Stop Chasing the School Belle, My Shy Deskmate is Sweet and Soft - Chapter 8

“For… for me?”

Ye Ningyu paused for a moment, slightly stunned.

Xia Tian had always bought milk for the class monitor before. Why was he suddenly giving it to her this time?

“Xia Tian, did you buy this for the class monitor?”

“Nope, I specifically went to the old food market this morning to buy it for you. What does this have to do with her?”

“But in the past, you bought breakfast for her every morning.”

“The past is the past, and now is now. Stop talking and eat it while it’s still warm. I was late just to get this for you!”

With an authoritative tone, Xia Tian shoved the food into Ye Ningyu’s arms.

But Ye Ningyu shook her head, hesitant. “But… I can’t accept this.”

“You don’t want it? Fine, I’ll just toss it, then.”

As he said this, Xia Tian made a show of pretending to throw it away.

Ye Ningyu panicked and quickly stopped him.

“Don’t! Don’t throw it away… It’s wrong to waste food.”

“Then hurry up and eat it.”

“O-Okay…”

Pouting slightly, Ye Ningyu hesitated but eventually accepted the buns and milk, nibbling on them slowly.

Seeing this, Xia Tian smiled in satisfaction and turned his attention back to his English morning reading.

He couldn’t help but reflect.

In his previous life, he had been terrible at English—anyone could easily score higher than him with little effort. Later, during his entrepreneurial journey, he had to study intensively for work purposes and eventually passed the Cambridge Business English Certificate (BEC).

Now that he had been reborn, he had no reason to worry about English anymore.

In fact, he was confident he could score a perfect mark on the English section of the college entrance exam.

As for math and literature, those had always been his strong subjects. The only subject he needed to focus on was science, which required him to catch up quickly.

“I need to do well on the exam this time if I want to attend the same university as Ye Ningyu…”

“Wait a minute… Based on Ye Ningyu’s grades, she should have easily gotten into Tsinghua University. So why did she end up at a mediocre school requiring only around 500 points?”

Suddenly, Xia Tian remembered that Ye Ningyu’s academic performance in her past life didn’t align with the university she attended.

Could it be that she had some special attachment to that university?

Puzzled, he turned and looked at Ye Ningyu, who was still eating her bun in small bites.

“Little Ye, what university do you want to attend?” he asked.

Ye Ningyu was startled and quickly swallowed her food.

“Uh… I suppose Tsinghua University… The principal said that if I can get accepted, the government will give me a large sum of money, which I can use to pay for my mom’s medical treatment.”

“Oh.”

Xia Tian fell into deep thought.

Given Ye Ningyu’s academic ability, both the school and the local education department must have held high hopes for her. If she managed to get into Tsinghua, she’d surely receive a large scholarship and other awards.

After all, it’s a big deal for the local community and school to produce a student who gets into Tsinghua—such an achievement only comes around once in several years.

But what exactly happened that caused her to end up at Chang’an University instead?

The two schools aren’t even in the same league!

Xia Tian thought about it for a long time but couldn’t figure it out. He decided not to dwell on it too much.

If Ye Ningyu really did get into Tsinghua, his science scores wouldn’t be enough to get him into the same school as her, so maybe it was better that she didn’t make it after all.

Either way, with him around, even if Ye Ningyu didn’t attend university, he was confident he could give her a good life!

After finishing the breakfast Xia Tian bought, Ye Ningyu’s complexion noticeably improved.

It was the first time she hadn’t gone to class on an empty stomach.

She couldn’t help but steal a glance at Xia Tian, then quickly averted her eyes.

Somehow, Xia Tian seemed just as gentle today as he had been yesterday.

—

The rest of the morning, during physics, chemistry, and biology classes, Xia Tian listened intently.

After all, he hadn’t studied these subjects in three years—even the most basic energy formulas had slipped his mind.

With only 98 days left, if he didn’t buckle down, his science score—which had a maximum of 300 points—might barely scrape 100…

Ye Ningyu was quietly surprised, murmuring to herself, “Why has Xia Tian suddenly become so serious about studying?”

After the third period of chemistry ended, Xia Tian let out a long sigh of relief and slumped over his desk, exhausted, his forehead dotted with sweat.

Ten years without studying—it’s killer!

“X-Xia Tian, here… wipe your sweat.”

Ye Ningyu, ever thoughtful, pulled out a tissue from her pocket and handed it to him.

Xia Tian grinned and reached out to take the tissue.

He deliberately brushed his hand against hers.

So soft!

So smooth!

Ye Ningyu’s face turned bright red, and she wished she could hide her face inside her collar.

After a long moment, she finally lifted her head again.

“X-Xia Tian… The next class is English. If there’s anything you don’t understand… you can always ask me.”

“Oh? My English is pretty good. Don’t worry about it. I’ll probably ask you for help during the next science classes.”

Xia Tian chuckled.

It seemed like his focus during the past three classes hadn’t gone unnoticed by Ye Ningyu.

But he wasn’t worried about English—he had passed the Cambridge Business English exam in his previous life.

