After just one ring, the call connected.

Tang You’s heart pounded, and she didn’t know what to say when she heard a deep voice from the other side: “What’s wrong?”

She was so nervous that she suddenly didn’t know what to say, “I…”

There was silence for three seconds.

Then Zhou Qinyao chuckled, “Can’t sleep?”

Tang You felt a bit embarrassed, “Yeah, maybe I’m too excited…”

Suddenly, a child’s voice came from the other end, “Brother Yao, hurry up and tell the story!”

Tang You thought she was interrupting something, “Are you busy? I’m sorry.”

“It’s fine. Xiao Yang is going to sleep and insisted I tell him a story.”

Feeling sorry, Tang You was about to hang up, “Then you should go ahead. Good night.”

“Don’t hang up.” Zhou Qinyao stopped her, pausing for a moment before saying, “How about you listen in too?”

Tang You: “…”

She turned over and quietly listened to the story Zhou Qinyao was telling Song Xiaoyang over the phone.

His voice was so soothing, especially at night, as if it had been filtered through a dreamy layer of moonlight, deep and magnetic.

Word by word, it was hypnotic and lulling.

“…And then, the prince found the real Princess of the Pea, and they lived happily ever after.”

By the time Zhou Qinyao finished the story, Tang You’s eyelids were so heavy she could barely keep them open.

Just then, she heard Song Xiaoyang mutter on the other end, “Brother Yao, I still prefer the Princess of the Rain. Why hasn’t she gotten together with the Frog Prince yet?”

Tang You suddenly woke up a little, then heard Zhou Qinyao lowering his voice to tell Song Xiaoyang to go to sleep.

Half-asleep, she mumbled, “Who are you talking about?”

Zhou Qinyao paused for a few seconds, then calmly said, “No one. Are you sleepy?”

Tang You was indeed very sleepy.

Lulled by Zhou Qinyao’s voice, her eyelids grew too heavy to hold open. She barely managed to say goodnight before drifting off to a deep sleep.

Her dreams were sweet, filled with many happy moments.

The next morning, she woke up naturally, feeling more refreshed than any day before.

After breakfast, Uncle Yang promptly took Tang You to school at 7 a.m. Just as she sat down at her desk in the classroom, someone called her name from outside the window.

Tang You looked up and saw that it was Xie Cheng, the class president of the neighboring International Class B.

When she first transferred to the school, he had relentlessly pursued her, sending a love letter every day and making grand declarations, which annoyed Li Shiyu in their class for quite some time.

Later, as he didn’t get any response and with the midterm exams approaching, Xie Cheng calmed down for a while. Tang You thought he had given up, but to her surprise, he came looking for her again today.

Several classmates started teasing them, and Tang You had no choice but to go outside.

“Do you need something?”

Xie Cheng was holding a delicate bag, which he handed to Tang You:

“I heard you fainted from low blood sugar yesterday, so I bought you some snacks to keep on hand in case you get hungry during class.”

Tang You glanced at the bag and coldly pushed it away, “No need, I’m fine.”

But Xie Cheng enthusiastically pressed it into her hands, “Just take it.”

Without giving her a chance to refuse, he turned and ran back to his class.

Tang You: “…”

When she sat back down, a nosy classmate leaned over and asked, “Tang You, what’s going on between you and Xie Cheng?”

“Are you two secretly…?” The classmate added with a playful grin.

Passing by, Li Shiyu rolled her eyes so far back they nearly hit her forehead, but she didn’t dare say anything snide due to Cheng Xuan’s previous warning.

After that day, it was as if Xie Cheng had been injected with a surge of energy. He started a new round of relentless pursuit of Tang You.

He would block her between classes to give her love letters, snacks, and all sorts of strange gifts. Even though Tang You refused them all, he remained persistent, never giving up, convinced that his perseverance would eventually pay off.

Tang You was at a loss with him. No matter how many times she turned him down, he firmly believed he still had a chance, thinking that perseverance would eventually wear her down.

On Sunday at noon, Xie Cheng blocked Tang You at the classroom door once again.

Perhaps used to Tang You’s attitude by now, Xie Cheng wasn’t in a hurry. As usual, he handed her the day’s snacks.

“See you tomorrow!”

Tang You: “…”

She had always given away the things Xie Cheng brought her to her classmates, but since it was the weekly Sunday afternoon break, everyone had already left.

So, she reluctantly took the snacks, planning to figure out what to do with them later.

Just as she was nearing the school gate, Tang You’s phone rang from inside her bag.

The only contact on this phone was Zhou Qinyao, so she quickly answered, “Hello?”

“Are you done with school?”

“Yes.”

“Shall we go out this afternoon to unwind?”

“…”

Tang You’s heart warmed, “Are we going racing again?”

“No, to a new place.”

Tang You couldn’t resist Zhou Qinyao’s suggestions, knowing that he always had a way of surprising her.

But she wasn’t entirely sure she could get out, so she said, “I’ll think of a way when I get home.”

After hanging up the phone, Tang You began brainstorming how to slip away.