The next day, I woke up very early. When I opened the curtains, I saw the red sun rising slowly from the eastern sky. The sleeping city was illuminated by the morning light. With the windows open, I could smell the scent of sunshine in the fresh air.
"Ling Jiantong! Come on!" I clenched my fists and shouted to the sky, and I immediately felt refreshed. To hell with weakness and escape! The energetic Ling Jiantong is back!
When I walked into the campus with my schoolbag, I was not surprised to find that many people were staring at me and whispering all the time, but I ignored them and walked straight to my class.
When I pushed open the door of the classroom, someone came running out in a hurry. I couldn't dodge in time and almost bumped into her.
"Ouch!" the man screamed, "Ling Jiantong, do you have eyes? How can you be so careless!"
I wanted to apologize, but as soon as I saw who that person was, the thought of apologizing immediately flew to outer space.
"Tong Weiwei!" I frowned. "When you talk to me, can you please stop being so aggressive?"
"Hmph, I like it. What's it to you?" Tong Weiwei glared at me. I don't know if it was my illusion, but I felt that she seemed particularly angry and frustrated today, and even hated me more than before. "Now that you have someone backing you up, you don't know your place. Hmph, let's just wait and see!" After saying that, she shook her head and walked away.
Huh? What is she talking about?
"It's really inexplicable..." I shrugged and walked into the classroom.
Most of the students were already sitting in the classroom, and when they saw me come in, many of them immediately looked straight at me. But unlike the looks I got on campus, the looks from my classmates were all kind and friendly, and even had a hint of encouragement and support in them, which made me feel flattered.
"Xiaotong, you're here!" As soon as I sat down, my deskmate Ye Kexin came over and asked, "Are you feeling better?"
I was stunned for a moment, then I remembered that I had applied for sick leave yesterday, and scratched my head embarrassedly: "Haha, I'm much better now."
"That's good." Ye Kexin seemed relieved and seemed to be really worried about me. But the next second, her expression immediately changed to gossip, her eyes sparkled, and her voice was deliberately lowered.
"Xiaotong, was it Teacher Ling who deleted the WeChat group?" Ye Kexin asked mysteriously.
"Ah?" I was stunned. "What? Delete the WeChat group?"
"You don't know?" Ye Kexin seemed even more surprised than I was. She propped her chin with her hand, rolled her eyes, and murmured, "Well, if it's not your brother, then it should be Han Yebin... Well, everyone's guess is right."
"Wait..." I interrupted Ye Kexin's mumbling, confused. "What are you talking about? I don't understand a word you said. Why are you suddenly talking about Han Yebin again?"
Ye Kexin just laughed at me and made faces.
“Xiaotong, you didn’t join the WeChat group yesterday, so you really missed a great show!” Ye Kexin’s last words left a lingering aftertaste.
I looked at her with blank and confused eyes, completely bewildered.
Ye Kexin no longer kept the secret and began to tell the story.
"Yesterday after school, the school's WeChat group started discussing your request for help in the online game video solution. Especially those people from the 'campus beauty party', they kept scolding you. They would collectively attack anyone who tried to help you. Just when they were rampant, someone stood up!" Ye Kexin smiled at me mysteriously, "Guess who that person was?"
I answered awkwardly: "Could it be Han Yebin?"
"Bingo!" Ye Kexin seemed particularly excited, and said with a beaming face, "Han Yebin suddenly appeared and said, 'How boring! How dare you post a photoshopped picture?' This is equivalent to saying that the 'campus belle gang' is using a fake picture to distort the truth and deliberately throw black water on you. Of course, those people were unwilling to accept it and immediately refuted. I didn't expect Han Yebin to be so venomous. He choked them half to death with just a few words. Later, I, Xu Wenfeng, and many classmates in our class jumped out to fight with those gossiping 'gossipers' and finally choked them out. Hahaha..."
I opened my mouth and it took me a long time to utter a word.
"What about deleting the WeChat group?"
"We're also confused about this..." Ye Kexin pouted and shrugged, "After the 'campus beauty party' was scolded away last night, the WeChat discussion group was deleted not long after. Of course, all the records in it were gone. Someone looked through the permission list and found that both Mr. Ling and Han Yebin deleted the group's permissions, so everyone speculated that it was one of these two people who did it, because then no one would slander you in the group, and the storm would be temporarily calmed down."
