Lin Tiao felt about sixty percent full and put down her chopsticks when Jiang Yan asked with concern, “Are you full?”
She quickly replied, “I’m full.”
“Okay.” Jiang Yan stood up decisively, casually picking up the bag of toys that Lin Tiao had left on the nearby bench. “Let’s go.”
Lin Tiao nodded, getting up and following him. They walked one behind the other along the street they had come from.
Next to the street was a subway station, which was experiencing a small rush hour, with a large wave of people spilling out and heading toward the alley.
As people came and went, Lin Tiao was pushed forward. In a moment of distraction, she accidentally stepped on Jiang Yan’s heel, and then lost her balance and bumped into his back.
Her soft cheek pressed against his cotton white T-shirt, and a unique, youthful fragrance wafted toward her.
Flustered, Lin Tiao quickly moved back a little, her bangs falling down the sides of her face, and her cheeks reddening as she hurriedly said, “...Sorry.”
The lights on either side were dim and soft. Jiang Yan glanced down at her, shrugged nonchalantly, and said, “It’s fine. Let’s go.”
Lin Tiao felt relieved and lowered her head, following behind him.
After walking a few steps, Jiang Yan slowed his pace and silently moved to Lin Tiao’s left, creating some distance from the crowd.
For the remainder of the walk, they exchanged little conversation. When they arrived at the bus stop at the end of the alley, Jiang Yan glanced at the sign and asked, “Which bus are you taking?”
Without looking at the sign, Lin Tiao replied effortlessly, “Bus 33.”
Jiang Yan looked down and found bus 33 at the bottom of the list. He checked the next stops, asking, “Where do you get off?”
“Huayuan Community.” Lin Tiao looked up at him, blinking, and finally remembered to ask in return, “What bus are you taking?”
“I’m taking bus 8.”
“…”
Jiang Yan chuckled, turning his head just as a bus 33 pulled up behind them. He tilted his chin up, saying, “The bus is here. Let’s go; I’ll take you back first.”
Before Lin Tiao could refuse, he had already pushed her onto the bus.
They sat down in the last row, with the window half-open, a cool breeze flowing in as the bus drove along.
“Are you going to school tomorrow?” Lin Tiao asked casually after the bus had traveled a stop.
Jiang Yan diverted his attention from his phone and looked out the window at the rapidly passing scenery. “It depends; I’ll go if I wake up.”
“…” Lin Tiao really wanted to remind him that he was very likely about to get expelled. “Is that so? Li Kun won’t come looking for you?”
“If he does, does that mean I have to go?” The boy seemed very nonchalant, tilting his head as he looked at her, a hint of a smile on his lips.
“…”
Alright then.
Lin Tiao bit her lip, swallowing back the words “You might really get expelled.”
If he wasn’t worried, why should she be?
They fell into silence again.
Jiang Yan continued to play on his phone, while Lin Tiao glanced over at his screen and discovered that he was playing a palace intrigue simulation game.
“…”
At that moment, Jiang Yan held his phone, his brow slightly furrowed, seemingly stuck on a dilemma. Lin Tiao leaned over to take a look.
On the screen, there was a line of dialogue from a character in the game: “Your Highness, the Emperor has seldom visited Huayang Palace lately. Shouldn’t you consider doing something about it?”
Two options were provided below: a) “The Emperor is the Son of Heaven, and there are three thousand beauties in the harem; he can’t only care about me in this palace”; b) “You go and instruct the Imperial Kitchen to prepare a banquet for the Emperor at Huayang Palace.”
Noticing Lin Tiao's gaze, Jiang Yan moved his phone closer to her and asked seriously, “Can you help me decide how to choose this?”
Lin Tiao: “……”
—
“Huayuan Community has arrived. Passengers getting off, please exit from the back door.”
The announcement echoed through the bus as it came to a stop. Lin Tiao stood up and waved goodbye to Jiang Yan, saying, “I’ve arrived. I’ll get off first.”
“Oh.” Jiang Yan seemed a bit sleepy and responded lackadaisically.
Lin Tiao thought to herself that she didn’t realize the big shot had such a healthy sleep schedule. It was only nine o'clock, and he was already starting to feel drowsy.
