Stop Chasing the School Belle, My Shy Deskmate is Sweet and Soft - Chapter 16

Xia Tian dropped Ye Ningyu off at the entrance to her neighborhood, smiling warmly at her.

“Good night, Little Ye. See you tomorrow.”

“N-Night, Xia Tian… See you tomorrow,” Ye Ningyu whispered softly, her face flushed with embarrassment as she lowered her head even more.

Because there weren’t many residents left in her neighborhood, most of them were acquaintances. Ye Ningyu was terrified that someone familiar would see her standing with a boy and report it to her mom.

Just as she was about to leave, Xia Tian cleared his throat and said, “Cough, cough. You’re leaving just like that? Aren’t you forgetting something?”

“Huh…?”

Ye Ningyu stopped in her tracks, looking at Xia Tian with a blank, confused expression.

Xia Tian raised his eyebrows with a knowing smile. “Come on, didn’t you say earlier that you didn’t like it when there were too many people around? Well, now there’s nobody.”

Suddenly, Ye Ningyu remembered her promise from that morning—she had agreed to let Xia Tian pinch her cheeks. Her face turned crimson at the thought.

Still, she obediently moved closer to Xia Tian, stood on her tiptoes, and gently unzipped her jacket, revealing her delicate face.

Xia Tian grinned mischievously and reached out to pinch her cheeks.

The sensation… was incredibly soft!

He even had the sudden urge to bite her cheeks.

Because Ye Ningyu’s skin was so tender, Xia Tian barely applied any pressure, yet her cheeks turned rosy from the pinch.

Under the moonlight, she looked absolutely adorable.

Just then, the sound of an elderly person coughing echoed from inside the neighborhood.

Like a startled rabbit, Ye Ningyu yanked herself free from Xia Tian’s grasp. “Good night, Xia Tian! I—I have to go now!”

With that, she hurried off, pushing her bicycle as she practically sprinted into the neighborhood.

Xia Tian watched her disappear into the building, the warmth of her cheeks lingering on his hands.

Moments later, an old man leisurely pedaled his rickety bicycle out of the neighborhood. It was his coughing earlier that had scared Ye Ningyu off.

“Seriously, it’s 10 p.m., and this old man is still riding his bike around. Totally ruined my moment!”

Xia Tian muttered, irritated by the interruption.

He stood at the entrance of the neighborhood, watching Ye Ningyu’s window until he saw the light turn on. Only then did he feel reassured, finally picking up his bike and heading home.

—

Meanwhile, at Xia Tian’s home.

Xia Shi was lounging on the sofa, munching on an apple, her feet swinging back and forth.

“Auntie, stop bringing out more snacks! Ever since I got here after evening self-study, I haven’t stopped eating!”

Chen Meijuan chuckled playfully. “Silly girl, how can you complain when Auntie is giving you yummy food? You study so hard, you need to eat plenty to keep up your strength.”

“Auntie! I really can’t eat anymore. Save the rest for my cousin…”

“Hmph! He doesn’t deserve it. All he does is chase after that girl Xu Yuan. All of his allowance goes toward that girl, and the worst part is, she doesn’t even give him the time of day! He’s an embarrassment… I’d rather feed this food to the dogs than let him have it!”

Just thinking about her son’s behavior made Chen Meijuan fume with anger.

Especially when compared to her smart, diligent niece, the difference was like night and day!

Feed it to the dogs before letting him have it?

Xia Shi silently grimaced, suddenly losing her appetite for the apple in her hand.

Xia Tian’s father, Xia Zhengguo, sat on the other end of the couch, shaking his head in exasperation.

“Meijuan, that’s enough. If Xia Shi says she’s full, don’t force her to eat more. It’s not good to stuff yourself before bed.”

At that moment, the sound of the front door opening echoed through the house.

Xia Tian walked in and was met with three pairs of eyes staring at him.

He scratched his head awkwardly. “Dad, Mom, Xia Shi… Why are you all staring at me?”

