Chapter 41: I Didn’t Do Anything Wrong!

“Not exactly doting on her, right?”

Ling Yuan covered his face, his heart full of unspoken grievances.

“Not exactly? So you did dote on her.”

Yixin Xue stirred her food, her face brimming with reluctance.

“I wasn’t the first to kiss you, huh? No wonder you’re so reluctant with me.”

Every time they did that, his expression was like he’d lost a piece of himself, pained beyond measure.

Was she that scary? Her sister had suggested far more terrifying methods than what she was doing.

“No, Class President, listen, Yan Xi was completely making that up. You can’t believe her!”

He clutched his head in frustration. Why was she still hung up on this?

She reached out, flicking his forehead lightly.

“Your excuses? I’ll hear them tonight.”

Then, cradling her face, she gazed aimlessly out the window, murmuring, “What should I do to keep you by my side forever?”

“That’s, uh…”

He faltered. Since that incident, he’d found it hard to like anyone.

Only Yan Xi knew about it. No one else did—it was a secret buried deep in his memory.

“Hmph.”

Yixin Xue smirked.

“Let’s see how long you can stay stubborn.”

If one kiss wasn’t enough, she’d kiss him twice. If twice wasn’t enough, she’d kiss him every day. She was more than happy to—Ling Yuan was someone she’d never tire of kissing.

***

Waking from his noon nap, he saw the math teacher standing at the podium with the weekly quiz.

Before, he’d have kept sleeping, then scribbled random answers for multiple-choice and called it a day.

Not now. He was genuinely scared of random new punishments.

“You’d better take this seriously.”

Yixin Xue passed him the test.

“If you don’t get it, I’ll teach you this weekend.”

The teacher’s methods didn’t suit a student like him with no foundation. She planned to start from scratch with him.

“Sigh, fine, fine.”

He took the paper reluctantly.

A quick glance showed he could maybe do the first three multiple-choice questions and the first fill-in-the-blank. No guarantee of getting them right, though.

At least he hadn’t sunk to the point of knowing nothing.

“Everyone, step it up. As a key class, how are Classes 8 and 9 beating our quiz averages by so much? Sure, Ling Yuan always hands in blank papers, but it shouldn’t make that big a gap.”

Her words reminded him of the Class 8 math rep he saw during the morning break, clutching a test paper.

A regular class beating a key class on weekly quizzes but not monthly exams? That screamed suspicious.

“Class President…”

He whispered.

“Focus on the test. Don’t expect me to give you answers.”

“Emmm…”

He shut up, deciding to bring it up after the test.

How long had it been since he’d taken a test seriously? He couldn’t remember. Back when he started at this school, he was a top student.

He’d fallen. Since his mother’s death, he’d spiraled downward.

If he kept this up, it’d be like he never attended school at all.

He shook his head, self-mocking. No motivation, no clue what he was living for, just drifting aimlessly.

He glanced enviously at Yixin Xue’s back.

[At least you’ve got a goal to be number one.]

After spacing out for twenty minutes, he started the first question. When he finished what he could, an hour remained of the ninety-minute test.

So, for the rest of the time, he’d draw his 2D waifus on scrap paper!

Carefully, he pulled a box from his drawer, filled with his treasured collection of 2D waifus.

Probably the neatest thing he owned at school.

[Hehe, all my pretty waifus, all white-haired~]

But the Class President would flip, right? If she saw him drawing the whole test, tonight’s punishment would be brutal.

He frowned, pondering a solution. Draw a white-haired, red-eyed girl! That’d be easy to explain.

Sure enough, after the test, Yixin Xue noticed he hadn’t focused, just drawn. Furious, she snatched his artwork, scolding,

“I told you to take the test seriously. Why don’t you listen?”

Her anger reminded him of last week’s slap for not submitting homework. He flinched briefly but shot back with a defiant [I didn’t do anything wrong] glare.

“Look closely! I drew you!”

“Huh… really?”

She raised a brow, unfolding the drawing.

It wasn’t bad.

The bell in her hair was there, and though he lacked colored pens, he’d used red to highlight her eyes, proving it was her—white hair, red pupils.

But…

She glanced at the drawing’s chest, then at her own. No matter how she compared, the size didn’t match.

Still, with his earnest expression and the class’s prying eyes, she held back her doubts.

“Fine, don’t do it again.”

She sighed helplessly, turning to leave, but he stopped her.

“Class President, I found something.”

He scanned around, ensuring no one was watching, then whispered, “I think Classes 8 and 9 are cheating.”

Her pupils widened slightly, her expression saying [Are you hearing yourself?]

“Think about it. Weekly quizzes and answers are printed the day before, left on teachers’ desks overnight. Remember the Class 8 math rep this morning?”

“What’re you getting at?”

“When she left, I saw a test paper in her arms. I bet it was the answer key for this afternoon’s quiz.”

With so many papers, detailed answer keys were printed and placed under the quizzes to save teachers time.

His theory was compelling, but lacked proof.

“Got it. I’ll report it to the teacher.”

She nodded thoughtfully.

“But focus on yourself first. Drawing during a test?”

Looking at his 2D waifu collection, her mood soured.

“Such an idiot.”