Ding-ling—the bell rang to end class.
Li Sitong asked Ye Chen, "What did you say to my dad yesterday?"
"Nothing much; we just chatted a bit and I asked him to pay more attention to you."
"Oh, no wonder he was acting so weird when he got home."
"What did he say to you?"
Ye Chen asked curiously.
Li Sitong rolled her eyes at him. "None of your business."
Ye Chen: "This deskmate is basically a hedgehog—touch her carelessly and you'll get pricked."
"Oh my god, that stock Ye Chen picked hit the limit-up again!" Yu Weiwei rushed over in excitement.
Li Sitong was also shocked when she saw the stock in her phone hit the limit-up again.
Ye Chen stayed calm. "Relax, this stock still has room to rise. When it's time to sell, I'll tell you—no hesitation, sell immediately."
Yu Weiwei nodded. "Ye Chen, you're amazing—I've put my whole private stash into it."
Ye Chen felt a bit depressed hearing that.
Look at her, with a private stash—he felt a pang of envy.
Every Chinese New Year, Ye Chen got lots of lucky money from relatives, but his mother always claimed she'd "help keep it safe."
Even after rebirth, Ye Chen never asked for that money back.
Needless to say, it had all been "embezzled" by dear Mom.
Sigh—unwilling as he was, she was still his biological mother.
He could only endure it.
But it was fine—this new life gave Ye Chen plenty of chances to earn money.
"Ye Chen, can you explain this question to me?" Xu Liang asked, holding his paper.
"Sure, no problem." Ye Chen turned to explain it to him.
Yu Weiwei pulled Li Sitong aside.
"What's going on with you and Ye Chen? Something feels off."
"What do you mean, off?" Li Sitong said.
"Just now after class you two were whispering non-stop!"
"Oh, I didn't understand a math question the teacher gave, so I asked Ye Chen about it."
Yu Weiwei gave Li Sitong a strange look.
"Si Tong, do you think I'm stupid? I read novels in class, but I still know what subject we had—last period was Physics."
Li Sitong's pretty face flushed. "I meant the Physics class before last."
Yu Weiwei chuckled. "Li Sitong, the class before last was Chinese."
"You keep interrogating me—do you still want to copy my homework?" Li Sitong blushed, playing her trump card.
Yu Weiwei quickly surrendered. "Of course I do—spare me! Whatever class you say it was, it was."
"That's more like it."
Li Sitong turned around and saw Ye Chen stifling a laugh.
"What are you laughing at?"
Li Sitong shot him a glare.
"Nothing—I just think your dad was right; you're cuter when you're gentle."
Li Sitong pinched Ye Chen hard.
"Say that again?"
Li Sitong's pinching was an art.
She'd grab a tiny bit of flesh and twist it 180°—it really hurt.
"I give up, okay?" Ye Chen hurriedly begged for mercy.
Only then did Li Sitong show a smug little smile.
Ye Chen grinned. "Si Tong, you must love candy, huh?"
Li Sitong blinked. "Yeah, why?"
Ye Chen smiled. "Because when you smile, you're really sweet—really beautiful."
Hearing that, Li Sitong's face instantly turned crimson.
Her voice even sounded flustered.
"D-don't talk nonsense."
Ye Chen looked serious. "I'm not—want me to swear?"
Seeing him actually raise his hand to swear, Li Sitong was speechless.
She quickly changed the subject.
"By the way, do you know why Xia Yingluo's been so down?"
Ye Chen blinked, then shook his head.
Li Sitong said, "Next PE class we're running the 800 m—look at Xia Yingluo's shoes."
Ye Chen frowned.
The soles of Xia Yingluo's shoes were already peeling apart.
How could she run 800 m in those?
Just then the class bell rang.
While lining up, Ye Chen moved next to Xia Yingluo.
"Yingluo, didn't I buy you sneakers?"
Xia Yingluo blushed. "I forgot to wear them."
The PE teacher glanced at Ye Chen. "Ye Chen, go back to your own line."
Ye Chen reluctantly returned to the boys' line.
The teacher said, "Today we're testing the 800 m. Girls, split into two groups—first group, get ready."
Xia Yingluo bit her lip and stepped up to the start line.
Ye Chen was speechless.
Run in broken shoes?
Is this girl crazy? I bought her sneakers and she didn't wear them.
Ye Chen was about to explain to the teacher, but Li Sitong stepped up first in front of Xia Yingluo.
"Yingluo, your shoes are broken—wear mine first."
Xia Yingluo blinked. "Si Tong, that's too much trouble."
"What trouble? Remember, we're in the same interest-study group."
Xia Yingluo nodded reluctantly. "All right then."
Li Sitong took off her shoes and handed them to Xia Yingluo.
Xia Yingluo accepted them and put them on.
Li Sitong's Nikes felt very comfy.
"Nice—luckily our feet are about the same size."
"Si Tong, thank you." Xia Yingluo's face was red.
"No big deal—no need for thanks between us!"
Watching this, Ye Chen smiled gratefully at Li Sitong.
He had actually been worrying about the two girls' relationship.
He could feel that both of them liked him.
He'd even feared they might end up at odds because of it.
Both were the girls he cared about most.
They were both kind—turns out he'd worried for nothing.
Xia Yingluo flew in Li Sitong's shoes.
She easily took first place.
It was Li Sitong's group's turn.
Li Sitong felt a bit scared.
She hated the 800 m test, but to pass PE she had to give it her all.
At the whistle, Li Sitong kept up at first, but halfway through she ran out of steam.
Ye Chen could see she was struggling.
Li Sitong gritted her teeth, but she really couldn't go on.
She felt as if all her strength had been drained.
Her head spun and her vision darkened.
"Control your breathing—match my rhythm: inhale, then run three steps and exhale."
A familiar voice sounded beside her.
Seeing Ye Chen next to her, Li Sitong seemed to find new strength.
By now most of the girls had finished.
Just then a girl pointed down the track. "Look over there!"
"Oh my god, Ye Chen's running alongside Li Sit Tong!"
"What a fairy-tale deskmate!"
"Ugh, look at my deskmate—I really want to give him a beating!"
Then another girl joined them.
It was Xia Yingluo.
Ye Chen and Xia Yingluo flanked Li Sitong, one on each side.
Finally Li Sitong crossed the finish line.
She passed—no makeup test needed.
Li Sitong squatted on the ground, gasping for air.
Ye Chen handed his water cup straight to her.
"Have some water."
Li Sitong was so thirsty she didn't even look and gulped it down.
But after finishing, she suddenly realized something.
"Whose cup is this?"
Ye Chen said, "Mine."
Li Sitong's pupils shrank.
Oh no—does this count as an indirect kiss?!