Addicted to You - Chapter 9

After that incident, the relationship between Xu Yu and Zhou Yiheng became a little more amicable. The two would occasionally exchange a few words.

The most hopeless thing for high school students is exams. No. 2 High School in the city was especially cruel—two exams per month.

The competition-track students had their own test papers to do. Zhou Yiheng finished early and had already run off to the sports field to play ball.

The yellow-white test papers were passed down from the first row. The seat next to Xu Yu was empty. But that was fine—at least it was quiet around her.

As soon as everyone received the test paper, they bowed their heads and began writing furiously.

…

…

The sound of a ball hitting the ground echoed, and two figures weaved across the playground while another person sat on the bench nearby.

One of the boys bent low, posture perfect, eyes locked on Lin Qi’s movements, ready to intercept the ball.

Their breath misted in the air; both were exhausted.

Lin Qi handled the ball well and was preparing to feint and get past him, but Zhou Yiheng anticipated the move.

Catching Lin Qi off guard, Zhou Yiheng stole the ball. With a swift turn, he assumed the perfect shooting stance—jumped lightly, fingers flicked with force, and the ball arced through the air beautifully. With a loud clang, a perfect three-pointer landed.

Lin Qi muttered a curse under his breath.

Zhou Yiheng laughed smugly. “A bet’s a bet. Pay up.”

The loser took out his phone, tapped a few times, and shoved it back in his pocket. At that moment, the person sitting on the bench got up and walked over.

Yang Xinyue smiled brightly at Zhou Yiheng, but spoke to Lin Qi: “You always lose when you play against Ah Heng. Why even bother?” As she finished, she handed them two bottles of water.

Lin Qi took one. “You don’t understand. This is our tradition. If you touch the ball, there has to be a winner and a loser.”

Yang Xinyue just shook her head and said nothing more.

The three of them walked off the court together.

Taking a sip of water, Lin Qi said, “That post you made the other day was pretty badass. Didn’t think you were that kind of guy.”

Zhou Yiheng glanced at him. “What kind of guy?”

“The kind who likes to play hero and save the damsel in distress.”

A small smile tugged at Zhou Yiheng’s lips. He didn’t deny it. In the past, he definitely wouldn’t have done something like that.

“You don’t like her, do you?” Lin Qi asked.

Zhou Yiheng’s hand, holding the bottle, paused mid-air before dropping. Just as he was about to speak, Yang Xinyue beat him to it.

“Ah Heng’s just a nice person. He doesn’t like seeing someone wrongfully blamed because of him.”

Zhou Yiheng chuckled. He wouldn’t say he was always that nice, though.

An hour and a half later, the math test ended.

Ten minutes later, the correct answers were already being passed around the class.

Groans erupted in the classroom.

“Damn it! I picked the right one and changed it!”

“Ugh, I’m gonna fail again.”

Xu Yu was also going over the answer key. Zhou Yiheng had just dragged his chair back to sit down with a scraping noise.

She knew he was back, but the answer key was more compelling. She didn’t look at him. After checking the answers, she started calculating the scores for the multiple-choice and fill-in-the-blank sections on her scratch paper.

Zhou Yiheng glanced over and asked, “How many points do you think you’ll get?”

Hearing him speak, Xu Yu finally glanced at him, then looked at the number on her paper. “Fifty points for multiple choice and fill-ins.”

Out of a total of seventy.

“You’re pretty good,” he complimented.

But Xu Yu seemed a bit down.

During the test, she’d focused too much on the front questions, barely answering the long problems at the end—only the first parts, skipping the second entirely.

Noticing her disappointment, Zhou Yiheng asked, “You feel like you didn’t do well?”

She sighed. “I left too many blanks at the end, and I didn’t do well on the earlier parts either.”

He didn’t really know how to comfort people. Normally, if Guan Xiao didn’t do well, he’d just make fun of him. Awkwardly, he said, “Um… it’s okay. It’s just the first test. It’s normal not to do well. Besides, you just transferred—you probably haven’t adjusted to the study style here yet.”

Those words were still acceptable, but she still felt a little upset.

“It’s really okay. Besides, you’ve got Guan Xiao dragging down the curve for you. And my history grades have never broken sixty,” he added, sounding weirdly proud.

Is not scoring above sixty supposed to be something to brag about? Xu Yu looked at him with slight disdain and continued staring at her test paper.

Zhou Yiheng looked puzzled—what did I say wrong now?

…

…

Grading was quick. The tests were handed back that afternoon.

Looking at the glaring red 95 on the page—out of 150—she felt even more disappointed. Back in Nanjiang, she could score at least 120 or 130. She spent the entire afternoon in a funk.

Several times, the teacher had gone over material while she hadn’t even opened her book. Zhou Yiheng, sitting next to her, noticed and wanted to say something, but just as he was about to speak, she caught on herself.

After school, Song Yuan’s dad came to pick her up, so she left early. Xu Yu stayed behind to review her mistakes alone in the classroom.

She stared at the big red Xs on the test paper, trying to figure out what went wrong. The more she looked, the more confused and frustrated she got.

Suddenly, a voice broke through her frustration.

“You drew the auxiliary line wrong.”

A male figure loomed over her desk, casting a shadow.

Xu Yu looked up. Zhou Yiheng stood in front of her, grinning mischievously.

“What are you looking at? Am I that handsome?”

So full of himself.

She lowered her head and continued studying the paper. She appeared calm, but her cheeks and earlobes were red.

Zhou Yiheng straddled the chair in front of her, only a desk separating them.

“This part’s wrong. It should be drawn at the midpoint.” He pointed at her paper.

At that moment, Xu Yu could no longer concentrate on the geometry problem. He was too close—so close she could feel his breath, hot and heady. Her whole body felt warm, like she needed a breeze.

