Chapter 28

Time rewound.

Su Ci’s last class that afternoon was physics, which meant she had to go to the lab building. When she got there, she found out the lesson was being taught jointly with Class Five.

The people in Class Five had probably known for a while that they’d be sharing this lesson with Class One, because before Su Ci had even stepped into the classroom, the noise inside had already kicked up.

Some were heckling; some were whistling.

“Wow, sis-in-law’s here!”

“Su Ci, now that Wang Hui’s gone, it’s your turn!”

“Why bother washing dishes? Follow our Brother Cao and you’ll have meat to eat!”

...

Su Ci acted as if she heard nothing at all. Her expression didn’t change as she walked into the classroom.

Zhao Panpan had only transferred into the class not long ago, but after Wang Hui dropped out, she had heard bits and pieces from others about the grudge between Wang Hui and Su Ci.

The rough outline was that Wang Hui’s boyfriend, Cao Shuai from Class Five, had feelings for Su Ci, but Su Ci wasn’t interested in him. After she rejected him in public once, Cao Shuai held a grudge.

Later, after Cao Shuai got together with Wang Hui from Class Six, he kept whispering in her ear, and that was how Wang Hui ended up bullying Su Ci for half a year.

That damn man was so sinister! Zhao Panpan spat at Cao Shuai in her heart.

She turned and glared viciously at the few boys who had been stirring things up, then turned back to comfort her deskmate.

“Su Ci, don’t take it to heart. Just treat them like a bunch of dogs barking nonsense.”

She deliberately said it loud enough for all of them to hear.

Su Ci, of course, didn’t take it to heart. Her expression remained rock steady as she walked to the front row and sat down, her eyes and steps without the slightest hesitation.

Seeing that she didn’t react, those people tossed out a few more ugly words. Only when the class bell rang did the lot finally quiet down.

During class, Zhao Panpan was worried that her straight-A deskmate would be affected by those bastards and wouldn’t be able to focus. She kept glancing at Su Ci’s face, thinking of how to comfort her; instead, she found that the only person whose mood had been affected seemed to be herself. Su Ci acted as if nothing had happened, completely focused on the lesson and taking notes.

A tough one. Zhao Panpan truly admired her mindset.

If it had been her, she’d already be depressed and dropping out.

Lab class wasn’t as boring as theoretical lessons; it was much more hands-on and interesting. Before they knew it, more than half the class had flown by.

After the teacher finished explaining the key points, he let them out early; those responsible for returning equipment returned equipment, and those responsible for cleaning the classroom cleaned the classroom.

Zhao Panpan had originally wanted to leave with Su Ci, but one of them had to return the equipment while the other just happened to be on cleaning duty and had to stay behind.

Zhao Panpan was a little reluctant. “Su Ci, why don’t you wait for me? After I finish cleaning, I’ll go return the equipment with you.”

She had been sitting next to Su Ci for half a month already and had grown a little dependent on her. Besides, the bastards today had been so nasty to Su Ci that she was still a bit worried.

Su Ci picked up a basket of lab equipment from the floor and smiled faintly. “If you’re late, you’ll get scolded.”

Zhao Panpan lowered her eyes. “Alright.” She knew that old man in charge had a terrible temper; he’d start yelling if you were even a little late.

After returning the equipment with her classmates, Su Ci headed back. Passing the supermarket, she was stopped by a classmate she didn’t know, who shoved a note into her hand.

Watching the boy’s receding back, Su Ci frowned. Suppressing a head full of questions, she opened the note and looked. The handwriting was all wild and sprawling; after carefully making it out, she recognized that it had been written by Cao Shuai, telling her to come alone to the grove of trees.

She didn’t know what Cao Shuai wanted this time. Since Wang Hui had dropped out, this man hadn’t appeared in front of her.

Now that he was suddenly showing up, it definitely wasn’t for anything good.

Avoidance wasn’t an option. She decided to go. She opened the voice-recording page on her phone in advance, and when she reached the grove of trees and saw Cao Shuai, she immediately slipped a hand into her pocket and started recording without a word.

