Stop Chasing the School Belle, My Shy Deskmate is Sweet and Soft - Chapter 89

At 2 p.m., the sun blazed down mercilessly.

Xia Tian and Fang Yu were finally joined by Ye Ningyu at the entrance of Qingshui Park.

Ye Ningyu wore a gray T-shirt and light-washed jeans. Due to the heat, she had tied her usually loose hair into a ponytail.

However, unlike a confident, sophisticated woman, her ponytail wasn’t tied high up, but rather loosely draped behind her, giving her a more girl-next-door vibe.

“Xia Tian, Fang Yu.”

Xia Tian was pleased with how Little Ye addressed the two of them differently.

(TL Note: In the original text, Ye Ningyu refers to Xia Tian as “Classmate Xia,” which is a common respectful form of address in Chinese. However, to make the dialogue flow more naturally in English, I chose not to use this specific term.)

He glanced down at her.

Hmm…

No wonder people online said that gray sweatpants were a guy’s secret weapon to attract girls.

He never understood why before.

But seeing Little Ye in a gray T-shirt, he suddenly got it.

Gray clothes… make certain features stand out more than white ones!

“Alright, now that everyone’s here, let’s go boating! The weather’s nice, and it’s a great time to be out on the water.”

Xia Tian smiled and led the innocent Little Ye and the “tool” Fang Yu into Qingshui Park.

After renting a boat, the three of them got on board.

There were many couples on the lake, all smiling happily.

Xia Tian and Little Ye both wore smiles as well.

Except for Fang Yu, whose face might as well have had “sucker” written on it.

“Thinking about how you two top students have your gaokao pretty much in the bag makes me feel like ants are crawling all over me. I should be cramming for the exam, not playing with you guys…”

“Why are you so panicked? I only scored 602 this time. We’re only about fifty or sixty points apart. What are you so scared of?”

As Xia Tian rowed, he “comforted” Fang Yu.

Of course, this kind of comfort was like twisting a knife in Fang Yu’s heart.

But Little Ye didn’t see through Xia Tian’s “twisting the knife” style of comfort, so she earnestly tried to ease Fang Yu’s worries as well:

“Y-yes, Fang Yu, don’t be discouraged. I-I didn’t do well in Chinese this time and only scored 720…”

“…Little Ye, do you hear yourself?”

“Huh?”

Ye Ningyu looked puzzled and a bit aggrieved.

She didn’t understand why her well-meaning attempt to comfort Fang Yu seemed to make him more upset.

Xia Tian stifled a laugh.

In his previous life, people would have called Little Ye’s unintentional remarks “humblebragging.”

Soon, Xia Tian and Ye Ningyu started discussing a classical poem that matched their current setting.

Seeing them chat and laugh, Fang Yu initially didn’t mind.

But as their conversation delved deeper, he began to feel uneasy.

“If I remember correctly, that poem was the second one on the Chinese poetry memorization section two years ago, right?”

“Mhm… Xia Tian, your memory is impressive.”

“Haha, not bad. But last year’s gaokao poem was…?”

“It was from ‘Return to the Fields…’”

The more Fang Yu listened, the more his face darkened.

Damn!

Is it trendy now to lure a guy to the lake and kill him?

Fang Yu glanced at the serene lake around him. He felt an urge to dive right in.

“Wait! I downloaded a new song on my phone. You two chat away; I’ll listen to music.”

With that, he pulled out his earphones from his pocket and put them on.

“You’re getting closer, hearing two voices. I’m caught off guard, standing there stunned~~~”

“I should be under the car, not in the car, seeing how sweet you two are. This way, it’ll be easier for me to give up…”

As he listened, Fang Yu’s face turned even darker.

I may not be in the car, but I’m in the damn boat!

Fine, I’ll go under the boat then?

You guys tricked me into coming, saying that cramming last-minute is useless, then made me row the boat for you.

And now you’re discussing poetry I don’t understand right in front of me…

Isn’t this some kind of entrapment?

—

At Factory 522, in the factory director’s office.

Qiao Wu sat at his desk, looking troubled as he stared at the “layoff quota report” and a pile of employee profiles.

He wasn’t worried about where the laid-off employees would go. The problem was that a layoff quota meant fewer orders for his factory.

But there was a silver lining.

As the factory director, he got to decide who stayed and who went. Once this news got out, employees who didn’t want to be laid off would come to him with gifts.

It was a little compensation, he supposed.

There were two batches of names on the layoff lists, meaning he’d get two rounds of gifts.

As for those who didn’t bring gifts…

Well, they couldn’t blame him.

Just then, there was a knock on the door.

Qiao Wu adjusted his glasses. “Come in.”

Seeing his son enter, Qiao Wu relaxed his guard.

“Shaoxuan, don’t you have school today? The gaokao is right around the corner.”

“This is our last break before the gaokao. After this, we’ll have continuous classes until the day before the exam… Dad, today’s Grandma’s birthday. Mom wants you home early to have dinner with her.”

“I know. I’ll go home early today.”

“Okay, I’ll head back now, Dad.”

Qiao Wu nodded.

But then he noticed the first and second layoff lists on his desk and called Qiao Shaoxuan back.

“Wait, Shaoxuan, take these two lists to Uncle Yang for me. Make sure the employees don’t see them!”

“Don’t worry, Dad. I’m the director’s son, after all. I know how to handle this.”

Qiao Shaoxuan nodded.

Realizing the importance of the lists, his expression turned serious.

After leaving the office, curiosity got the better of him. He opened the folder to take a look.

It was just a list of names for layoffs.

As he was about to put the lists back, one name on the second list caught his attention.

“Xia Zhengguo? Isn’t that Xia Tian’s dad’s name?”

Qiao Shaoxuan raised an eyebrow and pulled out Xia Zhengguo’s profile.

After carefully reviewing it, a smirk formed on his face.

Because under Xia Zhengguo’s family members, it clearly listed Xia Tian as his son.

“Tsk, tsk. Who would’ve thought Xia Tian’s dad works for my dad?”

“Second batch of layoffs? Ha, Xia Tian, you like to show off, don’t you? Let’s see if you’ll come begging to me now…”