"Was it done by my brother or Han Yebin?" I frowned and thought for a while, "It shouldn't be my brother. He didn't mention it at all when he called me this morning. I think he probably doesn't even know that such a thing happened in the WeChat group." If he knew, he would definitely call me as soon as possible to inquire about the situation, otherwise it would be totally unlike his style.
Ye Kexin seemed to have finally solved a difficult problem and happily announced: "That was done by Han Yebin!"
"But that's weird..." I was getting more and more confused. "Are you sure he's helping me? Fighting with the 'campus beauty party', isn't that obviously showing no respect for An Mu Jin? Doesn't he want to pursue An Mu Jin anymore?"
"Who knows..." Ye Kexin shook her head and spread her hands. "Didn't Han Yebin give Tong Weiwei face before?"
I thought that what Ye Kexin told me was surprising enough, but I didn’t expect that after morning self-study, something even more surprising happened.
"Ling Jiantong, someone is looking for you!" A classmate shouted to me at the classroom door.
"Oh, I see." I stood up immediately, but when I walked out of the classroom and saw the person looking for me, I was completely stunned.
"An Mujin?"
The girl with smooth black hair and beautiful face attracted countless eyes just by standing there quietly. She was the school beauty An Mujin. When she saw me, she immediately showed her signature gentle smile.
"Ling Jiantong, I heard that you took a sick leave yesterday? Are you feeling better now?" A gentle voice, a concerned tone.
I was stunned for a long while, and when I came to my senses, I was flattered: "Well, much better..." But I didn't feel so good about myself that I really thought An Mujin came to ask about my well-being. There was only one reason why she showed up at this time -
"Well, about the class video..." I gritted my teeth and planned to tell An Mujin that I hadn't written a video plan yet, but she interrupted me first.
"Ah, I've seen the video proposal you submitted. It's a very good idea. I just came to tell you that you can start the formal filming, but you have to hurry up and make sure it's completed before the presentation day."
I opened my mouth wide, feeling like I was dreaming: "What? You said I submitted a video proposal?"
"Yes." An Mujin looked at me strangely, "It's the one you asked Han Yebin to give me after school yesterday."
Han Yebin?
Why is it him again?
I don’t remember what An Mujin said afterwards. When I came to my senses, I was already back in the classroom sitting in my seat. Two sentences popped up in my mind: the video was submitted… submitted… the plan was approved… approved…
Doesn't this mean that the problem that bothered me the most has been solved? Oh my god, God finally opened his eyes and let me get lucky for once! Haha, I just wished yesterday that all my troubles would disappear, but I didn't expect that today...
Wait, make a wish? Could it be that the wishing stone really came into being?
I blinked my eyes, and a light bulb went off in my head. The sudden guess made me stunned for a moment, and then I slowly frowned...
The day passed quickly, and when the school bell rang, I ran faster than anyone else, heading for the entrance of Class F.
Because I was standing in the most conspicuous place, when Han Yebin came out, he saw me at a glance. He was stunned for a moment and even blinked his eyes. After confirming that he was not mistaken, he immediately showed an expression that could be called "unexpected".
"Ling Jiantong?" Han Yebin still seemed a little bit unbelievable, but with a faint smile on his face that he couldn't hide, "Why are you here? Are you looking for me?"
I just looked at him with a smile without saying a word.
"What's wrong?" He was probably frightened by my stare, so he subconsciously touched his face and asked, "Is there something on my face?"
I shook my head, continued to smile, and stared at him without blinking.
"What's wrong?" Perhaps my gaze was too direct, Han Yebin was unusually at a loss, frowning and not looking at me, with a suspicious blush on his face, "Hey, why don't you say something?"
"I heard from An Mujin." I finally spoke, "She said that you submitted a video proposal for me?"
"Oh, about that matter." Han Yebin was obviously relieved and confident, and he spoke in his usual smug and conceited tone, "It's just a small favor, haha, don't thank me too much!"
It really shines with a little sunshine! I silently complained, but my smile was still warm and bright.
