The principal sighed. “No.”
“All right.” Linlin stood up. “Then, may I go back and eat, Professor?”
The principal froze for a moment. “That’s it?”
“Huh?” Linlin asked, confused. “Are you going to punish me?”
“Not exactly.”
Linlin had excellent grades, and all her teachers liked her. Though she was only a sophomore, some professors were already hoping to recruit her for research projects.
If they looked into the matter carefully, it really was not a serious offense. After all, Yan Yuan did not attend the same university, and the young professor was reportedly about to resign anyway.
Still, Linlin’s straightforward attitude made the principal and department chair feel as though they were not interrogating her at all. Instead, it seemed as if they were the ones causing her trouble.
Linlin said goodbye to the professors and left the office.
Before afternoon class, Linlin cornered Lu Zeyu at the classroom door.
Lu Zeyu had just begun to smile when Linlin demanded, “It was you, wasn’t it? You were the one who reported me?”
“What?” The smile froze on Lu Zeyu’s face.
“Only you in our class knew that Yan Yuan and I were dating. Even if you weren’t the one who reported me, you were the one who spread the news.”
After they had officially started dating, Yan Yuan rarely came to her university anymore.
Usually, she went to Yan Yuan’s dormitory, or Yan Yuan went to the little house to see her. And when they were out together, they rarely behaved intimately in public.
The only exception had been their trip to Jiushan, where they had run into Lu Zeyu once.
Dong Xiaomin knew about them too, but apart from the weekends, she was with Linlin all the time. Linlin also knew that Dong Xiaomin would never do something like this.
That left only Lu Zeyu.
Lu Zeyu steadied himself before saying, “Whether you believe me or not, I wasn’t the one who reported you.”
“Oh, I don’t believe you.”
“You…” Lu Zeyu was rendered speechless. He had no idea what to do with her.
Linlin and Lu Zeyu stood at the classroom entrance, attracting the attention of many students.
Lu Zeyu took a deep breath and lowered his voice. “Linlin, class is about to start. You don’t want to make a scene, do you?”
Linlin fell silent, and no one could tell what she was thinking.
Just then, the physics professor walked in. Seeing them standing at the door, he smiled and said, “What are you two talking about? Go find your seats.”
Linlin curved her lips into a smile and said loudly, “Professor, Lu Zeyu is asking me about my boyfriend.”
“Boyfriend?” The physics professor was startled as well. “Linlin, you’re dating someone?”
“Mm.” Linlin nodded. “He’s my mother’s apprentice. He’s currently a teaching assistant at Capital University, although he’s about to resign.”
When introducing Yan Yuan, Linlin first mentioned that he was her mother’s apprentice, then brought up his position as a university teaching assistant. That made it clear that their relationship was known to their families and that they were dating seriously, leaving no room for anyone to think otherwise.
Linlin was very “low-key” at school. Every day, she went from the classroom to the dormitory to the library, following the same three-point routine. Even so, she still had a whole group of admirers on campus.
Her beauty was merely one of her most insignificant advantages. Everyone at the university was academically gifted, and what they admired most was outstanding academic performance. Linlin was unquestionably the best of the best. Not only did the professors like her, but her fellow students did too.
Lu Zeyu had assumed that she would not want other people to know she was dating.
He had never imagined that Linlin would admit it in front of everyone.
Linlin shrugged and casually dropped a bombshell in the classroom.
Her mother had once told her that if she was afraid people would talk, she should not do something in the first place. But if she did it, then she should not be afraid of what people said.
As a true “mommy’s girl,” Linlin followed that principle in everything she did.
She did not think dating Yan Yuan was something shameful that had to be kept secret.
This was a large lecture, with three classes attending together. More than a hundred students were gathered in the tiered lecture hall.
The moment news of Linlin’s relationship came out, the classroom erupted in whispers.
The professor spent quite some time restoring order before finally getting everyone to quiet down.
Lu Zeyu was distracted throughout the entire lecture. He felt that everything was developing in a direction he had never anticipated.
When class ended, Linlin blocked his way at the classroom door again.
The other students stopped to watch. Even the professor pretended to organize his lesson notes while secretly trying to hear what they would say.
“Lu Zeyu, if you can’t beat me in the exams, then study harder instead of using underhanded tricks to interfere with my studies. Even if my grades drop, yours won’t improve.”
Linlin detested Lu Zeyu.
He knew perfectly well that she already had a boyfriend, yet he continued acting in front of others as though he were deeply in love with her.
For example, he would buy her breakfast, then look devastated after she rejected it. He had even submitted suggestive poems to the school newspaper, describing his “unrequited love.”
Some people had gone so far as to say that the two of them were the “golden couple” of the aircraft design program.
Linlin had heard that from her roommates. Even they had asked her what was going on between her and Lu Zeyu.
Linlin had explained everything to them, but she could not go around telling everyone she met, “Lu Zeyu and I have nothing to do with each other.”
Now, at least, Linlin had given Lu Zeyu’s behavior a clear definition. Everything he had done before was not because he liked her—it was because he wanted to interfere with her studies.
Lu Zeyu clenched his fists. “I didn’t.”
Linlin gave him a fake smile. “Fine. If you say you didn’t, then you didn’t. I’m going to study.”
A burst of mocking laughter came from nearby. With a dark expression, Lu Zeyu shoved past the student beside him and left the classroom.
Yan Yuan was very busy, and Linlin had not even planned to tell him about the incident.
Yan Yuan’s university had received a letter of complaint too, but by then, the school administrators had already labeled him as someone who was about to resign and take a crooked path. No one cared about the letter anymore.
In the end, Yan Yuan never found out that any of this had happened.
It was only when Lin Zhilan called her that the matter came to light.
“Mom, don’t tell Yan Yuan. I’ve already dealt with it.”
Lin Zhilan sighed. “I won’t tell him, but I have only one requirement: you must not let yourself be mistreated. Otherwise, I’ll regret agreeing to let you and Xiao Yuan be together.”
At the very least, she would have made them wait a little longer before getting together.
Linlin was a true mommy’s girl, and Lin Zhilan was just as fiercely protective of her daughter. Even if Yan Yuan had done nothing wrong, Lin Zhilan would still feel a little resentful toward him if Linlin suffered any hardship.
Linlin quickly started acting spoiled and promised her mother she would be fine. Then she hurriedly changed the subject. “Mom, can you get in touch with Big Brother? I can’t find him again.”
Jiang Chengzhou was stationed at the Yingtian Military Region. Before this, Linlin had called him every week, or he had called her.
But it had been nearly half a month since Jiang Chengzhou’s last call. Whenever Linlin called, the person who answered merely told her that he was not there.
Lin Zhilan was worried too, but she reassured her daughter over the phone. “He must be out on a mission or taking part in an exercise. Don’t worry.”
“All right.” Linlin nodded. “Mom, if you hear anything about Big Brother, make sure you tell me right away.”
