Childhood Sweethearts

This guy really has no sense of danger. If Qianyu Ouyang were to see this! Even if he had nine lives, it wouldn’t be enough to escape her wrath! Secretly, he gave her a glance, signaling her not to act recklessly.

In fact, their little gestures had long been seen through by Qianyu Ouyang. But as long as they didn’t harm Xiaoxiao Shangguan, it was none of his business what they did.

After a brief silence, just when the two thought he wouldn’t tell them, Qianyu Ouyang parted his thin lips coldly: “We’ve known each other since childhood.”

The two, who had been playing the eye-rolling game, instantly became cross-eyed upon hearing his words and exclaimed in unison, “What! So you two are childhood sweethearts!”

Ah, childhood sweethearts! No wonder Qianyu Ouyang came to look for them because of Xiaoxiao Shangguan! As they say, where there’s smoke, there’s fire—it seems this saying is quite reliable!

Xiaoxiao Shangguan and Qianyu Ouyang, so clever and with such a handsome childhood friend, were truly the envy of others. But then, with such a smart childhood sweetheart, why was Xiaoxiao Shangguan still in Class F? At worst, she should be in Class B! Could there really be someone so foolish in this world? It was truly a pity.

This time, Qianyu Ouyang really had no intention of paying them any mind. After speaking, he simply walked away, not caring about the astonishing news he left behind, hands stuffed in his pockets.

With light steps, he headed toward the gathering spot. As he stepped out of the eastern slope, he suddenly halted. Coldly, he looked at the three who stood with their mouths agape and said icily, “Had enough of eavesdropping?”

Xiao Ai’s eyes widened. Hearing him speak, she instinctively shook her head. After realizing, she shook her head vigorously.

Then she quickly explained on behalf of the group: “No! We didn’t mean to eavesdrop!”

Bing Ling looked at Qianyu Ouyang’s indifferent expression, lowered her head apologetically and said, “Sorry! We just followed because we were worried about you. We didn’t mean to overhear your conversation! But we promise we won’t tell anyone!”

Even normally composed Xue Xin blushed. It was her first time hiding behind a wall to eavesdrop on someone’s conversation. Admitting it was truly embarrassing, but that was the truth.

She shyly said, “Sorry! I won’t tell anyone!”

After apologizing, she bowed deeply at a forty-five-degree angle, expressing sincere remorse. Seeing the three of them like this, and considering that even if the matter were known it wouldn’t be a big deal, Qianyu Ouyang didn’t want to make things difficult for them. He gave a faint “Hmm,” then turned and left without looking back.

Only after he had walked far did Xiao Ai finally come back to her senses, looking at his retreating figure and grumbling gloomily, “I told you! They look so close, how could there be nothing between them? So they really are childhood sweethearts!”

The other two nodded in agreement. They had always been puzzled by the relationship between the two since Qianyu Ouyang first escorted Xiaoxiao Shangguan home, her familiarity with him, and his unconditional tolerance and indulgence toward her—he always granted her every wish, even more so than with their friends.

Moreover, he protected her at every turn and had once almost lost his life for her. Yet, he seemed to take all this for granted, and Xiaoxiao appeared utterly unaware of everything he did for her.

What else could this be but love? From their perspective, Qianyu Ouyang was completely smitten with Xiaoxiao Shangguan, but judging by her demeanor, she showed no extra feelings toward him.

They believed that Qianyu Ouyang’s path in love would be difficult. But knowing his character, he would walk this road to the bitter end without turning back.

They hoped to offer him some small support, but the question was: what could they do to truly help them?

Should they just run straight to Xiaoxiao Shangguan and tell her that Qianyu Ouyang liked her? But this idea was immediately rejected.

Given Xiaoxiao’s personality, after hearing such a thing, she would surely think they were playing a prank on her and take it as a joke. Besides, Qianyu Ouyang was not the type to easily confess his feelings.

If they waited for him to speak up, by then she might have already run off with someone else. Yet what they didn’t know was that Qianyu Ouyang had already confessed to Xiaoxiao numerous times, but she dismissed it as a joke, completely ignoring him.

This had happened nearly twenty times in a row, with the same result. Sometimes, Qianyu Ouyang wondered if it was his poor expression or if Xiaoxiao’s understanding was flawed.

Why did she always smile off his confessions, completely ignoring them? But he never reflected on whether his way of confessing or the place he chose was appropriate.

