Wen Xuheng wanted to go find her, but the college entrance exam was approaching, and his parents were especially strict with him. They picked him up and dropped him off from school on time every day, and once they got home, they made him study hard at home and he wasn't allowed to leave the house.

Wen Xuheng couldn't go to Qi Ning, so he could only send her a message to ask.

However, Qi Ning's reply was simply that everything was normal and that he should focus on his studies.

Nevertheless, Wen Xuheng still inexplicably felt that something was not quite right.

But with the college entrance examination approaching, not only his parents were nervous, but Wen Xuheng himself also took it very seriously. He had no choice but to put aside his other thoughts and focus all his energy on preparing for the exam.

What Han Yuchen and Wen Xuheng didn't know was that Qi Ning had been so mysterious lately because she would run to the alleys near the school as soon as she got out of school.

Every day after school, the Pei family's driver would openly pick up Pei Mo at the school gate before driving the car into the alley.

The driver wouldn't drive to the Pei family's house until Qi Ning ran into the alley and got into the car.

That evening, as soon as Qi Ning got into the car, Pei Mo was already waiting for him inside.

Before the two could even speak, Qi Ning's phone started vibrating incessantly.

Pei Mo glanced at her.

Qi Ning took out her phone and saw that it was indeed a barrage of messages from Han Yuchen.

She quickly glanced at the dense text messages and replied, "Okay, I'll go. Don't send me any more messages."

Han Yuchen finally calmed down.

Qi Ning looked up and saw Pei Mo looking at her, or perhaps at the phone in her hand.

"Han Yuchen sent you a message?" he asked.

"Yes." Qi Ning didn't hide anything and told him everything. "He said that it's his eighteenth birthday this weekend and he's going to have a birthday party."

"I see."

Pei Mo nodded and looked away.

Qi Ning held her phone, thought for a moment, and said, "Han Yuchen and Han Yuxin are twins, so their birthday parties should be together, right?"

As Qi Ning was speaking, her phone received another message.

However, this time it wasn't Han Yuchen who sent the message, but Han Yuxin who sent it in their class group chat.

This group is not a large class group with teachers, but a small class group without teachers.

Their large group chats usually only post serious announcements; no one chats idly in them.

This small group is exceptionally active, with people chatting in it almost every day.

At that moment, Han Yuxin sent a group notification in the class group chat.

The gist is that this weekend is her and Han Yuchen's 18th birthday, and to celebrate, a birthday party will be held over the weekend at Shengyue Villa in the Nancheng Resort Area, inviting all classmates to attend.

He also said things like, "The college entrance exam is coming up soon, so going out and having some fun can help you relax and relieve stress."

As soon as the message was sent, the group chat quickly became lively, with everyone responding.

Han Yuxin posted another message: "Everyone should come! This is the last class reunion before the college entrance examination. The next one will be the graduation party after the college entrance examination. It's a rare opportunity."

Qi Ning lowered her eyes and stared at the messages, a faint smile curving her lips.

She looked up and asked Pei Mo, "Did you see the group message in the class?"

"what?"

"You'll know just by looking at it."

Pei Mo then took out his phone. He had muted the group messages and there were no notifications. He clicked in and glanced at the message, and he understood what it was about.

Before he could even put his phone down, Han Yuxin sent him another private message, urging him to attend the party.

"Pei Mo, are you going?" Qi Ning asked.

Pei Mo turned off his phone screen and tossed it aside casually: "You're going?"

"Yes," Qi Ning nodded. "Han Yuchen told me to go."

"You'll go just because Han Yuchen tells you to?"

"That's not what I meant..." Qi Ning explained, "The college entrance exam is coming up soon, so let's be patient with him for a little longer. It's just a birthday party anyway, and Han Yuxin posted about it in the class group. Everyone's going, so it wouldn't be good if I didn't go."

"Okay," Pei Mo responded, then said, "Let's go then."

Han Yuxin had just sent the message when Han Yuchen said to her, "Does this guy surnamed Pei have such a big face? Why not just say it in the group chat? Why send him a private message to invite him?"

Han Yuxin gave him a strange look: "Of course Pei Mo's status warrants a private message invitation. Dad also instructed us not to antagonize Pei Mo. You're so upset about me sending a message? Do you have a grudge against Pei Mo?"

Han Yuchen crossed his arms: "I wouldn't say we have a grudge, I just can't stand his arrogant attitude."

Furthermore, Han Yuchen also disapproved of Pei Mo sitting next to Qi Ning.

Although Qi Ning and Pei Mo don't usually interact and seem not to know each other well, if it were anyone else, Han Yuchen would have already forced them to switch seats.

But it was Pei Mo, whom Han Yuchen couldn't easily bring up, and even if he did, Pei Mo might not agree.

However, Han Yuchen did not reveal the reason.

Han Yuxin slapped Han Yuchen on the back: "You were the one who suggested inviting the whole class to the birthday party, and now you have a problem with it?"

