Little Sweetheart

“I'm not being a hooligan, I'm pursuing you!” Lu Jiaye declared emphatically.

“Pursuing my foot!” Before Su Han could speak, Zheng Peipei retorted, “You’re just being a hooligan! Idiot! Big idiot!”

Gu Siyi ran to Zheng Peipei's side, took her arm, and persuaded, “Let's get in the car and watch the meteor shower. Such a beautiful and amazing spectacle, what a waste of time to argue. Come on, let's go!”

Zheng Peipei was pulled into the car by Gu Siyi, still fuming, but there was nothing she could do. She had been kissed, kicked him, and cursed at him. She couldn't kill him, so she could only comfort herself. “So infuriating! I'll never talk to that idiot again!”

Gu Siyi said with a smile, “That's right, just ignore him! Let's take pictures!”

Zheng Peipei didn't want to dwell on her frustrated and angry emotions. Having Gu Siyi distract her was perfect, and the two happily amused themselves. Along with Xiang Li and Zhang Xinyi, the group of girls had fun together.

After taking enough pictures, they looked up at the starry sky and sang along loudly, "Let me take you to see the meteor shower, falling on this Earth, let your tears fall on my shoulder…"

Xia Zhijun: "…"

His usual seat had been occupied by Zheng Peipei.

However, he knew times had changed, so he let them be and got into Lu Jiaye's car.

After Su Han let go of Gu Siyi's hand, neither he nor Lu Jiaye spoke. They each got into their respective cars. The atmosphere was subtly awkward.

Later in the night, Xia Zhijun asked the driver to drive back.

Zheng Peipei fell asleep on Gu Siyi's shoulder. Gu Siyi heard her muttering in her sleep, "Stinky idiot… taking advantage of me… I'll never talk to you again, stinky idiot…"

"…" Gu Siyi found it both funny and exasperating. She probably gave Lu Jiaye a good thrashing in her dream.

Back at school, the boys were still energetic, but the girls were drowsy and exhausted.

After waving goodbye, everyone returned to their dormitories. The girls went straight to bed.

Back in the boys' dormitory, the subtle atmosphere persisted.

More precisely, it was the atmosphere between Lu Jiaye and Su Han.

Everyone got into bed, and after the lights were out, Zhou Xiao suddenly asked, "Are you asleep?"

No one answered, so he said again, "Whoever likes Zheng Peipei, speak up."

Lu Jiaye: "Speak—"

Xia Zhijun chuckled.

Su Han also chuckled softly: "Don't be ridiculous."

Lu Jiaye: "Didn't Zhou Xiao say to speak up if we like her? Now I'm the only one speaking up, so I'm the only one who likes her. No one should interfere or stop me from pursuing her."

After a moment of silence, Su Han said, "I also kind of like Peipei."

Lu Jiaye immediately said, "Well, I really like her! You only kind of like her! Dude, give me a break!"

"Can liking someone be quantified?" Su Han questioned, then added, "Didn't you used to dislike her, calling her a tigress every day? When I said she was pretty, you scoffed."

"Who hasn't been blind when they were young? Can't I be cured of my blindness now?" Lu Jiaye retorted.

"You're always fickle, your enthusiasm comes and goes. You shout about liking someone when you're feeling it, but who knows how long you can keep it up?" Su Han questioned him again. "Can you guarantee that after you catch Peipei, you'll never break up with her?"

"I…" Lu Jiaye was choked, sat up in anger, and said, "Fine, I'll give you a written guarantee. If I catch her, I will definitely not break up with her! So don't fight me for her!"

"Those are two different things. Even if you make a guarantee, it doesn't mean I have to give up on Peipei." Su Han said calmly.

"Damn it, you're messing with me."

Zhou Xiao said, "We're only in our first year of high school. It's not like we have to date now. I think both of you should forget it. Whoever Zheng Peipei likes in the future, that's who she'll be with. Don't pursue her. It's pointless to fall out over a girl."

Xia Zhijun said, "Okay, no one pursues her. Let's see Zheng Peipei's own choice."

Fortunately, he had clearly dispelled any thoughts those guys had about Gu Siyi from the beginning, avoiding this kind of situation.

