The New Year's holiday has passed, and the third-year students have returned to their class schedule.

Jiang Shuyi slowly spread jam on her bread, her gaze gradually shifting to Wen Yao, who was sitting across from her.

The morning news on TV reported on the flu and mentioned that it might rain today, with temperatures in Huan City dropping again.

Jiang Shuyi's eyes remained fixed on Wen Yao's face.

Wen Yao turned her head and took a slow sip of coffee. "Aren't you tired of staring at me?"

Jiang Shuyi took a sip of orange juice, swallowed her bread, and smiled happily. "Not at all."

". . ." Wen Yao quietly turned her head away.

After a while, Wen Yao had already put on her winter school uniform.

Jiang Shuyi was still staring at Wen Yao.

Wen Yao glanced at Jiang Shuyi and, seeing her still in her loungewear, urged, "It's almost 6:30, if you don't get moving, I'm leaving without you."

Jiang Shuyi obediently nodded, quickly finished chewing her bread, and hurried back to her room to grab her freshly washed school uniform from the closet, starting to tie her tie.

". . ." Wen Yao leaned against the door, holding an umbrella and watching Jiang Shuyi fumble with her tie in a flustered manner. After a moment of silence, she asked, "Are you ready?"

"All set." Jiang Shuyi turned around, looking lively as she walked out.

Wen Yao noticed the jam left on the corner of her mouth and paused for a moment. "On your face."

Upon hearing this, Jiang Shuyi licked the corner of her mouth with her tongue.

Not feeling like she had gotten anything, Jiang Shuyi sniffed and looked at Wen Yao in confusion. "There's nothing there."

". . ." Wen Yao looked at her expression and reached out her right hand to wipe the jam off Jiang Shuyi's left mouth corner.

"Then what's this?" Wen Yao showed her finger to Jiang Shuyi.

Seeing the jam on Wen Yao's finger, Jiang Shuyi blinked, and in the next second, she opened her mouth and bit Wen Yao's finger, quickly rolling the jam away with her tongue.

Wen Yao froze at Jiang Shuyi's sudden action.

"Evidence destroyed, now it's gone."

Jiang Shuyi swallowed the jam from Wen Yao's finger and smiled brightly.

". . ." Wen Yao glanced at her finger, said nothing, and pulled her hand back.

---

In January, Huan City was filled with a dampness characteristic of winter, just as the weather forecast had predicted. It was very cold.

Jiang Shuyi glanced at Wen Yao walking beside her, she stood straight in the cold wind.

"Wen Yao, are you cold?" Jiang Shuyi wanted to hold Wen Yao's hand.

Wen Yao replied objectively, "Not really."

Jiang Shuyi reached out to touch Wen Yao's hand, which felt very cold, almost frozen.

Jiang Shuyi casually slipped Wen Yao's hand into the pocket of her own coat and smiled like a fool.

". . ." Wen Yao didn't say anything.

Their fingers intertwined as they walked to school, and just as they were about to reach the school gate, Wen Yao slowly pulled her hand away.

Jiang Shuyi, feeling a bit disappointed, put her hand back in her pocket.

Every day, Chengbei arranged different teachers to check students' dress codes at the school gate.

Today happened to be their homeroom teacher, Li Roujia's turn.

Standing at the school gate, Teacher Li was dressed in a gray formal outfit, greeting the students at the entrance.

Wen Yao glanced at Teacher Li, nodded quietly, and walked over respectfully.

Jiang Shuyi followed her example and nodded in greeting to Teacher Li as well.

"Good morning," Teacher Li responded to both of them.

The two walked past her, one after the other.

"Wen Yao."

Just a few steps past the school gate, Teacher Li called out Wen Yao's name.

Both Jiang Shuyi and Wen Yao stopped in their tracks. Jiang Shuyi looked at Wen Yao, who paused for a moment before calmly turning around to face Li Roujia.

"Could you please collect the math homework for me and take it to Class Three? I need it for a surprise quiz later."

Li Roujia looked at Wen Yao with a friendly smile.

Wen Yao maintained a serious expression as she listened to Teacher Li, paused briefly, and nodded quietly. "Okay, I understand."

