Stop Chasing the School Belle, My Shy Deskmate is Sweet and Soft - Chapter 3

Xia Tian, after returning to his seat, rested his head on his hand and turned to gaze at Ye Ningyu’s face, his eyes flickering with emotion.

She was still the same—always liked to hide half her face in her collar as she bowed her head to write, her long eyelashes occasionally fluttering.

Xia Tian had an overwhelming urge to just hold her right then and there.

Feeling his gaze on her the entire time, Ye Ningyu’s face turned red, and she buried her head even deeper.

After several seconds, she finally couldn’t help but slowly turn her head.

“Xia… Xia Tian… Weren’t those flowers supposed to be for the class monitor? Why did you say they were for Teacher Wang?”

Hearing her long-missed voice, Xia Tian’s nose tingled with emotion, and he couldn’t help but smile.

He didn’t answer Ye Ningyu’s question and instead asked her a question out of nowhere, “What, do you like flowers too? If you do, I’ll bring you a bouquet tomorrow.”

“Ah…”

Ye Ningyu froze for a moment, instinctively lifting her head slightly as she looked at Xia Tian with a bit of confusion.

“Wh-Why would you give me flowers?”

“Because you are worthy of this world, haha.”

Ye Ningyu’s face immediately flushed bright red, all the way to the tips of her ears, and she quickly buried her face back into her collar.

Her hair fell gently over her shoulders, her blushing face incredibly cute.

Just as Xia Tian was about to tease her further, the homeroom teacher, Wang Qingshan, walked into the classroom, carrying a stack of papers.

He walked up to the podium, ready to announce the pop quiz for the next two periods.

But as his eyes caught sight of the bouquet of tulips on the desk, Wang Qingshan adjusted his glasses, his tone filled with surprise:

“Hmm? Whose flowers are these? Why are they on the podium?”

A student sitting in the front row, who often acted as the “class protector,” quickly spoke up.

“Hehe, Teacher Wang… Xia Tian sent them to you because you’ve been working so hard recently. He hopes you’ll give us a little less homework!”

“Oh? Xia Tian sent them?” Wang Qingshan raised his eyebrows and smiled as he glanced over at Xia Tian’s seat. “Well, well, Xia Tian, that’s quite thoughtful of you. Since you’re so generous, how about I reward you with an extra set of practice exams?”

Seeing that he was exposed, Xia Tian stood up, throwing a sharp glance at the student who had ratted him out.

Good job—this kid’s got a death wish!

Clearing his throat, Xia Tian then put on a serious face and started spewing nonsense.

“Ahem!”

“Come on, Teacher Wang, you know how it is. There are only 99 days left until the college entrance exam, and supervising our studies is your top priority. As a student you’ve personally nurtured, I just had to show my appreciation!”

“As for the reward of more practice exams, there’s no need. Save that money to buy yourself some hair growth tonic…”

“Cough, cough, alright, alright, I know what you’re up to. Sit down and get ready for the quiz. You’d better not turn in a blank sheet this time,” Wang Qingshan said, giving Xia Tian a meaningful look before waving his hand and letting it go. He then instructed one of the students to begin handing out the exam papers.

Wang Qingshan was 51 years old, with a kind demeanor, though a bit bald.

Unlike most homeroom teachers, he managed to get along well with his students, fostering a harmonious classroom environment.

His approach to teaching allowed him to understand the mindset of students his age quite well, and among them, Xia Tian stood out the most in his memory.

Since their first year of high school, Xia Tian had been infatuated with Xu Yuan. Every morning, he’d wake up early to buy her breakfast from the old town, and from time to time, he’d organize little surprises for her in class.

Everyone in the teacher’s office knew about it.

But since Xia Tian’s grades hovered in the upper-middle range, Wang Qingshan chose to turn a blind eye. After all, Xu Yuan didn’t like Xia Tian, so there was no fear of any early romance during this critical period.

“Tsk, those flowers were probably meant for Xu Yuan, but after being rejected, Xia Tian felt like it would be a waste not to give them to me,” Wang Qingshan chuckled to himself after figuring things out.

Seems like I’m just a backup!

—

After the papers were distributed, the entire classroom fell silent.

Everyone lowered their heads and began answering questions, with the only sounds being the cicadas outside and the scratching of pens against paper.

However, Xia Tian rummaged through his desk for a while and couldn’t find a pen that worked. He eventually gave up, leaning sideways in his seat, propping his head on his hand, and simply admiring Ye Ningyu.

Everything he missed out on in his past life, he was going to make up for in this one!

