Volume 1 Chapter 18: You Guys… Did It Spread?
“Um… let me ask first, Gao Liang, you… you’re not also here to ask for leave, right?”
Teacher Zhu looked a bit serious. He was still holding the leave slip in his hand. Gao Liang froze for a moment. He didn’t expect the teacher to guess his purpose already, but he nodded in a confused way.
“Yes… but teacher, how did you know?”
“Well, Lin Lin just came to ask for leave too. You two… did you plan something together?”
Teacher Zhu pushed up his glasses.
Could it be that tutoring had already started?
Tsk tsk. But why ask for leave together just to study? Is the classroom too crowded to do it properly?
Where exactly are they going to study anyway…?
Cough cough…
However, Gao Liang quickly shook his head and denied what Teacher Zhu was thinking.
“No, I didn’t even know she asked for leave… what did she leave for?”
“Oh, I see.”
Hearing this, Teacher Zhu felt relieved. He pushed up his glasses again and was about to write a leave slip for his good student. His hand kept moving as he spoke.
“Lin Lin said she wasn’t feeling well and wanted to go home… oh right, what’s your reason?”
Teacher Zhu suddenly remembered this. Just to be safe, he looked up and asked, so he could write the reason on the leave slip.
But Gao Liang froze.
Ah.
This…
This is awkward.
Why did their reasons overlap?
He had also planned to say he wasn’t feeling well, since that was the most common excuse. But now… uh…
He had to think of something else on the spot.
What should he say? He couldn’t exactly say he wanted to go home to watch Ari-chan’s stream. Cough…
No, no. Teacher Zhu was already looking suspicious. He had to speak quickly. Fine, overlap it is!
“I’m also not feeling very well.”
“You two… caught it from each other?”
Teacher Zhu pulled his mouth into a helpless smile. In the end, he still sighed and approved the leave slip. Before Gao Liang left, he added,
“Keep some distance from your deskmate and don’t catch a cold.”
“Got it.”
Gao Liang nodded and turned to leave the office, heading back to the classroom to pack his bag.
Strange. Why did Lin Lin ask to skip evening self-study?
She usually doesn’t have a habit of skipping it. And today, she didn’t really look sick either.
Maybe she was mentally hurt?
Anyway, it couldn’t be that she went home to watch a livestream. Haha—could she also be a vtuber fan?
No matter how strange her reason was, it probably wasn’t as ridiculous as his own.
Well…
As Gao Liang walked, he couldn’t help lowering his head.
Strange. He really was strange. Why did he care so much about that streamer, and about the small deskmate beside him?
One was a girl he couldn’t see or touch at all. The other was a weird, slightly foolish girl with a strange personality.
Neither of them was perfect. So could it be…
That he actually liked this feeling of imperfection? Like admiring the Venus de Milo with broken arms?
Hmm…
Back in the classroom, Gao Liang didn’t say anything. He returned to his seat, pulled out his bag, and accidentally brought out the love letter inside. It fell to the floor.
He picked up the letter, his face cold, and walked toward Han Kui. The blonde girl who was laughing and playing with a group of her friends.
“Hey, hey, Sister Kui, look, look! It’s Gao Liang!”
One of the girls patted Han Kui on the shoulder. The blonde girl turned her head. When she saw Gao Liang, she froze for a moment. Then her eyes moved down and landed on the love letter in his hand, the one she had written for him.
She became excited right away.
Great! Did this guy finally figure it out?!
Then… after calming down a little, Han Kui suddenly felt that something was not right.
Why… was this guy’s expression so cold?
Also, that love letter hadn’t even been opened.
Gao Liang placed the letter on her desk and said in a calm, distant voice:
“Sorry, I’m not interested in this letter, and I don’t have much interest in you either. So I’m returning it.”
“But… but you didn’t even open it?!”
Han Kui looked at the letter on the desk, then turned back to him with a confused face.
This isn’t right. Something’s wrong.
Wasn’t he supposed to be a nice guy? Why was he rejecting her so completely today?
All her friends were watching. This…
This was so embarrassing.
The more she thought about it, the worse she felt. She stared at him in disbelief, unable to understand why he rejected her.
She… her looks weren’t bad at all.
In the end, she became angry and ashamed, and shouted in frustration.
“Y-You should at least take a look!”
“No need. I’m not interested. And…”
Gao Liang acted as if he didn’t see her reaction. He turned around, put on his backpack, and left behind one sentence.
“Stop bullying your classmates. I really hate that. If you do it again, I’ll protect the people around me in my own way.”
After saying that, he turned and left, leaving Han Kui standing there in a daze.
Around her, the classroom was completely silent.
Looking at the love letter on the desk, even though her friends didn’t say a word, Han Kui could clearly feel what they were thinking.
They were laughing at her.
They must be laughing at her.
She clenched her fists, bit her teeth hard, her chest rising and falling. After a moment, she grabbed the envelope on the desk, tore it into pieces, and threw it into the trash.
It must be…
It must be Lin Lin, that damn bitch!
Damn it. She must have complained to Gao Liang and exaggerated things, completely ruining her image in his eyes and making it even worse.
It was all her fault. Otherwise, Gao Liang would have no reason to hate her…
Damn. She looks weak and soft on the outside, but she plays such dirty tricks behind my back.
Fine.
Very fine.
Just wait and see how I deal with you.
Once your innocent image in Gao Liang’s eyes is completely gone, I’ll step in at the right time. Anyway…
This rich second-generation guy, I’m definitely going to get him!
Just wait!
………………………
“I’m home—”
Lin Lin pushed open the door and walked inside. Her mom, who was washing vegetables in the kitchen, froze for a moment and leaned out, frowning.
“Why are you home so early today? Not going to evening self-study?”
“I don’t feel well. I came home to rest.”
“Oh…” Her mom nodded and went back to washing vegetables. “Go rest first. Dinner will be ready soon.”
“Okay.”
Lin Lin replied and went into her room. She flopped onto the bed and let out a long breath.
Home really is the best.
Her little brother was still at evening self-study, while she was already home, lying around and getting ready to have fun.
Hehe. It felt strangely nice.
Ahh~
The girl rolled around on the bed a few times, then stretched her legs hard. She couldn’t help feeling that she was really small now, this two-meter bed felt way too big.
After a while, Lin Lin got up, ate dinner with her family, then ran back to her room. She locked the door, turned on the computer, and rubbed her hands excitedly.
System, I’m starting the stream!
【Ding—Detected that the host is about to start a livestream. Popularity rewards will be calculated after this stream ends!】
Great! Ahem, let’s go live!
Since she had already posted a stream announcement, there were already more than ten viewers waiting in the stream room. Lin Lin smiled with satisfaction and officially started streaming.
“Hello everyone! I’m your Ari-chan! Good evening~ Today’s stream is starting now~”