Transmigrated as the School Hunk's Arch-Nemesis [Book Transmigration] - Chapter 8

It was only when Shen Yixing brought Jiang Baiyi back to his place that he realized Jiang Baiyi’s home was actually across the street. They weren’t in the same complex, just separated by a wall.

Outside, it was pitch black. In the kitchen, Shen Yixing washed and peeled a cucumber. Jiang Baiyi leaned against the counter beside him with his arms crossed, watching idly as Shen Yixing washed the rice and vegetables.

“Why are you washing so many cucumbers?”

“To eat.”

“We’re eating just this for dinner?!”

“Take it or leave it.”

It was better to have cucumber than nothing.

Shen Yixing finished peeling a cucumber, placed it on a plate, pushed the obstructing Jiang Baiyi aside, and deftly sliced the cucumber into thin strips with a kitchen knife from the cupboard.

“Your knife skills aren’t bad, have you practiced?”

“I didn’t expect you to know how to cook.”

“Shen Yixing, don’t play mute, say something.”

Jiang Baiyi, ignored, followed Shen Yixing around, occasionally handing him condiments just to bug him.

The perfectly good shredded cucumber ended up being pickled in too much soy sauce, and the scrambled eggs became loaded with scallions.

Finally losing his patience, Shen Yixing said unhappily, “Can you go sit outside? Just leave once you’ve finished mooching a meal.”

“Why are you so rough? What was it that King Kong said?” Jiang Baiyi coughed pretentiously, imitating the teacher’s lecture tone, “We music students must always pay attention to our decorum. Shen Yixing, no wonder you’re not popular in class.”

Shen Yixing rolled his eyes, wanting to ignore him but feeling the urge to snap back.

Forget it, no point in talking to this guy.

He swallowed the words on the tip of his tongue and viciously mixed the cucumbers to vent his frustration.

Jiang Baiyi had no intention of leaving the kitchen. Bored, he put the seasonings back and leaned against the counter, sizing up Shen Yixing again.

Shen Yixing’s long, slender eyelashes were lowered, fluttering occasionally.

Following the line from his ink-black tousled hair down along his ear, there was a small, pale mole on his fair neck, and his distinct collarbone was visible beneath the school uniform collar.

Jiang Baiyi withdrew his gaze and draped an arm around Shen Yixing’s shoulder, looking at him with feigned mystery.

Shen Yixing couldn’t take it anymore and glared at him, “If you have something to say, say it. If you have to fart, hurry up and do it, isn’t it uncomfortable holding it in?”

Jiang Baiyi laughed softly, “It’s fine, not uncomfortable at all.”

Shen Yixing, “…”

He pushed the arm off his shoulder and walked a few steps away, keeping his distance from Jiang Baiyi.

“I think I’ve discovered a secret,” Jiang Baiyi pulled his rejected hand back into his pocket, wearing a hesitant expression to try and pique Shen Yixing’s curiosity.

Worried it wasn’t mysterious enough, he added, “It’s about you.”

Shen Yixing tightened his grip on his chopsticks and replied blandly, “I have no secrets.”

Jiang Baiyi suddenly reached out and pinched Shen Yixing’s chin, forcing him to look up. “Do you remember the fight we had on the first day of school?”

Shen Yixing didn’t know why he brought this up. He paused, shook off Jiang’s hand, and after a long time replied, “I remember.”

Jiang Baiyi curled his lips, tapping his fingers on the table. “Yeah… I remember you were crying and begging for mercy that day.”

Wait, that happened?!

Was the original owner that spineless?

Shen Yixing looked at Jiang Baiyi and said, “I won’t fight you in the future, and I hope you won’t come looking for trouble after this meal. I’ll stay away from you, and you stay away from me. That’s best for both of us.”

Jiang Baiyi countered, “Are you sure?”

Shen Yixing was firm, “Yes.”

Jiang Baiyi stood straight, patted his shoulder, and said meaningfully, “Shen Yixing, so you like playing hard to get.”

“You’re sick.”

What was going on?

Shen Yixing’s head ached. He began to wonder if they were even on the same wavelength. The dinner was exhausting. Facing a table of cucumbers and greens, Jiang Baiyi made a fuss before finally picking up his chopsticks.

Halfway through, he bumped Shen Yixing’s leg under the table. Seeing no reaction, he nudged his hand with his elbow, “I don’t know if you’ve seen that movie where a soul possesses the male lead’s body, and then…”

Shen Yixing interrupted, “Haven’t seen it, don’t want to know the plot.”

Jiang Baiyi leaned in close, asking mysteriously, “Then do you believe in ghosts? Or possession? Or reincarnation into a dead body?”

The warm breath brushed his ear. Shen Yixing was drinking soup, choked, and started coughing violently.

“Look at you, getting scared.” Jiang Baiyi patted his back, stuffed a tissue into his hand, “Feudal superstition is bad, anyway, I don’t believe in it.”

“Whether you believe it or not has nothing to do with me.” Shen Yixing recovered, feeling guilty but acting calm.

