How come you're also my ex-girlfriend?

"You're crazy. I can't be bothered talking to you. I'm going back to sleep."

Jiang Yiyao took out her key, opened the door, and without giving Xu Yan a chance to refuse, she went in and closed the door in one smooth motion.

Xu Yan was left standing alone in the bright but empty stairwell.

He flipped open the notebook and glanced at it briefly. The handwriting was beautiful and delicate, but the amount of information was dense.

Turning the pages, you can smell a faint fragrance, not just the scent of ink.

……

P.S.: Hello, hello, is anyone there? I'm the door-knocker!

Chapter 11 No, ex-girlfriend!

On the second day of school, Jiang Yiyao no longer needed Xu Yan's protection; she seemed to have always been someone who didn't need her parents' worry.

Besides, the neighborhood wasn't particularly far from the school, so Xu Yan was happy to have an easy time.

Riding her bicycle leisurely, it felt much easier with one less person behind her... Well, actually, Jiang Yiyao isn't heavy. She clearly has a big appetite, but I don't know why she doesn't show any signs of gaining weight.

Perhaps it's because of the vigorous metabolism during puberty, and also because reading is a very energy-consuming activity. Thinking about this principle, Xu Yan felt that even the bright sunshine wasn't so appealing anymore.

Soon, Xu Yan rode his bike to an intersection very close to the school. Just as he was crossing the traffic light and preparing to turn onto the street leading to the school, a car came from the opposite direction. There was no risk of an accident, and Xu Yan wasn't riding fast.

However, Xu Yan still paid attention to the very familiar icon that almost everyone would recognize and the unique two-tone paint.

It doesn't matter what people are paying attention to, but that car just happened to be parked across the street, some distance from the school.

Xu Yan couldn't help but sigh inwardly, "Whose young master is this now? A Maybach for chauffeured around, huh? Damn, sometimes I really want to compete with these rich people!"

The car door opened quickly. Xu Yan wouldn't have bothered to pay attention to who it was, but a strikingly fair complexion caught his eye. Bathed in the morning sun, it shone like a mirror, and it was just an arm.

White is not important; what's important is why Xu Yan feels inexplicably familiar with it.

In that brief moment of hesitation, Xu Yan made eye contact with the person getting off the bus.

"Huh?"

From a short distance, Xu Yan could clearly hear the surprised sound from the other person, as well as the panic in their eyes.

Why is she panicking? In this situation, she should be the one scrambling to hide like a sewer rat!

But Xu Yan stopped the car, put one foot on the pedal and the other on the ground, and squinted his eyes.

Then I saw that incredibly fair-skinned and delicate girl calmly say something to the people in the car. The car slowly drove away, and then she walked back towards me, looking around nervously.

Her behavior was extremely bizarre, as if she had stolen the Maybach and had an accomplice in it.

She walked up to her, the girl with the backpack holding the straps with both hands, and then tried to put on a seemingly normal smile, "Good morning, Xu Yan."

Xu Yan nodded. "Good morning, cod burger."

"It's Wen Xueyu!"

Wen Xueyu blushed instantly and glared fiercely at Xu Yan.

She just couldn't understand how such a handsome young man could be so annoying when he spoke.

Just kidding, good morning.

"Um..."

She seemed a little reserved and didn't know what to say. Xu Yan didn't know why she was so nervous, so the boy, who wasn't good at starting conversations, took the initiative to speak.

"Did you just go steal a dog?"

Wen Xueyu: ?

"Who stole the dog?!"

"Then why are you rushing around like a thief? In broad daylight."

“It’s not related to this… Um, can I ask you for a favor?” she suddenly said.

Xu Yan almost had a stress reaction when he heard this, mainly because he had heard it too many times from Lin Jia, and he usually wouldn't refuse in the past.

"Don't bother me with small things, I don't care. Don't bother me with big things, I can't help."

"...It's just a very, very small thing!"

In her eagerness, Wen Xueyu even reached out and made that slightly jarring gesture.

Xu Yan immediately warned the other party righteously, "If you insult our male compatriots again, I will put you on pornographic websites."

"...Dude, can you be a little bit serious?"

It's clear they're in a bit of a rush; they only have classmates but no names.

Xu Yan also dropped his nonchalant expression. "Just tell me directly what it is. Whether you can help is another matter."

"It's just... could you please not tell anyone that I take this bus to school?"

Xu Yan: ?

Looking into the other person's rather serious eyes and smelling their distinctive and memorable fragrance, I began to question my existence.

What's wrong with this world? Did I hear that right, buddy?

