Vol 2 Chapter 10: Rejection

In this era.

Romance was pure and free of scheming.

Liking someone meant just that—no hidden motives involved.

Sun Fan had liked Zeng Yihui ever since they were assigned to the same class upon entering high school. From that day on, he had been captivated by her curvaceous figure and rounder-than-average hips.

The way she frowned when encountering difficult problems, the way she analyzed ancient poetry in class, the way she took huge bites out of steamed buns during meals, the way she chugged an entire bottle of water after PE class...

So adorable, so lovable.

Love arrived in the most mysterious ways, creeping up on you when you least expected it.

Sun Fan longed to hold her in his arms.

But while he thought he had concealed his feelings perfectly, in reality, everyone in class—even students from neighboring classes—knew exactly how he felt.

The only one who didn't realize this was Sun Fan himself.

This was precisely why he had asked his deskmate to help write a love letter—his own handwriting was atrocious. It was also why he had his deskmate deliver the letter for him.

Being as innocent as he was, such blatant expressions of affection made Sun Fan feel incredibly shy.

Qin Ruoliu knew about it too.

As Zeng Yihui's deskmate, she had witnessed Sun Fan frequently pestering her friend. From time to time, Zeng Yihui would complain to Qin Ruoliu about his behavior.

Upon learning that the object of his secret crush was currently in the cafeteria, Sun Fan grew visibly excited.

At that moment, he completely forgot about Liu Changqing still waiting in the classroom.

After exchanging a few meaningless words with Qin Ruoliu, he eagerly rushed off to the cafeteria, hoping to "accidentally" bump into Zeng Yihui.

Qin Ruoliu simply stared at his retreating figure as he skipped away, momentarily lost in thought...

Then she turned and headed toward the school building.

Arriving at the classroom.

Just as she was about to push open the door, it suddenly swung open from the inside.

The figure that darted out startled Qin Ruoliu, causing her to jump back in alarm.

Liu Changqing, who had opened the door, was equally surprised. But when he recognized who stood outside, his expression shifted noticeably.

Guilt was written all over his face.

At this moment, Liu Changqing looked extremely guilty.

His eyes darted toward the nearby desks. After an awkward chuckle, he sidled past her and left the classroom.

Qin Ruoliu waited until he was completely gone before entering.

Liu Changqing had been acting strangely these past two days.

This thought suddenly occurred to Qin Ruoliu as she walked to her seat.

She paused mid-step, instinctively glancing back in the direction he had disappeared. With a thoughtful expression, she turned back around, her face showing slight confusion.

Her awareness of Liu Changqing's odd behavior stemmed entirely from her duties as class monitor.

As monitor, Qin Ruoliu had a general understanding of every student in class.

In her previous observations, Liu Changqing had always been that student who sat in the back, never paying attention in class. Every time she looked his way, he'd be sleeping at his desk. After school, she'd often catch him sneaking around, pushing his bicycle while tailing some girl from the neighboring class.

The epitome of a delinquent.

Yet despite never listening in class, Liu Changqing never disrupted lectures.

Even when failing exams spectacularly, he never cheated.

A principled underachiever.

But this student, who had always followed classroom rules and completed assignments on time, had changed over the past two days.

Not only had he started skipping class openly, but he'd also lost the notebook she lent him...

Unlike before, when he always wore a sullen expression and ignored everyone, now he seemed more talkative—as if hiding some secret...

And somehow... even more shameless.

For some reason, Qin Ruoliu recalled the love letter she'd found on Liu Changqing's desk. The explicit words, the cringeworthy phrases—they were all seared into her memory.

Who was it for? That girl from the neighboring class?

With these questions swirling in her mind, Qin Ruoliu hurried to her seat and grabbed her water bottle from the desk. But just as she was about to leave, her gaze fell upon a sheet of paper tucked beneath the bottle.

A very familiar sheet of paper.

At that moment, Qin Ruoliu froze.

In the empty classroom.

Holding her water bottle, she silently stared at the paper on her desk.

After what felt like an eternity, she finally picked it up.

Opened it again...

And began to read.

————————————

"Have you no shame? Can't you save some face?!"

Liu Changqing wore an expression of utter despair as his homeroom teacher jabbed his forehead with a finger.

This was his third trip to the office today.

The teacher looked furious.

Clutching the ghostwritten love letter, his face flushed red with anger as he continued poking Liu Changqing's forehead.

Over and over.

Finally stopping, the teacher looked down at the letter in his hand.

And began reading aloud.

"Watching stars and moon with you, one by one they form a line..."

He smacked Liu Changqing's head repeatedly with the paper.

"What were you thinking, writing something like this? 'Chocolate melts in my mouth but I can't bear to swallow it'—if you don't swallow it, isn't that just wasting food?!"

"..."

"Teacher understands—I was your age once too. It's normal to be curious about girls. But you can't harass them. That's not courtship, that's being a creep."

"..."

"Sigh..."

Letting out a heavy sigh, the teacher looked at Liu Changqing's bowed head and guilty expression. His heart softened—he couldn't bring himself to scold the boy further.

After a pause, he returned to his desk and pointed toward a corner.

"Thirty minutes."

Having gone through this routine before, Liu Changqing didn't protest.

He walked straight to the corner, picked up a book from the nearby table, and balanced it on his head.

Then assumed a horse stance.

Thirty minutes passed quickly.

Before afternoon classes resumed, Liu Changqing was free to leave the office.

Numbly, he headed back to his classroom.

But after just a few steps, a figure blocked his path.

Stopping short.

Liu Changqing looked at the girl before him.

Qin Ruoliu had been waiting for some time.

"..."

Facing the bespectacled class monitor, Liu Changqing remained silent.

Qin Ruoliu seemed somewhat afraid of him. After fidgeting nervously, she finally spoke up.

"That... I read everything you wrote. It was... very well-written..."

Her gaze drifted away, as if unable to meet his eyes. Staring at the wall instead, her cheeks flushed pink.

After realizing the love letter was meant for her, the frightened Qin Ruoliu had immediately reported it to the teacher.

Yet during Liu Changqing's punishment, those written words kept replaying in her mind.

Those lines that plucked at her heartstrings...

She had been deeply moved.

"But... I don't like you."

And so she rejected him.

Though Liu Changqing had no real feelings for this girl, being rejected so abruptly still wounded his fragile pride.

"I—"

The first syllable had barely left his lips when he suddenly felt someone grab his arm.

A soft sensation pressed against him.

His entire body tensed up instantly.

Both of them turned to see who had joined this confrontation.

To see... the girl now clinging to Liu Changqing's arm.

Li Wanran.

Her face icy cold, she towered slightly over Qin Ruoliu. Looking down at the shorter girl with undisguised disdain, she enunciated each word clearly:

"He doesn't like you."