Stop Chasing the School Belle, My Shy Deskmate is Sweet and Soft - Chapter 45

“Not… hide my face behind my collar?”

Ye Ningyu instinctively looked up, staring blankly at Xia Tian, surprised by his request. She hadn’t expected this to be the condition he would ask her to fulfill.

Seeing that Little Ye hadn’t responded for a while, Xia Tian raised an eyebrow.

“Hey, you’re not thinking of going back on your word, are you?”

“A-Ah… no, no, I’m not planning to go back on my word.”

“Good! So, you’ve agreed, right? From now on, as long as we’re not at school, you’re not allowed to cover your face with your collar.”

“Mm…”

Ye Ningyu nodded slightly, still filled with confusion. She didn’t understand why Xia Tian had made such a request.

But Xia Tian didn’t seem interested in explaining. He simply lowered his head and continued working on his science problems, clearly in a good mood.

Watching Xia Tian, who had outperformed her in both math and English, Ye Ningyu felt a strange emotion stirring within her.

She had known all along that Xia Tian wasn’t just an average student, but she hadn’t realized that his math and English scores were already that impressive.

This time, he had even scored higher than her!

“So Xia Tian is really that amazing… I’ll have to work even harder!” Ye Ningyu thought to herself, secretly making up her mind to stay focused and study even more diligently.

In many areas, she would never be able to catch up with Xia Tian.

But in academics, it was the only way she could keep up with him.

Ye Ningyu didn’t want to fall behind in the one thing where she could still stay by Xia Tian’s side.

—

“Who would’ve thought I’d land in the top ten so suddenly? This is a stroke of luck!” Xia Tian thought as he stood outside Wang Qingshan’s office during the evening self-study session, feeling pleased with himself.

His original score would have placed him around 15th in class.

But thanks to how much harder the science section had been this time, even students who usually performed well had seen a decline in their science scores.

And those students couldn’t match Xia Tian’s math and English scores.

So naturally, his total score outpaced theirs.

Even Xia Tian hadn’t expected such a result.

“Well, with a top-ten ranking in hand, it shouldn’t be too much to ask about Little Ye’s situation, right?” Xia Tian thought, preparing himself as he knocked on the office door.

“Come in.”

After receiving permission, Xia Tian gently opened the door.

Inside the office, aside from Wang Qingshan, there was also another homeroom teacher from the neighboring class.

When Wang Qingshan saw Xia Tian, surprise flashed across his face.

“Well, look who’s here! You’re quite the rare visitor to the office. What, did you come to show off your top-ten ranking?”

“Come on, Mr. Wang, that’s small thinking! What’s there to show off about a top-ten score? I’m still far behind my genius deskmate.”

Xia Tian chuckled and walked over to Wang Qingshan’s desk.

Ever so smoothly, he picked up Wang Qingshan’s cup and filled it with hot water from the dispenser.

Wang Qingshan squinted, half-amused, half-suspicious as he looked at Xia Tian. “You sly fox, being so considerate all of a sudden. You’ve definitely got something up your sleeve. Spit it out—what do you want?”

“Hehe… Well, I actually came to ask about something, specifically about my deskmate, Ye Ningyu.”

“Hm?”

Wang Qingshan’s smile instantly faded, replaced by a trace of wariness that flickered in his eyes before quickly disappearing.

“Ye Ningyu? What do you want to ask about her? You two are deskmates, can’t you just ask her directly?”

Noticing Wang Qingshan’s reaction, Xia Tian was a bit surprised.

Mr. Wang… seemed unusually cautious?

Normally, when Xia Tian asked about Ye Ningyu, Wang Qingshan’s first reaction would have been surprise.

But instead, Wang Qingshan’s first instinct was to be on guard.

After thinking it over briefly, Xia Tian replied, “I’ve asked her before, but she always avoids answering, so I thought I’d come to you instead.”

