How come you're also my ex-girlfriend?

Aren't you going home with your new best friend tonight?

The wind, already late at night, carried a cool sensation, feeling refreshing and comfortable as it passed through my neck and armpits.

Xu Yan rode his bicycle, looking ahead, and spoke to those behind him without turning back.

No need to look back, the wind will carry your message.

Before evening self-study ended, the seat behind Xu Yan had already been reserved by Jiang Yiyao, and surprisingly, Xu Yan didn't feel uncomfortable or awkward at all.

Even though he was used to being alone, and Jiang Yiyao hadn't ridden on the back of his bicycle many times since she transferred schools, it was as if he had done this many times before.

Is it really like those online articles that say: what you do isn't important, who you do it with is more important?

In the back seat, Jiang Yiyao let the wind blow her hair, which brushed against her cheeks. She didn't bother to fix it since it wasn't blocking her eyes, and her hands were still on the boy's side.

I don't know if it's just my imagination, but it seems like this boy has abs. They don't feel soft like a girl's; they're a bit hard... and a bit hot.

You don't do push-ups and sit-ups at home every night, do you?

"Even the best of friends get bored if they go home together every day. The secret to maintaining a relationship is to keep a certain distance."

The girl behind him was talking fluently, which made Xu Yan wonder if the reason why their relationship had deteriorated was because they hadn't kept their distance.

Xu Yan quickly realized that the problem was definitely not that simple, because the so-called distance cannot be maintained by reason alone. There will always be things that destroy reason and things that force you to cross the line.

"Have you been studying sociology lately? Does the Dark Forest theory have anything to do with you?"

"Stop babbling nonsense. You don't actually think you're funny, do you?"

The wind brushed against the boy's face, bringing a slight warmth.

Xu Yan was silent for a moment, then said, "I have a unique skill that allows me to take my hands off the grip. Would you like to try it?"

"Young Master Xu, I was wrong. You're really funny. Why don't you put me down and continue your performance?"

"Look how scared you are."

Xu Yan certainly wouldn't do that; he couldn't bring himself to hurt a woman.

The two continued their bickering as they walked into the neighborhood.

Xu Yan consciously went to the bicycle shed to park his bicycle. He thought Jiang Yiyao would go upstairs on her own, but when he turned his head, he saw her slender figure under the streetlight.

To be honest, Xu Yan didn't know how to describe the girl's charm.

Under the starry night, the radiance draped over her seemed like a thin veil, and she was probably the kind of heroine hidden in the haze, belonging only to the protagonist of a story... well, or perhaps the kind of bad woman who hurts the male lead the most.

Both are extremely high ratings.

"Why are you still here?"

Xu Yan asked this question somewhat tactlessly, but unexpectedly, Jiang Yiyao didn't refute it at all. Instead, she asked, "How's your exam preparation going?"

The boy was a little puzzled as to why the other person suddenly asked such a question.

But after thinking for a moment, she replied, "I feel okay, and I should be able to make some progress."

Jiang Yiyao narrowed her eyes, "Why do you sound so insecure? You haven't been memorizing vocabulary at all these past two days, have you?"

"How could that be? I've almost finished memorizing all your vocabulary words, but I'm not sure how much it will improve my skills."

The two walked towards the entrance of the apartment building.

"Keep bragging. You think you can memorize it in less than three days?"

"So what? A photographic memory is an essential skill for geniuses."

"First of all, you're not a genius. Secondly, if you had that kind of ability, why would you be stuck in a regular class? Stop pretending."

The girl's expression was not satisfied; she clearly thought Xu Yan was just bragging.

Xu Yan wasn't angry; stereotypes are like that, and it's hard to change them in a short time.

As footsteps ascended the steps, the sounds they created illuminated a series of motion-activated lights.

"You probably don't understand what it feels like to achieve enlightenment in a single day; it's a very mysterious feeling..."

"Is it possible that this is a final burst of energy before death?"

"There's no such deep-seated grudge, Jiang Yiyao."

Upon reaching the third floor, the boy looked helplessly at the girl opposite him, while Jiang Yiyao smiled happily and said, "I've been quite polite with myself. Alright, let's see how you do on the exam."

Xu Yan looked at Jiang Yiyao's delicate and pink face with a strange expression.

"Wait."

Xu Yan reached out and grabbed the door that the other person was trying to close.

"what!"

Jiang Yiyao instantly became alert and shrank back, but Xu Yan moved closer, approaching the girl who suddenly seemed a little tense.

"Why are you so concerned about my exam results? Could it be that you...?"

"Could it be something..."

As Jiang Yiyao looked at the approaching face, she saw a handsome face with striking features. The youthful aura emanating from the face seemed to uncontrollably pour in through the crack in the door, threatening to engulf her room.

"Do you really want me to move up to your class?"

Instantly, a burning sensation spread from my cheeks in all directions, and I felt a tingling, electric-like sensation running through my ear tips and neck.

This strange feeling quickly turned into another kind of shame, and Jiang Yiyao, enraged, kicked him out.

"Die, you narcissist!"

Xu Yan could have easily dodged it, but perhaps due to the chain reaction of his enhanced physique, he instantly reached out and grabbed the other person's ankle.

She was indeed wearing trousers, but at this moment they couldn't hide the girl's slender yet supple ankles.

The girl, whose ankle was instantly grabbed, blushed and immediately began to struggle.

Xu Yan, who was momentarily stunned, did not grip the other person's foot tightly.

"Bang!"

There was a loud bang as the girl's knee slammed into the door frame.

"what!"

The door opened, and Jiang Yiyao immediately sat down on the floor, hugging her knees.

"...What's wrong with you?"

Xu Yan was stunned for a moment, wondering if he had done this himself.

The girl, gasping in pain, was speechless. She seemed stubborn, slightly pulling up her loose school uniform pants.