Although he hadn't had any feelings for Gu Siyi at that time.

After a while, Su Han said, "Okay."

Actually, he hadn't planned to make a move on Zheng Peipei.

That hidden fondness had been provoked by Lu Jiaye.

Lu Jiaye felt very unhappy, but since everyone said so… Thinking about it, if Su Han made a move, his chances of winning were slim. After all, Zheng Peipei's repeated actions clearly showed she was closer to Su Han.

If Su Han didn't pursue her, his crisis would be resolved.

Lu Jiaye hardened his heart and said, "Fine, no one will pursue her. Whoever does is a dog!"

An agreement was reached on this matter.

The next day, everyone yawned as they arrived in the classroom.

Zheng Peipei didn't even glance at Lu Jiaye. When her eyes fell on him, she rolled her eyes and turned away.

Having lost sleep the previous night, Lu Jiaye was extremely tired and fell asleep at his desk.

He was caught red-handed by the math teacher, who walked over and slammed a ruler on his desk.

"Ah—shit—" Lu Jiaye jumped up in fright.

The whole class was looking at him, including the math teacher, whose eyes were wide with anger. "Look at your midterm exam score. Do you want a blank paper for the finals? If you keep messing around like this, even sitting next to the top student in the grade won't save you."

Lu Jiaye yawned, "Teacher, sleepiness isn't a disease, but it can be fatal. I really…" He yawned again mid-sentence. "I'm so sleepy… What can I do? I'm also very desperate…"

The class snickered.

Zheng Peipei muttered, "Idiot!"

Math teacher: "Then stand up and listen to the lesson to wake yourself up!"

"Alright, I'll stand. Teacher, please continue your lesson on the podium. I'd be so embarrassed to waste everyone's time for my sake." Lu Jiaye said with a playful smile.

The teacher couldn't do anything with this seasoned slacker and turned around angrily to continue the lesson.

Because Lu Jiaye stopped chatting and fooling around with Zheng Peipei, the back of the classroom was much quieter after class.

A few days later, some people couldn't help but gossip, "Are Zheng Peipei and Lu Jiaye having a crisis? They haven't been talking to each other these past few days."

"Not necessarily a couple's crisis, maybe they were just good friends before and now they've fallen out…"

"Sigh, nothing lasts forever. I thought their group had a strong friendship, always playing together. Turns out they can fall out just like that."

"I wonder if Xia Zhijun will fall out with Gu Siyi?"

"Who knows, it's hard to say… Relationships are so fragile these days, they can change in an instant."

"…"

This gossip spread around and eventually reached Zheng Peipei and Gu Siyi's ears.

Zheng Peipei ignored it. Until one day, when they were going to the restroom, a girl from another class suddenly appeared and asked Zheng Peipei, "Did you break up with Lu Jiaye?"

Zheng Peipei was furious. Gossip behind her back was one thing, but to ask her face to face! She exploded, "Who said we broke up? We were never together! Completely innocent from beginning to end!"

"Oh, I'm sorry, I misunderstood." The girl quickly apologized, smiling, "Then I can go pursue him."

After the girl happily walked away, Zheng Peipei was completely dumbfounded.

She pinched Gu Siyi's arm and said, "Am I dreaming?… Someone actually likes that idiot Lu Jiaye?"

"Ouch!" Gu Siyi slapped her hand away and pretended to pinch her back. "Let me pinch you to see if you're dreaming."

Zheng Peipei quickly dodged, saying as she ran, "Ahhh, how is that possible? That girl was pretty too, isn't she crazy? What's there to like about Lu Jiaye?"

"To be fair, Lu Jiaye is just overshadowed because he hangs out with Xia Zhijun. His looks aren't bad, and he's considered a bad student. Back in my middle school, there were plenty of girls who liked tall, handsome, and underachieving rich boys like him, okay?"

After Gu Siyi finished speaking, Xiang Li nodded in agreement. "And Lu Jiaye is quite likable. He's not as cold and unapproachable as Xia Zhijun, he doesn't have an idol image to maintain. He's handsome in a down-to-earth way."

Zhang Xinyi also chimed in, "Yeah, I think Lu Jiaye is good too. It's never boring hanging out with him."

