The students who had been secretly watching the commotion began to whisper among themselves. Yu Shulin always wore a gentle, mild-mannered smile towards everyone, yet now he had a cold expression, and it was directed at a girl. This was major gossip.
"Hah, how shameless. There should be a limit to throwing yourself at someone." A short-haired girl pushed through the crowd, snorted coldly at Liu Fen, swung her backpack over her shoulder, and walked off with a swagger.
Liu Fen's expression completely changed. There was a trace of unwillingness in her eyes. She held back for a moment, but still spoke in a soft, fragile voice, "Shulin, didn't you accept the gift? You obviously like me. You used to always sneak glances at me before..."
"I originally intended to return the gift to you, but unfortunately, I accidentally lost it. That was my carelessness, I'm sorry. I will compensate you. As for you saying I sneaked glances... I don't think I ever did such a thing. Liu Fen, you and I are just ordinary classmates, nothing more. Please don't misunderstand. High school coursework is intense, and I don't have time to deal with these messy matters. You... you should focus your mind elsewhere." After saying this, Yu Shulin gave her a faint look, shook his head, and turned to leave. More and more students were gathering to watch the spectacle. School was already out, and if they kept lingering, they would eventually attract the patrolling teacher, and then things would get really ugly.
"How can you be so lacking in gentlemanly manners! It's your good fortune that Liu Fen likes you. Stop pretending to be so aloof and proper!" A slightly plump girl behind Liu Fen suddenly spoke up sharply, her eyes full of anger as she looked at Yu Shulin, though her face was somewhat flushed.
“Gentlemanly manners are reserved for ladies worthy of respect,” a bystander who had taken a dislike to Liu Fen interjected coolly, mocking, “Who doesn't know Liu Fen has had three or four boyfriends in one semester? And with that record, she still dares to pester Shulin? Come on, why not just focus on studying? Isn't the tuition fee a waste otherwise?”
"You're talking nonsense! Liu Fen hasn't had that many! Is it wrong to be liked by someone?" The plump girl retorted, then raised her voice towards Yu Shulin, "Yu Shulin, I never thought you were this kind of person! I misjudged you! You... you're a hypocrite!"
The classmates from the original first and second year classes who were watching this were utterly speechless. Just what kind of person is Yu Shulin anyway, huh? Hypocrite, my foot! Who is this chubby girl? She really knows how to spout nonsense.
Yu Shulin stopped and turned to look at her.
The plump girl hadn't expected him to stop and turn to look at her. She was taken aback for a moment, her gaze suddenly becoming evasive, her face turning even redder. She averted her eyes and fell silent.
Liu Fen, who had remained silent all along, letting the plump girl speak up for her, saw this, bit her lip, rubbed her eyes, turned and tugged at the plump girl's sleeve, her voice tinged with a sob, "Little Na, don't say anymore. It was my mistake in judgment... I never thought he would toy with me like this. He clearly, before..."
Yu Shulin raised an eyebrow, giving her a cool look.
Wang Zhi, who had been troubled by his stomach after school and had just wandered out of the bathroom, saw a large crowd gathered outside the classroom next door. His eyes immediately lit up, his gossip-loving heart stirring. He trotted over, calling out as he ran, "Hey, hey, what's going on here? Why is everyone gathered? Can some kind soul fill me in?"
A classmate who knew him turned and beckoned him over, pointing at Yu Shulin in the center of the circle, and said with a sneer, "Your good buddy Yu Shulin is being pestered by that social butterfly Liu Fen. Poor guy." In the eyes of the former Class 2 students, Liu Fen was nothing but a social butterfly. Three or four boyfriends in one semester? In an experimental class full of top students, that record was simply unbeatable.
"What! Shulin is being pestered?" Upon hearing this, Wang Zhi charged forward without another word, pushing through the human wall formed by the students, grabbing Yu Shulin's arm, and glaring at Liu Fen, exclaiming, "Haven't you had enough? Back in first year, you inexplicably started clinging to Shulin. Shulin, considering you're all classmates, didn't do anything to you. How dare you push your luck even further! We're in different classes now, what more do you want? Weren't you all cozy with Ma Jian? Didn't you even ask him for a birthday gift? That poor fool was so happy, running around asking your friends and classmates what you liked. How can you face him!"
He spoke loudly and rapidly, words tumbling out like beans from a split bamboo tube, leaving the onlooking classmates momentarily stunned. Yu Shulin turned his head to look at him and said calmly, "Let's go. Let her perform her solo act. The patrolling teacher will be here soon. Let's go home."
Perform?
