Chapter Twenty-Nine: Unintentional Affection Like Fallen Petals

The sky was a flawless blue, as if it had been washed clean. Warm orange sunlight filtered through the dense foliage, spilling over the boy and girl on the school path. In that moment, time seemed to stand still, and both of them froze where they stood.

After a long silence, Xia Ruli slowly opened her clear, beautiful eyes, gazing with hope at the figure ahead. Her heart seemed to stop beating. This was the first time in her life she had ever confessed her feelings to a boy, and she herself didn't quite understand why she had fallen for Nangong Yuchen, whom she had only recently met.

"You like me?" Nangong Yuchen was stunned for quite a while before he finally came to his senses. He shook his head gently and replied, "I'm sorry, I already like someone else."

With those words, he quickly quickened his pace and headed for the classroom. In his mind, Xia Ruli was a good person, but she had never stirred his heart—not even a little. Besides, there was already someone he liked.

"Nangong Yuchen!" Behind him, Xia Ruli raised her hand as if she wanted to say something more, but when she saw his figure receding into the distance, she slowly lowered her head.

She had failed.

She never expected that the first time she mustered the courage to confess to a boy, this would be the result. Only after Nangong Yuchen completely disappeared from sight did she drag her heavy steps back toward her own classroom.

...

The bell rang.

"Phew! Finally, school's out!"

The quiet campus suddenly grew lively with the sound of ringing bells. Soon, young students poured out of their classrooms, cheering that the day's lessons were over.

In Class 1 of Grade 10, Nangong Kexin and Chu Huiyan glanced at Xia Ruli, who remained motionless at her desk, and called out, "Lili, school's over!"

Xia Ruli acted as if she hadn’t heard, still lying on her desk with a blank expression.

"Hmm?" Nangong Kexin and Chu Huiyan exchanged confused looks. They had no idea what was wrong with their best friend. Ever since she returned from taking leave during the second period that afternoon, she had been gloomy and listless.

"Lili, are you not feeling well?" Nangong Kexin walked over and gently patted her arm.

"Oh, it's nothing." Pulled from her thoughts, Xia Ruli looked at the sweet and beautiful Nangong Kexin and suddenly said, "Kexin, can you help me invite Nangong Yuchen? I’d like to treat him to dinner after school today."

"Nangong Yuchen?" Nangong Kexin was baffled by this unexpected request. "Why do you want to treat him to dinner?"

Xia Ruli explained what had happened with Tuoba Feng and his brother in the cafeteria earlier that day. She knew Nangong Yuchen would likely refuse her offer, so she hoped to thank him through Nangong Kexin instead. But seeing the surprise on their faces, she quickly added, "Kexin, you should come too!"

At that moment, Chu Huiyan gave her a sly smile. "You actually had Nangong Yuchen pretend to be your boyfriend? It’s already been a month. Heh, is there something you’re hiding from us?"

"Of course not!" Xia Ruli replied, her expression shadowed.

But Chu Huiyan wasn’t about to let her off the hook, peppering her with all sorts of questions.

Meanwhile, Nangong Kexin had been stunned ever since she heard her younger brother had been injured at lunch and scolded by the campus vice principal. She was still lost in thought when Chu Huiyan blurted out, "Lili, don’t tell me you’ve fallen for Nangong Yuchen?"

Xia Ruli didn’t refute her, only lowered her head in silence.

The two girls gaped in shock. They never imagined that their playful, close friend had truly fallen for Nangong Yuchen. Especially Chu Huiyan—she hadn’t expected her offhand remark to hit the mark.

Seeing Xia Ruli so downcast and silent, Nangong Kexin and Chu Huiyan seemed to understand.

The empty classroom was nearly deserted, and the three of them stood there, at a loss. Suddenly, Nangong Kexin took out her repaired phone and dialed a familiar number.

"Ring..."

In the school infirmary, Nangong Yuchen finally breathed a sigh of relief after confirming that Le Han was fine. Fortunately, she hadn’t been seriously injured, or he would have felt extremely guilty.

"Alright, if you’re fine, hurry up and get out. There are still two people inside who need treatment!" the nurse urged, gesturing for them to leave, as Tuoba Feng and his brother were still waiting.

"Uh, thank you, Doctor Zhang. We’ll be going now!" Nangong Yuchen and Le Han left and headed toward the school gates. Halfway there, Nangong Yuchen’s phone rang. Seeing it was his sister, he quickly answered.

"Kexin!"

"Where are you right now?" Nangong Kexin’s voice was stern.

"At school, why?" Nangong Yuchen replied in confusion, not sure why his sister was questioning him like this.

"Wait for me at the school gate," Nangong Kexin ordered, then hung up.

Hearing the call end, Nangong Yuchen could only sigh and put his phone away. He turned to Le Han and said, "Le Han, I’ve got something to do. You should head home first."

Le Han’s expression tightened. "You’re not in trouble again, are you?"

Nangong Yuchen waved it off with a smile. "It’s just Kexin asking me to wait at the gate."

The two hurried to the gate, and Le Han finally relaxed and headed home.

After waiting a while longer, Nangong Yuchen saw his sister approaching, accompanied by Chu Huiyan—whom he’d met once at the Star Emperor Tavern—and Xia Ruli, whom he’d just parted with that afternoon.

When they drew close, Nangong Kexin frowned slightly at the bandage on her brother’s head and said, "Lili wants to treat you to dinner to apologize for the trouble this afternoon."

"No need..." Nangong Yuchen was a bit annoyed. He’d already refused Xia Ruli that afternoon, and now she’d tried to invite him again through Kexin.

At her words, the little color that had just returned to Xia Ruli’s cheeks instantly drained away, leaving her even more disheartened. She was truly upset. She knew Nangong Yuchen didn’t like her. All she wanted was to buy him dinner as an apology, yet he still refused.

Nangong Kexin glared at Nangong Yuchen, her tone threatening. "Are you going or not?"

"Uh... I’ll go," Nangong Yuchen replied helplessly, sensing from her look that he’d be sleeping on the streets if he refused.

So, the four of them flagged down a taxi. The three girls sat in the back while Nangong Yuchen took the front passenger seat. The car sped off toward District B, as there were few dining options in District A—mostly hotels, which were too expensive for students—so they headed to District B, where there were more affordable restaurants.

Dinner was excruciatingly awkward. Nangong Yuchen hardly knew what to say, speaking only occasionally with his sister. Chu Huiyan, usually the most talkative, was unusually silent, and Xia Ruli kept her head down the entire time. If not for the girls helping her with food, she might not have looked up at all.

Afterwards, Xia Ruli took the initiative to pay, then stood before Nangong Yuchen with an apologetic face. "I’m sorry," she said simply. As the words left her lips, tears welled up in her eyes. She pressed a hand to her mouth and dashed out.

"Lili!" Kexin and Chu Huiyan called after her in concern, but she only ran faster.

"Kexin, you and Nangong Yuchen go home first. I’ll go after Lili," Chu Huiyan said, and then hurried after Xia Ruli.