Upon seeing the person who had called him, Si Fan's mind went as blank as a sheet of paper. Although this person's face belonged to the "once-seen-never-forgotten" category, Si Fan's brain only stored what he deemed important—and this evidently did not make the cut.
Among his classmates, the class representative was the only one Si Fan bothered to remember. After all, she was responsible for managing the class and ensuring everything ran smoothly.
Since the beginning of the semester, he had no friends—only acquaintances, and even they barely spoke to him outside of group work. His poor communication skills, combined with his perpetually "uninterested" expression, discouraged others from trying to get close to him.
So, this classmate (or was he a schoolmate?) of his probably needed something from him.
Kaleith Faelon Valerius realized he hadn't been paying much attention to people if he had overlooked this guy with such a pretty face. At a glance, Si Fan's looks seemed ordinary, but upon closer inspection, his good appearance became apparent. He had a small face, a milky white complexion, sleepy eyes, and pouty lips. If not for his noticeable physique that marked him as male, he could easily be mistaken for a girl.
Two weeks ago, Kaleith's grandfather was nearly run over by a car. He would have been killed if not for Si Fan. They only learned his name when he accidentally dropped his name tag. However, he didn't stay long, so they had to postpone expressing their gratitude. While the Valerius family was undeniably grateful for his timely rescue, they couldn't help but remain skeptical. It wasn't an exaggeration to say they were a bit suspicious of him. Staged incidents were a common trope in their world—after all, who wouldn't want one of the prominent families in the Royal Capital to owe them a favor?
Kaleith wanted to put him to the test, simply to determine if his character was upright and deserving of their family's gratitude. If he failed, they would compensate him with money instead. However, failure would not only earn him the Valerius family's contempt but could also result in his expulsion from the school with just a snap of their fingers. Anyone twisted enough to scheme against their own family already has two feet of weeds choking their grave.
The first test was to determine if he remembered the incident from two weeks ago. If he (Si Fan) claimed not to remember, he (Kaleith) would give him a few hints to confirm whether his forgetfulness was genuine or not. On the other hand, if he did remember, he would simply wait for him to inquire about the health of his grandfather.
"Ah Fan, I found your name tag," Kaleith reached into his left pocket and took out a golden-plated name tag. Its luxurious appearance truly matched the school's reputation.
Si Fan briefly pondered when did they become friends for him to call his name familiarly. He could not recall any event that would lead to this strange situation.
But he had always been a straightforward guy and had no qualms about offending others.
"Thank you for bringing it to me, but I don't recall us being friends."
His tone was genuinely confused that it made Kaelith choke on his words: "....."
Right, he supposed that calling his name so familiarly made it seem like they were really friends. Still, this confirmed that Si Fan didn't seem to remember the incident from two weeks ago.
Kaleith smiled gently, "I apologize if I made you uncomfortable. On behalf of my family, I would like to express my gratitude for saving my grandfather."
There, he said it. We'll now see if he's worthy!
Si Fan was puzzled, "I never saved your grandfather. You must have taken me for someone else."
Kaleith's smile twitched. Was this guy genuine or pretending? He couldn't tell at all! He should have brought his older sister with him, that way she could detect if he was being true.
Before he could say anything else, the latter quickly excused himself. Judging by his hurried footsteps and the direction he was headed, Kaleith realized he had kept the other from eating his lunch and had wasted his time as well. A pink flush made its way to his cheeks.
As the youngest son of the Valerius family, he was taught to be respectful and considerate. Not only did he address the other person familiarly, as if they were lifelong friends, but he also stopped him from going to the cafeteria. If his mother got wind of this, she would discipline him when he returned.
He could practically hear her nagging voice ringing in his ears.
Speaking of Si Fan, the young man threw the weird encounter at the back of his head. He made his way to the serving area, where only a few lines had formed, eyeing the food options. Once he moved in front, he selected a few dishes, swiped his meal card, and grabbed the plastic bags.
He decided to take a shortcut through the garden, which he would normally avoid due to its popularity for couples. As he walked in, he noticed a couple flirting on the bench by the little angel statue that was spraying water.
He was just thinking about it, now he saw it: "....."
He merely glanced at them before continuing towards his dormitory. He took a couple of steps before he forced himself to stop. In front of him, standing a few feet away, were two people. One was a girl with a delicate face and the other was a guy with a devilishly handsome looks. Based on their expressions, the girl seemed to be confessing, with her cheeks tinted red and her round eyes full of hope, but the guy didn't seem to be interested. In fact, his face was cold as ice and the frown on his lips made him quite intimidating.
Si Fan decisively turned around and walked in another direction. He won't believe that he can't find a path where there are no couples spreading dog food everywhere.
"Who is that Xiao Yue you have been talking to lately?!"
"I told you she's just a classmate! Why do you always bring her up?"
He paused.
He forgot that this garden was a breeding ground for fights and reconciliation as well.
The shortcut feels like a long way now.