Chapter 12: Betrayal?

When Lu Qingyue heard this, she was momentarily stunned before realizing—could this person be here to pick her up after school?

Still lost in thought, she saw the man push open the car door and step out. He walked toward her, lowering his head slightly to meet her gaze, and spoke with effortless ease:

“After school, shall I buy you ice cream? Or something else? What do you like to eat?”

Though he maintained the same lazy, nonchalant air as always, the coaxing tone in his words was unmistakable.

But Lu Qingyue's brows knitted in suspicion.

Why was he being so nice to her?

Could it be that he’d done something behind her back to wrong her again?

Lu Qingyue took a wary step back, cutting short his attempt at kindness and decisively drawing a line between them.

“Xingye, about you hitting me with the ball—thanks to you peeling shrimp for me last night, I’ll let that go. But as for snitching, just because I’m not holding it against you doesn’t mean I forgive you. From now on, you walk your tightrope, I take my sunlit path. If we have business, we’ll communicate by message in a bottle. Otherwise, let’s never meet again!”

With a proud wave of her small hand, she declared their final farewell, then turned and ran toward the school gate without giving him a chance to speak.

The scorching sun poured down its endless rays, while cicadas clung desperately to the last scraps of summer, shrieking themselves hoarse.

Cheng Xingye stood watching the girl’s figure vanish in a flash, eyes narrowed in confusion.

Snitching?

Had he ever done such a thing?

...

The week flew by. In the blink of an eye, the first monthly exam of the term was over.

Lu Qingyue knew she was doomed the moment she finished her math paper.

She had spent the whole summer break indulging herself—vacationing at the seaside with Zhou Tingting first, then returning to wage relentless battles alongside Lu Ming in King’s Canyon day and night. She’d only managed to finish her holiday homework at breakneck speed in the very last week.

She hadn’t expected the math exam to be so cunning, pulling questions directly from the holiday assignments.

The moment she left the exam hall, she could already foresee her miserable fate—even imagined where she might bury herself.

But before she could dig a hole, the results were out.

Jiang University Affiliated High was quick with grading. As soon as the weekend ended and Monday rolled around, everyone found their freshly graded monthly exam report cards on their desks.

Lu Qingyue glanced at hers, then promptly flipped it upside down, covering it on her desk as if nothing had happened.

Damn!

Out of 150 points, she’d only scored 96 in math—barely scraping past the passing line!

Since entering high school, she had never gotten such a low score. A chill crept up the back of her neck as she began worrying about her allowance for next month.

Before school let out, the last period was homeroom.

Their homeroom teacher, Li Fenfen, was a young woman who had just graduated last year. She taught math to both their class and Class 5. She was gentle and approachable in her interactions with students, never putting on airs, but she was strict when it came to academics.

She handed back the math tests, requiring everyone to have their parents sign them and return them the next day.

Lu Qingyue, utterly dejected, stuffed the paper into her backpack while weeping bitter tears in her heart.

She’d never done this poorly before. If her parents found out, she’d be in for another lecture. What’s more, her own mother was a teacher—recently promoted to director of the junior high academic office. There was no way she could accept having a daughter with such unimpressive grades...

While racking her brain for a way out, a familiar head popped up by the windowsill, tapping the glass next to her desk.

Lu Qingyue turned and saw it was Lu Ming.

Lu Ming was her age and a junior in Class 5 at Jiang University Affiliated High.

Though technically cousins, they hardly ever crossed paths at school except during PE class. Even when they did meet, they sometimes couldn’t be bothered to greet each other.

To see Lu Ming waiting for her somewhere other than the basketball court after school was a bit of a surprise.

She pushed open the window, poking her suspicious little head out.

“What do you want?”

Lu Ming slung his backpack over one shoulder, lazily leaning on the windowsill as he jerked his chin at her.

“Waiting to walk home with you.”

Lu Qingyue rolled her eyes.

“Out with it already.”

They’d gone to the same school for ten years, from elementary through now. The number of times Lu Ming had waited for her after school could be counted on one hand.

He was never up to any good when he sought her out.

Seeing that she couldn’t be fooled, Lu Ming glanced around, cleared his throat, and lowered his voice.

“How’d you do on the math test?”

Lu Qingyue narrowed her eyes, seeming to catch his drift, and answered his question with another.

“You didn’t do well either?”

Lu Ming gave her a look of “no one knows me like you do.”

When he was sure no one was paying attention, he leaned in a bit closer and whispered, “How about we sign for each other?”

Lu Qingyue hesitated. “Isn’t that a bad idea? What if we get caught?”

Lu Ming replied, “If you don’t tell and I don’t tell, who would know? Is Ms. Li really going to go to the trouble of checking handwriting?”

She thought it over and agreed. “Deal! Hand it over.”

Without hesitation, Lu Ming spread his test out on her desk.

Lu Qingyue saw he’d only scored 69—exactly her own score reversed.

With a look of disdain, she signed his paper, then handed him hers, letting him scribble her father’s name over it.

Transaction complete, they each put away their tests and solemnly shook hands.

“Pleasure doing business.”

“Remember—mum’s the word.”

...

Having solved the parent-signature problem, Lu Qingyue was in high spirits.

After school, she and Zhou Tingting headed to the 7-Eleven at the school gate for ice cream. Just as they entered through the sliding doors, Zhou Tingting nudged her elbow.

“Yue’er?”

“Mm?” Without looking away, Lu Qingyue made her way straight to the freezer.

Zhou Tingting grabbed her arm, tipping her chin in a certain direction as a reminder.

“Isn’t that your brother’s friend?”

Lu Qingyue was already opening the freezer, ready to pick out her treat, but at Zhou Tingting’s words she looked up.

Afternoon sunlight poured golden through the glass, wreathing the young man standing at the convenience store entrance in a soft halo.

With his back to the window, Cheng Xingye stood beside a pure white Samoyed, its fur fluffed up like a snowball. He was slightly tilted, talking to someone nearby.

He happened to glance back a moment later, locking eyes with the clear gaze of the girl.

Lu Qingyue immediately looked away, pretending to choose ice cream. She hadn’t expected Cheng Xingye to hand the leash to his friend and walk inside alone.

With a chime from the doorbell, a lady’s elegant voice rang out, “Welcome.”

Cheng Xingye strode over to the two girls in a single step.

For lowerclassmen, it was easy to feel a sense of awe toward handsome, upperclass boys. Zhou Tingting, suddenly face to face with such an extraordinary figure, was struck dumb, eyes wide, frozen like a statue.

Lu Qingyue, however, kept her eyes fixed ahead, acting as if nothing and no one else existed, focusing intently on picking out her ice cream.

She hadn’t done well in math and desperately needed a high-calorie bomb to steady her nerves.

But as someone whose pocket money was still strictly controlled by her parents, she had no hope of enjoying total ice cream freedom; she had to carefully avoid the overpriced “ice cream assassins” and settle for what she could afford.

She was torn between honeydew and chocolate when a faint shadow fell beside her—a subtle hint of tobacco drifting over.