Chapter 6

Chen Yabai started treating me as his box for idle talk. He often began with Xiao Yuan and ended with Xiao Yuan. He would mention other things from time to time, but would quickly circle back. If life is a recurring cycle, then Xiao Yuan is his node.

“Xiao Yuan just got a new hair clip. It looks really nice.”

So he took it from Xiao Yuan’s head.

“That science guy from Class A came to borrow a book from Xiao Yuan again. Can’t he buy it himself?”

Then he crushed Class A on the basketball court.

I quietly listened to his confessions. In those scattered words, it was as if I could see that school full of blue and white uniforms all over again. I never knew about these boyish feelings of Chen Yabai.

I patiently corrected his behavior over and over: don’t bother Xiao Yuan too much, keep your distance, no one wants a guy who’s too clingy.

When you come back from the convenience store, don’t bring Xiao Yuan strawberry milk; bring her bitter coffee to help her stay alert, and remind her to study hard as a good classmate.

Don’t always order Xiao Yuan around; when you interact, be polite and say hello and thank you.

Chen Yabai followed my advice for a while, and his attitude toward me improved a lot: “She doesn’t dislike me as much anymore.”

I pressed my lips together and stiffly wrote: “Do you think she really dislikes you?”

He was silent for a moment, then wrote: “Yes.”

I buried my head in my arms, feeling helpless, because at that time, I really did dislike him.

Actually, Chen Yabai had excellent grades. He transferred late and missed a Chinese exam, but in all other subjects he was nearly perfect. It was only because he hadn’t taken the final exams before that his true abilities weren’t revealed, so I only found out now.

I gritted my teeth, “Then why did you copy Xiao Yuan’s English test during the beginning-of-term exam?”

Chen Yabai’s handwriting was careless and bold: “If I didn’t, how could I call her Miss Little Yuan? Anyone can call her Yu’an, but from the very first moment I met her, she was Miss Little Yuan to me.”

-I had to be special from the very beginning.

He was actually a very dazzling person. Even someone as indifferent as me knew that in middle school, the most eye-catching people were of three types: family background, looks, and grades. Chen Yabai happened to have all three. He was good-looking, his father was a police officer who died in the line of duty, and as for his low ranking in grades, that was a kind of conspicuousness in itself.

I don’t know why he liked me.

I felt a bit helpless and wrote softly: “Why does it have to be Xiao Yuan?”

Chen Yabai replied with four words: “The Little Yuan Effect.”

When the Tyndall effect appears, light takes on a shape.

And when Miss Little Yuan appeared, Chen Yabai’s affection became tangible.