PAIN - CHAPTER 15:

Two of Class One’s brightest students were being punished in the hallway

one was the school’s top boy, the other its silent beauty.

No matter how you looked at it, the scene was bound to draw attention.

Ms. Shen Langli told them they weren’t allowed to leave, even during lunch break.

They were to stand there and reflect.

As students passed by, Bai Xun Yin kept her head down. Hunger wasn’t the worst part

it was the humiliation. She wished she could sink into the floor and disappear.

Yu Luo Yin, on the other hand, didn’t seem bothered at all. He leaned lazily against the wall,

the picture of calm indifference.

Zhou Xin Sui stopped in front of him with a smirk. You’ve really outdone yourself, Yu-ge.

First time getting punished and missing lunch, huh?

Yu Luo Yin’s reply was simple. Get lost.

Zhou Xin Sui pushed his glasses up, trying not to laugh.

I’m going to the cafeteria. Want me to bring you some pig slop?

Amu, standing nearby, looked from him to Bai Xun Yin. Yinyin,

what do you want to eat? she asked, glancing anxiously at her watch.

I’ll grab something for you before I go.

Bai Xun Yin frowned and typed on her phone. Why are you in such a hurry?

How could I not be? Amu’s big eyes sparkled mischievously. I’m going to eat with Sheng Wen!

Before Bai Xun Yin could reply, Amu dashed off, her slim figure disappearing around the corner.

Bai Xun Yin sighed. Seventeen-year-old girls was this what it meant to be full of fire?

First Sheng Chu Ran, then Ning Shu Mo.

Everyone around her seemed to lose themselves in the chaos of liking someone.

She knew Amu had a crush on Sheng Wen, one of the top students in their class.

But unlike Yu Luo Yin or Zhou Xin Sui, Sheng Wen came from a humble family.

Quiet, cold, stubborn and somehow that only made him more appealing to Amu.

She had once told Bai Xun Yin that it was love at first sight.

Even when Sheng Wen ignored her, Amu smiled as if it was the sweetest thing in the world.

Yu Luo Yin finally broke the silence once the lunchtime rush faded away.

Your friend likes Sheng Wen, doesn’t she? he said casually, his voice echoing in the empty corridor.

Lucky guy someone’s chasing after him.

Unlike me, he thought. I’m the one doing the chasing and still can’t get a glance.

Bai Xun Yin paused, then typed out a quick reply. You have Sheng Chu Ran.

Yu Luo Yin blinked, then laughed softly. He looked down at the girl beside him small,

tense, and clearly sulking and felt a flicker of warmth spread through him.

Bai Xun Yin, he said, stepping closer, his voice gentler than he intended.

Are you jealous?

The same question he had once asked her at the cinema. But now, things were different.

In school, love was forbidden. Fighting, smoking,

dating those were things hidden in the shadows, the kind of sins no teacher could know.

But Yu Luo Yin never cared for rules. When he wanted something,

he simply reached for it. Even if that meant standing in a sunlit corridor,

face to face with the girl everyone said he shouldn’t like.

Maybe that was what made people braver around him.

Bai Xun Yin took a deep breath and sent him a message.

Only a fool would be jealous of you.

Yu Luo Yin read it and smiled faintly. He didn’t say another word.

The last time he’d asked that question, she ran from him like he was poison.

This time, at least, she stayed. Progress.

Amu returned later with a boxed meal fish-flavored shredded pork over rice.

Except there was no fish, and barely any pork.

Bai Xun Yin didn’t mind. She ate mechanically,

her mind looping back to the way Yu Luo Yin had looked at her,

how close he had stood. She realized she didn’t hate it anymore.

That was dangerous.

Amu slumped over her desk, face down, sighing.

I saw Sheng Wen eating with another girl in the cafeteria.

So annoying. I wanted to ask him, but… what right do I have?

Bai Xun Yin stared at her, then stopped eating altogether.

She scribbled a few words on paper. Do you really like him, Amu?

You’ve only known him for two weeks.

Amu looked up, eyes soft but determined.

You don’t need time to know you like someone, Yinyin.

Sometimes you just… do. The first time you see them, you know.

Bai Xun Yin’s heart skipped. Just like the first time she saw Yu Luo Yin after school

wind in his hair, cigarette between his lips, a lazy kind of rebellion in his eyes.

Her heart had jumped, then, too.

He didn’t smoke much these days. But she still knew he wasn’t a good boy.

And maybe that was exactly the problem.

Some girls couldn’t help liking the bad ones.

Amu lifted her head, her voice small but fierce. We only have eight months left.

I want to be with Sheng Wen. I want us to get into the same university.

If I don’t try, I’ll regret it.

Every word hit Bai Xun Yin like a pin against glass, sharp and true.

Together. The same school. It sounded so simple. So beautiful.

But youth was fickle, full of changes you could never predict.

Later that day, after class, Yu Luo Yin was called into the office by their homeroom teacher,

Mr. Yu Shen a man known throughout Third High as a strict, unbending disciplinarian.

Mr. Yu looked at him over his glasses, his voice grave. Yu Luo Yin,

what’s going on between you and Bai Xun Yin? I’ve been hearing rumors.

He had waited until the office was empty before asking

these things had to be handled quietly.

Yu Luo Yin leaned against the wall, looking relaxed.

That’s why you called me in, teacher? I thought it was something serious.

Don’t worry about it.

His calmness threw the teacher off balance.

You mean to tell me you’re not… in a relationship with her?

A faint smile. A relationship? With Bai Xun Yin? You’re overthinking it.

He sounded so certain that even the teacher began to believe him.

Good, Mr. Yu said with relief. That’s what I wanted to hear.

You’re in your final year now no distractions.

You’re one of my best students. I won’t have you wasting your focus.

Understood?

Yu Luo Yin answered lazily, Yes, sir.

Mr. Yu nodded, softening. And Bai Xun Yin she’s a good student too.

Her grades are steady. If she keeps this up,

she’ll make it into Jing University or Linlan University easily.

So don’t tease her anymore, got it?

Jing University. Linlan University.

Yu Luo Yin’s lips twitched slightly. Those didn’t sound bad at all.

What are you thinking about now? the teacher asked, knocking on the desk.

Anyway, one more thing the school’s National Day rally.

Will your mother be available to give a speech?

My mom? No idea. You know how busy she is at the Academy.

Probably doesn’t even touch the ground these days.

Then he added with a grin, Maybe you should contact her yourself.

The teacher sighed. Every family had its own troubles.

Fine. I’ll reach out to her. But you you’ll be the student representative giving a speech.

Go write it and make it good!

Yu Luo Yin smiled faintly and turned to leave.

Outside, the evening sun stretched long shadows down the hall.

Somewhere in the distance, Bai Xun Yin’s laughter echoed softly.

And for a fleeting second, that felt like enough.