Stimulated by Wang Zhi's words and Yu Shulin's attitude, Liu Fen finally couldn't maintain her fragile facade. Glaring at the two, she suddenly shrieked, "Yu Shulin, you clearly agreed to be my boyfriend! You clearly like me! You say I'm performing? Then what about you now! Wang Zhi, what do you know? You have no right to bark here, get lost!"
Hearing this, Yu Shulin's face darkened. He took a step forward and said, "I'll say it one more time. I have no relationship with you whatsoever, and I certainly never agreed to be your boyfriend. Wang Zhi is my friend. Please don't insult him."
"Well, well, boyfriend?" Wang Zhi laughed in anger. He didn't care if the other party was a girl and directly fired back, "You really have the nerve! Your 'boyfriends' are spread across more than a dozen classes in our grade, but my buddy Yu Shulin is definitely not among them. Wake up already, you vain woman! You're the one behind all the recent rumors everyone's spreading, aren't you? How can a girl be so shameless? No wonder your mom scolded you during the parent-teacher meeting. Having a daughter like you must give your mom so much extra worry!"
"Let's go. No need to waste words on her." Yu Shulin patted Wang Zhi's shoulder and looked at Liu Fen. "If you keep making a scene like this, I'll have no choice but to ask the teacher to involve our parents to resolve this. Think it over." Having said that, he pulled Wang Zhi away, his expression grim. Tonight had been utterly ridiculous.
Wang Zhi still wanted to trade a few more barbs with Liu Fen, but seeing Yu Shulin's unpleasant expression, he wisely shut his mouth.
The onlookers, seeing the male lead leave, all turned their gazes onto Liu Fen, whispering among themselves.
Humiliated like this and under everyone's scrutiny, Liu Fen, pushed to the peak of shame and anger, suddenly shrieked, "Yu Shulin!"
Yu Shulin didn't even turn his head, walking away with unparalleled coolness.
"What are you all looking at! Get lost! All of you, get lost!" The plump girl grabbed Liu Fen's hand comfortingly and shouted angrily at the onlooking classmates.
Both their voices were rather shrill, carrying far in the quiet schoolyard. The patrolling teacher who was coming upstairs heard the noise, his face darkening as he quickened his pace. Students these days were getting more and more out of line. School's out, yet they're still here, howling about who knows what.
Someone with sharp eyes spotted the figure of the patrolling teacher and cried out, "Teacher's coming!" The crowd immediately scattered like birds and beasts, leaving only a trembling-with-anger Liu Fen and the few awkward, displeased girls behind her still standing there.
Li Tao, who had been silently watching the scene leaning against the classroom door, finally stood up. He cast a slightly disgusted glance at the girls and, ignoring the patrolling teacher's shouts from behind, leisurely walked away.
With all this commotion, he naturally returned home later than usual.
Aunt Liu brought out the late-night snack and placed it in front of him, asking with concern, "Why are you back so late today? The young master called and was very worried when he heard you hadn't come home yet."
"Did brother call?" Yu Shulin put down his chopsticks upon hearing this, fished his phone out of his backpack, and turned it on to check. Sure enough, there were several missed calls. His phone was always on vibrate, and today, distracted by the incident with Liu Fen, he hadn't really noticed it. He hurriedly dialed the number back, picked up his chopsticks again, and continued eating his noodles.
The call connected quickly. Liang Zhou's voice sounded somewhat hoarse: "Shulin, are you home?"
"Mmm..." He swallowed his noodles and said, "The teacher kept us late, so I got back a bit later. I'm having a late-night snack now. I'll wash up and go to bed after I finish. Don't worry, brother."
"Okay, eat slowly, don't choke." Liang Zhou's voice carried a hint of laughter. After chatting casually with him for a few more sentences, he reluctantly hung up.
The room was pitch dark. He put down his phone, changed the alarm set for midnight to eight in the morning, and then lay back down to sleep.
It wasn't until right before falling asleep that Yu Shulin suddenly remembered Liang Zhou was on a business trip abroad this time, and there was the matter of time difference between them. Burrowed under the covers, he counted on his fingers for a long time. Upon realizing it was already early morning where Liang Zhou was, he fell silent, feeling both warmth and worry in his heart, then closed his eyes and went to sleep.
The next day, the gossip about Liu Fen's failed pursuit of Yu Shulin had spread among the students. Fortunately, while the students loved to gossip, none dared to do so right in front of the people involved. So Yu Shulin simply pretended not to know about it, ignoring the curious glances his classmates threw his way and burying himself in his studies.
