This back-and-forth battle over whether it was affection or annoyance dragged on between them, neither willing to back down.

In the blink of an eye, ten years had passed since they first met.

That day, after gathering intel from Xiao Zhuo, He Shuangyue wasted no time in seeking out Xuke Le. Without any explanation, she launched into a tirade, leaving him utterly confused.

"Sister Moon, did I do something to upset you?" he asked, bewildered.

"Tell me, why did you go to Cheng Xingyi to help you level up in the game instead of coming to me?" she demanded. "Do you know that because of your little stunt, he's been holed up at home for over two weeks, and he hasn't returned a single one of my calls!"

Xuke Le, feeling aggrieved, mumbled, "Oh, my dear sister, no one can beat you in real-life combat, but when it comes to gaming, you're pretty bad. You even asked me to teach you last time."

After a pause, he added with admiration, "But our boss is different. Not only is he handsome, but he's also a pro at gaming."

"So I asked him to help me level up so I could show off to those brats."

Hearing this, He Shuangyue grabbed his ear and narrowed her eyes. "Seems like you still don't realize your mistake. Do I need to spell it out for you, hmm?"

Xuke Le, in pain, quickly surrendered and begged for mercy, "Sis, don't pull, don't pull! I was wrong, I shouldn't have asked the boss, I shouldn't have gotten in the way of you and him building your relationship."

"But I didn't ask him first; it was the boss who offered to help me."

At this, He Shuangyue let go of him and suspiciously asked, "Did your boss take the wrong medicine recently? He never plays games. And why would he need money?"

He, rubbing his ears, jumped three steps away and replied, "How would I know what's going on in his head? I'm not a worm in his stomach."

"If you want to know, you might as well ask him directly. That way, you can see him and ease your longing."

"That's true."

He Shuangyue thought to herself that Cheng Xingyi had become increasingly hard to read.

Even though he had always had that expressionless face since childhood, and despite his usual indifferent attitude towards her, over the years, aside from occasionally bickering with her, he'd been relatively nice to her. Even when she teased him to the point of anger, he never really retaliated, right?

After two days of holding back, He Shuangyue finally couldn't resist any longer. She grabbed a bag of dragon fruits and headed straight to Cheng Xingyi's house.

Xiao Zhuo opened the door. Seeing her, he gave her a knowing look. "Sister Moon, you came at the perfect time. My brother is sleeping right now. Let me take you to see his pink pajamas."

Come to think of it, she had never seen him in pink pajamas. Following Xiao Zhuo stealthily to the door of the room, she felt a surge of inexplicable excitement.

She didn't notice the sly glint in Xiao Zhuo's eyes. Suddenly, she was shoved from behind and stumbled into the room. Then, with a loud "click," the door was locked from the outside.

Her phone buzzed with a new message: "Sister Moon, as a dutiful wingman, this is as far as I can help. The rest is up to you. Good luck!"

He Shuangyue chuckled with satisfaction, slipped her phone back into her pocket, and began to survey Cheng Xingyi's room.

The entire room was impeccably clean and organized, just as she expected from a neat freak like him. Hmph, he had a bad temper and an emotionless face; who else could tolerate him besides her? He was truly blessed but didn't even realize it!

She tiptoed over to Cheng Xingyi's bed and crouched beside it, staring at his sleeping face with a dreamy expression. Normally, he wore that cold, emotionless mask, exuding an icy demeanor. But now, asleep, his features had softened, making him look like a child. His long, delicate eyelashes were strikingly beautiful. And those tightly pressed lips—how sexy was that lip line!

Unable to resist, she reached out and touched every part of his face, laughing inwardly at how good it felt to the touch. Then, she quietly opened her phone's camera and snapped a picture of this adorable sleeping beauty in his pink pajamas. Her excitement was palpable—Cheng Xingyi in pink pajamas was too cute for words, and this photo was a limited edition!

Just as she was reveling in her triumph, the person on the bed suddenly opened his eyes and stared directly at her, his gaze fixed on her still-smiling face. In a low voice, he asked, "Does it look good?"

Startled, He Shuangyue stumbled and fell to the floor, but she didn't forget to reply, "It looks great."

Hearing this, Cheng Xingyi propped himself up on the edge of the bed and slowly leaned closer to her. His presence overwhelmed her senses, making it feel like they were about to collide at any moment.

