Chapter 4 – Dumbfounded

When Lin Chuge returned from the restroom, she inevitably faced Xu Luoluo’s questioning.

They were so close, yet even she didn’t know since when Lin Chuge had anything to do with Pei Zhou.

“It’s a long story.”

Resting her chin on a stack of books, Lin Chuge muttered in distress, “Forget it, I’d rather not say.”

Seeing that she didn’t want to talk and her mood didn’t seem great, Xu Luoluo reached over and patted her head. “Then tell me when you feel like it. But if something’s bothering you, don’t bottle it up. You can always talk to me.”

“Okay.”

Lin Chuge narrowed her eyes and smiled at her friend, agreeing.

Truthfully, she couldn’t even put into words what she felt.

Mostly, it was just a jumble—different things tangled together, testing the limits of her little brain.

After going to Class Six and actually seeing Pei Zhou, she regretted being so impulsive.

Her behavior earlier… she couldn’t even call it embarrassing—only extremely embarrassing.

But then again, even if Pei Zhou really did like her, so what?

Her troubles were still hers to bear.

Lin Chuge thought, no matter what, in her dreams Pei Zhou’s kindness toward her was a sort of encouragement. Though she had little way to repay it, if Pei Zhou ever needed help, she would definitely do her best and never brush him off.

As her mind wandered, she heard the teacher call on Shen Xueyao to answer a question.

She answered quickly and correctly, earning repeated praise. Lin Chuge immediately sat upright and forced herself to concentrate on the lesson.

By noon, the morning’s incomprehensible lectures were finally over.

Xu Luoluo dragged Lin Chuge to the student cafeteria.

Just as the two of them sat down with their trays, Song Bonian appeared with his own tray.

He glanced at them and asked, “Mind if I sit with you?”

“Of course not.”

Xu Luoluo answered quickly, giving up the seat across from Lin Chuge for him, while she herself sat beside her friend.

Song Bonian sat down. “Thanks.”

Lin Chuge glanced at the boy sitting opposite her but said nothing, keeping her head down and eating.

As she expected, once they finished eating and stepped out of the cafeteria, Song Bonian handed Xu Luoluo a newly bought drink. “Xu Luoluo, I’d like to talk to Chuchu alone for a bit. Sorry, but could you go back to class first?”

Since she had taken his food and drink, Xu Luoluo couldn’t refuse. She grinned. “No problem, no problem. You two talk slowly.”

“Chuchu, I’ll wait for you in class.”

Since he had suddenly joined them for lunch, Lin Chuge had guessed he had something on his mind. Now she wasn’t surprised.

They found a quiet little pavilion to sit and talk.

Handing one of the two drinks he still had to Lin Chuge, Song Bonian sat down leisurely, twisted his bottle open, took two gulps, and finally asked, “Chuchu, why did you come to our class this morning looking for Pei Zhou? Do you know him?”

Lin Chuge toyed with the plastic bottle in her hands. “Is it not allowed?”

Song Bonian looked at her. “That’s not what I mean.”

Lin Chuge’s expression didn’t change. “I think I have the freedom to make friends.”

So he came right out with it. “But someone like Pei Zhou… is a little too complicated for you.”

Lin Chuge frowned. “What kind of person is ‘someone like Pei Zhou’?”

“Always fighting, always making trouble, never acting properly. If he’s not careful, he’ll end up in jail one day,” Song Bonian said.

“He’s already sixteen. Just the fighting alone—if he wins, he might pay compensation, if worse, he could break the law. If he loses, best case he gets a few injuries, worst case, he ends up in the hospital… what’s so good about any of that?”

Lin Chuge thought of that alley, of Pei Zhou holding a knife.

Hearing words like “jail” and “breaking the law,” she shivered.

“Is it really that bad…?”

She muttered, “His family’s not poor, he wouldn’t end up like that, right?”

Song Bonian shook his head. “The law treats everyone equally. Money can’t cover everything. And what if he’s involved in something worse? Do you know who he’s hanging out with, or what he’s gotten into?”

“Because his family’s well-off, he’s an even bigger target in other people’s eyes.”

“What if someone drags him into gambling? Or drugs?”

Lin Chuge: “…”

But the Pei Zhou in her dreams didn’t seem so frightening.

“He still has family, doesn’t he?” she said. “It’s not that easy to trick him.”

Song Bonian gave her a helpless look. “You don’t know his family situation?”

Lin Chuge blinked. “What do you mean?”

“From what I know, he’s lived alone since middle school,” Song Bonian said.

Lin Chuge froze. “Alone?”

He nodded. “His mother passed away early. His father remarried. He’s not on good terms with his family.”

“He has a half-brother, four or five years old now.”

“The apartment he lives in now was probably left to him by his mother.”

Lin Chuge was dumbfounded.

If Song Bonian hadn’t told her, she would never have known. Pei Zhou was far more pitiful than she’d imagined.

“How… how do you know so much?” she asked when she finally reacted.

Song Bonian sighed lightly. “I’m the class monitor of Class Six. Knowing a bit about my classmates’ family situations isn’t that surprising, is it?”

Embarrassed, Lin Chuge smiled faintly. “I forgot. Sorry.”

“I’m not saying Pei Zhou is definitely going down that path,” Song Bonian said, reaching over to ruffle her hair. “You’re free to make your own friends. But it doesn’t hurt to be cautious. I just don’t want you caught up in things you don’t understand.”

They were, after all, at the age of first loves.

Though his impression of Pei Zhou wasn’t good, Song Bonian didn’t think he had the right to interfere with who Lin Chuge liked.

