Addicted to You - Chapter 13

The monthly exam was scheduled right after the Mid-Autumn Festival holiday. Students bustled in and out of the classroom. Books had already been cleared from several desks’ compartments.

Xu Yu was bent over, writing the last correction on her practice sheet. The ballpoint pen finished tracing the last digit, ‘5’. Just as she lifted the pen, the boy sleeping with his head on the desk beside her woke up.

The boy pulled a stack of books out of his desk compartment and slammed them onto the desk with a loud thud. Xu Yu, startled by the noise, froze mid-motion while putting her pencil case away.

“Get your books out,” Zhou Yiheng said lazily.

“Huh?”

So he hadn’t cleared his books yet because he was waiting for her. But if others saw this, it would definitely spark rumors—it had already happened during the Mid-Autumn Festival. Xu Yu waved her hands, refusing, saying she could move them herself.

“Cut the crap,” Zhou Yiheng sounded impatient. He leaned directly towards her desk compartment.

As he got closer, Xu Yu sprang up. She watched as her books were piled on top of his.

Without another word, Zhou Yiheng picked up the large stack and headed out of the classroom.

Xu Yu followed and opened her assigned locker in the hallway, only to find it completely full, with no room for anything else. Feeling awkward, but seeing him still standing there holding the books, she suggested, “Maybe just give them to me for now?”

He didn’t agree, just stood there holding the stack.

As she reached out to take them, she heard him say, “Open locker number four on the top row.”

Though confused, she obeyed. The top row lockers were several heads taller than her. She had to stand on tiptoe just to reach the edge. Struggling, she opened it to find it almost empty, containing only a few exercise books.

Top students are so arrogant.

He effortlessly lifted the heavy stack of books over her head and placed them inside the locker.

He finished with a teasing remark: “At your height, you’re gonna have a tough time later.”

Xu Yu was baffled. What was he talking about?

…

…

The last class before the monthly exam was a big clean-up to prepare the classrooms as exam halls.

Their shared desk pair was assigned trash duty.

Everyone else had left, leaving only two bags of garbage behind. Zhou Yiheng wasn’t around – probably off playing basketball or gone home. Facing the two bags, Xu Yu suddenly felt overwhelmed.

She picked up one bag; it was already quite heavy. When she tried to lift the second one, she found she couldn’t manage it at all.

Zhou Yiheng leaned against the doorframe, watching her struggle. He couldn’t help but chuckle. “Didn’t know you were so capable.”

Xu Yu looked up at the sound, the bag slipping from her grip.

The boy wore a black tank top with a prominent ‘Z’ on the chest. The muscles in his arms were well-defined. Sweat beaded his forehead, his cheeks were slightly flushed, and his hair was tousled, swept back.

He stood there leaning against the doorframe, arms crossed, watching her with an amused grin. Xu Yu felt a wave of embarrassment.

Deciding not to tease her further, Zhou Yiheng walked over, picked up both bags she’d dropped, and headed out of the classroom.

His strides were long. Xu Yu practically had to jog to keep up.

“Maybe give me one bag to carry?” she offered.

“No need.”

It was supposed to be a job for both of them, yet he was doing it all alone.

The path to the dumpsters passed by the basketball court.

A group of guys was still playing there.

One of them spotted Zhou Yiheng first and called out jokingly, “Hey, Ah Heng! So this is why you ditched us? Helping the pretty girl clean up?”

Boys. So annoying.

Zhou Yiheng acted like he hadn’t heard, walking straight towards the dumpsters.

Xu Yu sped up, walking on the inside, hoping not to be seen.

After tossing the bags into the dumpster, Xu Yu turned to head back and grab her bag for home when he stopped her.

“I helped you finish the duty. Now you help me with something.”

How was it helping her? She hadn’t asked him! “The duty was for both of us,” she pointed out.

“Xu Yu, no bargaining.”
“But it is,” she muttered under her breath.
“You talking back to me?”
“No.” She then asked what he wanted her to do.
“Go back to the classroom and get my backpack and clothes.”

