According to her wishes, they all followed the pair of fake siblings. Xu Yinuan kept glancing at Xia Yuan from time to time, obviously disgusted.

"Tsk, Xia Yao, you knew everything but you didn't tell me." She pursed her mouth and felt very dissatisfied, "Fortunately, I like a lot of people so it's not too bad."

Xia Yao: Sorry, I worried too much.

Xia Yao raised her eyebrows: "Then why are we still stalking them?"

Xu Yinuan looked at her incredulously and answered: "Don't you know how serious I am about gossip?"

Xia Yao: "..." I lost.

Xia Xi and Xia Yuan went to the movies on the top floor after having lunch. Xu Yinuan and Sweet Sister, two gossiping girls, got on the elevator on the other side and followed closely, loosely trailed by Xia Yao and Ji Huai.

Xia Yao sighed and glanced at Ji Huai who had been forced to come along: "I'm so sorry."

Ji Huai looked at the hand she was holding and smiled lightly: "It's okay."

He was walking slowly on purpose, so the girl would instinctively grab him to pull him with her.

He suddenly thought of something and said: "We don't need to be so sneaky, we just need a cover."

"Ah? What are you thinking about?"

"We can pretend to be dating." Ji Huai raised both of their hands, the corners of his mouth curled up, "We can act more casually so we won't arouse their suspicion."

Xia Yao looked at her stupid friend who was in full stalker-mode in front, and couldn't help but think that Ji Huai was worthy of being a top student; his idea was pretty good. If they held hands and were found out by Xia Xi and Xia Yuan, they could always pretend to not have seen them.

Once they reached the theater, Xu Yinuan went to buy a bucket of popcorn and covered her face with it from time to time, when her targets were in sight. Sweet Sister passed by the store and bought a pink wig, which not only lacked as a disguise but also looked rather eye-catching. On the other hand, Xia Yao was wearing sunglasses and with her hair tied up high, she looked like a beautiful special agent.

She didn't know how a couple should act but she guessed holding hands as they walked wasn't bad.

"They bought the tickets, what movie do you think they chose?" Xu Yinuan narrowed her eyes.

Sweet Sister glanced at the titles and said: "Venomous First Love, it's the hottest youth movie recently."

"Go, go, go, let's get tickets too! Choose seats next to them."

Sweet Sister squinted at her: "Do you know where they are sitting?"

At this moment, Xia Yao and Ji Huai came back from buying popcorn and coke and heard their conversation. She lifted her sunglasses and replied: "Couple seats, 5th row, 7th, and 8th seats."

Xu Yinuan raised a thumb: "As expected of the super-smart Xia Yao!"

Everything went fast afterward. The girls bought the tickets and because there weren't too many left, Xu Yinuan and Sweet Sister bought seats 9th and 10th of the 7th row, while Xia Yao and Ji Huai had to select a corner.

Xu Yinuan was very satisfied with the sitting arrangement and she wiggled her eyebrows at Xia Yao: "Sister Yao, grab the opportunity!"

She glanced at their hands clasped together and clicked her tongue. Sweet Sister also smiled meaningfully and nodded.

Only then did Xia Yao realize she was still holding Ji Huai's hand. She quickly let go and silently hugged her popcorn with both arms, before looking away.

"I'm sorry!" Ji Huai's hands were just too delicate, she hadn't realized she was doing so!

The boy smiled: "No worries, I was the one suggesting to pretend to be a couple."

Xia Yao touched her forehead, embarrassed.

"Let's go." Ji Huai patted her head and they both walked to the movie.

Xu Yinuan looked at their backs and chuckled: "The CP I knocked is really fragrant!"

Sweet Sister took her arm and added: "I like the Tutoring CP more but the Top Student CP is also pretty good."

Xia Yao was not interested in following Xia Yuan and Xia Xi like the others, what hadn't she already seen at home? But Xu Yinuan was really into it.

Xia Yao and Ji Huai settled in their couple seats but because their position was too remote and the light was dim, they could not see anything about what was happening with their targets. They could only watch the movie but this seat was just too comfortable. After a few minutes, Xia Yao closed her eyes.

—The soundtrack was like a lullaby!

Asleep? Ji Huai glanced at the girl and realized her head was slowly dropping, as she slept peacefully. The boy smiled and gently lifted her to his shoulder, brushing the broken hair from her cheeks at the same time.

"Perfect." He gently covered the girl's hand.

This teenager movie had no twists and turns but the ending music was full of rhythm. Xia Yao, who was dreaming she was the last one in the grade again, suddenly awakened. Frightened by her nightmare, her head fell and she planted on Ji Huai's upper thigh.

Fortunately, the boy reacted very quickly to protect his crotch and supported her with his hands. Otherwise, this would have been another story...

Xia Yao rubbed her eyes and looked at him: "Did I just sleep on you?"

Her sight was a little blurry and because she had just woken up, her voice was soft.

"It's nothing, you should lean on me a little longer."

