PAIN - CHAPTER 14:
No matter how fast a girl could run, she could never outpace a long-legged boy.
Yu Luo Yin spotted Bai Xun Yin the moment he burst out of the teaching building.
Her slender figure flickered across the track, and in a few strides he caught up.
He reached out and caught her arm from behind. She wrenched it free without hesitation.
Startled, she turned. When she saw it was him, her brows pinched together.
What kind of face was that supposed to be? His laughter came soft and amused.
Do you dislike me that much?
She looked away, expression blank.
Ignoring her silence, he kept talking. Guessing it was because she couldn’t speak,
he always seemed to fill the air for both of them.
Around her, the cool, self-possessed top student of No. 3 High transformed into
a teasing nuisance who never knew when to stop.
You haven’t told me, how did your exam go?
At the mention of the exam, her irritation deepened.
She yanked out her phone, typed furiously, and held the screen up for him to see:
Why did you lie to me?
Her serious little face looked so stern and young that he couldn’t help laughing,
his shoulders shaking. When did I ever lie to you?
His unrepentant grin only fueled her anger.
Your physics scores are amazing. Why did you pretend you needed my help?
Everything she knew, he already knew and the things she didn’t, he knew even better.
Looking back on their study sessions, she realized he had been the one explaining most of the time.
Can’t you tell I was just finding excuses to be near you? His tone was light,
easy, but there was something deliberate in it.
Her heart gave a hard, startled thump.
The whole world already knows I’m chasing you, he said.
You’re the only one who doesn’t see it.
The fragile glass between them shattered in an instant.
For a moment, her mind went blank, her ears ringing with silence.
Around them, the noise of the campus faded until only he remained.
His clean, sharp features seemed almost unreal in the sunlight.
In his black eyes burned a strange mix of fire and
frost so direct, so fierce, she couldn’t look away.
The heat of his hand still lingered on her arm, burning through her skin.
Flustered, she yanked herself free, her face blooming red until even the tips of her ears glowed.
Don’t talk nonsense, she typed in a panic.
I’m not, he said with a knowing smile. Then, almost too casually, he added,
I’ll prove it to you later.
He left as easily as he had come, like someone stirring up a lake just to watch the ripples fade.
Bai Xun Yin stood there, dazed, watching his tall, lean back recede into the sunlight.
He’d always been like this, she thought.
The school idol, the perfect student labels that told you everything and nothing at once.
People saw his grace, his composure, the effortless charm.
But underneath it all, there was a kind of distance an arrogance that made him feel untouchable.
She wasn’t naïve. She knew what it meant when a boy kept finding reasons to talk to her.
But what could he possibly want from her?
Still, when he said he was chasing her, something inside her trembled.
It didn’t feel real maybe because she didn’t dare believe it.
Later, she would remember this day and realize he had never said he liked her.
Only that he was going to chase her.
By the end of August, when the scent of gardenias floated across Linlan,
the class assignments for the senior year were finally announced.
Yu Luo Yin and Bai Xun Yin both made it into Class One, as expected.
A Mo barely scraped in as well, along with Zhou Xin Sui.
Lu Ye and Li Yuan, less academically blessed, were banished to the regular classes,
where they sulked about being separated from their personal hero, Yu Luo Yin.
Not that he ever let them off easy he still tossed them test papers every now and then,
lecturing them so ruthlessly they started doubting their own intelligence.
That was, of course, when he wasn’t too busy hovering around Bai Xun Yin.
Late-summer air in Linlan was heavy and damp, but the hearts of the students burned hot.
The college entrance exam was drawing closer, filling every night
with restless dreams and quiet panic.
Everyone carried a small fire inside. Bai Xun Yin’s fire was named Yu Luo Yin.
And it gave her headaches.
Being in the same class meant she saw him every day.
Worse, on the first day of seat selection, he’d somehow arranged to sit right behind her.
Now she spent every class half tense, feeling the tip of a pen occasionally poke at her back.
Each time she couldn’t take it anymore and turned around,
she’d find him resting his chin on his hand, smiling lazily at her.
His pale skin, the slight curve of his eyes they glowed like a sliver of moonlight,
making it impossible to breathe.
When she glared, he only shrugged innocently.
Sorry, I didn’t mean to bother you. My pen just… slipped.
So now the pen was the culprit.
Zhou Xin Sui snorted quietly from the next row.
I used to think people exaggerated when they said love makes geniuses stupid.
I believe it now. Yu, you’ve lost your mind.
Yu Luo Yin didn’t even look offended. Watching Bai Xun Yin’s stiff shoulders, he smiled.
I don’t mind.
The two boys’ exchange made Bai Xun Yin’s face flush bright red.
The small noises from their corner didn’t go unnoticed.
Shen Lang Li, who was supervising the self-study session, frowned from the podium.
Bai Xun Yin, what are you turning around for?
You’re in your final year, and you still pull stunts in class?
If you don’t want to do your paper, go stand in the back!
Startled, she pressed her lips together and began to rise.
But Yu Luo Yin was already on his feet. It was my fault, he said smoothly.
I was the one distracting her. Punish me if you need to.
I apologize for disturbing the class.
At least you know you’re disturbing it, Shen Lang Li snapped. Both of you out!
Go stand in the back!
Perfect.
His grin didn’t fade. Without protest, he walked to the wall at the back of the room.
Class One students were focused enough not to care; they simply kept their heads down,
pens moving. Only A Mo snickered quietly,
stealing glances at Bai Xun Yin as she followed.
She glared at her friend helplessly and went to stand beside Yu Luo Yin
well, near him, but not too near.
Every time he shifted closer, she inched away,
until they were both pressed almost against the windowsill.
She froze, terrified the teacher would notice.
His clean scent brushed against her, close enough to make her scalp tighten.
It felt like being cornered.
First time I’ve ever been punished to stand, he murmured,
leaning down until his voice brushed her ear. And it’s with you.
That must mean something.
She didn’t answer. Her ears turned pink. She gave him a small shove, mortified.
Truth was, it was her first time being punished too all because of him.
What she didn’t know was that he was doing it on purpose.
He liked seeing her angry, her calm shattered, her cheeks burning because of him.
It made her seem alive, vivid, impossibly real.
He couldn’t help himself.
When she pushed him again, he caught her hand instead.
Her soft, cold fingers slid into his palm.
The shock made her whole body jolt. She stepped back instinctively,
bumping into the cleaning tools stacked by the wall.
The crash echoed through the quiet classroom.
Flustered, she yanked her hand away, her heart pounding so hard it hurt.
That was the last straw for Shen Lang Li.
You two! What on earth are you doing? Can’t even stand still?
If you won’t study, at least stop distracting everyone else!
Out to the hallway, both of you!
Yu Luo Yin bit back a laugh and said solemnly, Fine.
He strolled out of the classroom.
Bai Xun Yin watched his retreating back, her chest tight with helpless frustration.
He was absolutely doing this on purpose.
He was infuriating and he knew it.