Chapter 74: A Winter Interlude Story
The winter of 2008 arrived unusually early. Although there was no snow yet, the temperature dropped quickly. By early December, everyone had put on thick cotton coats and jackets. The classroom windows were covered with a thin layer of fog, and students by the windows enjoyed writing words or drawing patterns on them.
When sunny days came, during recess, they would rush to the railings to bask in the winter sun.
Lin You Xi was one of the few who rarely went out to bask in the sun. She was naturally cold-sensitive and often stayed inside the classroom studying or reading. She only stood up to move around when she saw a familiar figure at the classroom door.
Xia Yuan usually looked for Lin You Xi during the break after the third class, mostly to go to the restroom together. If Mei Fang was outside, Xia Yuan would first talk to him and then ask him to bring Lin You Xi out.
Mei Fang’s frequent interactions with Xia Yuan naturally aroused curiosity among some classmates. One day, a girl from the class suddenly asked Mei Fang:
“Mei Fang, are you good friends with the class beauty from Class 8?”
“Class beauty?” Mei Fang was puzzled. “Why are you starting to evaluate this so young?”
“What do you mean? Aren’t we all the same age?”
The girl gave Mei Fang an annoyed look. “So, you and her… Are you in a relationship? I see you two flirting every day.”
“Don’t gossip about these things. Go back to studying.”
“If you don’t answer directly, I’ll take that as a yes!”
The girl seemed pleased. Mei Fang thought she might be asking on behalf of a crush, so he casually deflected her questions.
Junior high school was a dangerous age, free from heavy academic burdens but full of curiosity about relationships between boys and girls, eager to shed their childlike identities.
This age was also a peak period for rebellion. Boys and girls were in a state of emotional turbulence, easily initiating naive advances towards those they liked.
If our Yuanyuan is so cute, being noticed will surely be troublesome…
Mei Fang’s strategy was not to directly address his relationship with Xia Yuan, but to spread vague rumors, making some boys who liked her hesitate.
After all, most junior high boys valued their pride and rarely engaged in such behavior.
Just as Mei Fang was pondering, he was suddenly pulled back to reality by a pat on the shoulder.
“Afang, what are you thinking about?”
Today, Xia Yuan was wearing a snowy white coat with a panda scarf around her neck and a pair of fluffy bunny ear warmers on her head. She greeted him cheerfully.
“You’re always coming up with new tricks.”
“Didn’t your mother already tell you once this morning? And now again?”
Xia Yuan playfully punched Mei Fang. “Were you just talking to the girls in class?”
“Can’t I talk to the girls in class?”
“Of course not for You Xi! But other girls…”
Xia Yuan made a hmm sound, rolled her eyes, and stared at Mei Fang for a while before smiling and patting his shoulder.
“Forget it, I’m not petty. Go get You Xi for me. I have something to talk to her about.”
“Alright, alright…”
Xia Yuan pushed Mei Fang into the classroom. Mei Fang sat down, turned to look at Lin You Xi, who was doing homework and rubbing her hands, clearly feeling cold.
“You Xi, Yuanyuan wants to see you.”
“Mm… Just wait a moment.”
Lin You Xi agreed but kept her eyes on her homework. She slowly got up and looked out the classroom door. Xia Yuan was standing at the door, making her signature claw gesture. Lin You Xi ran over, and Xia Yuan grabbed her hand and drew her close.
They said they had something to discuss, but it was probably just another trip to the restroom.
This level of companionship is strange for girls.
After a while, Lin You Xi returned to her seat. Mei Fang noticed she was wearing Xia Yuan’s bunny ear warmers and gloves.
“…”
Lin You Xi adjusted the ear warmers, noticing Mei Fang watching her, she lightly tapped his cheek with the end of her pen. “Turn around.”
“I can’t even look?”
Mei Fang idly spun his pen on his desk. His deskmate Wang Jiachang watched in amazement.
“Mei Fang, how do you spin your pen like that? Teach me!”
“There’s no trick, just practice. Look, like this, and then like this…”
“Wow, changing hands like that is amazing! You could win the world championship!”
Another boy passing by Mei Fang’s desk was immediately captivated.
“Wow, impressive, Brother Fang! Everyone, come watch Brother Fang spin his pen!”
Mei Fang’s skillful pen-spinning attracted a crowd of boys who cheered and begged him to teach them. Driven by idle vanity, Mei Fang continued to show off.
“Boys are so childish.”
Yu Xinyi, looking at Mei Fang’s cheerful antics, shook her head in disgust and returned to her romance novel.
She was engrossed in a sweet and overly sentimental scene where childhood friends studied together until they ended up in bed. Her ears turned red.
Suddenly, Lin You Xi’s voice broke through her reverie.
“Yuxinyi, what are you reading so happily?”
“When, when course, literary classics!”
Yu Xinyi pleaded, “I’m the literature monitor. It’s normal for me to read more classics, right?”
“You’re reading novels, the covers make it obvious.”
Yu Xinyi protectively clutched her precious books. “Class monitor, you wouldn’t want to punish me, would you? For the sake of our friendship, give me a chance. I won’t bring them next time.”
Seeing Yu Xinyi’s exaggerated reaction, Lin You Xi couldn’t help but smile. “I read novels too. I won’t confiscate yours.”
“Whew, you scared me.”
“Do I look that strict? I’m not Li Shibing’s lackey.”
“In class, besides interacting with Mei Fang, you are very serious and stern. No one dares to approach you.”
“…”
Lin You Xi frowned slightly, clearly surprised.
“By the way, what kind of novels do you like?”
“I read martial arts novels.”
Lin You Xi had used Mei Fang’s MP3 player to listen to many novels, mostly serious martial arts ones.
“Oh, are they like ‘Demi-Gods and Semi-Devils’ or ‘Smiling, Proud Wanderer’? Your taste is quite unique for a girl…”
“What kind of novels do you usually read?”
Rarely did Lin You Xi show such interest in her novels—
It’s time to spread the gospel!
Yu Xinyi opened her desk drawer and took out her beloved treasures—
“These are my favorite novels! They’re all sweet romances. I don’t like tragic stories; I just love candy!”
Yu Xinyi laid out three ancient masterpieces featuring very outdated, cutesy heroines. Their titles were—
‘The Romance of Dolly’
‘That Guy is So Handsome’
‘Wait for Me, Yuzi’
Lin You Xi flipped through the pages, not lingering on any particular page but skimming through them casually.
This was expected.
Obviously, our class monitor isn’t a hopeless romantic. Such ancient sweet romances may be classics, but they seem childish and simplistic now.
Clearly, this level of romance novel doesn’t interest her.
However, for the next few—
“These are the novels I’ve been reading recently…”
Yu Xinyi dramatically arranged three books, ensuring their titles were visible to Lin You Xi.
Their titles were—
‘Two Hearts in Harmony’
‘Chasing Plum Blossoms’
‘The Rabbit Overthrows the Neighbor’
“…”
Unlike her indifferent response to the previous sugary romance novels, Lin You Xi showed more interest in these titles.
She picked up one of the novels and started reading from the table of contents, intrigued.
“Class monitor, if you like this book, I can lend it to you…”
“I… I was just flipping through it. You haven’t finished reading it yet.”
Lin You Xi, regaining her composure, tried to return the book, but Yu Xinyi strongly objected:
“I’ve finished it! I finished it long ago. You should be the one to catch up! Oh, no, you should be the one to understand first!”
(End of Chapter)
