Chapter 69

Song Huiran, walking down the road with a cold face, stopped when Liu Shangmin caught up. Liu Shangmin panted as he approached, "Huiran, what's wrong with you?" In public, he would definitely call her "President," but since they were from the same year and close relatives, they used more intimate terms in private. Song Huiran, with her back to Liu Shangmin, paused for a moment before turning to look at him, "Why do I know nothing about this Jin Taeyeon? It's like she suddenly appeared. Do you know her?"

Liu Shangmin looked around and pulled Song Huiran to the side, "You... you really care?" Song Huiran's expression changed, and she looked at Liu Shangmin, pursing her lips without saying a word. Liu Shangmin quickly waved his hands and stepped back, "Alright, alright, I won't ask. It's none of my business." He tentatively stepped forward, smiling helplessly, "You don't remember that silly girl? The one who recommended Jin Taeyeon for the performance."

Song Huiran's eyes lit up, and she turned to leave. Liu Shangmin quickly grabbed her, "Can't you be a bit more low-key? Are you not afraid Zhengyu will find out? Your relationship with him is still awkward, right? Wait until after class to ask." Song Huiran thought for a moment, then smiled and put her arm around Liu Shangmin, "Come on, Unni, I'll buy you an ice cream cone." Liu Shangmin, being held by Song Huiran, laughed and pushed her arm away, "Hey! You brat, who's your Unni?"

Laughing and chatting, the two walked away. They were close relatives. However, another pair of relatives seemed to be far less harmonious. Back in the classroom, Jin Taeyeon watched as her desk partner, Li Yayuan, sat stiffly. The good mood from impressing the transfer student with her singing had completely vanished.

After calming down, Jin Taeyeon seemed to realize another possibility: he had initially said he wanted to sing a duet with her, but then only had her sing alone, which might have a reason. Perhaps, as she had guessed, he simply didn't think her voice matched his.

Moreover, his relationship with that senior seemed quite ambiguous. She had to hide his cheating for him and ended up hurting her best friend. All of this seemed to be because of that Wen Zhengyu. Thinking about this, Jin Taeyeon took a deep breath, took out a piece of paper and a small notebook, and quickly wrote a few words. She handed the note to Li Yayuan.

Li Yayuan took the note but kept her eyes on the blackboard. Jin Taeyeon couldn't help but smile, as they often did this during class. Over time, they had developed a routine. Li Yayuan, while flipping through her book, glanced at the small notebook and frowned.

"Let's make up. I can forgive what you said about me." This was what Jin Taeyeon had written. Li Yayuan wrote something with her pen, and although Jin Taeyeon hadn't seen it yet, she could tell from Li Yayuan's expression that she wasn't going to give in easily. Sure enough, when the notebook was passed back to Jin Taeyeon, her smile faded as she read the words.

"I can apologize, but on the condition that you don't lie to me. If you lie to me, then the hurtful things I said to you will be evened out. There will be no right or wrong, and no one will forgive the other."

Brat! You're quite organized. Jin Taeyeon thought to herself, picked up her pen, and started writing again. Li Yayuan took the notebook and read the words, looking at Jin Taeyeon for a moment with her lips pursed.

"Am I not even as important to you as a transfer student you've barely spoken to? For him, you can say such hurtful things to me?"

Li Yayuan wrote again and passed the notebook back to Jin Taeyeon. Jin Taeyeon read it and rubbed her head in frustration.

"If you didn't lie to me, why didn't you tell me what Wen Zhengyu wanted from you? If you tell me, I'll apologize to you... and treat you to sweet and sour pork!"

This time, she didn't write a note. Jin Taeyeon turned her head, blocking her face with her hand and glaring at Li Yayuan. Li Yayuan didn't back down and glared back. Their eye contact was so intense that the nearsighted Jin Taeyeon eventually had to retreat. She bit her lip and kicked Li Yayuan under the desk. Li Yayuan slapped her on the buttocks in return.

Jin Taeyeon picked up her pen and started writing again. This time, it took a long time, and when Li Yayuan took the notebook, it was filled with writing. Li Yayuan looked at Jin Taeyeon triumphantly and turned to read the words. After a moment, Li Yayuan's eyes widened in disbelief as she looked at Jin Taeyeon.

