Fang Qingze watched the expression change on the face of the girl sitting in front of him. Wasn't she just smiling a moment ago? Why did her face suddenly turn so cold?
Strange, are all girls this mercurial?
Right now, the two of them were sitting quietly in their seats. The space was very narrow, and they were sitting quite close together.
Every time the bus made a right turn, due to inertia, the girl in front would lean slightly toward him, causing their arms to brush against each other.
Fang Qingze wondered whether he should scoot a little closer to the aisle, but if he did that, would she think he disliked her?
Yet if he didn't move over, every time he made contact with her soft, delicate skin, it made his heart race and his mind wander.
Should I break this deadlock?
But what on earth should I say?
Hello?
No, we're desk mates after all, and we've known each other for a while now; we aren't strangers.
At a time like this, saying "hello"—isn't that just like sliding into the DMs of a crush you barely talk to and saying, "Hey, are you there?"
Also, what is she looking at?
Following Ye Chuqing's line of sight, Fang Qingze lowered his head to look at his phone. The sultry female live streamer was still posing seductively...
！！！
Crap...
She's going to think I'm a pervert. What do I do? Online now, waiting, it's urgent!
What if I told her I didn't actually want to watch this, that I just happened to stumble upon it while Lao Zhang was looking at it, and I was just curious enough to take an extra look—would you believe me?
Now just taking that extra look really blew everything up.
Forget it. Fang Qingze nonchalantly flipped his phone over, screen facing down, pretending nothing had happened.
"What a coincidence, I didn't expect to run into you here." Fang Qingze broke the deadlock as naturally as he could, having no intention of discussing the borderline content he had just been browsing.
Let her misunderstand if she wants, what's the big deal? You're nothing more than the girl who sits in front of me anyway. Ha! As if you have any right to police me!
"Yeah, what a coincidence!" Ye Chuqing shot Fang Qingze a look through clenched teeth, her tone icy. She was rather angry. *I saw it! Both my eyes saw it! And you actually tried to cover it up!*
Despicable Fang Qingze. He grew up and changed, not nearly as cute as he used to be.
And to think I went out of my way to catch this bus.
She pouted. But could she scold him? Under what identity did she even have the right to scold him now?
"Do you... do you usually like watching those... borderline things?" She ultimately couldn't hold it back. *No, I can't let him fall into this habit! Even if it's just as his classmate and desk mate.*
Fang Qingze: ......
No, Big Sister, I clearly didn't want to discuss this with you anymore. If you had high emotional intelligence, you wouldn't be asking a question like that.
Hardening his heart, Fang Qingze flipped his phone right back over and showed it directly to Ye Chuqing, his face neither red nor breathless. "Huh? You mean this?"
At a time like this, laying it right out for her to see actually made him look more open and aboveboard.
"...Yeah." Ye Chuqing nodded, somewhat surprised. She hadn't expected him to pull a move like this; she had assumed he would quibble, play dead, or simply ignore the question.
"You misunderstood. I don't usually look at this stuff. I just happened to scroll past it today, and you just happened to look over and see it." Fang Qingze shrugged, explaining truthfully.
Most of the time, when you're misunderstood, just clearing things up is best—playing dead is the most foolish choice.
"Is it really that much of a coincidence?" Ye Chuqing frowned, feigning doubt and tilting her head. She didn't believe it. *Didn't I see you looking so absorbed just now? I stood right next to you for quite a while and you didn't even notice!*
Desk mate, please don't do this! That's just unfair. Fang Qingze's heart was struck by her adorable expression.
Ye Chuqing's features were actually quite sweet and soft, but at school she usually wore no expression, and her gaze when looking at anyone was always chilly, making people think she was very aloof.
"I didn't expect it to be such a coincidence either, that you'd catch me." Strange, why did saying that feel sort of like getting caught in an affair yet feeling completely guilt-free?
Ye Chuqing deliberately sighed. "So, did I come at a bad time?"
?
What on earth? Fang Qingze was left completely dazed.
