The Moon Upon My Heart - Chapter 6

Chapter 6: Rejection

Regret Had Already Filled Her Heart

In the morning, Shen Wangshu woke up very early. She thought she could leave quietly, but just as she walked onto the balcony, she saw Ji Fengyue’s seemingly casual glance in the mirror above the sink.

Shen Wangshu immediately lowered her head to brush her teeth. After finishing hurriedly, she splashed cold water on her face. Unexpectedly, Ji Fengyue stood beside her with extreme naturalness and asked faintly.

“Student Xiaoyue, your complexion is very poor. Did you not sleep well last night?”

Shen Wangshu’s body stiffened. She answered slowly: “Mhm… it’s my first time spending the night at school, I’m not quite used to it.”

“Oh. Are you planning to go to the cafeteria to eat now?” Ji Fengyue looked at her watch. “It’s still very early.”

“…” Shen Wangshu already knew what she was going to say.

“Then let’s go together. What do you want to eat?”

Shen Wangshu sighed helplessly: “Can I just eat whatever?”

Ji Fengyue pushed up her glasses and gave a small laugh at the girl who was asking a question she already knew the answer to: “Of course not. It needs to be easy to digest and nutritious.”

“…Can I eat noodles? The kind with soup.”

Seeing Ji Fengyue nod with an expression that said “that’s barely acceptable,” a sense of powerlessness suddenly rose in Shen Wangshu’s heart. Did this person actually remember that they were “newly acquainted” classmates? How could she be so familiar so quickly?

But despite this, Shen Wangshu still had no way to reject her. She could only obediently walk out of the dormitory side-by-side with Ji Fengyue.

At the cafeteria, Ji Fengyue naturally had Shen Wangshu claim a seat while she went to the window to line up and order. Shen Wangshu wanted to refuse, but she was choked back by the reasoning that “sick people should rest.” She could only sit listlessly in the seat closest to where Ji Fengyue was standing, sighing in her heart over and over.

This was only the first day of high school life; what should she do afterward? Could she really maintain a normal classmate distance with Ji Fengyue? The more Shen Wangshu thought about it, the more the hope felt slim and the future felt bleak.

Sigh, what on earth should I do…

“Student Xiaoyue, why are you sighing?” Ji Fengyue placed the ramen in front of Shen Wangshu and sat in the opposite seat.

Shen Wangshu glanced at her, then lowered her head again, poking the noodles in the bowl with her chopsticks. Her spirits were clearly not high.

“I feel like you’re looking after me as if I’m a child.”

“We should be peers, right? Why look after me like this? I’m not anyone to you.”

Ji Fengyue said in a flat tone: “Teacher Liu told me to care for you more. Besides, you look so small, like a little sister in the first year of junior high.”

“Is that an acceptable reason?”

Shen Wangshu curled her lip. She was only short right now; she would grow tall in another half year!

She didn’t answer. Seeing the angry look on the girl’s face as she buried her head in her noodles, a faint smile actually appeared between Ji Fengyue’s brows. In a place where Shen Wangshu couldn’t see, her expression was much softer than her tone of voice.

Being stared at constantly by the person opposite her, Shen Wangshu truly couldn’t eat in peace. She hurriedly finished the noodles in her bowl, but when she looked up, she was dumbfounded to see that Ji Fengyue’s bowl was already empty.

Amused by her expression, Ji Fengyue raised her wrist to indicate the time: “Why are you dazed? Morning self-study is about to start, let’s go quickly.”

“…” Shen Wangshu grabbed her bag and said in a muffled voice, “You’ve already finished eating, there’s no need to sit here and wait for me. I don’t know the time; if we’re late, you’ll have to stand as punishment with me.”

“That’s exactly why I’m waiting for you here. How can I let a sick person stand as punishment? If your stomach starts hurting, wouldn’t you have to get another injection?” Ji Fengyue followed beside the hurrying Shen Wangshu, suppressing a smile as she spoke to her.

Shen Wangshu stopped talking. She had a stomach full of words she wanted to say, but not a single one she wanted Ji Fengyue to know.

It wasn’t until they reached the stairs of the teaching building that she finally squeezed out some words: “Ji Fengyue, thank you for caring about me so much.”