Xia Shi had already seen Xia Tian’s new hairstyle earlier that day, so she wasn’t surprised. She simply turned back to the TV without saying anything.

But Chen Meijuan let out a loud gasp, jumping up from the sofa in shock.

“Oh my goodness!”

“Are you Xia Tian? Old Xia, Old Xia! Our son’s been kidnapped and taken to Korea for plastic surgery!”

She rushed over to Xia Tian, grabbing his face and turning it from side to side, inspecting him closely.

As she did, she muttered, “It looks really well done! I wonder how much it cost… Maybe I should get it done too…”

“…..”

Xia Tian pushed her hands away, exasperated. “Mom, I only got a haircut. Do we really need to make such a big deal out of this?”

“Can’t you just be proud that I inherited all of your and Dad’s excellent genes?”

Chen Meijuan pouted. “The problem is, you didn’t inherit any of our good genes. I’ve spent years wondering if you’re even really our son.”

Seeing how much his mother was teasing him, Xia Tian didn’t get upset. He grabbed a cup of water from the coffee table, took a sip, and then said, “Alright, alright… Mom, let Xia Shi sleep with you tonight, and Dad can sleep on the couch.”

“And why would that be? You’ve got some nerve, telling your father to sleep on the couch!”

Chen Meijuan picked up a slipper, ready to smack him, but Xia Tian dodged just in time.

“It’s not like that! I need to study tonight. There’s no desk in the living room, so how am I supposed to study seriously? Dad, could you just sleep on the couch for tonight? Xia Shi is heading back home tomorrow anyway.”

Before anyone could protest, Xia Tian quickly grabbed his backpack and darted into his room, locking the door behind him.

It wasn’t until then that Chen Meijuan seemed to process what had just happened. Her expression turned blank with shock.

Then, she turned to look at Xia Tian’s door with disbelief.

When had her good-for-nothing son suddenly decided to start studying?

Was the sun rising from the west now?

“Old Xia, did I hear wrong just now? Did our son just say he wants to study? Could it be that he’s using studying as an excuse just so he won’t have to sleep on the couch?”

Xia Zhengguo furrowed his brow, deep in thought. “I don’t think so. The college entrance exams are coming up soon, and maybe he’s finally realized how important this is. He even got a haircut, probably as a way of symbolizing a fresh start.”

“Besides… didn’t you notice? He came home with his backpack tonight.”

—

Back in his room, Xia Tian stared at a family photograph sitting on his desk and couldn’t help but chuckle to himself.

He felt a rush of emotion, grateful to feel the warmth of family again.

In his past life, after he stopped simping for Xu Yuan, he threw himself into making money, neglecting everything else—including his parents.

Because Xia Tian had been irresponsible for so long, his parents didn’t want to disrupt him when they saw he was finally putting in effort.

Even when Xia Zhengguo was diagnosed with lung cancer, he kept it hidden from Xia Tian until the very end.

It wasn’t until one morning, when Xia Zhengguo collapsed at the market and was rushed to the hospital by bystanders, that Xia Tian found out.

That day, Xia Tian had been in Shanghai for a business meeting. Without hesitation, he bought the earliest flight back home.

But by the time he arrived at the hospital, all he saw was his father’s lifeless body, covered by a white sheet.

At the funeral, Xia Tian had cried his heart out, consumed with regret for prioritizing work over his parents.

Later, Chen Meijuan couldn’t cope with the loss of her husband and developed depression.

Despite Xia Tian spending a lot of money on her treatment, she passed away just before his company went public.

Remembering all this, Xia Tian’s expression hardened.

“No way am I letting the past repeat itself.”

Determined, he pulled out his science exam papers, turned on his desk lamp, and started studying.

He couldn’t let down Ye Ningyu, and he could never neglect his parents again!

“My parents are short. When I was young, they bent down to tie my shoes, and they were shorter than me. As I grew up, their backs hunched, and they were still shorter than me. Eventually, I knelt at their graves… and they were still shorter than me.”