I Might Have Fallen in Love With My Childhood Sweetheart
Chapter 166 - 162: Snatching a Man

Chapter 166: Chapter 162: Snatching a Man

Only 22 students made it to the semi-finals, and at half-past five in the morning, they appeared at the school gate, incredibly punctual.

This time, only Old Wu and Sun Ningzhi accompanied them; Teacher Liu, for some reason, did not join.

Old Wu counted the number of students and called out each name one by one, then turned back, satisfied, to tell the driver, "Everyone’s here, we can depart now!"

The bus barely paused for five minutes before starting up again.

Half of the seats on the bus were empty, as there were no more than three students from the same class, and not many familiar classmates around, so a lot of people sat alone in a row.

Li Qingran couldn’t shake off Xie Ying’an; if she didn’t sit down, neither did Xie Ying’an, and as soon as she did, he would still sit beside her.

Forget it, let him be, Li Qingran thought.

It was indirectly choosing to compromise.

Wen Shiyi, intentionally or unintentionally, sat next to Li Qingran, along with Qi He.

Even with an early start and despite the bus’s bumps, the students were too excited to feel tired. This was the semi-final, and after this would be the finals. This competition was almost a matter of destiny for their young lives, especially for the students specializing in certain subjects.

Of course, that excludes Li Qingmo.

Upon boarding the bus, Li Qingmo boldly made his way to the last row, sprawled across the five-seater with a plop, and closed his eyes to sleep.

The other students were astounded.

Holy shit! What a bold move?

Truly worthy of being the school bully!

Li Qingran calmly withdrew her gaze, accustomed to the antics of her brother.

God knows how much effort she and Xie Ying’an had to exert today to pull her brother out of bed, using nearly Herculean strength, and it was still Xie Ying’an’s physical force that eventually dragged him out.

Li Qingmo had been exceptionally meticulous in his planning, not forgetting to bring a thin jacket for the journey, now casually throwing it over himself, indifferent to the air conditioning’s cold draft.

Xie Ying’an couldn’t be bothered to look back at him.

The journey was long, and the majority of the students brought books with them, flipping through them every second they could.

Despite Old Wu’s numerous reminders, "It’s best not to read books in the bus to avoid motion sickness," nearly half of the students couldn’t resist reading their books.

Li Qingran didn’t bring any books this time; she felt there was no need for last-minute cramming. Whether she passed the semi-final or was eliminated, she was prepared to accept the outcome with equanimity.

But just thinking about possibly seeing Lin Zhou again at F University made her feel somewhat uncomfortable.

There was no doubt that Lin Zhou was excellent, but no matter how outstanding Lin Zhou was, they were currently two parallel lines with no intersection. She convinced herself she felt nothing for Lin Zhou and didn’t want to be entangled with him in the future.

But destiny is such a thing, one that people can hardly contend with. If she met Lin Zhou too early this time, could the butterfly effect somehow change their eventual ending?

Xie Ying’an seemed to doze off with slightly closed eyes. Li Qingran tried hard to dismiss the unintended memories about Lin Zhou that surfaced in her mind and turned to see Xie Ying’an’s resolute and stunning profile.

The youth’s dark, shiny eyes, which on a regular day seemed as if they could penetrate one’s heart, would always glance at her sideways each time she sneakily, feigning nonchalance, touched his hand.

Li Qingran always felt there was a hint of amusement in his cold, black eyes, as if he knew all about her little movements yet let her free to misbehave.

When the boy sleeps, all the cold aura around him vanishes, giving people the illusion that he is approachable. Qingran bowed her head and leaned in from below trying to catch a glimpse of the teardrop mole above Xie Ying’an’s right eye.

Honestly, every time she saw that little red mole under Xie Ying’an’s eyelid, her mood would inexplicably improve.

Just now, because she thought too much about the story of Li Qingran and Lin Zhou in the book, her mood was somewhat irritable. Now she just wanted to take a peek at that little mole.

Qingran tried to make her leaning-in motion as light as possible. However, before she could see the mole under Xie Ying’an’s eyelid, Xie Ying’an, who seemed to be asleep, suddenly opened his eyes.

Qingran stiffened, unable to retract her movement. Fortunately, her head was lowered, and there was still a certain distance between the two of them.

Xie Ying’an remained in his original posture and watched Qingran with his black eyes that contained a hint of pleasure.

Qingran couldn’t withstand his gaze, hurriedly sat up straight, and awkwardly chuckled twice, "I, I just wanted to look over there at my brother."

Xie Ying’an "mm-hmmed," as if he believed her nonsense, but the tone of his voice exposed his pleasurable mood.

He took a long look at Qingran and then closed his eyes again.

Qingran: "..."

Why do I feel like I’m getting the illusion that Xie Ying’an is telling me, "Here’s another chance, take a good look at me?"

Qingran dared not look at Xie Ying’an anymore. Compared to saving face, whether or not to look at the teardrop mole didn’t matter as much anymore.

Not long after, Qingran could feel the clear sensation of being watched.

Following the feeling, she looked over to Wen Shiyi, who was sitting in the same row as her. He seemed lost in thought, looking in their direction, unsure whether he was looking at her or at Xie Ying’an.

When Wen Shiyi noticed Qingran’s gaze, he turned his head away expressionlessly, no longer as gentle as he used to be toward her.

The friendship between girls has always been a mysterious matter. Why had the relationship between Qingran and Wen Shiyi become like this? Previously, they could be considered friends, but not much time had passed, and their relationship had become so estranged it was frightening, to the point that they barely even acknowledged each other.

Qingran contemplated her reasons; she was indeed somewhat indifferent by nature. If someone did not take the initiative to befriend her, she seldom took the initiative to reach out to others.

It was the same with Ruan Ruan. People with Ruan Ruan’s personality were more proactive in everything they did. Plus, she genuinely liked Qingran a lot.

However, once they truly became good friends, Qingran would still take the initiative to maintain their friendship.

Wen Shiyi was popular, to the extent that it could be described as excellent. She had only been at F High for a few months, yet she had more friends than Qingran, who had already been there for two years.

In her heart, Qingran harbored no feelings of envy, jealousy, or resentment. However, occasionally when Ruan Ruan would mention in her ear that Wen Shiyi was very good at making friends, Qingran would quietly sigh and say, "As expected of the heroine."

Some plot lines in books are just like that; not only do heroines receive affection from the male lead and the second male lead, but even other female supporting characters will like her.

As Qingran thought all the way, when she was nearing their destination, a thought suddenly sprang from the bottom of her heart—could it be possible that Wen Shiyi really has taken a fancy to Xie Ying’an?

Because she likes Xie Ying’an, she sees me as a romantic rival, which is why she finds me disagreeable?

If that’s really the case...

Qingran clenched her fist, suddenly a thought emerging from the bottom of her heart.

If that’s really the case, she even felt the impulse to compete with the heroine for a man for once.

However, the thought had just formed in her mind when it vanished in a flash.