"…." Zheng Peipei was speechless.

Did everyone in the world think Lu Jiaye was good, while she was the only one who thought he was an idiot?

How could anyone pursue that idiot? So infuriating!

After this episode, Zheng Peipei actually started paying attention to Lu Jiaye, trying to find the qualities others admired in him.

Strangely enough, when he wasn't acting foolish, sometimes a glance at his profile… was he actually a bit handsome?

When a group of girls in the back row were talking to Lu Jiaye, Zheng Peipei complained, "Flirt! Such a flirt! He'll die if he doesn't hit on girls for a day!"

Gu Siyi, who was reading, was disturbed by the constant complaints and turned to look.

"It's alright, they're just talking normally. And it's obvious the girls are more proactive."

"He's just flirting! Can't he learn to be calm and reserved like the top student?" Zheng Peipei said with a disgusted look.

"…" Calm and reserved? Gu Siyi looked at the empty seat. He had gone to the restroom. But was he really calm and reserved?

A few days later, Gu Siyi and Zheng Peipei were leaving the cafeteria after dinner when they turned a corner and saw Lu Jiaye's back in the distance.

That wasn't important; they were in the same class, seeing each other all the time. What was important was that Zheng Peipei saw a girl blocking his way.

"Holy crap, there's a girl!" Zheng Peipei exclaimed, pulling Gu Siyi's hand. "Come on, let's go see."

Gu Siyi had no choice but to be dragged along by Zheng Peipei as a stalker. She whispered, "Don't get too close, we'll be seen."

The two carefully hid behind a flower bed. On the other side of the flower bed were Lu Jiaye and the girl.

"Lu Jiaye, I like you…" The girl's voice came, gentle and shy, sounding like she had mustered all her courage.

"I don't like you." Lu Jiaye's tone was flat.

Zheng Peipei peeked at Lu Jiaye through the gaps in the branches. When his face was expressionless, he actually looked more handsome and manly, especially with that indifferent look.

"It's okay… I'm not asking you to accept me right away… I, I just want to tell you… what's in my heart…" The girl's face flushed, her voice soft and delicate. "If I don't say it, I'll regret it even more…"

"But I won't like you in the future either." Lu Jiaye said, "Sorry, I already have someone I like."

His tone was crisp and clear, neither hurtful nor evasive, showing the straightforwardness and frankness of a young man.

"Then… thank you for telling me… I, I wish you happiness…" The girl's voice was slightly choked with sobs, but she forced a smile and quickly turned to leave.

Lu Jiaye shrugged and calmly turned to leave in the other direction.

On the other side of the flower bed, Gu Siyi finally stood up and pulled Zheng Peipei, who was still squatting. "They're gone, you can get up now."

Zheng Peipei slowly stood up, her expression a little complicated.

Gu Siyi: "The microphone is yours, please tell us your thoughts."

Zheng Peipei paused, then said, "Did he pay someone to act as if he's popular? It's like a marketing ploy… a trick! It's all a trick!"

"Haha, if I were Lu Jiaye, I'd be so angry with you…" Gu Siyi couldn't help but laugh.

"I have to break his spell! No matter what tricks he uses, he's just an idiot in my eyes!" Zheng Peipei said firmly.

Back in the dormitory, Gu Siyi packed her things, preparing to go to self-study.

Zheng Peipei asked, "Is the top student still diligently tutoring you?"

"Sometimes it's tutoring, sometimes it's self-study." Gu Siyi said.

"Sigh, the top student is so nice… Su Han has been busy lately, so I haven't asked him for tutoring." Zheng Peipei said with a hint of melancholy.

"Then do you want to come to self-study with me?"

"Yes, yes!" Zheng Peipei nodded vigorously, then hummed, "Men are all pigs! I'm not going to bother with them! My bond with Siyi is unbreakable!"

Xia Zhijun was waiting for Gu Siyi in the self-study room, but instead, he got a buy-one-get-one-free deal…

Zheng Peipei grinned and made a face. "Siyi belongs to everyone, you can't monopolize her!"

Xia Zhijun: "…"

Had he done something wrong?

