Chapter 176: Beyond the Dark Mountains, Flowers Bloom and Villages Appear ①
Huang Yan looked at the note Peng Yu Yang had returned, frowned, tore off a new small notebook paper, picked up her pen, wrote a few sentences on it, and then asked the classmate in the middle to help pass the note.
Passing it once was fine, but passing it twice made someone curious. The boy next to Peng Yu Yang pretended to be casual, lifted a corner of the neatly folded note, raised his eyebrows in surprise, and then passed the note to Peng Yu Yang.
Peng Yu Yang, who received the note, frowned, then nodded at Huang Yan, who was looking at him.
As soon as morning self-study ended, Huang Yan walked out of the classroom with her books. Peng Yu Yang put down the book in his hand and also followed her out of the classroom.
Besides the two of them, many others also left the classroom to go to the toilet or for other reasons.
But as soon as the two of them left, the boy who was sitting closer to Peng Yu Yang started shouting, “Hey, hey, hey! Huang Yan just asked me to pass a note to Peng Yu Yang. They’re going to meet in the school’s back garden! Do you think Huang Yan is going to confess to Peng Yu Yang?”
“Hey! Did you see it?” A classmate who had also helped Huang Yan pass notes asked, “Did you really see it? Huang Yan is really meeting Peng Yu Yang in the back garden? Haha… I think they get along pretty well. Maybe we’ll get to eat wedding candy tomorrow!”
“Right, right, right! We’re the matchmakers, so we should extort a good meal from them then.” The boy laughed, seeming to anticipate some benefits. Many classmates in the class also started to gather around them, curious and gossiping.
Nie Qiu, who had put down her book and was about to go to the toilet, was stunned for a moment, then chuckled. If Peng Yu Yang and Huang Yan could get together, she would naturally be happy to see it. As an elder, she might have to stop early romance, or rather, oppose it, but as a friend of the same age, it should be a happy thing for two good friends to be together, shouldn’t it?
However… she frowned slightly. If the two of them got together, when the three of them were together, wouldn’t she become a third wheel? Thinking about it this way, she couldn’t help but chuckle. Nothing had even been decided yet! Let’s talk about it after they get together!
But Zhang Haiyang, who heard these words, was different. He retracted his steps, which were originally heading towards the toilet, and turned around with an anxious expression, running towards the school’s back garden.
“You gave Nie Qiu a pencil case? And an MP4, right?” Huang Yan looked at Peng Yu Yang and asked.
“Yes, what’s wrong?” Peng Yu Yang nodded, looking at Huang Yan with feigned confusion.
Many men share a common trait: the more they can’t get something, the more they want it, and the easier it is to obtain, the less they cherish it. When Huang Yan passed him the note, Peng Yu Yang could tell that Huang Yan might… might like him. Peng Yu Yang’s vanity was greatly satisfied, but she was Nie Qiu’s best friend, and he didn’t want Nie Qiu to dislike him because of Huang Yan.
“I like you.” Huang Yan looked up, her eyes a little red.
Zhang Haiyang, who had just run to the school’s back garden, was about to rush forward when he heard these words. He froze, retracted his feet, hid behind a ginkgo tree nearby, and watched Huang Yan, who was holding her books with a stubborn expression, and Peng Yu Yang, who was standing opposite her.
“Huang Yan…” Peng Yu Yang felt a little happy inside, it was his vanity at play, but… his reason was still there. This person was Nie Qiu’s best friend. “Huang Yan, you know, I’ve always treated you as a good friend, just like you and Nie Qiu.”
“Then why do you like Nie Qiu?” Huang Yan looked up. “Do you know? Nie Qiu said that she wouldn’t date in junior high school! Can’t you… can’t you try… try to like me?” Nie Qiu never said that she wouldn’t date in junior high school. She always remembered that Nie Qiu had said that liking was taking, while love was giving. She was sure she liked the person in front of her, but whether it was love, she wasn’t clear. However… when she saw him serve Nie Qiu food first, her heart would ache. When she saw him give Nie Qiu a gift, she would be sad. When she saw him treat Nie Qiu well, she would be jealous. Was this kind of liking, this kind of liking, not enough?
Her eyes were red, and Huang Yan’s eyes were filled with tears, but she refused to lower her head, still staring stubbornly at Peng Yu Yang.
“What… what do you like about me?”
Huang Yan was stunned and looked at Peng Yu Yang. “I like you…”
“I don’t like you.” Peng Yu Yang looked at Huang Yan, feeling a moment of compassion. “Huang Yan, you know… I like Nie Qiu.”
“I understand…” Huang Yan lowered her head and smiled. The tears that had been gathering in her eyes finally fell. Fortunately, fortunately, Peng Yu Yang rejected her. She didn’t know what her mood was now. When she saw Peng Yu Yang giving Nie Qiu a gift, she had decided to go all out and confess. In her heart, she both hoped that Peng Yu Yang would accept her and hoped that Peng Yu Yang would reject her. She might not even understand this contradiction herself.
Perhaps, Peng Yu Yang rejecting her proved that Peng Yu Yang truly liked Nie Qiu? And also… this might be the kind of person she liked! Just like she heard some classmates say that Li Kai had once said something like this: you date because you want to date, or because you truly like someone and want to date them?
In her opinion, if Peng Yu Yang had really agreed to be with her, then Peng Yu Yang would just be dating because he wanted to date, right?
Peng Yu Yang felt a pang of compassion and looked at Huang Yan with concern. He reached out his hand, wanting to wipe away her tears. “Are… are you okay?”
Huang Yan smiled and looked up, her eyes red, tears hanging on her eyelashes. She boldly reached out and wiped away her tears, smiling and saying, “I’m fine.” Then, without looking at Peng Yu Yang again, she turned and left. One step, two steps, three steps, she quickened her pace step by step, tears flowing out step by step.
Zhang Haiyang stood behind the ginkgo tree not far away. Seeing this scene of Huang Yan smiling and crying, his heart ached with a dull pain, so much so that he couldn’t help but laugh. This was Huang Yan! She always smiled, so cute, so cheerful. The reason she was different in his eyes started from when he touched her chest, but as he interacted with her more, he realized that no one was more cheerful than Huang Yan. She smiled, charmingly, cutely, never hiding her emotions. Even when she was sad, she cried with a smile. She was also a girl, and she had her own delicate feelings. But… he looked at Peng Yu Yang, but that person didn’t deserve to understand this girl’s delicate feelings.
When Huang Yan ran past him, she just glanced at him, her eyes red, and didn’t say anything, continuing to run.
“Huang Yan!”
Zhang Haiyang called out, but Huang Yan didn’t react and ran straight towards the teaching building. Seeing Huang Yan so sad, Zhang Haiyang’s heart twitched. Even though she was smiling, she was sad, truly sad.
