NASAY CH 67

“What do you mean?”
Chen Yiyi hesitated.

When Feng Jia accepted the chocolate, he had clearly said… he really liked her but was just too embarrassed to admit it.

He also said that if he accepted the chocolate, then from that moment on, he would be her boyfriend.

They were such good friends—if he wasn’t sure, how could he have so decisively accepted something meant for someone else?

She and Huo Xingzhou didn’t have much interaction. They had only spoken a few times during various events.

“By the way, what was your name again? I’ll have Feng Jia apologize to you later, and we’ll just let this go.”
Huo Xingzhou paused and continued,
“I’ve heard rumors outside saying that we’re together. If you find it hard to explain, just say we’ve already broken up—you initiated it.”

Chen Yiyi remained stunned. So… he didn’t even know who she was?

“We… you really don’t remember who I am?”
Her voice trembled, her eyes instantly turning red. Her hands, which were holding a cake, shook so badly that she could barely keep her grip.

Huo Xingzhou frowned.
“Have I met you before?”

“No… never mind…” Chen Yiyi shook her head.

Before coming to find Huo Xingzhou, she had already prepared herself for emotional ups and downs. She had imagined many possibilities, but she had never anticipated this overwhelming sense of disappointment.

It felt like she had been riding a drop tower that suddenly lost control and plummeted, crashing into an icy abyss, immersing her completely from the inside out.

She shivered so badly that her teeth chattered, and after holding it in for a long time, she finally couldn’t help but cry.

“Wait a minute, miss.”

Huo Xingzhou had never dealt with crying girls before. The only unmarried woman he knew was Ye Qiaoqiao, a lively and headstrong girl who had never shed a tear in front of him.

Seeing this scene now, he immediately felt a headache coming on.

“If you keep crying, I really won’t be able to explain this.”

Chen Yiyi sobbed as she spoke,
“But… but I’ve already told people that I’m your girlfriend. I’m sorry… I didn’t mean to. I thought you…”

Huo Xingzhou took two steps back, sighed, and said,
“I don’t have a single redeeming quality. If you take another good look, you might just realize you’ve made a mistake.”

Chen Yiyi was amused by his words. She let out a long breath, wiped away her tears, and thought—true, she had never really dared to hope for anything with this confession. Otherwise, she wouldn’t have asked someone else to pass the message for her.

Since it was just a misunderstanding, she might as well take it as a beautiful one. At least, Huo Xingzhou was still kind enough not to scold her harshly for claiming to be his girlfriend without permission.

“So… you’re really not mad at me?”
she asked hesitantly, gripping the cake plate so tightly that it was starting to warp.

“Even if I were mad, what could I do? Go around explaining to everyone that I never accepted the chocolate, never agreed, and that you were just being delusional?”
Huo Xingzhou chuckled and looked up.
“How would you face people then?”

Chen Yiyi’s heart tightened. “I’m sorry.”

“It’s fine. Just confess in person next time—having someone else pass it on might cause all sorts of misunderstandings.”
Huo Xingzhou looked at her with a smile and said,
“Go home. If anyone asks, just say you dumped me. No need to feel guilty—I don’t care about things like this.”

Chen Yiyi hummed in response.

Just as he reached the door, she suddenly remembered something and called out, “Huo Xingzhou.”

“Hmm?” He turned back.

Chen Yiyi looked at him. Backlit by the sunlight, he was just a vague silhouette, tall and graceful—exceptionally good-looking.

“There’s a rumor in school that you’re with Luo Xing. Is that true?”
She asked cautiously. As soon as the words left her mouth, she realized they were inappropriate, so she quickly added,
“I don’t mean anything by it, I just—”

Huo Xingzhou was silent for a moment before saying,
“That has nothing to do with you. Don’t worry about it.”

Chen Yiyi bit her lip, stepped forward, and stood under the sunlight. The rays illuminated her school uniform, and her upturned face was so bright it almost seemed to reflect the light.

She lifted her head, looking directly into Huo Xingzhou’s eyes, and said, “I can help you.”

“If the principal and teachers find out about your relationship, even if you’re not expelled, you’ll still be punished, right?”

The afternoon classes passed quickly. The test papers in the second half of the senior year were even harder, many exceeding the difficulty level of those Huo Xingzhou had done before.

By the time he finished two test papers, the bell had already rung. He tossed his pen aside, stretched lazily, moved his neck and waist, and muttered under his breath,
“Damn, what kind of crappy test is this? It’s way too hard.”

Luo Xing stifled a laugh beside him, picked up the paper to check his answers, while Feng Jia turned around, trying to copy. But before he could, Huo Xingzhou yanked it away.

“Get lost. I worked my ass off to finish this, and you want to copy? Do it yourself!”

Feng Jia pouted in grievance.
“Zhou-ge, you’ve changed. You weren’t like this before.”

“Yeah, I’ve changed. I never knew homework could be such a pain in the ass.”
Huo Xingzhou sighed dramatically.
“This is harder than me landing thirty slam dunks in a row.”

Luo Xing finished checking the paper and found that although there were mistakes, the error rate wasn’t too bad. Considering how difficult the test was, getting this many correct was already impressive.

“I’ll sort out the wrong answers for you… hmm?”
Luo Xing paused, noticing the fruit candy in Huo Xingzhou’s fingers. He hesitated for a moment before opening his mouth and eating it. Chewing, he mumbled,
“I’ll organize the mistakes for you. Review them tonight in the dorm.”

Huo Xingzhou hummed in acknowledgment. When it came to studying, he always did whatever Luo Xing told him to, too lazy to think for himself.

