Chapter 47

Su Miao Miao couldn’t hold it back and let out a sob.

The child he was holding trembled for a moment and then stiffened, unmoving. Shang Yan lowered his eyes quietly for a few seconds.

The girl stepped back a bit, slowly lowering her head.

Just now, being brought back to her senses by her own hiccup, Su Miao Miao now feels a bit embarrassed. It doesn’t seem like a big deal, so why did she start crying? Even during much more difficult times in the sanatorium, she wasn’t this fragile.

Su Miao Miao lowers her head and ponders. It seems that, since meeting this person, she has become more accustomed to letting go of her restraints and releasing emotions in front of him—whether positive or negative.

He has also always indulged her in doing so, even actively asking her to test his tolerance limits.

And she really has gradually taken everything good he does for her for granted, because she gets angry at the slightest defiance…

And, just now, it seems like…

Finally, she has put into practice something she has been thinking about for a long time.

The girl who just finished crying lowers her head dejectedly.

“Do you hurt… Shang Yan?”

“Yes, it hurts.”

Shang Yan furrows his brows, looking down at her.

“It hurts so much.”

Su Miao Miao bites her lip, “I’m sorry…”

“So next time, it’s okay to bite me however you want—but please, don’t cry, okay?”

“…”

Su Miao Miao looked up at him in bewilderment.

There were glistening tears hanging from the girl’s slightly curled eyelashes.

Shang Yan sighed.

He once again bent down, reaching out to embrace the girl once more, his tone tinged with helpless desolation.

“Or, if there ever comes a time when you no longer want to see me, then come cry in front of me—cry three times, and then you can dig a hole and bury me right there.”

Su Miao Miao remained blankly in his embrace, her nose against the dampness of his shirt at the collarbone.

After a pause of two seconds, Su Miao Miao’s pupils dilated slightly. Her nostrils flared, and she sniffed lightly again, confirming once more.

—

A faint trace of blood.

Su Miao Miao is as sensitive to this smell as ever.

The girl suddenly panicked.

She leaned back, “Did I bite you and hurt you, Shang Yan, you—”

Before she could finish her sentence, a warm hand supported the back of her neck and gently pushed her forward.

“Su Miao Miao.”

The voice by her ear carried an unusual seriousness.

Su Miao Miao hesitated for a moment, then quietly settled down uneasily, not daring to move as the person at the table leaned over and completely enveloped her in his arms.

She heard him let out a soft laugh.

“Before I met you, I sailed smoothly for eighteen years, there was no problem I couldn’t solve, no task I couldn’t accomplish… Did you know that?”

Su Miao Miao paused.But instinctively, she nodded, “I know.”

Shang Yan sighed softly, sounding like he was smiling again.

“But how is it that after meeting you… even simple things like today, I make such foolish choices?”

As Su Miao Miao paused, she tried to sit up straight, but was pressed back down.

“Don’t lift your head.”

“Why?”

“…Because I haven’t admitted fault.”

Shang Yan slowly retracted his arm, holding the girl tightly.

Pressing against her ear, he spoke, his voice very low:

“Admitting fault for the first time seems quite foolish… I don’t want you to see.”

Su Miao Miao’s breath caught for a moment.

She turned her gaze in surprise.

The person beside her lowered his eyes, his delicate eyelashes casting a faint shadow on his porcelain-like skin.

He spoke softly, but every word was pronounced clearly.

“I’m sorry, I was wrong.”

He stopped.

“At that time, I just wanted to change the outcome. When you asked me why I changed sides, I searched for reasons, but could only find that one… I couldn’t find any other excuse.”

Su Miao Miao was slightly stunned.

After a moment, she regained her senses and asked blankly, “Wasn’t it because you thought I was short, that’s why you said that?”

“No.”

“Then… why?”

“…Because I dislike people scrutinizing and evaluating you as if you were an object, subjecting you to criticism and jokes.”

