Stop Chasing the School Belle, My Shy Deskmate is Sweet and Soft - Chapter 13

Ye Ningyu tugged at her collar, lowering her head silently to focus on her work.

Before, seeing Xia Tian being nice to the class monitor didn’t make her feel this way.

But after experiencing Xia Tian’s warmth and kindness over the past two days, seeing him interacting with another girl now left her with an indescribable sadness.

Still, her uncompetitive and reserved nature made her silently bury this sadness deep in her heart.

—

At the same time, Chen Jiayi had gone to refill her water bottle, leaving Xu Yuan sitting alone in the front row.

By chance, Xu Yuan caught sight of Xia Tian laughing and chatting with a cute, sweet-looking girl by the back door of the classroom.

Her expression immediately changed, and a flood of questions rushed through her mind.

“Is that girl here to see Xia Tian?”

“Who is she? What does she want with Xia Tian? And why now?”

“I feel like I’ve seen her before… Could she be a year younger than us? Is this a junior here to confess to Xia Tian?”

In that instant, Xu Yuan felt an unexpected sense of crisis welling up inside her.

But she quickly recalled her conversation with Chen Jiayi and reminded herself that she couldn’t show any concern for Xia Tian.

She had to stay indifferent!

“No, I can’t let him see that I care. I can’t let him control my emotions!”

Xu Yuan immediately turned her head away, forcing herself not to look at Xia Tian.

But curiosity got the better of her, and she sneakily glanced at him out of the corner of her eye.

And that’s when she froze.

The girl by the back door handed Xia Tian what looked like a love letter, her face shy and blushing.

Most importantly, Xia Tian smiled at the girl, took a pen, and wrote something on her hand.

Then, he even reached out to ruffle her hair before saying goodbye.

“Ahhhhh!”

“Xia Tian, you jerk! How dare you touch another girl’s head in front of everyone!”

At that moment, Xu Yuan felt like she was about to explode with rage.

She was certain now that the girl was a younger student, a junior who had come to confess her feelings to Xia Tian!

And that girl had actually given Xia Tian a love letter! How outrageous!

Didn’t she know that Xia Tian had always been in love with her, Xu Yuan? It wasn’t exactly a secret—it was something the whole school knew!

And yet…

Xia Tian had only changed his hairstyle, and within the span of a single class period, he had already received a love letter?

Do these junior girls even pay attention in class anymore?

“Seriously, these girls are so shallow. The moment they see a handsome guy, they can’t help but throw themselves at him. They don’t even bother to learn anything about his personality!”

“Hmph! She probably just saw that Xia Tian got a new haircut and became handsome. And now she couldn’t wait to confess—ugh, a bunch of superficial people who only care about looks!”

“Fantasizing about romance instead of focusing on their studies. Xia Tian likes girls like me—girls who are both talented and academically accomplished!”

Xu Yuan seethed with anger.

She felt these girls lacked all sense of dignity and restraint.

Where were they when Xia Tian hadn’t changed his hairstyle? Why didn’t they confess to him back then?

Unlike them, she had always maintained the same attitude toward Xia Tian, regardless of his appearance.

Even now that he was more handsome, she hadn’t changed her stance!

Besides…

Xia Tian was hers. No one could take him away from her!

They didn’t even have the right to try!

“What’s meant to be will always be. Fate is something that’s already decided by the heavens!”

When Xia Tian returned to his seat with the love letter in hand, Xu Yuan quickly looked away.

But the more she thought about it, the angrier she became.

“Why?! Why?! Why?!”

“Xia Tian clearly has feelings for me, so why is he accepting love letters from other girls? Shouldn’t he have rejected her outright, telling her that he already has someone he likes?”

“And even worse… He touched that girl’s head! Just because I won’t let him touch mine doesn’t mean he can go touching other girls!”

“Xia Tian is such a jerk! A complete, utter jerk!!”

Xu Yuan felt so wronged.

How could Xia Tian treat her like this?

Soon, another wave of anxiety washed over her.

She realized that since Xia Tian had never received confessions before, things might change now that he had a new look and was attracting attention from other girls.

What if he eventually gave up on pursuing her and got swept away by some other junior girl?

Suddenly, she began doubting the plan she and Chen Jiayi had discussed earlier. Would their strategy really still work?

—

Ding, ding, ding~

As the bell for the next class rang, Xu Yuan grew more panicked.

After an internal struggle, she decided she couldn’t just sit back and wait.

She had to take action!

Biting her lip, as if making a firm resolution, she turned to glance at Xia Tian.

“Hmph! I’ll ask him out this weekend. There’s no way he can resist this temptation!”

“Oh, and didn’t my aunt just give me that pair of black stockings last week? I’ll wear them when we go out.”

—

Xia Tian returned to his seat, glancing at the pink love letter in his hand and smirking.

Next to him, Ye Ningyu quietly stole a glance at him, then lowered her head again to focus on her work.

“Little Ye, why do you seem a bit down?”

“Huh? N-No, I’m not…”

Ye Ningyu panicked, shaking her head so quickly it was like a bobblehead doll.

“Don’t lie. You practically have ‘I’m upset’ written all over your face.”

Xia Tian grinned, waving the letter in his hand. “Is it because of this love letter? Or maybe because I was chatting with that junior just now?”

Ye Ningyu didn’t answer. She hid her face deeper into her collar, staying silent.

Seeing her reaction, Xia Tian felt quite satisfied.

Perfect—Little Ye was actually jealous!

He liked that.

Whether Ye Ningyu acknowledged him or not, Xia Tian began explaining anyway:

“That girl earlier, her name’s Xia Shi. She’s my cousin, a year younger than us, and she’s also attending this school. She came looking for me because my second uncle and aunt had to work late unexpectedly, so she’ll be staying at my place tonight.”

“But she forgot my address, so she came to ask me for it. That’s why I wrote my address on her hand.”

“And as for this letter… Well, it is a love letter, but Xia Shi said it was written by one of the girls in her class, and she was just helping deliver it to me.”

“Xia Tian, are you… are you telling the truth? That junior is really just your cousin?” Ye Ningyu asked, her voice trembling with uncertainty.

“It’s as true as pearls! Do you think I’d openly get all chummy with some girl at school? If the principal caught me, I’d be sent home faster than you can blink!”

Listening to Xia Tian’s seamless explanation, Ye Ningyu started putting the pieces together. Everything seemed to check out.

Her earlier sadness and frustration began to lift.

Her eyes regained their clear and bright sparkle.

“So, that girl was just Xia Tian’s cousin…” she mused, finally relaxing a little.

She tentatively pointed at the letter in Xia Tian’s hand and asked, “So… are you going to open the love letter and read it?”

Xia Tian glanced down at the pink letter, noticing the neat handwriting on the front that read: “To Senior Xia Tian.”

But he simply gave it a quick look before nonchalantly tossing it into the trash.

“I need to focus on my studies and strive for excellence. I can’t be swayed by beauty!”

“Love letters like these are nothing but sugar-coated traps from those sneaky junior girls. They’re using them to test me as a class leader—what nonsense!”

“The only thing that can test me is the Party and the nation!”