After Confessing To My Childhood Friend - Chapter 30
Chapter 30: A Kiss in the Classroom
◎ Wanna ride the Ferris wheel with me? ◎
Happy weekends are always short-lived.
The quiz results were released early in the class group chat. Chen Mengyin opened the image—first place, no surprise, still belonged to Xie Zhirou, who once again reigned as the class’s top student, beating the second place by nearly thirty points. She was scarily strong.
Then she scrolled up from the bottom and found her name at number 27.
“Yes! I moved up three spots!” Chen Mengyin beamed with joy at the small improvement. “Now Teacher Zhu, uh—Miss Zhu has no excuse to separate us anymore, right?”
“She shouldn’t,” Xie Zhirou replied. “Time to sleep. We have class tomorrow.”
Chen Mengyin kept typing, saying she’d sleep a bit later.
[Gatekeeper’s Disciple] Chen Mengyin: @Zhu Danxue Teach, Teach! Change my title!
[I, the Emperor] Zhu Danxue: Oh? Making good progress. What do you want it changed to?
[Gatekeeper’s Disciple] Chen Mengyin: [Shy finger poking emoji.jpg] I wanna be the Study God’s little sweetheart~
[Unofficial Member] Xue Tongyun: Ugh, the class chat is not your PDA ground! Let us single dogs have some peace!
[Big Glutton] Ye Siying: Hahahahahaha!
[I, the Emperor] Zhu Danxue: [Wiping sweat.jpg] Don’t drag us into your relationship games.
Congratulations to Chen Mengyin for being granted the title of [Study God’s Little Sweetheart] by the class admin.
[Study God’s Little Sweetheart] Chen Mengyin: So cool! [Sunglasses swagger emoji.jpg]
[Unofficial Member] Xue Tongyun: … I can’t take it anymore. How does this love-struck brain manage to improve academically?! It’s illogical!
[Study God’s Little Sweetheart] Chen Mengyin: Check my title.
**[Unofficial Member] Xue Tongyun:**凸(艹皿艹 )
Chen Mengyin laughed loudly while hugging her phone. After she got it out of her system, she showed the chat to Xie Zhirou, “Look! I’m your little sweetheart now!”
Xie Zhirou scrolled quickly through the messages, gave Chen Mengyin a kiss, and said, “Time for little sweethearts to sleep.”
The little sweetheart happily put away her phone and fell asleep in Xie Zhirou’s arms.
…
The next day, before class began, subject representatives rushed to the office to get the marked quizzes and distribute them to the class.
Chen Mengyin had just received hers when Xie Zhirou snatched it away and began analyzing her mistakes—pinpointing exactly where she had used the wrong formula or calculated incorrectly.
“You shouldn’t have lost marks on this one. We practiced a similar question before the test—only the numbers changed,” Xie Zhirou said, pointing at a multiple-choice error.
Chen Mengyin scratched her cheek and accepted the criticism humbly.
Next, Xie Zhirou found another multiple-choice error caused by careless misreading. Chen Mengyin stayed silent.
Then came a fill-in-the-blank where she’d flipped a positive/negative sign, earning her a big red X.
“Hold on, you’ve been lecturing me this whole time, but not once have you praised me. I improved by three ranks! If you don’t encourage me, how can I keep going? Comrade Xie, you’re killing my motivation—I’m going on strike!” Chen Mengyin crossed her arms in mock protest.
Xie Zhirou gave her a glance and asked if she was sure.
Chen Mengyin instantly shut up and obediently continued correcting her mistakes.
…
The last class of the day was Zhu Ling’s. Maybe because the class had done better than expected on the quiz, she didn’t rearrange the seating.
Chen Mengyin was thrilled—she even did her classroom cleaning duties with a big smile, practically skipping as she took out the trash.
🎵 “I need you, I’m just a fish~” 🎵 she hummed, carrying the trash toward the teaching building. The white structure was painted pink by the setting sun. The spiral staircase at dusk was a favorite hangout for couples, offering views of the quiet Huai River and the Ferris wheel across the shore.
Suddenly, Chen Mengyin remembered she and Xie Zhirou hadn’t gone on the Ferris wheel together yet.