Although she often teased him, it was always just playful banter; she had never been this close to him before. Now, her heart was pounding wildly, and her face was burning with heat.

"Give me the photo," he said.

"Huh?"

He frowned slightly and repeated, "Hand over the photo you secretly took."

Realizing what he meant, she pushed him away. So he had been awake while she was swooning over him earlier—how annoying!

"No way, it's my photo!" she said, clutching her phone like it was a precious treasure.

He narrowed his eyes and gave her a meaningful look. Then, without warning, he pulled her onto the bed.

He Shuangyue felt the world spin, and when she regained her senses, there was a warm body pressing down on her.

What the heck was happening?

She wanted to escape this ambiguous situation, but he held her tightly, leaving her unable to move. "Cheng Xingyi, stop messing around. I'll give you the phone, okay?"

Seeing the panic in her eyes, he smiled and said, "I don't want it anymore."

He Shuangyue's face was burning, and for once, she was genuinely shy. She pushed him with all her might. "Get off me! I brought you your favorite dragon fruit, haha."

His intense gaze locked onto hers, his voice low and mesmerizing. "He Shuangyue, after reading all those romance novels, wasn't your goal to seduce me? Now that you've got your wish, why aren't you happy?"

"I... I wasn't trying to do that!"

"But I was," he murmured. Then, he suddenly leaned down and kissed her, biting her lip gently. "I'm already great at leveling up. From now on, you can only admire me, and you're not allowed to let Xuke Le lead you astray!"

He Shuangyue felt her brain short-circuit, her face flushed bright red, and her eyes darting around, unable to meet his gaze.

He gently pinched her chin, forcing her to look at him, and said slowly, "He Shuangyue, you said you'd take responsibility for me. So let's start now."

Ever since her first kiss was inexplicably stolen by Cheng Xingyi, He Shuangyue had been avoiding him for days. Even now, when she spotted him from afar in the neighborhood supermarket, she instinctively grabbed Xu Kele and bolted.

"Something's definitely off! Sister Yue, you're usually the one who loves to pester the boss the most. Why are you acting like you've seen a ghost today?" 

"Did something happen between you two that I don't know about? Come on, tell me."

She gave him a disdainful look. "Xu Kele, could you stop acting like a gossipy girl?"

"Oh, come on! We're best buddies, right? Or best sisters, if you prefer."

"I've been risking my neck in the boss's lair since we were kids, gathering intel for you. You even said I was the best sidekick ever!"

Hearing him bring up their childhood, He Shuangyue paused, then asked quietly, "Xu Kele, do you think I like Cheng Xingyi?"

"Of course you do! From the moment you yanked down his pants, I knew you two were destined for each other!"

"And do you think Cheng Xingyi likes me?"

"Definitely! Don't be fooled by how quiet he is; he really cares about you."

"Think about it—has he ever gotten along with any other girl besides you? No, right?"

"And even though he says you're annoying, hasn't he willingly put up with you all these years?"

"If he didn't like you, with his personality, do you think he'd bother with you?"

"He's the king of repressed emotions!"

Xu Kele was about to say more when he suddenly noticed Cheng Xingyi standing behind her, looking displeased.

Seeing Cheng Xingyi's sharp gaze, Xu Kele gasped and decided it was best to leave. "Good afternoon, boss! You're looking great today, boss! If you don't need anything, I'll take off. You and Sister Yue have a nice chat!"

Hearing this, He Shuangyue quickly turned around, and sure enough, there was his expressionless face. She glanced back, but Xu Kele had already made a swift escape.

The two of them stood there, staring at each other for what felt like an eternity before Cheng Xingyi finally broke the silence with a slight cough. "He Shuangyue, starting tomorrow, you're coming to my house for math tutoring."

Normally, she would have been thrilled, but now, with the strange tension between them, she found herself asking, "Why should I?"

He gave her a long, penetrating look before responding in his usual calm tone, "You don't have a reason to refuse."

"But if you really don't want to come, that's fine. I'll make sure no one dares to hang out with you this summer."

Every time she met his deep, intense gaze, He Shuangyue felt a pang of guilt, like a mouse caught red-handed by a cat. Panicked, she muttered reluctantly, "Fine, I'll go!"