“I’m just asking, is that not allowed?”

“Oh.” Shen Yixing lowered his head, stirring his soup with a spoon, suddenly losing his appetite.

Jiang Baiyi watched Shen Yixing’s feigned composure, moved a little further away, and slowly stirred his own soup with a smirk in his deep eyes.

The phone in his pocket vibrated twice. Jiang Baiyi checked it, and the smile in his eyes vanished instantly.

“I have something to do, I’m heading back.”

Jiang Baiyi got up, grabbed his uniform from the chair, and started to leave, but then turned back.

He flashed his phone in front of Shen Yixing. On the screen was a Golden Retriever sticking out its tongue.

Shen Yixing felt like he had seen this dog somewhere before.

“I added you earlier, that’s my avatar, make sure to accept the request.” Jiang Baiyi shut off his phone, grabbed his jam, and left.

After Jiang Baiyi left, Shen Yixing found the ignored friend request. He hesitated for a moment, then deleted it.

Since he had decided to steer clear of the main plot, it was better to avoid any extra interactions with the protagonist.

The holiday in the third year was essentially just doing homework in a different location. After a few days, everyone’s assignments were piling up like mountains.

On the day they returned to school, everyone in the class was howling for answers to the practice papers, desperately copying any question that was filled out.

After lunch, while everyone was resting, Shen Yixing thoroughly cleaned his messy drawer. He threw away used tissues and failed test papers, placing the performance trophy Zhao Ci had brought back for him in the very corner.

After clearing his desk, Shen Yixing took out a newly bought workbook and started solving problems.

“Good news, good news!”

Labor committee member Huo Fan ran into the classroom swinging a list, and the noisy class gradually quieted down.

“Everyone, get back to your seats!”

Huo Fan counted the number of people in the class, then gestured with both hands as if throwing flowers to welcome the person walking in behind him.

“Let us invite the most popular monitor of our Tongnan National Music School to say a few words!”

Applause interrupted Shen Yixing’s train of thought. He looked up and saw Jiang Baiyi take the list from Huo Fan, walk up to the podium amid the applause and cheers.

“Jiang Baiyi is the monitor?” Shen Yixing poked Zhao Ci, incredulous. “Someone like him can be the monitor?”

“Yeah.” Zhao Ci looked puzzled, then remembered something, “Everyone voted on the first day of school, but you weren’t at school that day, so it’s normal you didn’t know.”

“What?” Shen Yixing stopped his pen, his palms sweating. He asked Zhao Ci to confirm what he had just heard, “You mean… I wasn’t at school on the first day?”

Zhao Ci nodded, “Deskmate, did you forget! You were on leave for a few days at the start of school!”

“Oh, I didn’t forget.” Shen Yixing pressed his lips together, looking at Jiang Baiyi on the podium with complicated emotions.

If the original body was on leave and didn’t come to school during the first few days, then the fight on the first day of school couldn’t possibly have happened.

In other words, Jiang Baiyi had been bluffing him.

But why would Jiang Baiyi ask those things for no reason?

Shen Yixing rubbed his forehead, internally cursing himself for being an idiot, jumping right into a pit someone else had dug.

On the podium, Jiang Baiyi faced the expectant students, cleared his throat, and said, “Regarding tomorrow’s duty roster…”

The students groaned, waiting for his next words.

Tongnan National Music School rotated classes every week to clean the various piano rooms in the teaching area, which the school leadership grandly called “volunteer labor.”

The downside was that there were over ninety piano rooms in the teaching area, and mopping floors, wiping pianos, and dusting tables took an entire morning. Plus, you couldn’t always finish, and not finishing meant points deducted from the class’s honor score.

But there were many benefits, such as free breakfast, no classes in the morning, no weekend tests, and no morning exercises. Overall, it was considered a decent gig.

Students in the front row stared expectantly for a long time, but Jiang Baiyi didn’t say anything.

Someone whispered, “Does that mean… we don’t have to do duty?”

“In your dreams.” Jiang Baiyi had battled the grade director for forty minutes and only managed to get the number of piano rooms reduced to forty.

He glanced at the person and said with a dark face, “Duty is as usual, two to three people in a group, get up early tomorrow.”

The class started howling in protest.

“Wuwuwu, Brother Yi didn’t succeed, and we, your brothers and sisters, suffer.”

“Brother Yi, how about we go attack the grade director together!”

“One word from Brother Yi, and your brothers will follow forever.”

“Forget it, I’m not interested in men.” Jiang Baiyi walked off the podium, unceremoniously pushing away the people clinging to him.

In his peripheral vision, he caught a distinct gaze.

He followed the gaze and saw Shen Yixing lowering his head, writing something with a pen, looking as serious as a model student.

“Hey, Shen Yixing. Why didn’t you add me last time.” Jiang Baiyi sat back in his seat, his mood suddenly dropping.

Seeing no response, Jiang Baiyi took out his phone and stared at the ignored friend request for a while. Suddenly, he put the phone down, leaned forward, and snatched the book Shen Yixing was working on.

