"If you commute to school, I'll pick you up and drop you off every day."
Ji Yuning couldn't help but think of what Fang Bai had said.
A cold smile flashed across her eyes. She didn't understand what Fang Bai was pretending for, but since this game of "family affection" had started two weeks ago, she could only cooperate and let the game continue.
"Yu Ning!"
Fang Bai and Ji Yuning had only walked a few steps when shouts came from the noisy crowd.
The two stopped at the same time. Fang Bai turned around and first glanced at Ji Yuning, whose eyes met his. After their eyes met, they looked at the person running towards them.
She had short, ear-length hair, and her bangs bounced up and down as she ran.
Mu Xuerou stopped in front of Ji Yuning, panting, and handed her the notebook she was holding, saying, "Yuning, you forgot your notebook."
Ji Yuning looked down; those were notes she didn't need, which she had deliberately taken out of her bag before leaving.
Ji Yuning didn't offer any further explanation, but reached out and took it, saying softly, "Thank you."
Mu Xuerou breathed on her face and shook her head, saying, "It's alright."
"cough."
With a soft cough, Mu Xuerou noticed the person next to Ji Yuning.
She was a very beautiful woman with long, flowing hair and fair, smooth skin.
Mu Xuerou stared blankly for a few seconds.
I just don't know what the relationship is between Ji Yuning and this beautiful woman.
Fang Bai felt that as a parent, she needed to greet Ji Yuning's classmates loudly, but Ji Yuning would definitely not introduce them to her on her own initiative, so she had to ask.
Fang Bai glanced at Ji Yuning, "Xiao Ning, is this your classmate?"
Before Ji Yuning could answer, Mu Xuerou leaned forward slightly and greeted her politely: "Hello, I am Yuning's deskmate, my name is Mu Xuerou."
Looking at the top of Mu Xuerou's head, Fang Bai raised an eyebrow, his eyes filled with amusement.
Wow!
Another female lead.
Fang Bai glanced at Ji Yuning subtly before extending his hand: "Hello, Fang Bai."
Fang...Fang Bai?!
Mu Xuerou was stunned. She looked at Ji Yuning, not knowing what to do, but saw that Ji Yuning's gaze was fixed on Fang Bai, her brows slightly furrowed, as if she was thinking about something.
Noticing that Mu Xuerou was looking at her, Ji Yuning shifted her gaze to Mu Xuerou and nodded slightly.
Having received Ji Yuning's confirmation, Mu Xuerou swallowed hard.
Although Mu Xuerou didn't know the specifics of what Fang Bai had done to Ji Yuning, she did know that all the scars on Yuning's body during her first year of high school were caused by the person in front of her.
Mu Xuerou was afraid.
Mu Xuerou raised her hand and touched Fang Bai's fingertips, saying, "Ms. Fang... hello."
Withdrawing his hand, Fang Bai looked Mu Xue Rou up and down and said, "Just call me Auntie like Xiao Ning does."
Fang Bai's voice was very gentle, reminding Mu Xuerou of her neighbor's older sister, and her fear suddenly subsided a lot.
Ji Yuning glanced at Fang Bai.
Fang Bai noticed this and winked at Ji Yuning, her eyes filled with a meaning that Ji Yuning couldn't understand.
Mu Xuerou witnessed their interaction. Looking at Fang Bai's gentle smile, Mu Xuerou couldn't believe that the person in front of her would commit domestic violence.
Fang Bai thought about the timeline of the original text, wondering what the relationship between Ji Yuning and Mu Xuerou was like now, but he couldn't think of anything for the time being.
Fang Bai put those aside for the moment, and out of consideration for Ji Yuning, he took the initiative to ask, "How are you getting home, Mu? Let me take you."
"No need, I'll take the bus..."
Before Mu Xuerou could finish speaking, another voice rang in their ears:
"Can you take me home?"
Looking in the direction of the sound, He Ziyan was standing to one side, staring intently at Fang Bai.
Fang Bai didn't have a good impression of He Ziyan, but he didn't show any displeasure on his face. He simply asked, "You?"
Then he asked, "Where's your mother?"
He Ziyan snorted: "She won't come to pick me up from school."
"I don't care," Fang Bai refused directly. "Call your driver."
"Fang—" He Ziyan wanted to call Fang Bai, but when she saw Ji Yuning, she suddenly changed her mind and said, "Aunt Fang."
Fang Bai was about to say that calling her "Mom" wouldn't help, but then he suddenly thought that if He Ziyan and Ji Yuning got along well, Ji Yuning wouldn't have to experience school bullying.
Fang Bai felt that if the children weren't inherently bad, their mindset should be able to be corrected.
The idea was naive, but at this moment, wasn't she trying to change Ji Yuning's opinion of her?
Fang Bai was still furious, a cold smile playing on his lips: "Now you're calling me auntie? When you were bullying Xiao Ning, did you ever think about how I know your mother?"
