After I Cheated on the Heiress of a Powerful Family - Chapter 16
Chapter 16
Wen Yan made her way to the waiting area for the 1500-meter race. When the class monitor spotted her, he looked stunned.
“Why are you here?” he asked, surprised.
Wen Yan shook her leg out and gave a light grin. “Leg’s holding up. I’m running the 1500.”
“You fell earlier—go rest,” the monitor said seriously. “I’ll run it for you.”
“No need,” Wen Yan replied firmly. “I’m fine.”
It wasn’t just pride. Her leg wasn’t too badly injured—just sore when she started running. But if she gave up now, she’d have to return the appearance fee and owe the monitor a favor. And Wen Yan hated being indebted to anyone more than she hated pain.
Seeing that she wouldn’t budge, the monitor gave in and shared the update. “The girl who shoved you? Disqualified. You’re officially in first place now. She said she’s willing to apologize privately and pay any medical expenses or damages, but she doesn’t want to be formally reprimanded.”
“No need for the hospital, but she does owe me a school uniform,” Wen Yan said, pointing at her torn pants. “This fabric’s wrecked—she better not skimp on that!”
The monitor laughed. “She’s probably relieved you’re not asking for more. A hospital bill would’ve been brutal. But seriously—if anything feels wrong later, don’t tough it out. Better safe than sorry.”
Wen Yan gave him a sincere “Thanks, monitor.”
He waved it off. “We’re classmates, and you’re out here earning points for us. We’ve got your back.”
Wen Yan smiled but said nothing more. She had no plans to go to the hospital. Her injuries were minor, and dragging in teachers or parents would only complicate things. She preferred her current role—a seemingly fragile girl people felt protective toward. That image made life easier.
She calculated quickly in her head: a new uniform cost around 230 yuan. Add a small amount for minor medical supplies, and she could still get about 300 out of this incident. Easy money.
By the time the referee spotted her at the track again, he looked like he wanted to say something—but the race was starting. He gave her a few surprised glances, then let it go.
The 1500-meter run required almost four full laps around the field. That’s exhausting under normal circumstances, let alone after already competing and falling earlier. By the third lap, the burn in her legs was unbearable, and her knees felt like they were weighed down with lead.
Still, every time she passed her class, the cheers—shouting her name—gave her a strange, invisible boost. She didn’t know if Xie Buyi was cheering, but somehow the energy helped her hold on.
Was it pride? Maybe. She’d experienced plenty of humiliation in life, and moments like these—where she could earn respect—mattered more than she admitted.
She hadn’t expected Xie Buyi to show up after telling her to “get lost,” but there she was—standing just past the final curve, face sour but undeniably waiting.
The sight made Wen Yan want to laugh. She quickly averted her eyes to refocus.
In the final 200 meters, her body stopped cooperating. Her limbs moved out of sheer will. She was still behind second place, and despite trying to speed up, there wasn’t enough left in the tank to catch up.
She crossed the finish line at her current pace.
As soon as she did, her body gave out. She stumbled—but instead of hitting the ground, she collapsed straight into a pair of cold, fragrant arms.
Trying to straighten up, she failed—twice.
A crowd had gathered but didn’t move forward. Everyone just stood there watching Xie Buyi hold up Wen Yan with his usual indifferent expression.
“Serves you right,” he muttered coldly.
Wen Yan couldn’t hear him clearly through her gasping breaths, but she managed to clutch his wrist.
“Wait…”
She pointed at the nearby podium table, voice soft but determined. “Grab me… more chocolate and candy. Two big handfuls.”
After all that suffering, she deserved it.
Xie Buyi didn’t argue. Still scowling, he went and fetched the sweets. Once she had her reward secured, she let him support her to the awards podium.
Third place.
The bronze medal was unimpressive—dull and cheaply made—but Wen Yan proudly took her picture with it, claimed her prize slip, and then immediately removed it from her neck…
…to hang it around Xie Buyi’s.
He instinctively tried to take it off—it was itchy and awkward—but Wen Yan held him down.
“I bled for that medal. It’s for you. What, not gold enough for your taste?”
With students watching from all sides, Xie Buyi gave in and let it hang there, deadpan, dragging Wen Yan back to their class seats.
Wen Yan didn’t feel the slightest bit embarrassed—unlike him. On the way back, she even sneakily patted his pockets to check on her candy stash.
Satisfied.
Halfway back, she leaned more heavily into him. Though Xie Buyi was breathless from the support, he didn’t complain.
Wen Yan wasn’t exactly grateful though. She even criticized him internally—how is this rich girl out of breath just from walking?
Feeling slightly guilty, she stood up a bit straighter and stopped leaning so much.
When they reached their class’s seating area, the bronze medal around Xie Buyi’s neck drew attention. People looked but didn’t dare ask questions.
Wen Yan gave the medal a little knock with her knuckles and grinned. “Hey, since I gave you a present, don’t you think you owe me something in return?”
“What do you want?” Xie asked, cool as ever.
Wen Yan blinked, excited. “So I can pick anything?”
“No.”
Mood killer.
She slumped a little. “Fine. I’ll think about it.”
Later that day, after dinner, it was time to bring stools back to the classroom for evening study. The students were on a rotating duty schedule, and today it was Wen Yan and Xie Buyi’s turn.
They grabbed dinner from the cafeteria and headed back.
It wasn’t the first time they were paired up. The last time, Wen Yan had handled everything while Xie Buyi napped at her desk with headphones on. Wen Yan hadn’t expected much then—after all, what kind of princess does classroom chores?
Plus, she wanted to impress her. Doing Xie’s part felt like a fair trade.
That’s why she was shocked when today, Xie Buyi picked up a broom and actually started sweeping.
“You… you know how to sweep?” Wen Yan blurted.
“I’m not brain-dead,” Xie replied, deadpan. “It’s not rocket science.”
Wen Yan blinked. She supposed he had a point. It was just that most people who never did chores weren’t incapable—they just didn’t bother.
Like her.
She had never learned to wash clothes or dishes. She lived like a clueless little parasite clinging to her scumbag father’s name.
But Xie Buyi today wasn’t the same as the one before.
She smiled warmly.
Because it was clear now—she wasn’t just anyone to him anymore.
She watched him sweep, eyes sparkling. Then she said sweetly, “Hey, thank you.”
“I thought about the gift I want.”
Asking for money would sound greedy. Asking to be best friends would sound vague. She wanted something real but not too blunt.
“Be my deskmate.”
That fancy pen he bought for his future seatmate? She had her eye on that.
Xie Buyi was caught off guard. He paused, looking surprised.
“What? Not too much to ask, right?” she teased.
He opened his mouth to respond, but she cut him off with two fingers to his lips.
“Don’t answer right away. Think it through,” she said, like she was already imagining a future where he belonged to her in every little way. “Just one more request. After the next monthly exam—sit with me?”
He froze like a broken robot—completely still.
Wen Yan was about to give up when she thought she imagined it:
“…Mm.”
She blinked. Did she hear that right?
“Wait, what? Did someone say something? I couldn’t quite hear…”
Xie turned away. “I’m only saying it once. If you didn’t catch it, forget it.”
“Oh, I heard it! Loud and clear,” she beamed. “So you do want to sit with me?”
Xie ignored her.
Wen Yan poked, teased, repeated the question with exaggerated innocence until finally—
Xie shoved the broom into her hands.
“Finish it yourself.”