"Huh?" Xia Yao blinked, feeling like she was having auditory hallucinations. Leaning on him longer? Why? Wasn't she heavy?

"The movie is over, let's go find the girls." She stood up and started moving.

"Oh my god, guess what I saw!" Xu Yinuan was covering her mouth and trying to lower her voice, "I saw them kissing! Oh my god, brother and sister are taboo!!"

"She showed me, I feel I'm going to throw up." Sweet Sister took off her wig, "Although they aren't blood-related, they are still legally siblings!"

"..."

When Xia Yao and Ji Huai came out, both girls were babbling as usual.

"Are you going to the library tomorrow?" The boy beside her asked.

Xia Yao wanted to agree but Xu Shizhou's face flashed in her mind and she reluctantly refused: "No, I have something to do tomorrow."

Xu Yinuan poked her head at this moment and muttered: "Woooo~ what could be more important than studying?"

***

Xia Yao showed up at City T's gymnasium at 3 pm. Today was a basketball tournament and all thirteen high schools of City T had sent a team to compete.

There were a lot of people in front of the building and Xia Yao casually glanced at the cheer signs held high in their hands; she had a feeling that 80% of them were here to root for Xu Shizhou.

She put her hands in her pockets and squeezed into the crowd. She handed her ticket and it felt surreal she needed one to watch a high school game.

The ticket inspector instinctively glanced at her a few times, she could get a VIP ticket, she must have been Master Xu's veteran fan! Because he was playing today, most tickets had been bought by his fans, and when Xia Yao entered the gym, it was already full.

She raised her hands and glanced at the number on her ticket, before finding her seat. Next to her was a girl and she was carrying a sign with her. Xia Yao didn't want to see what was written on it but the letters were really huge.

—Master Xu, marry me!

Xia Yao smiled and looked down at the court. The game hadn't started yet and she took a notebook from her bag, before lowering her head to study.

***

Xu Shizhou was wondering if Xia Yao would come and if she would arrive earlier. He doubted she would because she was someone who would always arrive right when the bell rang at school; except for when she was on duty, she was never one second early.

However, as soon as he entered the court, he swept his gaze towards the auditorium and found her at one glance. Her head was lowered as if she was writing something and she looked well-behaved.

—Fuck! She had brought her books to study!

Xu Shizhou threw the ball in his hand to his teammates. He had wanted to drink but didn't feel so thirsty anymore, and he walked towards the audience with his bottle of water, while his teammates watched him leave with a surprised expression.

"Ah~ I see him! Master Xu is here!"

"Ah~ this face, this waist, those legs! This sister wants to die!"

"Master Xu is wearing a hairband, he looks too wild! I want to be Master Xu's hairband and be worn on his head by him!"

"Why not become his underwear instead?"

"Wait, wait, Master Xu is coming our way! Ah, I'm dead, someone help me!"

"..." The crowd screamed.

Xia Yao had been immersed in her own learning and had ignored the noise around her all along, but she was now distracted and tried to protect her notebook.

Xu Shizhou's face was sullen and only the girl was in his eyes; she was like a bright lighthouse in the loud basketball court. He jumped over the railing, bent over, and snatched the book from Xia Yao's hands. The action had been very fast and spontaneous.

Xia Yao only felt a shadow over her head and her notebook was instantly stolen from her. She raised her eyes in doubt and saw an angry face.

The boy was standing in front of her, with dark eyes and smooth arm muscles, and was holding her precious notebook. He raised his eyebrows and said: "Oh, were you studying?"

The girls around went quiet and covered their mouths. Their eyes went back and forth between the two of them, trying to guess their relationship.

Xia Yao closed her pen and looked at him: "Has the game started?"

—If the game hasn't started, why should I feel guilty stealing a few more minutes of learning time!

Understanding her meaning, Xu Shizhou knew he had been defeated but he didn't return the book to her and kept it behind him.

"I will keep that first, here." He threw the bottle at her, "This is for you."

She instinctively caught it and realized it had already been half drunk.

"What are you doing?"

"Come see me at half-time." Xu Shizhou touched his nose and looked away. He thought of something and took off the towel on his shoulder: "Bring that too."

Xia Yao stared at the towel shoved on her lap: "..."

The girls around her had all brought water and towels, why didn't Xu Shizhou need her? It seemed that he only liked to use his own stuff.

"Okay, I will see you at half-time." Xia Yao agreed, it wasn't too much work.

A whistle suddenly sounded in the stadium, announcing the game was about to begin.

"Then I will go first." The boy turned to leave.

"Wait!" Xia Yao stopped him eagerly.

Little theater:

Xu Yinuan: Hiding behind a bucket of popcorn isn't suspicious.

Sweet Sister: No, the bright pink wig is the best disguise!

Xia Yao: You obviously need sunglasses to stalk people properly.

Ji Huai: happy and proud.jpg

Little theater #2:

Xu Yinuan: Brother and sister are kissing! Omg!

Sweet Sister: Brother and sister are kissing! Omg!

Xia Yao: *already used to it*

Ji Huai: She held my hand, shy.jpg