"You helped me a lot, so of course I have to thank you." I smiled with my eyes curved, and my voice was so sweet that it gave me goose bumps. "Speaking of which, I made a wish in the game yesterday, saying that I wanted to have dinner with you today. How about it, do you have time to come and give me a chance?"
Han Yebin chuckled: "What? You clearly made a wish yesterday that all your troubles would disappear when the sun rose the next day..." Before he finished speaking, he immediately realized something and quickly covered his mouth, but it was too late.
"You really do walk alone at night."
I stopped smiling and stared at him expressionlessly: "Okay, you really hid it well and fooled me!"
The matter of making a wish in the game was something only Du Yexing and I knew about. Now I also understood why Du Yexing wanted to hunt me down and said that I deserved it - I messed up his relationship with An Mujin in real life, so of course he hated me to death!
Han Yebin opened his mouth, as if he wanted to defend himself, but the evidence was irrefutable. He thought for a long time but couldn't come up with a reasonable reason to explain. He could only resign himself to his fate and shut up, looking at me with a guilty conscience. I laughed secretly in my heart, and was about to scold him seriously when the phone in my pocket suddenly vibrated.
"Who is it?" I took out my cell phone with a bit of disappointment, but when I saw the caller ID, my eyes lit up instantly.
"Brother!" I answered the phone happily. After listening to his words, my face became even happier. "Can you come back early? Are you home already?"
After I hung up the phone happily, I saw Han Yebin trying to sneak away, so I quickly chased him and grabbed him by the collar.
"God of the Night Walker!" I smiled at him who looked depressed, "Where are you in such a hurry to go?"
"After school, of course I have to go home." Han Yebin calmed down and smiled back at me - although it was an extremely stiff smile.
I raised my eyebrows, and without loosening my grip on his collar, I dragged him out of the teaching building: "Let's go."
"Where are you going?" With Han Yebin's intelligence, he certainly wouldn't be naive enough to think that I was going to take him home.
I uttered two words coolly: "My home."
He was stunned for a moment, then asked slowly: "I just heard you say that your brother has returned from his business trip?"
"uh-huh."
"And he's already home, waiting for you?"
"yes."
"So you still want me to go to your house?"
"That's right!" I answered very happily.
Han Yebin began to struggle hard, as if he was trying his best to get out of my hands: "I don't want to be in the same room with your brother who has a sister complex! This is clearly a Hongmen Banquet! I won't go!"
It was still the peak time for school to be over, and Han Yebin's shouting immediately attracted a lot of curious eyes. My scalp was numb, and I quickly dragged Han Yebin to a corner where no one was, staring at him with a frown.
"If you don't come with me, I'll stand at the school gate and shout, 'Han Yebin is walking alone at night!'" I paused deliberately, revealing a sly smile of a villain boss, and winked at him proudly, "Hehe, there are quite a few people in our school who play "Fantasy Jianghu". If they knew that the terrifying killer who killed them in the game and threatened them with the name of "Lun Bai" was actually our school's popular handsome guy Han..." I stopped talking at the right time, leaving a meaningful blank.
Han Yebin looked at me blankly for a few seconds, then suddenly slapped his forehead and looked as if he was in deep sorrow.
"I am so sad." His tone was indeed very sad.
"Why are you sad?" I fully developed the great spirit of "building your own happiness on the suffering of others" and smiled like a sunflower.
Han Yebin glanced at me sadly: " I feel sad for my ignorance that I always thought you were a simple girl."
"Stop talking nonsense!" I grabbed his arm in a pretentious manner, "One word, are you going to leave or not? If you don't come with me, I'll go to the school gate and shout with a loud speaker!"
"I'll go with you."
So, Han Yebin was "kidnapped" by me and taken home.
As soon as I opened the door, I was greeted by the rich aroma of food. My brother told me on the phone that he would prepare a big meal, and I rushed to the dining room and immediately smiled.
"Hahaha, these are all my favorite foods, brother, thank you for your hard work!"
My brother had just put the last dish on the table, and seeing that I looked like a hungry tiger pouncing on its food, he couldn’t help but laugh: “Why are you in such a hurry? No one is going to snatch it from you…” As soon as he said the word “snatch”, before he could even finish uttering it, I felt my brother’s body tense up, and his voice suddenly rose eight octaves.