“But, I am not your responsibility. You should care more about your own affairs.”

“Really, you don’t need to accompany me like this anymore. I’m under a lot of pressure, and my stomach hurts even more.”

After saying these cruel words, Shen Wangshu walked quickly up the stairs. She didn’t dare look back, so she didn’t know what kind of terrifying expression Ji Fengyue, frozen in place, had at that moment.

Watching the girl’s figure disappear and even the sound of the hurried footsteps vanish, Ji Fengyue finally gripped the wooden handrail and slowly walked upstairs. The splinters on the handrail scraped against her palm.

She pushed up her glasses several times in a row. It wasn’t until she reached the fourth floor and was nearly at the classroom door that Ji Fengyue lowered her hand. Her expression had already returned to its original state—indeed, a look of coldness.

Inside the classroom, the guiltily seated Shen Wangshu saw her expression and her heart suddenly throbbed with pain. She slowly lowered her head and propped up her Chinese textbook to hide behind it, bitterness welling in her eyes again.

She feared that if Ji Fengyue said anything to her now, she really wouldn’t be able to hold it in.

But Ji Fengyue said nothing. She probably walked very slowly, sitting down only after a while. Then, like all the other students around her, she began to recite the classical Chinese text in her book loudly but without emotion, as if she were already immersed in it and cared for nothing else.

Shen Wangshu lowered her head even further. She bit her lip hard; regret had already filled her heart. Why did she have to say those things to Ji Fengyue? She must be angry, but…

But unlike what Shen Wangshu imagined, Ji Fengyue had been paying attention to her the whole time. Seeing the girl so guilty she was almost burying her head in the textbook, she was both annoyed and amused. In the end, she couldn’t bear it and secretly wrote a note, sliding it over from under the tilted bottom edge of the Chinese textbook.

Here, don’t think too much. Take your medicine first. I’m not angry.

The water in the thermos was just poured from the dispenser; the temperature should be just right. Drink carefully.

Don’t put too much pressure on yourself. If you really can’t help it, just consider that you owe me a favor. In the future, if I have anything, you can proactively help me too ^v^.

Shen Wangshu’s gaze fixed on it, and her vision immediately became a blur. After a long while, she pushed the note back, with a line of handwriting added to it.

I understand. Thank you, Ji Fengyue.

Receiving the reply, Ji Fengyue pushed the thermos closer to Shen Wangshu’s hand. Shen Wangshu still didn’t turn her head to look at her, only silently taking the cup, but Ji Fengyue nevertheless breathed a sigh of relief.

She treasured that note and tucked it away, continuing to reflect in her heart on her overly proactive behavior over the past two days.

But even if time turned back and she could do it again, Ji Fengyue would still choose to be a “strange, warm-hearted classmate.”

On the day she was reborn, Ji Fengyue had sworn that in this life, she would take good care of her beloved and would never let her have any possibility of getting hurt.

Seeing Shen Wangshu’s pale little face again and the tears gathered in her eyes, how could Ji Fengyue possibly remain calm? Any plans, any intentions, any consequences—all of it was thrown to the back of her mind. Her heart and eyes were filled only with Shen Wangshu.

Although an accident had occurred, fortunately, the result was fairly good; at least the lukewarm and slow-to-warm girl hadn’t truly been scared away.

Ji Fengyue touched the watch on her wrist over and over. The metal strap, after being held for just a moment, was no longer cold. She suddenly linked it to Shen Wangshu in her mind.

Shen Wangshu was just that kind of person. She looked cold in nature, but in fact, it was very hard for her to refuse the kindness of others. If you were just a bit warm, the “ice block” would immediately be warmed through.

However, it was still different. Metal heats up fast and cools down fast, but as long as Shen Wangshu accepted someone’s kindness, she would definitely remember it in her heart and would not forget it for many years.

Except, if Ji Fengyue could choose, she would rather not have this kind of “blessing in disguise.” She hoped even more that Shen Wangshu could be well, never getting sick, and especially never shedding tears.

The third period on the schedule was self-study, followed by two consecutive periods of Chinese. However, to everyone’s surprise, after the bell rang, the Chinese teacher, Zhu Ying, walked into the classroom carrying a thick folder.

