Stop Chasing the School Belle, My Shy Deskmate is Sweet and Soft - Chapter 69

The dust settled.

Xia Tian waved casually at Tang Hao and said, “Alright, you can go now. Everything’s taken care of here.”

“Understood, boss. Call me anytime if you need anything.”

Tang Hao gave a faint, knowing smile as he glanced at the group of stunned students, their faces filled with disbelief, before quietly walking away. In his heart, he thought: With this move, the boss is surely going to become a legend at school.

“Holy crap, this feels like a twist straight out of a TV drama. Xia Tian is incredible!”

“Wait a minute, guys. I remember Xia Tian comes from a regular family. How on earth does he have the money to open a whole museum? This place must have cost a fortune!”

“Maybe Xia Tian’s been hiding the fact that he’s actually a rich second-generation kid all along.”

“Thinking about it that way, Qiao Shaoxuan’s family might not even be as well-off as Xia Tian’s. Too bad for Xu Yuan, though. She missed out on such a good guy. If I were her, I’d be regretting it to death right now.”

As the voices of his classmates buzzed behind him, Xu Yuan snapped out of her shock.

Her gaze toward Xia Tian was complicated and filled with emotions she couldn’t quite put into words.

Shock, regret, and sadness swirled inside her.

Qiao Shaoxuan had actually been thrown out by Xia Tian.

And Xia Tian was the owner of the Heartbreak Museum!

But…

Xia Tian clearly had so much wealth, and this museum was his. So why didn’t he ever tell her before?

How selfish of him!

“Little Yuan… Am I dreaming? Is this museum really Xia Tian’s?”

“The curator listens to him, so the answer is pretty clear…”

With Xu Yuan’s confirmation, Chen Jiayi’s face twisted as if she had just swallowed a fly.

Thinking back on how she had mockingly insulted Xia Tian in front of everyone earlier, she wanted nothing more than to crawl into a hole and disappear.

Good grief, this whole museum belongs to Xia Tian, and I was coldly taunting him?

Chen Jiayi quietly hid behind Xu Yuan, terrified that Xia Tian might decide to throw her out as well if he got upset.

Xia Tian glanced at the group in front of him, considering whether to say something.

But just then, his eyes shifted.

Behind them, at the entrance to the restroom, Ye Ningyu had returned and was washing her hands.

So instead, Xia Tian smiled at the group.

“Alright, carry on and enjoy yourselves. I’ve got something to take care of, so I’ll be heading out.”

“Oh, by the way, when you’re leaving, just go find the curator, Tang Hao, and let him know you’re my classmates. He’ll refund all your ticket money.”

With that, Xia Tian walked past them and jogged over to the restroom entrance.

Because of the distance, Xu Yuan, Chen Jiayi, and the rest of the students from Class 6 could only make out a tall, beautiful girl walking out of the restroom and leaving the museum with Xia Tian.

That must be the friend Xia Tian mentioned earlier.

“Damn, Xia Tian’s really living his best life, huh? That girl has an amazing figure, and she’s absolutely stunning!”

“Rich and with a gorgeous girl by his side… I regret not being closer to Xia Tian during these three years of high school.”

“Wait, hold on… we all know Xia Tian isn’t some rich second-generation kid. I doubt he’s been hiding his wealth this whole time. But isn’t it possible… that the girl we just saw is a rich lady, and she’s keeping Xia Tian as her boy toy? Maybe she’s the one who bought him this museum?”

“Holy crap, now that you mention it, that actually might be true!”

As soon as someone suggested that Xia Tian might be a “kept man,” the idea quickly gained traction among the group.

After all, they couldn’t bring themselves to believe that Xia Tian was secretly a rich heir.

However, Xu Yuan’s face grew darker.

While the others might not have recognized that girl, how could she not?

That girl wasn’t some rich lady.

She was Xia Tian’s deskmate, Ye Ningyu!

Everyone in Class 6 knew about Ye Ningyu’s situation.

Though she excelled academically, her family’s financial situation was tough.

