This time, Bai Qingxia would be sitting in the corner with you.]
After saying that, she gave a soft huff, lifted her fair chin, and added, "That's right. At that mall yesterday."
Lu Yuanqiu smiled at her words. "Let me guess. You neither accepted nor rejected him. You told the class monitor that your studies came first and you could talk about it after graduation?"
With her act mercilessly exposed, Hu Caiwei was struck speechless.
Her face flushed red, and she snapped, "Lu Yuanqiu, what's that supposed to mean?!"
Lu Yuanqiu waved a hand. "Nothing. Are you buying these or not? If not, put them back."
Seeing her two friends about to come over and collect the items, Hu Caiwei immediately stopped them. "Wait, you two. This isn't about whether we pay. It's about his attitude!"
"Lu Yuanqiu, is this how you show you like me? Is this how you act in front of me?"
"Believe it or not, I'll go accept the class monitor's confession tomorrow!"
What happened next made Hu Caiwei's temples throb with anger.
Lu Yuanqiu clapped, smiling as he sang, "Happy confession, wishing you happiness, you've already found someone better~"
At the sight, Bai Qingxia pressed her lips together slightly. Even her cool expression nearly cracked as she fought back a smile. But when she noticed Lu Yuanqiu looking her way, she hurriedly turned her head aside, a flicker of panic crossing her eyes.
"You definitely went to the mall yesterday! Lu Yuanqiu, you'll regret this."
With that, Hu Caiwei grabbed her two friends and headed out of the supermarket.
A shout suddenly came from behind them. "Stop!"
Hu Caiwei's lips curled upward, and she turned around. "What, regretting it already?"
Lu Yuanqiu slammed his hand down on the checkout counter, startling all three girls.
"Regret, my ass! Put everything you took back where it belongs!"
Hu Caiwei's lips parted. She stood there with both hands trembling, her eyes involuntarily reddening. "You..."
Her two friends had already heard about Lu Yuanqiu's "notorious reputation" at school, so they hurried over and returned every item to its original place.
Once they finished, they rushed back to Hu Caiwei's side. "Let's go, Caiwei."
"Come on, let's go..."
With one friend tugging and the other pulling, Hu Caiwei was dragged out of the supermarket. Before leaving, she looked back at Lu Yuanqiu with tear-filled eyes, her gaze brimming with hurt and anger.
"Tch." Lu Yuanqiu clicked his tongue, feeling much better.
Bai Qingxia probably didn't feel much about it, but Lu Yuanqiu had still wanted her to see that.
"What did you want to tell me?"
Bai Qingxia walked back inside, holding her schoolbag.
Lu Yuanqiu said nothing. He went around the checkout counter, walked up to her, and gently clipped a pink hair clip in his hand onto a loose lock of her hair.
After putting it on, he even gave it a light flick, thoroughly pleased. The pink hair clip made her beautiful face look even more innocent.
And youthful, too.
Bai Qingxia stared up blankly at the boy before her. Looking at the smile he gave her, she even forgot to refuse.
Only after a while did she come to her senses. She hurriedly removed the clip and held it out toward Lu Yuanqiu's chest. "I don't want it."
"It's a thank-you gift," Lu Yuanqiu said, pushing her delicate, fair hand back.
Seeing her bewildered expression, he explained, "Thanks for voting for me when I ran for sports representative last year."
Bai Qingxia looked very surprised.
Her slender, pale fingers gripped the pink hair clip, and her beautiful eyes began to avert their gaze.
A few seconds later, she promptly thrust the clip back into Lu Yuanqiu's hand, then turned and left as though fleeing.
"Hey! Take it slow on the way home! Walk! If you dare run on the road, I'll report you at school tomorrow!"
Holding the clip, Lu Yuanqiu chased after her for a few steps.
Bai Qingxia didn't turn back, but she obediently slowed down, changing from a run to a walk.
Lu Yuanqiu had figured it out. No matter how credible it was, the threat of "being reported for stealing" always worked on her.
Hehe, next time I could use that threat to have a little exciting fun with her.