Before he could continue explaining, Ye Chuqing let out a soft laugh instead. "Actually, you don't need to explain yourself to me."
Huh?
"The hormonal secretions of the body during puberty are in an explosive growth phase, which stimulates your curiosity about the opposite sex and drives you to look at these things—it's normal and completely understandable..."Ye Chuqing's voice gradually trailed off as she spoke. *Is my charm really that lacking? He'd rather look at soft-core videos online than even look at me.*
She lowered her head to glance at her own chest, comparing herself to the woman on Fang Qingze's phone. *It's a bit small, sure, but I'm still growing...*
Fang Qingze was silent for a moment. Her understanding nature made him feel she truly was a good girl, but honestly, he hadn't wanted to look at any of that.
"Ye Chuqing, you really misunderstood." Even though she was being so understanding and showing she could accept him watching such content, he still wanted to explain it was all a mistake.
He opened his profile to show her his following list, bookmarks, and likes. Out of dozens of followed accounts, besides a few official ones, the rest were popular science channels about Desolate Beasts, and his bookmarks and likes were all related to the same topics.
Fang Qingze looked directly into Ye Chuqing's eyes. "I really never look at those things. Running into it this time when you walked by was purely an accident.
I'm explaining this to you not because I have a guilty conscience, but because I don't want you to think of me as a weirdo.
Some coincidences are just so strange that even I find them incredible.
I won't deny things I've actually done, but being misunderstood is pretty unpleasant. I hope you can believe me."
Ye Chuqing met Fang Qingze's gaze. His eyes were bright and full of spirit, devoid of his usual aloofness, and her heart sped up once more.
"Mhm." Ye Chuqing turned her head to look forward, calming her racing heart.
"Sorry, I misunderstood you." Turning back to look at him again, she said apologetically, "I'm sorry."
"Don't worry about it," Fang Qingze waved his hand, smiling as he told her, "It was just a misunderstanding."
He breathed a sigh of relief. *Okay, now I don't have to worry about leaving a weird impression on her.* He long-pressed the screen and hit "Not Interested" on the female live-streamer.
*Rate her? Rate my foot. Old Zhang, you get zero points!*
Silence followed. Neither of them knew what to say.
Fang Qingze turned his head to look out the window. Just then, a black sedan drove past, and upon closer inspection of the license plate, he realized it was the same Maybach he had seen leaving school yesterday afternoon.
He glanced back at her stealthily, noticing she was looking down at her dark phone screen, seemingly deep in thought.
"Fang Qingze?"
"Huh? What is it?" He almost dropped his phone, thinking he'd been caught peeking.
"Do you know about what happened last night?"
He froze for a second, but quickly figured out what she meant. "You mean the explosion at Shengxian Pavilion?"
"Mhm. What do you think about it?"
"Well... the police report called it a homicide, and they don't have any leads yet. What could I possibly think? I just hope the police can catch the killer soon." He gave a vague, perfunctory reply.
"I mean the person in black." Ye Chuqing shook her head.
He looked at her. She swept back her loose hair, exposing her delicate earlobes, and fixing her eyes on his, she asked in a low voice:
"Do you think he was a legendary Transcendent? Or do you think transcendent powers really exist in this world?"
Fang Qingze's heart tightened. For a second, he thought his own transcendent abilities had been exposed.
He steadied himself. *Probably not. I've never told anyone about my abilities; she's probably just trying to discuss it with me.*
He glanced at her earlobe, swallowed instinctively, and looked away to think before speaking with a pretense of uncertainty:
"I don't think they exist, do they? Transcendent beings are way too fantastical. They should only exist in novels; you never see them in real life.
Yesterday's incident was probably just special effects, like 3D projection or something. There's technology that can achieve those kinds of effects now.
As for that person in black, they probably used wires—after all, the roof structure of Shengxian Pavilion makes it easy to install that kind of equipment. Who knows what the architect was thinking anyway, letting any random thief easily access every floor from the roof."