There was a flash of severity in Shang Yan’s eyes.

But after a moment passed, he simply lowered his gaze.

Even to the point of extreme insult.

Shang Yan’s shoulders tensed, muscles coiled, recalling the nauseating faces of those two individuals that instinctively put him in a state of readiness to attack.

After a long silence, he slowly relaxed his body.

After pondering for a while, Su Miao Miao finally understood.

She hesitantly asked, “Did someone speak ill of me?”

Shang Yan sighed silently.

He couldn’t tell the girl that behind her back, those boys might act recklessly due to her beauty, with malicious intent fueled by their youth…

He wanted to protect her, and he would definitely do so.

In the silence between them, Su Miao Miao seemed to sense something.

She lowered her head and whispered, “It’s okay not to say… I understand now, it’s not your fault, Master, and I shouldn’t have… bitten you.”

She raised her eyes tentatively.

“Can I take a look?

“…”

Shang Yan straightened up slightly, his hands encircling the girl’s hands as they hung down, pressing against the sides of the table where she sat.

Su Miao Miao reached out to pull at the neckline of the boy’s sweater.

The black sweater was loose in texture, easily peeled down to the collarbone.

Following the beautiful three-dimensional collarbone lines, on the cold white skin, there was a circle of bloodstains from small teeth marks.

The deep red bloodstains were still oozing blood beads at the most severely bitten area.

The girl was so scared that she took a cold breath.

When she regained her senses, she began to panic.

“Let’s… let’s go to the medical room, we need to disinfect and apply medicine…”

Shang Yan raised his hand and pulled the girl who tried to lean off the table back.

He lowered his eyes and smiled.

“I’m not even in pain, why are you panicking.”

“We’re bleeding, how… how can it not hurt!”

Su Miao Miao was so anxious that she almost stuttered.

Shang Yan leaned against the table, looking down at her.

The girl, with her slender and fair neck stiff, looked at him with dark eyes, a tinge of red at the corners of her eyes, and unknowingly smeared with a little dark blood on her lips.

That look was simply…

Shang Yan’s Adam’s apple rolled lightly.

After a moment, he propped his head on the edge of the table, leaned down slightly, and whispered hoarsely in the girl’s ear.

“Bite me again.”

“….??”

For the first time hearing such a request, Su Miao Miao was confused.

“Quick.”

The person actually urged her again.

Su Miao Miao felt like her brain was not working properly..

..Or maybe the person in front of her had a malfunctioning brain.

When she came to her senses, she raised her hand and tried to push him away from her chest—

“Shang Yan… stop messing around, come with me to the medical room…”

Before she could finish her sentence, her wrists were grabbed by the person in front of her with one hand.

With a snap, they were pressed in front of her, Shang Yan lowered his gaze to look at her.

“If you don’t bite me again, I’ll bite you.”

As he spoke, hinting, he lightly blew air on her fair earlobe.

The ambiguous warmth brushed over the most sensitive nerves of her earlobe, and Su Miao Miao felt goosebumps creeping all the way to her back.

She couldn’t help but tremble.

But she still lightly bit her teeth, shook her head persistently, and looked up at him.

“…Really not going to bite?”

“It’s already bleeding, can’t bite again.”

The girl weakly defended herself in a soft voice, sounding a bit aggrieved.

“Then what if I bite you, what will we do if it bleeds?”

“…”

The girl looked at him with those beautiful dark eyes.

Pitifully.

…

A child who had never experienced or understood anything, relying solely on instinct, easily devised a whole set of ways to deal with him.

Shang Yan smiled faintly, lowering his gaze.

His voice deliberately deepened, “You chose this yourself, don’t blame me if it hurts.”

“…Fine.”

Realizing that she couldn’t escape this trial, Su Miao Miao reluctantly withdrew into herself, trying to muster the courage to face it.

“Go ahead… bite.”

Who told you to bite me just now…

The girl kept admonishing herself in her mind.

