Chapter 46: The Fiancée

Early the next morning, Shen Zhuo set out with a bamboo basket on his back, heading to Doctor Xu’s herbal medicine shop. Inside the basket were winter staples like cabbage and radishes, along with some green onions, garlic, celery, dried beans, and a few ears of corn and sweet potatoes from the recent harvest.

Doctor Xu was surprised when he saw the basket full of food. “I thought you were bringing herbs to sell—what’s with all the vegetables?”

Shen Zhuo replied, “I haven’t had time to go up the mountain to gather herbs lately, so I brought you some food instead. The team just divided up the rations—lots of grains—and Ye Xin asked me to bring you some to enjoy.”

To be honest, even he thought it was a bit much. A simple food gift would’ve sufficed, but this felt heavy-handed. However, Ye Xin had insisted. They would be leaving the bike here every day from now on, and although Doctor Xu might be kind and not mind, who knew if his family would think differently? Better to give a little extra to avoid any hard feelings—after all, no one minds too many gifts.

Ye Xin had her own reasoning: they had plenty of food and vegetables, more than they could eat. The sweet potatoes and corn from the team’s division weren’t exactly high-quality, not even close to what her space could produce. She had already been quietly swapping their daily food with the superior crops from her space, so these rations were just sitting around. It was awkward to keep them, and not so easy to give them away. Now that she had an excuse, she took the opportunity to send them off.

After all, these items weren’t worth much, but they were practical, something useful and edible. Why not use this chance to foster goodwill?

Shen Zhuo, fearing Doctor Xu might refuse the gift, quickly mentioned the issue with his bike at school and that he wanted to start leaving it at the shop.

Doctor Xu, a man who had seen much in life, didn’t need the details to grasp the situation. With a shake of his head, he sighed, “There are always bad people in this world.”

Understanding that rejecting the gift would only make it harder for Shen Zhuo to ask for future favors, he accepted the food with a nod. “Alright, you can leave your bike here in the mornings and pick it up at night. My shop is always open, so it’s no trouble. You come by at this time every day?”

Shen Zhuo, relieved, quickly expressed his thanks. “Thank you! I usually come around 8:30.”

Doctor Xu smiled, “No problem. I open by 8 at the latest, so it’s fine. Just stop by whenever.”

Shen Zhuo thanked him again before leaving the shop with his basket. As he walked towards the school, his pace was steady, neither hurried nor slow.

As he walked, he couldn’t stop thinking about who might be targeting him, secretly causing trouble. Last night, when Ye Xin had pressed him, he’d said he could handle it—but truthfully, he wasn’t sure how. He just knew he couldn’t let her worry any more. Otherwise, he’d seem useless.

Ye Xin’s words—”You haven’t understood the real issue”—still puzzled him. He realized now that the problem wasn’t just about his family’s financial situation; there was something else at play. But what exactly?

He frowned as he entered the school grounds, heading towards the classroom for his training. It was around 8:50, and the other students were arriving one by one. When they saw him with a bamboo basket on his back, they looked at him with surprise.

Most of the students came from rural areas. Without fancy bags, they usually carried their things in woven baskets. These baskets were practical, holding notebooks, pens, lunchboxes, and anything else they needed. Some even brought groceries to buy on the way home. The baskets were spacious and convenient.

But Shen Zhuo had never used a basket before. He always carried a brand-new, stylish cloth bag, setting him apart from the others.

Noticing the curious glances, Shen Zhuo didn’t lower his head and ignore them as he usually did. Instead, he looked up and met their eyes.

He had to stay alert—he needed to find out who was behind the trouble.

Those caught in his cold, piercing gaze quickly looked away, feeling embarrassed.

As he approached the classroom, a female student’s voice called from behind him, “Shen Zhuo, why are you carrying a basket today too?”

Shen Zhuo recognized the voice and turned to see—

It was the same female student who had offered to lend him money for his bike repairs the night before. He remembered that her name was Lin Xiuwan.

Shen Zhuo just nodded, not saying a word. It wasn’t that he was being rude; he simply didn’t see the need to explain why he was carrying a basket.

Lin Xiuwan quickened her pace to walk beside him. Not bothered by his silence, she asked again, “Didn’t you ride your bike today? I didn’t see it in the bike shed. Was it not fixed properly? Is it still in bad shape?”

