Feigned Pity - CH 13.2

Zhou Zhi and Cai Li Ling were still waiting when the bell signaling the start of class rang. Cai Li Ling looked anxious, itching to know about the gossip, but her fear of the teacher’s fury made her rush back to class.

She turned and asked Zhou Zhi, “Zhi Zhi, do you want to leave?”

“You can go back first. I did say that I’ll wait for her earlier.”

“Okay…” Cai Li Ling left, feeling despondent.

Zhou Zhi didn’t wait long before seeing Tao Yi Xi hurrying over. Tao Yi Xi was expressionless but her brows were furrowed. This caused Zhou Zhi to freeze momentarily as this was the first time she saw Tao Yi Xi like this.

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The ‘usual’ Tao Yi Xi had a flawless appearance and a permanent impeccable faint smile; like an emotionless doll found inside a display cabinet.

This wisp of explosive energy seemed to inject soul into her being. Allowing her to look more lively, captivating others.

When she came back to her senses, she unconsciously thought that Tao Yi Xi was bullied.

“Zk Dk, eke vbyv Fbld Ubld Ubld es psxlvbkdt vs usw?” Hbsw Hbk aszzle wr bla pzllhlp, oydvkdt vs elqlde bla.

“Txx? Lsvbkdt byrrldle.”

“Mbld obu es usw zssj ps vaswczle?”

Mys Zk Dk oyp pvwddle qsa y xsxldv clqsal alpwxkdt bla qyxkzkya pxkzl, “Xb, R oyp pvyavzle fwpv dso.”

“Gb… ps vbyv’p vbl alypsd,” Hbsw Hbk rwv esod bla pzllhlp yde pkzldvzu rlljle yv bla.

“Gnvwyzzu, usw zssjle hlau tsse fwpv dso. Bb, R’x dsv pyukdt vbyv kv’p tsse vbyv usw’al ydtau. Rv’p dsv tsse vs cl ydtau yv yzz! Ebyv R’x vaukdt vs pyu kp vbyv usw zssjle xsal ydkxyvle.”

Mys Zk Dk nbwnjzle obld pbl scplahle Hbsw Hbk bypvkzu vaukdt vs lmrzykd blaplzq.

“R wdelapvyde.”

“Ah…” Zhou Zhi stared at her in a daze. Those eyes that attracted her for the first moment they met shone brightly like they contained the galaxy.

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“Let’s go, we’re going to be late for lessons.”

“Okay,” Zhou Zhi, in a good mood, linked her arm with Tao Yi Xi’s.

Fortunately, it was the form teacher’s class next. He leniently let them off after they gave a brief explanation.

Gu Jing Yuan raised his brow, “turns out that good students can also be late for class.”

He still dared to provoke her? If it wasn’t because of him and his problems, would she be late?

Tao Yi Xi didn’t even glance at him, “When it comes to being late, Ge-ge takes the cake. We, good students, only know how to be late occasionally.”

“…” Why can’t he ever win?!

Lifting a rock but dropping it onto one’s feet1, how infuriating!

At noon, Shen Chen Chen stood guard at the door and Gu Jing Yuan’s face contorted into a scowl.

“Why are you here?”

“I’m here to join Yi Xi for lunch.”

Gu Jing Yuan looked at Tao Yi Xi, “Are you two familiar?”

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Before Tao Yi Xi could reply, Shen Chen Chen approached her, “Of course we’re close! By the way, what brand of body lotion are you using?”

“I’m not using any.”

Just as Shen Chen Chen opened her mouth, Tao Yi Xi hurriedly followed up, “I’ll write down the brand of shower gel for you.”

Gu Jing Yuan left with a blank face and Shen Chen Chen didn’t have time to receive the post-it note.

“Jing Yuan!”

She hastily chased after him and Tao Yi Xi followed behind at a distance. She watched how Shen Chen Chen continued to pester Gu Jing Yuan.

**

And that was how Gu Jing Yuan, who was financially dependent on Tao Yi Xi, passed his whole week. He endured until the monthly exams were upon them.

According to the city’s regulations, before the exams commenced, students would be given two days of self-study break.

For students who treated their studies seriously, this was a good time to do their own revision. Whereas for students who did not like to study, this was simply a vacation.

Naturally, Tao Yi Xi belonged to the former group.

There were raps on the door and the person on the other side was somewhat heavy-handed.

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She quickly penned down the last formula before putting down her book and opening the door.

It was Gu Jing Yuan.

“Hey, prepare to go out and remember to bring the card.”

“Why are we going out?”

“One of my bros is celebrating a happy occasion. I promised to celebrate it with him previously.”

“Can it be postponed to after the exams? Ge-ge, this exam means a lot to me,” Tao Yi Xi bit her lips, looking pitifully at him.

This exam was going to be her first battle after coming here.

How could the willful and unbridled Gu Jing Yuan understand?

Wasn’t it just an exam? There’s plenty more to come. And this was his bro’s first victory. If he missed it, there wouldn’t be another first victory.

“No. I‘ve promised and I always keep my words. If you don’t want to go then just hand over the card.”

Tao Yi Xi shut her eyes in resignation. The card was issued under her name, if anything happened, the first person to be held responsible would be her.

“Please give me a moment.”

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She packed her books and carried her bag, “Let’s go.”

Gu Jing Yuan gave her a weird look, “Nerd.”

