Chapter 35: Chapter 29.2

What the hell????

[Looking at the current situation, this boy seems to be trying to court you, Host.]

I know that. Anyone with eyes and ears can tell what is going on, thank you.

“I like you, Little Cutie. How about becoming my girlfriend? I can give you whatever you want.”

The person who had confessed to Jun Zishu was a bright and handsome boy with thick eyebrows and large eyes filled with vigor. He also radiated the air of a ruffian, and he looked like someone who would be quite attractive among teenage girls.

However, Jun Zishu only found this situation to be uncomfortable. Unfortunately, as the boy had sealed her escape paths with both arms, the only thing she could do was shrink her neck and try to put as much distance between the boy and herself.

“Excuse me, but we don’t seem to be acquainted with each other,” Jun Zishu said as she tried to push her glasses out of habit. However, she stopped midway when she suddenly remembered taking off her glasses before heading to the restroom.

“Let’s get acquainted now, then. I’m Cheng Chaoyang from Class 3, 17 years old, and 179 centimeters tall. My favorite fruit is strawberry. Now that you have a basic understanding of me, do you agree to be my girlfriend?”

Jun Zishu’s expression stiffened. Inwardly, though, she remained as calm as a rock. She even had the urge to chuckle as she wondered, Do boys nowadays confess in such an imposing manner?

From Jun Zishu’s perspective, the boy indeed looked handsome, and the average girl would probably agree to his confession. However, was Jun Zishu an ordinary girl?

Evidently not.

Right now, Jun Zishu only had her mission in mind. Thus, she wasn’t interested in interacting with anyone but the mission target.

“No.”

“What a decisive rejection.” Cheng Chaoyang was a little surprised. However, he persisted with his cool act. “Even so, I will continue pursuing you.”

Cheng Chaoyang smiled. He had been targeting Jun Zishu for several days now.

First in the year! An academic tyrant who had scored full marks in the High School Entrance Examination!

Originally, he thought that such a person would be a bespectacled girl with average appearances. Never did he expect Jun Zishu to be such a cute and lovable girl. Her deadpan expression especially stimulated the urges of others to knead her face.

“Oh.” Jun Zishu responded with indifference.

“What kind of boy do you like?”

“Do you mean what kind of man I like?”

“Yes, yes.” Cheng Chaoyang sharply nodded.

“Thales.”

“Huh? Who’s that? A celebrity?”

Cheng Chaoyang was confused. However, before he could probe further, he heard a slightly haughty voice coming from behind.

“Hey, you there, what are you doing? Get away from her.”

Qin Youran had been doing some self-studying in class a moment ago when she heard a commotion coming from outside the class. Then, someone entered the class and said that Class 3’s Cheng Chaoyang had cornered and confessed to their study committee member on the staircase.

Initially, Qin Youran didn’t think too much about it. After all, it wasn’t rare to see confessions taking place in Yunying High.

However, three seconds later, Qin Youran recalled who their class’s study committee member was, and she instantly stood up and strode out of the class.

Qin Youran only wanted to help Jun Zishu change her image and make more friends. She did not wish for Jun Zishu to enter an early relationship. After all, what was the point of dating at their age? Was studying not better? Or have they finished studying all of the textbooks already?

When Qin Youran left the class and arrived at the nearby staircase, she immediately grew upset as she spotted a boy cornering Jun Zishu on the staircase. Moreover, the boy had gotten so close to Jun Zishu that it looked like he was hugging her.

Could he not see the unwilling look on her bookworm’s face?

Where did this wild cock appear from? Also, confessing with a wall slam? Who did he think he was?

Cheng Chaoyang was aware of the identity of the girl who had just called him out.

Qin Youran, the Qin family’s young lady.

On the third day after he started attending classes, he had already learned of the ranking list for Yunying High’s school beauties. He also knew which girls in his year were part of the rankings.

Meanwhile, the girl voted most beautiful in his year was none other than Class 1’s Qin Youran.

Cheng Chaoyang had once brushed shoulders with Qin Youran in a corridor. At the time, he found her to be exceptionally beautiful and unique. She gave off the feeling of being a cool beauty, and the aura she exuded was one that normal girls did not possess.