“Xia Tian… You’ve been staring at me the whole time. I… I’m getting nervous, I can’t concentrate on answering the questions.”

“I’ll lend you a pen, just please stop staring at me, okay?”

Ye Ningyu timidly offered Xia Tian a pen, her voice small and laced with nervousness.

Seeing how careful and shy she was, Xia Tian froze for a moment, then chuckled, but his heart also ached a little.

It was precisely because this girl had always been so reserved that in his past life, even until her death, she had never expressed her feelings to him.

“Alright, alright. Give me the pen, and you focus on answering your questions.”

Ye Ningyu nodded obediently and buried her head back into her paper.

Xia Tian took the pen but didn’t start answering his exam. Instead, he looked out the window, lost in thought.

Even though his billion-yuan fortune was gone, the girl he loved was now sitting right next to him, within arm’s reach.

Flirting with her every day, getting closer to her bit by bit—what could be better than that?

This is way better than having money, right?

But Xia Tian soon realized something.

To keep living like this, he had to get into the same university as Ye Ningyu.

In his previous life, he had underperformed in the college entrance exam due to an unexpected event, scoring 40 points lower than usual.

Because of that, he missed the chance to attend the same university as Xu Yuan and Ye Ningyu.

“There are still 99 days until the college entrance exam. I don’t need to worry about Chinese, math, or English, but it’s been too long since I studied the sciences—I’ve forgotten almost everything. I’ll need to catch up quickly.”

“Besides that, I need to start making money in this life. I can’t afford to succeed late like I did before. Most importantly, I need enough money to cure this girl’s lung cancer in the end…”

Xia Tian muttered to himself, glancing down at Ye Ningyu, who was quietly working on her exam.

He made a silent vow in his heart.

This time, he would never let her suffer again!

During the two-period pop quiz, Xia Tian spent one period planning how to earn his first startup capital, and the other just watching Ye Ningyu…

It wasn’t until the class was nearly over that he remembered Wang Qingshan’s warning about not turning in a blank sheet.

Hurriedly, he picked up his pen and scrawled his name on the exam paper before submitting it, satisfied.

“Well, I didn’t hand in a blank paper!”

—

Watching Xia Tian’s retreating figure, Ye Ningyu pouted slightly.

She couldn’t help but feel that Xia Tian had changed from before.

First, he told the whole class that the flowers meant for the class monitor were actually for Teacher Wang.

Then, for the entire class period, he kept staring at her.

“Has Xia Tian really stopped liking the class monitor this time?” Ye Ningyu whispered softly to herself.

But as she raised her head, she saw Xu Yuan and Chen Jiayi linking arms as they left the classroom.

Xia Tian followed them out shortly after.

The little spark of hope that had just ignited in her heart was instantly extinguished.

“As I thought, it’s the same as always… He’s just saying things.”

—

“Damn it! Which one is Ye Ningyu’s bike? It’s been ten years, I completely forgot!”

Xia Tian wandered around the school bike shed, sweating as he tried to find Ye Ningyu’s bicycle.

He searched everywhere but still couldn’t figure out which one was hers.

“Little Tian? What are you doing here? Don’t tell me you’re broke and planning to steal a bike to sell for money because you can’t afford to buy Xu Yuan a gift?”

“Come on, Little Tian! The bike shed has security cameras. If you get caught, you’re screwed!”

Startled, Xia Tian turned around and saw his childhood friend, Fang Yu.

His tense heart relaxed immediately, and he kicked Fang Yu in the butt.

“You idiot, you scared the crap out of me! I thought you were security! And I’m not stupid enough to steal a bike.”

“Hey, let me ask you, do you know which one of these bikes belongs to Ye Ningyu?”

“Ye Ningyu? You mean that quiet girl who transferred to our class and doesn’t talk much?”

Xia Tian nodded.

Although Fang Yu wasn’t in his class, he had come to visit Xia Tian before, so he had some impression of her.

“I know! Look for the oldest, most beat-up bike in the row. That’ll be hers.”

Following Fang Yu’s advice, Xia Tian scanned the lineup again.

Sure enough, he found a particularly old and battered bike, one that looked like it was only a few years younger than himself.

“Little Tian, what are you doing with that girl’s bike?”

“None of your business! Stay out of adult matters, kid.”

Xia Tian squatted down, pulled a sticky note from his pocket that he had prepared beforehand, and stuck it on the rear seat of Ye Ningyu’s bicycle.

On it, he had boldly written:

“If you bump into me, you have to marry me!”