As she spoke, Shen Zhuo’s brows slowly furrowed. He began to wonder: why was Lin Xiuwan so concerned about whether or not he rode his bike? She even recognized his bike. Could she have been the one who tampered with it?

Luckily, Lin Xiuwan had no idea what he was thinking, or she might have been furious. She continued speaking, “Did you get home really late last night? Your family must have—oh, wait…” She quickly corrected herself, remembering that Shen Zhuo’s parents had passed away and that he had no siblings. He lived alone, so no one could have scolded him.

That left only one explanation: the bike must have been so badly damaged that it couldn’t be fully repaired. Not only had Shen Zhuo been forced to walk home in the dark last night, but he also couldn’t ride the bike to school today.

The more she thought about it, the more she pitied Shen Zhuo. Whoever sabotaged his bike was truly heartless!

Just as Lin Xiuwan was about to voice her outrage on his behalf, Shen Zhuo finally spoke. His voice was cold but polite, keeping a distance between them. “The bike’s fixed now, thank you.”

After deciding that Lin Xiuwan, with her strong sense of justice, probably wasn’t the culprit, Shen Zhuo nodded at her and walked into the classroom, not wasting any more time.

Lin Xiuwan stood there, slightly stunned, and stopped in her tracks.

At that moment, another male student caught up, his tone full of mockery. “Well, well, Lin Xiuwan, showing concern for him so early in the morning, huh?”

He glanced at Shen Zhuo’s retreating figure and sneered, “Looks like Mr. High-and-Mighty is finally just like the rest of us—walking and carrying a basket. Did he get scolded last night? Oh wait, that’s right, he doesn’t have any parents to scold him, ha!”

Lin Xiuwan’s eyes flared with anger. She spun around and glared at him. “Xiao Tianbao, why are you so awful?” she snapped, storming off into the classroom without giving him another glance.

Xiao Tianbao’s expression darkened as he muttered to himself, “I’m awful? And Shen Zhuo’s supposed to be the likable one? That pretty boy…”

Inside the classroom, most of Shen Zhuo’s group was already seated. The seats in the training class weren’t assigned, but after a few days, people had settled into their spots, usually sitting with others from their team. Shen Zhuo’s group, from Fengshui Team, didn’t have the best seats, but no one ever tried to take them, so they remained unchanged.

When Huang Zhihao saw Shen Zhuo with a basket, he looked surprised. “You’re carrying a basket today? Are you buying something later?”

Shen Zhuo suddenly realized that by not carrying a basket before, he had somewhat distanced himself from the group. Huang Zhihao, like most of the others, had a basket that he usually stashed under the desk during class.

Setting his basket down under his desk as well, Shen Zhuo replied, “I brought a few things today.”

Huang Zhihao glanced at the mostly empty basket, puzzled. He was about to ask more when Li Guangyao walked over.

With a few minutes left before class started, Li Guangyao leaned in and asked quietly, “Did someone slash your bike tires yesterday?”

Huang Zhihao immediately turned his attention. “What? That really happened?”

Shen Zhuo hadn’t expected Li Guangyao to know so quickly. But then again, there had been a lot of people around when he discovered the damage yesterday, so word had probably spread.

He nodded in confirmation.

Huang Zhihao clenched his fists in anger. “Who’s rotten enough to do something like that?”

Shen Zhuo already had enough hardships—how could someone be so cruel as to make things even harder for him?

After Shen Zhuo treated Huang Zhihao to some delicious food twice, Huang Zhihao began to see him as a friend. Clenching his strong fists, he felt a surge of anger on Shen Zhuo’s behalf. “Do you know who did this?”

Shen Zhuo shook his head, troubled by the very question. This morning, Ye Xin had reiterated her advice: he needed to figure out who was behind the sabotage. It wasn’t necessary to retaliate, but understanding who was targeting him would help him be cautious.

With no leads, Shen Zhuo decided to open up to his friends. “I can’t understand it. Why is someone fixated on me? What have I done to annoy anyone?”

Huang Zhihao nodded vigorously. “Exactly! You never cause trouble and barely say a word. How could you possibly get on anyone’s nerves? There must be some rotten person out there who enjoys ruining others’ lives!”

Li Guangyao, on the other hand, was more observant. He looked at Shen Zhuo, hesitating as if he had something important to say. However, time was running out, so he quietly suggested, “Let’s focus on class for now. I’ll tell you during lunch.”