He Ziyan: "..."
Because your mom said you don't like Ji Yuning!
He Ziyan hesitated, unable to say what she was about to say.
Although He Ziyan didn't want to admit it, she had noticed that Fang Bai's attitude towards Ji Yuning had changed a lot; otherwise, he wouldn't have come to pick Ji Yuning up from school.
After Fang Bai finished speaking, he looked at Mu Xuerou and said in a normal tone, "Let's go. Consider this my way of thanking you on behalf of Xiao Ning for coming all the way to give her the notes."
More and more people gathered at the school gate, and the number of onlookers also increased.
Fang Bai wasn't used to being watched by too many people, so he turned around and walked towards the car.
He Ziyan followed closely behind Fang Bai.
Only Ji Yuning and Mu Xuerou remained.
Mu Xuerou looked at the person beside her, "Yu Ning, she..."
Seeing Ji Yuning looking at her, Mu Xuerou lowered her voice and asked softly, "Is she faking it?"
Ji Yuning's expression hardened, and Mu Xuerou could see it too.
Fang Bai, do you want to continue playing?
Ji Yuning, with her hands in her pockets, didn't answer Mu Xuerou's question, but said, "Let's go."
Ji Yuning misunderstood Mu Xuerou's meaning. Mu Xuerou didn't realize whether Fang Bai was faking it or not; she simply asked Ji Yuning, full of doubt, wanting an answer.
From Mu Xuerou's perspective, Fang Bai makes it impossible to tell that she would commit domestic violence against Ji Yuning.
The two walked to the car and bumped into He Ziyan getting out of the passenger seat and sitting in the back seat.
When she opened the door, He Ziyan gave Ji Yuning a meaningful look.
The driver's side window rolled down, and Fang Bai turned to the two people outside and said, "Xiao Ning, you get carsick, sit in the passenger seat."
Fang Bai made up the story about motion sickness so that He Ziyan would get out of the passenger seat.
Completely unaware that she was carsick, Ji Yuning was first taken aback, then moved her feet and turned to ask Mu Xuerou, "Can you sit in the back seat?"
Mu Xuerou only then realized that Ji Yuning was prone to motion sickness, and immediately nodded and said, "Okay."
Fang Bai took in the interaction between the two, watching Ji Yuning and Mu Xuerou as if they were watching a TV drama.
So when Ji Yuning turned around, she met a pair of bright, clear eyes above her, sparkling like summer stars.
“…”
There were too many cars at the school gate, causing a traffic jam that lasted for nearly fifteen minutes before the car finally drove out of the vicinity of the school.
Fang Bai knew where He Ziyan lived, and after asking Mu Xuerou for her address, he discovered that all three of their homes were in the same direction.
The car was driving on the road, and the carriage was quiet; not a single person spoke.
While waiting at a red light, Fang Bai glanced at the person sitting next to him and asked, "What do you want for dinner?"
Ji Yuning's voice was a little hoarse: "Either is fine."
Hearing Ji Yuning's lukewarm reply, Fang Bai thought to himself: I forgot that this person isn't interested in food, and she can't even find a topic to talk about.
Just as Fang Bai was thinking about what to talk about next, she heard the person in the back seat ask her, "Can I come to your house for a meal?"
The green light is on.
Fang Bai drove without replying.
He Ziyan waited for a while, but Fang Bai didn't respond. She cleared her throat and said, "I promised Teacher He that I would get along well with Ji... Yu Ning and have a meal at your house. Maybe it will deepen my friendship with Yu Ning."
Hearing He Ziyan's words, Mu Xuerou recalled what she had overheard on Wednesday night and couldn't help but speak up, "He Ziyan, how could you be like this..."
cheeky.
The last three words were swallowed back down by Mu Xuerou after she saw Fang Bai driving.
He Ziyan looked at Mu Xuerou and smiled, "What's wrong with me?"
She knew Mu Xuerou wouldn't tell anyone.
As for Ji Yuning… He Ziyan looked at the passenger seat and only saw the back of her head.
He Ziyan's words resonated with Fang Baixin, since that was exactly what she thought.
Fang Bai tapped his index finger on the steering wheel: "You can come to my house for dinner, but first tell me why you accused Xiao Ning of stealing your phone."
He Ziyan didn't expect Fang Bai to ask her this question.
She subconsciously looked at Ji Yuning, but only saw the back of her head. Ji Yuning turned her head to look out the window, not moving at all, seemingly uninterested in the question.
"I…"
He Ziyan fell silent.
A few minutes passed, and Fang Bai remained silent, waiting quietly for He Ziyan's reply.
He Ziyan waited for a while, then closed her eyes tightly and said with a look of grim determination, "I don't like that she got first place."
Fang Bai asked in surprise, "That's it?"