High school English was a walk in the park for him.

Ye Ningyu didn’t say anything more. She merely glanced at the corner of Xia Tian’s desk, where a 41-point English test paper lay.

—

The last class of the morning was English. After his hard work all morning, Xia Tian decided to take this period to relax.

The English teacher, Dai Zihan, was known for her fashionable outfits—she never wore the same thing twice in a week.

She carried herself with poise, often wearing skirts that showed off her long legs—a common subject of daydreams for the boys in the class.

“Alright everyone, take out your test papers from a few days ago. Today we’ll go over the cloze test. Afterward, I’ll randomly call on students to answer. If you can’t, you’ll have to copy the cloze test ten times!”

Ye Ningyu obediently pulled out her paper.

Xia Tian found that ever since his rebirth, no matter how boring the lesson, he couldn’t fall asleep in class.

Lying on his desk, he thought for a moment before giving Ye Ningyu a nudge.

“Little Ye, are you free this weekend?”

“Huh? Y-Yes… Why, Xia Tian?”

Ye Ningyu was startled. She glanced at the teacher to make sure she wasn’t paying attention, then whispered her response.

“Great. I’ll pick you up from your place on Saturday night.”

“Wh-What?!”

Ye Ningyu’s eyes widened, her mind going blank.

Does Xia Tian want to go out with me alone?

Is this… a date?

Should I agree?

“Don’t overthink it. I’m just taking you for a walk at the plaza. Judging by how you are, you probably spend all your weekends cooped up at home. You shouldn’t stay indoors all the time—it’ll stifle you.”

“But… but…”

“No buts! Haven’t you heard the saying, ‘If you take something from someone, you owe them’? You already ate the breakfast I bought.”

Xia Tian smiled confidently, clearly planning ahead.

“So, if you eat my breakfast, you have to go on a date with me.”

Ye Ningyu looked at Xia Tian, realizing she had fallen into his trap.

She pouted but eventually buried her head in her collar, silently accepting his request.

Just then, Chen Jiayi, who was sitting in the front row, suddenly stood up.

She had been watching Xia Tian the entire class, noticing how he kept talking to Ye Ningyu.

Seizing the opportunity to stand up for Xu Yuan, Chen Jiayi raised her voice and reported Xia Tian to the teacher.

“Ms. Dai, Xia Tian has been chatting the whole time. Not only is he disturbing Ye Ningyu, but he’s also distracting the rest of us.”

The classroom immediately fell silent, and everyone turned to look at Xia Tian.

He was still leaning on his hand, lazily gazing at Ye Ningyu, which only supported Chen Jiayi’s claim.

Feeling the weight of everyone’s stares, Ye Ningyu instinctively shrank into her seat.

Xia Tian, however, squinted and glared at Chen Jiayi.

“You’re sitting in the front row, and I’m all the way in the back. How can you hear me talking from so far away? You must have superhuman hearing.”

Chen Jiayi scoffed. “Hmph! You’re not even paying attention to the lesson, and you’re distracting others!”

“Who says I’m not paying attention? I’ve understood everything the teacher’s explained.”

“Understood everything? What a joke! This mock exam’s cloze test is the hardest we’ve ever had! You’re always at the bottom of the class in English—how could you possibly understand everything? If you’re so confident, why don’t you stand up and explain it to everyone? If you can’t, you should follow the teacher’s instructions and copy the cloze test ten times!”

Chen Jiayi raised her chin triumphantly.

Dai Zihan had noticed Xia Tian talking to Ye Ningyu earlier, but it hadn’t seemed as bad as Chen Jiayi made it out to be.

She wasn’t blind—she could tell that Chen Jiayi was picking a fight with Xia Tian.

Still, now that Chen Jiayi had called him out in front of the whole class, Dai Zihan had no choice but to address the situation.

“Xia Tian, I did see you talking to Ye Ningyu. So, why don’t you stand up and explain the cloze test? If you can’t, you’ll have to copy it ten times, just like Chen Jiayi suggested.”

Dai Zihan spoke calmly, hoping to quickly end this little episode. She didn’t really believe Xia Tian had understood the lesson.

But Ye Ningyu suddenly panicked.

Without thinking, she stood up, even though she hated being the center of attention. Gripping the edge of her uniform, she mustered the courage to speak.

“Ms. Dai… you’ve misunderstood Xia Tian. He was asking me a question. He wasn’t disturbing my studies.”

Oh?

Xia Tian raised an eyebrow, surprised as he looked at Ye Ningyu.

The girl who usually stuttered when speaking to others was now standing up for him in front of the whole class?

The funny thing was, he had actually been chatting with her.

Little Ye was even lying for him!

Chen Jiayi hadn’t expected timid Ye Ningyu to stick up for Xia Tian.

For a moment, she was stunned, then glanced over at Xu Yuan.

Determined to defend her friend, she bit her lip and pressed on.

“Ye Ningyu, why are you siding with him? Xia Tian was clearly distracting you.”

“But since you claim he was asking you questions, it must mean he understands the cloze test well. In that case, he should definitely show us what he’s learned.”