Chapter 49: None of Your Business

She angrily hammered words onto the keyboard: Mind your own business! None of your concern! Even if Ziyi can't make it, I still have Brother Yan Yi to tutor me!

She hit send and locked her screen.

Yan Yi saw how furious she was and asked in confusion, "Who messaged you? Why are you so upset?"

Just a moment ago, she had opened her phone with a cheerful smile to check her messages, and now she was exploding like a little chili pepper.

The little chili pepper snapped back, "It’s Xie Xu! He somehow heard Ziyi isn’t coming, then rushed to ask me what I was doing. When I said I was studying, he started mocking me! Said I couldn’t possibly understand on my own, so rude!"

"......"

"It is pretty rude."

"Right, I..." Lu Yiqi thought for a moment and then spat out fiercely, "To hell with him!"

"Pfft..."

...

Seeing those four words—Brother Yan Yi—Xie Xu's grip on his phone tightened, his fingers turning pale.

Yan Yi again!

That woman, Lu Yiqi, doesn’t she realize she’s ranked first in the grade? Yet she still goes to Yan Yi?

Heh...

He returned to his chair and turned on his computer.

"Xu, why are you back again? Weren’t you done playing?"

The microphone flickered.

"Cut the chatter, start the game."

He played for hours, losing track of time until the sky had darkened. Only then did he remove his headset, shake his head, and stand. Having sat for so long, his legs felt numb and he nearly stumbled. Once he steadied himself, he remembered the phone he’d left on the desk, picked it up, and saw a flood of messages—several from Chen Ziyi, several from Lu Yiqi.

His finger hovered over Lu Yiqi’s name, hesitating whether to open it.

He told himself, Why open her message? Don’t forget she once blocked you. And besides, Yan Yi’s tutoring her now—think about it, does she need you? What if her message is just to curse you out? Why open it, looking for trouble?

Despite his thoughts, his hand moved on its own, opening her message.

Lu Yiqi: Oh, my tone was a bit harsh before, but you were pretty harsh too! After careful consideration from this fairy, I’ve decided to forgive you!

Lu Yiqi: I heard from Ziyi, she said she asked you to help me with my studies. I didn’t know at the time, so I thought you were mocking me. Anyway, it’s all over now, I’m not mad, so don’t make a fuss.

Xie Xu finished reading, utterly bewildered: ???

How can women be so fickle?

He returned to the main screen and opened Chen Ziyi’s chat.

Chen Ziyi: I just asked Yiqi for you. She said Yan Yi’s tutoring her. Oh well, just pretend everything I said earlier was nonsense.

Chen Ziyi: Enjoy your carefree, happy weekend!

Chen Ziyi: Sorry to bother you.

Xie Xu looked at his computer, then at the messages on his phone, confused.

So all that gaming this afternoon was for nothing???

He let out a low curse: "...damn."

His mood collapsed.

He put away his phone and headed home.

On Monday, Yan Yi left school for a job, and only then did Xie Xu slowly sidle up to his deskmate.

Lu Yiqi frowned at his approach, unabashedly annoyed, "What do you want?"

Xie Xu coughed twice.

Lu Yiqi: "If you’re sick, take medicine."

"......"

Suddenly he spoke, "No, what I mean is..."