Chapter 20: Ch19 - Strawberry Flavored Scholar Gong (19)

Slapping He Lin’s face while tasting little sweets~~

Translator: SilverRain

Editors: Amaris, Grump

He House.

Without troubling the He couple with pleasantries, Shi Yu got straight to the point: “Uncle and Aunt, I came today to ask you to pay more attention to He Lin’s mental health. Sending her back to school before she’s recovered could be dangerous to students who don’t know the situation.”

The sweet smile on He Lin’s face froze.

Her mental state had been unstable ever since He Jin passed away. Part of it was that she really couldn’t withstand the impact of witnessing her twin dying. The other part was known only to her.

Due to this, like Shi Yu, she took a year off from school to receive therapy and guidance from a psychologist.

It was only two months ago, when she heard that Shi Yu was returning to school, that He Lin came back at the beginning of the semester.

Shi Yu was very intolerant of her, so he switched schools right away. He thought that would be enough to avoid her⁠—at He Jin’s funeral, Shi Yu had already warned He Lin not to visit her grave too much, to make He Jin’s life easier. But he had underestimated He Lin. After he went to YuLe High, she transferred over as if nothing was wrong.

Shi Yu’s parents and the He family elders did not expect him to bring this up. The living room was silent.

Tears appeared in He Lin’s eyes. She said in a delicate and pitiful voice: “What’s wrong, Shi Yu-gege? Why are you saying these things about me…? …Did I do something to make you angry?”

Shi Yu didn’t even look at her. He gave two sets of documents to the He couple and said: “Uncle and Aunt, you should be familiar with these right?”

Of course they were familiar.

⁠—These were the results from He Jin’s autopsy and her medical records. They avoided them like the plague yet they still haunted their dreams every night.

He Lin’s mother immediately became agitated. She asked through clenched teeth: “Xiao Yu, what are you trying to say?”

He Lin’s father turned the two documents over as he comforted his upset wife. His gaze towards Shi Yu contained a hint of disapproval.

The couple’s hearts bled as they thought of their deceased daughter. They didn’t notice the way that He Lin’s face was completely drained of blood as she saw the label on the document bag.

“Due to a variety of reasons, He Jin had to be hospitalized 57 times. The two most severe times were the pneumonia caused by a fever when she was five and the shock from her heart not pumping enough blood at 13.”

Shi Yu said: “But I don’t think you understand the role that He Lin played in these incidents.”

“Because she wasn’t willing to be sent to her grandmother’s house alone, she planned to make herself sick the day before she had to depart. It just so happened that He Jin wanted to sleep with her that day because she couldn’t bear to be apart from He Lin for too long. He Lin did this despite knowing that you were planning to take He Jin to the hospital to undergo heart surgery.

“The second time was when she deliberately dressed up in He Jin’s clothes to pretend to be her sister to get closer to me. Her acting was so bad that I saw through her at first glance. However, I didn’t know that He Jin was in life-threatening danger after going into shock, because her medicine was in the clothes that were taken.”

He Lin’s parents widened their eyes in shock.

Shi Yu continued to speak: “He Jin was able to let these things go, but I want you to know the truth. But this wasn’t the main reason I came over today.”

“Aunt and Uncle,” He paused for a moment before saying: “Do you know the real reason He Jin died?”

Gou Liang heard Shi Yu talk about it before, but Shi Yu was giving a more specific statement now, one that exposed all the frightening details.

“……After He Jin was pushed away by her, I wanted to hand He Lin off to others so that I could go after He Jin. He Lin deliberately prevented me from doing so. I was forced to take her along as I swam towards He Jin. I was just about to grab on to her, but⁠—” He closed his eyes and spat out coldly: “He Lin kicked her away.”

He pointed out the part of the autopsy report that stated that He Jin’s abdomen had sustained trauma to them. This injury was explained away with the others on He Jin’s body as being caused by bumping into the rocks. Who would’ve thought that it was man-made?

It was clearly written that this contusion was more severe than all the other wounds on her body. It was apparent how much force the person that hurt her had used and how vicious their heart was!

