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

Chapter 17 is missing; my dad would beat me to death for it.

The day passed quickly, and it was time to go home from school again.

Zhou Heng always had a feeling that he would be surrounded after school...

He didn't know whether it was a man or a woman blocking the way, or why they were blocking him, but he just had this feeling.

So after school, Zhou Heng packed his things and immediately left the classroom.

Seeing Zhou Heng leave so quickly, Yin Mengran panicked and quickened her pace, slinging her bag over her shoulder, preparing to follow.

"Hey! Ranran, wait a minute, shall we walk together?"

Seeing that Yin Mengran was in such a hurry, Tong Yining quickly called out to her.

Yin Mengran didn't have time to wait for Tong Yining to leave together. Besides, if she left with her, wouldn't it be easy for her to be exposed that she was going back to Zhou Heng's house?

So Yin Mengran stopped and said, "No, I have something to do after school, I'll be going now."

After saying that, he ran out of the classroom, and Lu Yunshuo, who wanted to follow, couldn't even see his shadow.

"Something wrong? What could possibly be wrong this late at night..."

Tong Yining felt something was off. Thinking back, Yin Mengran's behavior had been a bit strange all day.

He seemed a little uneasy, as if he had something on his mind.

However, knowing that something seemed to have happened at Yin Mengran's family, she didn't ask any further questions.

But apart from that, it's as if there's some unspeakable secret.

Yin Mengran chased after him all the way out of the school, heading back in the direction of Zhou Heng's house, before finally seeing him.

She quickly ran over to Zhou Heng's side.

"Wait for me... Why are you walking so fast..."

Seeing Yin Mengran panting heavily, Zhou Heng asked in surprise:

"Huh? What's the rush? You know where I live, just take your time."

"Uh...this..."

After hearing Zhou Heng's words, Yin Mengran felt that they seemed to make sense...

If I catch up myself, there's a chance I'll be seen and my secret will be discovered.

Then why was I in such a hurry to catch up...?

Deep down, she seemed to be longing to be able to speak openly and honestly with Zhou Heng as soon as school was over...

Without thinking about anything else, the thought of walking back with Zhou Heng made him immediately catch up.

"You...are you not hurt?"

Remembering how many shards of glass had fallen on Zhou Heng earlier that day, Yin Mengran was worried he might have been cut, so she asked softly,

"No."

"Ah...that's good. Oh, by the way, I finished all my food today, it was delicious..."

"it is good."

Zhou Heng's reply, word by word, made Yin Mengran feel somewhat downcast, and she couldn't help but think of...

Zhou Heng and Tang Zhi chatted so naturally today...

Why is it that when I chat with myself, it's like this, but when I chat with Tang Zhi, we have so many topics to talk about?

Is it because Tang Zhi is special...?

She's been thinking about this question for a long time today, even during PE class.

Zhou Heng didn't play basketball with the other boys; he just sat there reading. But when Tang Zhi went to find him, he went to play with her...

So the doubt in her heart made her ask aloud:

"I...I have something to ask, please don't be angry...Do you like Tang Zhi?"

Zhou Heng frowned slightly and asked, "Why do you think that? Is it because of what Kong Yue shouted today?"

"No...it's because I saw you chatting with her, it was very natural, you could talk a lot, and you seemed quite close...but with me, it's a bit..."

Yin Mengran felt a little embarrassed when she said this, as if she was jealous to have said those words.

But if I don't ask myself clearly, I'll think about it for a long time.

Zhou Heng shook his head and explained, "That's because I'm not very familiar with you. I don't talk much to people I'm not very familiar with. I'm very familiar with Tang Zhi."

"So...do you like her?"

"Which aspect are you referring to? I really like her as a friend. She's one of my best friends, because I don't really have many friends."

"It's about...relationships between boyfriends and girlfriends..."

"No."

Zhou Heng answered very decisively, without even the slightest hesitation.

So decisive that even Yin Mengran found it hard to believe that he hadn't considered it at all?

"Really? But I feel... you two get along really well. She's academically excellent, quite pretty, and athletically gifted. She seems just as good as Tong Yining in every way... You should like her, right? Haven't you considered being with her?"

Zhou Heng shook his head again, denying it, "No, my dad would beat me to death."

"Huh? Why?"

"Because it's unethical to be with your own cousin."

"!!"

Yin Mengran stopped abruptly, her eyes wide with shock, a reaction of extreme fright.

His entire body seemed to freeze, astonished as if struck by lightning.

"Cousin...cousin?!"

Yin Mengran chased after her again, her eyes wide with surprise, and exclaimed.

"Hmm, her mother is my aunt, my father's cousin. Tang Zhi and I grew up together."

"You forgot that she was transferred to another class a few days after the start of the first year of high school? We weren't in the same class at the time. She was specially transferred to our class later. Her mother was worried that with her personality, she wouldn't be able to make friends and would have no one to talk to, so she asked the teacher to arrange for us to sit together. Otherwise, do you think we've been able to sit together without changing seats?"

Zhou Heng's words made Yin Mengran suddenly realize something, as if they had awakened her from a dream.

No wonder Zhou Heng and Tang Zhi seem to have such a close and good relationship...

We grew up together, how could we not have a good relationship...?

She even felt that the two of them had toned down their behavior a bit, probably due to their personalities.

Come to think of it, their relationship is so good, and they're both quite eligible, yet they're not together yet.

If you don't genuinely dislike a certain aspect of the other person, then it's probably just because they're relatives.

"No wonder...she has such good athletic ability, just like you. It turns out it's...family genes..."

Yin Mengran seemed to breathe a sigh of relief, and her tone of conversation returned to normal, becoming more relaxed.

"So you know what happened today, right? Someone shouted in public that he likes his cousin. I'm lucky I wasn't angry."

"Ah... that means you're not angry. I felt like you were already furious, it was quite scary..."

"No, not at all. It's not worth getting angry at that kind of person. If you're angry, you should just slap him in the face."

Yin Mengran pursed her lips and chuckled softly.

Zhou Heng turned to look at her and asked:

"What are you laughing at? I'm telling the truth."

"No, it's just that...we feel a bit more familiar with each other, and we talk more..."