Chapter 69: Cooperation (1)

Qiao Xi stared at him, wanting to gauge the sincerity of his words.

He let her look, maintaining his cool, detached demeanor, yet there was an unmistakable frankness about him.

“All right.” Even if she was being used as a wager, it was still better than him truly wanting to play with her. “I’ll cooperate with you.” Of course, she had no intention of truly cooperating—she simply understood that he wasn’t the type to concede. If she refused, his pursuit would only become more relentless.

Upon hearing this, Yu Fan’s lips curled ever so slightly.

“Your silence is tacit agreement,” Qiao Xi said.

Yu Fan nodded, if only just perceptibly.

Now that they had come to an agreement, there was nothing more to say, so Qiao Xi fell silent.

Yu Fan said nothing more either, lounging lazily against the seatback, yet he turned his head to fix his gaze on her profile.

Qiao Xi tried to ignore him, but his aura was too overpowering. Even without looking, she could clearly sense his burning gaze on her. In the end, she simply turned her eyes to the window.

The car was still parked by the school gate, where students were streaming in at this hour.

Qiao Xi wasn’t the type to feel awkward; she got out of the car with a natural ease.

She had never cared much about gossip, and besides, she’d already agreed to cooperate. Three days—she could endure that much.

Yu Fan got out of the car right after her.

Qiao Xi looked at him, her tone polite and courteous. “Thank you for bringing me to school.”

“Don’t you think your tone and attitude are a little off?” Yu Fan asked, fixing his gaze on her.

Qiao Xi knew that if you were going to act, you had to play the whole part—but in truth, she didn’t want to.

To admit publicly that she was ‘in a relationship’ with him, even if it was fake, would make it real in the eyes of others. No matter how brief the affair, it would be a fact that could never be erased. Rumors were different—no matter how true, if left unconfirmed, they would always remain mere whispers.

“I understand.” Yu Fan suddenly added, “If you were that easy to win over, you wouldn’t be Qiao Xi.”

She didn’t quite grasp his meaning, but at least she knew he didn’t intend to make anything public just yet.

“I’ll head back to class now.”

“Don’t forget to come to the student council at noon.”

“?”

“Lunch together,” Yu Fan explained, then added, “I don’t suppose you’ll refuse.”

Qiao Xi would have liked to refuse, but she didn’t want to hear her name blared out over the school broadcast again.

She said nothing more, ignoring the curious looks from passing students as she walked toward the classroom building.

She had barely taken a few steps when she saw Gu Dieyan.

Though she’d only met her once, the impression lingered.

Gu Dieyan was looking at Qiao Xi, her expression delicate and fragile, as though she had just suffered a devastating blow.

Qiao Xi knew she was being watched, but didn’t pause—after all, they were strangers.

Between classes, she’d heard the boys talking—saying how heartbroken they were to see Gu Dieyan look so wounded, wishing they could scoop her up and comfort her…

Some of the girls in class couldn’t stand it and spoke up, saying, “Even if you wanted to hug her, she wouldn’t let you. Isn’t it just a pretty face and a delicate demeanor? Let’s be honest, you only care about appearances. If an ugly girl cried her heart out in front of you, would any of you care?”

The boys all retorted in unison, accusing the girls of being jealous of Gu Dieyan’s beauty…

The debate grew more heated until the bell rang for class, finally bringing some peace.

But as soon as class ended, it was as if a debate competition had begun, and even more people joined the fray.