He thought that after yesterday's commotion, the matter was over. Once the rumors died down after some time, life would return to normal. But Liu Fen clearly didn't see it that way. She felt wronged and naturally wanted everyone to know about it.
After hearing the rumors, she first cried pitifully, putting on the act of someone deeply bullied, then went around telling people that Yu Shulin had played with her feelings and publicly humiliated her. Classmates who knew the truth just scoffed inwardly. Played with her feelings? Humiliation? She was the one with the unrequited crush, and she had the nerve to slander others? Where's her shame? And she calls herself a girl.
Some knew the truth, but others were blinded by a pretty girl's tears.
During the break between classes, a tall, burly boy dragged a sobbing Liu Fen to the door of Class 2, Experimental Stream. He kicked the door and shouted, "Where's Yu Shulin? Get out here!"
The commotion drew the attention of the Class 2 students, and their gazes all turned toward the two figures pulling at each other in the doorway.
Liu Fen was startled by the loud bang from the kicked door. She stopped wiping her tears, thinking this impulsive guy was probably about to make things worse. She hurriedly tried to pull him away. "Ma Jian, don't be like this. Let them spread rumors if they want. It's not like I'll lose a piece of flesh. Let's just go."
"No way!" Ma Jian's chest heaved, his teeth clenched, clearly furious. "You're my girlfriend. Now that you've been bullied, how can we just let it go? You cried so miserably, of course I have to stand up for you! Just wait, I'll beat up that hypocritical pretty boy and make him apologize to you!"
The Class 2 students' eyes shifted between Liu Fen and the boy, their looks full of mockery.
A short-haired girl sitting closest to the door looked up impatiently, eyeing Liu Fen sideways with a cold smile. "Liu Fen, you're really something. Yesterday you were yelling about Yu Shulin being your boyfriend, and today you're parading around with a different guy. Nice skills."
Liu Fen's face changed. She glanced sideways at Ma Jian and quickly retorted, "Stop talking nonsense! You people in Class 2 just love ganging up to bully me... It was clearly Yu Shulin who deceived me and humiliated me..." As she spoke, she started crying again.
Seeing her cry, Ma Jian panicked internally but kicked the door again even harder, shouting, "Shut up! A whole class ganging up to bully one girl, have you no shame! Where's Yu Shulin? Come out! Don't hide like a coward, fight me if you dare!"
Yu Shulin, who had just returned from the restroom, happened to hear this last sentence. His gaze swept over him and the Liu Fen beside him, and his expression turned cold. "I'm Yu Shulin. What do you want with me?"
Ma Jian turned around, glaring at him with hatred. His eyes raked over Yu Shulin from head to toe, full of disdain. "Skinny weakling, so you're the one who bullied Xiao Fen? I want you to apologize to her!"
"Apologize?" Yu Shulin curled his lips into a slight smile, looking at Liu Fen. "You want me to apologize to you? On what grounds?"
When someone who was always gentle and mild suddenly showed an expressionless, cold smile, the impact was quite powerful. Liu Fen was momentarily stunned by his look, feeling that this version of Yu Shulin seemed even more handsome. But she quickly snapped out of it. Glancing sideways at the tall and sturdy Ma Jian, thinking of last night's humiliation and her own pride, she bit her lip and said resolutely, "You humiliated me yesterday, and you got all those classmates to bully me too. You have to apologize!"
"Ridiculous." Yu Shulin's eyes filled with scorn as he shoved his hands into his pockets. "Liu Fen, I made myself perfectly clear yesterday. Can you stop making a scene? It's really unbecoming for a girl to act like this."
"Truly unbecoming, yet some people persistently cling to their shamelessness," the short-haired girl chimed in coolly from inside the classroom.
Yu Shulin's gaze stung Liu Fen, making her both angry and ashamed. She lowered her head, tugged on Ma Jian's sleeve, and whispered, "Ma Jian, you see? He's bullying me again."
"Are you going to apologize or not?!" Ma Jian's hot blood immediately rushed to his head. He stuck out his neck, yelling, and started rolling up his sleeves, putting on a show of 'apologize now or I'll beat you up.'
Wang Zhi, having heard the news, rushed over. Seeing the situation, he was furious and roared in exasperation, "Ma Jian! You blockhead with your brain addled! You dare lay a hand on Shulin and just try it! What's the point of that brain of yours? It was clearly this Liu Fen who pursued Shulin, got rejected, and then went around claiming Shulin was her boyfriend. And you want Shulin to apologize to that woman? Are you blind? If you're going to like someone, couldn't you pick a decent one? Causing a scene like this at school, do you want to get expelled?"
