Chapter 43

“What? You two broke up?!”

As soon as Yan Ning finished speaking, Qiao Yingxue and Shi Lei leaned over her desk, looking at her in disbelief and asking in unison.

Because they were so shocked, their voices were particularly loud, causing the other students in the class to turn around and look curiously in Yan Ning’s direction.

Zhao Xiaolu, who had been paying attention to Yan Ning from the start, immediately stood up and walked toward her desk as soon as she heard this.

Yan Ning wasn’t as familiar with live streaming as the others. She knew that their life on the island was being streamed online, but she didn’t realize the extent of the impact live streaming could have.

At this moment, she still didn’t know that she and Lu Fengfeng had become known online as the “National First Love.”

It wasn’t just about one person, but rather their looks and the sweet little interactions between them that fulfilled many people’s idealized fantasies of first love. Their relationship was the kind of first love many people dreamed of, collectively referred to as the “National First Love.”

The fans of this couple were like little fish in a spring pond—suddenly appearing in massive numbers. Some of these fans, who were also writers, had started producing content online in a frenzy.

Many people were hoping that after the competition ended, they would still have a chance to closely observe the sweet daily life of this couple.

The classmates in Class 5 of Grade 7 had originally thought that by being in the same class as Yan Ning, they would get to know more details.

But little did they know, just after the competition ended, the two had already broken up.

It was a thunderclap out of nowhere.

Zhao Xiaolu crossed her arms over her chest and asked fiercely, “Ningning, what happened? Did he break up with you?”

Yan Ning felt the intense stares from around her and suddenly realized that everyone was paying attention to her and Fengfeng. But why?

For things she couldn’t understand, she gave up quickly.

But when facing her friends, she couldn’t brush them off. After thinking for a moment, she replied, “Not entirely.”

“Was it you who said it? Why?” Shi Lei squeezed over eagerly, his enthusiasm almost terrifying.

Yan Ning shook her head. “To be precise, it was decided from the beginning. We broke up peacefully, no arguments, no misunderstandings, and nothing happened that you’re worried about. So, don’t ask anymore. It just ended like that.”

Shi Lei wanted to ask more, but Zhao Xiaolu and Qiao Yingxue stopped him, signaling him to pay attention to Yan Ning’s expression.

Although she spoke lightly, her expression didn’t lie.

Given the situation, even they, the outsiders, felt it was extremely surprising and hard to accept.

For her, it must have been even more painful.

The classmates showed understanding for Yan Ning’s feelings in their own way, but the news of the “Dragon Slayer” and her “Number Two Knight” breaking up spread like wildfire. By the time morning reading was over, the entire Minghua High School had already heard about it.

By the second lesson in the morning, even students from the neighboring school knew about it.

When Yan Ning went to the restroom after class, the people she passed by didn’t dare to glance sideways.

Once she walked past, they whispered behind her. “That’s her, the Dragon Slayer. The guy in the high school division they call the Number Two Knight… I heard they broke up?”

“Hey? But didn’t they seem so close during the big competition?” another girl said, surprised.

“Did you go to the event to see them?” The speaker was even more surprised.

“Yeah, I saw their interactions on the live stream. I was so curious about what they looked like, and once I watched it, I couldn’t stop. They were so sweet together.” The girl spoke with a smile she couldn’t hide.

The first girl shook her head regretfully. “I didn’t go to see it, but I heard they already broke up.”

“Could it be a misunderstanding?”

—

Yan Ning pretended she didn’t hear them and walked away at a normal pace, finally leaving the gossip behind.

Class 9, Grade 10, Classroom.

Lu Fengfeng’s seat was by the window at the back. After class, he didn’t get up.

His books were carelessly placed on the desk, and his chin rested in his hand as he stared blankly out the window, feeling that today the classroom was louder than usual.

“Lu Fengfeng!” An angry female voice came from the back door of the classroom, immediately drawing the attention of everyone around. A girl from Class 5 was standing at the door, looking very upset.

Hearing the voice, Lu Fengfeng slowly turned his head and saw Shu Yue standing at the door. With no expression, he turned back to look out the window.

Shu Yue was already furious, and seeing Lu Fengfeng like this only made her anger rise even more. She walked into the classroom and stood in front of him. “What’s going on between you and Ningning? Why is everyone saying that you two broke up? Did you have a fight? Or is there something else?”

Lu Fengfeng glanced up at her with an indifferent expression and a cold tone. “We broke up, are you satisfied now?”

Shu Yue was momentarily stunned. She had never seen Lu Fengfeng look so dispirited. When she’d seen him before, he always seemed to be shining.

What exactly went wrong between him and Yan Ning?

“Come with me,” Shu Yue thought for a moment, then gathered the courage to call out to him.

Lu Fengfeng remained seated, his eyes unmoving, showing no intention of getting up.

“I need to talk to you about Ningning.” She knew that in front of Lu Fengfeng, she was nothing, but for Yan Ning, she still wanted to do something.

In fact, when she heard they broke up, she felt an inexplicable sense of secret joy, though not because of Lu Fengfeng.

Because of that odd feeling of secret joy, she went to the middle school building after class to see Yan Ning.

But when she found Yan Ning, she was sitting at her desk, staring blankly.

Shu Yue had seen Yan Ning full of energy before, but seeing her looking so lost and vacant today made her resentment toward Lu Fengfeng uncontrollable.

