Class was in session.

Unlike her classmates around her, Su Qianyi wasn’t playing on her phone. Instead, she was staring at the teacher on the podium, though the lecture went in one ear and out the other. Her thoughts were far from the classroom.

Her mind was filled with thoughts about Xie Shu and Ruan Nianxi.

They… were sitting together.

And… someone had said… his girlfriend??

Ruan Nianxi?

No way!

She must have heard wrong!

Or maybe others misunderstood. They were just sitting together, Xie Shu and Ruan Nianxi were just ordinary friends!

Xie Shu hadn’t admitted it himself!

So it wasn’t true!

She knew that Xie Shu didn’t like Ruan Nianxi at all!

If he did, he would have liked her back in high school. They must have… not seen each other for a long time and recently ran into each other, so they were just catching up more often.

Yes, old friends who hadn’t seen each other in years suddenly meeting at the same school would naturally chat more.

It had to be like that!

No matter what, Su Qianyi just couldn’t believe that Ruan Nianxi was Xie Shu’s girlfriend.

She found some “reasonable” explanations to comfort herself, and her mood, which had been in a slump, improved slightly.

But only slightly. Her heart still felt heavy, like a stone was pressing down on it, making it hard to breathe.

Several times she wanted to turn around to see what Xie Shu was doing at the back of the classroom, but she didn’t dare.

If she turned around, it would be too obvious, and Xie Shu might see her, or worse… Ruan Nianxi might see her.

She didn’t want to see Ruan Nianxi at all!

Except for the students in the front rows who occasionally looked up at the teacher, those in the middle and back rows were all busy with their own things. If she turned around, she would definitely stand out.

So, Su Qianyi kept herself from turning around.

She found many excuses for herself, refusing to admit that she was afraid of seeing any intimate actions between Xie Shu and Ruan Nianxi that might upset her.

In the back row.

Though far from the teacher, Xie Shu wasn’t going overboard.

He was just holding Ruan Nianxi’s hand under the desk.

A girl’s hand felt different—soft, smooth, and tender. Especially her palm, Xie Shu loved to squeeze it gently.

The feeling… how to describe it? It was like squeezing a kitten’s paw, really comfortable!

And Ruan Nianxi’s fingers were long and slender, each one felt nice to squeeze.

Both of them were in their first relationship, and just holding hands could keep them entertained for a long time.

They spoke in low voices, not disturbing those around them.

After a while, Xie Shu’s phone on the desk lit up. He glanced at the message and then let go of Ruan Nianxi’s hand.

“I need to reply to this message,” he whispered to Ruan Nianxi.

Ruan Nianxi pouted and nodded without saying much.

She thought Xie Shu would be quick, but after several minutes, he was still chatting on WeChat.

Her brows furrowed slightly, and she leaned her head closer to Xie Shu, her eyes uncontrollably glancing at his phone.

She didn’t dare look for long, just a quick peek, catching only a bit of the conversation.

Something about cooperation, details, not bad…

Ruan Nianxi: “…”

Who was he chatting with?

A man or a woman?

A surge of dissatisfaction rose in her heart.

Her mind started to wander uncontrollably.

In just a few seconds, Ruan Nianxi had imagined several scenarios that made her feel uneasy.

To her, anything bad meant Xie Shu leaving her or being taken away.

Once suspicion arose, other thoughts followed uncontrollably. The more she thought, the darker her expression became.

“What’s wrong?”

Xie Shu had just put down his phone and turned to look at Ruan Nianxi, only to find her looking unusually upset.

He thought she might be feeling unwell and quickly reached out to hold her hand. Just as he was about to ask what was wrong, he saw her expression soften instantly, her bright eyes blinking innocently at him.

Xie Shu: “???”

Did he see it wrong just now?

“Um, are you okay? Are you feeling unwell?” Xie Shu asked, still worried.

Feeling the warmth of his hand, Ruan Nianxi shook her head obediently, “No.”

Xie Shu looked at her expression again, as gentle as ever, without any sign of discomfort.

He gently squeezed the soft flesh of her palm and said softly, “If you feel unwell, remember to tell me. Don’t tough it out.”

“Mm.”

Actually, from the moment they held hands, Ruan Nianxi had already been coaxed into a state of bliss. Any suspicion was instantly forgotten.

However, her happiness didn’t last long. Out of the corner of her eye, she saw another message pop up on Xie Shu’s phone, specifically a transfer message, and her face fell again.

Xie Shu: “?”

Xie Shu had been looking at Ruan Nianxi and hadn’t noticed his phone. Seeing her expression change, he followed her gaze and saw that the WeChat friend he had been chatting with had sent him money.

Seeing this, he quickly accepted the money with his free hand, typed a few words, and sent the message before looking at Ruan Nianxi with a smile.

He squeezed her hand, leaned closer, and whispered in her ear, “I’m talking about work. I get paid for my work. Don’t overthink it, I’m not chatting with another woman behind your back.”

Caught red-handed, Ruan Nianxi pursed her lips and stubbornly said, “I wasn’t overthinking!”

“Really? Then why the long face?”

“I wasn’t!”

“Alright, alright, you weren’t. Here, you can check my phone if you want.”

Xie Shu pushed his phone a bit closer to Ruan Nianxi.

Ruan Nianxi pouted and mumbled, “I didn’t say I wanted to check your phone.”

“Should I take it back then?”

“But if you insist… I’ll just take a quick look.”

Seeing Ruan Nianxi’s stubborn yet honest demeanor, Xie Shu almost burst out laughing.

But seeing how hard she was trying to pretend she didn’t care, he held it in.