His hand still rested on the diagram. Xu Yu snapped back to reality and looked closely. He was right.

With the correct auxiliary line, she quickly solved the problem.

Looking up, she realized he was still sitting there, unmoving, eyes on her.

Xu Yu felt embarrassed, her face reddening even more.

“Why are you blushing?” he asked teasingly.

“It’s nothing.” She replied while packing her things.

He gave a drawn-out “Ohh” with hidden meaning.

She stuffed her bag hurriedly, making a loud clattering sound. Zhou Yiheng found it amusing and kept watching her.

Xu Yu didn’t dare glance sideways. Only when she walked out of the classroom did she finally breathe a sigh of relief.

The school was nearly empty. By the time she reached the bus stop, only five or six students were left.

The image of him looking at her still lingered in her mind—both shy and a little ambiguous.

The bus broke her train of thought. It was the last one of the day, not very crowded.

Xu Yu walked to the end of the line. After the person in front swiped their card, she stepped forward and tapped hers. A “beep” sounded, and she started walking toward the back.

The bus driver’s kindly voice called out, “Student, swipe your card.”

Xu Yu paused. She was about to say she already had, but turned and realized the driver wasn’t talking to her.

Zhou Yiheng stood there, his school jacket open, a black crossbody bag slung across his side. Panting, he smiled at her. “Hey, student, help me swipe, will you?” He smiled again, the dimples under his eyes showing.

Another student boarded behind him, so Xu Yu stepped back and tapped her card again. “Beep.” Then she walked toward the back.

She found a window seat. A moment later, a shadow fell beside her.

“Move in,” he said.

Like a machine, she did whatever he told her. They sat side by side.

The bus rumbled forward. She kept staring out the window, watching people, cars, trees go by.

Beside her, the sound of rustling clothes kept drawing her attention. She glanced over and saw him constantly rubbing the back of his neck, as if looking for something.

He noticed her glance and said with a troubled look, “A leaf fell into my shirt earlier. Can you help me get it out?”

Inside the shirt. Take it out.

Those words alone made her nervous. She was about to refuse when he said, “It really itches. Help me out, classmate.”

In the end, Xu Yu relented.

She leaned over to look but couldn’t see anything.

Zhou Yiheng noticed and suggested, “Come closer.”

She moved in a little, still couldn’t see.

“See it?” he asked, clearly anxious. “Maybe stand up and check?”

The bus wobbled slightly. Xu Yu grabbed a handrail and leaned over to look.

His shirt clung to his back—nothing was visible.

“Can you pull your shirt back a little?” she asked.

He did as instructed.

His bare back was now exposed in front of her—well-defined shoulder blades and firm muscles. Xu Yu quickly averted her eyes, too flustered to look closely. Flustered, she said, “There’s nothing there.”

“Really? I swear something fell in earlier. Maybe try reaching in and feeling around?”

Whoosh—Xu Yu’s face turned bright red. Her heart pounded.

How could he even suggest a girl reach into his shirt?

She turned away, voice tinged with embarrassment. “Check it yourself.”

But Zhou Yiheng didn’t give up. “Classmates should help each other. Is this how you treat your fellow students?”

Still, that was too much.

“I—” Just as she was about to argue, the driver slammed the brakes. The whole bus jolted. Xu Yu lost her balance and fell sideways.

Somehow, she ended up in his lap.

Even with school uniforms between them, she could feel the heat of his body and skin.

A jolt of electricity ran through her body. She stared wide-eyed, breath caught, frozen.

Just as she tried to get up, another sudden stop knocked her back down—right into his lap again.

She was paralyzed with embarrassment.

Grumbling and complaints filled the bus. The driver cursed, “Whose damn dog is loose?”

Still dazed, she felt warmth near her ear and heard him laugh. “Classmate, you’ve sat on me twice. Was it on purpose?”

Xu Yu jumped up, returning to her seat.

She didn’t dare look at him or ahead. She stared out the window at a random spot, lost in thought.

She wondered if she’d sat too close to him earlier.

Also, autumn in North City was really too hot.

The bus resumed normal movement, no more incidents. He didn’t ask her for help again.

Seeing her blushing, Zhou Yiheng broke the awkward silence. “Man, I totally forgot—I already took the leaf out.”

Xu Yu’s eyes widened slightly. She was sure now—he did it on purpose. He just wanted to mess with her.

She said nothing, made no movements. Though she was a little upset, she held herself still.

Zhou Yiheng leaned over. “Are you mad?”

Not exactly mad, but Xu Yu felt she’d just embarrassed herself badly.

The bus neared the next stop.

Feeling a bit guilty, Zhou Yiheng apologized. “Alright, I’m sorry. I just wanted to cheer you up. One bad test doesn’t mean anything.”

Xu Yu’s eyelashes fluttered. Surprise flickered in her eyes. It felt like a drumstick had gently tapped her heart. So, he did it just to make her feel better?

No longer looking out the window, she sat upright. A warm notebook fell into her lap.

Xu Yu looked down. On the cover were three free-flowing characters—just like the notebook’s owner. Then she heard him say:

“I was hoping you’d find it on your own.”

She looked up at him.

Zhou Yiheng glanced toward the front, then turned back to her. “This is my stop. It’s full of basic notes. Might help you. If anything’s unclear, just ask me. Don’t keep everything bottled up.”

As he finished, the bus stopped, the doors opened, and he stood to leave.

On impulse, Xu Yu finally spoke—but not to say thank you.

“You live around here?”

She’d looked earlier. There weren’t even any proper buildings nearby.

“No. I live in the opposite direction.”

Her fingers clenched around the notebook. So he’d gone the wrong way… just to give her this notebook.