Xu Yu was puzzled. He was heading back anyway, why send her? But feeling obligated since he had done the heavy lifting alone, she agreed.

As they neared the basketball court again, he peeled off to join the others.

Xu Yu couldn’t help glancing over. The boys were talking animatedly, their faces clearly lit up with grins. And he was looking at her… and smiling.

She quickened her pace even more.

The monthly exam was tomorrow. She had brought a lot of books home to study. Even last-minute cramming might scrape her a few extra points.

Over an hour had passed since school ended. The campus was nearly deserted.

From the teaching building, she could see a figure standing near the bulletin board in the distance.

As she got closer, she recognized him.

He could have easily gotten his bag himself. Why send her?

Xu Yu walked towards him and handed him the bag.

They fell into step, walking side by side.

“You didn’t look too happy about fetching my bag,” the boy beside her remarked.
She didn’t know which expression or gesture had given him that impression. She defended herself.
“Oh? Well, you looked kinda fierce,” he said, sounding almost wronged.
Her neutral expression often came across that way. Not knowing how to explain, she made an excuse about worrying about tomorrow’s exam.

The occasional passerby glanced their way.

Xu Yu subtly tried to increase the distance between them. The boy beside her closed it just as subtly. Realizing it was obvious, she stopped trying. They maintained that slight separation until the school gate.

Just when she thought he’d let it go, he spoke again: “What’s there to worry about? Worst case, I’ll be the bottom ranker for you.”
If anyone else had said that, she wouldn’t have thought much. But coming from someone who had never dropped out of the top three in the grade… it was different.

The dusk on campus was always intoxicating, the kind you’d remember years or even decades later, wishing you could walk those paths again with the person you loved.
So, cherish it now.

The final subject of the monthly exam ended. Emerging from the exam hall, everyone was complaining about how impossibly hard the physics paper was.

Walking amidst the crowd, Xu Yu was still puzzling over which formula to use for the last calculation problem.

A group of girls ahead suddenly got excited, pointing and whispering, completely disrupting her thoughts.

As they passed a certain spot, everyone seemed to veer away.

From her position, it looked like someone was standing there.

Approaching the spot, she also moved aside.

Keeping her eyes fixed straight ahead, she didn’t notice the figure tracking her movement.

“Xu Yu.” Someone called her name.
She glanced back but saw no familiar faces. Thinking she’d misheard, she kept walking.
Suddenly, a hand reached out from the crowd and grabbed her wrist.
She was pulled towards the figure.
Then, she saw who had called her.

People walking past stared. The girls who had been whispering earlier turned to look too.
Xu Yu now understood why they had been so excited. The protagonist was Zhou Yiheng.

“What were you thinking about so hard?” he asked.
Standing there under everyone’s scrutiny felt conspicuous. She answered timidly, “The last physics problem.” Perhaps driven by a desperate need for the answer, she found herself discussing the exam question with him right there in the open. “What formula did you use for the last one?”
Zhou Yiheng answered easily, “Lenz’s Law first, then the motional EMF formula.”
She hadn’t used Lenz’s Law.
Seeing her crestfallen expression, Zhou Yiheng added, “But I’m not sure either. I barely paid attention in class.”
Though she knew it was just consolation, she felt a flicker of relief.

They walked slowly back to the classroom, like an afternoon stroll.
“What are your plans for National Day?” he asked.
In previous years, during the Golden Week holiday, she would help her grandmother at her market stall because it got busy. She’d do her homework at night. Nanjiang was a small town; everyone relied on being “small-town exam warriors” to fight their way out. Families with a bit more money sent their kids to tutoring centers; ordinary families like hers had to rely on themselves.
But now she was in Beicheng. Her grandmother wasn’t here. She didn’t need to help.
“Studying,” she replied flatly.
“No place you want to go? Have fun?”
She didn’t seem particularly interested in fun, or much of anything really. She was generally indifferent. Plus, she wasn’t familiar with Beicheng. “No,” she said. “You?” she asked him.
“Guan Xiao and the guys are going traveling.”
Traveling was a common thing for them. Xu Yu didn’t find it novel. She just murmured, “Hmm.”

