Chapter 47: Further Demands (Second Update)

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Jiang Muwen sat in her seat, dazed, unable to recover her senses for a moment. The bus was quiet, sunlight streaming in through the windows, falling softly upon her and spreading a faint golden halo across her hair.

Wen Yichen lowered his head, gazing at her, his expression momentarily lost in thought. If Jiang Muwen hadn’t caught this scene reflected in the glass, she might never have realized that this boy would ever secretly look at her.

Gazing at her own reflection in the bus window—a big tabby cat—she found herself, for the first time, thinking Wen Yichen could actually be rather cute.

Noticing Jiang Muwen’s gaze lingering on the window, Wen Yichen followed her line of sight out of curiosity—only to meet his own reflection. His ears flushed with sudden heat, and he quickly looked away, deliberately turning his gaze elsewhere.

Before long, the bus pulled to the curb, and another wave of passengers poured in. Watching the crowd surge aboard, Jiang Muwen found it odd—this wasn’t rush hour, so why were there so many people?

“Wen Yichen, the teacher didn’t keep you after class today, did they?” she asked, still a little puzzled.

“The terminal just opened a new exhibition—first group of visitors arrives at five tonight.”

At his words, Jiang Muwen remembered—the exhibition had been popular even before it officially opened. “Wen Yichen, when will we go see an exhibition together?”

“Let’s go, our stop is coming up.”

He didn’t answer her question directly. She couldn’t tell whether he hadn’t heard, or simply didn’t want to reply.

The bus was unusually crowded. Jiang Muwen had just gripped the pole by the door when she felt someone press up behind her. She glanced back instinctively and saw it was Wen Yichen.

In the next instant, his hand reached up and gripped the same pole.

They were standing so close that, had it not been for her backpack, Wen Yichen might have been pushed right up against her.

Suddenly, a warm breath brushed her ear, and Wen Yichen’s gentle voice sounded beside her: “If you pass tomorrow’s math quiz, I’ll go with you.”

With that, it was as if Wen Yichen had handed her a challenge—everyone knew the A Class quizzes were notoriously hard. Even with his tutoring, passing was still a stretch for her.

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“Can’t you… cut me some slack?” Jiang Muwen asked, almost timidly.

“Sure—” Wen Yichen replied so quickly it made her suspicious. “Then I’ll walk you to the exhibition hall entrance, and you can see the rest by yourself.”

As expected, Jiang Muwen’s expression stiffened. She knew there was no way he’d agree so easily. “Fine… If I pass, we’ll go together. You can’t back out!”

…

For the sake of this math quiz, Jiang Muwen burned the midnight oil, but no matter how long she stared at her notes, nothing seemed to stick. In the end, she went into the exam with a sense of doomed resolve—and was thoroughly defeated, body and soul.

After school, drained by the ordeal, she trudged beside Wen Yichen in silence. With Bai Xu on cleaning duty today, the atmosphere was eerily quiet—so quiet that Wen Yichen found it almost… desolate.

In November, the weather in City A could change in a heartbeat, unpredictable as a child. The morning had been sunny, but by afternoon, the temperature had dropped abruptly.

As they walked, the distance between them slowly widened. Jiang Muwen, listless, kicked at the dry, yellow leaves on the ground. Her heart already cold from the exam, now her body had to suffer the chill as well.

The thought made her shiver involuntarily.

The cold wind seemed to pierce her to the bone.

Wen Yichen must have noticed her lagging behind. He slowed, then turned around, his gaze unconsciously tightening as he looked into her eyes.

Perhaps it was because she was so petite—her slender frame shivering in the wind stirred something in him, a touch of… pity.

After a brief pause, he walked toward her.

“Are you cold?” Wen Yichen asked softly.

“Mm.”

Jiang Muwen raised her eyes, tucking her hands into the pockets of her jacket. If she’d known the temperature would drop, she would have worn more layers.

Seeing Wen Yichen bundled up with both a mask and a scarf made her feel even colder.

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Standing before her, Wen Yichen lowered his head and took a mask from his pocket, gently helping Jiang Muwen put it on. His warm fingers brushed her cold ears, making her shiver.

He wore a light gray scarf—not thick, but it looked warm. She hadn’t seen this scarf before; it must be new.

As she was thinking this, Wen Yichen finished adjusting her mask. The mask had been in his pocket, so as he put it on her, she felt a lingering warmth.

“My mom brought this back from S City. The weather’s cold, so she asked me to give it to you.” His voice was muffled by his own mask but was especially pleasant to hear.

The setting sun cast its gentle rays over the boy before her, and the golden light reflected in his clear eyes, shimmering with a mosaic of shadow and brightness.

Looking at him, a smile crept into Jiang Muwen’s eyes. How lucky she was to be in the same class as him, to walk home together. If she hadn’t made it into A Class, she might never have had the chance to spend these moments with him. Time with him would have been so much less.

As this thought crossed her mind, Wen Yichen’s muffled, curious voice reached her ears. “What are you thinking about?”

As he spoke, he slipped off his own scarf and, in the next moment, gently wrapped it around her neck.

The sudden gesture caught her off guard.

The scarf was soft, comfortable, and still carried Wen Yichen’s lingering warmth. As it touched her skin, her heart warmed as well.

The boy before her lowered his gaze and quietly adjusted the scarf around her neck. It brushed her chin from time to time, and she could smell a faint, fresh scent unique to him—soothing and comforting.

After a moment, Wen Yichen let go of the scarf. “There—now you’re not cold, right?”

His rare display of thoughtfulness made Jiang Muwen feel bold enough to push her luck. “Well… I’m still a little cold…”