The name “Ningning” made Lu Fengfeng’s eyebrows twitch, his gaze sweeping the classroom before he stood up and followed Shu Yue out.

On the fifth floor, on the short bridge connecting the experimental building and the teaching building.

Lu Fengfeng was leaning against the railing, his brows slightly furrowed, showing a bit of impatience. “What do you want to say?”

“Although I don’t know what happened between you and Ningning, Ningning really likes you.” Shu Yue scratched her head. Facing Lu Fengfeng’s cold attitude, she wasn’t sure where to begin, but she decided to say the most important thing first.

“What did you say?” Lu Fengfeng’s frown relaxed, and his expression was one of confusion, a look Shu Yue had never seen on his face before.

“When Ningning went to rescue me on her own, she was really troubled and talked to me about you. She said she first liked you because of the tear mole at the corner of your eye. She was troubled about whether she really liked you. Because the Guardian God’s Bone Tree hadn’t bloomed, she was afraid she didn’t love you enough. I don’t know what exactly happened between you two, but Ningning might be a bit slow with her feelings. If possible, please be more understanding with her, or wait until she figures things out.” Shu Yue ignored the stunned look on Lu Fengfeng’s face and continued, “Because, the Guardian God’s Bone Tree eventually bloomed. Even if she was confused, she still found a way to love you.”

From the moment Shu Yue started speaking, Lu Fengfeng stood motionless, as if frozen in place, completely still like a statue.

“That’s all I wanted to say, I’m leaving now.” After finishing, Shu Yue turned and walked back to her classroom.

To be honest, she wasn’t sure whether telling Lu Fengfeng all this would help, but she couldn’t help thinking about Yan Ning and still wanted to do something for her.

Lu Fengfeng stood alone on the bridge, the bell signaling the start of class ringing without him snapping out of his trance. His mind kept replaying Shu Yue’s words: “She said she first liked you because of the tear mole at the corner of your eye,” “She was troubled about whether she really liked you,” “She was afraid she didn’t love you enough…”

He had always thought that her kindness toward him started because of an agreement, and later, her obsession was due to the curse mark on him.

But because she was truly strong enough to even resist the effect of the curse mark, after the mission ended, she could calmly break up with him.

Lu Fengfeng had never thought that Yan Ning would genuinely like him.

After understanding her strength, he realized that her straightforward acceptance of his request was entirely because she was confident she could handle it, even if it meant pretending to truly fall in love with someone.

A faint smile appeared on the corner of Lu Fengfeng’s lips. It turned out that he wasn’t the only one troubled.

The time was strictly divided by the class schedule, making it feel like it passed by extra quickly.

After the fourth class in the morning, Qiao Yingxue and Zhao Xiaolu pulled Yan Ning to the cafeteria.

“It feels like the last time we went to the cafeteria together was a long time ago, but it hasn’t even been a month,” Qiao Yingxue said, laughing as she linked her arm with Yan Ning’s.

Yan Ning also remembered that when she first arrived, it was these two who helped her get familiar with the school: “I really appreciate both of you, and also Shi Lei and Zhou Ye. Because of you guys, I feel like my middle school time, which passed so quickly, was very complete and without regrets.”

Zhao Xiaolu gave her a puzzled look: “Why are you suddenly saying this? Didn’t your middle school life just start? We still have two and a half more years together.”

Yan Ning hesitated for a moment in her heart but still decided to tell them about it in advance.

She hadn’t told them about her relationship with Lu Fengfeng at that time, which made them upset.

This time, she decided to tell them early.

“Actually, I submitted an application to skip a grade. Shengyi helped me with the process. This afternoon, I’m going to the first-year high school office to take the exam. If I pass the subjects, I’ll be transferring to the high school department soon.”

This was the wish she had made to Shengyi—to give her a chance to skip a grade through an exam. She actually felt it was a bit of a waste, as the previous winner directly got a guaranteed spot in a prestigious university.

Originally, if she had told Tang Minrou about it, it would have been handled quickly, but she subconsciously didn’t want to trouble them.

If Yan Zhengjun and Tang Minrou had seriously considered her back then, they wouldn’t have just heard that she had only graduated from elementary school and directly sent her to seventh grade.

It seemed like they considered her situation but didn’t truly think about how she would manage on her own at school.

“Ningning, is this what you requested from Shengyi?” Zhao Xiaolu asked.

“Wow, Ningning is going to high school? Although we’ll miss you, if you’ll be happier in high school, then I think that’s great! But when did you start thinking about this?”

Qiao Yingxue didn’t show the sense of disappointment that Yan Ning had expected. It seemed that both she and Zhao Xiaolu quickly accepted this fact, which made Yan Ning, who had been nervous, break into a smile in surprise.

“I thought you guys would be really upset, but it turns out I was overthinking.”

“Of course, we’ll be a little upset, but you’re just going to the high school department. We can still be together,” Qiao Yingxue said.

“Yeah, yeah.”

After lunch, Yan Ning went back to the classroom to rest for a while.

At one o’clock, she took some draft paper and her pencil case and went to the first-year high school office to take the exam.

The teachers had placed a separate desk in one corner of the office, and Yan Ning sat there doing the exam questions.

Lu Fengfeng came to deliver the English homework, and when he looked up, he saw her sitting in the corner.