Chapter 17: If I Go Bald, Will You Still Love Me? (17)

Suddenly, Xuanyuan Mo felt a chill run through him. He turned around and met the gaze of a young man. The boy’s face was expressionless, his dark eyes clouded with gloom.

Bai Yao ran over in delight. “Shen Ji!”

His expression changed instantly; his face broke into a radiant smile as bright as sunshine. Grabbing the girl’s hand, he laughed cheerfully, “Yao Yao!”

Should one say it’s just as expected of a couple? All they did was greet each other and call each other’s names, yet they acted as if they’d discovered a new continent.

Xuanyuan Mo and Shen Ji were classmates, but they weren’t close. In all their years together, they’d barely exchanged a few words. Xuanyuan Mo only knew that Shen Ji used to be bullied often, but ever since he started dating Bai Yao, no one dared pick on him again.

As for Jia Renlu and a few others who used to bully him, they’d all disappeared from school due to various strange accidents.

Shen Ji held Bai Yao’s soft hand, smiling as he asked Xuanyuan Mo, “Did you need something from Yao Yao?”

Xuanyuan Mo at least knew when to leave. “I just wanted to ask her a few things. I have something else to attend to, so I’ll be going now.”

Before leaving, he glanced at Bai Yao once more, unease growing stronger in his heart. Ever since Shen Ji and Bai Yao got together, those who bullied Shen Ji had vanished. The last time they encountered Zhao Yuan, Bai Yao was the only one who didn’t have nightmares.

Could it be that the breakthrough to all these bizarre happenings lay with Bai Yao?

As soon as the unwanted person left, Shen Ji pulled something from his pocket and placed it in Bai Yao’s hand. “Yao Yao, I made this for you.”

It was a white hairpin shaped like a tiny skull.

Though traces of handcrafting were visible, the surface was polished smooth. Tiny letters, “YY,” were carved on it—her initials.

Bai Yao couldn’t tell what the hairpin was made of. It felt cold and hard, oddly reminiscent of the skeleton she’d touched not long ago. But she liked it. She immediately removed her diamond hairpin and told him, “Put this one on me.”

Shen Ji had never pinned a hairpin on a girl before. He worried that too much force would hurt her, but if he was too gentle, it wouldn’t stay in place.

Bai Yao guided his hand to the hair by her ear, teaching him step by step. “Here, just clip it here.”

After a bit of fumbling, Shen Ji finally got the hairpin in place. Imitating Bai Yao’s previous gestures, he smoothed the stray hair by her ear, then took out his phone to serve as a mirror for her.

Bai Yao turned her face slightly. The white skull nestled in her black hair was oddly cute. She’d never tried such an accessory before, but it turned out to be quite nice.

She was delighted. “Shen Ji, thank you. I love it! I’ll wear it every day, and even if I’m sleeping, I’ll keep it by my pillow!”

Shen Ji’s ears flushed red. He lowered his head shyly, muttering under his breath, “Sleeping together with Yao Yao...”

Bai Yao poked his burning cheek. “What are you thinking? I meant the hairpin, not you sleeping in my bed.”

Shen Ji smiled sheepishly, looking a little silly.

Bai Yao wondered what he was so happy about. She asked, “It must have taken you a long time to make this, right?”

Shen Ji pressed her hand to his cheek, rubbing it, his eyes full of quiet pride. “I finished it in just one night.”

Bai Yao was worried. “Every night you’re either drawing or making little things. How can you go without rest?”

“I don’t do it every night,” Shen Ji replied.

Most nights, he was actually crouching outside the fourth-floor window of the girls’ dorm, resting his chin in his hands and watching her sleep. The night would pass by in the blink of an eye while he watched Bai Yao.

Bai Yao chalked up his reply to stubbornness. “I have P.E. next period. What’s your next class?”

Shen Ji thought for a moment. “Music.”

“I’ll get you excused. I’ll take you to get some sleep.”

At this school, it was no secret that Bai Yao and Shen Ji were a couple. The teachers in Class Two were aware that Shen Ji was already showing signs of being henpecked at his young age, but since his grades had improved, they were happy to see Bai Yao managing him.

As it wasn’t yet time for class, Bai Yao first asked Lu Xiaoran to excuse her from P.E. on her behalf, then went to Class Two to ask the class president to excuse Shen Ji.