She never bought snacks, always carried a worn-out backpack, and her clothes clearly weren’t of high quality.

Nothing about her screamed “rich lady.”

Besides, Ye Ningyu often kept her face hidden behind her uniform collar and didn’t have any friends in class.

Until a month ago, everyone, including Xu Yuan, had assumed that Ye Ningyu wasn’t attractive—otherwise, why would she always hide her face?

But after seeing Ye Ningyu’s face unveiled that day at Qingshui Park, Xu Yuan had been completely blown away by her beauty.

“So… this museum really does belong to Xia Tian!”

For a moment, Xu Yuan felt deep regret for having rejected Xia Tian’s confessions so many times.

Xia Tian was good-looking, smart, and now they knew he was rich, too.

He was the perfect male lead straight out of a TV drama!

As these thoughts swirled in her mind, tears began to well up in Xu Yuan’s eyes.

“No, I can’t let Ye Ningyu take Xia Tian away from me!”

“I can’t delay any longer. I have to confess my feelings to Xia Tian directly!”

Xu Yuan’s gaze hardened with determination.

She realized that she had truly fallen for Xia Tian.

And Xu Yuan believed that if she took the initiative and confessed to Xia Tian, he would definitely accept her.

—

At 8:30 p.m.

Xia Tian and Ye Ningyu left the museum together, only to find it had started drizzling at some point.

The streets shimmered in the wet evening glow, with raindrops like tiny pearls falling on the shop windows and tall buildings, the soft patter of water crystal-clear in the quiet night.

Xia Tian pursed his lips and called over to one of the security guards by the entrance.

“Could you grab me a couple of umbrellas from inside?”

“Right away, boss. One moment.”

The security guard hurried back into the museum.

As they waited for the umbrellas, Ye Ningyu tilted her head slightly, her almond-shaped eyes twinkling.

“Xia Tian, I think I saw Xu Yuan, Chen Jiayi, and some of our other classmates earlier. What were you talking about with them?”

“Oh, nothing much. There was just some simp who followed them in, so I had the security guards throw him out.”

Ye Ningyu blinked in confusion. “A simp? What breed of dog is that?” (Note: The confusion comes from the Chinese term “舔狗” (tiǎn gǒu), which literally translates to “licking dog” and is used as slang for “simp.”)

“Uh… it’s a stray dog.”

“Oh… poor stray dog, being thrown out in the rain like this.”

“……”

Xia Tian stifled a laugh, glancing at Little Ye.

He thought to himself that, although innocent, she was unintentionally hilarious.

True, poor Qiao Shaoxuan. Getting thrown out into the rain like that.

But hey, he brought it on himself for trying to act all high and mighty in front of me.

Qiao Shaoxuan had ended up like the joker card in a deck of playing cards—the wild card that no one wanted.

Gotham City’s big boss, Batman’s main client.

The ultimate backup, always waiting for his moment to shine.

Before long, the security guard returned with two umbrellas.

But upon seeing both in hand, Xia Tian frowned.

This security guard’s emotional intelligence was nothing compared to Tang Hao’s.

Two umbrellas? How was he supposed to get closer to Little Ye now?

No wonder some people become curators, and others stay security guards…

Xia Tian shot the guard a disgruntled look and only took one of the umbrellas.

Opening it up, he smiled at Ye Ningyu and gestured for her to come closer.

“Come here. What are you standing around for?”

“O-oh.”

Ye Ningyu quickly moved to his side, sharing the umbrella with him.

Xia Tian smirked and deliberately scooted a little closer, their shoulders brushing.

Ye Ningyu’s body stiffened with nervousness as she tried to walk carefully beneath the umbrella.

Noticing this, Xia Tian tilted the umbrella more toward her, shielding her from the rain.

The night was quiet.

The ground was wet, and the air was filled with the earthy scent of rain-soaked soil and greenery.

Being near the city center, the streets occasionally bustled with couples walking closely together under shared umbrellas, much like Xia Tian and Ye Ningyu.