Chapter 53: Following the Heart's Desire

The next morning.

Just like any other day, Lu You arrived in the classroom, opened his Chinese textbook, and began to review ancient poems and idioms.

He wasn't very good at Chinese reading comprehension, so to maintain a high score, he couldn't afford to lose points on memory-based questions. Therefore, he placed quite a bit of importance on morning reading sessions.

His deskmate, Yuan Wenliang, however, was acting rather unusual. Throughout the entire morning reading session, he was completely out of it. He would read two lines of Classical Chinese, then zone out for a while.

Lu You had already noticed his bizarre mental state. The only thing capable of making a literary youth so absent-minded was a girl.

He couldn't be bothered to ask, knowing Yuan Wenliang would bring it up eventually. At the latest by noon, at the earliest right after the morning reading session ended—he was bound to ask anyway, so there was no need to rush.

As expected, the moment the bell signaling the end of the morning reading session rang, Yuan Wenliang awkwardly called out to him.

"Brother Lu, may I ask you something?"

Lu You wore an expression that practically shouted, "I knew you were going to ask," making Yuan Wenliang even more flustered.

"Go ahead."

"You and Miss Tang..."

"What the heck! Miss Tang! Can't you just use her name?"

Lu You was amused; he genuinely hadn't expected Yuan Wenliang to stumble over his words so badly.

"Oh, oh, oh! How do you and classmate Tang Wan usually get along?"

Instead of answering, Lu You countered with a question of his own. "Did Ye Hongsu look for you last night?"

"Yes."

"What did you two talk about?"

"She... she told me her name, and said she hopes we can both test into the liberal arts honors class next semester. She said 'please advise me,' and then she just left."

Straightforward, without beating around the bush, and decisive. Exactly as Lu You had imagined—truly deserving of being Ye Hongsu.

"So, what do you think of her?"

Yuan Wenliang lowered his gaze, as if Ye Hongsu's stunning figure was appearing right before his eyes, and muttered, "Her beauty eclipses past and present; the lotus flowers put her jade face to shame."

Pfft.

"Hahahaha..."

Lu You simply couldn't hold it in any longer. He slumped onto his desk, laughing so hard that tears streamed uncontrollably from his eyes.

Yuan Wenliang's face rapidly flushed crimson, resembling a piece of iron heated in a furnace.

"Is it really that funny?"

After a long while, Lu You finally caught his breath, having nearly laughed himself to death. He pulled out a few tissues, wiped the tears from the corners of his eyes, and replied, "It's funny for sure, but I'm not mocking you. I just genuinely think the poem you used was a bit over the top."

"Every word came straight from my heart, without the slightest falsehood."

Lu You looked into Yuan Wenliang's eyes. Yuan Wenliang didn't look away either, meeting his gaze calmly. The two of them stared at each other in a stalemate for over ten seconds.

"Forget it. Tell me, what are your plans for the future?"

Lu You decided to simply skip the question of "who is the prettiest," since there was no objective answer. Every boy applies a filter to the girl he likes. From the very moment his heart is moved, the answer to "who is the prettiest" is forever that one and only person.

In any case, in his own heart, Little Snowman was number one under the heavens.

Yuan Wenliang's eyes held a dazed look, and his tone carried a trace of dejection.

"Unknown. I want to keep my distance from her, but..."

"But you can't bear to?"

Yuan Wenliang nodded.

"Didn't you say you'd never seen her before? Is this what you call love at first sight?"

"Love at first sight, or perhaps being captivated by her beauty? I'm not even sure myself. When I first saw her, I felt as though I heard the sound of flowers blooming."

"Hiss—"

Lu You felt goosebumps break out all over his body.

"Do you literature majors always talk this mushy?"

"Ah. It's not intentional. It's just like the sun rising in the east or water flowing from a high place—it simply spilled out naturally."

"Alright, alright. The school isn't a power plant, so stop generating electricity here."

Lu You quickly cut him off before he could spout any more poetry.

"Care to share how you plan to develop things with classmate Tang Wan?"

"No."

"Why not?"

