Chapter 42: A Coincidence in a Special Period

“We’re holding an event.”

Yixin Xue frowned at the notice in her hand.

In half a month, the school’s 95th anniversary was coming up.

The Discipline Committee would need volunteers, but no one ever signed up eagerly, so she’d have to spend time negotiating.

As she pondered how to handle it, a figure caught her eye.

“Here about Ling Yuan?”

She didn’t look up, already knowing who it was.

During evening study, the student council office was empty except for Yixin Xue and Yan Xi.

“Yes.”

Yan Xi leaned on the desk, her tone aggressive.

“I can’t hold back my curiosity. How could someone as outstanding as you fall for Ling Yuan?”

Her expression stayed flat. Yingnan Xue had asked the same question. Seeing Yan Xi’s earnest gaze, Yixin Xue just smiled faintly.

“A coincidence during a special period, I suppose?”

“Coincidence?”

“Yup, a coincidence.”

***

“This month’s exam results were surprising. Yixin Xue didn’t take first place.”

[How… how’s that possible…?]

Not just Yixin Xue—everyone present was shocked. Since joining Hengjiang High, she’d always been first, never second in any subject.

Yet someone surpassed her, and per the school’s top 100 list, the first-place student beat her by over seventy points.

Math, out of 150, had a twenty-point gap. The remaining fifty came from physics, chemistry, and biology.

That cold night, Yixin Xue sat alone on a park bench, hugging her knees.

Losing a prize within her grasp felt like a knife twisting in her heart. She couldn’t understand—she’d never slacked off, so why such a huge gap?

Her flame-red eyes closed slowly as the mocking voices flooded in like a tide.

“Yixin Xue didn’t get first this time?”

“No way, really? Someone beat her by that much?”

“So she’s not an unbeatable study god after all.”

Her nose stung.

The exam had coincided with her period, and the pain affected her performance. But she’d faced that before without such a gap…

“Hey? Class President, why’re you here alone?”

Her pupils trembled. She quickly wiped her eyes and looked up.

“Ling Yuan? What’re you doing here?”

“Me?”

He scratched his head.

“Heading home… Then I saw you crying alone…”

“I’m not crying!”

She denied it instantly.

[Not crying…?]

Her eyes were bloodshot, and she’d just wiped her face. Such a tsundere.

He shrugged helplessly.

“It’s 10:30. Not going home?”

“I…”

She bit her lip.

“Bad mood. Just clearing my head. What about you? Why so late?”

“Was hanging with Lan Feng, talking nonsense. Walked to his place, then headed back.”

He grinned.

“I’m a guy, what’s there to fear? But you, a girl, out this late? That’s not safe.”

“None of your business.”

She looked away, her mood at rock bottom, unwilling to talk much.

“Hiss—”
He scratched his head, guessing the reason.

“Wait here, Class President.”

“Hm?”

When she looked up, he was already gone, off to who-knows-where.

She lowered her head, her soft white hair slipping over her chest.

[If Sister were here, she’d hug me, comfort me… In this school, I’m all alone, bearing all this pain…]

“Here, Class President, for you.”

His voice startled her. A can of cola appeared before her, leaving her stunned.

“No matter how bad your mood, a happy drink fixes a lot. If one doesn’t work, try two.”

His innocent smile burned into her mind.

“Oh… okay…”

She took the cola hesitantly. It was ice-cold, freezing her hand.

“Ice-cold for double the happiness!”

He cracked his own can open, taking a big gulp.

“Ah~ Refreshing! Cold weather calls for icy drinks—thrilling!”

“I…”

She wanted to say she’d just finished her period and shouldn’t drink cold things, but her mood was so low, she took a sip.

The chilly cola’s refreshing zing cleared her mind.

“Why’s it called a happy drink…?”

“Huh? You don’t know?”

He grinned.

“It’s a meme! The go-to drink for shut-ins! Aka, fat otaku happy water!”

He took another swig.

“Really…”

She nodded, half-understanding. Teachers had confiscated his manga before. Not fat, but he was the class’s certified otaku.

“So, you’re upset about the exam?”

“Kinda…”

“Look, don’t take grades so seriously. You’re putting too much pressure on yourself. One bad test can break you.”

She stayed silent. Always aiming for first, how could she not care? Plus, he was the class’s worst student, a headache for teachers. How’d he even get into a key class?

“And you care too little.”

“Haha, I’ve got my reasons. Different from you guys.”

He waved it off casually.

“Don’t get you top students. Just don’t stress yourself out. Go home—it’s not safe this late.”

With that, he hurried off to play games with Lan Feng.

His sudden departure puzzled her. Was he not interested in girls? Any normal guy would’ve offered to walk her home, right?

Is this what otakus are like…?

She stared at the cola, recalling his oddly serious expression, and shook her head with a smile.

[Interesting.]

Personal reasons? Different from us?

Hengjiang High was a prestigious school. How could someone uninterested in studying get in? Admission required a top 1,500 city ranking in the entrance exam.

“So that’s when you started noticing him?”

“Yup.”

Yixin Xue nodded slightly.

“Then he got cuter and cuter, always making me want to devour him~”

“Heh.”

Yan Xi sneered, crossing her arms.

“He loves someone else, not you.”

“Oh? You?”

“Not me either. Another girl.”

Her gaze softened.

“But she’s gone. That’s his lifelong pain.”