the students started believing that you were just good friends, but not me~"
The girl, at the brink of blooming beauty and charisma, didn’t have the usual sweet voice of a girl; it was a bit husky, making it irresistibly alluring when she intentionally drew out her words: "I think your feelings for her are more than that."
She had always been clever, able to conceal and contain.
Being an observant and perceptive person, she noticed after observing the dynamics between them.
She could see the boy’s unique possessiveness toward the girl.
She remembered deeply the time after the girl’s college entrance exams, when Xia Dai organized everyone to go to KTV to celebrate Ning Youguang’s high school graduation.
Xia Dai had booked a large room, inviting many students from the international and experimental classes.
KTV, with a crowd, everyone let loose and had fun.
Shortly after it began, someone started demanding that the Little Fairy sing a song.
The girl didn’t refuse, obediently taking the stage to sing a song for everyone.
A simple song, sung with deep emotion, sounded especially beautiful from her.
At that time.
All the classmates present were deeply shocked.
After the shock, everyone listened quietly and attentively to the Little Fairy’s singing.
He was the only one watching her from start to finish.
With his lips pressed together, he had a subtle smile.
His eyes curved with joy, as if stars twinkled within.
It was a deep affection she had never witnessed before.
This wasn’t something typical friends would harbor.
Previously, the time wasn’t right; the boy didn’t make it clear, so she pretended not to know.
But now was different.