"Han Yebin!"
I raised my head at the right time and witnessed my brother's dumbfounded look.
" How did you come?"
In response to my brother's question, Han Yebin, who walked into the living room a step later than me, looked depressed and looked at me sadly.
"Oh, I asked him to come." I answered casually while setting the table. But just as I put the last pair of chopsticks on the table, my brother dragged me to the kitchen.
"Xiaotong, what is going on?" The brother lowered his voice, his eyes behind the glasses flashing with sharp light.
My brother's gaze was so terrifying that I almost didn't dare to look him in the eye, but my voice was calm: "Because Han Yebin helped me a lot, I invited him to our house for dinner."
"Really?" My brother frowned and said calmly, "But I think he seems very unhappy. It seems like he was deceived by you."
Ginger is still experienced! My brother saw through it at the first sight!
I coughed and put on an innocent smile: "Really? Maybe he was a little embarrassed to come to our house suddenly?"
My brother raised his eyebrows and continued to stare at me with his sharp eyes.
"I, I really want to thank him." I said guiltily, "and if he goes back, he will definitely eat instant noodles again. We can't finish all the dishes anyway, so one more person won't hurt."
My brother didn't say anything, just continued to stare at me.
I swallowed and finally raised my hands in surrender.
"Okay, okay, I was wrong." I turned around and looked at Han Yebin who was still standing outside. I suddenly felt really sorry for him. "Then I'll tell him that I'll treat him to a meal alone next time to express my gratitude."
"Wait." Just as I was about to leave the kitchen, my brother stopped me with his big hand, "Are you still planning to invite him to dinner alone?"
" Because he really helped me a lot!" I said seriously.
My brother's face didn't look very good. He closed his eyes slightly, as if struggling, and finally squeezed out a word from his mouth.
"Forget it, since you're here, let's eat together."
ah?
I was stunned - when did my brother become so reasonable? This is really unlike him! But... it's a good thing that he agreed!
I ran out to entertain Han Yebin with peace of mind, and vaguely seemed to hear my brother mutter something again.
"A visible lightbulb is better than an invisible threat..."
Anyway, in the end, everyone was able to sit around the table happily.
Although my brother was still a little bothered by Han Yebin interrupting our "brother-sister reunion", he soon calmed down; Han Yebin also fully demonstrated the spirit of "make the best of it" and quickly integrated into the dinner. But as we ate, I discovered that Han Yebin had a big shortcoming - he was very picky about food!
"Hey, you don't even eat carrots?" I twitched my lips when I saw him pull another vegetable to the edge of the bowl. "Is there any other vegetable you can eat?"
"I'll eat scrambled eggs with tomatoes." Han Yebin thought for a moment and added, "And it's best if they're not burnt."
I stared at him in silence for a long while. When my brother went to the kitchen to get some soup, I lowered my voice and said to Han Yebin, "It's not good to be picky about food. If you keep being so picky, I'll tell my brother that you walk alone at night!"
In the game, Du Yexing and Feng Xiaoshuihan are sworn enemies. I thought Han Yebin should be worried that his brother would know his identity, but I didn't expect him to shrug his shoulders and look relaxed.
"You don't need to tell him, he already knew it."
"What?" I was dumbfounded.
Ever since my identity was exposed, I have been threatening and suppressing me. This time I finally got a win. Han Yebin seemed very proud, and his "whistleblower" aura was fully revealed: "Why else do you think I escaped from prison? It was because I made a bet with your brother. If he could successfully catch me after I escaped from prison, I would participate in this year's National Mathematical Olympiad. As a result..."
"Finally, you were caught." I chuckled.
Han Yebin glared at me unhappily: "Isn't it because you suddenly appeared and stabbed me? If it weren't for you... humph."
Seeing Han Yebin so angry, it was obvious that he was still brooding over that incident. If he knew that I just clicked the wrong button and killed him... would he faint from anger?
Thinking back to the funny scene at that time, I couldn't help but laugh again, but as I laughed, I felt that something was wrong...
"Wait." I frowned, stared at Han Yebin and asked, "You just said that you escaped from prison because of a bet with your brother?"
"yes!"