“I’m very certain that He Lin was in her right mind when she did this.” Shi Yu said.

“No, no, it wasn’t like this. Why would you say this Shi Yu-gege⁠—I didn’t, I really didn’t! My sister drowned. It wasn’t me, I didn’t do those things, I didn’t!”

We’re sorry for MTLers or people who like using reading mode, but our translations keep getting stolen by aggregators so we’re going to bring back the copy protection. If you need to MTL please retype the gibberish parts.

He Lin fell onto the sofa with a ghastly pale face. Her eyes were filled with fear and resistance⁠—She just didn’t want to deal with the exposed truth. She had no guilty conscience.

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“He Jin kept all this from you while she was alive because she believed that she wouldn’t be around for much longer, and that you would have to rely on He Lin in your old age. I was originally going to keep out of this matter as well, but He Lin has provoked me again and again.”

Shi Yu finally looked at He Lin. “I warned you not to touch Qi Cheng. I thought you understood that not everyone would be as forgiving of your mistakes.”

“I’ve said all that needs to be said. I hope that Aunt and Uncle can think over this matter rationally. What I want is simply for her to never bother me again.”

Shi Yu said in conclusion: “I’m not He Jin. I won’t forgive her malicious nature.”

As they departed the He House, Mother Shi heard the screams of He Lin’s mother as she broke down: “Was what Shi Yu said true? Did you murder your sister! Did you?!” She couldn’t help but let out a few tears as well.

“Xiao Yu, you……”

“Mom, He Lin’s matter is none of our business.”

Shi Yu cut her off. His lips curled up as he paid no mind to the fractured family behind him. This was Shi Yu’s true self, aloof almost to the point of emotionlessness.

【Listening to Gou Liang’s laughter, the System wondered: Master, is He Lin’s misfortune worth being happy over?】

【Gou Liang: What does she have to do with me? But… I’ve found that our little target is more and more cute as of late.】

【The System that remembered when a certain Host gritted his teeth while vowing to rip off the cutie’s smile.jpg : …Hehe.】

*

The next day, Shi Yu was waiting in front of Gou Liang’s door early.

Gou Liang admired his huge blindspot for a few minutes before humming while getting up. He opened the door with a smile while saying: “Hey, my lovely boyfriend. Does this count as our hearts being connected?”

A slightly cool morning, the somewhat hazy sunshine, and the faintly smiling you.

Probably because the moment was too perfect, Shi Yu couldn’t help but smile as he raised his hand to ruffle Gou Liang’s messy hair.

【Ding, the target’s favorability value has been updated. Current favorability value: +93!】

Gou Liang’s eyes lit up. He raised his head to plant a resounding smooch. He didn’t manage to taste the sweetness, only negative soul force was smuggled into his mouth. His attitude immediately changed and he blocked Shi Yu who was looking for a kiss. He puffed out his face and said: “I haven’t brushed my teeth yet.”

But he was muttering in his heart: What a temper. Is this a disguised attempt to make me abstain, abstain, abstain!

System: Does it have to mention whose fault this is.

The menu for breakfast was changed by Gou Liang, using the excuse that sweets would improve one’s mood while secretly plotting revenge (on Shi Yu) for putting him on a diet ↓↓

Honey toast (extra sweet), sugar water eggs (extra sweet), banana milk juice (extra sweet)⁠—As he watched Shi Yu eat obediently, Gou Liang glanced out of the window with a smile: En, the weather’s so good today.

He said to Shi Yu: “Deskmate, you can’t go back on the promise you made yesterday oh.”

Shi Yu looked at the milk mustache around Gou Liang’s lips. A hint of warmth entered his dark eyes: “You don’t want to ask what I want first?

Gou Liang: “Is there anything a guy as badass as me can’t accomplish? You just need to remember my request.”

Shi Yu: “Oh, what was it again?”

Gou Liang’s face turned serious: “From this second onward, you’re not allowed to store those nobodies in that head of yours. Just think of me and stay happy. Oh, more importantly, you’re not allowed to relieve before Saturday,  I’ll be personally checking.”