The warm breath at her ear grew closer and closer.

When Su Miao Miao, already tense, had closed her eyes tightly, she suddenly felt her earlobe being gently held in someone’s mouth, then lightly sucked.In an instant, it was released.

There was a playful, hoarse chuckle by her ear:

“…Sweet.”

“―!”

The heat rushed straight to her cheeks.

Su Miao Miao felt like her whole body was thrown into a furnace, almost melting away.

Finally unable to care anymore, she pushed Shang Yan away in frustration, jumped off the table, and hurriedly left with her books in her arms.

Shang Yan turned around, his smile lazy, hands in his pockets, casually following her with long strides.

“Slow down.”

As they approached the staircase, Shang Yan’s steps halted.

Suddenly, he turned sideways, looking back.

—

The second-floor reading area was still as empty as when they arrived.

Was it an illusion?

Shang Yan furrowed his brow slightly, standing still for a couple of seconds before turning around and heading downstairs.

A few dozen seconds later, from behind many rows of bookshelves, a figure slowly emerged.

The person stopped in their tracks, their expression somewhat stiff.

They stood there dazed for a while until a girl who had just come from the water room nearby, carrying hot water, curiously looked at her, “Susu, what’s wrong? Didn’t you say you were coming here to study?”

“…”

Wen Susu snapped back to reality.

She mumbled a response, but her mind was still stuck on the scene she had inadvertently witnessed just two minutes ago.

Even if they had a very good mentor-student relationship.

..It wouldn’t be that intimate, right?

Thinking about that scene, Wen Susu suddenly thought of something else. She involuntarily shook the hand that had just taken the water glass from her desk, causing a few drops to splash onto the back of her hand, but she didn’t even notice.

Wen Susu nervously contracted her pupils and looked at her desk mate.

“Didn’t you mention last month that you saw a post on Tieba?” she asked.

“A post? What post?” Her desk mate looked puzzled.

Wen Susu frowned. “It’s about Shang Yan…”

“Oh, right! You mean the one where someone saw Shang Yan kissing a girl at school? What about that post?”

“I remember you told me that the girl who posted it seemed to be someone you knew?”

“Yeah, I asked her about it later.”

“…!” Wen Susu’s pupils dilated, and she instinctively reached out and grabbed her desk mate’s sleeve. “What did she say?”

Her desk mate waved her hand dismissively.

“Forget it. The first day she swore to me that she really saw it, but she didn’t see what the girl looked like because Shang Yan completely blocked her view, and at that time, Shang Yan and the girl seemed to be in a hidden spot…”

Wen Susu involuntarily tightened her grip and nervously asked, “And then?”

“And then?” The girl shrugged helplessly. “The next day when I went to ask her again, she admitted she was just joking, that there was nothing to it. She even deleted the post on Tieba—after that, you know, everyone stopped talking about it.”

“…”

Wen Susu’s gaze flickered, and her face gradually paled.

Her desk mate looked at her with concern. “Susu, why are you suddenly asking about this?”

Wen Susu bit her lip.

“…It’s nothing, just something that crossed my mind.”

“Sigh, don’t overthink it. It’s been a month already. When have you ever seen Shang Yan getting close to any girl at school? Let alone kissing, he hasn’t even talked to any girl more than a few words.”

“…”

No.

There was.

Wen Susu screamed inwardly in her mind—It’s just that at that time, when rumors had it that Shu Wei and Shang Yan were still dating, Shu Wei was the first to label that girl as “Shang Yan’s disciple”.

..So even after the rumors of Shu Wei and Shang Yan “breaking up” later on, the students at the school, who had already become accustomed to the existence of the “Shang Yan’s disciple” label, naturally didn’t change their perception.

—

And only she knew.

Shu Wei and Shang Yan never had any relationship at all!

So from the very beginning— from the moment that girl appeared in front of Shang Yan, beneath the surface of what people’s eyes could see, something was already happening and changing!

