Chapter 61: Post-Exam Dejection and a Costly Promise

The next day, as usual, I found myself dragging Huang Beifeng, still slumped in a state of dejection, into the exam hall.

Yesterday afternoon, three more exams had been held, leaving only the final three subjects.

After the exams, we would return to class, and once Meng Yue finished her usual, meaningless pronouncements, we would finally be dismissed for the day.

Though we would have to return to school the morning after tomorrow, and the holiday period was rather short, it was still better than nothing at all.

As the final English exam drew to a close, this time, Huang Beifeng did not maintain her dejected expression.

Instead, after setting down her pen, a different emotion finally flickered across her face.

‘Finally, she’s back to normal.’

As the exam concluded, before I could even seek her out, Huang Beifeng came directly to me.

Standing before me, perhaps due to her recent emergence from that slumped state, her tone was undeniably stiff. “Uh, Luo Ye,” she began, “the exams are finally over. How about we go to that place we went to last time after school? We can celebrate.”

Just as expected, she returned to her usual self the moment the exams finished.

She was like a completely different person from her dejected self just moments ago.

“Alright, alright, I promise. We’ll go together.”

‘If she was going to eat dessert, I needed to figure out how someone like me, who wasn’t fond of sweets, would manage lunch.’

‘I supposed there would be plenty of restaurants nearby; I would find out when we got there.’

Pulling Huang Beifeng from the exam hall, we were the last two to enter the classroom.

This was likely because we had been chatting in the hall for a while, and the exam room was quite a distance from our classroom.

Once again, we successfully captured the attention of the entire class.

However, this time, Meng Yue’s expression had subtly shifted.

Before she could speak, I quickly pulled Huang Beifeng back to our seats.

Otherwise, if Meng Yue truly opened her mouth, she might just make us stand outside as punishment.

After merely rolling her eyes at Huang Beifeng and me as we snuck in, Meng Yue resumed her usual, uninspired lecture.

It was nothing more than the usual admonitions: remember to complete holiday homework, stay safe, and so on.

Yet, as she spoke, I couldn’t shake the feeling that Meng Yue’s gaze kept lingering on our side of the room.

A shiver ran down my spine; a faint, ominous premonition settled in.

And just like that, retribution arrived. As her words faded, Meng Yue’s gaze settled firmly upon us.

“Now, the rest of you may pack your things and prepare for dismissal,” she announced. “As for the two latecomers, you will stay behind to clean the classroom.”

“Huh?!”

This… was unexpected.

Because our classroom had previously served as an exam venue, its layout had been completely rearranged.

Restoring it to its original state now would require considerable effort.

Hearing Meng Yue’s pronouncement, many students cast sympathetic glances our way.

Fang Kehan, who had already packed her belongings and could have simply slipped out the back door, deliberately walked past my desk, offered a mischievous, schadenfreude-filled look, before turning and departing.

‘No matter what she did, I wouldn’t let it bother me. Empty words were useless; it was better to directly retaliate when the time came.’

Just as everyone else had departed, Can Ye and Tang Xiao Rou, for some inexplicable reason, suddenly turned back.

“Uh, Luo Ye, let me help,” Tang Xiao Rou offered, extending her hand to move a desk. I stepped forward and gently pressed down on her hand.

“Oh, no need,” I replied. “Huang Beifeng and I can manage it ourselves. But thank you for your kind offer. You two should head home.”

“Alright then.”

Seeing my firm stance and sensing that I genuinely didn’t want to trouble them, Tang Xiao Rou reluctantly abandoned her plan. Just as she was about to leave with Can Ye, something suddenly occurred to her, and she turned back to face me.

“Oh, by the way,” she asked, “Luo Ye, are you free tomorrow? If so, would you like to go out and walk around together?”

Her face flushed, Tang Xiao Rou nervously clutched the hem of her skirt. Her gaze, filled with a hint of bashful apprehension, sought my answer.

It was clear from her eyes that she desperately hoped for an affirmative reply, and to refuse her now seemed rather unkind.

“Let me see, I should be free,” I mused aloud. ‘Whether I was or not, it was best to agree first; I could always assess the situation later.’

Upon hearing my affirmative response, Tang Xiao Rou excitedly nodded, then quickly covered her blushing cheeks and dashed out of the classroom.

‘That girl, her reaction was a bit over the top, wasn’t it?’

“Tsk, tsk, tsk,” Huang Beifeng drawled, “I didn’t realize she was trying to ask you on a date.”

“It’s fine,” I replied. “I’ll just bring you and Can Ye along. With both of you, there’s nothing to worry about.”

“Alright, alright,” Huang Beifeng sighed. “But we had people willing to help us. Now they’re gone, and it’s just the two of us left. Who knows how long this will take?”

‘Well, uh, I hadn’t thought that far ahead. I simply didn’t want to trouble them. Now, I regretted it a little; the workload for two was quite significant.’

“Ehehe,” I chuckled awkwardly. ‘At this point, pretending to be oblivious was probably the best course of action.’

“Fine, fine,” Huang Beifeng sighed, rolling her eyes at me. “Let’s just slowly clean it ourselves. I can’t believe you.” With that, she started tidying up on her own.

“Alright, alright, my bad,” I conceded. “I’ll treat you later.”

“Good, you’re treating,” she declared. “I’m going to eat until you’re bankrupt today.”

‘Hehe. I knew it. All that talk was just to get me to say that one sentence.’

Though the workload was indeed substantial, it wasn’t particularly physically demanding; it was just time-consuming.

Approximately half an hour later, despite the considerable amount of work, we finally finished tidying up and restored everything to its original state.

‘Phew, it’s finally done.’

‘But now, my poor little wallet, I’m about to put you through hardship.’

‘This time, I might truly go bankrupt.’

‘Waaah, I just started saving not long ago!’

‘Is it all going to be spent on Huang Beifeng today?’

‘Waaah, I feel like I’m going to be squeezed dry.’

Though it pained me a little, a gentleman’s word is his bond. Since I had already agreed, my little wallet would simply have to make the sacrifice.

After locking the classroom door, I took Huang Beifeng’s hand and walked straight out of the school gates. ‘It seemed that holding her hand like this, besides now, only happened when we were children,’ I mused. ‘After all, from an outsider’s perspective, it just looked like two girls holding hands, so it was perfectly normal.’

‘If I were in my male disguise, holding hands like this would definitely raise suspicions of puppy love. Then, I would inevitably be dragged in for another lecture.’

****

As they exited the school gates, Mu Rong Luo Ye and Huang Beifeng did not notice that from a distant tall building, a dark figure was intently watching them. Suddenly, the figure vanished, as if they had never existed.