". . ." Jiang Shuyi had grown indifferent to the mention of a pop quiz. "There's been a big test every three days and a small quiz every day lately."

Jiang Shuyi complained as she and Wen Yao walked to the classroom, one in front of the other.

As soon as Jiang Shuyi stepped into the classroom, someone called her name and put an arm around her shoulder from behind.

Jiang Shuyi shrugged off the arm. "You seem really happy today."

"Of course! Today is your birthday!" Zhou Jingtang pulled out a small box and stuffed it into Jiang Shuyi's arms.

"Happy birthday!"

Jiang Shuyi was momentarily stunned.

She had completely forgotten that today was the original owner's birthday.

"Do you want me to sing 'Happy Birthday' for you? Or would you prefer to hear 'Birthday Blessing'?"

"Neither, please." Jiang Shuyi quickly stopped him, she resolutely didn't want to hear it.

Song Jinxi, standing next to Zhou Jingtang, smiled and looked up just in time to see Wen Yao pause in her steps and glance back coldly.

Wen Yao's black pupils were calm and cold, which made Song Jinxi feel a strange shiver.

But in the next second, Wen Yao seemed to casually glance at them before turning back.

She quietly set down her bag, walked briskly to the podium, and began collecting everyone's math homework, seemingly indifferent to what was happening over here.

However, recalling Wen Yao's earlier gaze, Song Jinxi still felt a shiver run through her.

She couldn't quite figure out what Wen Yao was really thinking. At first glance, she felt that Wen Yao was not someone to be trifled with, as if there was something off about her.

Yet sometimes, she also felt that Wen Yao was quite nice. But upon closer reflection, she found her to be very enigmatic.

After all, seeing Jiang Shuyi now behaving so well and focused in class, even writing a few words as if she had been trained, made Song Jinxi admire Wen Yao for being able to achieve such a transformation.

In Song Jinxi's view, Jiang Shuyi didn't need to change, she had her own strengths.

Although this person was notorious for causing trouble, getting into fights, and being carefree, often hanging out with the delinquents outside of school, Jiang Shuyi was tall, strikingly attractive, had artistic talent, and excelled in sports.

Not to mention, her family owned the Jianghai Group.

There were plenty of people at school who liked her.

However, Jiang Shuyi, the person involved, seemed completely unaware of her loss of freedom and the gradual imposition of rules, she even seemed a bit proud of it. What could she possibly say?

Song Jinxi thought this and casually shifted her gaze away.

One after another, people surrounded Jiang Shuyi to give her birthday gifts, and she accepted each one with a cheerful "Thank you."

After Jiang Shuyi sat down, Song Jinxi also handed her gift to her.

Jiang Shuyi paused for a moment when she saw the gift but smiled as she accepted it.

Once the crowd dispersed, the smile had faded from Jiang Shuyi's face.

Song Jinxi sensed that she was tired and felt that Jiang Shuyi's mood was probably not very good.

After the morning self-study session ended, Wen Yao collected the math homework from their classmates and stepped outside.

Seeing Wen Yao leave, Jiang Shuyi followed her without a word.

---

"Wen Yao, let me help you carry the homework."

After leaving the classroom, Jiang Shuyi quickened her pace to catch up with Wen Yao, almost losing her in the process.

At the corner of the stairs, a student suddenly rushed out and bumped into Jiang Shuyi's shoulder.

As she stepped onto the stairs, she lost her balance and fell backward. Unable to grab the handrail in time, she ended up sitting down hard on the steps.

Jiang Shuyi felt a bit of pain in her backside.

Nearby students looked on from a distance, some walking past without a care.

The student who bumped into her quickly approached and extended a hand.

"I'm sorry! Are you okay, Senior Jiang?"

Jiang Shuyi initially thought she was fine, but hearing "Senior Jiang" made her feel a bit uncomfortable. She wanted to cover her face but still managed to maintain her composure. "...I'm fine."

She reached for the handrail to help herself up but found that her ankle hurt a bit and she couldn't put much weight on it.

Jiang Shuyi glanced around and saw everyone watching her.

So, she gritted her teeth and mustered her strength, determined to stand up despite her injury.

"Sit down."

A familiar, cold voice rang out.

