CM - 6

The next day, as soon as morning self-study began, the homeroom teacher organized the exam rooms. There were sixteen senior classes, starting from Class One. Each class had forty students, arranged according to their rank in the last monthly exam.

Shen Tingwen was in Class One, Zhao Guqing in Class Two, Liang Jifan, who was at the bottom of his grade, was in Class Sixteen, and Zhou Shuirong, being a transfer student, was also in Class Sixteen.

Zhou Shuirong had just settled down when Liang Jifan leaned over, sat in the seat in front of her, facing her, arms resting on the desk, chin on his arms, looking at her: “New transfer student? What’s your name?”

Zhou Shuirong knew him, and remembered him bullying Shen Tingwen. She said coldly, “Buzz off.”

Liang Jifan raised an eyebrow and straightened up: “Such a temper? Don’t you want to know who I am? At Guoda High School, I can protect you.”

Zhou Shuirong had never heard such a self-important statement, laced with a juvenile chuunibyo vibe, and was too lazy to bother responding.

Liang Jifan wouldn’t give up and asked her again: “Do you have WeChat? Add me as a friend?”

Zhou Shuirong continued to ignore him until the exam bell rang. Liang Jifan reluctantly returned to his seat, but he didn’t want to take the exam. Zhou Shuirong was so damn pretty... He kept wanting to look at her, couldn’t control himself.

Liang Jifan propped his head with his left hand, tilting it to look at Zhou Shuirong. The invigilator didn’t bother him; they basically had a hands-off approach with such students. With no one supervising him, he became even more unrestrained and continued staring until the exam ended.

Zhou Shuirong put away her stationery. Liang Jifan walked over again, propping himself against her desk, tilting his head closer to her face: “What do you want to eat?”

As he spoke, Shen Tingwen happened to return to the class. She extended a hand and asked, “Are you eating?”

When Shen Tingwen saw Liang Jifan next to Zhou Shuirong, his entire aura distinctly darkened, but when he turned to Zhou Shuirong, it became harmless again: “Hmm.”

Liang Jifan turned to see Shen Tingwen, annoyed beyond measure. Was he trying to compete with him? “What do you mean, Shen Tingwen?”

Shen Tingwen suddenly stopped, looking as if he dared not move forward, his head also lowered.

Liang Jifan was dumbfounded. What was he doing? This guy wasn’t like this when he took on ten people at the shooting range last time.

Seeing this, Zhou Shuirong instinctively kicked Liang Jifan in the lower back. She didn’t use much force, but because it happened so suddenly, Liang Jifan still stumbled forward two steps.

Zhou Shuirong took his stationery from Shen Tingwen’s hand, put it back in his seat for him, then walked over, grabbed his wrist, and pulled him out.

By the time Liang Jifan straightened up, Zhou Shuirong had already left with Shen Tingwen. He was utterly confused and angry.

________________________________________

In the school’s Sichuanese restaurant, Zhou Shuirong ordered a bunch of spicy dishes. She rarely ate spicy food, but the temptation of domestic cuisine was too great, so she wanted to try it. After just one bite, her face turned red from the spice.

Shen Tingwen handed her his water and went to the neighboring Cantonese restaurant to order sweet dishes, which he brought back.

Zhou Shuirong thanked him, saying, “I’ll buy you another bottle of water later.”

Shen Tingwen took the half-empty bottle she had drunk from: “It’s fine.”

Zhou Shuirong reminded him: “I’ve drunk from this water.”

Shen Tingwen took a sip and said, “I’m not thirsty, just one sip is enough. Buying another would be too wasteful.”

Zhou Shuirong felt that Shen Tingwen’s personality was overly conciliatory, and he always considered others, which made him easily bullied. “Didn’t you ever think of resisting when you were bullied?”

Shen Tingwen said: “No one bullies me. Don’t make enemies for my sake. You just transferred, there’s no need to make yourself a target.”

This was the first time Zhou Shuirong had heard such words. In all her years of schooling, no one had ever considered her like this. It was quite sad, really; she had always been someone everyone avoided.

Decent people ignored her because they didn’t know her background. She revealed too little, and in those mixed-up schools, everyone’s background was questionable. For someone like her, who clearly had something hidden, no one would risk getting to know her.

The indecent ones all wanted to sleep with her, and they would say many flattering things, but their acting was too poor; she could tell if they were sincere or not.

Shen Tingwen seemed detached from the world, and their acquaintance was mostly initiated by her, so she trusted him greatly. Although she sometimes felt he was too useless, other times she thought this kind of well-behaved “little useless fellow” was quite nice.

She couldn’t help but tease him: “What if I did make enemies for you then, what would you do?”

Shen Tingwen pursed his lips, and after a long time, awkwardly said, “Then, what do you want me to do? I can do anything.”

Zhou Shuirong saw his face turn red and stopped teasing him: “I won’t become a target, and even if I can’t avoid it, it’s fine. Many things become less frightening once you get used to them.”

Shen Tingwen looked up, wanting to see some disappointment or sadness in her, but there was none. When she spoke of these things, she was as calm as if discussing someone else’s affairs.

________________________________________

During the afternoon exam, Liang Jifan persistently harassed Zhou Shuirong and even mentioned Shen Tingwen: “You’re not into Shen Tingwen’s type, are you? He and Zhao Guqing are a couple, don’t even think about it. Zhao Guqing would go through hell and high water for him, you can’t compare.”

