Chapter 96

"No need, it's not far; I can go back myself."

Shen Li turned and opened the private room door, leaving without lingering. The door closed slowly, and the private room fell into a brief silence.

After leaving the mall, the sunlight outside was blocked by dark clouds, and the sky had turned dim; it would probably rain in the afternoon.

The wind was cold; Shen Li lowered her head, wearing her hoodie, and on the way back, she bought a piece of bread and a bottle of warm milk from a convenience store, eating as she walked back to the dorm.

In the dorm, she was the only one there.

Just then, her phone vibrated with a message.

Shen Li took her phone out of her bag and tapped to look.

Liang Jingze: Are you back?

Shen Li replied: Mm, just got to the dorm.

After sending it, the other side replied quickly: Don't compromise for others just because you can't let go of a relationship.

You are the most important person.

Compromise...

Shen Li had never thought about compromising for anyone, nor did she want others to compromise for her; it was a burden, a dead weight, and would even... become a nuisance to others.

She didn't like that word either.

If Xie Qin needed to avoid suspicion, it was only right for him to ignore her.

She hadn't thought about doing anything just because Xie Qin was ignoring her either.

Staying silent and not disturbing each other was fine too.

If some things were said too bluntly, the meaning would change.

She didn't want her relationship with Xie Qin to turn sour.

The balcony window was open; Shen Li slumped over her desk and slept for a little while. When her alarm went off, she felt groggy and half-awake. She opened her eyes and checked the time; it was already two o'clock.

She had slept for over an hour, and she was still the only one in the dorm; they... seemed not to have returned.

On the way to class, it would take another ten minutes to walk there.

Along the way, Shen Li kept her head down, squinting her eyes, looking like she hadn't woken up yet.

Outside the corridor, she could hear Xu Zhouyuan and Zhou Mingyu talking. Walking into the classroom from the back door, Xie Qin was wearing Bluetooth earphones, playing a mobile game, leaning back in his chair with his legs propped up on the desk.

Shen Li saw his chair blocking her seat inside; she couldn't get through, so she stood next to him, pressed her lips together, and spoke softly: "Can you let me in?"

She didn't know if he had heard her.

He was still sitting in his seat, not moving at all.

After waiting for a few seconds.

Shen Li couldn't help it, so she had to leave and find another seat.

Just as she turned around, Xie Qin put his legs down and dragged his chair forward, but it was already too late. Shen Li didn't notice and had already sat in a different seat; the desk was empty, with nothing on it. She put down her bag and took out her book.

Zhang Zixin was just scrolling through videos and noticed: "Why did Shen Li sit over there?"

Several of them followed Zhang Zixin's gaze and looked over.

Sure enough, it was true.

Xu Zhouyuan was sitting in front of Xie Qin and hadn't noticed at all; this time, he raised both hands, quickly distancing himself: "I didn't say a word; this time it has nothing to do with me, okay."

Zhou Mingyu glanced sideways at the person next to him, also not saying anything.

They had also felt something was wrong during lunch; after Shen Li left, the atmosphere afterward was indescribable, weird. They didn't know what these two were bickering about.

No one dared to touch a nerve at this point; it was better to just leave it alone.

Li Xiaoya was the Vice Class Monitor, so she was in charge of the attendance sheet.

Zhao Zhouyuan had been busy with the math competition lately, and her studies were heavy.

"Is there anyone who hasn't signed in yet? If no one says anything, I won't care; don't blame me if your credits get deducted later..."

Shen Li raised her head: "I..."

Her voice fell softly; Shen Li saw her walk past, sit back down next to Zhao Zhouyuan, and talk to Zhang Meiqi in front.

Shen Li looked at her back, wanting to say something but stopping herself; in the end, she thought it was better to let it go.

During class, Shen Li slumped over her desk listening to the lecture and accidentally fell asleep.

People were always coming in and out of the back door.

Previously, no one really used this back door.

Because Xie Qin was there, it was implicitly his territory, and no one dared to walk past him.

Feeling colder the more she slept, she decided not to sleep anymore.

If she kept sleeping, she would catch a cold.

Finally, when class ended, Shen Li packed her books, stood up, and left through the back door.

Zhou Mingyu stood up and stretched.

Who would dare gossip about the school boss?

No one dared!

So when they watched Shen Li leave, no one said a word.

If she was avoiding them, what could they say!

Just then, they saw Xie Qin on the side, bracing himself against the desk and standing up lazily; they didn't know where he was going.

Several people watched him.

Li Xiaoya was still asking: "What are we eating at the cafeteria later!"

She didn't notice the black figure next to her, whose bent knuckles knocked on the desktop: "Attendance sheet."

Li Xiaoya was startled; her gaze instantly shifted over, and seeing it was him, she was too shocked to speak for a moment.

"You... what did you say?"

Xie Qin frowned slightly, clicked his tongue, and repeated it with forced patience: "Give me the attendance sheet."

Li Xiaoya quickly replied: "You... you don't need to sign; it's already been signed for you."

"Why so much nonsense? If I tell you to give it, give it!" Xie Qin was filled with a violent aura.

Li Xiaoya was frightened and quickly found the attendance sheet in her desk and gave it to him.

Xie Qin opened it: "Pen."

She found a pen from her pencil case and handed it over, trembling.

A minute or two later.

Xie Qin threw the notebook and pen back at her.

At night, Shen Li was still the only one in the dorm; Zhao Zhouyuan was at evening self-study and wouldn't be back until after nine-thirty. Zhang Zixin rarely came back—or rather, she rarely came back this early.

After hanging up her laundry on the balcony, it was exactly nine o'clock. She washed her hands, turned off the lights, used her phone's flashlight to light the way, and climbed into bed to rest.

Before sleeping, she checked as usual to see if there were any replies, just in case there was something important.

Just then, Zhang Zixin sent a message; it was a short video of about ten seconds.

Shen Li tapped to watch; in the dim scene, the lights were blinding, the music was loud and lively, and there were voices jeering on the side.

Xu Zhouyuan: "Whatever you pick is what it is; can you even afford to play?"

"Hurry up and kiss!"

There were many other voices egging them on: "Kiss, kiss, kiss!"

Before the video ended, a notification appeared saying it had been recalled.

After Shen Li exited the chat interface, she turned off her phone and closed her eyes, her mind still thinking about the recalled video. She could easily imagine the scene: Xie Qin surrounded by a group of girls, chatting and laughing with them.

The circles they moved in were different to begin with; they weren't people from the same world.

Xie Qin was like light; wherever he was, that was the center point. There would always be people taking the initiative to approach him; he was never lacking anyone by his side.

And in her world, there was only a dead, desolate wasteland.

Perhaps someone would walk by, but no one would stop...

Xie Qin was also just... staying in her world for a short while, and would soon leave.

Shen Li thought... if one day they parted and never saw each other again.

Shen Li felt that she would still remember him.