The first time was after Xiaoxiao had spent a whole day organizing books and writing dozens of papers. Exhausted and drowsy, he confessed to her in the library, “I like you.”

He waited a long time but got no response. When he looked down, she was already asleep. He sighed at her sleeping face and gently took off his coat to cover her.

The second time was in the cafeteria when they happened to have a moment alone. He watched her smile happily and mustered the courage to say, “I like you.”

But the noisy surroundings drowned out his words, and Xiaoxiao was too engrossed to notice, only seeing his lips move.

She cupped one ear and leaned close, saying loudly, “What did you say? Speak louder! I can’t hear you!”

This made Qianyu Ouyang lose all confidence, turning his face away angrily, ignoring her. Xiaoxiao was baffled and rolled her eyes at his sudden outburst but didn’t pay it any mind.

She didn’t know that he had almost exhausted all his courage just to confess to her.

The third time, he found a quiet place where they sat on the grass. Xiaoxiao casually leaned on him, eyes closed comfortably.

Qianyu Ouyang gathered his courage again and softly said, “I li—”

Before he could finish, Xiao Ai’s loud voice came from afar, running and shouting, “Qiu! Shangguan! So you’re hiding here!”

His face darkened instantly. “Hiding? Damn it, that bastard ruined everything!” He almost swore, furious that he knew such troublemakers.

Xiaoxiao opened her eyes, smiled at Xiao Ai, then looked at Qianyu Ouyang with curiosity: “What were you just about to say?”

He replied unfriendlily, “Nothing,” then closed his eyes, acting as if he didn’t want to be disturbed.

The others were puzzled, sensing he was angry but unsure why.

This vicious cycle repeated many times. As for those who ruined his chances, they remained oblivious.

They always thought Qianyu Ouyang was going through some mood swings, attributing it to a midlife crisis, making his tantrums baffling to others.

Now, these culprits actually wanted to help? Hopefully, they wouldn’t only make things worse! If Qianyu Ouyang found out, he’d probably toss them off a skyscraper hundreds of meters high!

If not for them, he might have already won his beloved’s heart by now! So as long as they didn’t interfere, his chances of success might increase by dozens of percentage points!

But as it stood, he was destined to keep failing. After all, these troublemakers had decided to intervene.

Having made up their minds, the three followed Qianyu Ouyang and left the small hill together.

Meanwhile, Qianyu Ouyang sat on the ground, eyes closed, his mind filled with images of Xiaoxiao Shangguan—smiling, angry, sad—almost overwhelming his thoughts.

After returning to the dormitory, Xiaoxiao quickly changed clothes, grabbed her toiletries, and rushed to the bathroom. Fortunately, it was close by, so she arrived in just a few steps.

Activating a rapid mode, she swiftly cleaned up, put on her hat, tidied herself, and returned to the dorm.

She took bread from her suitcase, unwrapped it, and ate on the way to the meeting spot. Just as she finished, she arrived, threw the trash into the bin, wiped her mouth with a tissue, and leisurely walked into her classroom.

She found her seat without hesitation and sat cross-legged. Everyone’s eyes turned to her as she entered.

The instructor saw that everyone was present and began the morning training. After several days of hardship, the freshmen had gradually adapted to the routine.

One by one, they learned to calm down and listen quietly to the instructors.

After ten laps, no one collapsed; they stood neatly in rows, pleasing their instructors.

Feeling inspired, the chief instructor decided to add another training item.

Holding a microphone, he announced with a smug air: “You’ve all performed well, so we’ve decided—”

He deliberately dragged it out, raising everyone’s expectations, then said, “We’ve decided to add another training item: mountain climbing! From now on, everyone will head toward the mountain opposite us!”

Finally, after enduring the morning, the children couldn’t help but wail in protest, filling the air with annoying noises. Xiaoxiao frowned, unable to help herself.

Couldn’t they be a little quieter? Didn’t they know that no matter how much they complained, the instructors wouldn’t change their minds?

So rather than waste energy here, it was better to conserve strength for the upcoming training.

Xiaoxiao took out her water bottle, twisted off the cap, took a few sips to replenish her energy.

When the instructor said “go,” she ran up with Qianyu Ouyang.

Soon, a large group arrived at a steep mountain.

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Side note:

This month is almost over! If you still have tickets, don’t keep them hidden! Give them to Gong Xuan! 〒_〒