“What are you writing so intently? Let me see.”

Jiang Baiyi read the words on the cover, they looked familiar.

“Five-Year Gaokao, Three-Year Simulation… what is this? A workbook?”

He flipped through it casually and muttered, “Doesn’t look like you’ll get first place even after reading this.”

Shen Yixing swapped the workbook for another one once it was snatched away, refusing to turn around or talk to Jiang Baiyi.

Jiang Baiyi impatiently tugged at Shen Yixing’s uniform, still failing to grab his attention.

“Shen Yixing, turn around, I’ll tell you a story about possession.”

Shen Yixing abruptly put down his pen, hesitated for a moment, and turned around.

“Go ahead, I’m listening.”

“It’s just…” Jiang Baiyi curled his lips, having no intention of telling a story, he just wanted to lure him over.

He returned the workbook, reached out, pinched Shen Yixing’s chin, and leaned in to look at him, smiling, “Actually, I’ve known your secret for a while, but I’m not one to keep secrets. Maybe one day when I’m in a bad mood, I’ll let it slip. You understand, right?”

Shen Yixing said, “No.”

Jiang Baiyi stared into Shen Yixing’s eyes, his voice intentionally lowered, “You’re not the Shen Yixing I know, right?”

Shen Yixing was silent for a while, lowering his eyes to hide his panic.

Jiang Baiyi’s thumb stroked Shen Yixing’s face. He frowned, “No reaction? Then I’ll shout it out.”

“Don’t!” Shen Yixing grabbed Jiang Baiyi’s wrist, softening his tone, “Then what do you want?”

Jiang Baiyi narrowed his eyes, thought carefully, and said, “Simple. Tea, water… I won’t tell if I’m in a good mood.”

“You!” Shen Yixing squeezed a few words through his teeth, “Don’t go too far.”

“Be good, considering you cooked for me yourself last time, I won’t treat you badly.” Jiang Baiyi patted Shen Yixing’s face, “I’m feeling a bit thirsty now.”

Shen Yixing pushed away Jiang Baiyi’s hand, “What does that have to do with me?”

Jiang Baiyi shrugged nonchalantly and raised his voice, “Let me tell you, this story about possession…”

Shen Yixing kicked Jiang Baiyi’s leg hard under the table and stood up, “I’ll go get you some water.”

“Okay, thanks.”

Jiang Baiyi kept smiling. As soon as Shen Yixing went to get the water, he bent over, rubbing the spot Shen Yixing had kicked, his face contorting in pain.

“Drink it.”

Before long, a paper cup was placed on the table, a few drops spilling out. Shen Yixing’s face was devoid of emotion, and he sat back down as soon as he put the cup down.

Jiang Baiyi wasn’t in a rush to drink. He nodded in satisfaction, “Shen Yixing, my mood fluctuates, so I don’t mind if you stick by my side everywhere.”

The person in front of him threw one word at him: “Get lost.”

Jiang Baiyi didn’t care: “Not bad, quite a mouth on you, you’ve got personality.”

After a while, Jiang Baiyi took out his phone and sent another friend request to Shen Yixing.

A system notification sounded from the drawer. Shen Yixing looked down, and it was another friend request from Jiang Baiyi.

“Accept it quickly!” Jiang Baiyi shouted.

Shen Yixing’s finger had been hovering over the “Ignore” button, but hearing Jiang Baiyi shout like that, he reluctantly clicked “Accept.”

Jiang Baiyi, with his request accepted, broke into a satisfied smile. He raised his head, rested his chin on his hand, and began to watch Shen Yixing’s every move.

Tang Yuan looked up after finishing his game and saw Jiang Baiyi beaming. “Brother Yi… who are you looking at so intently?”

Following Jiang Baiyi’s line of sight, Tang Yuan discovered his aloof Brother Yi was grinning at the back of Shen Yixing’s head.

“Brother Yi, you don’t happen to be… interested in the jinx, do you?” Thinking of this, Tang Yuan perked up. Even though the jinx was a nightmare, maybe his Brother Yi was into that kind of thing, and maybe they’d develop some strange feelings after fighting so much.

“What do you mean, interested?” Jiang Baiyi shot him a glance and continued staring at Shen Yixing.

“Like…” Tang Yuan gestured with his hands, imitating two people kissing, “Like this… this kind of interest.”

Jiang Baiyi didn’t get it: “Speak human.”

Tang Yuan was glared at, so he had to ask quietly, “Brother Yi, don’t tell me you actually fell for the jinx after fighting him so much?”

“…” Jiang Baiyi just thought Shen Yixing had been interesting lately, he didn’t fucking fall for him!

“What kind of bullshit is in your head all day?” Jiang Baiyi rolled his eyes, “I wouldn’t like Shen Yixing if he was the last person on earth, I’m straight!”

Shen Yixing, who was in the middle of solving a problem, his hand shook, and his black pen drew a long horizontal line on the paper.

Shen Yixing suddenly wanted to tell Jiang Baiyi that he was actually the protagonist in a BL novel.

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