Xu Che’s dark eyes fell. He lowered his head, his gaze landing on the textbook on his desk as if he were diligently working on his homework.
Jiang You was woken up by her entourage. She groggily opened her eyes, her pink irises slowly coming into focus. She rubbed her eyes, stood up, and said, "Let’s go."
Her three followers left with Jiang You, walking right past Xu Che.
Xu Che held a pen, scribbling something in his notebook. The moment Jiang You and her friends’ voices faded into the distance, his pen froze.
On the page, for some unknown reason, were the two words: Jiang You.
Xu Che’s dark eyes lowered. His long, pale fingers tightened around the pen, and he scribbled the name out.
Jiang You and her entourage had been on their way to the cafeteria.
But Yang Qi showed up again with several of his lackeys, asking Jiang You to go eat with them off-campus.
"Sister You, are you free to grab a bite today?" Yang Qi was dressed even more conspicuously today. He already had dazzling red hair, and now he had on a red leather jacket, decorated with his usual chains. Underneath, a tight black shirt faintly revealed the outline of his chest muscles. He wore red, wide-leg pants with a white stripe down the side that was printed with black English letters.
The only constant was the thick gold chain around his neck.
’This simp is actually pretty good-looking and stylish,’ Jiang You thought.
’How can someone so good-looking be such a simp?’
’And his name is so generic!’
As he spoke, Yang Qi shot a look at Yu Lin and her friends.
’Last time, I bent over backward for them and treated them to a great meal! They promised they’d convince Sister You to eat with me!’
But to his surprise, Yu Lin and the others completely ignored his pointed look.
"Sister You, do you feel like going?" Yu Lin and the others asked Jiang You.
Yang Qi: ?
’Aren’t they supposed to be helping me convince Sister You to come eat with me?’
’These three are just ruthless,’ Yang Qi thought. He nevertheless turned back to Jiang You, his expression a mixture of hope and sycophancy. "So, Sister You? You wanna go?"
"Fine," Jiang You agreed. She didn’t have anything else to do.
’It’s just one meal, after all.’
「On the way.」
Jiang You asked casually, "Yang Qi, how did you get your name?"
"Sister You, my name comes from a phrase that means ’to set sail on a voyage’!" Yang Qi said happily. "My parents had a flash of inspiration, came up with the phrase, and just pulled ’Yang’ and ’Qi’ right out of it."
Jiang You nodded pensively, her expression remaining aloof and cool.
Soon, Yang Qi had led them to the base of a high wall.
Yang Qi immediately crouched down by the wall and looked back at Jiang You expectantly. "Sister You, step on me and I’ll boost you over!"
"Sister You, how about we climb up first and then help pull you up?" Yu Lin asked, turning to Jiang You.
"Okay," Jiang You nodded.
Yu Lin was about to step on Yang Qi, but he suddenly shot up and shoved one of his own lackeys forward. "You do it."
The lackey froze for a second before nodding.
Yu Lin was left speechless by the scene.
She didn’t say anything, simply stepping onto the boy’s shoulders. As he stood up, she easily swung a leg over and perched on top of the wall.
Lin Xue and Chen Yu quickly followed suit.
Yang Qi stood beside Jiang You, flashing a bright, fawning smile. "Don’t be scared, Sister You," he said. "This wall isn’t high at all. A guy my height can practically just stand up and swing a leg over."
Jiang You gave a reserved nod. "Mm."
Yang Qi stood beside her, his eyes fixed on her. He kept fidgeting—first scratching his head, then scuffing the ground with his heel, then grabbing the collar of his shirt to fan himself...
Jiang You noticed his constant fidgeting. ’Does he have ants in his pants or something?’ she wondered. ’Why can’t he stay still?’
She instinctively turned to ask him what was wrong.
Just as she was about to speak, Yang Qi suddenly whipped off his red jacket in a grand motion. He held it out to her, his red eyes shimmering as he stared at her. The tips of his ears were pink, and he swallowed hard. "Sister You, you’re wearing a skirt, so it might be awkward. Here, tie my jacket around your waist."
Jiang You paused but didn’t refuse. She took the jacket to cover herself. But just as she was about to tie it around her waist, Yang Qi’s hands shot out and grabbed both sides of the jacket. With a sharp tug, he pulled her right up against him.
She frowned slightly and glanced up at Yang Qi.
"Let me tie it for you, Sister You." Yang Qi’s gaze dropped to the jacket, his Adam’s apple bobbing. He grabbed the two sleeves and began to tie them for her.
Jiang You didn’t object.
Once the jacket was tied securely around her waist,
it was Jiang You’s turn. Yang Qi unceremoniously shoved his lackey aside, crouched at the base of the wall, and looked back at Jiang You with a grin. "Your turn, Sister You."
Jiang You walked over, lifted her foot, and planted it on Yang Qi’s shoulder.
From the corner of his eye, Yang Qi caught sight of the pale, slender calf on his shoulder. Her proximity brought a faint, sweet scent that made his head spin and his throat go dry. He felt as if his dog tail was about to burst out wagging, but thankfully, his clothes kept it hidden from view.
His beast form was a red dog, and his Beast Soul was a Flame Dog.
His red eyes flickered. He gulped and said, "Don’t be scared, Sister You! I won’t let you fall!"
Jiang You, for her part, wasn’t scared at all. She placed both feet on his shoulders.
Yang Qi gripped her ankles and slowly straightened up, surprised at how light she was.
Jiang You easily swung herself up to sit on the wall. Yu Lin and the others didn’t really need to help, but they still hovered their hands around her, just in case she lost her balance.
"Sister You, I’ll climb over and catch you," Yang Qi said. His grip on her ankles tightened, and he was reluctant to let go as all sorts of feverish thoughts raced through his mind.
The moment Jiang You glanced his way, however, he quickly released her.
Yang Qi, for his part, was an agile climber. He used another boy’s shoulder as a stepping stone, pushed off the wall with one hand, and landed neatly on the other side.
"Come on, Sister You." Yang Qi looked up at the girl sitting on the wall, his Adam’s apple bobbing. He squinted as if the light were too bright, extending his arms as if to catch her.
Yang Qi’s lackeys had all climbed over as well.
"Tsk. Yesterday, a certain someone told us to just jump down, saying it’s not like the fall would kill us," Yu Lin said with a click of her tongue, teasing Yang Qi for his double standard.
Then she looked at Jiang You. "Go on and jump, Sister You. Better to let him catch you than to get hurt."
Without hesitation, Jiang You swung her other leg over, pushed off the wall, and jumped.
Yang Qi did indeed catch her. He gently set her down, but his hands lingered on her waist, holding her in a loose embrace. His eyelashes trembled, and his voice came out raspy. "Sister You, you’re so light. I’ll have to take you out for more good food."
Jiang You gave a noncommittal "mhm." But just as she was about to pull away from him, a burst of lively laughter drifted over.
She instinctively glanced to the side and saw a tall, red-haired young man with a black jacket slung over one shoulder. He was also wearing a tight black shirt and a silver necklace.