Give Me Another Smile

"Oh, so you're the young master's classmate. The young master is still asleep," the care worker said as she smiled at Tang Yu apologetically. Then, holding up the towel soaked with hot water in her hand, she continued, "I'm about to wipe the young master off, seeing as he is covered in sweat."

Evidently, Tang Yu couldn't stay in the ward any longer. So, she tactfully said, "I'll head back to school first, then."

After saying so, Tang Yu's eyes lingered on Zhao Yu's pale complexion for a moment before she turned around and left.

…

When Tang Yu returned to school, she heard a bunch of gossip coming from the people around her. When she returned to her dormitory, her roommates looked at her with curious eyes.

While Tang Yu was drying clothes on the balcony, Li Xiuli came over with a basin of washed clothes. Then, she grabbed a handful of clothes hangers and shut the balcony door behind her, isolating them from the curious gazes of the other people in the room.

"Do you know what rumors they are spreading around in school right now?" Li Xiuli asked as she put a piece of clothing on a hanger and hung it on the clothesline with the help of a clothes pole.

Tang Yu shook her head in response. After adding one of her own washed clothes onto the clothesline, she said, "I don't know. Nobody told me about them."

The corners of Li Xiuli's mouth raised a little when she heard Tang Yu's answer. Then, speaking as if she were a bard telling a story, she said, "It is said that Miss Tang is gentle, elegant, dignified, and beautiful, and with these traits, she caused a fight to erupt between the Olympiad class's handsome young master and the honors class's delicate junior brother."

Tang Yu blushed. At the same time, she couldn't help but be exasperated by this rumor...

Meanwhile, after Li Xiuli finished speaking, she moved closer to Tang Yu. Then, with a gossipy look on her face, she continued, "Hey, hey, which one of those two do you like?"

Holding back the urge to roll her eyes, Tang Yu pinched the bridge of her nose and said, "I have nothing to do with either of them. I just happen to be acquainted with them, that's all. The rumors you heard are just misunderstandings."

"Oh." Li Xiuli had an epiphany. Then, her eyes curving into smiles, she carefully asked, "Does that mean...neither of those two handsome boys has a partner? Is that it?"

"...Yes." After hesitating for a moment, Tang Yu added, "For the time being."

Indeed, nobody could tell what the future would hold.

"Okay!" Blushing in excitement, Li Xiuli exclaimed, "I'm going to go after the little man from the honors class! He looks so cute and obedient!!"

Tang Yu awkwardly smiled before resuming drying her clothes. Of all the people Li Xiuli could have chosen to pursue, she just had to pick "Big Brother's" man...

…

When Tang Yu arrived at her classroom, she instantly became the center of attention. Although she didn't want to admit it, she knew that everyone in the school most likely knew her by now. After all, she had gotten involved in a major incident on the school's enrollment day and even caused a minor incident as soon as she returned.

Upon arriving at her designated desk, Tang Yu saw that her textbooks were neatly stacked in her drawer and on the table. Although the books had minor scratches and wrinkles in some areas, it seemed that Wen Tao had done his best to return the books to their original appearances.

Leaving the books aside, Tang Yu noted that she had a petite girl for a deskmate. When the girl saw Tang Yu, a look of curiosity immediately appeared on her face.

After seeing Tang Yu take her seat, the girl leaned closer to her and quietly asked, "Um... Are you Tang Yu?"

Tang Yu responded with a soft hum whilst writing down her name on her textbooks, her expression remaining indifferent.

"Then...about the rumors..."

"All of them are fake," Tang Yu answered before the girl could finish her sentence. "I am acquainted with them, but we aren't close."

"Oh..." Miss Deskmate's gossipy heart extinguished, and she returned to her seat and began studying a complicated mathematics book.

Despite her indifferent behavior, Tang Yu couldn't help but wonder why there had yet to be news of the school seeking Wen Tao for accountability. After all, it was obvious that everyone at school already knew that Zhao Yu and Wen Tao fought. Yet, the school didn't even issue a notice on the matter.

In the end, Tang Yu harbored these curious thoughts throughout the morning session. Then, before she could return to the dormitory to ask the gossip expert Li Xiuli for an answer, Wen Tao stopped her outside the teaching block.

"Let's have lunch in the cafeteria, Big Sis Tang."

"?" Tang Yu was confused by the sudden invitation. After suspiciously looking around, she held back the urge to ask if someone was blackmailing the boy into doing so. Either that, or he had lost in a game of dare with his friends and was told to invite her for lunch.

"You don't look very well," Tang Yu said after taking a closer look at Wen Tao's face. There were dark circles under Wen Tao's eyes, suggesting that he must have had very little sleep last night.

"Let's go eat first. We can talk as we eat. Otherwise, Big Bro is going to give me an earful," Wen Tao said, sighing heavily while scratching his hair in irritation.

"An-An asked you to eat with me?" Tang Yu couldn't help but doubt her ears for a moment. At the same time, though, a hint of expectation appeared in her heart.

"Yeah. Big Bro had long told me to keep an eye on your meals. She says you have a bad stomach and worries that you might skip meals," Wen Tao answered without much thought.

"...Oh."

Tang Yu lowered her head, the corners of her mouth slowly rising and her delicate dimples looming. She had her doubts before, but she'd be incredibly dense if she still failed to realize what was going on after receiving such a big hint.

Too timid to face your own heart, huh? No matter. I'll let you know what you truly want sooner or later…