Turning eighteen is a coming-of-age ceremony, which is of course important to them. Originally, Han's parents planned to hold a banquet for them at home, but Han Yuchen refused, giving all sorts of reasons, and insisted on changing the birthday banquet into a classmate reunion.

Han Yuxin didn't mind, after all, she was the class monitor, and it was only right for her to organize such activities.

She just felt that Han Yuchen's suggestion to change the birthday party into a classmate reunion was a bit unlike him.

Han Yuxin had no idea that Han Yuchen did this because he was considering Qi Ning's poor family situation. If it were a large banquet, she wouldn't be able to attend due to her status, and she might not feel comfortable there. That's why he thought of changing it to a classmate reunion.

After hearing Han Yuxin's words, Han Yuchen still stubbornly said, "I have an opinion."

"If you have any complaints, just keep them to yourself!"

In fact, Han Yuxin wasn't very familiar with Pei Mo, nor did she like his cold personality. She preferred someone as gentle and warm as Wen Xuheng.

But Pei Mo's identity is not ordinary, so we still have to give him the face he deserves, and sending him a private message is nothing.

Friday arrived in the blink of an eye.

After school, Qi Ning went to the alley to find the Pei family's car, but did not get in as usual.

She stood outside the car window and said to the person inside, "Pei Mo, I won't stay at your place tonight. We're going to a gathering at Shengyue Villa tomorrow, and we can't go together."

"Why not?"

When Qi Ning moved to the Pei family's house, it was her own suggestion that they not let others know they were living together, otherwise it would easily attract gossip.

Pei Mo thought Qi Ning's words made sense, so she agreed and asked the driver to drive the car to the alley to wait for her every day.

However, what Qi Ning said just now made Pei Mo feel somewhat displeased, as if she really didn't want people to know about their relationship.

Thinking back, Qi Ning hardly ever spoke to him at school; they only had normal conversations in private.

He hadn't paid much attention to this before, but thinking about it today, he suddenly felt that Qi Ning's interactions with him were somewhat clandestine.

"If we go together, it'll be hard to explain," Qi Ning said, somewhat troubled.

"Can't we just say we bumped into each other on the street?"

“That’s fine.” Qi Ning frowned slightly. “However, I just remembered that I left something important at home, and I have to go back to get it.”

Pei Mo was silent for a moment after hearing this, then asked her, "Is your stepfather home?"

“He’s not here.” Qi Ning shook his head. “He usually stays out all night drinking and playing cards, and doesn’t come back until the next day. And he doesn’t even come back every day, so it’s hard to run into him.”

Since that's the case, Pei Mo didn't say anything more.

"Then you can go back now. Call me if you need anything."

"Okay." Qi Ning smiled. "Then I'm leaving. You should go home early too."

She waved to Pei Mo, then turned and left.

Pei Mo watched Qi Ning's figure disappear into the alleyway and said to the driver, "Let's go."

Qi Ning came out of the alley and planned to go to the bus stop to take the bus.

But no sooner had she come out of the alley than someone grabbed her arm.

"stop!"

Qi Ning turned around and saw Han Yuchen standing behind her.

She patted her chest and said, "You scared me to death."

"Is your courage made of glass? You get scared so easily that it shatters?"

Qi Ning glanced around. This was near the school, and there were quite a few students. She broke free from Han Yuchen's grasp on her hand.

"Of course I was startled when you grabbed me without saying a word."

"You were so focused on walking that you didn't see me, and now you're blaming me?"

Han Yuchen patted Qi Ning on the head: "Tell me honestly, where did you go just now? You always run so fast after school, but I think I saw you coming out of an alley?"

"No."

Qi Ning quickly denied it: "I bought some things at a stationery store near that alley."

As she said this, she caught a glimpse of the Pei family's car driving away out of the corner of her eye.

"Really? What did you buy? Let me see."

As Han Yuchen spoke, he reached out to rummage through Qi Ning's schoolbag.

"It's just stationery, what's so interesting about it? Stop pulling and tugging."

Qi Ning tightly clutched her schoolbag, refusing to let him touch it.

"Speak quickly if you have something to say, otherwise I'll be leaving now."

Han Yuchen wasn't really in a big deal; he just wanted to remind Qi Ning, "Remember the gathering tomorrow. We'll meet at 10 a.m. and have lunch together. Don't be late."

Their plan was for two days: meet at 10 a.m. on Saturday, have lunch together, soak in hot springs in the afternoon, have a barbecue in the evening, stay overnight, have lunch the next day, and then head back.

"I know, you've said it so many times."

"Isn't it because I was afraid you wouldn't remember, so I reminded you a few more times?"

"I've got it, don't worry."

After Qi Ning finished speaking, she looked around and said, "Are you done? I have to go, the bus is coming."

"Ok."

Han Yuchen then let her go, and Qi Ning quickly ran to the bus stop.

Qi Ning had just left, and Han Yuchen was still standing there when Han Yuxin came out of the school.

She walked over and asked, "Han Yuchen, why didn't you go out to play today? What are you doing at the school gate?"

------

Tap the screen to use advanced tools Tip: You can use left and right keyboard keys to browse between chapters.

You'll Also Like