Zhou Shuirong knew Zhao Guqing; she had also seen her delivering things to Shen Tingwen, but what did that have to do with her?

“Let me tell you what men are like. They’ll take whatever’s offered for free. Zhao Guqing has been chasing him for so many years and still hasn’t given up, which means Shen Tingwen has given her some sweet deals. I won’t say what kind, but you’ll surely understand,” Liang Jifan lied.

Zhou Shuirong capped her pen, not even looking at him, and said, “So what?”

Liang Jifan moved his chair closer to her: “So, even if he looks like a decent person, he’s actually not a good guy.”

Zhou Shuirong looked up: “How coincidental, I happen to like that kind.”

Liang Jifan twisted his neck, two veins throbbing on his forehead: “No, I find you ungrateful. Can’t you speak like a human?”

Zhou Shuirong smiled: “I speak dog language to dogs, otherwise dogs wouldn’t understand.”

Liang Jifan was so angry that he couldn’t vent, so he laughed. This girl had a sharp tongue, but she was also quite something. He was impressed, and intimidated: “Alright, I’ll stop bullshitting. Just tell me how I can get your WeChat?”

Zhou Shuirong couldn’t give it to him and remained silent. Just then, the exam bell rang, interrupting his incessant chatter.

________________________________________

After the exam, all students returned to their respective classes. Zhao Guqing waited at the door of Class One and followed Shen Tingwen as he came out: “Um, did you see the phone case? Do you, do you like it?”

“No.”

Zhao Guqing didn’t give up: “Are you performing in the school anniversary?”

“No.”

Zhao Guqing followed Shen Tingwen upstairs and happened to see Liang Jifan flirting with Zhou Shuirong behind her. She wasn’t sure if Shen Tingwen saw them, but after turning down the stairs, Shen Tingwen turned around and said somewhat calmly: “I just want to study right now, I don’t have the mind for anything else.”

Zhou Shuirong and Liang Jifan were right behind Shen Tingwen; they heard every word he said.

Zhao Guqing was rejected, her eyes reddened, but she was still strong, managing to force a smile: “I see, I understand.”

Liang Jifan saw Zhao Guqing so upset. At a crucial moment, friends outweighed women, so he stopped flirting with Zhou Shuirong and went after Zhao Guqing.

Shen Tingwen turned to look at Zhou Shuirong, feeling a bit awkward, as if what he had just said to Zhao Guqing wasn’t deliberately for Zhou Shuirong’s benefit: “I’m sorry.”

Zhou Shuirong smiled: “Sorry for what?”

Shen Tingwen shook his head, saying nothing.

________________________________________

After school, Zhou Shuirong left early to pick up a package. Liang Jifan found Shen Tingwen again.

It was the same alley, the same spot. Liang Jifan took a puff from his cigarette and said: “We haven’t crossed paths for three years, but recently we’ve been dealing with each other because of women. Tell me the truth, do you actually have feelings for Zhao Guqing?”

With Zhou Shuirong absent, Shen Tingwen dropped the act. He didn’t answer Liang Jifan’s question. Instead, he approached him and said calmly: “Take back your intentions towards Zhou Shuirong. Otherwise, not only will Zhao Guqing and Zhu Jiayi fail to get into good colleges, but your family’s winery won’t have any performance next quarter either.”

Liang Jifan froze, the cigarette still burning in his hand, his heart suddenly pounding faster. He knew about his family’s winery? He feigned composure: “Don’t you dare brag to me. If you’re so tough, why are you still in school? Do you think Beijing belongs to your family? Can you control the wind and rain?”

Shen Tingwen continued: “Your family has a big deal with the Zhejiang Black Beer Factory that will fall through. The other party took the money but couldn’t deliver the goods, leading to a break in your cash flow. Plus, during the trade war, export scrutiny tightened, products couldn’t go out, and money couldn’t be recovered. Your father is in a dilemma and urgently needs capital to maintain the business. The first one he’ll approach is the old shareholder, Enhuang Investment. You might not know, Enhuang Investment’s surname is Shen.”

Liang Jifan’s feet grew cold. He understood Shen Tingwen’s words.

Indeed, this was the real Shen Tingwen, with that same fierce aura he displayed when he took on ten at the shooting range. He couldn’t beat Shen Tingwen through brute force; he didn’t have the brains for it. It seemed he had to rein himself in for a while.

________________________________________

After picking up her package, Zhou Shuirong went to the community gym and got a membership. She couldn’t stop training her physical reactions.

While she was doing cardio at the gym, rumors of her seducing Shen Tingwen and Liang Jifan spread online. There were also photos of her walking with Shen Tingwen, and photos of Liang Jifan sitting in front of her desk, flirting with her...

Several girls fabricated stories based on the pictures, even offering payment for reposts, giving out red packets for every share, claiming it was to expose Zhou Shuirong’s “ugly face” to everyone, to prevent anyone else from being deceived by her “innocent eyes.”

They painted Zhou Shuirong as a slut, claiming she transferred schools because of unclear relationships with several boys at her previous school. The stories were so convincing that many people who didn’t know the truth swallowed the propaganda hook, line, and sinker, joining the chorus of insults against Zhou Shuirong.