While revealing her fair and delicate long legs, one could also see the wound on her knee where the skin had broken and was bleeding.

Some injuries don't seem like much until you see them, but once you do, Jiang Yiyao's eyes immediately well up with tears. "Ooh, it hurts so much..."

If Jiang Yiyao's sharp tongue and scheming nature only makes people angry, then her red eyes and tears about to burst out will only leave people at a loss.

I panicked just like when I saw her injured when I was a child; my mind went completely blank.

"Wait a moment, I'll go get something."

Xu Yan didn't offer any on-the-spot comfort; he didn't know how to do that, and he felt it was useless.

"what?"

Jiang Yiyao looked up, but the boy had already turned around and run upstairs.

Where is he going? Is he going to amputate his own leg?

Xu Yan, of course, was not so naive. He quickly carried a home first-aid kit downstairs, opened the door, and said to Jiang Yiyao, who was still sitting on the floor, "Can you still move? Go sit on the sofa first, and I'll clean your wound."

The boy's voice was exceptionally calm, conveying a reassuring sense of security.

"I... ouch, it hurts a little..."

He tried to get up, but his knees buckled and he almost knelt on the ground again. Fortunately, Xu Yan reached out in time.

He easily supported the girl's arm with one hand, holding her steadily. Jiang Yiyao couldn't help but look up at Xu Yan's face, and the boy happened to look over as well; the two exchanged a glance.

He stared intently into his own eyes and furrowed brows.

He seemed even more nervous than I was...

The girl looked down at her toes. "I can walk... I'm fine."

"Oh, then be careful."

Xu Yan released his grip, and only after the other person sat on the sofa did the boy squat down in front of the girl with the first-aid kit.

Then he looked up and said, "Give me your leg."

Jiang Yiyao couldn't help but feel a little shy, but she was quite stubborn, saying, "How about I take it off and you can take it home?"

Xu Yan rolled her eyes at her, annoyed. "Don't retaliate against Spiral now, okay? If it gets inflamed and suppurates, you'll be in for a world of trouble."

"snort."

Jiang Yiyao stopped talking, blushing, and stretched out her foot.

She took off her shoes, but not her white socks. Xu Yan didn't expect her to be shy about this, so he just grabbed them.

"Slow and clumsy, I don't know what she's shy about."

The girl, her face slightly flushed, couldn't help but glare at Xu Yan. "Are you going to apply the medicine or not?!"

"Tu, what's the rush... bear with it."

Xu Yan casually pulled the other person's feet into his arms, but not too tightly. He had initially worried that the socks might smell after a day's wear, but found they didn't at all.

Jiang Yiyao, who was not used to it, seemed unwilling to give up, and her little feet moved and rubbed against Xu Yan's chest.

"Snapped!"

Xu Yan slapped the other person's calf in an annoyed tone. There wasn't much fat on it, but he could feel her toes instantly clench.

"Don't move."

Surprisingly, Jiang Yiyao, who had been slapped like that, did not struggle violently. Her cheeks were flushed red as she whispered, "It hurts... of course I moved around."

"Pain means muscle growth."

Jiang Yiyao: ...

She stopped talking and moving, letting the boy fuss over the wound on her long leg.

Calming himself, Xu Yan opened the first-aid kit and began treating the wound, which wasn't very serious.

The air suddenly became somewhat silent, as neither of them spoke. Xu Yan did not touch Jiang Yiyao's legs too much, so as not to arouse any resentment in her.

A slight stinging sensation came from her knee, but she was able to control it; the girl only gasped slightly.

Putting aside these slightly uncomfortable feelings, all she could see was Xu Yan bowing his head and carefully tending to her wounds.

A youthful yet handsome face, eyes that possess a unique charm when focused. She seemed so engrossed that she didn't even notice how close he was to her knees, his warm breath brushing against her leg...

The heat on his cheeks lingered, even though his movements were gentle.

Jiang Yiyao recalled when she was very young, when she fell down after getting injured, he would anxiously run over to check her wounds.

They would childishly blow on their wounds and ask themselves if it hurt.

At that moment, she forgets to cry; her mind goes blank.

In a daze, Jiang Yiyao seemed to see a hand reaching out towards that handsome face...

"Phew, that's better, it shouldn't hurt too much now, right?"

After finally applying a band-aid, Xu Yan let go of his hand.

Realizing what was happening, Jiang Yiyao quickly pulled her leg back, then couldn't help but roll her eyes at Xu Yan, "You got your pleasure again."

Xu Yan said irritably, "I'm being slandered for treating your wound. I should have just licked it earlier."

"Aren't you a pervert?!"

"You've so wrongly accused me, wouldn't it be a waste if I weren't a pervert?"

"snort."

Watching Xu Yan pack up his suitcase, Jiang Yiyao also got up from the sofa, put on her slippers, and followed Xu Yan to the door.

"Alright, I'm going back now. Try not to get your wound wet, so you don't need to come back."

"Who gave you this?" Jiang Yiyao grumbled, then glanced at the boy and said softly, "Thank you."

Xu Yan gave the other person a strange look, seemingly surprised that the other person still had a moment of gratitude.

However, he didn't say anything in the end, just nodded and went upstairs.

The girl, humming a little tune, returned to her room after closing the door and went back to the sofa, straightening her long legs that hadn't been pulled down to cover her trousers.

Looking at the treated wound, I didn't feel any pain anymore; instead, it felt warm.

When Xu Yan got home, he glanced at his parents who were still in the living room and said, "I'm going in to rest now. You two should go to sleep early."

Wang Hui asked curiously, "Have you washed up yet?"

"I'm too tired to wash up."

Upon entering the room, the boy opened his hands and narrowed his eyes slightly.

"Does it really smell good?"

……