Volume 1 Chapter 53: How About We Compete?
“Gao Liang, Gao Liang, that guy posted it!”
The girl excitedly waved the phone in her hand and held it out to Gao Liang. He nodded, stopped where he was, and started reading the post.
“What did he say? What did he say?”
Seeing that he didn’t speak for a long time, the girl couldn’t help but feel worried. She leaned over nervously. Gao Liang suddenly shifted his body, almost making her lose balance.
“What’s wrong?”
When she saw Gao Liang’s troubled expression, her heart tightened at once. Gao Liang swiped the screen, turned to look at Lin Lin seriously, and then…
He couldn’t hold it in anymore.
“Pfft—hahaha! Look at how nervous you are, Lin Lin,” Gao Liang laughed, covering his mouth. “What could that guy even say? He just explained and apologized properly. The comments below are all just people enjoying the drama.”
“Huh?” The girl looked at Gao Liang, who was laughing nonstop. Her face turned red. “If it’s nothing, why did you look so serious?!”
“Pfft, pfft—no, no, look at this!”
Unable to handle her light punches, Gao Liang quickly handed the phone back to change the topic. Lin Lin froze for a moment, took the phone, and looked at the content.
It was another post on the school forum, but she didn’t recognize the poster’s ID. The title was—
【I’m the younger brother of the person involved. I’m here to clarify. My sister is a good girl.】
Uh…
Lin Lin froze, then quickly scrolled down.
This… this really was her younger brother’s post?
The post mainly cleared up rumors, saying that she and Gao Liang only went out to study together.
It also included a short video, showing what happened after her brother rushed over when she and Gao Liang came out.
In the video, she clearly denied doing anything improper with Gao Liang, and Gao Liang even took out a “Five-Year Exam, Three-Year Simulation” book as proof.
Other evidence might have seemed weak, but this exam-prep book actually helped a lot.
【1st comment: I’m dying laughing. Bringing a test prep book to a hotel, were they really studying?】
【5th comment: I didn’t believe it before, but now I kind of do.】
【8th comment: You can tell the younger brother’s status is pretty low, lol.】
【9th comment: Reply to 8th—true, I almost kicked my shoes apart laughing.】
【12th comment: Didn’t that creep secretly film girls at our school before? So disgusting.】
【14th comment: That twist was fast. Creeps who secretly film people deserve it.】
Hmm…
Reading the comments, the girl’s expression relaxed a little. But when she saw comment 9, she still frowned.
That guy…
“Looks like I’m not the only one standing up to protect you, Lin Lin,” Gao Liang said with a smile, looking at her complicated expression.
Hearing this, the girl nodded and murmured, “Well… he’s family, after all.”
“I didn’t expect him to have this backup move,” Gao Liang said. “Mm… he really helped a lot.”
Lin Lin let out a sigh and shook her head with relief. Gao Liang smiled, turned around, and continued walking. The girl quickly followed him, and the two of them walked all the way back to the classroom.
Inside the classroom, everything felt lively and full of energy. In just one short morning reading session, no one in the class had expected such a huge reversal.
When Lin Lin and Gao Liang walked in through the classroom door, many classmates lowered their heads in embarrassment. Their eyes avoided her, as if they were afraid to meet Lin Lin’s gaze.
Lin Lin still kept her head down. In fact, she hadn’t fully recovered from being frightened earlier. She quietly returned to her seat, leaned over her desk, and silently waited for class to end.
After a while, the bell for the end of morning reading rang. Gao Liang packed his schoolbag and whispered to Lin Lin:
“I’m going to give the homework to Teacher Zhu.”
Lin Lin nodded and moved aside to make space. After Gao Liang left, the girl was about to sit down when someone suddenly tugged on her sleeve.
She turned her head and saw the girl who had earlier asked her, “What happened?” The girl now smiled at her awkwardly, scratched her head, and said:
“Uh, sorry, Lin Lin. I didn’t tell you in time about what was on the school forum, and I misunderstood you. I’m really sorry…”
“Ah…” Lin Lin nodded blankly. Being naturally shy, she felt embarrassed facing someone’s apology. She waved her hands quickly, stammered a little, and said softly without meaning to:
“It’s… it’s okay.”
“Um, me too. Sorry, Lin Lin.”
“Lin Lin, I’m sorry. I spoke without thinking. That was my fault!”
“I never liked it. Why were people only blaming Lin Lin? Even if it were true, wouldn’t it be Gao Liang’s fault too? That’s such a double standard.”
“Yeah, exactly!”
Ahaha…
Lin Lin gave an awkward smile as her classmates gathered around. She also glanced at Gao Liang’s seat, thinking: how did the fire spread to him too?
After a few of the classmates who had spoken too loudly earlier finished apologizing, Lin Lin was about to relax. But suddenly—
Han Kui stood up. She flicked her golden hair and walked straight toward Lin Lin.
Th-this…
Was she here to apologize too?
No. That’s not it.
Lin Lin looked at her eyes. They were clearly filled with annoyance and disdain.
Han Kui pushed through the crowd with a few of her close friends and walked directly up to Lin Lin.
“So nice,” she said with a mocking smile. “Everyone getting along so well.”
Han Kui sneered at Lin Lin, then looked around at the other students and clicked her tongue.
“All of you are apologizing now? You really believe this girl’s little trick? Do you seriously think a boy and a girl going to a couple’s hotel together was just for tutoring? What really happened, don’t you all know in your hearts?”
After that, she turned back with a cold laugh and stared at Lin Lin.
“Lin Lin, what do you think?”
“Han Kui, you—!”
Lin Lin frowned. Seeing a few classmates starting to whisper again, she slammed her hand on the desk and stood up.
“Don’t go too far! Of course I know what happened. Tutoring is tutoring. There was nothing dirty like what you’re imagining!”
“Oh? So confident?” Han Kui smiled and said loudly, “Then… how about we compete? What subject did Gao Liang tutor you in?”
“M-math.”
Faced with the provocation, Lin Lin hesitated for a moment, but still asked:
“W-what do you want to compete in?”
“It’s simple. Isn’t the monthly exam this week? Let’s compare our math scores. If you score higher than me, I’ll believe your tutoring story. But if you lose, then you stay away from Gao Liang!”
“Han Kui, what are you doing?!”
Just as Han Kui was speaking excitedly, Gao Liang suddenly appeared at the door holding teaching materials. Seeing the scene, he immediately shouted:
“You’re bullying Lin Lin again! I only tutored her for a few hours. What’s there to compare?”
“Aiya…”
Seeing Gao Liang come back, Han Kui smiled awkwardly. Her tone softened, but her meaning did not change.
“Gao Liang, this isn’t bullying~ I just want to compete with Lin Lin in studying.”
She gave Lin Lin a cold smile.
“Is that not allowed? Or is it that… Lin Lin, you feel guilty? Afraid to compete?”