“….. Susu? Susu??”

The voice by her ear finally brought Wen Susu back to awareness. Her desk mate looked at her with concern.

“Your complexion really doesn’t look good. If you’re not feeling well, let’s go back first?”

Wen Susu’s mind was already in turmoil.

After standing still for a few seconds, she slowly nodded.

“Okay… let’s go back.”

*

As the final bell for Monday’s last class rang, signaling the end of the day’s lessons, students who had been eagerly anticipating the end of study session immediately sprang into action.

Some, who had already packed their bags, hurriedly dashed out of the classroom.

Su Miao Miao hesitated and glanced at Shang Yan.

“Should I go tell Wen Susu?” she asked.

Shang Yan stood up, gesturing for her to leave.

Su Miao Miao was about to pick up her bag when it was snatched away by the person in front of her.

“I’ll carry it for you. You go ahead and talk to her.”

“…Oh.”

Su Miao Miao maneuvered around classmates leaving the classroom and walked over to Wen Susu’s desk.

Wen Susu had been absent-minded all day, and it took a nudge from her desk mate to bring her back to reality. She looked up at the approaching figure.

Upon seeing Su Miao Miao, her already unpleasant complexion turned almost ashen.

Su Miao Miao was inexplicably stared at by her for a moment before she snapped out of it.

Blankly, Su Miao Miao met Wen Susu’s gaze. After a few seconds of deadlock, Su Miao Miao lowered her eyes first, breaking the eye contact.

She whispered, “I won’t be going back with you tonight… We’ll have dinner at the cafeteria, and I’ll probably be home around eight or nine.”

If it were any other day, Wen Susu probably wouldn’t bother asking another word—she’d prefer Su Miao Miao not to be with her at all.

However, with the events of the day, Wen Susu became nervous upon hearing Su Miao Miao’s words.

She instinctively tensed her shoulders, warily looking at Su Miao Miao, “Why are you suddenly staying out late?”

“…”

Su Miao Miao was taken aback.

Judging by their usual interaction, she clearly didn’t expect Wen Susu to inquire further.

However, after a moment of hesitation, Su Miao Miao calmly responded.

“I have a computer training session tonight.”

…As expected.

Wen Susu’s expression grew colder.

“If you don’t come home until eight or nine, my parents will definitely worry. Is there something that can’t be resolved during the day and has to be dragged into the night—”

Before she could finish her sentence, a light scoff sounded by her ear.

Wen Susu was all too familiar with this sound. Her pupils shrank, instinctively looking up at Su Miao Miao’s back.

A tall young man, carrying the girl’s backpack with one hand, walked over with a smirk playing at the corner of his mouth.

He stopped beside Su Miao Miao.

“My dear, did you sign a contract to sell yourself to the Wen family?”

“…”

Wen Susu’s face turned pale.

Shang Yan chuckled softly. “If such a thing really exists, please be sure to let me know. I’ll definitely buy it at a high price.”

Upon hearing this, Su Miao Miao couldn’t help but raise her head, glancing at Shang Yan with slight annoyance.

“You’re the one talking about selling yourself…”

Shang Yan lowered his eyes, looking at the girl with a smile.

“If you want me to sign, I can do it now. Shall I draw one for you?”

Su Miao Miao was taken aback by his remark, then turned her head away and muttered quietly, “Who wants yours?”

“There should be plenty who do.”

Shang Yan teased her further.

“…Don’t you really want it?”

“…”

Unable to bear it any longer, Su Miao Miao turned and pulled the boy by his sleeve, dragging him away.

Sitting alone at the back, watching the two gradually disappear into the distance and vanish outside the classroom door, Wen Susu’s face darkened almost to the point of squeezing water out.

Along with the first and second-year students leaving school, Su Miao Miao and Shang Yan made their way to the technology building amidst the crowd.

The days were getting shorter, and the sky was already darkening.