So he simply laid his concerns out for her clearly, leaving the judgment to her.

As for Pei Zhou, he could keep an eye on things from the side.

Even if Chuchu did like Pei Zhou, they definitely weren’t together now.

Lin Chuge listened and felt warmth spread in her chest.

At least Song Bonian truly cared about her and treated her as a friend.

She had been cold toward him these past few days—wasn’t that going too far?

Besides, they had years of friendship. Why should she give that up so easily for someone else?

“I know—you’re saying this for my sake,” Lin Chuge said, lips curving. “Thank you.”

He had thought his words might upset her, but instead, she thanked him.

Song Bonian smiled. “Don’t mention it. No need to be so formal.”

·

After hearing about Pei Zhou’s family, Lin Chuge felt as if a heavy weight had settled on her shoulders.

That very morning she had been thinking, If he ever needs help, I’ll do my best to help him. Now at noon, she discovered that this boy was already on the edge of a dangerous path.

Wasn’t this exactly the kind of “help” he needed?

But how could she help him?

As Lin Chuge pondered, she returned to class.

In the hallway, a few rough girls were shoving Shen Xueyao toward the restroom.

“Come on, let’s talk.”

“We’re classmates, why act so high and mighty?”

Hearing the commotion, Lin Chuge looked up. Beside her, Song Bonian immediately strode forward, blocking them. “She said she doesn’t want to. Why force her? We’re all classmates—basic respect, please.”

The girls hadn’t expected Song Bonian to jump in.

Watching his back, Lin Chuge thought wryly that the story had suddenly jumped to the “hero saves the damsel” scene.

The girls hesitated. One finally stepped up. “Song Bonian, this is between us girls. You don’t even know what she’s done—why act like some hero?”

Lin Chuge’s ears pricked up. What had Shen Xueyao done?

Song Bonian also asked, “What did she do?” He turned to Shen Xueyao. “What did you do?”

The pale but delicate-looking girl shook her head.

Song Bonian turned back to the other side, fixing his gaze on the one in front.

Pressed under his stare, Yu Xuan found herself unable to speak. Her friend Fang Ningyun tugged her aside and sneered, “She seduced my best friend’s boyfriend!”

The words shocked everyone—Song Bonian, Shen Xueyao, and even Lin Chuge.

Lin Chuge was the first to recover. She didn’t particularly like Shen Xueyao, but still—seducing Yu Xuan’s boyfriend? Shen Xueyao could remain unmoved even by Song Bonian’s pursuit, but she’d seduce Yu Xuan’s boyfriend? Then again… who even was Yu Xuan’s boyfriend?

Lin Chuge silently turned to Fang Ningyun.

She asked, “You say she seduced your best friend’s boyfriend—do you have proof?”

Fang Ningyun folded her arms. “If she hadn’t seduced Zhang Mingda, why would his phone album be full of her photos? Why would his screensaver and chat backgrounds all be of her? What more proof do you need?”

“She’s only been at Yinghua a few days and already doing this sort of thing.”

“Shameless.”

As she spoke, she shot Shen Xueyao a contemptuous glare.

Behind her, the supposed victim Yu Xuan lowered her head, eyes red, silent and looking hurt.

Lin Chuge gave a silent thumbs-up.

So this was the legendary “alluring heroine halo”? Incredible!

But clearly, Fang Ningyun’s claim didn’t count as evidence of Shen Xueyao seducing anyone.

It was more like an excuse to bully her.

In those dreams, wasn’t she herself like this? No matter what, she had always picked at Shen Xueyao, never caring whether she was in the right—nine times out of ten, she wasn’t.

“Having lots of her photos on his phone only proves Zhang Mingda is the problem. It doesn’t prove she ruined anyone’s relationship,” Song Bonian calmly replied.

Lin Chuge nodded from the side. “Yeah, maybe you should be questioning that boy instead.”

Fang Ningyun’s brows furrowed. “What do you two know…”

“Actually—”

Another voice cut in. Xu Luoluo had just walked out of class and came to stand beside Lin Chuge. “Yu Xuan, since you’ve already realized Zhang Mingda’s acting strange, then I should tell you… Last summer, I accidentally saw him on a date with another girl. So maybe you should be questioning him instead.”

Lin Chuge was stunned. “There’s more?!”

Xu Luoluo gave her a look, tugged her hand, and whispered, “I’ll tell you later.”

“And I’ve seen it too.”

Another student who had been eavesdropping spoke up.

One after another, several others stepped forward with the same claim.

Yu Xuan’s face turned pale. Clearly, these classmates couldn’t all be making it up together.

Fang Ningyun turned to her. “What’s going on?”

Biting her lip, Yu Xuan stood silent for a long moment before hurriedly apologizing to Shen Xueyao and running off in tears.

Fang Ningyun swept her gaze over the others, glared at Shen Xueyao, and then chased after her. The others with them scattered too.

Once they were gone, the crowd dispersed quickly, leaving only a few people in the hallway.

“Thank you,” Shen Xueyao said politely, neither humble nor arrogant, to Lin Chuge, Song Bonian, and Xu Luoluo.

Song Bonian smiled. “We didn’t really do anything.”

Lin Chuge nodded in agreement. Whatever the case, it was Fang Ningyun who had been out of line.

With the matter settled, Song Bonian returned to Class Six.

Meanwhile, Lin Chuge, her gossip-loving instincts blazing, pulled Xu Luoluo aside to whisper excitedly about everything.

Left standing in the hallway, Shen Xueyao watched their retreating backs, her eyes glinting faintly.

After a long while, her lips curved in a small smile. Then she turned and went back to the classroom to continue working on problems.