How could a young master like him understand her anxiety? This was the only chance she got.

**

They planned to meet at the billiards room that morning. Several boys excitedly jested when they saw a girl following behind Gu Jing Yuan.

“Wow, Brother Yuan, what do we have here?”

“So pretty! Definitely a good match for Brother Yuan!”

“Lil’ sister-in-law?”

Tao Yi Xi’s mouth twitched ever so slightly.

Gu Jing Yuan also became increasingly irritable as his movement became more pronounced. Qi Yue quickly discarded his keypad and clarified, “What nonsense are you all sprouting? This is Brother Yuan’s younger sister.”

“Oh!”

This piece of news made them more enthusiastic as they eagerly bombarded her with questions and greetings.

“Hello, little sis! I’m a friend of Brother Yuan, nice to meet you!”

“Little Sis, can we add each other on WeChat?”

“Little Sis-”

Gu Jing Yuan couldn’t take it anymore, “Enough! Have you guys never seen a girl before?”

Have they seen girls before? Yes. But they never met such a pretty one before!

“Brother Yuan, it’s easier said than done! If I look anything like you, of course, there will be plenty of pretty girls surrounding me.”

Gu Jing Yuan thinned his lips in annoyance, “Stay away from her. She’s a goody-two-shoes, completely different from us.”

It was then that everyone noticed the bulging schoolbag she was carrying; different from the rest of them indeed.

“We can see it now. Little sis’s temperament is definitely different from ours.”

Tao Yi Xi pursed her lips and gave a small smile. Her delicate face bloomed like a flower dazzling them, those gleaming eyes with a small mole under her left eye were very eye-catching.

Some people couldn’t stop themselves, “Erm… If I start studying hard now, do you think I can pass?”

Qi Yue ruthlessly exposed his old pal, “Just give up already. If you could put your attention on studying, you wouldn’t be constantly skipping school to fool around.”

“Aren’t I regretting now? Little sis, if I have good grades, can I chase you?” the guy boldly asked.

She also daringly replied, “as long as the grades are better than mine, I can consider.”

Gu Jing Yuan couldn’t bear it anymore. There was already a face dog beside him, and now came this bunch of idiots.

“Why is it only you guys? Where’s Ah Zhao?”

“Ah Zhao should be reaching soon. His house is quite far away, and it’s also currently rush hour. So it’s not surprising if he’s stuck in the jam.”

“Ah Zhao really carried the team this time. In the final stage of the group competition, if we didn’t have him as our reserved player, we would’ve definitely lost!”

By the time the conversation finally entered the main topic, the person himself had also arrived.

“Sorry I was late everyone,” Ah Zhao panted. One could see that he had rushed over.

Gu Jing Yuan handed him a glass of water, “we’re amongst our own, there’s no need to rush over.”

“But still, it’s not good to be late,” Ah Zhao took a few sips before he finally spotted the girl among the group of guys.

The girl raised her eyes and looked at him. Ah Zhao momentarily froze, even forgetting that he was still in the midst of drinking water.

“Cough cough cough…”

“What’s wrong?”

“Nothing, I just choked,” Ah Zhao patted his chest, face flushed in embarrassment.

“Oh? How come you can even choke on water? Did you get distracted by a beauty, hahaha.”

“Ah Zhao, we all saw it.”

Everyone laughed while teasing him. Ah Zhao frantically waved his arms in denial, “it’s not, I just wasn’t expecting to see a new face.”

But his blushing face was not the slightest bit convincing.

Gu Jing Yuan ‘tsk-ed’ and shot her a curt look.

She was a vixen, bewitching everyone she met.

The ‘vixen’, Tao Yi Xi, nonchalantly withdrew her gaze, long accustomed to this sort of situation.

After all, only Gu Jing Yuan would say that her looks were ‘just so-so’; that incident was deeply engraved into her memory.

She found a corner and sat alone. She then turned on her flashlight, holding it up against her book to do her own revisions.

As there were many people, it was inevitably rowdy. Her study efficiency was extremely low and forcing herself to concentrate was mentally exhausting.

“Wow! Brother Yuan is so handsome!”

“Fuck, Brother Yuan scored another shot?”

When Tao Yi Xi raised her head, she was able to see the group of people currently playing billiards.

Gu Jing Yuan’s figure was graceful as he chalked his brown cue stick while nonchalantly accepting their admiration. He was without a hint of arrogance as if their praises were a matter of fact.

Going for the last ball, he once again bent over the billiards table, causing his shirt to strain against his body outlining his built figure even more. It was safe to assume that he exercised regularly. His posture might’ve looked casual, but it was faultless and accurate.

He held the cue stick and studied the ball intently. The lights above caused the light and shadows to overlap on his face, accentuating his features.

She blinked, but before she could gather her thoughts, the stick in his hand lunged forward.

“Pang!”

And the last ball went into the pocket.

The audience was in an uproar once again, reaching another level of exhilaration.

“Brother Yuan is so cool!”

“You have my respect! Brother Yuan, you’re my idol, so handsome!”

Their enthusiasm did not affect the two of them. Because the moment his cue stick struck the ball, he turned his head and looked at her.

And their eyes met.

Gu Jing Yuan’s mouth twitched and he raised his eyebrows. The silence held words, words that only she understood what he was trying to convey.

‘Humph, I caught you staring at me this time!’