Chapter 31 - What Should I Do if My Younger Brother’s Crush Has Taken a Liking to Me?

Chapter 31 Xi Ning hardly slept the entire night. Early the next morning, she dragged herself to the classroom with heavy, bloodshot eyes. For someone as self-disciplined as her, it was an unprecedented occurrence. The seat next to her remained empty during the morning self-study. On the attendance sheet hanging by the blackboard, the three characters "Kong Nian Xi" unexpectedly claimed the top spot. It was Chinese class during the morning self-study, and Tian Jiabao wandered around multiple times, especially near their table. Meanwhile, Xi Ning sat upright, low-headed, holding a pen with slender fingers, tightly pursed lips, a cold face showing no emotions except for seriousness, emitting an aura of "do not disturb." Tian Jiabao opened his mouth, but ultimately didn't disturb her, only glancing at the empty table beside her, shook his head with his hands behind his back, and left the classroom. Xi Ning's hand holding the pen finally eased up a bit. The more restless her mood, the colder her expression. "Sweetie, what's wrong with your eyes... Where did you go last night? Did you stay up playing games?" At breakfast, Tu Xiaoyuan stared at her incredulously, as Xi Ning's regular lifestyle made her as regimented as an old soldier. She was always early to bed and early to rise, even on weekends. Tu Xiaoyuan never thought she would one day sport dark circles under her eyes. "I just had trouble sleeping last night," Xi Ning lowered her head, peeled an egg, her eyelids heavy and her voice hoarse, looking truly sleep-deprived. "When have you ever seen her play games?" Su Yuqi just finished queuing for food, sat down next to Xi Ning, turned to stare at her eyes. Not to mention playing games, Xi Ning, whose interests were completely out of sync with contemporary high school students, only saw her phone as a device for setting alarms and sending messages. Although Su Yuqi also enjoyed burying herself in studying and solving problems, she had other hobbies—she loved watching anime, dramas, and playing games. Xi Ning was different; she spent most of her time studying not only out of self-discipline and ambition, but also because she didn't know how else to while away her time. "My eyes have been tired lately, I happen to have regular eye drops with me. I'm not sure if they will work, but they should make your eyes feel more comfortable," Su Yuqi pulled out a bottle of eye drops from her pocket and offered to help, as Xi Ning was about to put down her half-peeled egg, "Let me do it." "Oh, you've already peeled the egg; it won't take long. Let me help you," Su Yuqi had already unscrewed the eye drops and leaned in. Xi Ning hesitated and had to open her eyes, tilting her head up. Once the eye drops were administered, as Su Yuqi turned away, a muffled thud suddenly rang out from the table, and a fair wrist placed a cup of soy milk in front of her. No one noticed when the slender and elegant woman approached. Su Yuqi raised her head in astonishment, only to see Wen Yao arching her eyebrows coldly and glancing at her before leaving without a word. "..." Tu Xiaoyuan leaned over, "What's going on?" Su Yuqi looked at the cup of soy milk but didn't move, "It's nothing, just a bit of a lunatic." Tu Xiaoyuan: "..." After taking a couple of bites, Su Yuqi turned to Xi Ning and hesitated, saying, "Is there an empty bed in your dorm?" Their six-person dormitory currently only housed three people, so there was indeed vacant space, but... Xi Ning looked puzzled, "Yes, there is. Do you want to move in to live on campus?" Su Yuqi sighed, "If there's no other choice, I will have to move in." Tu Xiaoyuan looked surprised, "Eh? I thought you didn't like communal living. Why the sudden change of heart? Your little apartment is pretty nice." "...," Su Yuqi poked the bun on the plate with her chopsticks, "It's a bit complicated to explain, but... Anyway, I plan to give up the house I currently have. Do you want to come to my place this weekend? It's the last chance to have a crazy weekend; I won't be able to do it later." "So soon?!" Tu Xiaoyuan was amazed, "That's a must! I love your little balcony. It's a shame we won't be able to see it anymore." "It's Friday today, so let's go after school! We can order takeout and watch horror movies in the evening. What do you think, sisters?" Tu Xiaoyuan excitedly proposed, and naturally, Su Yuqi