"What's wrong? Is this difficult for you...?"

Xu Yan snapped out of his daze and looked at Wen Xueyu. "No, it's not that... I was just curious. While flaunting wealth isn't exactly something people like, does it have to be done like a thief and kept secret?"

If the two were in the same situation, what would Xu Yan do? Xu Yan suspects he would take out 100 yuan and give it to the other person, then ask them to be here at this exact time tomorrow. He would then casually take a picture of himself getting out of the car from a hidden angle and have them post it in various class groups to ask who this rich young man is.

Wen Xueyu seemed conflicted, and after hesitating for a moment, she said softly, "There are some special circumstances that I can't talk about, but could you please keep it a secret? Please!"

It's generally inconvenient to say it because the level of affection hasn't been reached, right? But when you ask for a favor, isn't there a lack of necessary ritual?

Okay, let's not dwell on this. Most girls wouldn't disagree if they'd gone this far, especially since it's such a trivial matter. Besides, Wen Xueyu is indeed an adorable girl...

Xu Yan remained silent for a long while before speaking, "It's not that I can't agree, but..."

"But what?"

Wen Xueyu bit her lower lip slightly, her expression showing genuine nervousness.

"I haven't had breakfast yet. I always love the spicy beef noodles from that place near the school, with an extra fried egg, but it costs almost twenty yuan a serving. I'm not a rich person like you, so..."

"I'll treat you to this!"

Hearing this request, Wen Xueyu breathed a long sigh of relief; the price was far too easy for her.

"Then it's a deal."

Xu Yan pushed the cart and walked with Wen Xueyu for a few more minutes until they arrived at the noodle shop near the school gate. It was indeed outrageously expensive, and it was located near the school. How come it hadn't gone out of business? Well, that's Liangcheng Normal University Affiliated High School, sigh.

Xu Yan did indeed order a large portion of spicy beef noodles, plus a fried egg. Meanwhile, Wen Xueyu across from him only ordered a bowl of black rice porridge.

"Is this what you eat for breakfast?"

Wen Xueyu nodded gently, "I've already eaten at home, so I'm not very hungry."

"Oh..."

Xu Yan actually wanted to say that since it wasn't necessary to eat, why not just leave after paying the bill? But after thinking about it, he realized it was a bit too rude, and he managed to hold back.

Wen Xueyu was initially quite tense, but as Xu Yan ate heartily and even drank a lot of soup, she gradually relaxed.

"Have you finished eating?"

"Yes, I'm done eating."

Xu Yan leaned back comfortably in his chair, and Wen Xueyu was finally able to smile easily. "Then we agreed that you would keep it a secret for me."

"Do not worry."

"Hmm~"

"I'll eat this secret up with you for the rest of my life."

Wen Xueyu: ?

Seeing the smile on her pretty face gradually disappear, Xu Yan laughed out loud, "Just kidding, you really can't take a joke."

"Hmph, I'm leaving now, goodbye!"

Wen Xueyu, still a little annoyed, picked up her backpack and got up to leave. Xu Yan didn't seem to care much and stood up unhurriedly.

Keeping such a secret was somewhat incomprehensible to Xu Yan, but he could indeed make some connections, such as her family's sensitive status requiring Wen Xueyu to keep a low profile. There was no need to speculate about her origins being illegitimate.

Helping with such a small favor is indeed a simple matter of a word, but Xu Yan knows that he needs to pay some price to put people at ease. This is similar to why doctors sometimes accept red envelopes from patients' families before surgery and then return them after the surgery.

Obviously, a bowl of beef noodles isn't much of a price to pay, but it should be enough to put her mind at ease.

They were leisurely walking out of the noodle shop.

Sudden.

"Snapped."

"Can you just call me by my name instead of patting my shoulder? You'd scare me to death if this happened at night."

Xu Yan turned around and, sure enough, there was Zhou Wentao grinning.

"Oh dear, are you really that timid?"

"nonsense."

"By the way, do you know that girl who sat across from you at the noodle shop? She's so fair-skinned."

Xu Yan said irritably, "Are you clairvoyant? How come you can see everything every time?"

"It's not every time, it's only yesterday and today. Stop talking nonsense, do you even know him?"

"I don't know you. Do you think I have the qualifications?"

“Yeah, that’s true.” Zhou Wentao nodded, almost making Xu Yan spit out a mouthful of blood.

Dude, you actually agreed with my modesty? You're a really good person.

"But why have you been surrounded by such pretty girls while having breakfast these past few days? Could it be that you've awakened a system where beautiful girls always appear across from you whenever you have breakfast?"