She hadn’t been to Class Two’s classroom for a while. Seeing so many empty seats, she was surprised and asked Shen Ji, “Why are so many students missing from your class?”

Shen Ji answered obediently, “The teacher said they transferred.”

With just one year before graduation, so many people transferred?

Bu Zhongyao spotted Bai Yao and hurried over. “Bai Yao, didn’t you say that even if Zhao Yuan turned into a ghost, he’d come for you first? Why is it that I keep having nightmares about him, but you don’t even dream of him?”

Bai Yao glanced at Bu Zhongyao. “Next time you have a nightmare, just tell him to come find me.”

That one sentence left Bu Zhongyao speechless.

Bai Yao took Shen Ji to the infirmary, where there was a bed for resting. The school nurse already knew them and told them to rest, then left for a meeting.

Recently, the school was rife with terrifying rumors. Whether true or not, the administration had ordered that neither teachers nor students escalate the situation.

Shen Ji lay on the bed. It was hot, and he didn’t want a blanket, but Bai Yao insisted on covering his stomach. He protested, “Yao Yao, I’m not cold.”

She sat on the chair by the bed. “By the time you realize you’re cold, you’ll have caught a cold.”

Shen Ji thought about it and realized he couldn’t argue, so he gave up resisting. Instead, he grasped Bai Yao’s hand and pressed it to his face. He closed his eyes, and after a while, opened them again. “Yao Yao, I can’t sleep.”

Bai Yao sighed at how needy he was. She stroked his head, coaxing him, “Shall I read you a story? What do you want to hear? The tale of the princess and the prince?”

Shen Ji shook his head. “I want to hear about the princess and the sea monster.”

“The princess and... the sea monster?”

Shen Ji began, “The beautiful princess is stranded on a deserted island, where she finds a little octopus. The octopus grows into a giant creature with tentacles. When the princess sleeps, its tentacles sneak into her clothes, and when she wakes, she cries out, ‘No, don’t...’”

“Wait!” Bai Yao interrupted, increasingly suspicious. “Where did you hear that story?”

“From a classmate’s phone,” Shen Ji replied after a moment, blinking innocently. “Xuanyuan Mo invited me to watch it with him.”

Bai Yao’s face darkened.

Shen Ji asked nervously, “Yao Yao, should I not watch those things with them?”

She pinched his cheek. “Of course not! From now on, you’re not allowed to hang out with Xuanyuan Mo and the others!”

Thinking it over, Bai Yao realized that boys in puberty were naturally curious about such things. She leaned down and pressed a kiss to the corner of his lips, whispering, “If you want to watch anything like that, you can only do it with me.”

Shen Ji’s eyes curved with delight. “Okay, I’ll listen to you.”

He reached out to her. “Yao Yao, kiss me again.”

Bai Yao bent down and was pulled into his arms. The next moment, he drew her onto the bed, the blanket falling over them both.

Soon, the boy’s laughter bubbled out. “Stop tickling, Yao Yao, I’m ticklish!”

Bai Yao threw back the blanket and sat astride him, her lips rosy and breathless, both hands relentless as she tickled his waist, warning him without any real menace, “Try ambushing me again and see what happens!”

He laughed so hard he could barely breathe, not daring to struggle too hard, hands steadying her waist to keep her from falling.

Bai Yao couldn’t say exactly why, but even though he lacked the striking looks of Xuanyuan Mo, she simply liked him—especially when he smiled.

Just buying him a snack or giving him some little trinket would make him happy for ages, as if no one had ever done such small things for him before.

Contagious, his laughter melted her heart until she couldn’t keep a straight face. She bent down, head lowered, and pressed her lips to his.

The kiss was achingly gentle.

Shen Ji felt as if he had become a fragile treasure, his eyes half-closed in bliss as he gently embraced the girl atop him.

He no longer needed her to ask as a daily ritual; now, as their lips met, he whispered of his own accord, “Yao Yao, I love you.”

Bai Yao wanted to ask, if love were a hundred points, how many points did his love for her reach now? But seeing his contented smile, she suddenly didn’t want to ask anymore. Using the same hand she used to pet dogs, she stroked his head and smiled, “Mm, I know.”