At that thought, Lu Yuanqiu silently slapped himself.
That's practically asking for jail time. She's still a year away from being an adult!
He looked at the hair clip in his hand and said in puzzlement, "So she voted for me. What's so embarrassing about admitting it? Is voting for me really that shameful?"
"Or was she feeling shy?"
After muttering to himself, Lu Yuanqiu slipped the clip into his pocket.
Once school started tomorrow, he would find another chance to give her this little thank-you gift.
He hoped she would make it to class without any trouble.
Night fell, and he returned home.
Lu Yuanqiu was changing his shoes in the entryway when a deep voice suddenly came from the living room.
"Lu Yuanqiu, school starts tomorrow. Have you finished your summer homework?"
Lu Yuanqiu poked his head in and saw a middle-aged man sitting at the table with a stern expression.
It was his father, Lu Tian.
Lu Yuanqiu looked baffled. "We had summer homework?"
The moment he said that, Lu Tian grabbed the clothes hanger beside him and charged over furiously. "With that attitude toward studying, let's see how you get into college next year!"
His mother, Su Xiaoya, failed to stop him in time and slapped her thigh in exasperation. "Hitting him again! You'll beat a perfectly good child stupid!"
"Mom's right! Dad! Don't get so angry! Then you won't end up with high blood pressure!" Lu Yuanqiu scrambled all over the house as his father chased him.
Lu Tian roared, "You little bastard, now you're cursing me!"
Just then, his younger sister's bedroom door opened. The little girl with short hair quietly poked her head through the gap and egged him on. "Dad, hit him harder, or he'll come hug me again in a minute..."
Lu Yuanqiu turned to look. Lu Yidong gave him a haughty little huff and immediately slammed the door shut.
Lu Tian looked bewildered. "Why are you hugging your sister for no reason?"
No sooner had he spoken than Lu Yuanqiu silently walked up to him and wrapped both arms around him. With a solemn gaze, he said, "Old man, don't be surprised. If you want, I can give you a hug, too."
"Now you're trying to gross me out, too! I'm going to beat you to death today!"
Goosebumps rose all over Lu Tian, and his fury flared again. Lu Yuanqiu sprang away in fright.
Watching the father and son chase each other around her in the living room, Su Xiaoya shook her head helplessly.
These two are both hopeless.
September first marked the start of their final year of high school.
Lu Yuanqiu overslept that morning. He put on his blue-and-white school uniform, bought two breakfasts, and immediately hopped
on his bicycle and hurried to Lucheng No. 7 Middle School.
Rushing to the classroom doorway, Lu Yuanqiu panted for breath. The first person he looked at wasn't his homeroom teacher or Hu Caiwei, but Bai Qingxia.
She was moving desks with her classmates. Hearing the commotion at the door, she looked over along with everyone else.
But her earlobes soon reddened, and she turned her head away.
Yes!
She'd made it to senior year!
Lu Yuanqiu could hardly contain his excitement and failed to notice the deeply resentful look Hu Caiwei was giving him from the other side.
Just then, a loud bang! came from the lectern. Lu Yuanqiu flinched and hurriedly looked over.
His homeroom teacher, Liu Wei, adjusted the thick glasses on her nose and said sharply, "Lu Yuanqiu, do you really think you're the main character? Late on the very first day of school?"
"We'll assign seats first. Once that's done, I'll deal with you!"
Lu Yuanqiu shrugged indifferently and followed the fifty-odd students in his class out into the hallway.
At the start of every semester, the first order of business was assigning seats according to the previous semester's final exam results.
The top students sat at the front, and the poor students sat at the back.
Lu Yuanqiu had ranked dead last in the previous semester's finals. Unless something unexpected happened, he would be sitting in the corner of the back row again.
But just then, he noticed that Bai Qingxia looked a little uneasy, both her small hands tightly gripping her uniform sleeves.
It suddenly came back to Lu Yuanqiu.
He hadn't ranked dead last in the previous semester's finals...
He had ranked second to last!
Bai Qingxia had come last!
This top student had scored an unprecedented zero!
As for why she had scored zero...