Gu Yuqi was already quite irritated, and now someone was chattering away right in front of her, which only made her annoyance spike even higher.
“Whoosh~” Her Heartthrob Value dropped.
“Gu Yuqi’s Heartthrob Value toward Su Ze: 6”
How had he said something wrong again? Where exactly had he messed up? Su Ze felt utterly exasperated.
“It’s you, Su Ze?” Gu Yuqi finally noticed who he was. “Uh, it’s nothing. You should head back to class.”
Su Ze sat down beside her. “Senior Sister, early self-study hasn’t started yet, and I’ve got nothing to do. I’ll keep you company for a bit before I go.”
Gu Yuqi couldn’t really object, so she let him settle in next to her, though she quickly scooted away to create some distance.
As time passed, she forgot about the person sitting there and murmured to herself, “Tell me, is it normal in this world for a girl to fall in love with her own friend?”
“Uh, well,” Su Ze echoed the words Wakako had fed him, “it’s not normal, but it kind of is—everyone’s got their own worldview, after all. That said, most people condemn homosexuality pretty harshly.”
That was the plan: don’t reveal his own stance, don’t inject his personal views, just let her see the widespread malice toward it. Make her back off, and he could slip away unscathed.
“You’re right,” Gu Yuqi said with a light shrug, letting out a sigh.
“Alright, now have that useless one stir up a little accident,” Su Ze whispered to Wakako. He had spotted Liang Sheng heading their way.
“Senior Sister! Look out!” Su Ze threw his arm around Gu Yuqi’s shoulders, intercepting a stray basketball with perfect timing. Oh yeah, that was smooth! Su Ze squeezed his eyes shut, striking a dramatic pose as he basked in his own awesomeness.
“Ding~” Her Heartthrob Value rose.
“Gu Yuqi’s Heartthrob Value toward Su Ze: 8.5”
Liang Sheng: “???” I should’ve stayed off the road altogether—better yet, under the damn thing. I’m just standing here stunned.
“Slut!” Liang Sheng couldn’t hold back. She yelled it out and bolted into the school building without a backward glance.
Huh? Who was the one cuddling up in someone else’s arms the day before yesterday? Gu Yuqi’s mind flashed back to the scene at the school gates, her anger flaring up anew. Furious as she was, she shoved Su Ze away anyway.
“I could’ve dodged that myself. No need for the heroics. Thanks.”
“Time to pull back while you’re ahead—see good just collected,” Wakako reminded him. “My time’s almost up anyway.” She meant that Akino Wakako only had half an hour each day to chat with Su Ze without manifesting visibly; if she appeared, everyone would see her.
Su Ze rose to his feet with effortless poise. “Sorry, Senior Sister Gu. I just reacted on instinct—probably because I didn’t want you to get hurt. I’ll head back to class now. You should too; it’s freezing out here.”
“Ding~” Her Heartthrob Value rose again.
“Gu Yuqi’s Heartthrob Value toward Su Ze: 9”
Sigh. What a misunderstanding. Things between them were bound to get even more awkward now. Gu Yuqi stood up with a wistful expression, brushing the dust from the back of her clothes.
Maybe… she should go explain things to Liang Sheng after all. Tsk, it’d be a little awkward, though.
Liang Sheng ran in a complete panic, scrambling with hands and feet as tears streamed from her eyes. Her vision blurred into a watery haze. She just couldn’t control her emotions—a bit of grievance, and the waterworks started. She suspected her tear ducts were hooked straight to the vast ocean.
That was why she didn’t see her footing as she raced up the stairs.
