Stop Chasing the School Belle, My Shy Deskmate is Sweet and Soft - Chapter 64

Xia Shi froze for a moment, her expression showing clear confusion.

“Sister Ye, what are you talking about? Why would you think this Heartbreak Museum belongs to my dad?”

“Ah… X-Xia Tian told me. Did I get it wrong?”

Ye Ningyu’s face stiffened slightly, and her voice became unsure.

“My brother said that? Oh… I see now!”

Xia Shi was sharp and quickly understood what was going on.

She turned and glared at Xia Tian, letting out a cold huff.

“Hmph, so that’s how you managed to get Sister Ye, such a beautiful and smart girl, to come out with you. You lied and said this museum belonged to a relative, didn’t you? You calculated everything except running into me here, huh?”

“Sister Ye, you’ve been tricked by my brother. This museum doesn’t belong to my family at all. My brother must have just said that to impress you and get you to come. He’s been a braggart ever since he was a kid!”

“Ah… so it isn’t your family’s museum?”

“Of course not! Do you know how rich we’d have to be to own a place this big?”

With that, Xia Shi looked at Xia Tian with an expression full of contempt.

And finally, Ye Ningyu realized what had happened.

Xia Tian had lied earlier. The museum didn’t belong to his second uncle.

Her eyes fell slightly, and she puffed her cheeks, looking a little hurt.

Seeing this, Xia Shi became furious. She kicked Xia Tian hard and said indignantly:

“Xia Tian! You’re such a liar! It was bad enough when you used to trick me into giving you my allowance when we were kids… but now you’re tricking an innocent girl like Sister Ye?! You’re shameless!”

Xia Tian, seeing that his lie had been exposed, couldn’t help but chuckle awkwardly.

Looks like the next time I lie, I’ll have to make sure it involves relatives who live far away.

Also…

Poor Xia Shi. The only insult she could muster is “shameless.” If this were ten years later, she’d probably call me a “bottom-tier male” right away.

Seeing how upset Little Ye was, Xia Tian felt a pang of guilt.

She must feel really sad, thinking I tricked her just now.

Xia Tian quickly apologized.

“Ahem… I’m sorry, Little Ye. I didn’t mean to lie to you. Actually, this museum isn’t my uncle’s. I made that up.”

“Mm… but we still entered without paying for tickets. Shouldn’t we go back and buy some now?”

Ye Ningyu’s soft voice echoed her concern as she glanced anxiously toward the entrance.

“Aaaah! Sister Ye, you’re just too cute! How could my brother even think of lying to someone as sweet and innocent as you?!”

Xia Shi couldn’t help but run up and hug Ye Ningyu tightly.

Now, Xia Shi was only around 1.62 meters tall, while Ye Ningyu stood at 1.70 meters. When Xia Shi hugged her, she snugly nestled against Ye Ningyu’s chest.

Ye Ningyu’s face turned red as she stood there, wide-eyed and unsure of what to do. Her pure, almond-shaped eyes were full of confusion, and under the soft amber lighting of the museum, her fair skin seemed to glow with an almost ethereal beauty.

“Xia Tian, you’re going to go buy those tickets right now! And never lie to someone as adorable as Sister Ye again!”

Xia Shi glared at Xia Tian with an exaggerated “if you don’t do it, I’ll kill you” expression.

Too bad her small stature and twin pigtails made her look anything but intimidating.

Xia Tian’s lips twitched, and he sighed softly.

“Come on, there’s no need to buy tickets… I won’t pretend anymore. I’m coming clean: this Heartbreak Museum is actually mine. So of course, I don’t need to buy tickets to get in.”

“Pfft! Really? So now you’re not pretending anymore, huh? Instead, you’ve decided to go full crazy? It was bad enough when you said it was my dad’s. But now you’re claiming it’s yours? Why don’t you just fly to the sun and stand shoulder-to-shoulder with it while you’re at it?”

Xia Tian spread his hands in a helpless gesture. “I’m serious this time. I’m not lying anymore—this museum really is mine.”

“Pfft! I don’t believe you for a second. You—”

Before Xia Shi could finish her sentence, her pager-style cellphone started ringing.

Her expression immediately changed, and she quickly pulled out the phone and answered it.

“Hello?… Ugh, Dad! It’s Friday! Can’t I stay out a little longer?”

“No, I’m not coming home yet! I want to stay out!”

“Wait! Don’t throw away my figurines! I’ll come back, I’m heading home right now! Xia Pingfu, if you throw out my figurines, I swear I’ll fight you to the death!!!”

Xia Shi hung up the phone, her face filled with panic.

She glanced at Ye Ningyu, then at her phone, and reluctantly said her goodbyes:

“Sister Ye, my dad’s threatening to throw out all my ‘waifus,’ so I have to head back… But please, don’t believe anything my brother says. He’s a big liar!”

“Sister Ye, I’ll come to visit you at your class when school starts again. See you!”

With that, Xia Shi slung her little shoulder bag over her back, hurriedly slipped on her small shoes, and ran out of the museum in a flurry.

Her hurried exit was more than a little comical.

Once Xia Shi, the “anime girl,” had left, Ye Ningyu gently poked Xia Tian and looked up at him with wide, innocent eyes.

“X-Xia Tian, were you serious this time? Is… is this Heartbreak Museum really yours?”

“This time I’m telling the truth. I lied earlier about it being my uncle’s because I thought you wouldn’t believe me if I said it was mine. But after Xia Shi exposed me, I figured there’s no point in lying anymore—especially since you almost started crying…”

Xia Tian gently patted Ye Ningyu’s head.

To fully convince her, he pulled out his phone and called Tang Hao, the museum’s curator.

“Hello? Boss, what can I do for you?”

“I’m by the message wall. Come over here for a moment.”

“Boss, you personally came to the museum? I’ll be right there!”

After hanging up, Xia Tian stood next to Ye Ningyu, waiting quietly.

Ye Ningyu sneakily glanced at Xia Tian’s profile.

She recalled how no one had stopped them when they entered the museum earlier, and how all those quotes on the walls were ones Xia Tian had written a month ago.

With all these clues, she was starting to believe that maybe—just maybe—the Heartbreak Museum really was Xia Tian’s.

But then…

“How does Xia Tian have so much money?” she wondered to herself.

While Ye Ningyu continued to puzzle over the situation, a man in a suit came jogging toward them.

Ye Ningyu had seen this man earlier when she and Xia Tian were touring the museum. He was the curator, the one who had been explaining one of the love stories on display to the visitors.

So why was the curator coming over here?

Ye Ningyu looked at him with a puzzled expression as Tang Hao approached Xia Tian, grinning respectfully.

“Boss, you should’ve warned me you were coming! It feels like a surprise inspection.”

B-Boss?!

Why is he calling Xia Tian boss?

Hearing Tang Hao address Xia Tian as “boss,” Ye Ningyu’s eyes widened in shock, her pupils dilating.