Stop Chasing the School Belle, My Shy Deskmate is Sweet and Soft - Chapter 32

Xu Yuan was stunned when she saw the phone Xia Tian pulled out.

That was the latest Xiaomi 2!

It cost 2,000 yuan outside, and Xia Tian was actually giving such an expensive gift to Ye Ningyu!

She stood there, frozen, her gaze filled with disappointment as she slowly turned to leave.

Meanwhile, Little Ye was still staring at Xia Tian in shock, struggling to process what was happening.

It took her a moment to finally react.

“Xia Tian, I-I can’t accept something this expensive… Even if you say it’s for tutoring, I still can’t! If you insist on giving it to me, I… I won’t help you with your studies anymore!”

Even though Ye Ningyu didn’t know much about the latest phones, she could tell that it wasn’t something cheap—definitely not something she could afford.

She stood firm in rejecting his offer.

But Xia Tian had already anticipated she would refuse, so he quickly responded, “You’ve misunderstood. I’m not giving it to you as a gift; I’m lending it to you.”

“Huh? B-But why would you lend me a phone? I won’t need it,” Ye Ningyu asked cautiously, suspecting that Xia Tian might be trying to trick her.

In her mind, she thought, Ye Ningyu, don’t fall for it this time!

“You didn’t need it before, but you will now. Look, the college entrance exams are coming up, and my grades are really bad. The time we have to study at school isn’t enough.”

“So I’m giving you the phone so that if I run into any difficult problems while studying at home, I can message you right away, and you can help me figure out the solutions, right?”

Xia Tian gave her a serious look, his expression full of sincerity. His face showed a burning desire for knowledge and a hopeful longing for university life.

Half-believing, half-doubting, Ye Ningyu… fell for it again!

But she still seemed hesitant. It didn’t feel right to accept something so expensive, even if it was just a loan.

Seeing this, Xia Tian decided to play his trump card:

“Sigh, if you really don’t want to, then forget it. I was hoping to study hard and maybe go to the same university as you… But if it’s too much trouble, I’ll just have to figure something else out.”

Hearing this, Ye Ningyu’s eyes sparkled with excitement.

Go to the same university as me?

Xia Tian wants to go to the same university as me?!

All his hard work lately… is so we can attend the same university?!

In an instant, Ye Ningyu’s mind filled with images of her and Xia Tian at the same university, and her heart began to race.

“N-No, it’s not too much trouble! If it will help you study, then I’ll take it! I’ll be careful with the phone!”

“Really? Thanks, Teacher Ye!”

“N-Not at all! You have to study hard, Xia Tian!”

Xia Tian couldn’t help but smile to himself.

As soon as she heard that he wanted to go to the same university, all her hesitation vanished.

To make his story even more believable, he added, “Just make sure to take good care of the phone. If it breaks, you’ll have to compensate me for it.”

“Mm-hmm, I’ll be careful.”

Ye Ningyu carefully placed the phone into her bag, and then the two of them continued walking toward the bike shed.

On the other side of the school, Xu Yuan was still feeling heartbroken.

“Xia Tian is giving such an expensive gift to Ye Ningyu, but he wouldn’t even buy me a new watch…”

But then, as if something suddenly clicked, her eyes lit up.

“Wait! Last night, Ye Ningyu helped him sell fruit platters. They must’ve earned a lot of money together, and Xia Tian probably didn’t pay her in cash. Plus, like Jiayi said, Xia Tian must be thanking her for helping him out. So, the phone is like a payment and a thank-you gift. It’s not like he’s giving it to her for no reason!”

With a sigh of relief, Xu Yuan felt her mind settle down again.

She realized that her earlier thoughts had been too extreme and impulsive.

Thankfully, she had calmed down and thought things through rationally.

Feeling more at ease, Xu Yuan decided that she would take the initiative to be nicer to Xia Tian over the next couple of days.

“Tomorrow morning, I’ll bring him breakfast. It’ll give him a chance to talk to me, and our relationship will go back to how it used to be.”

Little did she know, self-sabotage can be the most lethal of all.

—

“Little Ye, here’s my QQ number. Tonight, make sure to register and add me.”

