The girl suddenly lifted her head and saw the smile on Rong Xingyu’s face.
She clenched the letter in her hands and nodded firmly.
Rong Xingyu walked with her down to the garden.
He stood beneath a hibiscus tree in full bloom.
A gentle breeze swept past, blowing away the stifling heat of the summer afternoon and carrying the sweet fragrance of the hibiscus flowers.
Rong Xingyu lowered his head slightly while looking at the girl in front of him who is still a little flustered and ready to listen to what she wanted to say.
Her eyes were still red.
She knew Rong Xingyu already understood why she had come to see him today.
Because earlier so many people had been watching her in that embarrassing moment, he had chosen to bring her to the empty garden.
Here, even if he rejected her at the end, she could leave with dignity.
"Why... why can there be such a gentle boy?"
The girl sniffled and in her heart, tears flowed like long, thin noodles.
She clenched her fists, holding tightly the confession letter she had carefully written out beforehand.
A boy this good... was she even worthy of him?
No, no, no, no. She wasn’t worthy.
Rong Xingyu waited patiently for the girl to say what she had come to tell him. Then he heard her speak, her voice slightly choked with emotion.
"Senior Rong, I... I originally came today to confess to you, but now I suddenly changed my mind."
Rong Xingyu: ???
Confess what?
"But I still want to tell you directly how I feel!"
The girl’s voice suddenly rose, her eyes locking on Rong Xingyu.
She spoke with determination.
"Senior Rong, I really like you! You’re so outstanding. No matter where you are, you always shine brightly."
It was as if a heavy stone had finally been lifted off her chest.
The girl visibly relaxed.
As she spoke, a smile appeared on her face and a small dimple showed on one side of her face.
"I hope my feelings won’t cause you any trouble."
Rong Xingyu: ...
Finally, the girl bowed to Rong Xingyu and then turned around to leave.
Before she completely disappeared, she called back, "Good luck, Senior Rong! You deserve the best in the world. I hope you’ll always be happy!"
Rong Xingyu who is watching the girl’s retreating figure: ...
Huh?
What??
Had someone just confessed to him???
It took Rong Xingyu a moment to react and his face slowly turned red.
"How can this be..." Rong Xingyu waved his hand in front of his face, trying to cool his burning cheeks.
Earlier, he had seen the girl hesitating nervously at the classroom door.
So being considerate, he had suggested coming to the garden.
If there were no people around, she might feel less nervous in front of him.
But he never could have imagined... she had actually come to confess to him?!
Rong Xingyu: ...
Fortunately, the girl was very kind and didn’t insist on receiving a response from him.
Otherwise, Rong Xingyu who is never rejected anyone before would have been terrified of hurting her feelings.
He couldn’t think about this any longer! If he kept thinking, his face would get even redder.
Rong Xingyu continued fanning his face with his hands and quickly turned to leave.
Once Rong Xingyu left, a figure emerged from behind the hibiscus tree.
He stared in the direction Rong Xingyu had gone, but Rong Xingyu’s figure was already gone.
Ding Wei who is on a whim had wanted to take a nap here, but he hadn’t expected to witness such a confession scene.
Ding Wei: ...
For some reason, seeing Rong Xingyu standing face-to-face with that girl made Ding Wei feel strangely agitated.
Rong Xingyu was almost a head taller than the girl and the two of them looked very harmonious in height.
The girl’s face was flushed, her eyes shining, as she looked up at the boy and spoke, while the delicate looking boy opposite her listened patiently, smiling.
Ding Wei clicked his tongue in irritation.
He scratched the back of his head, wondering why he felt so uncomfortable.
Was it because he hadn’t slept enough during his nap?
Could it be that even taking a nap now gave him morning grumpiness?
As soon as Rong Xingyu returned to the classroom, the gossip prone Qian Zhijun rushed over to him.
"So? Did you say yes?"
Qian Zhijun nudged Rong Xingyu with his shoulder. For some reason, the smile on his face looked a little sly.
Rong Xingyu blinked his eyes in confusion. "Say yes to what?"
"No way!" Qian Zhijun’s expression suddenly became difficult to read. "Don’t tell me she didn’t come to confess to you when she asked you out!"
Rong Xingyu immediately covered Qian Zhijun’s mouth with his hand.
The redness at his ears hadn’t fully faded yet and now that Qian Zhijun mentioned it again, it seemed to flare up all over again.
"Mm-mmm!" Qian Zhijun struggled as Rong Xingyu covered his mouth.
When Rong Xingyu finally let go, Qian Zhijun took a few deep breaths.
Rong Xingyu felt a little embarrassed.
He touched the tip of his nose and asked, "How... how did you know?"
Seeing Rong Xingyu acting so innocent, Qian Zhijun inwardly felt like screaming.
"I could tell. Not just me, even the people at the classroom door saw it."
Rong Xingyu: ...
So, he was the only one who hadn’t realized it?
"Did you not say yes to her?" Qian Zhijun hooked his arm around Rong Xingyu’s shoulder and lowered his voice to ask.
Rong Xingyu shook his head.
"Wow, the school beauty of the first year, and you didn’t go for her? I think she’s really pretty!"
Qian Zhijun glanced at Rong Xingyu’s still somewhat confused face and suddenly seemed to choke on his words.
Ah, maybe because he looked at himself in the mirror every day and unconsciously raised his own standards of beauty.
It’s understandable.
After all, in last semester’s school beauty contest, the first place had been the boy standing right in front of him playing the role of Ariel.