had no objections. Xi Ning didn't want to go home to bump heads with Xi Mu that evening, so the plan was quickly arranged. Xi Ning lingered over breakfast and walked to the classroom more slowly than usual. Standing at her desk, she was surprised to find that the neighboring table had become empty—it was cleared of all Kong Nian Xi's belongings. She stood by the table, motionless for a while. Carrying a bag of buns and holding a bottle of milk, a curly-haired girl walked in and immediately came over to her, "Um... Study goddess, did you have a disagreement with Nian Xi?" Xi Ning pursed her lips and didn't say anything. She raised her eyes and glanced at the colorful "little toys" that belonged to Kong Nian Xi on the empty table in the last row against the wall. After a few seconds, she withdrew her gaze, expressionless, pulled out a chair and sat down at her own seat. The chair next to her was pulled open with a "creak," and the curly-haired girl cleared her throat, with the tone of a community mediator, "As the saying goes, do not let a disagreement affect your studies. I almost thought you two would get together. This morning, Nian Xi suddenly said she was moving out, and I was shocked..." With two fingers holding the book pages, Xi Ning paused in flipping through the book, slowly raised her head. Although her face showed no emotion, her demeanor was indifferent, but her eyes seemed to have a layer of ice, making the curly-haired girl startle and swallow her words. After a moment of hesitation, Xi Ning didn't say anything, lowered her head again, and took out a pair of Bluetooth earphones from her bag, putting them in her ears. The curly-haired girl: "..." Realizing that the other party was in a bad mood, the curly-haired girl tactfully walked away. ... The bell for class rang as usual, and the curriculum proceeded smoothly according to the schedule. Xi Ning took notes in class and did exercises after class, maintaining a facade of normalcy. But she alone knew how troubled she felt for the entire morning. She had imagined that Kong Nian Xi's departure would at least avoid some awkwardness, but the reality was that she was even more absent-minded than yesterday. "Xi Ning—" During an English class, Zhuang Dai leaned against the podium, calling Xi Ning back to reality with a snicker. "You come and read out the next paragraph and translate it," the English teacher squinted at her. Xi Ning suddenly came back to herself, slowly stood up, and looked down at the textbook, feeling somewhat lost. She had just zoned out and had no idea where the lesson was at. After a moment of silence, the entire class's eyes were focused on her. Even those whispering stopped. After all, when the most studious student in the class daydreamed, it was a rare sight indeed. Xi Ning was at a loss for a moment but saw the curly-haired girl gesturing discreetly with a "4" from behind. This slightly calmed her down. Finding the paragraph, she began to translate it aloud. Given her level, fluent and smooth translation in English was a given. Her English was colloquial, well-pronounced, and with a slightly aloof tone, carrying a touch of sophistication. After finishing the translation, Zhuang Dai's face softened, and she said with a smile, "Xi Ning, don't daydream in the next class, even if…" She glanced at the empty table next to Xi Ning, "even if you've had a falling out with your good friend, it shouldn't affect your studies." Zhuang Dai always spoke her mind openly and liked to joke with the students. She was always on top of the latest gossip, saying whatever she thought of. Just a few days ago, she had seen Xi Ning and Kong Nian Xi whispering intimately in class, and today they suddenly parted ways. She couldn't help but be curious and added a little more. Her classes were pretty relaxed as long as it wasn't the questioning round. The students in the classroom even started buzzing with gossip. From the back row, Kong Nian Xi, who was dozing with her eyes half-closed, seemed to have woken up lazily, probably due to the numerous gazes directed at her, so she slowly opened her eyes. The curtains were drawn wide, and the light was bright on the other side of the window. She lazily propped herself up, her delicate figure lightly leaning against the windowsill, her elbow resting on the table, slender, fair fingers supporting her cheek, her gaze sweeping over the faces turning to look at her, and then fixed her eyes