Mistakenly Yours

Xu Yue watched, perplexed, as Li Miao struggled for words. Li Miao's lips quivered, and her eyes brimming with unshed tears. She was the embodiment of a cornered animal, her hunched posture a testament to her distress.

 

Zhang Wei stepped in between the two, his eyebrows furrowing in skepticism. "You're not serious, are you?" His disbelief was thinly veiled, voice heavy with concern for Li Miao's trembling figure.

 

Li Miao was a storm of confusion and self-reproach in stark contrast to Xu Yue and Zhang Wei's guarded skepticism. Her thoughts tumbled over one another, chastising her impulsive declaration with a ferocity that left her mentally berating herself. “I swear I won't interrupt.” Now hanging in the air, such words seemed to mock her with their naivety.

 

Li Miao, you’re really in for it now! Stupid, stupid, stupid! “I swear I won’t interrupt,” who the hell would believe that?! 

 

As silence engulfed her, Li Miao felt as if she were adrift in an endless sea with no lifeline in sight. Her heart raced, a frantic drumbeat against the cage of her ribs, as panic clawed at her throat.

 

Zhang Wei's patience wore thin, his gaze sharpening like a blade as he probed for the truth. 

 

"Didn't you harass her earlier today?" His question, directed at Xu Yue with a glance that sought confirmation, carried the weight of a gavel poised to deliver a verdict.

 

"No, I swear!" said Li Miao, her voice cracking as she pleaded for understanding.

 

“Yep, she didn’t! She also said she doesn’t want to bully Xu Yue anymore. Isn’t that great?” 

 

The air, thick with tension, was suddenly pierced by Ying Lian's cheerful interjection. Her hands were clasped as if in prayer, and her eyes alight with an innocence untarnished by the shadows of doubt.

 

Zhang Wei hesitated. 

 

She really didn’t do anything? Li Miao? 

 

"I already told you she didn't do anything." As he descended into deep thought, Xu Yue's words returned him to the present. Her confident voice helped ease the tension in the room.

 

"Fine, I'll drop it," Zhang Wei conceded with a sigh, running his hand through his hair. Even though the mystery behind Li Miao's transformation remained unsolved, memories of their shared past lingered in his mind.

 

Could she have gone back to before? 

 

“What are you kids doing here? Class is about to begin,” the teacher's voice boomed, scattering the students like leaves in the wind.

 

As the afternoon light faded, casting long shadows across the classroom, Xu Yue found herself unintentionally drawn towards Li Miao. The sight of Li Miao, who was once a rebellious personality, now reduced to a state of calmness, was surprising. 

 

She seemed to have transformed, her usual demeanor of aggression replaced with a vulnerability that made her appear almost like a kitten seeking shelter.

 

She seems nothing like herself. She looks almost like a tiny kitten now. 

 

Xu Yue's lips curled into a momentary smile, which quickly vanished.

 

No, it’s surely an act. No one can change that quickly. This isn’t a fictional story. But then, why did Li Miao say that? 

 

---

 

The sound of the last bell of the day interrupted the usual monotony, fulfilling Li Miao's promise to Xu Yue. The usual dramatic exchange between the two was absent, leading to whispers of disbelief among their classmates.

 

“What is going on today? I think I might be dreaming.” 

 

“Li Miao is normally so spiteful towards Xu Yue, I don’t blame you.”

 

“I was expecting a show today when she returned. What a pity.”

 

Li Miao was too preoccupied to pay attention to the whispers around her. Her head was buried in her hands as she dealt with another crisis:  Li Miao's only follower, Ying Lian, was energetically talking Li Miao's ears off while praising Li Miao's appearance.

 

“Cute! Super cute! Li Miao, you’re normally so fierce and beautiful, but today, you look so cute! I think I prefer this a lot more~ Wow, I could look at you forever! Honestly, the only other two that could compete against you would be that lovey-dovey couple from earlier.”

 

A sudden realization struck Li Miao like a bolt of lightning. 

 

“Did you say a lovey-dovey couple?” 

 

“Yeah! I tots ship it. Wasn’t he all like, ‘I’ll protect you’ to her? Super romantic!” 

 

“But they’re not dating yet.” 

 

“Aw, really? Boo, what a shame.” Ying Lian puffed up her cheek in disappointment. 

 

Ying Lian’s reaction sparked a devious idea in Li Miao's mind, igniting a glint of mischief in her eyes.

 

Wait, I could use this…

 

Who said she had to be the one to play Cupid? If Xu Yue and Zhang Wei didn’t trust her, get someone else! 

 

She looked at Ying Lian with a predatory glint, grabbing her shoulders. 

 

“Ling Yian, you’re my follower right? I have a job for you.” 

 

Ling Yian tilted her head, needing help understanding her current situation. 

 

---

 

The classroom was filled with the gentle afternoon sunlight, which streamed in through the windows, creating elongated shadows on the rows of old wooden desks. The air was thick with the smell of chalk and the faint hint of aged paper from the many textbooks stacked on the shelves. 

 

Xu Yue stood next to the blackboard that had been erased to a ghostly white, making precise and deliberate movements. The classroom was filled with the lingering energy of the day's lessons, a reverberating echo of debates and laughter that had now settled into a palpable anticipation of the end of the day.

 

As Xu Yue wiped the blackboard clean, her gaze flickered to Li Miao's deserted desk. The absence of their usual confrontation left her unsettled, a wary tension coiling in her chest.

 

Li Miao changed? I don’t believe it.

 

With Li Miao's unpredictable nature, she couldn't let her guard down. Each moment of respite was met with doubt.

 

She walked to her locker with a sigh, opening it to reach for her shoes. But as she did so, an envelope adorned with heart stickers caught her eye.

 

With her curiosity piqued, she hesitated before unfolding the letter nestled inside.

 

“I felt that this is a good time to tell you. I’ve loved you for a while. My heart races whenever I see you. Please don’t feel like you have to respond. I will wait for you.

 

Xu Yue.”

 

The words appeared blurry to her, and she felt a nagging suspicion clawing at the edges of her consciousness.

 

Could this be an attempt to imitate her handwriting? The exaggerated curves of the script suggest a deliberate imitation. Still, the inclusion of her name appears too blatant for deception. It's hard to believe anyone would be foolish enough to associate her with heart stickers and place the letter in her locker.

 

Who’s messing with me now?

 

Frowning, she detected a familiar scent wafting from the paper, triggering a vivid recollection of Li Miao’s face, which was only a few centimeters from hers. 

 

Yes, this was her perfume. 

 

Xu Yue laughed unexpectedly, amused and exasperated by the audacity of the ruse.

 

For someone who ranked so highly in academics, she really isn’t that smart, is she?

 

However, a question lingered in Xu Yue's mind. Why would Li Miao, of all people, write a love letter to her?

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