Of course, she wouldn’t dare say this in front of Jiang Yan. She hurriedly got off the bus and waited in place until it restarted before turning around to walk into the community.
When she got home, her parents were not back yet. Lin Tiao took a shower, lay on her bed, and chatted with Meng Xin for a while before dozing off.
Lin Tiao had a dream.
In her dream, she became a powerless palace maid. During a banquet, she caught the Emperor’s eye, transforming from a sparrow into a phoenix, rising from a mere maid to an esteemed concubine.
The scenes in the dream were chaotic and fast-paced, and at one point, Lin Tiao clearly saw the Emperor’s face.
With his standard sword-like eyebrows and phoenix eyes, the way he smiled was strikingly similar to someone she knew.
“…!”
She was jolted awake, her eyes snapping open just as her alarm went off. Outside, the sound of rain pattered against the window. Lin Tiao rubbed her eyes, feeling relieved.
Thank goodness it was just a dream.
While brushing her teeth, Lin Tiao looked at herself in the mirror and recalled Jiang Yan’s face from the dream, shaking her head vigorously.
It must be because she saw him playing games last night.
Not wanting to dwell on it any longer, Lin Tiao quickly got ready, grabbed her backpack, and headed to school.
---
After the morning study session, the weekly flag-raising ceremony that usually took place every Monday was canceled due to the unexpected heavy rain. The head of the department, Li Kun, was forced to give his speech from the broadcast system instead of under the flag.
When Jiang Yan arrived at the classroom, the broadcast was just reading, “Last Friday, Jiang from Class 28 of the second year, along with classmates Xu, Hu, and Song, had a conflict with Yang and others from Class 6 of the second year in the back garden, causing extremely adverse effects. Fighting is a serious violation of school rules…”
As expected of the head of the department, Li Kun went on for ten minutes, “...In conclusion, after a unified discussion by the school authorities, the aforementioned students will receive a serious demerit and be required to write a 5,000-word reflection, which will be presented next Monday under the flag. Any further violations will result in immediate suspension!”
The broadcast fell silent, and the classroom was quiet.
Lin Tiao turned to look at Jiang Yan, who was resting his chin on his hand, one hand still twirling a pen.
Unable to help herself, she remarked, “You really are unfazed.”
Jiang Yan didn’t respond immediately. After a few seconds, as if he had just snapped back to reality, he looked up at her. “Hmm? What did you say?”
Lin Tiao pressed her lips together. “Nothing. Just wanted to remind you that the Jiang mentioned in the broadcast might have something to do with you.”
“…” Before Jiang Yan could say anything, several figures suddenly dashed in from outside the door.
Hu Hanghang threw his arms around Jiang Yan’s neck over the table, wailing, “Bro, where were you last night? The three of us waited for you outside your house for hours. We knocked on your door but got no response, and you didn’t answer your phone. We almost thought you were home committing suicide!”
Jiang Yan was being choked and suddenly grabbed Hu Hanghang’s meaty arm. “Get off me, or I swear I’ll strangle you!”
Song Yuan and Xu Yichuan, showing a bit more reason, pulled Hu Hanghang back. “Yan, where did you go yesterday? We couldn’t get through to you.”
Jiang Yan rubbed the back of his neck, leaning lazily against the wall. “I didn’t go anywhere; I just went back to the old house and took a trip to the city center.”
Hearing that he went back to the old house, the three of them instantly turned serious. They seemed to want to say something but hesitated when they noticed Lin Tiao sitting beside them.
Jiang Yan knew what they were thinking and said nonchalantly, “Just say it; my deskmate isn’t anyone else.”
Lin Tiao, who had originally considered avoiding the topic, was momentarily taken aback by this remark. Before she could react, Xu Yichuan and the others began speaking again. “Your family didn’t make things difficult for you, did they?”
Jiang Yan lowered his head, fiddling with his phone. “No.”
“What about your dad? He didn’t hit you? And what about that crazy uncle of yours? He didn’t give you a hard time?”
“No, I just went back to get some stuff.”
The three of them sighed in relief. “That’s good.”
However, Lin Tiao, sitting next to them, felt something was off.
Difficulties? Being beaten? Trouble?
What kind of ridiculous drama was this?
A rebellious school bully suddenly transformed into a tortured heir of a wealthy family?
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