Shen Zhuo immediately sensed that Li Guangyao had some clues and couldn’t wait to hear them. “Just tell me after the second class,” he urged. The first two classes were taught by Doctor Wang, and it was hard to slip away.

Li Guangyao nodded in agreement.

After the second class, the two slipped outside. Huang Zhihao tried to follow them, but Li Guangyao instructed him to stay behind. If they all went together, Meng Chunlan might think it was a team issue and want to tag along.

Once in their quiet spot, time was short, and Li Guangyao got right to the point—this jealousy stemmed from girls’ affections for Shen Zhuo, which made some boys envious.

Shen Zhuo was momentarily baffled, thinking he had misheard. “Girls? You mean they like me?”

Seeing Shen Zhuo’s confusion, Li Guangyao realized he hadn’t considered this angle at all. So, he broke it down for him. “After the last explanation, while speculation about your family situation faded, some female students felt sorry for you and perhaps started to… uh, like you. I suspect that the boys who liked these girls then turned their jealousy toward you.”

After hearing this, Shen Zhuo was completely lost. He furrowed his brows tightly. “What’s there to like about someone like me?”

Li Guangyao glanced at Shen Zhuo’s fair and handsome face, momentarily speechless. He was aware that Shen Zhuo was already engaged, but he hadn’t mentioned it during their earlier discussions; he thought it unnecessary at the time. No one expected things would escalate.

His advice and assistance to Shen Zhuo were purely out of a sense of solidarity within their group, but the situation stemmed from Shen Zhuo’s looks… It was all quite complicated.

Finally, Li Guangyao said, “You’ll have to handle this yourself. I’m not going to get involved any further.”

Shen Zhuo nodded, recognizing that it was his responsibility to resolve this issue.

Once they wrapped up their conversation, they headed back to class. However, Shen Zhuo found his mind wandering. Fortunately, the upcoming lesson was about traditional Chinese medicine, a subject he excelled in. He knew much of the content well, so he could afford to daydream a little without consequence.

He pondered Li Guangyao’s words, even if he couldn’t fully grasp them. It did seem plausible. No wonder Ye Xin had said he failed to recognize the essence of the situation. Was she so perceptive that she figured it out immediately? Would she be upset, thinking he was attracting attention in class?

Thinking about it made Shen Zhuo feel a bit annoyed. He realized he needed to address the situation promptly.

Now that he understood the core issue, the solution seemed straightforward: he would just have to announce his engagement and that he already had a fiancée. Surely, those who were infatuated with him would lose interest, and those who hated him would quiet down.

Finally, the tension in his brows eased.

Time was of the essence, and he decided to bring it up during lunch. However, he needed to think about how to broach the subject. It felt awkward to just blurt it out without context.

Once the four classes wrapped up, the students’ nerves finally relaxed, and their stomachs began to growl. Everyone pulled out their lunches and stood up to get hot water.

As Huang Zhihao returned with hot water to soak his dry pancakes, ready to eat, he caught sight of Shen Zhuo staring at him, prompting a curious question: “What’s up?”

Shen Zhuo pointed to his water cup and lunchbox, asking, “Do you know who bought these for me?”

Huang Zhihao was taken aback. “Aren’t those from the money you saved from gathering herbs?”

Shen Zhuo shook his head, his expression serious. “These are from my fiancée.”

Huang Zhihao’s eyes widened in shock. “What? You’re engaged?”

His surprised voice was loud enough to draw the attention of Li Guangyao, Meng Chunlan, and other classmates nearby, who all turned to look.

Shen Zhuo pulled out leather gloves, a knitted scarf, and a fuzzy hat from his bag, adding, “These were gifts from my fiancée too.”

Huang Zhihao could hardly contain his envy. “Your fiancée is so good to you!”

More curious eyes turned toward Shen Zhuo, their expressions a mix of astonishment and confusion.

Shen Zhuo nodded proudly. “Yeah, she really is amazing. Look at this bag! She designed it and taught me how to make it. She’s so smart and attentive…”

Huang Zhihao felt a pang of jealousy. The other classmates fell silent, realizing what Shen Zhuo was doing: he was deliberately flaunting his fiancée. It was evident that not only was he engaged, but his fiancée treated him exceptionally well.

This was exactly what Shen Zhuo had been pondering during the last two classes—a seamless way to announce his engagement. And he felt the impact was quite effective.