The Wind Heard Her Confession - Chapter 6: A Blinding Crush part 2

Lin Yuran let out a soft laugh, unconvinced. “Haven’t you seen how cold he was earlier? How many words do you think he spoke?”

“You’re right.” Xu Jianwei frowned. “Why is Chi Ye suddenly so distant? He wasn’t like this before.”

Her words reminded Lin Yuran of Chi Ye’s good reputation in high school.

When Chi Ye transferred to their school, it caused quite a stir. During break time, girls from other classes lined up one after another outside their classroom just to see him. Their desks were near the corridor, with Chi Ye’s desk right by the window. Whenever there was a break, the area outside the window would fill with people, creating a noisy scene.

Lin Yuran had warned him about this before.

That day, she was napping at her desk when loud voices outside the window woke her up.

Already sleep-deprived and suffering from a pounding headache, being rudely awakened annoyed her. She bluntly told Chi Ye, “Classmate Chi, if you want to be my deskmate, absolute silence is non-negotiable. As you can see, I’m either sleeping or studying hard – no distractions allowed during class or breaks.”

She glanced at the girl peeking in from outside. “If you can’t control your noisy friends, don’t sit next to me, got it?”

Gu Jiaze overheard her words from his seat ahead. He turned around with a mischievous grin. “Hey, Lin Yuran, that bossy tone and what you just said – it sounds like a queen proclaiming her dominance!”

Taken aback for a moment, Lin Yuran quickly retorted, “What’s wrong with you?”

Gu Jiaze pouted. “I’m just joking!”

Unfazed, he turned back and teased Chi Ye, “Hey, Chi Ye, your deskmate sure is feisty! Sitting with her must be tough.You’d have to deal with all those admirers hanging around. If I were you, I’d switch seats right away.”

Chi Ye’s lips were stiff with anger; he ignored Gu Jiaze and turned to Lin Yuran instead. “I’m sorry you got caught up in this. I’ll definitely sort it out.”

Later, Chi Ye announced his standards for a girlfriend to the entire school, which discouraged most girls from trying their luck.

After that, while the girls weren’t as obvious about it, many still found excuses to pass by his classroom during breaks. Even if they couldn’t get close, secretly glancing at him through the window was enough to satisfy them.

One might think other boys would be jealous of this situation, but there seemed to be something uniquely attractive about Chi Ye. Despite his cool and distant demeanor every day, he was actually quite popular among the guys in class. Within days of transferring, he had already fit right in.

Whenever he went somewhere, a group of boys often surrounded him, with Chi Ye always at the center.

Years later, upon reuniting, much of the rebellious spirit that had defined Chi Ye seemed to have faded. Yet, his eyes now held a world-weary coldness, and his aloofness created a strong sense of distance around him.

It was hard to say what he might have experienced over these years, but Lin Yuran felt that there was still a hint of lingering sadness in him.

Xu Jianwei shrugged. “Why won’t Chi Ye talk to me? Does he not recognize me either? Has my appearance changed that much from high school?”

Lin Yuran’s eyelashes quivered slightly as she looked at Xu Jianwei. “Not really. You weren’t very close with Chi Ye in the first place.”

Xu Jianwei shrugged again. “True!”

Chi Ye and Xu Jianwei indeed hadn’t been close. Back then, Xu Jianwei had already been infatuated with someone else, so she was practically the only girl in Jinxue Third High who wasn’t obsessed with Chi Ye. Plus, she was in Class 8, so she only ran into him occasionally when visiting Lin Yuran in Class 1. They barely ever spoke.

The next day… 

Lin Yuran cheerfully headed to RanYe for her shift, just as planned. Her workstation was on the eighteenth floor—a spacious, bright room with a full-length window behind it.

The environment was also quite quiet. On the eighteenth floor, there was only one office whose occupant she didn’t know, apart from her own workstation. It was perfect for creating.

Lin Yuran gazed down at the bustling cityscape of North City Wealth Center through the floor-to-ceiling window before getting started on her work. She had already come up with design concepts for the eight most popular heroes last week and planned to start by drawing out these eight series.

Before she knew it, Lin Yuran was fully immersed in her work. When she finally looked up again, two hours had passed.

Stepping away from her creative zone, she felt a wave of fatigue wash over her. Stretching her limbs, Lin Yuran decided to head downstairs for a coffee break.

The girl who’d shown her around this morning mentioned there was a free coffee area on the first floor.

As she waited for the elevator, Lin Yuran noticed that no one seemed to have entered or left the office across from hers all morning. She couldn’t help but wonder whose office it was.

Her question was answered in the next moment.

With a soft “ding,” the elevator doors parted slowly, revealing Chi Ye stepping out in his usual polished attire.

Noticing her, he paused and asked mildly, “Settled in nicely?”

Lin Yuran blinked in surprise. “Yeah.”

Chi Ye’s cold, dark eyes fixed on her briefly before he turned without another word and strode towards the office area.

Slowly, Lin Yuran swiveled her stiffening body to see him push open the door to the office opposite her workstation, step inside, and close the door behind him.

!!!

So that was Chi Ye’s office!

Lin Yuran stood frozen, Xu Jianwei’s words from the previous day flashing through her mind: He wouldn’t be trying to be alone with you by pretending to collaborate with us, would he?