I'll Wait Until You Like Me Too

Their eyes met.

One second.

Two seconds.

After holding Ren Yexue's gaze for two seconds, Su Yang looked away, leaving her to look at the sharply defined profile of his face.

He closed his eyes and softly uttered a few words.

"Paying a hundred yuan for a seat? How is that squeezing onto a bus?"

Although Su Yang's tone was gentle, it carried an indifference that kept people a thousand miles away.

Seeing that Su Yang was not moved in the slightest by her sincerity, Ren Yexue pouted her red lips, looking a little aggrieved.

"If you were willing to squeeze onto the bus with me, I wouldn't have spent the hundred yuan..."

But her words received no response from Su Yang.

The other students on the school bus were all discreetly following Su Yang and Ren Yexue's "progress" at the back of the bus.

"Did you hear? Ren Yexue confessed to Su Yang at the school gate yesterday, but I heard he turned her down cold."

"That's normal. Su Yang's pretty good-looking, and he works hard at his studies. Of course girls like him!"

Every word of the students' chatter reached Su Yang's ears, drawing nothing but a long sigh from him.

In truth, Su Yang didn't dislike Ren Yexue in the slightest. He was even quite fond of her.

After a month of sharing a desk with her, Su Yang had found her to be an exceptional girl.

Even without working hard, Ren Yexue could have lived her whole life without worrying about food or clothing, yet she still worked much harder than most people.

She was also very friendly to others and had never considered herself above them.

Of course, Ren Yexue had her flaws too: she didn't treat money like money at all...

Although to the Ren Family, money really was just a number. Even if Ren Yexue used it as napkins, the Ren Family could afford it!

But whenever Su Yang saw Ren Yexue burning through money so recklessly, he still couldn't help feeling pained.

Su Yang was fond of Ren Yexue too, but as he was now, he simply couldn't take responsibility for a girl!

That eerie whispering, the strange Dead Man's Book, and his parents' inexplicable disappearance...

All these things hung over Su Yang's head like the Sword of Damocles, leaving him in constant unease.

He was like a migratory bird that had lost its way, a block of ice exposed to the sun.

Perhaps one day, he, Su Yang, would die amid that eerie whispering, or mysteriously disappear like his parents.

So squeezing onto buses and eating at roadside stalls were merely excuses Su Yang had used to turn Ren Yexue down!

Su Yang had never been the sort to wallow in self-pity over temporary hardship. He had always firmly believed that he could carve out a place for himself through his own efforts.

What truly made Su Yang hesitate were those strange occurrences!

And Su Yang simply couldn't tell her face-to-face about those bizarre things that defied logic!

For one thing, no one would believe him. For another, it might put others in danger.

By contrast, everyone would believe him if he cited the enormous gap in their financial circumstances as his reason for rejecting Ren Yexue, even the newly adult students on the school bus.

Only the silly Ren Yexue thought Su Yang was testing her sincerity.

At that thought, Su Yang quietly glanced at Ren Yexue, who was wearing a red dress.

He had hurt the silly girl's feelings in public again this time. Surely that would make her back off!

But when Su Yang stole a glance at her, he found Ren Yexue resting her chin in her hand, staring at him without blinking.

Ren Yexue happened to catch him peeking, and their eyes met once again.

Su Yang raised an eyebrow slightly.

How awkward!

He'd been caught peeking at her.

Morning sunlight streamed through the bus window, passing over Su Yang and falling on one side of Ren Yexue's face.

It made her snowy-white skin look like warm jade, translucent and flawless.

Fine strands of hair partially veiled Ren Yexue's eyes, but they still couldn't hide the mischievous gleam in them.

A delicate fragrance unique to a young girl drifted to Su Yang's nose, and laughter like silver bells rang softly in his ears.

Sunshine, a red dress, a girl like a flower.

"Hee-hee! You were peeking! I knew it, you don't really dislike me that much!"

Ah... well.

Silently looking away, Su Yang continued pretending to be asleep.

Suddenly, he felt a warmth by his ear, a little ticklish, and the delicate fragrance in his nose grew stronger.

Ren Yexue had quietly leaned close to Su Yang's ear.

Amid the noise of the bus, she spoke words that only the two of them could hear.

"It's okay, top student. I'll wait until the day you like me too!"

The warmth by his ear left Su Yang's mind blank.

Wait for me?

Why?

They had only known each other for a month.

Su Yang remained silent and didn't answer Ren Yexue.

Time at school always passed quickly. Perhaps because Su Yang had been listening so intently in class, dusk arrived in the blink of an eye.

"Su Yang, be careful on your way home! See you tomorrow!"

"I can't keep Uncle Zhang waiting, so I'm off!"

Ren Yexue gave Su Yang a wink, packed her schoolbag, and hurried out of the classroom.

The Uncle Zhang she spoke of was a driver in his forties who took Ren Yexue to and from school. Su Yang had met him a few times and had some impression of him.

Su Yang watched Ren Yexue leave and sighed helplessly.

"This girl, does she really not know how much of an effect she has on boys..."

Thinking back to what had happened on the bus that morning, Su Yang still couldn't quite put it out of his mind.

Fortunately, Ren Yexue didn't pull that kind of thing on him during class, or he really wouldn't have been able to pay attention.

He shook his head and set the matter of Ren Yexue aside.

Perhaps the young heiress's enthusiasm would fade in a few days! At their age, youthful feelings were only just beginning to stir.

More important than Ren Yexue was what he had to do tonight!

"I still have to go to the cemetery in the northern suburbs tonight."

"I'd better tell Grandma I'll be home late today, so she won't worry."

Su Yang took his phone out of his pants pocket, typed a text message, and sent it to his grandmother.

The old woman went to sleep early. Every evening at seven, she had already washed up and gone to bed.

So she had no idea what time Su Yang came home, which also saved him a great deal of trouble.

After checking the message he had written to his grandmother again and making sure there were no mistakes, Su Yang took the black-covered Dead Man's Book out of his schoolbag.

Judging by its appearance alone, the Dead Man's Book was no different from a black notebook from a store.

So, for convenience, Su Yang openly carried the Dead Man's Book in his arms and left his schoolbag behind.

"If I take the 306 bus tonight, I can ride it all the way to the northern suburbs. Then I'll still have to walk for two hours. Tsk, that should get me there around the Chou hour!"

Looking at the directions on his phone app, Su Yang clicked his tongue a couple of times.

"I wonder what kind of departed soul I'll see this time?"