"I don't even know myself, so how can I tell you? Everything about her is a surprise to me; I can only take it one step at a time."

Seeing that Yuan Wenliang was still deep in thought, Lu You patted his shoulder.

"Just follow your heart. The things you want to know are the very things I want to know too. I've never been in a relationship either, so asking me is useless."

The cloud of gloom between Yuan Wenliang's eyebrows mostly dissipated.

"Fine, I suppose that's the only way."

Suddenly, a flash of inspiration struck him, and he came up with a brilliant idea.

"How about we share intelligence and make progress together from now on?"

Lu You: (≖_≖)

"If you don't understand something, you might as well just be honest with her herself. Wouldn't it feel super weird to discuss how to get along with the girl you like with another guy?"

Yuan Wenliang lowered his head and pondered this for a moment, realizing that what Lu You said made a lot of sense. The best way to understand her was still to ask her directly.

It wasn't a big deal to be called unromantic, but if he arrogantly projected his own understanding onto her and caused a rift between them, that would be fatal.

"That makes sense. Thank you for clearing my doubts."

"Don't mention it. Want to go to the restroom together?"

"Sure."

As it turned out, boys also loved going to take a dump together in pairs.

***

Meanwhile, in the hallway outside Class 2.

Tang Wan was bundled up so tightly that only her eyes remained visible.

The December wind was truly not something one could easily withstand; otherwise, there wouldn't only be two people standing out in the hallway.

"Spit it out, Niannian. With weather this cold, refusing to stay in the classroom—what on earth is so important that we had to come outside to talk about it?"

Xu Nian sniffed her runny nose, looked at Tang Wan with a strange expression, and asked, "Are you seriously not checking the school's online forum?"

"Weibo, the forum, Zhihu—I don't use any of them, as if you didn't know? Mainly because the online environment is just too toxic! I don't even read video bullet comments or comment sections."

"I suppose that's true."

"So, did something happen at school?"

"I'm telling you, don't get mad."

?

Tang Wan tilted her head and thought about it.

If they couldn't talk about it inside the classroom, it meant they needed to avoid a certain someone. And since she was being told not to get angry, there was only one possibility.

"Is it about Lu You?"

"Eh? How did you know?"

Tang Wan's heart instantly leaped into her throat, and her tone turned somewhat urgent.

"Did something happen to him? He seemed energetic and fierce just last night!"

"He's fine. It's just some gossip."

"Phew."

Tang Wan let out a breath of relief. As long as he was fine, gossip didn't matter; she herself had a murky, ambiguous relationship going on with Lu You anyway, even though that was actually the truth.

"What kind of gossip is it this time?"

"The rumor is that he spent time alone with Goddess Ye, talking about private matters."

"Who? Goddess Ye? Ye Hongsu?"

"How do you know that too?!" Xu Nian was genuinely startled. "Did you look at the forum and lie about not seeing it?"

"No, Lu You mentioned her to me before. He said she was pretty weird."

Xu Nian sized Tang Wan up from top to bottom, even leaning in close with narrowed eyes as if investigating something.

Tang Wan frowned slightly and leaned back, putting some distance between them.

"What are you looking at? Is there something on my face?"

"Are you seriously not bothered at all by the private matters they're talking about?"

"I'm very curious, actually."

"Then why don't you look upset at all?"

Tang Wan looked at Xu Nian, pointed at her own eyes, and said, "My eyes are saying that I am very curious."

Xu Nian was getting anxious enough to stamp her feet, crying out in exasperation, "Wanwan! He's pursuing you! And now he's flirting with another girl..."

"Hold on."

Tang Wan raised a hand to stop her from continuing.

"Leaving aside the truth or falsity of the gossip for a moment, does a boy and a girl simply talking alone count as flirting?"

"Uh... well..."

Xu Nian faltered, not knowing how to reply.

Tang Wan glanced at her, knowing she meant well and was afraid Lu You might be a seasoned player, even intentionally avoiding Li Yu to come outside and talk about this topic.

However, Tang Wan had her own thoughts.

