Chapter 51: Gossip

Zhao Gaoyang was the last one to arrive from their dormitory, carrying bags of snacks; as soon as he got on the bus, he started handing them out to the others. Although he wasn't a class cadre, he was more proactive than those who were.

A female classmate asked Zhao Gaoyang with a smile when he had become so generous, and Zhao Gaoyang replied that contributing to the class and helping the Class Monitor share her burdens was the duty of classmates like them.

Everyone knew full well that he was trying to curry favor with Fan Xi, but no one pointed it out; after all, they all understood that "eating someone's food makes your mouth soft, and taking someone's gifts makes your hands short."

Once everyone had arrived, Fan Xi and another girl, who was their class's Vice Class Monitor, tallied the names and headcount, then asked inside the bus: "Dormitories, check among yourselves; is there anyone who hasn't arrived yet?"

Taking roll call by dormitory unit made it less likely to make mistakes. After confirming everything was correct, the remaining few class cadres squeezed onto the bus.

Zhao Gaoyang sat in the middle seat on the right side. The seat next to him was empty; his fellow classmates, having taken his benefits, all subconsciously gave him a little payback by creating space for him and Fan Xi.

The pity was that Fan Xi didn't look his way at all, but instead half-lifted her skirt and sat down where Xu Heng was.

Xu Heng also had an empty seat on his side, mainly because he was in the habit of putting his bag next to him to occupy the seat, leading others to think he had a partner who hadn't come.

This little trick naturally couldn't fool Fan Xi. She knew Xu Heng had broken up a long time ago, so she moved his shoulder bag aside quite naturally and smiled, saying: "You don't mind if I sit here, do you?"

"I don't mind." Xu Heng shrugged indifferently; as long as the person sitting next to him wasn't some "Tiger tank," he could accept it.

Besides, as the "flower" of their class, Fan Xi's appearance was beyond reproach.

It was just that Fan Xi sitting like this made the expression of Zhao Gaoyang behind them look not very good.

Especially since the discussions of the other classmates in the class fell into his ears, sounding exceptionally harsh.

"What's the situation? Did the Class Monitor get together with Xu Heng?"

"I don't know. That seat of Xu Heng's seems like it was reserved for the Class Monitor."

"Then what does Zhao Gaoyang mean? Competing with his roommate for the Class Monitor?"

"Damn, this is a bit exciting. Does anyone in the know have the details?"

Zhao Gaoyang chasing Fan Xi was a matter that had likely been circulating in Class Three since last November.

Fan Xi had always maintained a stance of refusal toward this, but Zhao Gaoyang had been relentless, pestering her endlessly. Everyone wanted to see when Fan Xi would be worn down by Zhao Gaoyang, but as it turned out, by the second semester of their sophomore year, the heroine hadn't been worn down, and instead, she had gotten together with the hero's roommate—what was that supposed to mean?

Fortunately, the gossip didn't last long. Once the bus slowly started moving, the excitement of going out covered up the little bit of gossip.

Qixia Mountain was in Qixia District, twenty or thirty kilometers away from the city center, and they had to take the highway to get there. Usually, these college students didn't have the free time to run so far away, so they had only heard of Qixia Mountain and had never actually been there.

Some said Qixia Mountain was right by the Yangtze River, and one could see the eastward-flowing water from afar across the hills; others felt that Qixia Mountain was only a few hundred meters high and there was nothing fun about it, and if one wanted to go mountain climbing, it would be better to go to Mount Huang.

Along the way, the others were all chattering away, and only Xu Heng and Fan Xi didn't say much.

It was strange to say; usually, Fan Xi always had a lot to say to Xu Heng, and Xu Heng would also take the opportunity to crack some jokes to tease her, but today, for some reason, Fan Xi seemed relatively silent, sitting quietly in her seat and looking to the left, not knowing if she was looking at the scenery outside the window or at Xu Heng.

