Chapter 4 Are You in Love

Lily's appetite suddenly improved. She hugged her bowl and gulped down the porridge. She rejected Bill's offer to drive her to school, and, as usual, took the bus by herself.

When she was almost at the bus station, Lily lowered her head and struggled to pull out her student bus card from her bag.

Out of the corner of her eye, she noticed a convenience store nearby. After a brief hesitation, she walked inside.

The store wasn't large, and the fridge with drinks was placed right at the entrance. Lily stared at the row of milk bottles, her eyes not blinking, seemingly deep in thought.

Seeing her linger there for a while, the cashier at the counter couldn't help but ask, "Little girl, are you buying milk?"

Normally, Lily would have ignored the comment, but this time, she unexpectedly turned around and pointed at her school uniform. "I'm in middle school now. Don't call me that."

Without waiting for the cashier to respond, Lily continued, "I'm not buying. Just looking."

After saying that, she bid goodbye and exited the store, just in time to catch a bus crowded with people. Lily quickly boarded and squeezed through the crowd, finding a spot to stand.

The bus jolted as it moved.

Due to the inertia, Lily had trouble keeping her balance. She had to tiptoe while holding onto the handrail, struggling with the effort. When the bus suddenly braked, she lost her balance and stumbled forward, her heart skipping a beat. The next moment, someone grabbed her backpack and pulled her back.

A series of complaints followed.

Lily stretched her arm out, barely managing to grab a distant handrail.

In that brief moment, she glanced back and met Alexander's gaze.

The boy was about 1.7 meters tall, a head taller than her. His facial features were still developing, looking soft and youthful, yet his face showed a deliberately constructed maturity. "Are you alright?" he asked.

Lily nodded but didn't respond.

Alexander made space for her and said, "You can stand here."

Since his height allowed him to reach the handrail, Lily didn't hesitate and said, "Thanks."

Silence.

After a while, Alexander awkwardly said, "I heard from Iris that you got your parents called, is that true?"

Lily looked at him, annoyed. "Why does she tell you everything?"

"You didn't go to the bookstore with us yesterday, so I asked her," Alexander seemed a bit nervous. "No other reason, I just wanted to tell you that I also got my parents called."

Lily paused. "You got your parents called too?"

"Yeah."

"Why?"

After a brief hesitation, Alexander muttered, "I wasn't paying attention in class."

Lily nodded. "I was the same."

"Why don't you listen?"

"It's too easy," Lily said. "I don't want to."

"..." Alexander scratched his head and nonchalantly added, "Same here."

Lily raised an eyebrow. "But didn't you rank near the bottom in the last exam?"

Sweat trickled down Alexander's forehead as he avoided her gaze, tightening his grip on the handrail. His expression remained indifferent as he said, "Yeah. The questions were too easy. I didn't feel like answering them."

Lily seemed to accept the explanation and replied calmly, "Oh," and didn't comment further.

The atmosphere grew quiet.

Too quiet.

Finally, Alexander cleared his throat, breaking the silence. "What was your rank in the last exam?"

Lily replied, "First."

"..." Alexander gritted his teeth but quickly relaxed, giving a nonchalant grin. "Alright, I'll try to get first place next time, just to see what it's like."

Lily looked him up and down. "You're going for first place next time?"

Alexander nodded, his confidence wavering. "...What's wrong with that?"

"Nothing. Just a reminder," Lily said, brushing it off with confidence. "With me around, it's not going to happen."

"..."

And just like that, the two of them seemed to unintentionally turn adversarial.

Afterward, Alexander didn't know what else to say. He had no experience with this sort of thing and felt too embarrassed to keep pushing the awkward conversation. He fell silent.

When the bus reached their stop, Lily got off first and walked quickly toward the school.

Alexander followed behind her, wracking his brain on how to salvage the situation. He hadn't come up with any ideas when he ran into a guy he knew. The boy greeted him and casually draped his arm around his neck as they walked ahead.

The boy's long strides quickly overtook Lily.

Alexander turned around and called out, "Lily, I'm leaving now!"

Lily half-heartedly waved her hand at him.

The boy glanced at Lily and gave a knowing "oh" before chuckling.

Alexander kicked him playfully, but his gaze kept drifting back toward Lily.

"Are you crazy?"

Lily didn't pay attention to their conversation.

She didn't hear a single word or care about what they were saying. Her mind was preoccupied with the upcoming parent meeting and the man she had met yesterday.

Yesterday had been so rushed, with Andy present and Lucas only agreeing to come at the last minute, so nothing had been fully explained. Lily didn't have his contact details and had no idea how to tell him to come at 4,30 in the afternoon.

She didn't know when he would show up.

Because she kept thinking about this, Lily couldn't focus during class. Every now and then, she would glance toward the school gate. After being scolded by a few teachers, she eventually calmed down.

The clock on the wall kept ticking.

At exactly 4,20, the bell for the last class rang, signaling the end of the school day.

Since Lily was likely going home with her brother, Iris didn't wait for her and left the classroom after saying goodbye.

With nothing to do, Lily dug out a notebook from her drawer and started drawing again. Time passed, and when she looked up at the clock again, she realized it was already almost five o'clock.

The spacious classroom was now empty, with only her remaining.

She froze for a moment.

Lucas still hadn't arrived.

Lily didn't know whether Lucas didn't realize that middle school finished early, or if he had simply forgotten about it. She struggled to keep her composure, attempting to continue drawing, but her mind was a tangled mess.

She waited for another fifteen minutes.