At this moment, Jin Taeyeon was sitting stiffly, looking at the blackboard, but her lips curved involuntarily. See the true nature of that cute transfer student. You all like him so much, almost treating him like an idol. But do you know how he treats you behind your backs?

As expected, Jin Taeyeon told Li Yayuan about Wen Zhengyu asking her to cheat. Li Yayuan was her only and best friend, and she knew who was important. Moreover, it was his fault, and she had lost a friend by covering for him, which was not worth it. However, Jin Taeyeon paused, thinking of something.

She took the notebook and wrote again, then looked at Li Yayuan seriously. Li Yayuan took the notebook and read it, slowly becoming lost in thought.

"Hey! Just keep it to yourself! Absolutely, absolutely don't tell anyone, okay?! Otherwise, your Wen Zhengyu will be disliked by others, and I'll be misunderstood! Got it?!!" The exclamation marks emphasized Jin Taeyeon's seriousness. Seeing that Li Yayuan didn't respond for a long time, Jin Taeyeon stepped on her foot to get her attention. Li Yayuan let out a small cry and looked at Jin Taeyeon.

"Li Yayuan!!" "Yes!!"

Li Yayuan instinctively stood up, only to see the teacher frowning at her, "Did someone step on your foot?" Li Yayuan instinctively replied, "How did the teacher know?" The class burst into laughter. Jin Taeyeon quietly took the notebook, carefully tearing out the page with the writing and shredding it into tiny pieces, which she put in her bag.

The teacher, seeing Li Yayuan's innocent look, couldn't help but laugh. He waved his hand for her to sit down, "No talking in class, pay attention." Li Yayuan bowed, "Yes," and sat down, secretly nodding at Jin Taeyeon. Jin Taeyeon finally breathed a sigh of relief. Friends were more important than him, which was normal. But it didn't mean she had to broadcast it, as that would be too mean. Besides, coincidentally, she had really drawn that lot and worked with him. If it got out, no one would believe she wasn't cheating.

Li Yayuan seemed to be particularly sensitive and细腻 (细腻 means "delicate" or "refined" in this context, but it's not directly translatable to English, so I'll use "refined" here) because of a specific person and a specific situation. As Jin Taeyeon was thinking about this, Li Yayuan had already passed a note.

"You said you refused, so why are you still working with him? Were you finally convinced to cooperate with him... to draw a fake lot?"

Jin Taeyeon took a deep breath and frowned as she wrote. The mechanical pencil broke several times, making her very frustrated. She wrote angrily and threw the notebook over. Li Yayuan didn't mind her attitude and read it, her mouth dropping open.

"That was an accident, I didn't want it to happen. Who knew I would really draw that lot?"

Li Yayuan gave Jin Taeyeon a sidelong glance and wrote quickly. When Jin Taeyeon read it, her eyes involuntarily closed, and her temples throbbed as if they were about to explode.

"Out of thirty people, you just happened to draw it? Why don't you go buy a lottery ticket? I knew you were a shy and sneaky brat, tsk!"

"Hey!"

The teacher was writing on the blackboard and, hearing the exclamation, instinctively turned and frowned, "Who is it? Shouting and making noise?!" He instinctively identified the source and pointed at Li Yayuan. Li Yayuan quickly waved her hands, pointing to the side.

The teacher's gaze shifted to the right and suddenly froze. He saw Jin Taeyeon glaring at Li Yayuan. Her pale face was tinged with red, half from anger and half from...

"Taeyeon?" The teacher looked puzzled. Jin Taeyeon finally turned, stood up, and bowed to the teacher, "I'm sorry, teacher." The teacher didn't react as harshly to Jin Taeyeon as he had to Li Yayuan. Although Jin Taeyeon's grades weren't outstanding, they weren't bad either. Moreover, he knew she often went to Seoul to study singing and was a very honest and introverted student.

"Taeyeon, it's good to pursue your talents, but you must also pay attention in class, understand?" Jin Taeyeon quickly bowed again, "Yes." The teacher nodded and gestured for her to sit down. Jin Taeyeon glared at Li Yayuan again, and Li Yayuan pouted, staring back at her. Until the end of class, the two did not exchange any more words.

(Reminder for today: Don't forget to vote. zzang. O(∩_∩)O)

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{Piaotian Literature}