June 21, the summer solstice, Saturday.
With her schoolbag on her back, Xia Yunuo followed the crowd through the school gates.
The blue-and-white school uniform concealed the students' figures, but it couldn't hide Xia Yunuo's lovely face.
Of every ten boys who passed her, at least nine couldn't resist turning to steal a glance at her profile.
Seeing such a walking vista on campus was a delight to the eyes, and it also left an impression on the hearts of many boys.
Years later, many might no longer remember the scenery at school, but the sight of a girl like her once entering their view was enough to linger in their memories for years.
Xia Yunuo went up to the second floor of the first-year teaching building and entered the first classroom. She soon reached her seat in the middle of the third row and sat down.
She instinctively glanced at the window seat in the fourth row to her left. Seeing only Xu Zhuoyue bent over his unfinished homework, she immediately looked away and prepared the textbooks she needed for morning self-study.
Time passed slowly, and more and more students arrived in the classroom, but not one of them greeted Xia Yunuo.
She was used to it. At school, she always kept to herself, quietly working through her exercise books.
Only when the hour hand on the wall had crept close to seven did a figure come rushing into the classroom and dash to the window seat in the fourth row.
"Awesome, bro." Xu Zhuoyue had already finished copying the homework he hadn't completed yesterday. Seeing Song Yunshen sprint to his seat, he immediately clapped his hands in praise. "You manage to arrive right on the dot every day. That skill of yours is something else."
"Move out of your daddy's way already." Panting, Song Yunshen patted Xu Zhuoyue on the shoulder, signaling him to get up and let him through.
Xu Zhuoyue rolled his eyes and merely shifted his chair forward, refusing to acknowledge his real dad.
Song Yunshen didn't make a fuss. He turned sideways, squeezed past him, and sat down.
The moment he took his seat, the bell for morning self-study rang.
He looked around, and his gaze immediately settled on Xia Yunuo's profile. He was already considering how to get a look at her handwriting.
Just then, Xia Yunuo's fingers paused as she was about to open her textbook, and a familiar voice rang out in her mind.
[Could it be her? She's been coming to me with math questions every day lately anyway. I'll just take a close look next time.]
Hearing the voice, Xia Yunuo's hands paused only briefly before she resumed what she was doing.
After all, this wasn't the first time she had heard Song Yunshen's voice in her mind.
Counting it up, this had probably been going on for nearly half a month.
But she could only hear the other person's thoughts on and off, not whenever she wanted.
For example, she couldn't hear Song Yunshen's thoughts when she was at home.
But once she got to school, she could hear them occasionally.
After nearly half a month of trying things out and exploring, Xia Yunuo had a preliminary idea of what affected this ability.
The most important factor was distance.
Whenever she went to Song Yunshen with a math question, she could always hear more of his inner voice, and more clearly.
But sitting as they were now, about two meters apart, she could only catch a sentence now and then.
If they were any farther apart, the frequency dropped even more.
Xia Yunuo didn't know what had caused this, and she had previously been confused and troubled by it.
But as time went on and she gradually got used to it, she came to think it was rather interesting.
Being able to hear what others were thinking gave her an inexplicable sense of security.
It would be nice if I could hear everyone's thoughts... she occasionally thought.
Hmm... Song Yunshen is pretty good-looking. If I can only hear one person's thoughts, it's not bad that it's him.
With that thought, Xia Yunuo shook her head slightly, casting those scattered thoughts aside, and began morning self-study as the English class representative had instructed.
But at that moment, Song Yunshen, who was just about to slack off, heard the familiar voice ring out in his mind again.
[Song Yunshen is pretty good-looking.]
Song Yunshen: "???"
Huh?
What the heck?
What happened?
His gaze instantly locked onto Xia Yunuo's profile, and he fell into thought for a moment.
Now that he had consciously tried to identify it, the voice just now really did sound a lot like Xia Yunuo's.
But... why would she think about something like that out of nowhere?
Although he knew he was handsome, surely she wouldn't be thinking about his handsome face while reading English words during morning self-study...
Song Yunshen rubbed his chin, utterly unable to figure out how Xia Yunuo's mind worked.
Xu Zhuoyue, meanwhile, noticed where Song Yunshen was looking and immediately chuckled. "What are you doing? In heat again?"
"Get lost." Song Yunshen rolled his eyes at him, then suddenly asked with a serious face, "Xiao Yue, let me ask you something."
"Don't call me Xiao Yue," Xu Zhuoyue said, his face darkening.
"Xiao Xu."
"Ask."
"Am I handsome?"
"What the fuck is wrong with-"
"Xu Zhuoyue!" Teacher Jiang's rebuke came from the doorway. "Whispering to each other again! Is morning self-study for chatting? What's so much fun to talk about? Tell us, so your teacher can hear it too."
"Teacher Jiang..." Xu Zhuoyue wilted as soon as he was called out. But when he thought of that bastard Song Yunshen asking him such a question for no reason, courage surged through him, and he suddenly said loudly, "Song Yunshen asked me if he was handsome! I... mmph! Mmmph!"
Song Yunshen's face flushed red. He covered Xu Zhuoyue's mouth with one hand, wrapped the other around his neck, and put him in a fierce chokehold. Through gritted teeth, he whispered, "What the fuck is wrong with you?"
As the two clowns tussled, cheerful laughter filled the classroom.
Teacher Jiang covered her forehead, speechless, and said irritably, "Quiet! Quiet! You two, get out here!"
Jiang Wenpei was wearing a short pink skirt and white low heels today. She was dressed up beautifully.
She had only been teaching for a year and was twenty-four this year, at the youthful, beautiful age. Her pale legs were particularly eye-catching.
When Song Yunshen and Xu Zhuoyue came out of the classroom, they couldn't help taking a couple of extra looks.
Jiang Wenpei naturally paid no mind to the gazes of the little brats. After taking them into the hallway, she began to lecture them, making an effort to cultivate her authority as a teacher.
Inside the classroom, however, Xia Yunuo turned to glance at Song Yunshen, who had been made to stand outside the window as punishment. Her cheeks had a touch of coldness to them, yet were also slightly flushed.
[Teacher Jiang's legs are so pale. I wonder if Xia Yunuo's legs are that pale. Her face is so fair and delicate, her legs can't be much different.]
What is going on in this guy's head?!
Who compares a classmate's legs to a teacher's legs like that?!
Why is Song Yunshen such a pervert?
If Xia Yunuo could hear every man's thoughts, she would probably understand that it wasn't that Song Yunshen was a pervert; all one could say was that everyone was like this.
But Song Yunshen had no idea.
He merely showed a bewildered expression while Jiang Wenpei was lecturing him.
[Why is Song Yunshen such a pervert?]
Damn!
Why did she suddenly insult me out of nowhere?
What does Xia Yunuo mean by that?
Could she have seen me sneaking a look at Teacher Jiang's long legs just now?
Do you have eagle eyes or something?!