“It’s not anything major. I’ve heard from Ye Ningyu that she transferred here from the High School Affiliated with the Normal University. The teachers there are much better than ours, and given how outstanding her grades are, it doesn’t make sense for her to transfer to our school in such a critical year like senior year.”

“That’s why… I wanted to ask why she transferred here.”

Wang Qingshan responded almost immediately, without any hesitation.

“I don’t know.”

But Xia Tian had been watching Wang Qingshan’s expression closely.

He could tell Wang Qingshan was lying!

“Mr. Wang, you’re her homeroom teacher—you must know. Don’t worry, I’m not looking to cause trouble. In fact, the reason I managed to get into the top ten is largely thanks to Ye Ningyu’s help… I noticed that she doesn’t interact much with her classmates, and her family seems to be struggling financially. I just want to understand her better, so I can help her if possible.”

“There’s no need. After the college entrance exams, the school will provide her with all the support she needs. You won’t be able to help much.”

“But Mr. Wang, I—”

“There’s no need to discuss this further. Go back to class. Ye Ningyu’s situation is complicated, and you can’t help her.”

Wang Qingshan waved his hand, signaling that the conversation was over.

He then turned back to his lesson plans, effectively dismissing Xia Tian.

Xia Tian stood there, stunned, unable to understand why Wang Qingshan was so adamant about not revealing why Ye Ningyu had transferred.

But Wang Qingshan’s evasive attitude only made Xia Tian more curious about Little Ye’s past.

Instead of leaving, Xia Tian stood there for a moment, thinking hard about how to pry more information out of Wang Qingshan.

“Why are you still here?”

Wang Qingshan turned around, noticing that Xia Tian hadn’t left yet.

Xia Tian’s mind raced, and in a moment of desperation, he brought up the incident where Ye Ningyu had been cornered by a group of thugs.

“Mr. Wang, Ye Ningyu was once surrounded by some thugs in an alley. If I hadn’t shown up in time, who knows what could have happened. That’s why I want to help her. Since she’s so shy, I need to learn more about her first.”

“What? She was cornered by thugs? When did this happen?!”

Wang Qingshan’s expression changed drastically, and he shot up from his chair in alarm.

“Don’t worry, Mr. Wang. I’ve already handled the situation. But to prevent something like that from happening again, I’ve been walking her home after evening self-study… I really want to be her friend, which is why I want to know more about her.”

“Sigh… Alright, this isn’t about me not wanting to tell you. The truth is, the principal himself gave the order not to disclose anything about her situation to anyone. Even among the teachers, I’m the only one who knows.”

Wang Qingshan let out a deep sigh. “Just drop it. And don’t think I don’t know that you used to like Xu Yuan. So tell me, why are you now messing with Ye Ningyu?”

“You’ve got it all wrong, Mr. Wang. I stopped liking Xu Yuan a long time ago. Ye Ningyu really is someone worth caring about, and I genuinely want to help her!”

“You mean it? Can you promise me this isn’t just a fleeting interest? If you’re determined to learn everything about Ye Ningyu, you’ll have to commit to accepting whatever comes with it.”

“Don’t worry. I’m serious. I swear on my honor!”

Seeing the conviction in Xia Tian’s voice and eyes, Wang Qingshan’s expression softened, though it remained conflicted.

After a long pause, he finally waved Xia Tian over. “Alright, follow me…”

Wang Qingshan led Xia Tian out of the office and into a deserted hallway.

His face grew serious as he stared at Xia Tian. “Before I tell you anything, I need to warn you—if you reveal this information to anyone else, you’ll be risking expulsion.”

“Expulsion?”

Xia Tian’s eyes narrowed. He hadn’t expected the situation to be so severe.

Only now did he realize that this issue was far more complicated than he had imagined.

“Understood. Please go ahead.”

Wang Qingshan nodded, then began to tell Xia Tian the real reason why Ye Ningyu had transferred from the High School Affiliated with the Normal University to their school…