CM - 58

Zhou Shuirong’s bag was wet, her homework was wet, and she couldn’t turn it in. She had to stand outside the classroom as a punishment.

Shen Tingwen saw that she couldn’t hand in her homework, so he crumpled his own into a ball and threw it away, getting punished with her.

Outside the classroom, Zhou Shuirong asked him, “Why would you do that?”

Shen Tingwen said, “It’s embarrassing for you to stand out here alone. If I’m with you, it’s not. I’m number one in the school. If I get punished, no one will laugh at you.”

This made Zhou Shuirong want to ask, “How did you manage to get first place in the whole school?”

“By spending a lot of money on cram school, by listening carefully in class, and by doing homework all night. While others are learning high school subjects, I’m almost done with my university finance curriculum.” It was a rather sad thing to say, but Shen Tingwen said it nonchalantly.

Zhou Shuirong fell silent.

Shen Tingwen said, “But if you insist on thinking I’m a genius, that’s fine too.”

“You’re a canine genius.”

Shen Tingwen was still smiling. “That’s fine too.”

Zhou Shuirong thought he was crazy. “I’m insulting you.”

“I said, that’s fine too.”

Zhou Shuirong looked at him, staring into his eyes. She remembered kissing him in the theater bathroom, pursed her lips, and covered her heart. “Shen Tingwen.”

“Hmm. I’m here.”

“Please stop tempting me.”

Shen Tingwen was taken aback.

________________________________________

Shen Tingwen seemed to not understand Chinese. Zhou Shuirong told him to stop tempting her, but he just went to extremes, dressing more and more provocatively. He would often expose his waist and collarbones, and when he played basketball, he would lift his shirt... Was he the only one with abs?

He used to never comb his hair back at school, looking very well-behaved. Now he had a sporty style and would spin a basketball in front of her.

When other girls looked at him, he would only look at her, causing her to get a lot of side-eye from those girls... He was so annoying!

Zhou Shuirong found him incredibly bothersome, but she couldn’t help but be addicted to him.

The essence of humanity is a change of heart. The more she was bothered, the more it proved her addiction. Since she discovered her feelings for him, this addiction was like a fire that couldn’t be contained by paper; it was about to burn her face and he was about to discover it...

At times like these, her “turtle” instincts kicked in. She couldn’t control herself, but couldn’t she at least hide?

During self-study, Zhou Shuirong finished her homework, did a practice test, and with class not over yet, she took out her sketchbook and started doing some architectural sketches.

Shen Tingwen saw that she was drawing, so he also drew a picture of her, rolled it up, and passed it to her with a note that said, “Does this look like you?”

His simple drawing was good. He had captured Zhou Shuirong’s features, but she would never admit it looked like her. So she drew a turtle on his paper and wrote a note: “Does this look like you?”

A smile spread across Shen Tingwen’s face. He thought about the scene in the restroom at the theater and recreated it on the paper.

Zhou Shuirong got angry after seeing it. She didn’t even want to draw a turtle for him anymore and just wrote “Get lost.”

Shen Tingwen didn’t send anything back, and he didn’t bother her after school. Zhou Shuirong felt both relieved and vaguely disappointed. She also found her duplicitous self annoying, but she didn’t know how to deal with these feelings.

In theory, she should be able to, as her IQ was high, but there was a difference between theory and reality. In reality, she was a complete mess, acting like a turtle.

________________________________________

Shen Tingwen didn’t bother Zhou Shuirong because he was getting a tattoo. He had the drawings she and he made tattooed on his upper left back. There was the beautiful Zhou Shuirong, the scene of their kiss, and the cute turtle she had drawn.

It took him an entire night to get the outline and shading done. It hurt a lot, but he felt even better. From now on, his body would be covered with Zhou Shuirong. It was a wonderful feeling.

________________________________________

The next day, after the morning exercise, Shen Tingwen went to the broadcast room to read Shakespeare. Zhou Shuirong sat in the classroom, resting her head in her hands, listening.

The classroom was noisy and chaotic, and Zhou Shuirong couldn’t hear the specifics, but she could hear Shakespeare’s classic quotes and Shen Tingwen’s voice.

She was so engrossed that she didn’t notice Fu Lin’en calling her. It took several times before she snapped out of it, asking in a slightly panicked voice, “What’s wrong?”

Fu Lin’en saw that she was sweating a lot and handed her a packet of tissues. “I wanted to check the answers on the practice test with you.”

Zhou Shuirong felt a sense of panic, as if her little secret had been discovered. She frantically wiped her face, quickly took out the practice test, and handed it to him.

Fu Lin’en saw a small piece of tissue stuck to Zhou Shuirong’s forehead and, without thinking, took it off for her.

Zhou Shuirong belatedly flinched and touched her forehead after he had already taken it off.

Fu Lin’en held the piece of tissue and said, “Something was stuck there.”

“Thanks.”

Fu Lin’en smiled. “You’re welcome.”

Shen Tingwen returned just before class started and walked in, staring at Zhou Shuirong.

Zhou Shuirong felt awkward under his gaze and lowered her head, hiding her face.

After class started, Jing He sent a message to Shen Tingwen, saying that Fu Lin’en had touched Zhou Shuirong’s forehead after class and that Zhou Shuirong hadn’t flinched. Shen Tingwen didn’t believe this nonsense. When he accidentally touched her, she would get angry. Why would Fu Lin’en be able to touch her forehead? It didn’t sound right.

He didn’t take it seriously, but then Jing He sent him a photo. Fu Lin’en had indeed touched Zhou Shuirong, and in the photo, Zhou Shuirong hadn’t dodged him.

He didn’t trust a single photo, he had a brain, but he couldn’t stand Jing He constantly whispering in his ear.

Jing He was just stirring up trouble and was a little jealous of Zhou Shuirong. He had been around Shen Tingwen for so long and hadn’t become friends with him, but Zhou Shuirong had him all to herself in an instant.

For Shen Tingwen, if Zhou Shuirong didn’t accept him, she wouldn’t accept Fu Lin’en. He was confident about that. But the fact that Fu Lin’en could get close to her made him feel that he wasn’t special to her.

He was usually confident, but after being put through the wringer by Zhou Shuirong so many times, he suddenly wasn’t so sure. It felt like he was the one leading the dance between them, but it was his heart that was being led.

Yes, it looked like Zhou Shuirong was always on the losing end, but as long as he, Shen Tingwen, liked her, she would always be in an unbeatable position.

He suddenly felt a little tired. The lack of a response was truly exhausting.

Especially since she had already developed feelings for him, and was still acting the same as before. It made him even more tired.

She had a sense of security but lacked the experience of loving someone, so she was avoiding it. She was not wrong. So was he, Shen Tingwen, wrong for wanting to love her?

He could accompany her as she grew and teach her, little by little, but shouldn’t she give him a progress bar?

Or was he just being too greedy?

Was it too much for him to want her to admit her feelings?