on Xi Ning sitting in her seat. Upon seeing Kong Nian Xi waking up, Zhuang Dai smiled and said, "What's the matter, Nian Xi? Are you moving so far away because you don't want to see my face up close?" The entire class burst into laughter. Zhuang Dai had a good relationship with Kong Nian Xi and was used to joking with her, so she didn't hold anything back. Kong Nian Xi was called out and, with a lazy smile, responded, "You're overthinking it, Dai Jie. It's not because of you." "Really? Then is it because of our little Ning? Not to criticize you, but you have such a good desk mate, and you don't know how to cherish her. It's really..." Zhuang Dai actually wanted Kong Nian Xi to learn more from Xi Ning and be more self-disciplined. This girl was clever, but her personality was a bit wild. As a teacher, she was afraid she might go astray. Looking down at her textbook, preparing to let Xi Ning sit down and continue the lesson, she didn't expect to hear Kong Nian Xi's faint voice from the back, "Yeah, it's just because she's too good. I can't measure up to her after all." The class suddenly fell silent, then erupted immediately. "Wow, is Nian Xi telling a dark joke?" "Ah, can this be cracked?" "Jeez, is Nian Xi cracking jokes now?" "Hey! Do we have a story here? I've already envisioned a magnificent blockbuster in my mind, a million words epic yuri tale!" The surroundings immediately became a noisy tumult, and Zhuang Dai had to call for quiet a couple of times before it gradually settled down. Meanwhile, Xi Ning stood stiffly, her body taut like a taut wire, as if she were on pins and needles. Finally, she subdued the complexity in her eyes and spoke softly, "Teacher, can I sit down now?" Zhuang Dai nodded quickly, "Yes, of course, please sit down." A few minutes later, the bell for the end of class rang. The chaotic noise around her made Xi Ning feel a little suffocated. She placed her pen down and stood up, heading to the washroom. After washing her hands at the sink, she silently sighed, then gently patted her cheeks with cold water. As she turned to leave, she heard approaching footsteps outside. "...Even you can experience heartbreak; then aren't those of us who haven't found love destined to be single forever? Could you not give us anxiety?!" The chatting voices grew clearer and closer. Two figures walked in, and collided with Xi Ning as they approached. Just as she was wiping her face with a moist towel, Kong Nian Xi walked in with an unfamiliar girl, leaning her head on the girl's shoulder, wearing a despondent look and a dejected expression. Their eyes met, and Xi Ning's hand paused in its motion. Kong Nian Xi's expression stiffened for a moment, then she released her grip, straightened her body, looked up, and with a cold and elegant demeanor, walked past Xi Ning and into the cubicle inside. Xi Ning: "..." After just two classes that Friday afternoon, Xi Ning sent a message to Xu Nüshi, letting her know that she would be staying at a friend's place this weekend and would not be going home. After sending the message, she immediately received several voice messages from Xu Nüshi. "What? You're not coming home? Your father will be away on a business trip too this week, so the only ones at home will be me and that goofball Xi Mu?" Xi Ning lightly chuckled at her familiar complaint and typed out her reply. [Xi Ning: I can only trouble you this time.] Xu Nüshi must have been free, as she sent more messages, expressing her grievances. Xi Ning chatted with her for a while, estimating it was almost time for class, and then put her phone away. At that moment, she heard Tian Jiabao's voice from the back row, reprimanding a few boys. "You're covering for her, and you think I'm easily fooled? I passed by the rear door during the last class and didn't see her at her seat! This girl has become increasingly daring; she even dares to play truant during daytime classes? Unbelievable..." Tian Jiabao was so infuriated that he clutched his chest, and a male student next to him hurried to support him, "Hey, don't get so worked up. Getting angry is bad for your health. What can we do if you get sick from anger?" Tian Jiabao eased up a bit and swatted the student's hand away, "Stop talking nonsense. Where did she go?" The student scratched his head, "I really don't know, Bao!" "...," Xi Ning's gaze shifted to Kong Nian Xi's empty seat. After a long silence, she turned back with a complicated expression.