Stop Chasing the School Belle, My Shy Deskmate is Sweet and Soft - Chapter 88

At six o’clock in the evening in May, the sunset was particularly beautiful.

After what happened last night, Ye Ningyu fully trusted Xia Tian now.

The lingering wariness she had before was completely gone.

So during lunch, Xia Tian managed to learn a lot about her past through their conversation.

Just as he had heard from Ye Shengshi, Little Ye’s father, Ye Wei, was a hunter in their village. He struck it rich by finding a rare fungus known as “Tai Sui.”

However, it was this newfound wealth that led Ye Wei to develop a gambling habit.

But as they say, you lose more often than you win.

Ye Wei quickly squandered all the money he made from selling the fungus. To win it back, he borrowed money to gamble even more.

He ended up losing everything again.

Desperate and blinded by his losses, Ye Wei got drunk and, in a moment of insanity, decided to exploit his wife and daughter by sending them to provide sexual services.

Fortunately, Ye Ningyu and her mother, Chen Lan, remained unharmed. When Ye Wei sobered up, he was filled with regret.

In an effort to redeem himself, he sold everything they owned back home to repay his debts, but they still owed tens of thousands.

Since they couldn’t repay it all, Ye Wei decided to flee with his wife and daughter, moving to Beian overnight.

Although life became harder, Ye Wei truly gave up gambling and started living a better life with Chen Lan and Ye Ningyu.

But the good times didn’t last. One night, after drinking, Ye Wei had a car accident on his way home…

Hearing this, Xia Tian felt an intense sense of injustice and sorrow.

Little Ye could have had a very happy family. Her father had the means to provide a good life with the money from selling the fungus.

But instead, he took a destructive path and got addicted to gambling.

“Do you hate your father?”

“No, because everyone makes mistakes. It’s just that my father wasn’t lucky. When he realized his mistakes, he didn’t get the chance to make amends.”

Ye Ningyu’s tone was unusually calm when she said this.

It was as if she had repeated this to herself countless times.

Xia Tian looked at Little Ye with mixed emotions.

She was just too kind, too understanding.

Perhaps…

Her stubbornness and inner strength were all developed over the years she and Chen Lan relied on each other.

Looking at the determined yet pitiable Little Ye before him, Xia Tian felt a strong urge to hug her tightly.

“Hold on a little longer. Once the gaokao is over, you won’t have to wait any longer!”

Xia Tian silently told himself.

As they neared the classroom, Xia Tian suddenly remembered Ye Shengshi.

He turned to Little Ye, “The rumors at the High School Affiliated with the Normal University started with that guy from your hometown, Ye Shengshi. Do you hate him?”

“I… I don’t hate Little Shi. He apologized to me before and said he didn’t mean to.”

“Huh? Little Shi?”

Xia Tian was puzzled.

Not only did she not hate him, but she also called him by such an affectionate nickname?

Seeing Xia Tian’s confused expression, Ye Ningyu quickly explained, “Well… actually, Little Shi is the child of an aunt from my hometown. He’s been calling me ‘big sister’ since we were little.”

Xia Tian was exceptionally shocked.

He hadn’t expected Ye Shengshi and Ye Ningyu to have such a connection!

They might not have much of a blood relation, but Ye Ningyu had been his big sister since childhood.

Thinking about it, Xia Tian felt yesterday’s punch to Ye Shengshi’s face might have been too light.

That kid kept calling her Ye Ningyu, probably because he was too ashamed to call her big sister anymore.

As they walked into the classroom, Xia Tian and Ye Ningyu ran into Qiao Shaoxuan, whom they hadn’t seen in a while.

Xia Tian glanced at him briefly, then walked into the classroom with Little Ye.

But Qiao Shaoxuan glared at Xia Tian’s back with intense hatred.

“That bastard, Xia Tian. Last time, he had me thrown out of the museum right in front of Little Yuan, making me a complete laughingstock!”

“Now I don’t even have the guts to face Little Yuan. Xia Tian, I swear, you’ll pay for this. There’ll come a day when you’ll regret it!”

Since being thrown out of the Heartbreak Museum by the security guards Xia Tian had called, Qiao Shaoxuan had been sneaking into school every day.

He was terrified of running into the Senior 3, Class 6 students who had witnessed his humiliation.

“Never mind. I should focus on studying for now. I’ll work hard to get into the same university as Little Yuan and take it from there.”

—

Time flew by like a fleeting horse.

Soon, it was May 20th, a Saturday.

In Beian, the weather had fully transitioned to hot.

This weekend was the last weekend off for the senior students of Beian No. 1 High School before the gaokao.

With only 16 days left until the gaokao, after this weekend, there would be continuous classes until the day before the exam, June 7th.

“Little Tian, with only a few days left until the gaokao, shouldn’t we stay home and study? We can go out and have fun after the exams…”

“What are you so anxious about? You’ve been working hard for three years in high school. Are you still worried about not doing well in the gaokao?”

“Damn, I only ranked 94th in the grade for the third mock exam. You ranked 25th. Of course you’re not worried!”

“Panicking won’t help. At this point, your scores are pretty much set. Even if you stay home and study, you’ll just be reinforcing what you already know to make sure you don’t miss easy points during the exam.”

Xia Tian rolled his eyes and continued:

“So, instead of stressing out, why not enjoy this beautiful day by going boating with Little Ye and me at the park? They say cramming last-minute is futile, but holding onto Father’s leg can get you a Fire Kirin!”

“You’re tricking me again. You still haven’t recharged my Thunder God!”

“You can’t rush these things. Patience is key.”

“Damn it, patience my ass!”

Xia Tian chuckled. “Just kidding. I’ll recharge it for you after the gaokao. I don’t want you to sneak off to the internet café now. Anyway, Little Ye is almost here. Get ready to row.”

Fang Yu was puzzled.

“Little Tian, why are you so insistent on taking Little Ye out today?”

Xia Tian responded matter-of-factly, “Today is May 20th. In Chinese, it sounds like ‘I love you.’ It’s practically a mini-Valentine’s Day. I need to take Little Ye on a date.”

“If you want some alone time with Little Ye, why did you drag me along to row the boat?”

“It takes two to row a boat. I can’t let Little Ye exert herself, so I brought you along.”

Fang Yu was stunned, his expression changing drastically.

“Damn, so I’m just a tool?”

Xia Tian pretended to be shocked, looking at Fang Yu with wide eyes.

“Damn, you’re really sharp. You figured it out!”

Fang Yu: “…”

—

TL Note: “520” (wǔ èr líng) is commonly used in Chinese internet slang to mean “I love you” (我爱你, wǒ ài nǐ) because the pronunciation of “520” sounds similar to “I love you” in Mandarin.

Also, Little Shi more like Little Shi*!