Then Lily heard the sound of other classroom doors being slammed shut. Perhaps it was just her imagination, but the silence seemed even more pronounced than before.

Any small sound made by a single person now seemed amplified.

The words he had said yesterday felt like a joke.

Unable to wait any longer, Lily suddenly stood up.

The chair slid backward with a loud screech, which made her ears ring. She froze in place, and her eyes slowly reddened. She forced a stern expression, trying to suppress her feelings of frustration.

"Forget it."

Lily hastily shoved a few books into her bag, slung it over her shoulder, and walked out.

The first-year classes finished early, around just after four, and it was now a little past five. The hallway was already empty, with only a few people scattered about.

Lily lowered her head, running down the stairs.

Her steps were quick, and she didn't look where she was going, like a headless fly. Suddenly, she collided with a human wall. Lily staggered back a few steps and muttered an apology.

Without lifting her head, she continued walking.

The person she bumped into spoke up, "Hey, do you know how to get to Class 1-1?"

The man's voice rose slightly at the end, naturally drawing out his words, and his speech carried an unspoken lazy tone, as if his voice brushed against her ear, scratching at her heart.

It sounded somewhat familiar.

Lily turned around.

Lucas was standing by the railing, wearing a white shirt and suit pants. His bangs were slightly long, covering his eyebrows, and his features were so strikingly handsome that they almost looked too beautiful. He lowered his gaze and, seeing her face, relaxed his lips into a smile. "Lily?"

Lily stared at him for a few seconds, then quickly looked down again without saying a word.

She wasn't sure whether to consider this encounter expected or unexpected.

Noticing her reddened eyes, Lucas crouched down and looked at her. "Crying again?"

"..."

He found it amusing. "Are you this scared?"

Lily pressed her lips together and remained silent.

Lucas grinned. "Stop crying, I'll take the blame for you."

Lily glanced at him.

Lucas ruffled her hair and asked, "Should we go to the classroom or the office?"

Lily didn't answer his question but scolded him, "Why are you so late?"

Lucas raised an eyebrow in amusement and replied in a good-natured tone, "What time should I come then?"

Lily stiffly answered, "I finished class at 4,20."

"So early? I didn't know. Can I apologize? Let me make it up to you," Lucas's tone was playful, as if teasing a pet. "I'll admit I was wrong."

With his arrival, Lily's mood lifted a little, and she managed to squeeze out, "No need."

It had already been some time since school ended.

Worried about keeping the teacher waiting, Lily didn't argue anymore. "Let's go."

"Where to?"

"The office."

As they reached the first floor, a left turn would lead them straight to the teacher's office.

They stopped five meters away from the door.

Lily thought for a moment and gave a few instructions. "I'm actually pretty experienced with this. The teacher will complain to you non-stop, and you just need to go along with it."

Lucas lazily hummed in acknowledgment.

The task at hand was the most outrageous and serious thing Lily had ever done.

She was about to help deceive a teacher with someone else.

Lily's expression became serious. "Also, brother, try not to talk too much. If we get exposed, and they catch us, we're both in big trouble."

Lucas licked his lips and smiled. "Why does it sound so scary?"

Lily nervously stared at him, trying to bluff. "You'd better be brave."

"Okay." Lucas laughed, "I'll be brave."

At that moment, there were only two teachers left in the office.

One was Robin, and the other was the homeroom teacher for Class 6, who also taught English for Class 1. The two desks were side by side, with Robin marking papers while chatting casually with Teacher Turner.

Lily walked over. "Teacher."

Robin looked up. "You're here?"

Lily kept her head down and said, "Mm, my brother came."

Lucas stood beside her. He was far less nervous than she was, speaking clearly and calmly, "Hello, I'm Andy, Lily's brother."

Lily had expected him to be too nervous to speak, but instead, she was surprised to hear him say "Andy" so calmly. He delivered the lie with such smooth confidence, his tone steady and full of assurance.

She couldn't help but glance at him.

Robin stood up and quickly said, "I'm Lily's homeroom teacher. Sorry for the trouble, please have a seat."

Teacher Turner joked from the side, "How many times is this now?"

Robin lowered his voice, somewhat exasperated, "Aren't you the same?"

It was then that Lily noticed there was a fifth person in the office. Alexander was standing quietly in the corner behind the two teachers, blending in like an invisible presence.

As their eyes met, Alexander's footsteps faltered, as if he were hesitating. He soon walked over and stood about two meters away from Lily, right in front of Teacher Turner.

The proximity between them was noticeable.

They were close in age and both quite attractive.

It was easy to imagine a certain thought crossing people's minds.

Lucas sat in the chair next to Robin, eyeing the two of them with a knowing look. Then he waved at Lily. "Come here."

Lily obediently walked over. "What's up?"

Robin was busy looking for some materials and didn't notice what was going on between them.

Lucas rested his face in one hand and then beckoned Lily closer with a finger.

Lily paused for a few seconds, then reluctantly stepped closer.

"Kid," he lowered his head and whispered to her, his voice full of mischief, "Are you in love?"

At the first word, Lily felt a bit annoyed, but when the following question came, her mind went blank for a moment. "What?"

When she came to her senses, her face immediately turned bright red, like a little tomato. She couldn't tell if it was from anger or embarrassment. She quickly suppressed her voice, afraid the teachers might hear. "You're the one in love!"

"Mm? I'd love to," Lucas smirked.

"..."

Lucas leaned back into the chair, lazily adding, "But age doesn't allow it, does it?"