Xiaobai Is Also Troubled Today

"Xiaobai!"

 
Her deskmate, who often had extra tutoring, was surprisingly back at this time.
 

"You're back?"
 
"No, I just came back to get something. But Mr. Chen was just looking for you, so I came to pass on the message." Fang Wan shook her head, a hint of a swagger in her demeanor. With headphones hanging around her neck and what looked like permed short hair, she didn't have the typical prim look of a student, the complete opposite of Bai Tingzhi.

 
"Mr. Chen?"
 

"Yeah, he didn't say ◆ Nоvеlіgһt ◆ (Only on Nоvеlіgһt) what it was about. Just told me to see if you were back, and if you were, to have you go over."
 
Bai Tingzhi was a little confused, but she still got up and headed to the office.

 
Outside the office, just as she was about to push the door open, she heard Lin Yunian's voice from inside.
 

"That incident..."
 
"If it were a student from another class, the teacher would definitely demand an explanation, so don't worry. If it's one of our own classmates, we can decide later whether to handle it privately or discuss it in class..."

 
The teacher's voice was intermittent, and Bai Tingzhi could only make out that Lin Yunian's voice sounded a little angry.
 
She wondered if she should wait, but she didn't know what was going on, and the teacher had asked for her. Why should she hide?

 
"Xiaobai—"
 

Lu Tianshu was standing behind her with two books, a smile on her face.
 
"Are you busy?"

 
"I was just passing by and saw you spacing out here. Have you prepared for the art performance? The program selections should be happening before this Friday."
 

Lu Tianshu didn't mention the sports meet. Whether Xiaobai was willing to help was her own business, and she couldn't force it.
 
"Oh... not yet. The teacher just called for me. I was about to go in when I started thinking about something."

 
"Then you go ahead. When you have a moment, you can find me in Class 2 or at the Student Union after school. I'm usually around."
 

"Okay."
 
Bai Tingzhi waved at Lu Tianshu, her mind temporarily clear. She reached out to push the door, but it opened from the inside.

 
Lin Yunian's gloomy face immediately softened when he saw Bai Tingzhi.
 

"How are you feeling?"
 
"Ah? Oh, much better. I'm not uncomfortable anymore." Bai Tingzhi was about to say more but was cut off.

 
Lin Yunian's mood eased completely. "Why are you here, too?"
 

"I thought you knew... The teacher asked me to come."
 
Lao Lin didn't know either? What was Fang Wan doing that took her so long?

 
Entering alone, she saw that the teacher's face showed no sign of trouble. After a moment of thought, he simply told her about the usage times for the piano room and let her go.
 

"What was that all about...?"
 
Bai Tingzhi walked out of the office in confusion and found Lin Yunian waiting for her, leaning back against the guardrail.

 
"You didn't go back first."
 

She unconsciously walked up to stand in front of him.
 
"Well, there's still plenty of time."

 
"Don't you usually complain there's not enough time? I think you just like to study in secret!"
 

Seeing that Bai Tingzhi wasn't upset, Lin Yunian reached out and pinched her cheek.
 
"What..." Before she could finish, Bai Tingzhi felt a push from behind and fell directly toward Lin Yunian. Lao Lin, in a very "caring" manner, caught her in a hug.

 
"Sorry, sorry, so sorry..." The student who had been running hurriedly stopped to apologize, but because he was in a rush, he muttered a few words and ran off again.
 

Bai Tingzhi felt the blood rush to her head, boiling to the point where she couldn't think.
 
Her face flushed red, and her slightly parted cherry lips could only stammer. Her slightly heaving 'chest' was pressed tightly against Lin Yunian's firm muscles, with only two thin layers of rough school uniform fabric separating them.

 
"Did that hurt?"
 

"No, no!"
 
Bai Tingzhi snapped back to her senses and immediately stepped back.

 
She had never imagined that the floor tiles on this level were uneven. Her backward step caught on one, and she nearly tripped and went flying again.
 

Seeing this, Lin Yunian quickly reached out and grabbed her. He misjudged his strength and pulled Bai Tingzhi right back into his arms.
 
Two "boys" embracing was a bit strange, but there was no way Lao Lin wouldn't grab his brother, and besides...

 
For some reason, his brother smelled a little... nice.
 

A faint scent of jasmine wafted closer, and Lin Yunian figured Xiaobai must have taken the time to wash up this morning.
 
Right now, Bai Tingzhi just wanted to be as far away as possible. On the surface, nothing was strange, but these past two days, she and Lao Lin had been having all sorts of inexplicable physical contact. An itchy, uncomfortable feeling stirred deep inside her. She hadn't considered that perhaps it was just a change in her own mindset that was making these ordinary touches spark with a different meaning.

 
Lin Yunian still didn't know about the changes to her body, and she was still debating whether to tell him. But she could hardly accept this change herself. If she told Lao Lin now, she couldn't imagine what the situation would become. Such an intractable problem was the last thing her lazy self wanted to deal with.
 

Lin Yunian saw Bai Tingzhi's panicked expression suddenly shift back to her familiar, indifferent attitude. That was more like it. This was the usual Xiaobai.
 
The only difference between Bai Tingzhi and a salted fish was that Xiaobai didn't have a pair of cartoonish dead-fish eyes, and a real salted fish couldn't flip itself over to sunbathe every once in a while like Xiaobai could.

 
Lin Yunian let Bai Tingzhi go. After a brief silence, the two returned to normal and walked downstairs side by side.
 

"Did you eat breakfast?"
 
"I did." There was something else I forgot, she thought.

 
Bai Tingzhi quietly tugged on the corner of his shirt, pulling him a little closer.
 

"Didn't you say your parents weren't coming back? And why didn't you wake me up?!"
 
Whenever Bai Tingzhi tried to act fierce, she would always widen her eyes and puff out her cheeks, but every time Lin Yunian saw it, his verdict was that it was actually quite cute.

 
There was another sentence she didn't say. The fact that he'd said "yesterday" they weren't coming back seemed to have been a non-issue.
 

"Wake you up when you have a fever? My parents actually weren't back when I left this morning, but I messaged them, so they probably weren't too loud when they got home."
 
This time, it was Bai Tingzhi's turn to be silent.

 
Many students weren't out during the long break; most were just getting water. Bai Tingzhi hesitated for a long time before finally breaking the silence with half a sentence.
 

"They didn't ask you to play ball?"
 
"No, I'm a little tired today. I'm going to go back and read."

 
"Lame! Reading a book? Why don't you take a nap? You probably didn't sleep well last night, did you...?"
 

Lin Yunian didn't tell her he had slept on the sofa, afraid that he wouldn't hear if Bai Tingzhi needed something in the room.
 
"Huh?" Bai Tingzhi waved a hand in front of his face. "You're not talking again."

 
"It's nothing," Lin Yunian smiled.
 

"Lao Lin, has anyone ever told you that you look ugly when you laugh?"
 
"Really?"

 
"Really."
 

"Then I won't let you see it anymore."
 
"No!"

 
"Don't you think it's ugly?"
 

"I'm just trying to figure out how to find you a good girlfriend..."
 
"No need."

 
The two figures didn't walk toward the classroom, but instead disappeared into the garden at the end of the long wooden path.