Give Me Another Smile

"Probably...your heartbeat will speed up, your face will turn bright red, and your mind will go blank," Zhao Yu said hesitantly. He honestly had no idea what he was talking about. He was merely quoting a few descriptions he had read from youth literature.

However, Yin Zhao-an was none the wiser and simply tried to recall her reaction to Tang Yu's kiss. Then, she found that she had experienced all three responses Zhao Yu mentioned.

While Yin Zhao-an was lost in her thoughts, Zhao Yu suddenly thought of something. Then, he solemnly looked at Yin Zhao-an and said, "There is something I must tell you, Brother Zhao."

Zhao Yu's transformation was so sudden that Yin Zhao-an failed to keep up, and all she could do was nod in a daze.

After seeing Yin Zhao-an snapping out of her daze, Zhao Yu got straight to the point and stated, "I suspect Wen Tao likes Big Sis Tang."

"Impossible." Yin Zhao-an denied Zhao Yu's suspicion without even thinking about it. "I know him. He doesn't like Tang-Tang that way. At most, he treats her as a friend."

Zhao Yu sneered. Then, he took out his phone, brought up the school's online forum, typed in a few keywords in the search bar, and clicked on a post titled "The Sweet Daily Life of the Honors Class’s Weakest Link and the Olympiad Class’s Top Student.”

The post's title rendered Yin Zhao-an speechless, but the post's content caused her pupils to shrink.

Although the post was started quite some time ago, it received daily updates, and the content of these updates would always show images of a cafeteria, a sports field, and a stairwell.

Even though these were very ordinary sceneries, the images shared in the post gave off a sense of tranquility.

In the image of the sports field, two students--a boy and a girl--in sky-blue school uniforms could be seen sitting side by side on the bleachers, and the handsome boy could be seen handing over an opened water bottle to the seemingly bashful girl.

In the image of the crowded cafeteria, a tall and lean boy could be seen holding a tray of food in one hand while protecting the girl next to him. Even though the boy wore an indifferent look, his careful actions exposed his indifference as nothing more than a facade.

In the image of the stairwell with high foot traffic, a boy could be seen leaning against the wall with his school bag on one shoulder while waiting for someone. Meanwhile, subsequent images of the same stairwell showed that the boy was waiting for a girl...

Isn't this the standard plot of a school romance novel?!

When Yin Zhao-an saw that Wen Tao and Tang Yu were the protagonists of every one of these images, although her expression remained unchanged, her heart was already in a terrible mess. She also felt an invisible pressure bearing down on her, causing her to suffocate.

However, despite her terrible state, Yin Zhao-an still laughed indifferently and casually said, "It's just a few photos. They can't prove anything."

Zhao Yu silently looked at Yin Zhao-an, causing the latter to retract her smirk and guiltily turn her head to one side.

Eventually, Zhao Yu let out a tired sigh. He didn't know why he was telling Yin Zhao-an all of this. Maybe it was his self-esteem at work. Maybe he felt it was better to lose to a girl than to a boy. After all, if that were the case, it would only mean that he had lost in gender rather than attractiveness. Hence, when he saw the boy who had warned him not to tear apart the budding couple go against his own warning, he felt incredibly upset.

Yes. He was very upset.

"I might be saying something unnecessary, but some opportunities are lost forever once missed. Take care, Brother Zhao."

After saying so, Zhao Yu got up from his seat and left. He had only intended to drop by for a visit and give Yin Zhao-an a wake-up call. Now that he had achieved his goals, he had no reason to stay.

Meanwhile, Yin Zhao-an froze in place. She had opened her mouth to say something, but no words came out of her mouth.

Some opportunities are lost forever once missed…

Yin Zhao-an covered her crumbling expression with her hands. At the same time, a thought that had never appeared in her mind gradually took shape...

…

The days spent in high school flew by like a rocket. It was especially so for the top students of the Olympiad Class. They spent their days studying like emotionless robots. Except for studying purposes, they would rarely communicate with each other in the classroom.

As Tang Yu gradually adapted to the Olympiad Class's pacing, she also reduced the number of times she went home. The main reason was that the two adults in her family would usually be busy with work. Her father would leave home early and return late at night, while her mother would fly around different cities and countries for work. So, rather than return to an empty house, she'd rather continue studying in the school's dormitory. In addition, after experiencing Wen Tao's food delivery service a few times, she ultimately chose to start preparing her own meals.

Fortunately, Tang Yu wasn't a stranger to cooking. When she lived with Yin Zhao-an during her previous life, cooking was her daily routine. She even had to be creative with her cooking, ensuring she didn't make the same dishes too often. However, after reincarnating, Tang Yu would avoid cooking whenever possible, opting for the more leisurely option of ordering food deliveries instead.

Thinking back, Tang Yu felt that her past self was truly a fool. She had received nothing for her enthusiasm to please, and she even put herself in a humble position in the process. She was truly a fool.

...

When Tang Yu visited the hospital on the weekend, Yin Zhao-an could already get out of bed and walk by herself. Even so, she needed to rely on crutches to walk more than a few steps. Her hair had also grown to match the length of the average boy's hair. At this rate, it wouldn't take more than a few months for her hair to return to its original length.

The weather was gradually turning cold. When Tang Yu woke up in the morning, she shuddered from the cold. So, after getting out of bed, she pulled out a suitcase from under the lower bunk bed and found a wool jacket to put on.

There was a small garden in the inpatient department's courtyard. Tang Yu originally wanted to push Yin Zhao-an around under the sun in a wheelchair, but the other party turned down her offer, saying with a warm smile:

"It's been a while since I got to walk on my feet. I don't want to waste this precious opportunity."

The stairs found in the inpatient department were different from ordinary stairs. There were no steps, only a gentle slope. This made it convenient for patients who were in wheelchairs but did not want to take the elevator.

Yin Zhao-an walked forward step by step while relying on her crutches, a thick layer of sweat forming on her forehead as she tried her best to move her bandaged feet.

After struggling like so for some steps, Yin Zhao-an stopped while gasping for air. Then, after catching her breath, she turned around to look at the person silently protecting her from behind and smiled brilliantly, "Can I use you for support? I'm exhausted."