Chapter Sixty-Three: Exposing the Affair

"You bought the cold medicine for me?!" Dong Yanyan couldn't believe it, knocking her head in disbelief as she watched the sparse snowflakes drifting down from the sky. She couldn't help but laugh. "In the dead of winter, even an iron tree is blooming?!"

"It's blooming quite vigorously, too. When I bought a hot water bag yesterday, I got one for you as well. It's in your desk drawer. Don't get me wrong, Yan Yan, I just thought if I didn't buy one for you, you'd definitely buy one for me, and with your salary, you can't afford to keep this up," Song Mingcheng replied with a laugh.

"Huh? How did you know I was going to get you a hot water bag? It must have been Yu Xia's idea!" Dong Yanyan looked at him, somewhat conflicted. "I don't think this is good. Even if we owe each other favors, we shouldn't repay them so quickly. It feels too calculated, like tit for tat."

"It's not a big deal. Why overthink it?" Song Mingcheng kicked at the snow at his feet and swung himself onto his bicycle.

Dong Yanyan stuck out her tongue playfully and hurried after him.

These days, hardship no longer felt bitter after getting used to it. She was now accustomed to getting up at four in the morning to deliver newspapers, returning to school by 7:30 for classes, grabbing a quick bite of steamed bun and pickled vegetables during the ten-minute break after the second period, and buying herself a hot dish for lunch. If she was lucky, she could afford a meat dish, but most days it was spicy tofu or clover with tomatoes—she'd grown used to these too. As for the red-braised fish, cola chicken wings, or sweet and sour pork she used to love, she didn’t even think about them anymore—they were beyond reach. Her monthly living expenses were just enough. Compared to her dormmates, her three hundred yuan a month was already a considerable sum. Of course, she couldn't compare to Xiaohan and Tiantian, who came from wealthy families. But compared to her past self, things had improved greatly. At least now her grades were decent, and she carried a maturity and life experience that gave her calm and confidence in dealing with teachers and classmates. More often than not, she stood out without even trying, a far cry from the timid girl she once was.

Naturally, she also treated some classmates' jealousy and side glances with a calm smile. Only after going through it did she realize that whatever little attention she got in school was nothing. Out in the real world, nobody cared about such things.

*

In the afternoon, they had a lab class on the fourth floor. The floor was covered with thick insulating mats, and several workbenches were arranged in the spacious room, each covered with instruments. This time, the experiment required pairs of students to assemble a simple radio circuit board.

Song Mingcheng had already etched the circuit diagram on the board and handed it to Dong Yanyan, who carefully pressed a strip of clear tape over it. Using a utility knife, she carved out the circuit, peeled off the excess tape, and, using tweezers, placed the board into the acid solution for etching.

Song Mingcheng had already plugged in the soldering iron and prepared the components. Once the board was ready, they could start soldering the parts onto it. As usual, each of them did half.

While Song Mingcheng worked, Dong Yanyan absentmindedly wrapped the solder wire around her finger, watching others and grinning. The familiar scent of rosin drifted over from nearby—it had to be Xiaohan! She glanced over and saw Xiaohan, face dark, reattaching a resistor. Liu Qiang stood beside her, whispering something, wanting to help but afraid to anger her. Xiaohan shot him a pitiful look and handed him the soldering iron before sitting aside, shaking out her hand. Liu Qiang, delighted, took over, but in his eagerness to show off, he burned his hand. He winced and let out a suppressed yelp. Gu Xiaohan paused, then couldn't help but laugh.

Song Mingcheng, moving at a steady pace, reached halfway and found he couldn't locate the solder wire. Turning, he saw it wrapped around Dong Yanyan's finger as she watched the commotion, giggling. He handed her the soldering iron. "Your turn."

"Oh, thank you." Dong Yanyan took the soldering iron eagerly, grabbed the circuit diagram, found the appropriate capacitors and resistors according to the schematic, and began soldering. When she finally finished, she looked up to find Song Mingcheng gone—at some point, Teacher Guo had called him over, and the two were busy with something. Left alone, she installed the antenna coil, fitted the battery, snapped on the case, and carefully turned the dial. To her surprise, she actually picked up a station.

"Yes! Done!" She waved the radio triumphantly at Teacher Guo.

Teacher Guo smiled kindly and came over to inspect her work.

"Well done, but when the soldering iron is unplugged, it must be placed on the stand to cool off first. Look, you've burned another hole in the insulating mat." Teacher Guo chuckled.

Dong Yanyan glanced guiltily at the blackened spot on the mat and stuck out her tongue in embarrassment.

After class, the students drifted downstairs in groups. Dong Yanyan only remembered halfway down to the second floor that she had left her notebook in the lab. She ran back up alone and, since the back door of the lab was closer to the stairwell, tried to push it open. It wouldn't budge—it must have been locked from inside. She had to run to the front door on the other side, which, fortunately, was unlocked. She hurried in and was instantly stunned—there were still two people in the lab, pressed together against the wall, arms entwined. The girl's clothes were mostly off, her pale, full body completely exposed; the boy, half-dressed, held her awkwardly in his arms, both startled and staring at her in embarrassment. Their eyes met, and all three blushed fiercely. The next moment, Dong Yanyan let out a startled cry, spun around, hurriedly closed the door behind her, and leaned against it, heart pounding wildly. She was still catching her breath when a hand suddenly landed on her shoulder, making her shriek again in fright.

"What are you so jumpy for? Stealing something?" Teacher Guo's kindly voice came.

Seeing it was the teacher, Dong Yanyan immediately put on a smile more pitiful than crying and mumbled, "Teacher, you scared me. I just came back to get something." She reached up, grabbed the padlock hanging on the door, and snapped it shut, pulling the key out.

Teacher Guo, seeing her lock the door, shook his head in disbelief. "I was just about to say I left my lesson plan inside, and you locked the door." He took the key from her to unlock the door.

"Really? I think I saw Song Mingcheng carrying your lesson plan downstairs just now. He must have brought it to your office. You might want to check there," Dong Yanyan lied smoothly.

The teacher started to leave, then glanced back at her. "Why aren't you going?"

"You go ahead, I'm waiting for someone," Dong Yanyan replied with a smile.

Teacher Guo patted her shoulder and went downstairs. As soon as he was gone, Dong Yanyan dashed back to the front door. Inside the lab, Leng Haoyang and Yang Ruining had already dressed and were blushing furiously as they looked at her.

"The teacher's gone downstairs. You two better hurry before anyone sees you," Dong Yanyan said quickly. The two of them bolted like startled rabbits.