He had asked around about Qin Youran’s identity out of curiosity. Then, what he found out quickly made him dismiss all thoughts of pursuing Qin Youran.

Cheng Chaoyang had never been particularly interested in untamed felines like Qin Youran, to begin with. He’d much prefer soft and cute girls instead. Thus, after finding out about Qin Youran’s family background, he became even less interested in courting Qin Youran.

After seeing Qin Youran speaking to him, Cheng Chaoyang retracted his hands and stepped away from Jun Zishu.

Meanwhile, after being liberated from the confines of the boy’s arms, Jun Zishu walked up to Qin Youran’s side.

“Did you get scared?”

Qin Youran turned Jun Zishu left and right, carefully inspecting Jun Zishu’s body like a parent looking after their children. Only those who interacted with Jun Zishu would know how innocent and gullible a person she was.

Jun Zishu shook her head, a dazed expression remaining on her face. She looked very much naive and innocent.

Cheng Chaoyang felt a little upset. He also regretted choosing to confess at this time. Rather than confessing in such an open space, he should’ve chosen to confess in a secluded place with a much better environment. However, this couldn’t be helped. His Little Cutie was simply too elusive to catch her by herself.

He had been researching Jun Zishu for several days now, so he had already figured out her daily routine. Meanwhile, apart from eating lunch and dinner together with Qin Youran, Jun Zishu spent the rest of her time in class or the dormitory. There were no good opportunities for him to confess at all. Thus, faced with no better options, he had chosen to strike at this time.

Seeing that Qin Youran was here, Cheng Chaoyang realized that it was time for him to leave. So, he quickly beamed a smile at Jun Zishu and randomly said, “We have an agreement, then.”

Then, Cheng Chaoyang quickly fled the scene, his actions bewildering Qin Youran, Jun Zishu, and the spectating peanut gallery.

“What does he mean by that?”

“I don’t know.”

Agreement? What agreement?

…

At night, Qin Youran held a heart-to-heart talk with Jun Zishu.

“Yaoyao, we are only freshmen this year. We shouldn’t start dating at this age,” Qin Youran, a.k.a. Miss I-Started-Dating-Since-Middle-School, lectured.

Jun Zishu blankly nodded in response.

“It’s great that you can think like that. We are still students, so studying should be our priority right now,” Qin Youran said.

Qin Youran honestly found it quite awkward when she said those words. After all, Jun Zishu’s academic performance was exceptionally good. Though, it was precisely because it was too good that her results might plummet should she start dating someone.

“Did you copy those words from your middle-school form teacher?”

Jun Zishu found Qin Youran’s words to be somewhat familiar. However, seeing as her current form teacher had yet to share such advice with the class, she guessed that the teacher didn’t really care about her students entering an early relationship. Not to mention, with the family background her students possessed, the form teacher lacked the qualifications to meddle in their romantic affairs.

“Cough, cough.” Qin Youran choked a little upon getting exposed.

“I don’t intend to have an early relationship, so don’t worry,” Jun Zishu said with a straight face. Now, the only things occupying her mind were her mission and her studies.

Of course, her mission held the top priority.

“Though, you are very cute, so it’s no wonder people are confessing to you,” Qin Youran thoughtfully said as she caressed her chin. “Maybe you should keep your glasses on instead?”

Jun Zishu would look much less remarkable if she had her glasses on. She could even become invisible if she stood in a crowd.

“Okay.”

Jun Zishu readily nodded. After getting used to wearing glasses, she would feel a lack of security whenever she walked around without them. It was as if the glasses served to shield herself from others.

“If any boy confesses to you from now on, you must remember to tell me about it.”

“Mhm.”

“You must also tell me if you find yourself liking a boy. I’ll lay the groundwork for you.”

“Mhm.”

“If a boy stubbornly insists you date him, firmly reject him or say that you need to think it over. In short, don’t make any promises without my knowledge, okay?”

“Mhm.”

“I’m doing this for your own good. You should know that men aren’t anything good,” Qin Youran earnestly said as she held Jun Zishu’s hands.