"That means you two already knew each other's identities?"
Perhaps noticing that I looked unhappy, Han Yebin answered cautiously this time.
"yes……"
"So!" I clenched my fists and spoke word by word, "I am the only one who was kept in the dark? You already knew my real identity?"
Han Yebin quickly lowered his head and pretended to eat his meal seriously. I was so angry that my teeth were itching. I turned around and saw my brother coming out of the kitchen after serving the soup. I immediately shouted in grievance.
"Brother! What a fool you are! Why didn't you tell me about your bet earlier?" I had already regarded Du Ye as a scourge, fearing that he would come to harm our Hanyan country.
My brother looked at me and calmly took a sip of soup: "You never asked."
I pouted and muttered angrily, "This is really too much... They kept it from me. I am just like a fool who knows nothing!"
Han Yebin raised his chopsticks and gestured in approval: "That's right, you are an idiot... Ouch!"
The elder brother retracted his fist as if nothing had happened and continued to drink his soup calmly. Han Yebin rubbed his head which was hurt by the blow and muttered with a cold breath.
“You’re a protective sister-con… Ouch, it hurts!”
Seeing Han Yebin being "punished" by his brother, I laughed with glee, and at the same time did not forget to make faces at Han Yebin - humph, who told you to say I was a fool!
The meal finally ended in a joyful atmosphere of playing and fighting. Han Yebin volunteered to wash the dishes. Seeing him busy in the kitchen, I felt inexplicably warm in my heart. His family doesn't go home all year round, so I guess there are few opportunities for him to have a happy dinner like this. I was moved and couldn't help but say it.
"Brother, let Han Yebin come to our house for dinner from now on, okay?"
My brother, who was cleaning the table, paused and looked up at me: "Why? If you want to say thank you, this should be enough."
"Uh..." I stammered, and inadvertently saw Han Yebin also walked out of the kitchen. Perhaps he heard what I just said, and he looked at me a little strangely.
"Because, because he wants to help me shoot a video!" I quickly winked at Han Yebin, "Right? We agreed that if you help me, I will pay for your dinner!"
My brother looked at me suspiciously, then turned to look at Han Yebin. Although Han Yebin was a little surprised at first, he immediately returned to normal and showed his signature smile.
"Yeah, that's right." He said with a smile, his dark eyes curved into crescents.
I immediately put on an expression that said, "Look, I'm not lying," and calmly faced my brother's inquiring gaze. My brother frowned slightly, stared at me for a long while, and suddenly said something.
"When did you two become so close?"
My heart skipped a beat, but I remained calm and said confidently, "What's good or bad? We are classmates. It's normal for classmates to help each other! Hahaha..."
Perhaps my "sincere" smile finally dispelled the last trace of doubt in my brother's heart. He finally looked away and said lightly.
"Okay, then there will be an extra pair of chopsticks on the dinner table from now on."
I was extremely excited after successfully convincing my brother. When I sent Han Yebin to the gate of the community, I was beaming with joy all the way. However, Han Yebin unexpectedly didn't say much and just kept staring at me.
"What's wrong?" I touched my face curiously. "Is there something?"
Han Yebin chuckled and said, "You said... we are classmates, so it is normal for us to help each other?"
I was stunned for a moment: "Yeah, what's wrong?"
"But if it were someone else, I wouldn't even bother to pay attention, let alone help." Han Yebin said as he looked at me meaningfully, his smiling eyes surging with an unclear light.
"Oh..." I nodded, "I understand, so this is an equal exchange. You help me, and I'll pay for your meals, hehe."
Han Yebin's face suddenly turned ugly, as if he wanted to curse but couldn't. He stared at me for a while, then suddenly turned his head away and walked away, leaving me alone.
"What happened again?" I was surprised and hurriedly chased after him, "Why did you suddenly turn hostile?"
"Because you're an idiot! You're as slow as a log!" Han Yebin glared at me angrily, then trotted out of the community and disappeared after turning a corner.
I was embarrassed.
What's wrong with this guy? They say women are fickle, but I think he's even more fickle!
But never mind - I shrugged and consoled myself in my heart - it's not the first time I've seen his expression change, well, I'll just get used to it, I'll just get used to it...