Chapter 38

“But I can’t remember…”

“Ugh, then what are you even talking about!” Even Meng Bai couldn’t help shaking her head.

Zhou An was always like this—stoking everyone’s curiosity only to fizzle out with nothing to show for it.

Xu Zhou laughed at her. “Oh, come on, stop putting on this mysterious act!”

“I really saw him! But I just can’t remember! You two are ridiculous! Why won’t you believe me?”

Believe her? No one did. They all figured Zhou An was full of hot air.

After lunch, the three girls headed back to the classroom.

The afternoon schedule was straightforward: two classes, then the driver would take them back to town.

Just as Miao Bai had predicted, the first tutoring session really did pass without incident.

Zhou Yizheng was going over the second set of practice tests—real exam questions they’d all done before. It was mind-numbingly dull.

A few osmanthus trees stood outside the classroom, filling the air with their rich, sweet fragrance that only amplified the drowsiness.

Autumn lethargy at its finest.

Up on the podium, Zhou Yizheng clutched a piece of chalk, sketching an elliptic curve on the board with a grating screech, sending up puffs of dust.

Meng Bai was fighting off sleep; at that moment, the parabolic arcs of math felt like the ultimate lullaby…

She was on the verge of nodding off.

Right in the instant before her eyelids could fully close…

The next second, a dark silhouette flashed into view—gone in less than half a second, off to the left side of the podium. It jolted Meng Bai fully awake.

She shook her head and peered intently, but there was nothing there.

What the hell—Miao Bai? She’d just seen Miao Bai!

Uncertain, Meng Bai scanned the room again. No trace of her.

Zhou An tsked beside her. “What’s with you? Why’d you jump like that? You scared the crap out of me!”

Meng Bai rubbed her eyes. “I think I saw Miao Bai.”

Zhou An whispered, “You’re losing it! We’re in the middle of class! Why would she show up here?”

This time, Meng Bai leaned toward it being a mistake. “Fine, I was dozing off. Must’ve been a hallucination.”

Zhou An glanced down at her paper and griped, “Haven’t we done this one before? I’m so sleepy…”

Meng Bai nodded. “Me too…”

The words had barely left her mouth.

A faint chill brushed over Meng Bai, like a cold gust of wind—but not quite.

It felt more like something drawing near…

“Hey! I’m talking to you!”

Meng Bai shook off the eerie sensation. “Nothing. I’ve worked this problem three times already.”

“Really? Hey, should we grab some snacks on the way back? I’m starving.”

Zhou An twirled her pen to stave off sleep, while Xu Zhou had already begun nodding off beside her.

For Meng Bai, though, that strange feeling intensified, growing stronger and stronger—until a familiar scent drifted into her nostrils. In an instant, everything clicked.

No hallucination. Miao Bai was really here.

That scent, unique to Miao Bai alone, was like a secret signal between them.

Meng Bai was certain now: Miao Bai had to be very close—perhaps right at her side.

There was only one reason: the smell was too real to be anything else!

Zhou Yizheng’s booming voice echoed through the spacious classroom.

All trace of sleepiness vanished. Meng Bai scribbled a line on her paper:

【You here?】

After a moment’s thought, she added:

【If you are, give me a light poke.】

Those few seconds of waiting dragged on forever.

Meng Bai teetered between conviction and doubt.

If this was all in her head, she really was losing her mind!

Then she felt it—a gentle pressure on her arm. A poke, just as requested.

!!!

She was really here!

Her heart pounded with irrepressible excitement.

Meng Bai hurriedly scrawled more: 【Why’d you come? Didn’t we agree you wouldn’t? Doesn’t daytime hurt you? The sun’s pretty intense today…】

The words poured out across the page in a rush of surprise and urgency, one question after another piling up with no end in sight.

Zhou An gawked at her. “Are you okay? What the heck are you writing?”

Meng Bai slapped her hand over the paper. “None of your business—pay attention to class!”

Zhou An scoffed. “Pfft… like I care what you’re scribbling!”

Meng Bai turned back and wrote: 【Huh? Why no reply?】

In truth, she had no idea how Miao Bai would respond.

Speak up? Miao Bai couldn’t—not without everyone else hearing, which would turn this into a full-blown ghost panic.

As Meng Bai mulled over the possibilities, a cool touch grazed the back of her hand.

That familiar chill spread across her skin, tickling unbearably.

She’d been touched.

With the light contact on the back of her hand, it felt like Miao Bai was instructing her: open your palm.

Meng Bai complied, turning her hand palm-up. She had a pretty good idea what was coming.

Sure enough, the next moment brought an itchy sensation in her palm—Miao Bai, writing.

Stroke by deliberate stroke, the slow, tactile message.

Meng Bai deciphered it quickly:

【Because I’m bored.】

Meng Bai’s lips curved into a smile despite herself.

It was a little magical, a little thrilling.

The whole class was absorbed in the lesson, oblivious to Miao Bai’s presence—hers alone.

This secret shared just between them felt endlessly amusing.

Emboldened, Meng Bai wrote: 【This is so much fun!】

Miao Bai replied: 【Not listening? You were sleeping a minute ago.】

Meng Bai wrinkled her nose on the page: 【Too easy!】

Miao Bai: 【Being too proud isn’t good.】

Zhou An watched, utterly baffled.

To her, Meng Bai was just compulsively filling her paper with line after dense line of writing, like she’d gone off the deep end.

“Hey, you good? What are you even doing?” Zhou An leaned in close, trying to sneak a peek.

