11: The Beauty of First Encounters (3)
As Feng Jinyan spoke, a cloud drifted away just then, and the sunlight outside poured in like flowing water, casting a play of light and shadow across the side of his face. The contours were edged with a charming and mischievous fuzz.
Ye Xiangwan blinked in surprise, gazing at the bright smile filled with slyness, before she finally realized—how could such a carefree and unrestrained young man suffer from depression?
“Boring,” she said.
Feng Jinyan waited a long while but received no compliment. He gently pressed Ye Xiangwan back against the seat, patting her as casually as one would straighten a cushion. “Don’t move, I’m going to sleep for a bit.”
With that, he leaned over, his fluffy head finding a comfortable spot on Ye Xiangwan’s shoulder. Settling into a high-positioned posture, he shifted his entire weight onto this human cushion. After a few contented murmurs, he finally stopped fidgeting.
Ye Xiangwan, the living pillow, pressed her lips into a straight line and tilted her head in silent questioning. From her view, his long, thick eyelashes fluttered softly; his breathing was steady and deep, and he looked handsome and radiant.
Did this guy see her as just one of his buddies, or did he completely forget she was a girl?
So casual?!
After a while, Ye Xiangwan turned her head back, sighed softly almost inaudibly, and ultimately chose to remain the human pillow. As the subway smoothly moved toward the next stop, she slowly closed her eyes.
Her phone vibrated once, but she promptly silenced it. The sunlight warming her face was slightly intense, so she lowered her eyes and blinked a few times to adjust.
She had set an alarm to avoid oversleeping, but it turned out to be useless because… this person on top of her was just too heavy.
She tried to lift her left shoulder to wake the deeply sleeping Young Master Feng, but she realized she could no longer feel her entire left arm at all.
Ye Xiangwan’s delicate face went blank; she didn’t even have the energy to be annoyed.
“Feng Jinyan.”
Young Master Feng remained fast asleep.
She raised her right hand and pushed him a few times, but the person resting on her left side had turned a light nap into a deep coma. She shot him a sidelong glance, then raised her hand and gave his thigh a sharp slap. To her surprise, the firmness beneath her palm was so solid it made her hand hurt.
“Mm…”
Feng Jinyan finally shifted slightly, seeming not quite ready to wake. His head moved a few times on Ye Xiangwan’s shoulder before he slowly sat upright, his gaze dazed as he looked forward. Several intersecting red marks were imprinted across his face.
When Ye Xiangwan silently counted to nine in her mind, Feng Jinyan suddenly sprang up like a startled animal, pacing nervously left and right in the carriage. When his eyes finally landed on Ye Xiangwan, he visibly relaxed and plopped back down in his seat.
“You scared me.”
He rubbed his brow. “For a moment there, I thought I’d been kidnapped.”
“…”
Ye Xiangwan looked out at the platform, which was gradually becoming still. “It’s time to get off.”
***
“Finally here, hurry up—I’m starving!”
Feng Jinyan grabbed Ye Xiangwan abruptly, but after being a cushion for half an hour, the entire left side of Ye Xiangwan was buzzing and tingling. Being forced to stand almost made her bow down in thanks.
“What’s wrong with you?”
Feng Jinyan sized her up. “Weak legs?”
Ye Xiangwan: “...Try sitting on me for half an hour.”
Feng Jinyan cleared his throat, muttered a vague “Mm,” and awkwardly stood waiting.
They stood beneath the large sign of Qinyuan Barbecue. Feng Jinyan’s expression flickered with complexity for a few seconds, then he looked at Ye Xiangwan with the kind of face someone makes when a tooth suddenly breaks.
“Not hungry?” Ye Xiangwan asked, glancing back.
“Sigh, barbecue…”
Feng Jinyan sighed. “I have to stay in shape.”
“…”
“Why does a grown man need to stay in shape?”
And his physique was already excellent.
“If a girl’s figure isn’t good, she won’t find a husband. Likewise, if a guy’s figure isn’t good, he won’t find a wife.”
Ye Xiangwan: “…”
Her expression froze completely, clearly saying “I don’t want to talk anymore,” and she walked into the barbecue restaurant.
“Who are you here on a date with?”
Feng Jinyan covered his nose and muttered quietly, “Poor taste—smells all over.”
Ye Xiangwan: “...I heard that.”
She shot him a sideways glance. “With my future high school principal.”
“Number One High? Didn’t get in? Used connections? Well, you don’t look like a top student anyway, probably just after the handsome guy.”
Ye Xiangwan: “...”
She didn’t want to explain any further and headed straight upstairs, checking the room numbers one by one.
***
When she reached room 207, she heard her parents’ voices through the slightly ajar door—voices that stirred a wave of nausea in her stomach. She frowned and stopped at the doorway.
“What’s wrong?”
Feng Jinyan, peering from the nearby unoccupied room, leaned against the doorframe and said with a teasing tone, “You’re not nervous, are you?”
Ye Xiangwan looked at him for a moment. The oppressive weight in her chest was suffocating, and she couldn’t help but sigh. “I don’t want to go to Number One High.”
“Don’t want to?”
Feng Jinyan pointed to himself. “Then come to our school. I’m going to Longchuan this semester. Since you helped me out so much today, I can get you in. But it’ll be easier if you have good grades—I’ll help you get in based on your scores. After all, private schools care a lot about academics.”
Ye Xiangwan was taken aback. The name Longchuan was well-known, but she had never considered that school before.
It was a famous private high school, not just for its high admission rate, but because of the backgrounds of its students—either wealthy or powerful.
Either rich or influential, every student’s parents had clout in various fields. It was truly a school for the elite.
Suddenly, Ye Xiangwan recalled Feng Jinyan’s casual remark about inheriting trillions in family assets.
She hesitated, looking down. “Would first place in the city’s entrance exam be enough?”
Feng Jinyan’s eyes widened in surprise. “You can’t be the Ye Xiangwan who ranked ahead of me? Not just a namesake?!”
“What?”
“Didn’t you see the city rankings? I’m Feng Jinyan, second place. What a coincidence—I’ve always wanted to see what the girl who beat me looks like.”
“Yeah, just someone like me. Didn’t pay attention to second place.”
Feng Jinyan: “...”
Ye Xiangwan took a deep breath and clenched her fist. “Deal, then?”
“Hm? Okay…”
His gaze roamed her face a few more times before he asked, “You’re not afraid I’m a fraud?”
She bit her lip. “Doesn’t matter. I just want a reason to rebel.”
Without another word, she pushed open the door to the private room and stepped inside.