Hearing this, Cheng Xingyi's lips curled slightly, and a warm smile flickered in his deep eyes.

He Shuangyue couldn't help but think that her poor academic performance was all Cheng Xingyi's fault. Since childhood, her life goal had been to win him over, and she spent all her time with Xu Kele and their little gang, plotting ways to catch up to Cheng Xingyi. Where would she find time to study?

And besides, the reason Cheng Xingyi became a top student probably had something to do with her. With that handsome face of his, countless naive girls had been infatuated with him back in the day, constantly seeking him out.

If it weren't for her playing the role of a proactive deskmate, helping him fend off all those unwanted admirers, how could he have possibly stayed so focused on his studies?

After three weeks of tutoring, He Shuangyue increasingly felt that Cheng Xingyi was a total sadist. She regretted chasing after him for ten years and couldn't help but think she must have been out of her mind, utterly possessed, to shamelessly cling to him and demand that he take responsibility.

He wasn't tutoring her out of kindness; he was clearly out to torment her. He even teamed up with her grandfather to supervise her as she copied formulas and practice problems. It must have been Cheng Xingyi's way of exacting revenge for being utterly fed up with her.

Staring at the mountain of test papers, exercise books, chaotic formulas, countless punishment copies, and that cold, expressionless face of his, she felt this summer was turning into a suffocating ordeal.

For the sake of her future, she decided it was necessary to have a talk with Cheng Xingyi—at least they needed to get along.

One day, she arrived at the Cheng residence early. After Cheng Ayi let her in, she left, only mentioning that Cheng Xingyi was at home.

Hearing the sound of running water from the bathroom, and knowing that Xiaozhuo was likely out playing, she instinctively assumed it was Cheng Xingyi inside. She squatted by the door and began muttering to herself, "Cheng Xingyi, let's make peace, okay? No, let's turn our swords into plowshares!"

"I know I was wrong when we were kids. I shouldn't have pulled down your pants and embarrassed you in front of everyone."

"I shouldn't have had a crush on you and shamelessly demanded that you take responsibility."

"I also shouldn't have used force to block your romantic prospects, let alone tease you with words all the time."

"I've done some deep reflection, and I know I was wrong. So can you please stop retaliating against me?"

"I'll delete those photos I secretly took of you, and I'll pretend you kissing me never happened—like a dog bit me. Let's call a truce, okay?"

"Why don't you talk to Grandpa for me? I really don't want to copy any more math problems."

At that moment, the water stopped, and the door opened, revealing a shocked Xiaozhuo. "Sister Yue, did you really kiss my brother?"

"Why is it you? Where's your brother?"

He jerked his chin towards her. "He's right behind you."

Before He Shuangyue could react, a warm hand covered her eyes, causing her to blush furiously.

She heard Cheng Xingyi’s displeased voice directed at Xiaozhuo, "Go to your room and put on a shirt, now!"

"Sister Yue isn’t an outsider. But... Bro, did you really kiss her?"

"Cheng Xingzhuo!"

"Okay, okay, I’m going."

He Shuangyue pulled his hand off her face, grumbling, "I've already pulled your pants down; what's the big deal if Xiaozhuo isn't wearing a shirt?"

Hearing her words, a suspicious blush crept up Cheng Xingyi's face, and he felt a tightness in his temples. Couldn't they just move past this already?

Hadn't she just said she’d done some deep reflection and admitted her mistakes? Clearly, a woman's words couldn't be trusted.

Seeing him sweaty, his wet hair sticking to his forehead, and wearing a red jersey with his collarbones faintly visible, He Shuangyue realized he had just finished exercising. He looked incredibly sexy!

Her old habit kicked in, and she blurted out with a smirk, "Cheng Xingyi, you look absolutely stunning right now. So young and already so impressive!"

Cheng Xingyi removed the hand she had draped over his shoulder, then flicked her forehead with a light laugh. "He Shuangyue, copy the notes I organized for you yesterday three more times today!"

He Shuangyue instantly bristled, "Cheng Xingyi, I just admitted I was wrong! You can't just keep torturing me like this!"

He stared at her with deep eyes for a long time, then sighed softly and bent down to peck her lips. "He Shuangyue, I'm not retaliating against you."