". . ." Jiang Shuyi glanced at the person and obediently sat back down.

Wen Yao's shadow quietly reflected on the ground as she placed the class's math homework at one end of the stairs and squatted down to roll up Jiang Shuyi's pant legs.

"Why do you always end up like this just from walking up the stairs?"

Wen Yao frowned and immediately began to criticize Jiang Shuyi.

Jiang Shuyi, who had expected to hear some concern, looked at her with a wronged expression and stubbornly pouted. "I'm not in pain."

Wen Yao assessed Jiang Shuyi's defiant expression and reached for the homework of their classmates.

"Fine, then I'll go turn in the homework."

Jiang Shuyi immediately grabbed Wen Yao's wrist, sniffled, and without caring about the people around them, her throat let out a pitiful "wuwuwu" sound.

". . ." Wen Yao looked at Jiang Shuyi but didn't say anything.

"Do you want me to take you to the infirmary?" Wen Yao asked her.

Jiang Shuyi shamelessly nodded, gripping Wen Yao's shoulders tightly.

"Help me up."

Wen Yao was too lazy to argue with her further and expressionlessly helped Jiang Shuyi to her feet.

Jiang Shuyi leaned her whole weight against Wen Yao.

Sighing, Wen Yao handed the papers on the floor to Lin Qing, who was passing by, and instructed her on something before guiding Jiang Shuyi toward the infirmary.

Lin Qing looked at Jiang Shuyi and Wen Yao with curiosity, nodded repeatedly, and smiled while giving an 'OK' gesture as she walked away.

Jiang Shuyi looked at Wen Yao's face, Wen Yao's eyelashes drooped low, and she seemed a bit listless as she looked ahead. Jiang Shuyi's arm wrapped around her shoulder, and they walked with Jiang Shuyi limping slightly.

Jiang Shuyi gently rested her head against Wen Yao's, completely different from her earlier pitiful demeanor, and asked brightly, "Aren't you going to hand in the math homework? Am I more important to you than the math homework?"

". . ." Wen Yao ignored her and continued walking forward in silence.

"Of course, that must be the case." Jiang Shuyi said firmly, as if convincing herself.

At the end of the corridor, the two opened the door to the infirmary. The electric kettle inside was boiling water, and the room was warm with the heating on.

There was no one in the room, it seemed the teacher had just stepped out.

Wen Yao helped Jiang Shuyi to a chair in the infirmary.

"Wen Yao, Wen Yao."

Sitting in the infirmary chair, Jiang Shuyi began to call Wen Yao's name like a little chick.

". . ." Wen Yao didn't respond, turning her back to her as she searched for medicine.

Wen Yao's slender back looked very cool and composed.

"Are you really that angry? It was an accident..." Jiang Shuyi leaned forward like a child trying to peek at Wen Yao's expression.

She wrapped her arms around Wen Yao's waist and pulled her to sit on her lap.

Wen Yao paused for a moment, shot Jiang Shuyi a glare, but Jiang Shuyi showed no sign of retreat, pressing her nose against Wen Yao's ear.

Like trying to please her, Jiang Shuyi gave Wen Yao's cheek a quick kiss. "Just smile a little for me."

Wen Yao looked at her without saying anything.

Jiang Shuyi met Wen Yao's gaze.

"Wen Yao, don't you know that when you're not speaking, it looks like you're angry?"

Jiang Shuyi's hair fell over Wen Yao's neck and shoulders, making Wen Yao feel a bit ticklish.

After a while, Wen Yao sighed and finally spoke up, "Why didn't you tell me your birthday?"

Jiang Shuyi's gaze drifted to the window, she had thought about how Wen Yao might be upset.

Her own birthday was in June, which was still half a year away.

But she was reluctant to consider the original owner's birthday as her own.

"...I forgot." Jiang Shuyi pouted.

"You forgot." Wen Yao repeated, as if confirming she hadn't misheard.

"You know what I like to eat, you know my habits, you know I like you, isn't that enough..." Jiang Shuyi said softly.

"And no matter whether you know or not, I really like you." Jiang Shuyi pressed her forehead against Wen Yao's.

"You can give me the gift later..."

As long as it's not less.

---

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