"First of all, I am skeptical about the truth of the gossip. What if Ye Hongsu just wanted to ask him for a favor or something? Rumors often carry the personal bias of the person spreading them. What they say isn't necessarily a lie, but it certainly conflicts with objective reality.

"Secondly, compared to rumors posted by complete strangers on a forum, I trust Lu You's character much more. Reality isn't a romance novel; it makes no sense to believe someone else's one-sided story without even asking the person involved.

"Lastly, it's not that I don't care or that I'm not angry. He is the first person I've ever liked, and I like him so much—how could I possibly have no reaction at all?"

Tang Wan's eye rims gradually turned red, and her voice carried a slight nasal twinge.

"It's just that I can wait until noon to find him and ask for the truth."

At that moment, the bell for the first period rang.

Tang Wan closed her eyes, quickly adjusted her emotions, and her voice returned to normal.

"Let's go back inside for class. We have a pop quiz later."

With that, she turned and walked into the classroom.

Emotions were emotions, and studying was studying; one couldn't learn effectively while harboring bad feelings. Tang Wan understood this principle well.

Watching her figure, Xu Nian couldn't help but sigh in admiration.

"Wanwan is truly amazing!"

***

At exactly twelve o'clock, Lu You stood outside the Class 2 doorway, waiting for Li Yu to go to lunch together.

Two minutes later, three people appeared in front of him. After exchanging a glance with Tang Wan for a few seconds, he asked, "Are you coming with us?"

"Mhm."

The group of four walked along the school path.

Lu You consciously walked next to Tang Wan, while Xu Nian sensibly yielded her spot and walked with Li Yu.

Although Tang Wan didn't show any outward abnormality on her face, Lu You, walking right beside her, had a lingering sense that her mood was off somehow. Moreover, the two of them hadn't spoken much all the way here, which definitely meant there was a problem.

Lu You decided to bring up the matter of Yuan Wenliang and Ye Hongsu.

"Tang Wan, something interesting happened recently."

"Tell me about it."

"Remember Ye Hongsu, the one I told you about?"

Tang Wan fell silent for a moment before replying calmly, "I remember. Did something happen between her and you?"

Recalling the events of last night, veins faintly bulged on Lu You's forehead.

"Well, sort of."

A sharp pain like a needle prick stabbed into Tang Wan's heart, and she silently lowered her gaze to hide her emotions.

Not noticing her emotional shift, Lu You continued, "She told me she wanted to get to know my deskmate and asked me to play matchmaker."

Tang Wan: Σ(°△ °|||)︴

"Is that how it went? Are you sure she wasn't just making a feint to the east while attacking the west?"

"Her point was that she isn't interested in my type. By now, she's already completely bewitched my deskmate, to the point that he even came and asked me how to get along with girls this morning."

After listening to Lu You's words, the metaphorical needle prick in Tang Wan's heart instantly vanished, replaced by the trivial sensation of a mosquito bite—completely painless. Her mood instantly brightened, her pace regained a springy lightness, and the delight between her brows was plain for all to see.

Lu You, standing right beside her, felt this change the most acutely. Tang Wan seemed as though she had been factory-refurbished; the atmosphere around her had undergone a complete 180-degree shift, leaving him dumbfounded.

"How come it feels like your mood suddenly improved?"

"Really? It must be because I just figured out how to solve a math problem."

"A math problem? You could have asked me, I know how to do all of them!"

"Next time for sure! Let's go eat first; I'm starving, I didn't eat during morning recess!"

With that, Tang Wan grabbed Lu You's sleeve and hurried toward the cafeteria.

"Don't rush. The cafeteria isn't going to run out of food; we can take our time."

Behind them, seeing Lu You turn Tang Wan's status back to full health in just a few short sentences, Xu Nian stared in utter astonishment.

"Li Yu, does your sworn brother from another mother have mind-reading powers?"

Li Yu cast a look of utter contempt at her.

"Of course not! Are you an idiot asking such a stupid question?"

Within the span of 0.00000001 seconds, Xu Nian's anger level breached its upper limit.

"Did you smear your little mouth with laxative or something? Why are your words so nasty?"

The two of them resumed their daily mutual bickering.