Stop Chasing the School Belle, My Shy Deskmate is Sweet and Soft - Chapter 17

In the early morning of March, the sky was still a gloomy gray at 6 a.m.

But Xia Tian had already finished washing up and was yawning as he left the house.

He rode his bike, as usual, to the old food market to buy breakfast for Ye Ningyu.

It was fine if he skipped breakfast himself, but he couldn’t let Little Ye go hungry.

The night before, Xia Tian had studied until two in the morning.

He had only slept for four hours and was now terribly exhausted.

Upon arriving at school, the first thing he did was splash cold water on his face. Then, he handed over the breakfast to Ye Ningyu.

“Xia… Xia Tian, why did you buy me breakfast again? I can’t accept it anymore—please, you eat it instead, okay?”

Ye Ningyu looked at the breakfast with a troubled expression, pleading with Xia Tian to stop buying food for her.

She knew the glass-bottled milk was expensive; just one bottle was enough to cover a full meal for her!

Since two days ago, Xia Tian had been spending money on her non-stop.

At first, Ye Ningyu thought about eating less herself to save up and buy something for Xia Tian in return.

But now she realized that Xia Tian was buying her breakfast every day.

At this rate, with her financial situation, she didn’t know how long it would take to repay him.

Her mother had always said that you shouldn’t take things from others for free.

So, she absolutely couldn’t accept this anymore!

But Xia Tian’s face showed nothing but impatience. “I already ate on the way here. This is just for you. Hurry up and eat it while it’s still warm!”

With that, he laid his head down on the desk, ready to catch up on sleep during the morning reading session.

After a while, he realized Ye Ningyu was still silent and glanced up.

The breakfast was still sitting where he had placed it, untouched.

Little Ye hadn’t moved at all.

Seeing this, Xia Tian sighed.

“If you really feel like you owe me, then from today onward, help me go over some science problems. Last night I studied until two in the morning and couldn’t make sense of those formulas. Consider the breakfast as your tutoring fee.”

Ye Ningyu puffed out her cheeks slightly, speaking in her usual gentle tone, “But… but I don’t need to be paid to help you with problems…”

In response, Xia Tian began “pua-ing” her (manipulating her).

“What do you mean, no need for payment? That won’t do!”

“You’re the top student at our school, someone the teachers and principal keep a close eye on! If you were charging others for tutoring, you’d easily make 100 bucks an hour. Here I am, getting all this help from you just for a few breakfasts—I’m the one taking advantage of you! Truly, I should be the one feeling indebted.”

“Even good friends, when they help you out like this every day, it’s only polite to treat them to a meal during the holidays as thanks. Unconditional help only exists between couples. Unless… unless you like me and want to be my girlfriend, which is why you’re offering to tutor me for free.”

“If that’s the case, then I wouldn’t mind getting free tutoring…”

Xia Tian flashed a sly smile, his gaze locking onto Ye Ningyu like a hunter eyeing prey.

Ye Ningyu, thoroughly bewildered by Xia Tian’s words, nodded uncertainly, not fully understanding what he meant.

But the last part hit her like a ton of bricks, making her face flush all the way to the tips of her ears.

“N-No way…”

“Then… then we’ll do as you say, Xia Tian. Whenever you have problems, make sure to ask me, okay?”

Seeing her compromise, Xia Tian nodded in satisfaction.

“Of course I’ll ask you when I don’t understand something. So now, can you finally eat your breakfast, Teacher Ye?”

Ye Ningyu, completely flustered by Xia Tian’s teasing, wished she could disappear into her jacket.

She quickly grabbed the buns and milk and began eating in small bites.

Only when Xia Tian went back to sleep on his desk did she dare to steal a glance at him.

She whispered softly to herself, “Xia Tian… I really do like you…”

—

The entire day on Friday, Xia Tian was focused on his classes.

However, during any subject that wasn’t science, he would take out his science exam papers and work on them.

Whenever he encountered a problem he couldn’t solve, he would poke Ye Ningyu with his pen, not caring whether or not he was interrupting her.

Xia Tian was confident.

With Ye Ningyu’s abilities.

Even if she dropped out of school right now, she would still easily get into Tsinghua University.

During breaks, Fang Yu tried to find Xia Tian to hang out, but every time, he was mercilessly kicked away.

After being rejected multiple times.

Fang Yu finally came to terms with the fact that his best friend was now taking his studies seriously!

This guy was seriously aiming for a top university!

—

Before they knew it, the last period of the day had arrived.

In 2013, the school hadn’t yet instituted weekend makeup classes, so after this class, they had the entire weekend off.

“Little Ye, I won’t be walking you home this afternoon.”

“Oh… okay.”

Ye Ningyu nodded.