The nearest entrance to the technology building from the teaching area was through a side door.

Passing through the small bamboo forest in front of the side door, the lamplights were dimmed by the dense bamboo, and the gravel path twisted and turned like a winding serpent, leading forward.

The dimming daylight cast an eerie atmosphere over the usually familiar path, making it feel somewhat ominous.

The shadows in the bamboo forest swayed with the breeze, sending shivers down Su Miao Miao’s spine.

Feeling uneasy, she slowed her pace, sensing Shang Yan’s presence closer behind her, which brought her a bit of relief.

Shang Yan noticed her unease.

With a slight smirk after a moment of thought, he teasingly remarked, “Are you actually afraid of the dark, little one?”

It must have been deliberate.

That’s why he would ask such a question in such a place and lean closer to her ear, whispering with the lightest breath brushing against her earlobe.

Su Miao Miao: “…”

Feeling both nervous and annoyed, she ignored him and cautiously continued walking forward.

As they neared the end of the bamboo forest, Su Miao Miao heaved a sigh of relief, intending to turn her gaze towards Shang Yan.

However, as she began to turn, she suddenly froze in place.

Shang Yan noticed her change in demeanor and lowered his gaze.

“What’s wrong?”

“There… it seems like there’s someone…”

Su Miao Miao’s voice trembled involuntarily as she pointed towards the depths of the bamboo forest.

Taking advantage of the dim light filtering through from the street lamps and the fading daylight, Shang Yan squinted his eyes and looked over.

The rustling of the wind made the bamboo branches sway and rustle.

Amidst the wind, there was also the sound of fabric brushing against fabric.

Shang Yan realized what was happening.

His expression changed smoothly.

While Su Miao Miao was still trembling, looking towards the direction where two figures seemed to be overlapping and faintly hearing…

Before she could look again, everything in front of her suddenly went dark.

—

“Uh…?”

The girl questioned in confusion and innocence.

Without explaining, Shang Yan half-dragged, half-carried her out of the bamboo forest.

They walked all the way into the technology building.

Looking at the young man walking beside her, his handsome profile appeared stern and almost grim, leaving Su Miao Miao even more bewildered.

Moments later, they arrived on the third floor.

The entire computer training group was present, but they had clearly just arrived not long ago.

Besides Luan Wenze, who was already seated at the computer, the other three were scattered around the room, chatting and joking.

Upon seeing Shang Yan and Su Miao Miao appear at the door, the others in the group were momentarily stunned.

Wu Hongbo was the first to snap out of it.

“Brother Yan, why did you bring Little Su over here?”

Shang Yan replied, “Starting tonight, she’ll be studying here with us.”

“I see.” Wu Hongbo and the others nodded in understanding, then he continued, “By the way, congratulations, Brother Yan, on ranking fourth in the midterm exams—impressive.”

Shang Yan handed his backpack to Su Miao Miao. “How about you guys?”

Wu Hongbo and the others exchanged glances and sighed, “We can’t be as crazy as Brother Yan here—this semester, we’ve been busy with group activities, and our grades are looking bleak.”

“…”

Upon hearing this, Shang Yan furrowed his brow.

He looked at the other two boys in the room.

“What do you guys think?”

The two boys hesitated for a moment, their smiles turning somewhat bitter.

Although Shang Yan was technically a grade below them, due to spending several years in primary school abroad before returning and entering high school, he was actually the same age as them. Furthermore, in terms of grades, abilities, vision, and family background, they couldn’t compare to this “junior.” Having long been accustomed to Shang Yan’s leadership in the computer group, the two senior boys didn’t feel the slightest bit pleased at this moment.

One of them sighed. “I might not be able to persist anymore.”

The other one chuckled bitterly. “Yeah, we’re already halfway through our senior year. If we wait until next semester, there won’t be any room for regrets.”

Beside them, Wu Hongbo finally realized what was going on, while Luan Wenze furrowed his brow and looked up from the computer.

