I Probably Won't Like Girls (GL) - Chapter 4

“Thank you, but I don’t like sweet drinks.” Shi Mingyuan politely and courteously refused him again. After speaking, she took out another test paper and continued working as if no one else was there.

The smile on Su Songwen’s face instantly froze. A noticeable blush rose to his ears. Scratching his head, he stammered, “I’m sorry, I didn’t know. I’ll buy you something else next time.”

Seeing Su Songwen’s shy demeanor, the bystanders erupted in another round of low-voiced discussion. Especially the young girls who were experiencing their first crush, they exclaimed nonstop, “He actually blushed! He’s too adorable!”

“Why didn’t Mingyuan accept the milk tea? If it were me, I’d drink the whole thing right there and ask the guy for his QQ number.”

“That boy must have come to confess to Mingyuan…”

Only the person concerned remained utterly unmoving, appearing as unyielding as iron.

Since Shi Mingyuan didn’t respond, Su Songwen couldn’t linger any longer. He dropped a parting shot of “Well, see you next time” and ran away dejectedly.

He was gone, but the commotion didn’t die down. Shi Mingyuan hadn’t paid attention to the outside discussion, but the voices rushed into her ears like the wind, making it impossible for her to ignore.

“That guy is a sports student; his family is really well-off. I heard they’ve already pulled strings to get him guaranteed admission to N University.”

“The Grade 3 students all call him the ‘Grade Heartthrob.’ I think, among all the guys in the entire High School No. 3, no one is better looking than him. We should just call him the ‘School Heartthrob.'”

“…Handsome, good family background, and athletic. Isn’t that the setup for a romance novel male lead? A romantic fairy tale is happening right next to me!”

“I wonder if he has a girlfriend. If Mingyuan doesn’t want him, I can go comfort him and then make my move.”

After a burst of teasing, one girl interrupted her companion’s fantasy: “You need to wake up. I heard that Su Songwen has gone through many girlfriends in his three years of high school, both in and out of school. Every one of them was fair-skinned, beautiful, and tall. He’s different from us; he doesn’t have to worry about the Gaokao (College Entrance Exam), so he can play around however he wants.”

“Ew…”

Shi Mingyuan stood up and, without hesitation, tossed the milk tea Su Songwen had left on her desk into the trash can in the back row.

An Yue, who had disappeared for a while and whose whereabouts were unknown, returned, holding some snacks and two cans of sour plum juice.

With her sensitive hearing, she had heard about Su Songwen’s visit before even entering the door, but when she got to Shi Mingyuan, she didn’t rush to interrogate her about what happened. Instead, she placed the snacks on the desk between them and greeted Shi Mingyuan, “It’s finally break time. Don’t be so diligent; you’ll ruin your eyes. Take a rest, and you can study again when class starts.”

Upon hearing this, Shi Mingyuan hesitated for a moment and then put down the pen in her hand.

She wasn’t as fond of studying as An Yue imagined; she was just trying to make up for her past regrets, which was why she was so exceptionally diligent now.

An Yue didn’t ask if Shi Mingyuan wanted a drink. She directly inserted a straw into the cup of sour plum juice and placed it in front of Shi Mingyuan.

Shi Mingyuan took a small sip of the sour plum juice. An Yue looked at her expectantly and asked, “Is it good?”

“It’s sweet,” Shi Mingyuan evaluated.

“Sweet is good! I love sweet,” An Yue’s eyes curved into crescent moons with a particularly sweet smile. Shi Mingyuan took two more sips of the sour plum juice.

An Yue divided the snacks she bought fairly into two portions, one for herself and one for Shi Mingyuan. Even if Shi Mingyuan didn’t eat it, An Yue put it away in her desk drawer, saying it was in case Mingyuan got hungry later.

“I have some gossip to tell you,” An Yue tore open a packet of latiao (spicy strips), stuffed some into her mouth, and subtly pointed toward the group of boys huddled together in the back row. “Guess what they’re calling you behind your back?”

“Calling me what?” Shi Mingyuan didn’t care about the boys, but she was a little curious.

“They all say you’re good-looking and are calling you the ‘School Beauty’ in private,” An Yue said with a smile, wide-eyed, watching Shi Mingyuan, hoping to see a change in her expression, which would give the gossip real value.

“Oh.” But Shi Mingyuan remained calm and composed, as if the matter had nothing to do with her.

An Yue couldn’t believe it: “You don’t care?”

Shi Mingyuan asked, perplexed, “I don’t live by the judgment of others, so why should I care what they think?”

An Yue felt that Shi Mingyuan was overly mature, unlike her, and unlike the other girls in the class.

During evening self-study, the old electric fan overhead creaked as it spun, seeming like it could fall at any moment and slice through the young heads beneath.

Somewhere on campus, Osmanthus flowers were blooming. Since it was September, the entire campus was filled with their sweet, cloying fragrance, which even permeated the classroom. It was this floral scent that added a touch of vitality to the dull, monotonous classroom.

Shi Mingyuan was absentmindedly doing practice questions, pausing occasionally to look towards the door.

Everyone in the class was quietly studying, but the seat next to Shi Mingyuan was empty—its owner had been called to the office by the class teacher for a lecture and hadn’t returned yet.