“O-Okay. Goodnight, Xia Tian. Be safe on your way home.”

“Got it. Don’t forget to add my QQ.”

“I remember.”

Ye Ningyu nodded sweetly and waved goodbye to Xia Tian.

And as usual, Xia Tian stayed until he saw the light in her room turn on before pedaling away.

Tonight, he felt especially cheerful.

Now that Little Ye had a phone, he could contact her anytime.

And besides…

She had even taken the initiative to say goodnight to him.

“She’s saying goodnight today. Tomorrow, she’ll confess her feelings!”

“Come on, Little Ye! Confess sooner, so you can take me home!”

—

When Xia Tian got home, he pulled out the remaining 1,500 yuan from his pocket.

He stared at the money, deep in thought about his next move.

Because he was still in high school and not yet in university, there were many limitations. Despite the ideas swirling in his mind, he didn’t have the time to execute them.

“Tsk… It seems like if you’re going to live in this world, you really should memorize a few lottery numbers. If I’d known I was going to be reborn, I could have just bought a ticket with the winning numbers and skipped all this hard work!”

Xia Tian rubbed his temples and then pulled out his science exam papers to continue studying.

Tomorrow was a new day, and the day after that was the mock exam.

With the promise he made to Chen Meijuan, Xia Tian was determined to do his best and achieve a high rank to make her proud.

Around 11 p.m., his secondhand phone finally buzzed.

He quickly picked it up and saw the notification.

[“Ye Ningyu” has sent you a friend request.]

[Accept] [Decline]

[Accept.]

[We are now friends! Let’s start chatting!]

“Tsk, this silly girl actually used her real name as her QQ screen name,” Xia Tian thought, smiling fondly.

She’s so adorably naive!

Then a message popped up from Ye Ningyu.

[Bro’s Got a Bad Temper™ Is That Wrongメ: “Is this Xia Tian?”]

???

Xia Tian stared at the message, dumbfounded.

What the…?

Her username is “Bro’s Got a Bad Temper™ Is That Wrongメ”?

What the heck is that?!

Xia Tian quickly exited the chat to check his own profile, and almost died of embarrassment on the spot.

Crap! Was I really this cringey in high school? And I just laughed at Little Ye… Man, this is a classic case of the pot calling the kettle black…

He quickly changed his absurdly outdated username.

[Are you sure you want to change your username to “Xia Handsome”?]

[Confirm.]

“Now that’s more like it!”

Satisfied, Xia Tian went back into the chat.

[Yes, it’s me—your dashing, suave, charming, and universally adored deskmate!]

[Oh… huh? You changed your username?]

[This one suits me better. But don’t try to distract me! Didn’t I tell you to add me on QQ as soon as you got home? Look at the time!]

[Sorry, I’ve never used QQ before. It took me a while to figure out how to sign up, Xia Tian. I’m so slow!]

Xia Tian chuckled to himself, imagining Little Ye on the other end, probably furrowing her brow and concentrating hard, just like she did during exams.

So adorable!

[Alright, I forgive you. But nobody uses their real name as their screen name. Go change it!]

[Oh…]

Five minutes later, Xia Tian saw that she had successfully changed her username.

[Lemon-Flavored Little Ye? That’s pretty cute.]

[Hehe, thank you!]

Xia Tian grinned and changed her contact name to “Little Ye” in his chat list.

He sent her a screenshot. [Look, I set your contact name as “Little Ye.” What did you set mine as?]

[What’s a contact name?]

[Uh… never mind, I’ll teach you next time.]

Deciding not to overwhelm her, Xia Tian let it go for now.

He glanced at the clock. It was 11:35 p.m.

Without missing a beat, he quickly sent her another message.

[It’s late. Aren’t you going to say goodnight?]

[Mm… Goodnight, Xia Tian.]

Xia Tian frowned slightly as he looked at the message.

Even though he knew Little Ye wasn’t being cold, her words still felt a bit distant.

So, he sent her another message.

[Little sister is so cold. How did your 36-degree fingers manage to type out such icy words? My heart is about to shatter into a QR code…]