“Why aren’t you saying anything?” Ni Sihan looked anxiously toward Gu Yuqi.
A long moment passed.
“Sorry…” Gu Yuqi finally spoke, her gaze firm. “When it comes to romance, I choose the one I like, not the one who likes me.”
This… this… She’d been rejected? Ni Sihan stood frozen in place, staring at Gu Yuqi’s gradually receding figure.
“Why…” Ni Sihan murmured to herself, sinking back down onto the bench.
Right then, Teacher Dong Yue—who was sitting behind a large tree—clamped her hand tightly over her mouth, not daring to make the slightest sound. Should she leave? Or wait until this girl was gone before making her move? Dong Yue lifted her arm and checked the watch on her wrist. There were ten minutes until class started, and she still had a lesson to teach. She needed to head over early to prepare.
Screw it. Gritting her teeth, Dong Yue slowly stood up.
Oh no! Her legs had gone completely numb from holding the same position for so long. The instant she rose, sweat broke out on Dong Yue’s forehead. Ah, that tingling sensation—so authentic!
She absolutely couldn’t make a noise… Dong Yue crept along on tiptoe, clutching a detective novel full of urban suspense, thrills, and romance as she headed toward the teaching building.
High heels were no good for sneaking around, so Dong Yue slipped hers off and carried them in her hand, figuring she’d put them back on once she was clear.
Hunched over at the waist, Dong Yue had never felt so humiliated in her entire life.
Whew~ Fortunately, she escaped the grassy patch without any mishaps.
At last, she could put her shoes back on. Dong Yue tucked the novel under her armpit and started slipping into her heels.
Hahaha! Her antics just now really made her feel like a cop evading the bad guys! Dong Yue had been bingeing detective novels lately and was getting a little obsessed. With moves that stealthy, no one should have spotted her, right?
She might think that, but it didn’t mean others hadn’t seen.
Who could’ve guessed? It was a classic case of the mantis stalking the cicada while the oriole lurked behind. Her ridiculous spectacle had been caught red-handed by Student Song An’an, who was walking right toward the area.
Their eyes locked. Both faces went blank. Both bodies turned to stone.
Huh? Huh! Song An’an jerked her head to the side, her voice blaring as she chanted nonstop, “I didn’t see a thing, ha! I didn’t see a thing, ha! I didn’t see a thing, ha!”
No one could tell if she was hypnotizing herself or reassuring the embarrassed Teacher Dong Yue, who wanted nothing more than to drop dead right there.
In that moment, their adorable Teacher Dong Yue had tears welling in the corners of her eyes as she covered her mouth. Life really wasn’t worth it!
She needed to hurry back to the office! Blinking back hot tears, Dong Yue bolted toward the teaching building.
Meanwhile, things looked even grimmer for Ni Sihan. Sure, she didn’t actually like Senior Sister Gu Yuqi that way, but rejection stung no matter who it happened to.
“Sister Hoshiko,” Ni Sihan said with a frown, tilting her head back to gaze at the sky. “Why do you think Gu Yuqi turned me down? I don’t feel like I’m that bad, you know?”
Akino Hoshiko replied in a mocking tone. “How long have you two even known each other before you confess? She’d have to be a ghost to say yes! That move of yours was way too reckless.”
“You’re right,” Ni Sihan said, pouting sullenly. “But Liang Sheng has that Favorability System, doesn’t she? I wanted to drop Gu Yuqi’s favorability toward her a bit and boost the adoration value toward me. But who knew…”
Akino Hoshiko gave her host’s shoulder a meaningful pat. “It’s okay. You’ve… already done really well~ Just keep it up.”
“Really?!” Ni Sihan lit up with unusual excitement—this was the first time her Adoration Value System had ever praised her. “Where did I do well, Sister Hoshiko?”
Well… Akino Hoshiko froze for a moment. She glanced back, her face troubled.
Hm? Ni Sihan blinked her big eyes at Akino Hoshiko’s back, her expression screaming pure anticipation.
“Ahem!” Akino Hoshiko turned around again, pressing a small fist to her mouth and coughing twice. “Well, you know, I could tell. Gu Yuqi’s favorability toward Liang Sheng definitely went down! That’s my deduction, based on years of experience.”
“Ohhh!!” Ni Sihan burst into a happy grin. Now she was one step closer to claiming all that wealth!
Lost in her joyful daydreams, Ni Sihan failed to notice the eerie smile creeping across the corner of Akino Hoshiko’s mouth.
Over in the teaching building, Gu Yuqi checked the time. Class was about to start. With a sigh, it seemed she’d have to wait until after school to track down her fickle junior Liang Sheng and get some answers.
Poor Teacher Dong Yue stood at the podium in Class 2-A. She couldn’t even bear to look straight at Liang Sheng, who was right there in the audience if she just tilted her head.
Why! Why had she been forced to overhear such a ridiculously melodramatic love triangle—and a weird one between girls, no less! Dong Yue felt like bursting into tears.
In her mind, what students should be doing was studying. Puppy love? No such thing—especially not between girls.
“Who can come up and answer this question?” Dong Yue muddled through her lesson in a daze, barely aware of what she was even teaching.
Liang Sheng shot her hand up right away.
“Lia—” Dong Yue started to call out the name of her star pupil on instinct, but something stopped her this time. Somehow, “Liang Sheng” felt like it burned her tongue.
“Ahem. A-any other students want to come up and give it a try?” Teacher Dong Yue opted to dodge, pinning her hopes on the rest of the class.
But when you’re down on your luck, even a sip of cold water gets stuck in your teeth. Not a single other arm went up.
“…” Dong Yue slowly shifted her gaze back to Liang Sheng.
Ouch! Her eyes hurt! Dong Yue’s mind flashed back to Ni Sihan’s dogblood confession to Gu Yuqi.
She didn’t want to look at Liang Sheng, but when she turned her head, there was the other culprit—Miss Ni Sihan.
Oof! Now it wasn’t just her eyes aching—her whole body and her brain throbbed worse than ever.
Wahhh… Dong Yue squeezed her eyes shut.
A phrase played on loop in her head: “The best way to conquer fear is to face it head-on. You got this! Come on!”
“Huu~” Dong Yue drew a deep breath, opened her eyes again, and fixed them on the baffled-looking Liang Sheng. “Liang Sheng, come on up and answer.”
“Huh?” Liang Sheng scratched the back of her head, eyeing her teacher’s bizarre gestures and tone. Was Teacher Dong Yue sick or something? Every move felt off.
Liang Sheng stepped up to the podium and grabbed the chalk, scribbling away furiously.
All the while, Dong Yue kept a safe distance from her.
As she wrote, Liang Sheng snuck glances at her teacher’s expression.
Hiss~ Liang Sheng’s frown deepened. Had she offended Teacher Dong Yue somehow? She’d have to probe after class.
