As soon as Sang Yan finished speaking, the bell for class rang.
The sound was practically salvation. Glasses Guy let out an almost imperceptible sigh of relief and quickly muttered an apology. Sang Yan didn’t press the issue further, merely giving him a glance before returning to his seat.
The surrounding crowd gradually dispersed.
For once, the classroom remained unusually quiet even before the teacher arrived.
Wen Yifan took out her textbook from the desk drawer and flipped to the lesson’s content, but her thoughts lingered on what had just happened. Recalling yesterday’s encounter with Sang Yan and his group in the cafeteria, she slowly pieced things together.
So, others thought she had cheated on Sang Yan and gotten together with Xiang Lang instead.
Wen Yifan’s pen paused.
No wonder someone had called her disgusting.
She lifted her head and glanced in Sang Yan’s direction.
Because of his height, his seat was placed in the last row of the first group, quite a distance away from hers. At the moment, he was looking down, absorbed in some book.
The boy sitting next to him was talking to him, but Sang Yan didn’t even lift his eyes, his expression unchanging.
Wen Yifan averted her gaze, thinking she’d find a chance to thank him later.
…
That was just Wen Yifan’s wishful thinking.
She never expected that she wouldn’t get a chance at all.
Because Sang Yan was almost never alone. It was as if he couldn’t walk independently—even going to the bathroom or fetching water was done in a group.
Wen Yifan wasn’t in a hurry, figuring she’d find an opportunity eventually.
But this wait stretched all the way until the following Friday after school.
The class duty roster was arranged by odd and even weeks, and Sang Yan was assigned to even-week Fridays. Because of his cleaning duty, he left later than the others. Even his so-called "brothers" chose to abandon him at the crucial moment to go play basketball.
Sang Yan stood at the podium, wiping the blackboard with a damp cloth.
Wen Yifan packed her things, slung her backpack over her shoulder, and walked over to him.
“Sang Yan.”
He glanced at her sideways but continued wiping the board. “Speak.”
Wen Yifan said sincerely, “Thank you for what happened before.”
His hand paused, and he looked at her again.
“What?”
“The things people in class were saying,” Wen Yifan explained, then thanked him again. “Thanks for speaking up and clearing things up for me.”
Sang Yan let out an “Oh.” “Your gratitude is quite timely.”
Wen Yifan: “Huh?”
“Just when I was about to forget this whole thing,” Sang Yan said lazily, “you’ve gone and reminded me.”
“...”
Realizing she had indeed delayed this for too long, Wen Yifan felt a little awkward, though her expression remained neutral. “I couldn’t find the right moment.”
“Don’t bother.” Sang Yan clearly hadn’t given the matter much thought. He wiped the last remaining spot on the board. “If it hadn’t involved me, I wouldn’t have bothered with this nonsense either.”
Wen Yifan nodded. “Still, thank you.”
Sang Yan didn’t respond further.
Wen Yifan didn’t say anything else either and turned to leave.
At the doorway, for some reason, she glanced back at Sang Yan again.
He had just finished wiping the board and seemed about to head to the restroom to rinse the cloth.
The moment he looked up, their eyes met.
Sang Yan didn’t seem surprised, merely raising a brow. “What?”
“Huh?”
Sang Yan smirked. “Are you really that mesmerized by me?”
“...”
Before him, Wen Yifan had never met anyone like this.Born with an innate arrogance, every fiber of his being seemed etched with pride, yet it never came off as off-putting. It simply gave the impression that he was meant to be this way—like a celestial body orbited by stars, radiating brilliance wherever he went.
Descending from the second-floor VIP section, Sang Yan entered the staff lounge downstairs.
He slumped onto the sofa, pulled out his phone to check it, then tossed it aside moments later. Though his alcohol tolerance was high and he hadn’t drunk much tonight, his head throbbed intermittently for no apparent reason.
Digging a pack of cigarettes from his pocket, he lit one with the lighter he’d brought down from upstairs. He smoked in silence for a while until Su Haoan walked in.
"You’re still here? Weren’t you sleepy?" Su Haoan sounded surprised. "Or are you waiting to leave with the goddess Wen?"
Sang Yan ignored him, legs crossed on the table.
Su Haoan sat beside him, fishing out a cigarette of his own. He seemed in low spirits. "Ugh, I’d almost gotten over it, but hearing about that woman today just wrecked me all over again."
"..."
"After years as a playboy," Su Haoan lit his cigarette but didn’t smoke it, too busy ranting, "this is the first time I’ve ever been cheated on. Can you believe it? With my looks—" He paused, jabbing a finger at his face for emphasis. "My looks! And my money!"
"..."
"And I still got cheated on!"
"With your IQ," Sang Yan scoffed, "you call yourself a playboy?"
"Go to hell. Are you even human?" Su Haoan glared. "Not a single word of comfort from you!"
"Comfort for what?" Sang Yan’s voice was low, eyelids drooping as if exhausted. "Grown men whining like this—how pathetic."
"The worst part is, Wang Linlin kept telling me he was her cousin," Su Haoan ranted. "I actually believed her! Met the guy a few times, even called him ‘cousin’ politely. Then last time I went to see her, they were all over each other, couldn’t even pull apart."
"..."
"I wanted to puke my guts out. Goddamn bitch!"
"Enough," Sang Yan cut in irritably. "You already broke up."
"So I can’t even vent now?" Su Haoan’s temper flared. "What’s your problem tonight? Your bro got cheated on! Dumped! Heartbroken! And you’re annoyed at me?"
Fed up, Sang Yan abruptly stubbed out his cigarette and stood. "I’m leaving."
Su Haoan froze. Even he could sense the shift in mood now.
