Some people can be acquaintances for a long time and the relationship remains just so-so, while others get along famously despite barely knowing each other.
Lin Yi and Yu Shanshan undoubtedly belonged to the latter. Sitting on the electric scooter, they chatted idly, the atmosphere exceptionally relaxed.
"Where do you live?"
"Turn left up ahead."
"Stop here."
As they reached the apartment complex entrance, Yu Shanshan familiarly patted Lin Yi on the shoulder.
The scooter slowly came to a halt. Lin Yi glanced at the nearby complex; it looked quite upscale, suggesting Yu Shanshan came from a well-off family.
"See you tomorrow."
Yu Shanshan hopped off the back seat, waving goodbye to Lin Yi with a smile.
When Lin Yi got home, his parents were still out. After finishing dinner, he went back to studying math.
He still had some impression of the college entrance examination questions from his past life—this could be considered one of his few advantages, and he hoped no butterfly effect would mess it up.
The room was quiet, save for the scratching sound of his pen, until his phone rang with a voice call, causing Lin Yi to look up.
It was Jiang Manni. After a moment of hesitation, Lin Yi answered.
"My mom made sweet and sour spare ribs. She asked me to call you over for dinner."
It had taken Jiang Manni a long time to calm down after getting home before she finally dialed Lin Yi's voice call. She kept reminding herself: getting angry now was useless; the most important thing was to keep Lin Yi away from Yu Shanshan.
"I've already eaten. Please thank her for me."
A warm look crossed Lin Yi's eyes. His parents were usually busy, and in the past, he had often eaten at the Jiang family's place. Jiang Manni's mother was very good to him, always thinking of him whenever there was something delicious.
"Oh, I'll tell her later then."
"I'm hanging up now, I'm doing problems."
For him and Jiang Manni, not bothering each other was the best way to get along, especially since their families had a good relationship.
"Lin Yi, can you please stay away from Yu Shanshan?"
Jiang Manni was losing her patience.
"Oh?"
The corners of Lin Yi's mouth slowly curved upward.
"She's only getting close to you on purpose to retaliate against me because I got her punished by standing in the hallway last time."
Jiang Manni took a deep breath. If not for the events of the past two days, she certainly wouldn't have bothered explaining this to Lin Yi.
"Oh, I know."
"She's just using you!"
Lin Yi's casual tone irritated Jiang Manni; this was completely different from what she had expected.
"Maybe so."
Lin Yi was noncommittal. He knew very well why Jiang Manni was saying this.
"Aren't you even angry?"
Jiang Manni was practically at a loss for words.
"When did you and Qiyue get together?"
That was what Lin Yi wanted to know most.
"Did... did Yu Shanshan tell you that?"
Jiang Manni's voice panicked slightly. Although she had guessed as much earlier, Lin Yi directly exposing her relationship with Qiyue still caught her off guard.
"Is it inconvenient to talk about?"
Lin Yi couldn't help smiling. Judging by Jiang Manni's reaction, Yu Shanshan hadn't lied to him.
"When the senior year just started, I didn't mean to keep it from you..."
"It's no big deal. I'm going back to my practice papers."
Lin Yi hung up directly. Whether Jiang Manni had done it on purpose or not no longer mattered.
Looking at the chat interface that had popped back, Jiang Manni sat motionless for a long time.
Lin Yi actually knew. No wonder he had been acting a bit abnormal these past two days.
Jiang Manni didn't think she was in the wrong—once a relationship in senior year was discovered by the school, parents would definitely be called in.
Even though Lin Yi had said "it's no big deal," coupled with his behavior over the last two days, his attitude was already crystal clear.
Jiang Manni still felt a bit hurt. After all, they were childhood friends, and she didn't want things to turn out this way.
Lin Yi was also suffering right now. Why the hell was math so damn hard?
Was his IQ really that low?
He seemed to have heard of such a theory in his past life. It looked like he had no choice but to ask Yu Shanshan for help.
"You're such an idiot. You can't even solve a problem this simple?"
"Is it simple?"
"I want to eat shredded noodle soup tomorrow."
"Aren't there no places selling shredded noodle soup at school?"
"I don't care. I know a place that makes exceptionally good shredded noodle soup, figure it out yourself."
Yu Shanshan lay face down on her bed, her eyes full of amusement. She hadn't eaten shredded noodle soup from that place in a long time.
"Alright."
Lin Yi had no choice but to agree.
Yu Shanshan quickly sent over the step-by-step solution. Even though her math wasn't great, she could at least act as a courier.
By past one in the morning, Lin Yi simply couldn't keep going. He had to wake up early tomorrow, and the noodle shop Yu Shanshan mentioned was quite far away.
The night passed quietly.
At six-thirty in the morning, Lin Yi hopped on his electric scooter and set off.
"Shanshan, time to get up."
Jiang Xiufang stood at the doorway, her tone deeply exasperated.
At past eleven last night, the light in her daughter's room was still on. Was she actually studying?
Jiang Xiufang brewed a cup of coffee, intending to help wake her daughter up. Pushing open the bedroom door, she instantly froze.
Studying my foot—she was drooling in her sleep. Was she dreaming of something delicious?
"I'm already up."
The bedroom door swung open directly. Back when Old Yu wasn't abroad, he used to take her to eat shredded noodle soup at that place all the time, and Yu Shanshan was genuinely looking forward to it.
"Oh, did the sun rise from the west today?"
Seeing her precious daughter dressed and ready, Jiang Xiufang was still somewhat surprised.
"I'm heading to school."
Yu Shanshan called out a greeting and walked out humming a tune.
"Good morning."
Seeing Jiang Manni standing at the complex entrance, a smile immediately appeared on Qiyue's face.
"Um... good morning."
Jiang Manni was a bit preoccupied. After Lin Yi hung up the voice call last night, a sudden sense of melancholy had washed over her.
She had thought a night's sleep would make it go away, but when she woke up in the morning, that feeling was still there.
"What's wrong?"
Qiyue quickly noticed her unusual behavior.
"Didn't sleep very well."
Jiang Manni quietly hooked her finger around Qiyue's. The moment their skin touched, she felt a little less distressed.
The school bus was still some distance away, so the two of them let go of each other's hands.
Gazing at the retreating buildings outside the bus window, Jiang Manni's mood was visibly low.
As the bus door opened once more, Yu Shanshan walked on with her schoolbag on her back. The moment she caught sight of the two of them, a spark of amusement lit up her eyes.
Though these two didn't dare make it too obvious, a little bit of attention was all it took to see through them.
Lin Yi had actually been kept in the dark until now?
What an idiot.
Noticing Yu Shanshan's gaze, Jiang Manni's expression instantly turned cold.
She and Lin Yi were childhood friends, so what right did Yu Shanshan have to steal him away?
How dare this bitch still laugh at her?
The more Jiang Manni thought about it, the more resentful she felt, but Lin Yi had already made his stance clear. No matter how unwilling she was, what could she do?
The school bus rolled to a stop; they had arrived at school.
Jiang Manni walked silently toward the school grounds, not even noticing that Qiyue had lagged behind.
Qiyue looked at Jiang Manni's retreating back, a sneer flashing across his eyes.
Compared to Jiang Manni, Yu Shanshan's steps were noticeably lighter. Thinking of the shredded noodle soup she loved most, she could hardly wait.
To Jiang Manni's surprise, Yu Shanshan didn't head back to her own classroom, but instead walked toward the neighboring one.