LMBYE 9
Playing Hard to Get—You're the Expert.
Sitting diagonally behind Ning Ci, Chen Miao watched him stand in front of Jiang Beiqing’s desk, feeling an ache in her heart.
Chen Miao was an absolute sucker for good looks, and Ning Ci happened to fit her aesthetic perfectly. She would rather let the entire school mock Zhang Yang after the monthly exam than have Ning Ci lower himself to ask the eccentric Jiang Beiqing a question.
When Jiang Beiqing first transferred to Class 8, everyone was curious about this top student who was nothing like them. Some even tried to use academic questions to get closer to him. However, Jiang Beiqing merely glanced at their questions, gave them a mocking look, and then returned to his book without a word.
Being looked down on like that? Even the most mild-mannered person would get angry!
The students in Class 8 had never suffered any major grievances before. Even Zhou Chen, usually a good-tempered guy, had his anger skyrocket that day and nearly threw a punch at Jiang Beiqing.
At that moment, Lou Zhengdu, who had been napping during the break, was woken up by the commotion. His voice was hoarse with impatience: “What’s all the noise about?”
Zhou Chen instantly calmed down, as if waking from a trance, and awkwardly lowered his fist. He was an athlete, and his arm was twice the size of the bookish Jiang Beiqing’s. If he had really swung, the consequences would have been serious.
If Ning Ci had been there, he would have realized that this was the classic Feng Shui clash of the Three Green Lu Cun Star and the Po Jun Star. If Lou Zhengdu hadn’t stepped in, the situation would have escalated—at best, a financial loss to smooth things over, at worst, serious injury and legal trouble.
Jiang Beiqing had remained seated the entire time, his posture unchanged, his eyes full of indifference—just like now.
No way! Chen Miao wouldn’t allow her precious little cutie to be treated like that!
She snatched her deskmate’s glasses and craned her neck to sneak a peek at the question Ning Ci was asking. After reading it, she felt emo—turns out Ning Ci was just a pretty-faced fool. The question was a simple sequence problem, something even she could solve!
But Ning Ci showed no self-awareness: "I heard you’re really good at this. Can you explain this problem to me?"
His voice was warm and clear, like jade in a mountain spring. Jiang Beiqing paused mid-writing and slowly looked up, meeting a pair of eyes that seemed to see through everything.
The classroom lighting was excellent today, making the boy’s eyes gleam like honey-colored amber. But beneath their beauty was sharp vigilance, reminiscent of a Norwegian Forest Cat—cute, yet wary.
“Give it here.”
The entire class, secretly watching, exchanged glances of disbelief.
Even Zhang Yang, who had been ready to roll up his sleeves and defend his deskmate, was stunned. "Holy shit..."
At the back of the classroom, a handsome boy clicked his tongue in annoyance, his expression growing darker.
“Lou-ge, what’s wrong with you?” Tang Yuan asked, baffled. “You on your period or something?”
Lou Zhengdu stabbed his straw into a coconut milk box that a certain “little fortune-teller” had given him last night, drinking with an ominous expression. "Nothing. Just thirsty."
Tang Yuan raised a brow. "Since when do you like sweet drinks? Never seen you buy one before."
Lou Zhengdu snorted, smug for no apparent reason. "Little fortune-teller bought it for me."
"Why'd he buy you milk?" Tang Yuan was dumbfounded.
And that wasn’t even the weirdest part. The weirdest part was that Lou Zhengdu not only accepted it but was drinking it with a strangely aggrieved expression—like a kid whose parents had confiscated his tablet but then handed him a bottle of Yakult to make up for it.
Meanwhile, Ning Ci wasn’t paying attention to the conversation around him. His sharp gaze was scanning Jiang Beiqing like a radar.
As expected, his initial impression was correct. Jiang Beiqing’s lips were dry and pale, but it was hard to tell whether he was naturally cold-hearted or simply affected by the Yin energy lingering in Class 8.
"This is a basic geometric sequence. Just use the formula—" Jiang Beiqing abruptly stopped and said coldly, "Are you even listening?"
Ning Ci flashed a smile. "Sorry, I got distracted. I was thinking you’d look better with your forehead exposed. It seems like your bangs are blocking your view."
Jiang Beiqing turned away, packed up his books, and stood up abruptly. "Move. I’m not feeling well. I need to take a leave."
Ning Ci didn’t stop him, but as he stood, he subtly slipped a folded talisman into the side pocket of his backpack. It was a Hao Qi Talisman—for a clear-minded person, it would bring clarity and refreshment; for someone impure, it would stir their emotions and cloud their mind.
Zhang Yang noticed his "Lou-ge" biting his straw to shreds, his mood sinking even lower than when he first entered the classroom. His morning grumpiness was unusually intense today.
"Lou-ge, want me to show you my latest obsession? It’s super healing!"
Lou Zhengdu, however, was still replaying Ning Ci’s smile in his mind.
Was this normal? Who had ever seen their own crush smiling so brightly at someone else while giving them the cold shoulder?
He scoffed, voice dripping with sarcasm. "You and your ancient romance novels? Outdated."
Zhang Yang took offense. "Who said that? Web novels are super advanced now!"
"Oh?" Lou Zhengdu narrowed his eyes. "You ever seen a female lead who flirts with the male lead but then turns around and grins at another guy?"
Zhang Yang looked at him like he was a fool. "Duh! That’s a classic trope!"
"Explain."
Zhang Yang immediately perked up. "Novels need ups and downs! If it's sweet from start to finish, it's boring. A good romance has to have tension! The female lead does this to get the male lead’s attention. Then he gets jealous, and their feelings heat up!"
Lou Zhengdu frowned, but the logic checked out. His tense expression eased slightly, though he still looked skeptical. "Who the hell gets jealous that easily?"
Zhang Yang rolled his eyes. "Not every male lead gets jealous. Some go for the ‘soft approach’—sometimes that’s even deadlier!"
Tang Yuan was intrigued. "Like what?"
Zhang Yang smirked. "Simple. If a normally domineering CEO suddenly shows weakness, the female lead will feel bad for him. That’s how you win her heart."
Lou Zhengdu was impatient. "So what does he say?"
Zhang Yang’s expression turned smug. "‘Babe, you don’t know how to take care of people, do you?’"
Tang Yuan: "Damn, that’s corny."
This wasn’t CEO romance—it was rural soap opera.
Lou Zhengdu: "…"
He suddenly felt like a complete fool for listening this far.
But for some reason, his mood lifted.
Releasing the mangled straw from his teeth, he looked up at the person walking back toward him—his little fortune-teller.
So that’s how it is.
Playing hard to get—you really are something.