Maybe I should invite her this weekend, and we can kiss at the very top… hehe.
She giggled to herself, imagining the kiss.
🎵 “The water’s air is your jealousy and bad temper~” 🎵 she resumed singing, radiating so much joy that even couples cuddling in the stairwell turned to look, wondering how someone could be so happy while taking out the trash.
…
At the third floor, just before stepping onto the last step, she heard Xie Zhirou’s voice from the hallway. She paused.
Then came another voice she didn’t recognize.
Chen Mengyin leaned against the wall and set the trash bin down. She didn’t know why she didn’t interrupt them—instead, she hid and listened.
“Um… Xie, I like you. You probably don’t know who I am, and this might seem sudden, but I really like you.”
“This isn’t a whim. I’ve thought this through. Will you consider giving me a chance?”
The girl’s voice was trembling with nerves. From the dialogue, Chen Mengyin could tell she handed Xie Zhirou a love letter.
“My contact info is inside. If you’ve thought about it, would you add me on WeChat?”
Chen Mengyin stared at her intertwined shoelaces. Back in middle school, someone had cornered Xie Zhirou like this too.
At the time, she didn’t understand the jealousy burning inside her—she just assumed everyone was trying to steal Xie Zhirou away from her.
Back then, she was angry. How could someone who barely talked to Xie Zhirou have the nerve to confess in public and say they’d been observing her for a long time?
Nonsense.
If they really knew her, they’d know Xie Zhirou hated being in the spotlight.
Cornering her in front of others to confess was just putting her on the spot—it was emotional blackmail.
She remembered storming up to confront the person, only for Xie Zhirou to hold her back and shake her head.
“I already have someone I like. And your confession puts me in a difficult position. I hope this is the last time,” Xie Zhirou had said coolly before taking Chen Mengyin’s hand and walking away without looking back.
Later, she’d kept pestering Xie Zhirou to tell her who she liked, but Xie Zhirou just patted her head and said she’d know one day.
Looking back now, Chen Mengyin realized she had been clueless. The signs were obvious, but she kept brushing them off as normal “friend behavior.”
Good thing they eventually got together.
…
Lost in thought, she suddenly got hit by someone hurrying past—the girl who had confessed.
The girl scowled, wiped her tears, and disappeared around the stairwell.
“What the hell…” muttered Chen Mengyin as she picked up the fallen trash bin.
She turned the corner—and came face to face with a smirking Xie Zhirou.
“…”
“Overheard everything?” Xie Zhirou raised an eyebrow.
“Not everything, just the beginning. I zoned out after that,” Chen Mengyin admitted truthfully. “But wow, Miss Xie, still as popular as ever.”
Xie Zhirou gave her a mild look and took the trash bin, walking back toward the classroom.
Chen Mengyin followed, sensing that Xie Zhirou didn’t want to dwell on the topic. So she changed the subject, asking if she wanted to sleep over that night.
“Mhm,” Xie Zhirou replied, setting the bin in the corner and putting a new liner in.
Chen Mengyin followed her into the classroom and closed the door. Quietly, she asked if they could kiss in the classroom.
She knew Xie Zhirou hadn’t responded to the girl’s confession, and that she was always popular. Still, Chen Mengyin couldn’t help feeling a little sour, and hugged her sulkily.
Xie Zhirou laughed but didn’t say no.
They pulled the curtains shut and hid behind the door. Chen Mengyin pinned her against the door and kissed her.
The golden sunset filtered through the windows, casting long shadows across the desks.
The school after hours was still lively—the occasional cheer from the field, footsteps of students racing down the halls. A few even ran right past their door, causing it to tremble slightly.
Chen Mengyin, slightly breathless, leaned in close, almost touching noses. She could smell the lily of the valley on Xie Zhirou, mixed with the warm scent of sunlight.
Pink lips pressed back to continue what she had started.
As dusk deepened into twilight and the sky turned indigo, they finally broke apart when the second bell rang.
Chen Mengyin gently wiped the corner of Xie Zhirou’s mouth and, still catching her breath, grinned: “Wanna ride the Ferris wheel with me this weekend?”
Xie Zhirou kissed her cheek and whispered, “Okay.”