Xu Heng was happy to be idle, lowering his head to play the Java version of Legend of Sword and Fairy 1 on his phone.

Although the image quality was quite an eyesore, he really liked the Legend of Sword and Fairy series of games. However, in later generations, Legend of Sword and Fairy had long since declined; this IP went from its rise to its dismal end in just a short ten years or so. The reason for this was nothing more than the plot design and innovation not being as good as the previous generations.

Coupled with the rise of online games and web games, domestic single-player games would only fall into an increasingly difficult predicament.

In the end, seeing that Xu Heng was focused on lowering his head to grind the "black-haired monsters" and had no intention of chatting with her at all, Fan Xi still couldn't help but ask.

"What are you playing?"

"Legend of Sword and Fairy." Xu Heng said without raising his head.

"Legend of Sword and Fairy has a game?"

Fan Xi had only seen Legend of Sword and Fairy 1; she didn't understand the details of the war between the game fans and the TV drama fans, and she didn't even know that Legend of Sword and Fairy was adapted from a game.

In an era where the internet was not well-developed, news was quite blocked.

Xu Heng explained patiently: "The game came out last century, and now it's already on the fourth generation. The TV drama you watched is a secondary creation version based on the game."

"Oh~" Fan Xi didn't ask any more questions, but instead leaned over Xu Heng's head, looking down at him controlling the little person in the phone to burn, kill, and loot in Shili Slope.

Time flew by, and the bus gradually drove into Qixia District on the highway; the high-rise buildings turned into green hills and clear waters.

Just as Xu Heng finished playing through the grievances of the second chapter and wanted to stretch his muscles, he suddenly felt his shoulder get a bit heavy.

He turned his head to look; Fan Xi was leaning on his shoulder, her eyes tightly closed, her breathing steady, sleeping sweetly.

Fan Xi was not the kind of beauty who would stun you at first glance; she was the kind of girl who was natural and unaffected, without a trace of coquettishness. She had an innate purity, her features were beautiful in just the right way, and her face still had a bit of baby fat.

Looking at this pale red, chubby face, Xu Heng couldn't help but feel his hands itch and pinched it, intending to wake her up so he could stretch.

As a result, the moment he moved his arm, Fan Xi, having lost her support, fell into his arms. If he hadn't reached out quickly, her head would have definitely hit the window frame.

However, the situation was very awkward now; he was half-hugging Fan Xi, with no room to stretch his body, and Fan Xi had no intention of waking up at all. To outsiders, the two of them looked just like a couple.

Before Xu Heng could wake Fan Xi up, the Vice Class Monitor sitting across the aisle said: "Xu Heng, let Fan Xi sleep a little longer. She stayed up all night working on the class-building proposal."

The Vice Class Monitor was in the same dormitory as Fan Xi. Fan Xi's desk lamp had been on until two or three in the morning last night; later, fearing it would affect the rest of her other roommates, she switched to using candles. By the time the Vice Class Monitor woke up in the morning, the candle had burned halfway down, and Fan Xi was still wide awake.

"Why did she work so late?" Xu Heng couldn't help but frown upon hearing this.

"It was mainly because the counselor didn't agree to participate in the class-building activity, so some details of the itinerary had to be revised. Fan Xi is the type who worries about others, always thinking about how to maximize the solution to the classmates' safety issues." The Vice Class Monitor sighed, "She is a good person in every way, it's just that her sense of responsibility is too strong."

Xu Heng smiled helplessly.

If it weren't for what he had said to Fan Xi earlier, perhaps Fan Xi wouldn't have exhausted herself so much.

Actually, in college, Class Monitor wasn't a very important position, but Fan Xi took this position very seriously.

"By the way, Xu Heng, what is your relationship with the Class Monitor? She mentions you to us in the dormitory every other day. Have you two already gotten together?" After finishing the official business, the Vice Class Monitor suddenly changed the subject, staring at Xu Heng and Fan Xi with eyes full of the fire of gossip.