Chapter 50: Coincidence

Leng Xiao’s eyes flickered slightly as he stood up, extended his hand, and offered a shy smile. "Hello, I am Chu Yitong’s classmate, Leng Xiao!"

"I—"

"I know, you're her older brother!" She had only ever called him "Brother Chen" inside the office and nowhere else. Besides, in the eyes of everyone else, she had always been considered a fool, yet it seemed he hadn't noticed that at all from start to finish.

"Um, sorry about that." Leng Xiao scratched the back of his head, his words and demeanor a bit restrained. "I was worried when Mr. Wu called you over, so I followed you. I heard him tell you to bring your parents, so—"

"Thank you!" They were merely acquaintances who had once asked for and given directions; wasn't such deep concern for her a bit too overzealous? She pressed her temples—she was becoming paranoid lately!

Xie Chenjing’s hand, resting inside his trouser pocket, moved slightly. Under the sunlight, his handsome face was clear and gentle. "Yiyi, let's go!"

"Okay!" Chu Yitong packed up her things, walked over to his side, and didn't forget to say to Leng Xiao, "I'm leaving now!"

"See you another day!" His expression remained unchanged, cultured and refined, revealing not a single trace of anything unusual.

Xie Chenjing naturally took her hand, nodded slightly to Leng Xiao, and they left together. Behind them, a pair of eyes burned with an ambiguous glint.

"What did Wu Ming want with you?" The two of them strolled leisurely across the campus. It had been a long time since she last visited the school, and taking a moment to relax every now and then felt quite nice.

"Oh, the crime of insubordination." Such a person was truly unworthy of being an educator; it was fortunate he was merely short-sighted and petty-minded.

"Insubordination?" Xie Chenjing raised an eyebrow, a smile hidden in his eyes. "How did you manage that?"

"Well, treating his words as wind past the ear!" What was so funny about that? She simply couldn't stand the man's ugly countenance.

"Wu Ming, huh!" His reputation was indeed subpar; the only reason he could act so arrogantly was because he had some backing. He bullied the weak and feared the strong, ultimately accomplishing nothing.

"It's him." She had no idea how she might have offended him beforehand, yet during the very first class after she woke up, he had sought to make things difficult for her. Did he think she was an easy target?

"Hmm, are you upset?" If that were truly the case, he wouldn't mind stepping in to clean things up.

"Ah? No." Chu Yitong tucked a strand of falling hair behind her ear and looked at the lush trees surrounding them. It wasn't that she was upset, but rather plagued by an inexplicable irritation. Regarding her missing past, her heart could never truly find peace. She couldn't integrate into the hustle and bustle of the school either, as if she had never belonged here in the first place.

"Don't take it to heart." His gaze landed on her, sensing she seemed somewhat absent-minded. After a long moment: "Yiyi!"

"Hmm?" Their relationship was rather peculiar, and she couldn't sort it out at all, so she simply decided to let nature take its course. There would always come a day when the truth was revealed—though what would things be like by then?

"I recall you sitting by yourself?" His cool, unhurried voice asked.

"He transferred here today." She hadn't expected him to be aware of even these minute details, but there was no harm in mentioning it. "When I went to the classroom this morning, he happened to be asking me for directions."

"Today?" A lot of things had certainly happened today. A warning? Heh, how long had it been since anyone dared to try that?

"Today." Was there a problem?

"Yiyi, have you ever thought about transferring to another school?" With the enemy in the shadows and him in the light, protecting her was paramount. The events of fifteen years ago had been far too bizarre; he worried that the person behind the scenes was still watching.

"Transfer to where?" Anywhere was fine; everywhere was just a choice between unfamiliar and even more unfamiliar.

"Transfer to—" Whatever he had just recalled made the corners of his lips curve into a smile. "Yiyi, isn't winter break in about two months?"

"Pretty much!" With one month of classes and one month of break, it truly wouldn't be long before the winter vacation arrived.