“Aren’t you curious about what Chen Yiyi came to talk to me about?”

Huo Xingzhou had been stewing over it all afternoon and couldn’t hold back anymore. How could Luo Xing not be the slightest bit jealous?

Even he would feel jealous over something as trivial as a book. How could Luo Xing not react at all when a girl who had confessed to him came over with a cake? That didn’t seem right.

Luo Xing shook his head and said blankly,
“Not curious. Why?”

“…Nothing.” Huo Xingzhou responded weakly, turning his face to the desk to calm himself down. He felt like he was about to explode.

Luo Xing simply responded with an “Oh,” then went back to organizing the wrong answers, along with some key points and notes, placing them neatly in the top right corner of the desk.

Huo Xingzhou, hearing that indifferent “Oh,” felt like scratching at his heart in frustration. He suddenly sat up straight, grabbed Luo Xing’s wrist, and demanded,
“Hurry up! Say you’re curious!”

“…Huh?” Luo Xing was stunned for half a second before quickly catching on.
“Oh, oh! What did Chen Yiyi come to see you for? You two talked for quite a while—what were you discussing?”

Seeing the obvious lack of sincerity in his question, Huo Xingzhou felt like he was losing his mind. Annoyed, he said,
“She confessed to me, told me to dump you and be with her instead.”

Luo Xing burst into laughter.
“You didn’t curse at her, did you?”

Huo Xingzhou had seen many boyfriends who were wary of their partners, but one who was so secure in himself, even taking the time to joke about his “rival,” was something new.

“No, I even told her I’d think about it.”
Huo Xingzhou was fuming. He deliberately locked eyes with Luo Xing and spoke slowly. As expected, he saw Luo Xing’s face turn pale.

“Scared now? I—”

“Mm.” Luo Xing raised a hand and covered his mouth.
“You wouldn’t say that. Let me guess what you actually told her.”

Clearing his throat, he mimicked Huo Xingzhou’s expression and tone.

“Miss, the chocolate wasn’t mine. It was just a misunderstanding. But it’s not your fault. Let’s just end things here.”

Seeing Huo Xingzhou’s eyes widen slightly, Luo Xing knew he had guessed right and immediately grinned.

“Did I get it right?”

Huo Xingzhou nodded helplessly. No wonder this guy never got jealous—he had him completely figured out, could even predict his exact words.

Forget it.

If he wanted to make Luo Xing jealous in this lifetime, it was probably impossible. Might as well accept it.

Huo Xingzhou pulled Luo Xing’s hand away and sighed. He didn’t tell him about the final thing Chen Yiyi had proposed.

“I can help you. Until graduation, we can pretend to be a couple. After the college entrance exams, you and Luo Xing can make it public, and the school won’t be able to do anything to you.”

Huo Xingzhou had stared into her eyes for a long time without speaking.

“What do you think?”

“I think it won’t work,”
Huo Xingzhou said.

“Why? Don’t you care about your studies?”
Chen Yiyi couldn’t understand why he was so stubborn. Thinking he had misunderstood her intentions, she quickly added,
“I’m not trying to break you two up. I just don’t want you to get punished over this.”

“That kind of sacrifice isn’t worth it.”

Huo Xingzhou chuckled and said,
“Compared to my studies, what I care about more is not losing a single second of being his.”

Chen Yiyi was stunned. She watched as he took a few steps away, then suddenly turned back. He wasn’t smiling, his brows slightly furrowed, and he said softly,
“It’s worth it. Nothing is more worth it than this.”

---

Luo Xing looked into his eyes, then tilted his head slightly and smiled.
“It’s not that I don’t get jealous. I just trust you. After everything we’ve been through, if I still didn’t trust you, then I wouldn’t deserve you.”

Warmth spread through Huo Xingzhou’s chest, finally easing the frustration that had been gnawing at him. He let out a small, satisfied huff and said, “That’s more like it.”

Luo Xing chuckled and hummed in agreement before asking,
“Why do you want to see me jealous…? Doesn’t everyone dislike it when their partner gets irrationally jealous?”

“Everyone?”

Luo Xing replied, “That’s what it says in books.”

Huo Xingzhou scoffed,
“Books? Do those books have anyone like me? I just want to see you jealous, throwing a little tantrum, being unreasonable. And if that’s still not enough, then…”

Up ahead, Feng Jia felt chills down his spine listening to their conversation. He leaned toward Li Lefan and whispered,
“Damn, people in love really have no shame. This is terrifying.”

Li Lefan, also force-fed dog food, nodded in mutual suffering. “Tell me about it!”

Luo Xing sometimes wondered—when two people were together for a long time, would their personalities and temperaments start to blend?

After being with Huo Xingzhou for so long, he found himself unconsciously picking up some of his habits, in speech and in actions. But it seemed like Huo Xingzhou hadn’t been affected much by him.

Maybe that was just who Huo Xingzhou was.

Luo Xing glanced at the other students, all busy with their own things. Then he suddenly remembered the time when Huo Xingzhou had tried to steal a strawberry from his mouth.

Without thinking, he reached out his hand and spit out the last bit of his fruit candy—an irregularly shaped little oval.

The lemon-yellow candy rested in his palm. He held it out to Huo Xingzhou and gestured for him to come closer.

Huo Xingzhou raised an eyebrow in question, but before he could say anything, something was suddenly placed in his mouth. He froze.

Luo Xing’s cheeks were slightly flushed as he said softly,
“I’m giving you some candy… There’s only a little left.”