Shi Yu: “…”

Shi Yu’s eyebrows twitched as he understood Gou Liang’s meaning. He pursed his lips and nodded reservedly.

“And you?”

Gou Liang was kind of hoping that he would bring up ‘something he wanted more’ than himself, but he didn’t expect Shi Yu to say: “I… want to bring you home.”

“…Ah?”

Shi Yu laughed at his dumbfounded expression. He repeated his words: “I want to bring you home to see my grandparents and parents.”

Then he raised his eyebrow in challenge: “Are you willing to admit defeat?”

Gou Liang: …I’m in awe of this provocation!

*

When Gou Liang and Shi Yu stepped into the classroom, the sounds of the morning reading suddenly faded away.

Shi Yu originally wanted to wait it out before returning to school with Gou Liang, but Gou Liang adamantly refused. He said that it was like crippling your own legs because you couldn’t shut the mouths of others. The key to defeating a long-tongued woman was to bravely confront her on a narrow road. And the one thing he didn’t lack was courage.

But when actually facing these inquiring gazes, Shi Yu’s face still darkened.

The smile on Gou Liang’s face remained unchanged and it was even widened by a fraction. He waved and said: “Good morning everyone. I didn’t change my name to National Flag, so there’s no need to look at me with such serious respect, ba.”

Even if they had doubts in their hearts, some good-humored students were charmed by him.

The tense atmosphere dissipated thanks to his smile—the majority of Gou Liang’s classmates have tasted his specialty before. When someone was nice to you, you couldn’t help but to reciprocate. Even if they said ugly words in private, they would not chastise Gou Liang to his face. As for those who looked away or glanced at him with interest, he pretended to not notice them.

“Ah Cheng, are you okay?” Li LinLing carefully asked.

Chen LiBai tugged at her to remind her not to poke the wounds of  others—He thought that it had to be difficult for Gou Liang to maintain this nonchalant facade. As friends, they had to wholeheartedly support his whole ‘I don’t care’ act.

Gou Liang didn’t mind. He asked why her eyes were so red.

Li LinLing smiled with embarrassment.

After what happened yesterday, she and Zhang Xiao, who were both very emotional, cried for a long time and couldn’t sleep well. Now both of them had eyes like goldfish.

Chen LiBai saw that Gou Liang really didn’t mind talking about this, so he quietly: “The place the photo was taken was the bathroom of the laboratory, right?” Although the photo was quickly taken down, he was still able to recognize it.

“Ah Cheng, who did such a terrible thing to you? Just say the word and I’ll go mess them up with some of my friends!”

Chen LiBai’s expression showed that he was serious.

Gou Liang was surprised, but didn’t think it was a big deal upon seeing his face full of righteous fury.

This guy was impulsive but also honourable. When even Top Student Zhan didn’t dare to do anything outrageous in front of the whole school, it was Chen LiBai who came out to punch him. Wasn’t that the best example? The corners of his lips twitched as he thought about that. He looked at Chen LiBai with bad intentions: “You really want to know?”

Chen LiBai nodded. As long as Gou Liang told him to, he would hold a grudge against the other party.

Gou Liang sneered. The smile on his face was gone without a trace. He said coldly: “I’m afraid that there’s nothing you can do here.”

Chen LiBai was shocked and was about to ask more, but Gou Liang seemed to have been provoked and ignored him—even more so than when he first started causing trouble for him. At that time, Gou Liang might have been cold, but he was still easy to approach. But Chen LiBai felt like he was completely being shunned right now.

Chen LiBai was able to maintain his standing as one of the top ten students of the grade, so he wasn’t dumb.

He quickly realized that he was the target of misplaced anger.

And the reason for that was…

He unconsciously glanced at the person on his other side in astonishment—Zhan YongZhe.

The entire class was paying attention to this corner, overtly and discreetly. They followed Chen LiBai’s gaze over to see Top Student Zhan’s face that was alternating between shades of red and white. He actually appeared to have a guilty conscience.

