I rejected your confession, but you took my best friend home?

Chapter 19 Just don't have any contact with her.

"The lights are off."

"Um..."

In the middle of the night, the two returned to their bedroom to prepare for sleep.

Yin Mengran was no longer afraid after the first time, but became more skilled the second time. By the third time, she had nothing to worry about and it even felt very natural.

After all, if Zhou Heng wanted to do something, he would have done it a couple of days ago.

She had learned a little about Zhou Heng and knew what kind of person he was, so she was no longer wary.

She turned off the light, stared at the dark ceiling, and began to recall the events of the day.

For his classmates, Zhou Heng was definitely the biggest star today, and he also greatly impressed everyone else.

They might even have started to change their opinion of Zhou Heng.

The most shocking thing for her was learning that Zhou Heng and Tang Zhi were relatives.

Thinking about it carefully, it seems that Tang Zhi did indeed transfer to their class not long after the start of the first year of high school.

Then I became Zhou Heng's deskmate, and we've been deskmates ever since.

The impression Tang Zhi gave her was actually quite similar to the impression Zhou Heng gave her.

They are all people who don't talk much, aren't good at communicating, and don't have many friends.

She had indeed never seen Tang Zhi playing with anyone; the occasional glimpse she made showed her sitting in her seat, seemingly doing nothing.

"Does Tang Zhi...not have any friends?"

Yin Mengran suddenly spoke, asking in a low voice,

Although it was very soft, it was exceptionally clear in the quiet bedroom.

"Ah."

"So... if I talk to her first, will she respond?"

Yin Mengran began to take an interest in Tang Zhi, and even wanted to learn more about her.

It would be even better if we could become friends.

I'm just worried that she doesn't like communicating with others and will reject me.

"Yes, but I suggest you don't become friends with her."

"Huh? Why?"

Yin Mengran was genuinely stunned; she thought she had misheard.

Zhou Heng remained silent for a long time before slowly speaking: "If you spend too much time with her, I'm afraid your self-confidence will be undermined."

"Huh? What...does this...mean..."

"It's nothing, just don't have any contact with her. She doesn't need any friends."

Zhou Heng rolled over, his tone shifting abruptly, as if he had something he wanted to say but couldn't.

Yin Mengran was already extremely curious about Tong Yining's situation, and that curiosity hadn't subsided yet.

Now, because of Tang Zhi's matter, and with Zhou Heng keeping her in suspense, she simply couldn't hold back any longer.

If she can't find out about this, she really won't be able to sleep tonight!

Yin Mengran propped herself up on her arms, looked at Zhou Heng on the other side, and said earnestly:

"Just tell me, I definitely want to be friends with her, don't worry!"

"Ok?"

Zhou Heng opened his eyes, surprised by Yin Mengran's resolute determination.

After hesitating for a moment, he sat up and turned on the light.

"Ok."

Zhou Heng sat up in bed and began rummaging through the computer desk in front of him.

Yin Mengran also sat up, leaning against the headboard, wondering what Zhou Heng was looking for.

After a while, he found a photo and handed it to Yin Mengran.

Yin Mengran took the photo and saw that it showed a little girl who looked only seven or eight years old, with long black hair and a bright smile.

What is most eye-catching is the stack of certificates of merit she is holding!

He held more than a dozen certificates in his left hand and a trophy in his right.

"This is... Tang Zhi? Is it real?"

Yin Mengran could hardly believe it; the little girl in front of her was so different from Tang Zhi.

Putting aside the difference between long and short hair, just look at this expression; it's like you were when you were a child—lively, cheerful, and always smiling.

Why have you become so cold now? What happened in between?

"Well, really."

Zhou Heng nodded and continued:

"She's the quintessential 'other people's child.' She's the smartest kid I've ever seen. She's shown exceptional talent since she was little. She's proficient in everything from music and chess to calligraphy and painting. She learns everything quickly and can easily win any competition. Her grades have always been among the best. You're in the top five in your grade, right? She's just not studying hard enough right now. If she could play fewer games for a month and focus on studying for a month instead, she would definitely surpass you."

"Ah...is that so...?"

Hearing Zhou Heng's words, Yin Mengran couldn't help but open her mouth in surprise.

She knew Tang Zhi was excellent, but she didn't expect her to be this excellent!

“I couldn’t compare to her in anything since I was little. She has such high talent and a very arrogant personality. She never treated me as her older cousin when we were young, so for a long time I even hated her.”

Zhou Heng sat there, his gaze somewhat deep, as if recalling past events.

"In the end, all I could do was lecture her about the natural physical differences between boys and girls. Once when we were little, I played basketball with her and I won. That was the first time I had ever beaten her in a certain way. She cried, but I laughed. It was the happiest laugh I've ever had."

"She was discouraged and immediately cut her hair short after going back, because she wanted to surpass me in sports, and short hair would be more convenient."

“I realized that to defeat her, I had to use my own strengths. I started playing games with her. Although she was very talented and could quickly master any game, she was still a bit behind me. She played hard and tried to catch up with me. I finally regained some confidence, and she finally treated me as an opponent. She became less arrogant and gradually calmed down.”

Zhou Heng tossed her another photo, and Yin Mengran saw that it showed Zhou Heng and Tang Zhi.

It must have been when he was in junior high school, a few years ago, on Zhou Heng's birthday.

Zhou Heng closed his eyes and made a wish on the cake, while Tang Zhi, wearing Zhou Heng's birthday hat, secretly ate some cake, which was captured on camera.

"I think your relationship... is perhaps more solid than that of ordinary siblings."

Yin Mengran returned the photo to Zhou Heng, a hint of envy in her eyes.

She felt that Zhou Heng and Tang Zhi had a very good relationship, which made her a little envious, because she had never had such friends or relatives growing up.

She also understood why these two didn't have many friends; perhaps for them, having each other was enough.

"Probably, anyway, I've never argued with her..."

Zhou Heng put the photo back, then looked at Yin Mengran and said:

"So do you understand now? It's exhausting to be around someone like her. There's no need to be friends with her, and she doesn't need to."

Yin Mengran gently shook her head, a slight smile playing on her lips.

"No... I want to be friends with her now. I can only improve myself by learning from outstanding people."