I'm Serious

A beautiful young girl boarded the school bus at the very last moment before its doors closed.

Her eye-catching red dress showed off the beauty of her figure to the fullest.

The dress cinched perfectly at her waist, and the swell of her chest contrasted strikingly with the slender calves exposed beneath her skirt.

Red lips, almond-shaped eyes, bright eyes, a pert nose, and long, naturally wavy hair—even without makeup, it was no exaggeration to call her a beauty who seemed to have descended from heaven.

After the girl appeared, the whispers on the school bus grew noticeably louder.

"Ren Yexue is taking the bus too? Doesn't her family's driver always take her everywhere?"

"Maybe her family's Maybach was sent in for repairs? Or maybe their driver took the day off?"

"Come on, you think her family only has one luxury car? Only one driver?"

"Hah! What a show-off. She doesn't look like a student at all! What other girl at our school dresses like her?"

Hardly a student at Muyang No. 2 Middle School failed to recognize their famous school belle.

Rich, beautiful, innocent, and even flamboyant... it was no exaggeration to say all those words could be used to describe her.

Wherever Ren Yexue appeared, she was almost always the center of conversation.

Today was no exception. After she appeared, the topics of conversation in the students' little circles quietly changed.

Though they were speaking in low voices, there was only so much space on the school bus. No matter how softly they whispered, they could still be heard.

But Ren Yexue paid no attention to the gossip. Born with a golden key in her mouth, she had long since grown accustomed to others' criticism.

Su Yang, however, was sitting in a corner of the back row. When he heard the name "Ren Yexue," his head snapped up.

Ren Yexue?

No way... Don't tell me that young miss followed me all the way here!

But when Su Yang looked closely and saw that the graceful figure in red really was Ren Yexue, his heart skipped a beat.

Damn, it really is her?!

"Let me off!"

"Hey, mister driver, I want to get off! Hey!"

Unfortunately, no matter how Su Yang shouted, the driver acted as though he couldn't hear him and paid him no attention.

Instead, the driver stepped on the gas, and with a roar, the school bus slowly rolled forward.

I'm done for.

The driver's been bought off... That's just the sort of thing Ren Yexue would do.

Watching the scenery outside the window begin to move slowly past, Su Yang immediately understood what was going on. He withdrew his gaze in resignation, pressed a hand to his forehead, and sighed.

Su Yang's shouting had drawn Ren Yexue's attention, and when she spotted him, her eyes lit up.

"Found you!"

The next moment, she took light, quick steps toward Su Yang.

Before long, Ren Yexue stopped beside him, her swanlike neck held high.

She looked at Su Yang with smiling eyes and greeted him.

"Good morning, top student! I came to find you on the bus!"

Just as Ren Yexue was about to sit down beside Su Yang, she discovered that the seat was already occupied. Her smile suddenly froze.

"Huh? Oh no! I forgot people can sit wherever they want on the bus..."

"What do I do...?"

Last night, she had paid off the school's three bus drivers, asking them to call her immediately if they spotted Su Yang.

That way, she could "run into" Su Yang on the bus! She could also enjoy sitting side by side with him.

Ren Yexue had worked out her plan perfectly, but what she hadn't expected was that Su Yang would take the first school bus of the morning.

Not only was there no empty seat beside Su Yang, but quite a few people were still standing throughout the bus.

A seat was hard to come by!

Ren Yexue pouted as she looked at Su Yang's sharply defined face.

Is my plan going down the drain?

No, I have to sit next to Su Yang today!

Ren Yexue steeled herself and turned her gaze to the boy beside Su Yang.

"Excuse me, classmate, could you give me your seat? I want to sit with Su Yang!"

After hearing Ren Yexue's words, the boy frowned deeply.

What does she mean? Give up my seat?

You've got to be kidding. The school doesn't belong to your family, Ren Yexue, and your name isn't written on this seat!

Why should I give it up? Just because you're pretty? Just because your family is rich?

Besides, with everyone watching, if I actually give it up for you, won't people think I'm sucking up to you? How am I supposed to show my face at school after that?

Impossible! I'd never give up my seat in this lifetime!

Just as he was about to refuse Ren Yexue, her clear voice rang out beside his ear again.

"I'll pay you a hundred yuan! I'll buy your seat!"

In the blink of an eye, the boy sitting beside Su Yang stood up.

His face was wreathed in smiles, and he seemed like an entirely different person from just moments ago.

"Of course, dear classmate Ren. Please, have a seat! I hope you and Su Yang enjoy your time together!"

Alas! What has the world come to...

Having witnessed the whole thing, Su Yang couldn't stop himself from sighing inwardly.

After paying the price of a red banknote, Ren Yexue obtained the seat beside Su Yang. She felt it was well worth it.

After sitting down quietly and obediently beside Su Yang, Ren Yexue pulled a small pink notebook from inside her clothes and made some marks in it.

"Ride a crowded bus together, done!"

Hearing Ren Yexue talking to herself, Su Yang couldn't resist taking a peek at the contents of her notebook.

But one look left him stunned.

The page was densely covered in neat, delicate handwriting:

Ride a crowded bus with Su Yang, eat at a roadside stall with Su Yang, work a job with Su Yang, worry about rent with Su Yang...

Not only had she used pens of different colors to mark it up, but Su Yang even spotted a few little emoticons at a glance.

She had clearly put a lot of effort into it!

"Th-this is...?"

"Aren't these the things I said to you yesterday?"

After school yesterday, Ren Yexue had confessed to Su Yang in person at the school gate.

The most, most, most ridiculous part was that Su Yang and Ren Yexue had only known each other for a month.

That was right, just one month!

A month ago, the classes in Su Yang's grade had been reshuffled, and he had happened to end up in the same class as Ren Yexue. They had even happened to become desk mates.

Su Yang admitted that when he became desk mates with the utterly enchanting beauty Ren Yexue, his heart had stirred quite a bit.

But he had quickly buried those ripples deep in his heart. Given his circumstances, even if Ren Yexue pursued him, there was no way he could be with her!

On one side were his family's straitened circumstances, and on the other was that eerie murmuring threatening his life! So Su Yang's response to Ren Yexue had been—

"If you can put up with crowded buses, the dirt and mess of roadside stalls, the hardship of working, and the pressure of paying rent...

Only then is there a chance we can be together. Otherwise, it's impossible!"

After saying that, Su Yang had walked away.

In Su Yang's mind, the two of them had never belonged to the same world.

Ren Yexue was a carefree, favored daughter of heaven, while he, Su Yang, was a poor soul struggling on the brink of death. Their families and circumstances were worlds apart!

He had thought his words would make Ren Yexue back off in the face of difficulty. He hadn't expected her to take them seriously, much less write them down in a notebook.

Seeing Su Yang's surprised expression, Ren Yexue tilted her head, her gaze utterly earnest.

"That's right! They're what you said. Didn't you say you'd be with me if I did all of them?"

"Top student, I'm serious!"

Thump, thump.

Su Yang heard a heart beating.