Meng Bai blocked her view completely and lied through her teeth. “I’m memorizing classical Chinese!”

“Get real! We’re doing math, and you’re memorizing classical Chinese? Do you think I’m an idiot or what!”

Meng Bai faltered for a second, clearly stumped, then mumbled, “Zhou Yizheng’s lecture is too boring. I… I don’t want to listen.”

Just then, Xu Zhou stirred from her nap and blinked blearily at the two of them. “What’s going on with you guys?”

Zhou An launched into her complaint. “I think Meng Bai’s possessed or something. She’s been muttering to herself all over that paper, swearing she’s memorizing classical Chinese—what a load! You should’ve seen the goofy smile on her face while writing. Like spring fever hit her out of nowhere!”

Xu Zhou was already barely awake, and this only made her more confused.

“Huh?”

“Meng Bai—” Zhou Yizheng called out suddenly from the podium. “Come on up and explain how to solve this problem.”

His sudden roll call threw the classroom into brief chaos.

Meng Bai stood up stiffly. She didn’t even know which problem they were on, and being singled out by Zhou Yizheng like this was the last thing she’d expected.

Amusement glinted in Zhou Yizheng’s eyes as he pressed her. “You’ve been distracted all class, so you must have everything down pat. Walk us through your thought process.”

Meng Bai grabbed her test paper. It wasn’t that she couldn’t solve it—she just had no idea which question they were talking about.

She glanced down at Zhou An, but Zhou An was clueless too. And Xu Zhou? Forget it. She wasn’t here for tutoring; she was here to nap.

Just as Meng Bai started to feel awkward, Miao Bai’s voice whispered in her ear. “Silly girl, he’s on the last multiple-choice question on the second page.”

Miao Bai’s voice was so soft it was practically breathed right against Meng Bai’s ear. The warm puff of air tickled her earlobe, sending a hot flush straight to her cheeks.

No one else in the room heard a thing.

But everyone noticed Meng Bai’s ears turning pink. Some figured it was embarrassment—they had no idea it was shyness.

Li Yue twisted around in her seat. “Don’t know which one it is? Last multiple-choice on page two!”

Meng Bai snapped out of it. She scanned the question stem on her paper and cracked it in seconds. “My approach is… this one’s so straightforward you don’t even need to calculate. Know the trick, eliminate A, B, and D right off the bat, and go straight for C.”

Zhou Yizheng nodded. “Mm, that works for you, Meng, but I wouldn’t recommend it for anyone shaky on the basics. Answer’s right, though.” He motioned for her to sit, then added firmly, “Pay attention next time.”

Meng Bai nodded and sank back into her seat. False alarm.

Her heart was still racing, though—not from Zhou Yizheng putting her on the spot.

No, it was because…

Miao Bai had actually spoken up! What if someone else heard?

“What time does class end?” Miao Bai’s voice came again, just as soft as before.

Meng Bai: “！！！！”

She’s lost her mind！！！！

Meng Bai scribbled furiously on her paper: 【Ends at 6. Aren’t you scared someone’ll hear you?】

Miao Bai let out a soft chuckle. “What’re you so scared of?”

【I don’t want anyone else finding out you exist! Way too risky!】 Meng Bai scrawled.

Her pulse hammered away. This was way too thrilling.

She half-expected Miao Bai to keep going.

But then… silence.

The sudden quiet left Meng Bai feeling strangely off-balance.

Maybe a few words wouldn’t hurt, she thought. If Zhou Yizheng kept his voice up and Miao Bai stayed this quiet, no one would notice.

She felt ridiculous, flip-flopping like this—wanting to hear her one second, dreading it the next.

Meng Bai: “?”

【Why’d you go quiet again!】

“Isn’t this what you told me not to do?” Miao Bai’s voice returned.

Meng Bai: 【Not exactly. Sigh, do whatever.】

Miao Bai’s laughter drifted into her ear again, light and silvery, though hardly a whisper this time. Meng Bai tensed up, glancing around wildly. No one seemed to notice.

“Silly girl,” Miao Bai said.

Meng Bai wrote: 【Quit calling me silly!】

This time, Miao Bai spoke at normal volume. “Ever think maybe only you can hear me?”

The words hit like a spark. Meng Bai’s face burned crimson, the blush creeping from her cheeks down her neck.

Fine, she admitted it—her brain had been stuck in a rut. Why hadn’t she considered that?

“Alright, let’s see how you handle the rest. Pay attention—I’m heading out.”

“Don’t go—” Panic seized Meng Bai. The words tumbled out on instinct, her hand even twitching as if to grab her.

The outburst—and the gesture—landed like a bomb.

The whole classroom went dead silent.

Up on the podium, Zhou Yizheng’s chalk froze mid-stroke. He turned to stare at her.

Every single classmate swiveled around, eyes locked on Meng Bai.

Under that barrage of stares, Meng Bai wanted to sink through the floor. This was real embarrassment.

“Meng Bai,” Zhou Yizheng said, “what’s this about ‘don’t go’?”

Meng Bai pressed her lips together, her cheeks aflame.

Her, a model student? What a disaster of a day!

With twenty pairs of eyes judging her, her mind raced through a brainstorm in two seconds flat.

“Uh… I was telling Zhou An not to go. She just asked if we’d head out after class to grab some fried potatoes, and I said no way.”

Zhou An: “?”

To sell it, Meng Bai piled on. “I told her, Zhou An, chill out! Don’t rush the bell every time! We’ll figure out after-school stuff after school—class is still on!”

Zhou An: “？？？？？？”