Are you kidding me? Such a coincidence, and the person involved is right here?
Chen Xiangbei silently thought to himself. He originally intended to head straight home, but hesitated for a moment upon witnessing the scene, then pulled a few tissues from the table and handed them over.
"Look closely at people in the future, don't pick up any scumbags."
The girl who was sobbing shook even more violently upon hearing this, her tears dripping onto the table.
After a long while, Hu Lingfei turned to accept the tissues from Chen Xiangbei, choking out a "thank you."
Chen Xiangbei didn't have a strong sense of wanting to help, especially with emotional issues which people had to realize themselves. Just handing over tissues and offering advice was already considered a good deed.
However, looking through her hair, he saw the side of Hu Lingfei's face and found it very familiar. Wasn't she the daughter of Uncle Hu from the next building in the district?
With a mindset of confirming, Chen Xiangbei asked, "Does your family live in Building 5 of Jinhe District?"
Upon hearing the question from the boy beside her, Hu Lingfei looked at Chen Xiangbei in surprise. With just one look, she also recognized him as the son of Aunt Zhao from Building 6.
Upon seeing the girl's face clearly, Chen Xiangbei was somewhat surprised. He remembered Uncle Hu's daughter being very gentle and shy, and apart from occasionally meeting her on the way to or from school, she rarely went out to play.
Although they were in the same school and grade, they hadn't really interacted much, and he didn't even know her name.
Logically, Hu Lingfei shouldn't be the type to smoke, drink, or hang out at bars—a "good girl." Why would she accept a confession from scum like Ma Minghan? Could it be that good girls really liked the rebellious boys in class?
Of course, whether she liked it or not was none of Chen Xiangbei's business. He wasn't nosy enough to pry into other people's love stories. He simply said, "Wipe your tears and go home, don't worry your dad."
Compared to Hu Lingfei, Chen Xiangbei was more familiar with Uncle Hu. He had lost his wife early and raised his daughter alone; he was quite easy-going and always friendly with everyone in the district. Sometimes when running into Chen Xiangbei, he would even give him a few words of advice about studying or safety.
Chen Xiangbei himself was from a single-parent family and understood that it wasn't easy for parents, so unnecessary worries should be avoided when possible.
Hu Lingfei didn't say anything, but she quickly wiped the tears off her face after hearing Chen Xiangbei's words.
Seeing that she had pretty much cleaned up, with only red and swollen eyes remaining, Chen Xiangbei called out, "Let's go, go home."
After saying this, he walked out of the night snack stall tent on his own and headed home.
After a few steps, Chen Xiangbei heard footsteps behind him and knew it was Hu Lingfei following him.
Without turning back or speaking, they walked one in front of the other on their way home, until they reached the building underneath the apartment in the district.
"Chen Xiangbei, thank you."
A tiny voice came, and Hu Lingfei was very grateful for Chen Xiangbei's company that night, while also allowing her space in silence.
"There's no need to thank, just stay away from Ma Minghan in the future."
"I didn't know he was that kind of person."
Hu Lingfei offered a brief explanation, having never dated. Ma Minghan's many ways of hitting on girls were something a good girl like her couldn't handle.
After getting worn down over time, she agreed with a try-it-out mindset, only to find out that he viewed her in such a way.
"Now you know?"
"Yeah."
"It's not too late to realize it; just forget about this kind of scumbag."
Chen Xiangbei never advocated for victim-blaming, just like how he once couldn't compete with Xue Meiting. Hu Lingfei being deceived by Ma Minghan was also natural. They had different worlds and tactics they were dealing with.
How could a student compete with someone in the real world?
What's done is done; people need to learn to move forward.
After saying this, Chen Xiangbei waved and walked towards his home in Building 6.
Watching Chen Xiangbei leave, Hu Lingfei wanted to say something but ultimately did not.
That night, Chen Xiangbei slept very soundly. Although he still had to wake up at six to attend early classes, it was certainly better than the severely insufficient sleep from previous days.
Following his usual routine, he washed up and left the house, planning to get breakfast at the district's entrance and eat on his way. However, this time from afar, he spotted a slightly familiar figure next to the breakfast stall: Hu Lingfei, whom he had met the previous night.
Seeing Chen Xiangbei approaching, Hu Lingfei waved at him and then handed over the soy milk and fried dough sticks in her hand, saying, "I bought breakfast for you as a thank you for helping me last night."
"Just handing over some tissues counts as helping?"
Chen Xiangbei replied with a smile, but didn't hesitate to accept the breakfast. Who wouldn't want something for free?
"It counts!"
Hu Lingfei solemnly nodded.
"If you say it counts, then it does."
Chen Xiangbei felt a bit helpless; no wonder Ma Minghan could trick her so easily, this girl was indeed a bit too simple and earnest.
Eating breakfast, Chen Xiangbei headed towards school, with Hu Lingfei silently following behind, unsure of what to say.
After all, apart from their unexpected encounter last night, they weren't really that familiar.
Just like that, they walked to school, and happened to encounter Ma Minghan and his group at the staircase.
Because of the "strange" way Chen Xiangbei and Hu Lingfei were walking together, Ma Minghan didn't think they came together and immediately wore a warm expression, waving and calling out, "Feifei～～"
Upon hearing Ma Minghan's call, Hu Lingfei's first reaction was fear. She hurriedly hid behind Chen Xiangbei, instinctively grabbing the corner of his coat.
Seeing Hu Lingfei's action, Ma Minghan felt utterly shocked. What was going on?
"Feifei, what are you doing, come over here quickly."
Chen Xiangbei realized his coat was being tugged, and seeing Ma Minghan's insincere smile, he immediately spoke up: "It's obvious she doesn't want to talk to you, why are you shamelessly asking for a reason?"
"What did you say!"
Fury surged through Ma Minghan on the spot; he had never liked Chen Xiangbei, and he didn't expect the guy would dare provoke him outright.
"Stop licking your lips, you can't get Hu Lingfei. She doesn't even fancy me, how could she fancy you?"
What?
Chen Xiangbei's words left not only Ma Minghan dumbfounded but also Hu Lingfei looking at him incredulously.
"Bullshit, what makes you better than me? Hu Lingfei is already my girlfriend, understand!"
Ma Minghan's words sparked an instant uproar at the staircase, even drawing students from inside the classroom to come out and witness the gossip about a love triangle.
At this moment, in Class 3 of Grade 12, someone even shouted out, "Hurry up and see downstairs, Chen Xiangbei and Ma Minghan are fighting over someone!"
This shout brought surprised looks to the classmates' faces.
Wasn't Chen Xiangbei chasing Xue Meiting? It seemed like he had pursued her for a long time. Plus, there was a school forum video recently linking him with Dong Yuanxi. How did Hu Lingfei suddenly come into the picture?
This guy was really flying under the radar, hooking up with so many girls?
"Glasses Zhou, hurry up and watch the show, Chen Xiangbei is about to steal someone!"
Not only was Fatty Wang rallying people, but Xue Meiting's friend, Yang Xinxin, was also dragging her downstairs, equally curious about why Chen Xiangbei seemed to have moved on so quickly.
Just a few days ago it was Dong Yuanxi, and now it's Hu Lingfei from Class 5?
Even Dong Yuanxi, who never joined in such commotion, stood up from her seat and walked to the outside of the classroom to silently observe everything happening downstairs.
PS: Dear patrons, please read more to pass the initial test of the first push cycle; niche literature naturally has fewer bookcase adds.