Teacher Zhu simply said her name and then informed the students that a placement test would be held over the next three periods. She hoped everyone would face it with the mindset of a formal exam, and naturally, the essay had to be finished. A wail went up in the classroom.

It didn’t stop there. She smiled slightly at the students and revealed some news: all subjects would complete placement exams this week to judge the solidity of everyone’s foundation. She hoped everyone could be mentally prepared.

Many people were shocked on the spot, and the classroom was filled with constant noise. After the high school entrance exam, they had played hard for weeks; many students had almost forgotten who they were. To have a placement exam for every subject right at the start of school was practically taking their lives.

Shen Wangshu still remembered this incident. Back then, she was also one of those panicked students, though she hadn’t shown it; her exam results weren’t very good.

She brooded over it for a year until the grade-wide test at the start of her second year, when she broke into the top twenty of the entire grade and her ranking wasn’t far from Ji Fengyue’s; only then did Shen Wangshu let go of her regret from that time.

For the new high school placement exam, although the teachers didn’t publicly announce the rankings, Shen Wangshu knew that there were almost no “X” marks on Ji Fengyue’s test paper. This was the second thing Shen Wangshu had remembered for fifteen years, following the calligraphy practice in the dorm on the first day.

After receiving the paper passed from the front row, Shen Wangshu took a brief glance. She had only one thought: this paper is so simple. How on earth was she stumped by this test back then?

Perhaps life experience truly gives one a bone-deep transformation. This time, Shen Wangshu could see the deeper meanings in the reading comprehension questions and was not intimidated by the essay titled “I Cannot Forget Those Eyes,” which seemed to be difficult for fifteen-year-olds.

Eyes… Shen Wangshu stole another glance at Ji Fengyue. Her expression was so focused, all her attention placed on the exam paper, with nothing else but the questions in her eyes.

For some inexplicable reason, Shen Wangshu’s heart began to feel stifled again. But the exam had started; she sighed faintly in her heart and also lowered her head to begin writing.

By the time the exam ended, there were still a dozen minutes before the end of school. Teacher Zhu very generously let Class 6 be dismissed early. Ji Fengyue and Shen Wangshu naturally went to the cafeteria together.

At this time, there weren’t many people on the third floor of the cafeteria, so there was naturally no need to line up. Shen Wangshu still had no appetite, but unable to withstand the supervision of the person beside her, she casually picked a few things at the buffet window.

Ji Fengyue followed behind Shen Wangshu, wanting to start a conversation several times, but seeing Shen Wangshu’s lack of interest, she silently swallowed all the words she wanted to say. In the end, they sat together in a window seat with their meal boxes—still face-to-face, still with one person hanging her head and the other taking the initiative.

“Shen Wangshu, what’s wrong? Did you not perform well on the exam just now?”

“No, the questions weren’t hard.” Shen Wangshu’s spirits were low. This person had confidently crowded into her space again; she had no way to refuse, so how could she be happy?

Ji Fengyue was somewhat helpless: “Then after eating, shall we go to the classroom together for self-study?”

Shen Wangshu used her chopsticks to forcefully poke the poached egg in her bowl twice, replying in a muffled voice: “Let’s go.”

The least worrying Chinese exam was over, but the exams for other subjects were imminent. She didn’t want to fall too far behind Ji Fengyue. Seeing how full of confidence this fellow looked, her rebirth time was definitely earlier than hers. That damnable God of Study!

“Looking at the schedule, the physics exam should be this afternoon, and the biology exam tonight. Do you need to review notes? I brought them all; I can lend them to you to look at.”

Notes specifically prepared by the God of Study… Shen Wangshu was silent for a moment. After all, one’s hand is short when taking things from others, and her tone of voice wasn’t as forceful anymore: “I want them.”

Ji Fengyue really wanted to laugh right now but didn’t dare. She was afraid Shen Wangshu would turn around and leave with her bowl.

“Then accompany me to the dorm to get them later?”

“Mhm… thank you, Ji Fengyue.”

“You’re welcome, Student Xiaoyue.” Ji Fengyue’s eyes curved slightly, but noticing Shen Wangshu’s tightly pursed lips, her smile gradually dissipated, leaving only sorrow in her eyes.