Just as Shi Mingyuan slowly finished one side of a practice sheet, close to the end of class, An Yue finally returned, having narrowly escaped.

Judging by her red, un-faded face of shame and her unsteady steps, she had definitely been subjected to a lengthy scolding from the class teacher.

Before An Yue could even sit down, Luo Xiaoxiao eagerly questioned her, “What did Old Xie say to you?”

An Yue waved her hand weakly, signaling her to wait, and heavily sat down in her chair.

Only after the dismissal bell rang and the deliberately or unintentionally eavesdropping students had dispersed did An Yue start telling Luo Xiaoxiao what had happened. Being called in for a lecture by the class teacher for poor grades was too embarrassing; she didn’t want so many people to know.

“Actually, it was nothing. Old Xie said my grades were too poor and told me to study hard, especially to learn from Shi Mingyuan, and strive for a good score in the next mid-term exam, or else…” An Yue summarized the essence of the class teacher’s lecture, omitting the unnecessary details.

“Or else what?”

“Or else he’d have to call my parents to school to communicate with them.” An Yue’s face flushed with shame and indignation again. She complained angrily, “Calling parents over every time! That’s the only trick Old Xie knows! I’m almost an adult. Is there anything I can’t decide for myself?”

“Almost an adult… doesn’t that mean you’re not an adult yet?” Shi Mingyuan commented from the side.

An Yue looked at her, cleared her throat, and wrapped her arm around Shi Mingyuan’s arm, pleading, “Mingyuan, I admit that what I said earlier today was impulsive. It’ll be too late if I wait until next time to work hard. I need to start now, so… can you help me?”

The reality check came so fast that even An Yue hadn’t anticipated it. However, her change of heart now was less about worrying over her grades and more about being terrified of being dragged into the office again to endure the spray of the teacher’s spit.

Shi Mingyuan held out her hand, saying, “Your monthly exam paper.”

With that command, An Yue immediately searched through her desk and bag for the test paper she had previously dismissed, retrieving the sheet that was now crumpled into a ball.

Seeing its state, An Yue felt embarrassed and quickly tried to smooth the paper out. Shi Mingyuan didn’t mind. She took An Yue’s test paper and looked over it again, gaining a general understanding of An Yue’s grasp of the material.

Once the explanation began, Shi Mingyuan acted like a guide, leading An Yue into the dense forest of knowledge. Difficult problems, like tangled balls of thread under her hands, no matter how complicatedly interwoven, she could always find the beginning thread and then, thread by thread, untangle the knot back to its original form for An Yue until the end.

She didn’t just lecture; she also left room for An Yue to think, only moving on to the next question after An Yue had truly absorbed the concept. At the same time, she was extremely patient, repeating the explanation in different ways for anything An Yue didn’t understand.

Eventually, even Luo Xiaoxiao was drawn in, turning around with her own monthly exam paper to listen to Shi Mingyuan’s explanation.

Fortunately, the high school curriculum had only just begun, and the concepts needed to solve the problems were foundational, so it wasn’t difficult for An Yue to learn.

Teaching through the entire test paper, time flew by without them noticing. Until the final school bell rang and the students started standing up to pack their things for home or the dorms, An Yue was still somewhat dazed.

She stared blankly at her test paper. Through Shi Mingyuan’s teaching, she realized that these problems were not difficult at all. They didn’t require a high IQ or great talent; only enough patience, and even the highest-scoring question could be solved.

She even had a bold thought: if she could take the same test again, she could probably score a solid ninety points—no wonder Shi Mingyuan scored so well; a top student is a top student.

An Yue’s interest in studying was rekindled, and she was so ecstatic that she almost tackled Shi Mingyuan in thanks.

Shi Mingyuan restrained her impulsive behavior, took a notebook out of her desk drawer, and handed it to An Yue, saying, “The National Day holiday is coming up soon. After the break, make time to redo these wrong questions carefully. Don’t be careless, don’t take it lightly, examine the questions closely, and then look over the notes I’ve written. You’ll definitely improve next time.”

Luo Xiaoxiao, who hadn’t managed to leave yet, almost let out tears of envy from the corners of her mouth and said sourly, “An Yue, how lucky are you to have a deskmate as good as Mingyuan? I want one, too.”

“No way! Mingyuan is mine; no one is allowed to steal her!” An Yue declared possessively, blocking Shi Mingyuan with outstretched arms.

Shi Mingyuan only smiled at this.

“Mingyuan, you don’t board here. Are you safe walking home alone?”

“It’s fine. There are still many people on the road at this time. I’ll be home soon.”

After checking on Shi Mingyuan, An Yue said goodbye and headed back to the dorm with Luo Xiaoxiao.

Shi Mingyuan watched their figures disappear into the shadows of the teaching building before turning to walk toward the bike shed.

There was a question often asked online: “If you could go back to high school with all your current knowledge, would you be guaranteed admission to Tsinghua or Peking University?”

Shi Mingyuan couldn’t guarantee that her current efforts would ultimately get her into Tsinghua or Peking University, but this time, she was absolutely determined not to allow herself to have any regrets.