Zheng Peipei and Su Han weren't pursuing her anymore, so she had time to stick to Gu Siyi…

Wasn't this asking for trouble?

Gu Siyi said, "It's just studying, it's the same whether there are more people or not."

"That's right! I like studying with Siyi." Zheng Peipei said with a smile.

Xia Zhijun: "…"

He couldn't do anything about these girls' clingy friendship.

With Zheng Peipei there, Xia Zhijun studied very attentively, even more so than when he supervised Gu Siyi's review before exams.

After evening self-study, they went back to the dormitory together and parted ways downstairs.

Going upstairs, Zheng Peipei whispered in Gu Siyi's ear, "Does the top student want to kill me, this third wheel? Siyi, you must protect me!"

Gu Siyi: "…"

Did she think it was okay to be a third wheel?

Sometimes he would suddenly kiss her in the classroom, scaring her half to death.

Now that the weather was getting colder, he didn't take her to the rooftop to enjoy the breeze anymore.

Gu Siyi realized that Xia Zhijun was already very restrained. Perhaps afraid she would avoid him, when he wanted to kiss her, if she didn't agree, he wouldn't force it, at most occasionally kissing her face. When he hugged her, it was a light hug before letting go.

This made being with him feel more comfortable.

Late at night, as Gu Siyi was getting ready for bed, she received a WeChat message from Xia Zhijun.

X: "Can you not bring Zheng Peipei tomorrow?"

Gu Ming Siyi: "Enthusiasm for learning is a good thing, we can't discourage her."

X: "What about discouraging my enthusiasm?"

Gu Ming Siyi: "Oh, it's okay if you don't study, you're the top student anyway."

X: "Even top students can regress."

Gu Ming Siyi: "That's even better, the second-ranked student finally has a chance to rise! [Victory][Victory]"

X: "Am I a fake friend?"

Gu Ming Siyi: "[Grin][Grin] Going to sleep, good night~"

X: "Night."

For the next few days, Zheng Peipei followed Gu Siyi to study like a shadow.

Xia Zhijun, watching their inseparable and clingy behavior, treated it as a form of self-cultivation.

Soon it was Christmas at the end of the year.

On Christmas Eve, it was popular for girls to give apples to boys they liked.

When Xia Zhijun arrived at the classroom in the afternoon, his desk was piled with apples, each one big, red, and plump, all with fancy packaging.

Lu Jiaye also had some on his desk, as did Su Han and Zhou Xiao. Besides Xia Zhijun, Su Han had the most apples.

Seeing the grand scene on their desks, Zheng Peipei clicked her tongue twice. "Girls nowadays are bolder than boys, not hesitating to express their feelings."

Xiang Li, who was sitting in front, said, "It's mainly because they're handsome, right? Especially the top student, the school hunk. School hunks in any school are popular!"

Zheng Peipei smiled at Gu Siyi. "Siyi, what are your thoughts?"

Gu Siyi remained calm and composed: "I'm completely unaffected."

Xia Zhijun had a headache looking at the apples on his desk. He didn't like eating them very much. He asked Zhou Xiao for a plastic bag, packed all the apples, and put them by his desk leg.

After school, Xia Zhijun said to Gu Siyi, "Go back to the dormitory and change your clothes first. See you at the school gate in half an hour."

He had told her the day before that they would go out together for Christmas Eve.

After saying that, Xia Zhijun picked up the plastic bag and left.

Zheng Peipei nudged Gu Siyi's arm and said, "Hey, hey, hey, did you see the top student take all those apples away? Did he take them outside to throw them away because he was embarrassed to do it in the classroom?"

"I don't know…" She really didn't know what he was going to do.

As they left the classroom, they looked down from the corridor and saw Xia Zhijun walking along the main road out of the campus with the bag of apples.

Zheng Peipei went back to the dormitory with Gu Siyi. Gu Siyi changed into a large coat and short sheepskin boots. The weather was getting colder and colder, so she added a cashmere scarf and a knitted hat.

Zheng Peipei blinked, watching as Gu Siyi dressed herself up more and more beautifully and cutely. She felt a pang of jealousy and spoke in a slightly aggrieved tone, "I want to go with you too… I'll be so bored by myself… You can't prioritize your boyfriend over your friends…"

Gu Siyi: "Then hurry up and change! Are you going out in your school uniform?"