Though it was the logical thing, she couldn’t help but feel a little disappointed.

But Xia Tian quickly added, “Remember what I said—this weekend, we’re going out. I’ll pick you up at the entrance to your neighborhood at 5 p.m. on Saturday.”

“J-Just the two of us?”

Ye Ningyu asked cautiously.

But Xia Tian put her at ease with his casual response.

“No, my buddy Fang Yu will be joining us—the one who always comes looking for me after class. It’ll be the three of us.”

“Okay~”

Having sorted things out with Little Ye, Xia Tian started to pack his things, waiting for the bell to ring.

One of the favorite pastimes of students was to sync their watches with the school bell and count down the seconds until the end of class.

Xia Tian was no exception.

As soon as school was out, he planned to grab Fang Yu and go shopping for materials to kickstart his plan to make his first bit of money over the weekend.

That’s why he didn’t intend to walk Little Ye home today.

—

As soon as the dismissal bell rang, Xia Tian shot out of his classroom and headed straight for Fang Yu’s class.

When he got there, he found Fang Yu still dawdling, slowly packing up his things at his desk.

“Why are you so slow packing up after school, you lazy bum? If you’re not eager to leave after class, there’s something wrong with your thinking!”

Xia Tian smacked Fang Yu on the back of the head, urging him to hurry up.

It was already 6 p.m., and if they delayed any longer, they might miss out on the materials they needed.

Fang Yu rubbed the back of his head, grumbling.

“Little Tian, what’s the rush? We’re not going to an internet café, are we? The mock exams are next Tuesday, and the principal’s been sending teachers to the cafés over the weekend to catch students.”

“Who said anything about going to the café? Games are a low-level pleasure. I’m taking you to do something big!”

“Oh, is this that side gig you mentioned yesterday?”

“Exactly. So if you want to make some extra cash, hurry up and get your stuff. If we’re late, we might miss our chance.”

Fang Yu clasped his hands together in salute. “Understood, godfather!”

As they left the classroom, they bumped into Xu Yuan, who was just leaving.

Xu Yuan had been looking for Xia Tian earlier. Seeing him dash out of the classroom, she quickly gathered her things and hurried after him.

She couldn’t let her plan fail before it even had a chance to begin.

Now that she had caught up with Xia Tian, she finally breathed a sigh of relief.

“Xia Tian, are you free tomorrow?”

Facing Xu Yuan, Xia Tian’s expression remained flat.

What kind of nonsense is she up to now?

Still, he replied, “Yeah, I’m free. Why?”

Xu Yuan’s face lit up with a smile, her dimples showing.

“Great! The mock exams are next Tuesday, so tomorrow after lunch, I’ll meet you at the city library for a last-minute study session.”

???

Xia Tian was utterly dumbfounded.

What kind of 100-level idiot is this?

My deskmate is literally the top student in the entire school. You really think I need you to tutor me?

Are you delusional about your own academic abilities?

If this were happening in 2023, Xia Tian would’ve made a viral video: “Hey guys, can you believe this? The school belle thinks she studies better than the school’s top student. Unbelievable!”

But Xu Yuan, misinterpreting the shock on Xia Tian’s face, thought he was overjoyed by the unexpected invitation.

She felt secretly pleased with herself, thinking her plan had worked perfectly.

Hmph!

I knew you were just pretending!

You’ve been acting like this all week just to make me ask you out, haven’t you?

How childish!

But I’ll let it slide this time. Consider this a reward for your persistence.

Fang Yu, however, had a different reaction. He misunderstood Xia Tian’s thoughts and immediately grew concerned.

“Little Tian, don’t fall for her tricks again! She’s just trying to win you back because you’ve been ignoring her for the past few days. Don’t let her lure you back in!”

Xia Tian, hearing this, frowned. “Fang Yu, how can you say that about Xu Yuan? She’s not like that.”

“Little Tian, but what about Little Ye?”

Hearing Xia Tian stand up for her again, Xu Yuan felt a surge of happiness.

All her previous frustration melted away.

Her Xia Tian was finally back!

Once Xia Tian regained his composure, he turned back to Xu Yuan.

“Class monitor, what did you just say? Could you repeat it?”

Xu Yuan blinked in confusion, but then realized Xia Tian probably just wanted to double-check because he couldn’t believe she had invited him.

With a smug smile, she raised her chin slightly.

“I said, meet me at the city library tomorrow afternoon. I’ll help you review for the exams.”

But Xia Tian shook his head. “No, no. Not that part—the sentence before that.”

Xu Yuan hesitated, then repeated, “Are you free tomorrow?”

“Oh, sorry, I’m not free tomorrow. I am Ultraman Tiga, I have to save the world tomorrow.”