“Have you been watching too many TV dramas?” It sounded like Qin Youran was reading off of a script of a domestic drama.

“No. In any case, nothing will go wrong if you listen to me.”

“Mhm.”

Qin Youran felt pleased. Even if Jun Zishu had only responded to her with an “mhm” the entire time, she still felt happy. At the very least, it wasn’t “oh,” right?

…

The next day, Cheng Chaoyang began his relentless attempt to pursue Jun Zishu. When lunchtime started at noon, he hurriedly made his way to Class 1 and waited outside. Then, when he saw Jun Zishu leaving the class, he beamed a handsome smile at Jun Zishu and asked, “Wanna have lunch together?”

Jun Zishu did not stop her footsteps. When walking past Cheng Chaoyang, she said, “No, goodbye.”

Cheng Chaoyang did not get discouraged. After his failed attempt to invite Jun Zishu out for lunch, he switched to giving Jun Zishu gifts from time to time.

However, Jun Zishu would always return the gifts without even unwrapping them.

“Please take a look at it this time,” Cheng Chaoyang said as he ran up to Jun Zishu and handed her a blue envelope. No matter how one looked at it, this was undoubtedly a love letter.

Hm? The boy who started confessing with a wall slam is now going back to the basics? Jun Zishu was a little surprised. However, her answer remained the same as she said, “I’m sorry, but I think it’s better if I don’t look at it.”

Qin Youran was standing nearby with her arms crossed in front of her chest, after all.

“Can you at least open it up and give it a read?”

Cheng Chaoyang wore a disheartened expression on his face. He had racked his head for several days to write this love letter. Even if its eventual fate was to end up in a trash can, he hoped that Jun Zishu would read it at least once.

Jun Zishu hesitated for a moment before accepting the envelope and opening it up in front of its owner. Then, she took out the letter inside.

The handwriting on the letter was neat, and the letter’s contents were cheesy. However, the letter had no lack of sincerity.

“I’m sorry, but I cannot go out with you.”

“It’s fine. I get it.”

Cheng Chaoyang had already heard Jun Zishu apologizing to him numerous times these past few days, so he couldn’t help but sigh when he heard her apologizing once more.

Jun Zishu folded the letter and planned to return it to Cheng Chaoyang. However, Cheng Chaoyang waved his hand and brightly smiled, saying, “I wrote this letter for you, so it belongs to you now. You can throw it away, burn it, or tear it up. You don’t have to return it to me.”

“Why do you like me?”

“Because you are very cute.”

Jun Zishu didn’t know what to say in this situation, so she remained silent and turned around to leave. However, after she had taken two steps, Cheng Chaoyang suddenly called out to her, asking, “Do I have no chance at all?”

“Do you mean becoming my boyfriend?”

“What about becoming friends?”

Jun Zishu paused, and Qin Youran had a bad premonition.

Friends! This was the bookworm’s weakness! The bookworm would definitely agree to such a request!

“Friends?”

“Yes, let’s start by becoming friends first. Do you agree?”

Cheng Chaoyang knew that he had acquired himself a lifeline, so his smile grew even brighter.

Qin Youran, on the other hand, blasted Cheng Chaoyang with curses in her mind. However, she knew that Jun Zishu would most likely agree to the boy’s request.

“Okay.”

Jun Zishu nodded. According to her character setting, there was no way she would turn down such a request.

“Then, since we are friends, will you come to watch my basketball match tomorrow if I invite you?”

“When is it?”

“During the third and fourth periods tomorrow afternoon. Your class has PE at that time, right?” Cheng Chaoyang, who had already memorized Class 1’s timetable, happily said.

“Mhm. Okay, I’ll go watch you.”

“See you tomorrow, then!” Cheng Chaoyang happily ran away after leaving these words behind.

Meanwhile, Jun Zishu walked back to class and met with Qin Youran’s disappointed gaze.

“You know what kind of thoughts he has for you, so why did you agree?”

“Didn’t you say that I should make more friends and build a good interpersonal relationship?”

So, you’re blaming me?

Qin Youran had no idea how she should respond to Jun Zishu’s words, so she decided to sulk instead.