Chapter 43: Chu Lian and Shi Jin Are Together

After finishing the sweet drink, Pei Muyin sat a while longer before heading back; Shu Shu saw her to the door, and as she was leaving she asked, "Sister, can we go to school together tomorrow?"

Sure.

Good. Pei Muyin said excitedly, "Then tomorrow we'll bring you breakfast."

Mm.

Pei Muyin carried the box holding the sweet drink upstairs, returning to her new lodging in An Shi; she felt no trace of unfamiliar panic, only a special warmth.

From then on, Shu Shu had a little tail following her.

And Shu Shu didn't reject it; she herself found it miraculous—though she had barely known the mousse kid for a few days, the closeness and familiarity between them seemed to arise naturally.

That day after school.

Pei Muyin again said she had found a tasty place on her phone, and she pulled Shu Shu and Shu Lingchen along to go.

The shop was fairly small, without private rooms, so the three of them picked a window-side seat and sat down.

Before the dishes arrived, Shu Lingchen casually glanced outside, not knowing what he saw, and he froze.

Shu Shu followed his gaze and then raised an eyebrow.

She saw Chu Lian on the opposite street.

Beside Chu Lian stood a boy, his posture straight, wearing the uniform of San Zhong; the collar of his uniform jacket revealed a strip of pristine white shirt.

——Shi Jin.

The two looked as if they had just come out of school after class, both carrying backpacks.

They stopped at the entrance of a KFC.

Shi Jin gallantly opened the door, letting Chu Lian go in first; Chu Lian lifted her pure little face and gave Shi Jin a shy smile.

The two walked in one after the other until they disappeared from sight.

Since that day when Chu Lian told Shu Lingchen she wanted to study, Shu Lingchen had voluntarily stopped messaging her, fearing he would disturb her studies.

Only occasionally would he, during lunch break, sneak over to the classroom building of Yi Ban, pass by the door of the Yi Ban classroom, glance at Chu Lian, and then anonymously ask someone to bring her a bottle of yogurt, which satisfied him.

Shu Lingchen instinctively pulled out his phone, opened Chu Lian's avatar, and their chat window still showed his good morning message from last weekend, reminding her to eat breakfast.

Chu Lian never replied.

Is Chu Chu together with Shi Jin, or alone?

His actions outpaced his thoughts; Shu Lingchen immediately couldn't stay seated and was about to get up to go across to the KFC to see what was happening.

Before he could fully rise——

"Where are you going to eat?" Shu Shu subtly withdrew her gaze, pretending not to have seen what just happened, tapped the table, and stopped him: "The dishes will be here soon; please sit down."

Shu Lingchen had no choice but to sit obediently.

He absentmindedly ate this meal, his attention entirely on the KFC across the street.

As the meal neared its end, the KFC door was pushed open, and Shi Jin and Chu Lian came out.

Shu Lingchen craned his neck again, seeing the two walking off together toward the distance, occasionally turning their heads to speak; even across the street he could sense that the atmosphere between them was good.

That night.

Shu Lingchen endured and endured, wanting to message Chu Lian to ask why she had gone to KFC with Shi Jin.

But what identity should he use to ask?

What if Chu Chu thought he was questioning her and got angry—what then?

Moreover, he recalled that Chu Chu had explicitly said she didn't like Shi Jin, merely regarding him purely as the class monitor.

Right, he must trust Chu Chu and not misunderstand her.

Thinking this through, Shu Lingchen suddenly felt much calmer and dispelled the urge to message Chu Lian.

Two days passed.

Shu Lingchen felt that Bo Luo Zai and his gang were looking at him with eyes that wanted to speak but held back, their expressions shifty.

"Just fart if you've got one."

Bo Luo Zai shook his head like a rattle, feigning ignorance: "Ah? No, Morning Brother."

Shu Lingchen narrowed his eyes; no answer meant something was up, so he immediately grew impatient and gave Bo Luo Zai a light kick, his voice cold: "You bastard, spit it out!"

Only then did Bo Luo Zai stammer, probing: "Morning Brother, haven't you seen the school notice?"

"The notice? I haven't looked." He had spent all his free time these two days memorizing texts; Shu Lingchen frowned and said, "What's up with the notice? Did someone post an anonymous rant dissing me? Let them rant—I don't care."

"... No." Bo Luo Zai sighed, still not spelling it out, only saying: "Morning Brother, you'd better go look yourself."

"What's going on?"

Hearing that, Shu Lingchen had no choice but to suspiciously grab his phone and open the school's BBS.

Pinned at the top was a new post marked "Explosive."

The title read:

"【Yi Ban's school belle Chu Lian and class monitor Shi Jin are dating!】"

Shu Lingchen's pupils contracted; he immediately clicked into the post.

The poster was still an anonymous account hiding behind a pseudonym, but the post's content was detailed and convincing.

It said that recently one could often see Chu Lian taking her homework to ask Shi Jin for help.

Also, Chu Lian would hand Shi Jin yogurt, which he always accepted.

Most shockingly, someone claimed to have personally seen Chu Lian and Shi Jin walking shoulder to shoulder after school.

Below the post, many floors of replies piled up, a veritable chorus of enthusiastic approval:

"A genius hunk paired with a genius beauty—pretty good, I approve of this match! Congratulations!"

"Not only are they handsome and beautiful, one is a rich young lady, the other a wealthy scion—wow, this is literally a campus-to-urban novel coming to life! 【starry eyes】【starry eyes】."

"But suddenly I'm a bit worried—will Class 12's Shu Lingchen try to sabotage Chu Lian and Shi Jin's relationship? After all, he's chased Chu Lian for so long."

Hehe, I'm convinced—even that guy from Class 12 wouldn't even bother to take a piss and look in the mirror to ask himself if he's worthy!

Shi Jin is a young master who transferred from Jing Shi—what is he? He's poor, lame, and ugly, a total kill-matte loser. If I were him, seeing Shi Jin I'd have to slink away quickly to avoid embarrassment!

…

Which bastard posted that thread?!

Shu Lingchen angrily said: "Chu Chu could never be with Shi Jin! She doesn't even like Shi Jin!"

He didn't care about the replies cursing him under the post; instead, he was more concerned about the impact this post would have on Chu Lian's reputation.

So he immediately picked up his phone and went to clarify under each post, one by one: Chu Lian and Shi Jin are not together!

Shu Lingchen's tieba account has never been anonymous, so everyone knows it's him.

However, his clarification for Chu Lian, in people's eyes, is nothing more than the performance of a loser whose pursuit failed, being overly sentimental, and becoming angry out of embarrassment.

The mocking voices below became even harsher.

As the post's heat continued to intensify.

Shu Lingchen anxiously sent her a message, reminding her that rumors were spreading about her and Shi Jin.

But Chu Lian didn't reply.

Shu Lingchen thought Chu Lian was studying hard and hadn't seen her phone, and besides, it wouldn't be proper to openly go look for her at school, so he decided to go to the Chu family's home after school to find her—