At this point, was there a need to ask more?

They were shocked. None of them would have guessed that the one who had bullied Gou Liang was Zhan YongZhe!

—Even just from looking at that one photo, the shocking sight was enough to convey how much embarrassment and humiliation the original host had suffered. Zhan YongZhe’s actions had passed the line of a frustrated warning. It was the most inhumane kind of humiliation!

Thinking about it like that, everyone couldn’t help but shudder.

Chen LiBai was the most touched among them.

Although he was hostile and even violent towards Gou Liang on the day the original host’s diary was exposed, he was able to accept him later on very quickly. It was not due to Gou Liang’s above-average intelligence or his culinary talents.

It was because he knew that, in the year that they had been classmates, even though Qi Cheng secretly admired Zhan YongZhe, he never bothered or did anything that would embarrass Zhan YongZhe. He never even said a word about it. If his secret wasn’t exposed by someone with an ulterior motive, the shocking news that ‘Qi Cheng was secretly in love with Zhan YongZhe’ would have never seen the light of day.

As for his diary being exposed, that was already determined to be Wu Nan’s doing due to his grudge against Zhan YongZhe.

If you really thought about it, the original host was just an innocent bystander that came under fire due to Zhan YongZhe. He lost so much face in front of the whole school, and it was difficult to say who actually suffered more.

In his opinion, although it made him want to barf, the original host didn’t do anything wrong. Plus, Gou Liang was a very charismatic person. It was not surprising that Chen LiBai considered him a friend worth dying for after revisiting his impression of him.

So, taking into account how low-key the original host was, it was excessive of Zhan YongZhe to do such a thing after simply finding out that the other person liked him.

The way that Chen LiBai looked at Zhan YongZhe changed. He suddenly thought that the person he shared a table with since junior high school had become a stranger.

Li LinLing had a fiery temper. She couldn’t help but start on him first: “Zhan YongZhe, it was you!! You, you…”

There was a volcano erupting in her eyes, but she was too emotional to speak.

Gou Liang laughed derisively before placing a carton of milk pudding he had made by her hand: “There’s no need to get so mad, sit down. I’ve said it before, I don’t hold anything against him. The matters from before, whether it was because of him or me, good or bad, all of it is null and void now.”

Li LinLing opened her mouth. She suddenly started to cry while hugging her lunch box.

Gou Liang: “…”

Shi Yu: “…”

Chen LiBai said timidly: “Hey, can’t you hold it in? There’s so many people here.”

Li LinLing paid him no mind as she focused on crying. Gou Liang ignored Cheng LiBai’s silent plea for help. He began reading the book Shi Yu had placed on his desk. It was Zhan YongZhe who broke first. His face was tense as he approached Gou Liang and said he wanted to talk privately with him.

Gou Liang calmly looked at him before suddenly smiling and getting up.

Shi Yu stopped Gou Liang. The latter asked: “You want to come too?”

Shi Yu really did stand up. Zhan YongZhe had a mind to stop a third person from interfering, but in the end, he followed sullenly behind the two.

He had agonized over his apology for a day now. He was solely focused on how to get Gou Liang to forgive him. It wasn’t until they stopped that he realized they had actually come to the bathroom of the laboratory—this place was filled with memories that the original host would rather not remember.

Zhan YongZhe’s expression changed dramatically.

Gou Liang stopped the two of them and stood in the spot that he had originally woken up at. His voice was placid as he said: “It was right here. That day, I collapsed here. All of you left without caring how injured I was. There was no one who considered if I had the strength to walk out of here alive.”

“When I woke up again, I was in so much pain that I was almost numb.”

“I was so cold, and there were streaks of blood when I coughed. The doctors said later that I had internal bleeding and could’ve died at any time.

“My family members, my fellow students and teachers… no one knew I was here, and no one cared about what happened to me or if I would die here. If it wasn’t for… that Monday when the entire school was thrown into an uproar because of that confession. A janitor, teacher, or a random passerby would’ve been the one to stumble upon my body.”

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