Wu Hongbo, who was usually the most talkative, remained silent for a while, not saying a word.

Since joining the group in the first year of high school, he had walked the same path as these people. Hearing someone wanting to turn around and leave now, he felt equally distressed.

After enduring for a while, he finally spoke up in a muffled voice, “We’ve already won many awards, and Teacher Huang also mentioned that the school is willing to provide us with recommendations for admission… Perhaps if we persist a little longer, we might…”

He didn’t finish his sentence.

The two senior boys beside him exchanged glances and shook their heads.

One of them said regretfully, “Most of the gold awards in the cabinet are from Brother Yan alone. With Brother Yan’s support, we’ve won some group awards… But as for our own abilities, how much can we demonstrate in the admission interviews for recommendation? We’re well aware of that.”

“And unlike you guys,” the other one added with a helpless smile, “you still have a year to prepare, but we haven’t been able to achieve that here. The path of competitive admission and recommendation is almost hopeless for us.”

The room fell into silence. The atmosphere was quiet to the point of being oppressive. After a long while, it was still Shang Yan who lowered his hand and patted the empty chair beside him.

“Since the decision has been made, let’s go.”

“Brother Yan—”

Hearing no hint of persuasion from Brother Yan, Wu Hongbo became somewhat anxious. Shang Yan raised his gaze, casting a faint glance at him. Wu Hongbo’s words choked in his throat.

Shang Yan withdrew his gaze and looked at the other two.

“Until we reach the end, no one knows which path is their own. So don’t listen to others, listen to yourselves. … Take a few more days to consider, and let me know your decision by next week. I’ll talk to Mr. Huang on your behalf.”

The two nodded.

“Thanks, Brother Yan.”

“We’ll head back now.”

“Yeah.”

When they reached the door, the one walking in front stopped.

The person behind him urged in confusion.

Then, the one in front gave a bitter smile. “Brother Yan, actually, both of us really envy you.”

In the room, everyone else froze.

Even the one following behind fell silent.

“On the academic side, you’re exceptionally talented. Even the teachers in our grade praise you, saying it’s a pity you definitely won’t need to take the college entrance exam. Otherwise, the title of top scorer in science would have stayed in our school.”

“In competitions, you’re skilled and successful, with enough gold awards to fill a cabinet. I often hear Mr. Huang mention you, saying you have lofty aspirations. Even prestigious universities that we can only dream of attending have extended olive branches to you, but you haven’t even glanced at them.”

“In other aspects… haha, we don’t even stand a chance.”

The student finally let out the words he had been suppressing for so long, exhaling deeply. He turned his head, his gaze complex and flickering.

“Without you, maybe we would have gone a little further on our own paths… But with you around, how can our small light dare to compete with the bright moon?”

With that, he turned and walked away, shaking his head. His bitter words lingered in the air.

“Calling it envy, it seems I’m still a little jealous of you… I’m sorry for not living up to your care.”

Standing still, Shang Yan’s posture tensed slightly. He gently tightened his hand on the back of the chair and slowly lowered his gaze.

The other person waiting at the door glanced ahead and then looked back at the group inside the room.

This person apologized, “Shang Yan, don’t mind. He just performed poorly in this mid-term exam… It’s the first formal exam in the third year of high school, the pressure is too much, he can’t even speak.”

The person paused, tightened the backpack strap, and forced a smile, “Actually, I know, Shang Yan, you’re neither aiming for the national college entrance exam nor for a recommendation… When Mr. Huang mentioned it that day, I overheard, he said you’re planning to study abroad, right?” They smiled. “So, I’ll preemptively congratulate you on getting offers from world-renowned universities until your hands are tired.”

“…”

Suddenly, the room fell silent.

After a moment, Su Miao Miao finally snapped out of it. She looked at Shang Yan in a daze, her pupils unconsciously contracting.

“You’re… planning to study abroad, aren’t you?”