Another boring class period had begun.
Even good students rarely felt much interest in the lessons.
Seeing that the teacher wasn’t paying attention to the activity below the podium, An Ling elbowed Zhou Meng.
“Hey, Class President, I have something to ask you.”
An Ling rarely initiated conversations with Zhou Meng, especially during class.
Zhou Meng immediately became interested.
“Go ahead and ask. I’ll tell you everything I know.”
The two of them leaned closer, looking like they were about to share secrets.
“Class President, do you know any girls in our school who have good personalities, are small and cute, and are preferably kind and gentle?”
Hmm?
Zhou Meng was surprised that An Ling would ask her about this.
But the description sounded oddly like a self-introduction.
Except for the gender part, Zhou Meng felt An Ling herself matched every point perfectly.
“Why? An Ling, are you looking for a girlfriend who’s similar to yourself?”
Zhou Meng asked.
After all, this was the age when people started exploring romance.
“Of course not! Class President, what are you thinking?”
An Ling quickly explained when she realized Zhou Meng had misunderstood.
“If not, then why are you asking?”
“Ugh, just tell me, don’t worry about why.”
An Ling felt a little embarrassed.
It was her first time actively talking about this topic with someone else—especially another girl—and she had already been misunderstood.
An Ling’s face was now flushed red.
Zhou Meng thought she looked quite cute like this.
What a shame she isn’t a boy.
“Let me think… It’s actually pretty hard to find someone.
There are plenty of cute-looking girls, but matching all your requirements?
I really can’t think of anyone specific.
After all, you can never truly know what’s in someone’s heart just by looking at them.”
Zhou Meng replied.
“I see. Even the Class President doesn’t know any.”
An Ling had thought that someone as well-connected as the class president would know a few girls who fit her criteria.
Did she really have to scout them one by one herself?
“Sigh~”
An Ling pouted and sighed.
It seemed realizing this plan wasn’t going to be easy—all because of that guy Li Yang.
She looked at Li Yang sleeping in front of her again.
Raising her hand, she slapped his back in frustration.
“Ah? Huh?”
Li Yang woke up with a start from the slap.
He looked around in confusion.
The teacher hadn’t even left the podium yet.
He turned back to look at An Ling, who was pretending nothing had happened.
“Why’d you hit me?”
“The teacher was looking at you earlier. I was afraid you’d get caught.”
An Ling lied without any guilt this time.
“Oh, okay. Thanks.”
Although he felt An Ling was acting a bit strange today, Li Yang still turned back around.
He propped his head on his hand and went back to sleep.
Zhou Meng had seen the entire exchange.
She felt that An Ling was different again today—more lively and spirited.
“You seem to be in a pretty good mood today, An Ling?”
Zhou Meng asked.
“No, I’m the same as usual.”
An Ling answered with a smile.
Hmph.
Zhou Meng was sure her feeling was correct.
But it was nice to see.
From the first time she saw An Ling, she had thought she was a good kid, just a bit gloomy.
Who would have thought she would become so cheerful in just a few days?
Could it be that Li Yang had rubbed off on her?
“An Ling!”
Zhou Meng suddenly looked at her seriously.
“You absolutely cannot become stupid, okay~”
???
What kind of thing was that to say?
An Ling was completely confused.
How could she suddenly become stupid?
***
When lunchtime arrived, An Ling went to the cafeteria with Li Yang as usual.
She had thought it would be the same as always—just eat quickly and return to the classroom.
But the moment she entered the cafeteria, she spotted a woman with clearly bad intentions—Chen Ping.
Chen Ping was looking around the cafeteria as if searching for something.
The moment she saw them, her eyes locked on like a predator spotting its target.
Li Yang was focused only on deciding what to eat today and didn’t notice the unfamiliar girl.
But An Ling noticed everything.
Chen Ping was holding her tray and walking purposefully toward Li Yang’s direction.
What is this bad woman planning now?
An Ling watched Chen Ping’s every move.
She knew nothing good would come from her approaching.
Sure enough, An Ling watched as she got very close to Li Yang.
Then came a very fake stumble.
The tray in her hands flew toward Li Yang.
Chen Ping herself pretended to fall to the ground.
Without even lifting her head, she began apologizing.
“I’m sorry, Classmate Li Yang! I saw you and wanted to say hello. I didn’t do it on purpose. Sorry for dirtying your clothes.”
“I’ll wash your clothes for you.”
“You’d better wash my friend’s clothes properly! Weren’t you watching where you were going? What if you had hurt someone!”
Li Yang’s angry voice rang out.
Only then did Chen Ping look up in surprise.
The situation was progressing completely differently from what she had expected.
She had planned to “accidentally” dirty Li Yang’s clothes.
Based on what she had learned about his personality beforehand, he wouldn’t get too angry.
She would apologize, offer to wash his jacket, and even offer compensation if needed to calm him down.
Then she would use the excuse of returning the clean clothes to get his contact information.
Ideally, she could find a reason to personally deliver them to his house.
After that, she could get on good terms with Li Yang’s family and gradually grow closer to him.
But now everything had gone wrong.
The tray hadn’t landed on Li Yang.
It had landed on his new little sidekick, An Ling.
Of course it was An Ling who had stepped forward to block it for Li Yang.
No matter what Chen Ping was planning, An Ling was determined to stop it.
Just moments ago, when she saw the bad woman deliberately aiming the tray at Li Yang, An Ling had quickly pulled Li Yang back and shielded him with her own body.
An Ling was shorter than Li Yang.
The tray that would have only dirtied part of his jacket ended up hitting her squarely in the abdomen.
Even the thin shirt underneath was stained.
“What’s wrong with you? Are you blind? If your eyes don’t work you should donate them! Can’t you even walk straight on a flat floor?”
Li Yang’s temper flared as he started cursing.
“It’s fine, Li Yang. It’s just my clothes that got dirty. I’m okay.”
More and more people were gathering.
An Ling didn’t want things to get more complicated and give the bad woman a chance to come up with new schemes.
“Classmate, I’m fine. You don’t need to wash anything. Just go.”
Not wanting to stay there any longer, An Ling simply grabbed Li Yang and left.
The right move was to get away from Chen Ping as quickly as possible.
Li Yang still wanted to say a few more words for An Ling, but she had already dragged him away.
He had no choice but to follow.
An Ling kept walking until they reached a relatively empty spot before stopping.
“Are you really okay, An Ling? You’re just letting it go like that?”
Li Yang asked.
“Come on, we’re at school. There’s no need to make things too complicated.”
Li Yang felt An Ling was too kind-hearted.
If it were him, he would at least have made the other person wash the clothes, regardless of whether it was a guy or a girl.
“Alright, clothes can be washed anytime. The main problem right now is what am I going to wear?”