Chapter Six: Spend Less Time with Him

At this moment, the air seemed to take on a subtle strangeness—something felt off, but it was impossible to say exactly what. Wen Yichen returned quietly to his seat, and as soon as he sat down, he saw Gu Nianxi lightly tapping Jiang Muwen, who sat beside her.

“Wenwen, do you know him?” Gu Nianxi spoke softly, as if she feared Yin Lizhe might overhear. To make sure Jiang Muwen understood whom she meant, she gently pointed at Yin Lizhe, who sat just ahead.

Jiang Muwen and him? Of course...

“I don’t know him...” she replied.

Upon hearing this, Gu Nianxi obediently murmured, “So you don’t know each other...”

Indeed, Jiang Muwen didn’t know Yin Lizhe, but the way Yin Lizhe acted made it seem as if they had known each other for a long time.

After sharing a candy with Gu Nianxi, Jiang Muwen suddenly thought of Wen Yichen, who sat behind her. She grabbed a piece of candy and placed it softly on Wen Yichen’s desk.

The sound of the candy landing on the desk reached Wen Yichen’s ears, and his eyes immediately settled on the sweet. He said nothing. Silence fell around them, awkward and heavy, making Jiang Muwen feel slightly uneasy. With care, she nudged the candy toward him. “I brought this all the way from America…”

“I don’t want it.”

Wen Yichen cut her off before she could finish.

Jiang Muwen looked at him, momentarily stunned. Sunlight spilled across his unsmiling face, but there was no warmth in it at all. Was Wen Yichen... angry?

“Only little girls like sweets,” Wen Yichen muttered under his breath.

Just as Jiang Muwen was about to retrieve the candy, Bai Xu reached out and snatched it away. “If you don’t want it, I’ll eat it. Only little girls like sweets? What an excuse...”

“Only little boys throw random tantrums,” Jiang Muwen mimicked Wen Yichen’s tone quietly.

She spoke softly, certain Wen Yichen hadn’t heard her, and as she turned back around, she naturally didn’t see the look on Wen Yichen’s face.

She would probably never know that, in the instant she turned away, Wen Yichen’s expression froze as if she had hit upon something he desperately wanted to keep hidden.

…

Shortly after the start of the term, the Mid-Autumn Festival arrived.

On the eve of the holiday, Jiang Muwen patiently gathered her stack of assignments. Every teacher, adhering to the philosophy that “one worksheet a day during the break isn’t too much,” had generously bestowed her with a dozen sheets, not to mention dozens of pages of exercises.

At the end of the school day, as she finished packing her homework and was about to zip up her bag, Yin Lizhe—who had slept through the entire day in front of her—finally woke up. He turned around, handsome eyes still hazy with sleep. “Wenwen, do you have any plans for the Mid-Autumn Festival break?”

The sudden use of “Wenwen” made Jiang Muwen shiver. She seemed to freeze, her hand pausing mid-zip, staring blankly at Yin Lizhe, momentarily at a loss. “...?”

“If you don’t have plans, let’s go out together!” Yin Lizhe suggested, his eyes lighting up as if he had been waiting for this moment forever.

But while Yin Lizhe had finally managed to ask Jiang Muwen if she’d like to go out, whether she would actually agree was a different matter altogether.

“With all this homework, where would I find the time to go out and play?” Jiang Muwen declined politely.

“Isn’t homework always left until the last day of break to copy?” Yin Lizhe replied reflexively, as if it were something he did often. “The Mid-Autumn Festival is for family reunions. How can you want to spend it with your homework instead?”

Yin Lizhe’s tone was so convincing that Jiang Muwen almost believed him. Fortunately, she kept her wits about her. “There’s no end to learning...”

“Turn back while you can,” Yin Lizhe finished for her before she could.

“...”

“You’re just...” Jiang Muwen was about to call him unreasonable but paused, worried that Yin Lizhe—who had a roguish air about him—might not take it well.

Seeing Jiang Muwen suddenly stop, Yin Lizhe looked at her curiously. “What is it?”

Jiang Muwen parted her lips, about to reply, when a rustling sound came from behind. Wen Yichen stopped at her desk, his well-defined hand tapping twice on the surface. “Are you coming or not?”

With that, Jiang Muwen’s attention shifted entirely to Wen Yichen. She looked up at him, watching as he prepared to leave the classroom, and hurriedly zipped her bag. “I’m coming! Wait for me!”

As expected, when faced with the choice of trading nonsensical banter with Yin Lizhe or going home with Wen Yichen, Jiang Muwen didn’t hesitate for a moment.

She slung on her backpack, pushed in her chair, called out a quick “I’m heading home,” and rushed after Wen Yichen.

Wen Yichen was silent the entire way, leaving Jiang Muwen uncertain whether he simply didn’t want to talk or was genuinely in a bad mood. Thankfully, Bai Xu kept the mood lively with his chatter; otherwise, things would have been truly awkward.

But Bai Xu wasn’t their neighbor, and once they got off the bus, he went his own way.

Jiang Muwen walked beside Wen Yichen, both of them quiet. The weather at the turn from summer to early autumn was still rather warm, with the occasional breeze bringing a hint of heat—yet not as stifling as summer wind. She glanced up at Wen Yichen’s profile: his features were refined, almost expressionless. Walking beside him, the very air around seemed to grow more oppressive.

It was a strange feeling—one she’d never experienced before.

“Are you upset?” Jiang Muwen looked up and asked Wen Yichen cautiously.

Her words fell like a stone into water, sending ripples through the silence. Wen Yichen’s gaze landed on her. He parted his lips, as if wanting to say something. “You…”

Seeing this, Jiang Muwen’s heart leapt in her chest. What had she done?

She expected him to continue, but, like a computer freezing or a tape catching, he abruptly stopped.

Left hanging, Jiang Muwen felt a wave of frustration, as if a delicious morsel had been snatched away just before she could taste it.

“How can you just let it go?!” she protested, unwilling to drop the matter. She stared at Wen Yichen as he quietly pressed the elevator button, saying nothing. It truly made her uncomfortable. “Don’t leave your sentences unfinished! It’s so frustrating!”

At last, Wen Yichen spoke. “I just think... that Yin Lizhe is a bit of a slacker. You should spend less time with him. Otherwise, if your grades fall behind, don’t come crying to me for tutoring.”