"Ah— Siyi, I love you!" Zheng Peipei jumped up happily, hugged Gu Siyi, and gave her a big kiss on the cheek.

Uh… This enthusiastic display of affection was a bit much for Gu Siyi to handle.

However, it was a bit strange… When Peipei kissed her, she just felt embarrassed, unlike when Xia Zhijun kissed her, which made her heart skip a beat. Wasn't it just skin contact? Why was the difference so big?

As the two were about to leave, they saw a photo posted by a classmate in their class group chat.

The girls in the group instantly went wild.

"Wow, I ran into the God Xia at the school gate!"

"God Xia is so warm, giving apples to the vendors at the school gate on Christmas Eve!"

"Take more pictures, take more pictures!"

"If I had known God Xia was giving away apples, I bet a lot of girls would have gone to set up stalls, hahaha…"

Gu Siyi clicked on the photo. From the angle of the photo, Xia Zhijun was squatting in front of a street vendor, handing over the apples.

His impeccable profile was particularly handsome and refined in the winter.

During holidays, many vendors would set up stalls outside the school, risking being chased away by urban management, because students liked to buy small items in the festive atmosphere.

Xia Zhijun quickly got rid of all the apples in the bag.

However, there were also negative consequences, such as him knowing that some people were taking pictures of him.

After finishing, he found a secluded corner and waited quietly for Gu Siyi.

"Haha! What a coincidence, bro! We actually ran into each other!" Lu Jiaye suddenly appeared in front of him.

Xia Zhijun put his hands in his pockets, stood in the cold wind, glanced at him, and didn't bother to respond.

"A chance encounter is better than a planned meeting. Since we've met, let's celebrate Christmas together!" Lu Jiaye said with a playful smile.

"No time, I'm waiting for someone. Go play by yourself." Xia Zhijun was unmoved.

"I know, you're waiting for Dimple, right? It's okay, I'm not afraid of being a third wheel. It's fine if the three of us hang out together."

Xia Zhijun gave him a cold look: "I will be affected, thank you."

Gu Siyi had been bringing Zheng Peipei, the big lightbulb, around for a while. He finally had the chance to spend Christmas Eve alone with her, and he wasn't about to bring Lu Jiaye along. He couldn't handle this kind of suffocating act.

"Bro, Su Han and Zhou Xiao both have plans, it's just me. Can you bear to see me, a single dog, wandering alone in the cold winter night?"

"Going back to the dormitory to sleep is a good option, playing games at the internet cafe is also a good option, you choose."

"No, I want to be lively during the holidays."

Lu Jiaye refused to leave no matter what, sticking to Xia Zhijun's side, following him wherever he went, his face thicker than a city wall.

When Gu Siyi came out with Zheng Peipei, his eyes lit up when he saw Zheng Peipei, silently praising his own wit!

He knew that Zheng Peipei, the little tail, would definitely follow Dimple.

As long as he stuck to Xia Zhijun, he could smoothly join them for a foursome, hehehehehe…

Looking up, Gu Siyi saw Lu Jiaye beside Xia Zhijun, and Xia Zhijun saw Zheng Peipei beside Gu Siyi.

"…" Xia Zhijun felt a bit stifled.

Gu Siyi looked at Lu Jiaye and smiled, "You're here too, then it's just right for the four of us to be together."

Bingo! Lu Jiaye grinned, showing his pearly white teeth. Dimple was indeed Dimple, so cute, saying exactly what he wanted to hear.

Zheng Peipei looked disgusted and retorted, "Why are you here? You're annoying!"

Lu Jiaye chuckled and retorted confidently, "Why are you here? Isn't it supposed to be Zhijun and Dimple celebrating together?"

"…" Xia Zhijun didn't want to say anything anymore. These two lightbulbs were both great actors.

Gu Siyi said, "Let's go, let's go, the bus is here!"

She pulled Zheng Peipei's hand and walked forward. Xia Zhijun helplessly followed, and Lu Jiaye was overjoyed.

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