Chapter 25: I Don’t Like Her

Jiang Muwen had not intended to look up, but Yin Lizhe kept tapping her arm, leaving her no choice but to lift her gaze.

Before her was a boy pulling a grotesque face, baring his teeth and making silly expressions. It was almost impossible to imagine—a boy of sixteen or seventeen, the school’s infamous tough guy in everyone else’s eyes—resorting to such childish antics in front of her.

As she looked at Yin Lizhe, the darkness clouding her heart slowly dissipated. The next moment, she couldn’t help but laugh. “You look hideous.”

“If it makes you happy, I can make an even uglier face,” Yin Lizhe replied, immediately contorting his features into an even more exaggerated expression. Despite that clean, handsome face of his, he insisted on making himself look as if he were competing in some global contest for the world’s ugliest face.

Yet, no matter how truly ugly the face he pulled, he managed to make Jiang Muwen laugh in earnest.

Her mood had lightened, but the same could not be said for Wen Yichen, who sat behind her.

The next second, Wen Yichen suddenly stood up, radiating a barely contained irritation, and strode purposefully toward the classroom door. His abrupt movement drew the attention of several classmates nearby. The latest rumor circulating in their class was already common knowledge; most had also witnessed Yin Lizhe trying to cheer up Jiang Muwen.

As soon as Wen Yichen left the classroom, it was as if that persistent rumor had finally been confirmed. After a brief hush, the air filled with whispered speculation.

A few minutes later, Wen Yichen returned, arms full of math assignments. He paused quietly at the podium, placed the stack of homework on the desk, and began handing out the assignments with patient efficiency.

When all the homework had been distributed, he picked up the notebooks for Jiang Muwen and Bai Xu as usual, walking slowly toward the back of the classroom. His eyes flicked to Jiang Muwen, only to catch her laughing and chatting with Yin Lizhe. His gaze darkened, and a vague, inexplicable irritation surged within him.

Perhaps he truly could not stand to see Jiang Muwen mixing with a troublemaker. When he reached her desk, Wen Yichen tossed her notebook onto the table with obvious displeasure.

The sharp slap of the notebook landing interrupted Jiang Muwen’s conversation with Yin Lizhe, and she instinctively looked over at Wen Yichen.

He sat down at his desk with a stony face, passing Bai Xu her assignment without a word.

Suddenly, a voice from somewhere nearby forced Wen Yichen to tear his gaze away from Bai Xu.

“Wen Yichen, is that rumor actually true?”

The question came from his other desk mate. The voice was not loud, but everyone in the immediate vicinity heard it.

As soon as the words were spoken, Wen Yichen felt his heart skip a beat, as if something inside him had faltered. The question struck right at his core, leaving him momentarily at a loss for how to respond.

For someone like Wen Yichen, if he did not know how to answer—he simply chose not to. But silence was hardly a solution. After a moment’s hesitation, his classmate leaned in closer. “Wen Yichen, do you really like Jiang Muwen? If you do but never say a word, aren’t you afraid someone else will steal her away?”

The question was whispered, as if it were a state secret.

Wen Yichen heard the question, and so did Jiang Muwen. Yet Jiang Muwen did not turn around; her body tensed at the words. The answer to this question mattered more to her than anything.

Feigning nonchalance, she leaned back in her chair, holding her breath as she waited for Wen Yichen’s reply.

“I don’t like her.”

Five brief words came from behind her. They seemed to clarify everything, spoken lightly and without a trace of pain, yet they stabbed into Jiang Muwen’s chest like a cold blade.

Her eyes dulled instantly. She had expected Wen Yichen to say just this, had braced herself for it, but hearing the words from his lips still left her breathless.

A bitter, indescribable emotion welled up inside her. Though they had never been together, in that moment, those five words felt exactly like heartbreak.

In Wen Yichen’s heart, it seemed, he could never fall for Jiang Muwen—and the very idea of liking her was almost absurd.

After speaking, his gaze instinctively fell on Jiang Muwen’s back. Seeing her so close, he panicked a little, uncertain why he felt this way. He began to worry—what if Jiang Muwen had heard his answer? And if she had, how would she react?

Before his classmate could say anything further, Wen Yichen spoke up, “She’s just a good friend. Don’t read too much into things. As for who she likes—that’s none of my business.”

It was just a brief exchange, but Jiang Muwen could not let it go, not even until the end of the day.

On the way home after school, Wen Yichen walked quietly beside her. Neither spoke, and the silence between them was thick with awkwardness.

On the bus, Jiang Muwen deliberately broke with their usual routine, avoiding the seat she used to share with Wen Yichen. After he sat down, she purposefully chose the seat behind him.

Her choice unsettled Wen Yichen. He glanced back at her, then picked up his bag and moved to sit beside her.

“What’s wrong?” Wen Yichen asked tentatively.

When Jiang Muwen didn’t answer, he glanced at her again, careful and uncertain.

Her expression was complicated, leaving Wen Yichen at a loss to guess what she might be thinking. How could he know that he was the boy she cherished? How could he know that his words had left her feeling suffocated for so long?

Yet these emotions were ones she could not confess face to face; she had no idea how to respond to the boy beside her.

The more she thought about it, the more aggrieved she felt, and soon that sense of grievance was written plainly across her face.

Wen Yichen was far from oblivious. Seeing her like this, he grew flustered; he was never good at comforting girls, and her distress only made him more at a loss.

“Did someone say something bad about you? Is that why you’re…” Wen Yichen ventured, trying to guess.

After he spoke, Jiang Muwen turned her face to him. She looked at Wen Yichen, wanting to deny it but unable to say the words. Helpless, she could only nod weakly.

As soon as the sound left her lips, she lowered her gaze, unwilling for Wen Yichen to see the sadness in her eyes.

Soon, a large, well-defined hand appeared before her. In the next moment, the hand slowly opened, revealing her favorite chocolate resting in his palm.