"What’s going on with you?"
"..."
"You didn’t drive here, and you’ve been drinking. How are you getting back?" Su Haoan blocked his way. "Qian Fei’s coming soon—let him drop you off. It’s not like you’ve got anything to do at home."
Perhaps swayed by the logic, Sang Yan didn’t leave, slumping back into the chair instead.
Su Haoan studied him. "You drunk or something?"
"..."
Su Haoan pressed, "Or is it Xiang Lang putting you in a mood?"
Sang Yan remained silent."Is there even a point to this? They've known each other for ages. If they were going to get together, they would've done it long ago—" At this point, he suddenly realized the same logic applied to Sang Yan and quickly backtracked, "Speaking of which, do you still like Wen Yifan? I originally thought you still had feelings for her, which is why I arranged for you two to share an apartment. But judging by your attitude toward her, I must’ve been wrong."
"..."
Su Haoan patted his arm. "Come on, talk to me. I promise I won’t be as sharp-tongued as you, stabbing right where it hurts when someone shares something painful."
"You think I’d waste my time talking to you?" Sang Yan smirked. "What’s the difference between you and a loudspeaker?"
"..." Su Haoan choked, about to argue back.
"I’m just tired," Sang Yan drawled lazily, his tone deliberately provoking. "You’ve got quite the imagination."
"Get lost," Su Haoan stood up. "Consider my concern wasted."
Su Haoan was never one to sit still for long. After a few minutes, he was already itching to go out and have fun. Hearing Sang Yan’s words, he felt a bit silly for thinking the ever-unfazed young master could actually be affected by something.
Before leaving the lounge, Su Haoan glanced back at Sang Yan, now sprawled on the sofa.
Suddenly, his current state felt eerily familiar.
It reminded Su Haoan of the day their college admission results came out.
Su Haoan’s grades had been abysmal. The only reason he’d made it into the science honors class in high school was because his uncle was the principal of their school. Back then, the system required students to estimate their scores right after the college entrance exams, and the actual results would only come out after submitting their college preferences.
The moment he walked out of the exam hall, Su Haoan knew he was doomed.
But his father had promised him a new computer if he managed to get into any first-tier university.
Tempted, Su Haoan had confidently declared to his father right after the exams that he’d easily surpass the cutoff score—even claiming he could get into Nanwu University without breaking a sweat.
His father believed his bravado.
The very next day, he bought Su Haoan a brand-new computer.
Days passed, and when the first batch of admission results were released, Su Haoan couldn’t bring himself to go home. He spent the entire day holed up in an internet café.
Eventually, he ended up at Sang Yan’s place.
It was already 8 p.m. by then, and neither Sang Yan nor his father, Sang Rong, was home.
Sang Yan’s mother, Li Ping, was helping Sang Zhi with her homework, her expression gentle as she told Su Haoan to wait in Sang Yan’s room. Having visited countless times, Su Haoan didn’t feel awkward and headed straight in.
He turned on Sang Yan’s gaming console and started playing. After staring at screens all day, he quickly grew drowsy and dozed off on Sang Yan’s bed.
He was jolted awake by the sound of a door closing.
Blinking, he saw Sang Yan standing there.
The teenager had just shut the door behind him, wearing a dark black T-shirt and gray pants.
While his top looked normal, his pants had noticeably darker patches, and his hair was damp. Su Haoan immediately asked, "Is it raining outside? The weather was fine when I came."
Sang Yan glanced at him. "Why are you here?""The admission results are out," Su Haoan sighed. "I don't dare go home—I'm afraid my dad will break my legs."
"Serves you right," Sang Yan scoffed. "Weren't you full of big talk earlier? Why weren't you afraid of broken legs then?"
Since Sang Yan was his savior for the night, Su Haoan let it slide. "Where'd you go? I waited forever for you to play games." He checked the time. "Damn, it's already eleven."
"Nowhere special. I'm back now." Without bothering to shower, Sang Yan sat on the carpet in front of the gaming console and tossed a controller his way. "Still playing or not?"
Su Haoan jumped up immediately. "Hell yeah."
As they played, they chatted.
Su Haoan: "Your parents didn't yell at you for coming back so late?"
Sang Yan: "As if."
"..." Su Haoan was speechless. "So you're just asking for it, huh?"
He pressed again, "Where'd you go? You got into Nan University—that's awesome. If I had those grades, I'd be treated like a king at home."
Sang Yan: "Why so nosy?"
"Ah," Su Haoan, used to Sang Yan's attitude, continued, "I don't even know what school I'll get into. I just saw Chen Qian posted—she got into A University. But I didn't apply to any schools in A City."
Sang Yan stayed silent.
Su Haoan kept rambling.
After who knows how long.
Su Haoan noticed that the character Sang Yan was controlling in the game had suddenly frozen, motionless, letting him attack freely. He'd never beaten Sang Yan before, so assuming it was lag, he seized the chance to unleash all his moves.
After defeating him, Su Haoan finally looked over and feigned sympathy. "Were you lagging or something? You were so bad—"
The words died in his throat.
For some reason, at that moment, Su Haoan found himself unable to speak.
Sang Yan was staring down at the controller in his hands, unusually quiet, yet his gaze seemed distant. He was lost in thought, his body slightly hunched, tense.
Like a still frame.
Or a bowstring stretched to its limit.
Su Haoan had known him since middle school.
From the very first day, Sang Yan had always carried himself with an air of arrogance. He looked down on the world, lived as if no one else existed, indifferent to everyone and unimpressed by anything.
Like someone born to stand at the top.
But in that instant.
Su Haoan had a strange illusion.
That unshakable pride of his.
Seemed to have been shattered.
OpenNovel