Chapter 35: Need a Ride?

Chen Ziyi and her own home were in different directions, so the two of them had to part ways as soon as they left the school gate.

So was this boy following her because he worried for her safety on the way home alone?

How reserved and awkwardly considerate of him.

She folded her arms across her chest and lifted her chin, saying, “Ziyi and I still want to stay at school for a while to watch them play basketball.”

After school, the basketball court was crowded. The boys who remained were the ones who’d agreed to play after class, and the girls who lingered were mostly there to watch the boys or, spurred by adolescent crushes, to bring water to their favorites.

Xie Xu glanced at the time, suppressing his voice. “It’s getting late.”

“It’s not late, it’s only six o’clock,” she replied, but as soon as the words left her mouth, she remembered Chen Wan’s strict order on the first day of school.

After school, she was to head straight home. She absolutely could not be later than half past six.

She hadn’t worn her watch today, and her phone was buried in her backpack, unused. She asked, “What time is it now?”

Xie Xu replied coolly, “Six-fifteen.”

Only fifteen minutes left until six-thirty!

Normally, it took about twenty-five minutes to walk home from school at a regular pace. She wondered if she ran now, would she make it in time…

Lu Yiqi couldn’t help but recall her own pathetic physical fitness.

“Aaaaaaah!” she let out a shriek that sounded like someone being slaughtered.

She turned to Chen Ziyi and said hurriedly, “I have to go, Ziyi! I need to rush home. See you tomorrow, bye!”

A gust of wind seemed to sweep past Chen Ziyi, leaving her stunned.

Instinctively, she turned her head toward Xie Xu’s position, but before she could even look, another gust—much faster than the first—swept past her.

Chen Ziyi was speechless.

Xie Xu had intended to catch up with Lu Yiqi directly, but then changed his mind, taking a detour to the side.

Seeing his bike—untouched and gathering dust since he’d ridden it to school on the first day—he let out a breath of relief.

At least it hadn’t been stolen.

When Lu Yiqi reached the school gate, she stopped, bent over, and caught her breath. At that moment, Xie Xu arrived at the gate on his bicycle. When he saw her, he sped up and blocked her path in a few swift strides.

Lu Yiqi didn’t even glance at the person in front of her. “Could you move, please?”

The bicycle didn’t budge.

Lu Yiqi stared at the sneakers before her, finding them increasingly familiar.

Driven by curiosity, she looked up at the owner of the bike.

A handsome face appeared before her, the boy gazing steadily at her, the shadows from his eyelashes falling across his eyes—a beauty that would provoke the envy of gods.

It was Xie Xu again.

He curled his lips into a slight smile. “Need a ride?”

A ride…on a bicycle?

Lu Yiqi was dazed for a few seconds, then shook her head and refused with dignity, “No, thanks!”

After all, they were still in the midst of their cold war. If Xie Xu was being so kind, there must be a catch.

In the next instant, Xie Xu revealed his “catch” openly. “Really don’t want a ride? There’s only one condition.”

His beautiful eyes were lit with amusement, and whether it was an illusion or not, she thought his tone carried a hint of tenderness. “If you get on my bike, you can’t be mad at me anymore.”

He meant that getting on his bike was equivalent to agreeing to make up with him.

The boy’s radiant smile filled her vision; whether from embarrassment or annoyance, a flush crept up Lu Yiqi’s ears.