Proofreader & Editor:Peter Pan
Su Qianyi sat in the front row of the classroom, and as soon as class ended, she stood up and headed for the exit.
Last class, Xie Shu had silently changed seats, causing her to lose face in front of so many people!
Sitting alone, she endured the scrutinizing gazes from all directions. She had had enough!
She had already taken a step back by willingly sitting with him, what more did he want?
Would it kill him to exchange a few words with her?
Yet, he deliberately switched seats, making her lose face. He was really too much!
She despised him!
She wouldn't back down anymore!
Whatever game he was playing, she was done participating!
She didn't need his affections…
***
"Xie Shu, there's a rumor that you've stopped pursuing Su Qianyi. Is that true?"
A rather loud female voice suddenly interrupted her thoughts from the back of the classroom.
The next second, her body froze in place.
Like the rest of the class, she turned around upon hearing the girl's voice, looking towards the back of the room.
There, surrounded by onlookers, Xie Shu remained calm and composed. After a few seconds, he spoke, "…I need to clarify, that's not a rumor."
His words sent a ripple of shock through the crowd.
Some were disbelieving, others found it incredible, and a few were secretly pleased…
Three years of affection, gone just like that?
Amidst their shock, they couldn't help but look towards Su Qianyi at the front.
But whether it was because Su Qianyi had left too quickly or for some other reason, they didn't catch sight of her, nor did they know if she had heard Xie Shu's words.
The two, who used to be inseparable, now didn't even leave class together?
This change led many students from other classes to start believing what Xie Shu had said.
As for their own classmates, they were already used to it.
Xie Shu didn't say much more. He quickly walked to the front and left the lecture hall with his "sons."
As soon as he left the classroom, the remaining girls burst into an uproar.
Xie Shu was no longer revolving around Su Qianyi, which meant they had a chance to pursue him now!
***
On the way back to the dormitory, a girl with flushed cheeks caught up with Xie Shu.
Xie Shu noticed she was holding the same textbook as his, probably a classmate from the same lecture.
Thinking she had something to say, he stopped and turned to her.
It was the girl's first time being so close to Xie Shu, and her face turned even redder.
She stammered, "Xie, could you give me your WeChat?"
Xie Shu was taken aback, then frowned slightly, finding it awkward, "No, I still need to use my WeChat."
"…"
"How about this, you register your own account with your phone number."
"…"
After saying that, Xie Shu turned and walked away.
His "sons" silently twitched their mouths and, without saying anything, followed him.
But the girl was not ready to give up.
She quickly caught up and tried a different approach: "Xie, I mean, can I scan your QR code?"
Xie Shu paused, then realized what she meant: "You should've been clear."
He took out his phone, opened WeChat, skillfully brought up a QR code, and extended the phone towards the girl.
The girl, thrilled that Xie Shu had agreed, quickly scanned the code with her phone, too excited to notice she was scanning the payment QR code instead of the friend request.
"Xie, we're from the same faculty, you might not know me, but I know you, uh… I'm not very familiar with you, but…"
Xie Shu suddenly cut her off: "It's okay, even though we're not close, you can use money to get to know me better."
"???"
The girl's phone pinged with a successful scan.
Xie Shu put away his phone and continued towards the dormitory.
The girl stood there, stunned. After a few seconds, she checked her phone and stared at the "Transfer to *Shu" page for a long time.
Once they were further away, Zhao Lin elbowed Xie Shu, teasing, "Xie Shu, that was smooth, just announced in class you're not chasing Su Qianyi anymore, and now someone's already asking for your WeChat."
Li Da chimed in, "I really thought you were going to add that girl as a friend. Weren't you planning to pursue Ruan Nianxi?"
They had all seen Xie Shu present the payment QR code for the girl to scan.
The girl was too excited to distinguish between a payment code and a friend request code.
Liu Ping shrugged with a sigh, "Only you would play dumb in the face of a girl's advances. We can't even find someone to date."
Xie Shu immediately dropped his smile, straightened his face, and said profoundly, "Don't be so pessimistic. Be more positive. Our lives don't need hesitation. Go where you want, date who you want."
His words started off sounding profound, and the three felt inspired until they realized he was joking at their expense.
"Xie Shu, you Mom… stay healthy."
"You better not sleep too soundly tonight!"
"Keep one eye open when you sleep tonight."
The four of them walked along the campus paths, laughing and joking like most friends do.
***
Only Xie Shu, who had been a wage slave in his past life, knew how precious these campus days were.
His roommates, it was said, had chosen to study art in high school because of their hobbies, unlike him, who did it to accompany a girl he liked.
So the three of them, each with a label of being into the second dimension and somewhat otaku, didn't socialize much, never leaving their rooms unless necessary. But these were the kind of people who, once you really became friends with them, treated you the best.
At least in his past life, they had maintained contact and helped each other even after entering society.
Passing by a basketball court, a ball suddenly flew towards them.
Xie Shu quickly caught the basketball to prevent it from hitting anyone.
He glanced at the court and saw a few people heading their way, assuming they were coming for the ball. He threw it back to them from a few meters away.
Seeing someone catch it, he was about to leave when someone from the group called out.
"Are you Xie Shu?"
Hearing his name, Xie Shu turned back curiously.
He didn't recognize the person and had no memory of him. How did he know him?
The guy holding the basketball looked Xie Shu up and down, then sneered, "You don't seem that special."
Xie Shu: "???"
Was this a case of a chicken talking to a duck?
"I read a post saying you're from the Art Faculty and that you've been fawning over a girl for three years. What, now that you can't get her, you're setting your sights on our Ruan Nianxi?"
Ah, so he was from Ruan Nianxi's faculty, no wonder he didn't recognize him.
"I suggest you stay in your own faculty and stop bothering Ruan Nianxi!"
"She's one of us, and you have no shame trying to get close. She's not interested in you!"
"I don't want to say much more…"
The guy claimed he didn't want to say much, yet he had been ranting for quite a while.
Passersby who didn't understand the situation also stopped to watch.
Xie Shu watched the man, still rambling, and suddenly remembered a phrase he had learned.
I should reflect on myself thrice a day,
Am I being too polite?
Did I give him too much face?
Should I take action?
He thought about it, but Xie Shu didn't act.
He was at school, and he was a junior.
What if he couldn't control himself and hurt someone? What if the school punished him?
He had learned a few self-defense moves from his dad when he was younger. Although he wasn't a professional, he was more than capable compared to complete amateurs, and he was genuinely worried about going too far.
It wasn't worth it.
For the sake of graduating smoothly and without a record, Xie Shu refrained from acting.
He felt there was no need to get angry with someone he didn't know, so he decided to speak to the person nicely.
So, with a calm and composed tone, he said:
"Why are you barking like a dog?"