As they reached the classroom door, an overexcited classmate, rushing out for the holiday, didn’t see them about to enter and almost collided with Xu Yu.
She reacted quickly, stopping dead, but didn’t step back. Just as she braced for impact with the boy, someone yanked her aside.
That was the second time today he’d pulled her.
She found herself behind him. The boy also managed to stop in time. He tried to slip past as if nothing happened when a voice cut through.
Zhou Yiheng looked annoyed. “Watch where you’re going!”
The boy hastily apologized, “Sorry! Really sorry!”
As he apologized, Xu Yu saw Zhou Yiheng shift slightly, placing himself directly between her and the apologizing boy.
She smiled and said it was fine. The boy awkwardly scurried away.
Zhou Yiheng walked ahead of her again, his pace fast, showing no sign of waiting.
He seemed angry.
Xu Yu stared at his retreating back. This guy was strange. She was the one who almost got bumped into. Why was he mad?

The desks were piled high with holiday homework. Test papers were handed out in double sets.
Xu Yu separated hers from his, neatly stacking his as well.
The holiday was what everyone looked forward to most. They were all eager to get home, yet he just sat there at his desk.
She slowly packed the books she needed to take home, stuffing her backpack full.
As she zipped it up, she saw him typing on his phone.
When she was ready to leave, she hoisted her heavy backpack, preparing to swing it on, when a hand snatched it away.
The weight vanished instantly. The backpack was in his hand, her stack of papers in his other.
She started to say she could carry it, but he was already heading for the door.
Xu Yu followed him out. Unconsciously, they walked towards the bus stop.
Was he planning to see her home again?

While waiting for the bus, Xu Yu watched her bright, probably slightly childish backpack dangling from his hand. She looked at him – the image seemed utterly incongruous with his usual aura.
The serious expression on his face made her feel a bit unsettled too.
The bus was unusually late today, probably delayed by holiday traffic.
Many people, tired of waiting, opted for taxis. The crowd at the bus stop gradually thinned.
The setting sun cast long, golden rays. The warm, slanting light crept up from their feet, bathing them in a cozy glow.
Xu Yu asked, her tone slightly placating, “Zhou Yiheng, are you mad?” Though she wasn’t sure what she’d done to upset him.
As soon as she asked, she heard his frustration spill out: “Xu Yu, when someone bumps into you and apologizes, it’s what they should do. Stop always saying ‘it’s fine.'”
She had almost forgotten the incident, surprised he was still hung up on it, and that this was why he was upset.
“I didn’t mind it,” she replied, unsure how to respond.
But he minded. “It’s because you never mind, they think they can treat you however they want. They think you’re easy to push around.”
His words struck her like a knife. For so many years, she had been timid and obedient. They told her ‘don’t take it to heart,’ and she did. But then they said that’s just how she is, easy to bully.
But she wasn’t really like that.
She fell silent.
Hearing no response, he realized his words might have been too harsh. Zhou Yiheng broke the silence. “Sorry. I just… I want you to stop being so passive. To stand up for yourself.”
She knew. That’s how he had always been, right from the start.
“Mm,” she nodded. Watching the elongated shadows on the ground, she added softly, “Thank you. For making me feel… like I’m worth something.”
The boy looked at the golden light catching her eyelashes. A faint smile touched his lips, mirroring hers.

…

…

The bus approached.
This time, Xu Yu boarded first. She tapped her card twice at the reader – once for herself, once for him – and walked to the very back, finding a two-seater.
These ten-plus minutes on the bus became a rare moment of solitude between them. Even without words, the silence wasn’t awkward.
Watching the dappled tree shadows recede behind the window, the past feeling like drifting smoke, she felt a profound sense of peace settle deep within. Zhou Yiheng seeing her home had become something ordinary, something habitual.