Chapter 14: The Beauty of First Encounters (6)

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The handsome face that had been brimming with arrogance suddenly lost some of its fire, almost imperceptibly. Young Master Feng abruptly withdrew his finger, then, in the next instant, leaned forward and stood the book upright again. He lowered his head and began writing furiously, looking like someone who had glanced at the clock only to discover that two minutes remained and five hundred words of the essay were still unwritten.

No more small movements disturbed the slightly tense examination hall. Ye Xiangwan picked up her pen and glanced out the window at the clear sky, the same color as her pen cap. Somewhere in a plane tree, a bird was hiding, its crisp call drifting faintly in on the breeze.

A magpie, perhaps.

By now, Ye Xiangwan had a fairly good understanding of the young master’s temper. He was somewhat willful, but fortunately, he knew how to reward and punish fairly—and he also knew where to draw the line.

For instance, at worst, he had made her apply to replace three answer sheets in a single day. She had failed to obtain a fourth only because, under their homeroom teacher Jiang Huan’s watchful stare, she had no opportunity to put pen to paper again. Even so, during every subject examination, he had not forgotten to toss her an answer-sheet pencil.

After sitting all the exams in one day, a person was essentially reduced to a wreck.

Yet on the second day, to Ye Xiangwan’s surprise, they were even tested orally by a group of foreign teachers. Almost everyone performed as though English were their native language—including Feng Jinyan, whose performance was exceptionally outstanding.

During the few days they spent waiting for their results, the school, having already administered the whip, apparently decided it was time to offer them a little sugar. Thus, on that morning, Jiang Huan announced something.

“An autumn sports meet will be held in the middle of the term. It will last three days, and the entire school will suspend classes. During this period, everyone needs to submit their event selections, after which you can prepare for your respective competitions.”

Amid the excited whispers and animated discussion, Ye Xiangwan lifted her gaze from a mathematics competition paper.

She was still somewhat surprised. She had never heard of a high school sports meet lasting three days.

“Ye Xiangwan, what are you signing up for?”

Feng Jinyan picked up a textbook and lightly tapped her on the back.

“Nothing.”

She had never participated in this sort of group activity. Because… she had never belonged to any group.

“Nothing? There’s no rule saying you have to enter an event, but you’d better take part in one or two.”

Feng Jinyan propped his forehead on one hand and narrowed his eyes at her. “To put it bluntly, this school exists to help people build connections. Why do you think they’re giving us three whole days for the sports meet? It’s so you can make good use of the opportunity. After all, there’s a high chance you’ll need one another in the future.”

Ye Xiangwan studied Feng Jinyan silently for several seconds before turning back to her paper.

“We’re not the same kind of people. I won’t need them.”

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“Tsk. If we’re not the same kind of people, then what are you—a coelenterate? Hurry up and think about what you’re entering.”

After saying this, Feng Jinyan placed his hand on her shoulder. His attractive fingertips curled slightly, rubbing against her unconsciously.

Ye Xiangwan glanced sideways at his hand. She neither pulled it away nor said anything.

“Have you decided?” Feng Jinyan was growing impatient. He tapped her shoulder with his fingertips. “Can you do archery?”

“No.”

“Looking at the way you glare at people as if you’ve disowned every relative you have, I’m guessing you won’t enter the ten-by-four-hundred-meter relay either. Those are the best events for making friends during training.”

Feng Jinyan withdrew his hand and propped his forehead up once more, seemingly continuing to think of other events. Although he claimed the purpose was to build connections, the anticipation hidden in his deep-set eyes was impossible to conceal.

Indeed, for teenagers that age, a sports meet was exciting no matter what the purpose behind it might be.

That was why, in her first year of junior high, Ye Xiangwan had once secretly tried to sign up. Before the competition even began, however, her parents—who monitored her every move each day—had subjected her to a storm of scolding. By the time the sports meet arrived, she had finished an entire set of practice books during the hours she was supposed to spend preparing.

Then, amid the pushing and shoving, she stumbled and twisted her ankle, and her participation in the sports meet came to an end.

From then on, she simply stopped doing anything at all. Her life was already dull enough. Why go looking for more misery?

Ye Xiangwan picked up her pen again. Although this sports meet seemed somewhat different from the ones in the past, it made no difference to her. She was not merely outside the circle of the top social elite; she could not even be considered a branch of it. Besides, she had no interest whatsoever in socializing.

Just as she was thinking this, the pen was suddenly snatched from her hand. Feng Jinyan seized it and repeatedly clicked it back and forth.

“Why are you so negative? Tell me, what’s with a girl your age always wearing such a frozen expression? Are you sixteen or forty-six? Enough. I’ll choose your events for you.”

His expression was overbearing, leaving no room for refusal. After speaking, he reached out and patted her shoulder again.

Ye Xiangwan’s eyes swept over her shoulder, and from the corner of her vision, she could see quite a few people looking in their direction.

Most of those gazes came from girls, filled with jealousy and resentment.

She turned and coldly surveyed the room. Only then did those gazes withdraw one by one.

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She knew they were all assessing whether she was worthy of their attention—whether, in the days ahead, they should bully her or try to befriend her.

And Feng Jinyan’s intimate gestures, whether intentional or not, had actually become a temporary shelter for her.

After all, no one dared provoke Feng Jinyan. As someone he had taken the initiative to “approach,” she naturally could not be bullied either.

A week later, Longchuan’s examination results were released in an incomplete fashion, as always. Only the top ten and the bottom ten were granted the privilege of showing their faces.

Thus, on Sunday evening, the results of the placement examination were sent to the large group chat for the entire first-year cohort.

There were twenty names in total. When the list was opened, Ye Xiangwan was once again in first place, with Feng Jinyan directly beneath her.

Their total scores were extremely close, separated by only eight points. But upon closer inspection, Ye Xiangwan’s oral English score was a full ten points lower than Feng Jinyan’s perfect score. She had made up the difference with the rest of her written examinations.

The moment the student ranked second saw the results, he threw his phone to the floor. It was as though he could hear himself from that day in the examination hall, shouting, “I’m number one!” The words had crossed the torrent of time and come flying back to strike him in the face—smack, smack, smack.

Then, amid the crisp echoes, five exclamation marks came hurtling after them in rapid succession, piercing his lofty little pride until it instantly became a deflating balloon and vanished with a hiss.

His exam scores had actually been beaten by a girl time and time again. How could Young Master Feng not be furious?!

But that was not the end of it. Early the next morning, on Monday, the precious dignity of Young Master Feng was once again trampled into pieces.

The lingering heat of late summer was still dry and oppressive. Yet beneath the fluttering national flag, Ye Xiangwan walked with steady steps and stopped before the rostrum.

The cool, aloof aura she naturally possessed was especially conspicuous. She was like a bottle of soda fresh from the refrigerator, its surface still beaded with cold droplets—just looking at her seemed enough to dispel the summer heat.

Ye Xiangwan wore a maroon school uniform. It outlined her slender waist with striking clarity, while her straight legs appeared even longer beneath the uniform skirt.

Her hair was tied in a high ponytail, and her delicate skin gleamed white beneath the sunlight. Standing there with her back straight, she resembled a flower that neither flaunted itself nor grew impatient, quietly blooming beneath the sun.

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