Seeing that she had come alone and no one was behind her, Cao Shuai thought to himself that the girl at least knew how to read the room.

Actually, once he learned that Wang Hui had been bullying Su Ci and, because of it, had offended Yan Can and been forced to drop out, he had already given up on provoking Su Ci.

He wouldn’t dare offend a friend of the young lady from the Yan family even if he had ten times the guts; but what he hadn’t expected was that this woman didn’t seem to be that close to the Yan family’s young lady after all!

Otherwise, why would Su Ci still need to work part-time at a restaurant?

If the young lady from the Yan family really liked her that much and was protecting her, then even a little bit slipping through her fingers would have been enough for someone like Su Ci to live on for years.

So he came to a conclusion: Su Ci had already grown bored of the Yan family’s young lady.

That made sense. After all, their social classes were different, their circles were different; a rich young lady was only interested in a poor kid for a little while.

Thinking of it that way, he started eyeing Su Ci again. “Isn’t it just that you’re short on money? I’ve got money to spare, Su Ci. As long as you’re with me, why would you need to go work any damn job?”

Su Ci frowned. “I’m not interested in you.”

“You’re still the same!” Cao Shuai’s gaze darkened, his face sinking. “Do you really think good grades can change your fate? Let me tell you, once you enter society, people like you still have to work for us!”

“You’d be better off serving me now. When you graduate in the future, if I’m in a good mood, I can even get you a job at my company.”

Su Ci looked unmoved. Cao Shuai snorted. Thinking that future was not as good as the present, he decided to cut the crap and get straight to something practical. “Su Ci, five grand a month. Be my girlfriend.”

“Please show some self-respect!” Su Ci looked at him with the kind of expression one would reserve for trash. After saying that, she turned to leave.

Cao Shuai sneered inwardly. Stubborn; he liked this kind of stubborn, cool, aloof woman who ignored him.

He didn’t care for girls like Wang Hui, who came when called, but could a person really withstand temptation? He raised the offer: “Ten grand.”

Su Ci’s brow furrowed even tighter. The price was already very high; after all, the pocket money her parents gave her every month was only two hundred thousand. Seeing that she still didn’t budge, Cao Shuai gritted his teeth. “Su Ci, know when to stop!”

Su Ci looked like she had finally had enough. She turned around and stared at him as if he were an idiot. That look thoroughly enraged Cao Shuai; he clenched his back teeth hard and said:

“Su Ci, do you fucking think I won’t touch you or what?”

At that moment, Su Ci suddenly let out a cold laugh. “Alright.”

“What?” Cao Shuai was delighted when he saw her suddenly change her attitude, but in the next instant he heard this woman say, “Aren’t you trying to buy me? Then show some sincerity. Ten million a year.”

“Hah!” Cao Shuai had said all the nice words he could, and yet she was still like this. He suddenly felt a little stupid; he had been far too nice to this woman. Taking a step forward, his gaze lazily swept across her face as he said:

“Su Ci, what the hell are you pretending for? Do you make that much in a year washing dishes in a restaurant?!”

Su Ci felt uncomfortable under that look. Her brows tightened, and before she could say anything, a voice cut in.

“Su Ci!”

A tall figure suddenly darted out and blocked the space between the two of them.

“What are you doing?!”

Yan Can turned to glance at Su Ci. Seeing at a glance that she didn’t seem to have been bullied, she let out a breath of relief.

She reached out and grabbed Su Ci’s hand, but she was speaking to Cao Shuai. “What do you think you’re doing to her?”

When Yan Can wasn’t speaking, she gave off a kind of invisible pressure that made people too afraid to approach. Right now, with her face cold, that pressure was even stronger.

The person who had been so aggressive just a second ago instantly deflated.

From the looks of it, the young lady from the Yan family still seemed to be standing on Su Ci’s side. Cao Shuai was nothing if not quick to read the room; he smiled ingratiatingly. “A misunderstanding, a misunderstanding. I just happened to run into Su Ci and was saying hello.”

Yan Can looked over her shoulder. “Are you alright?”

“I’m fine,” Su Ci said.

Hearing her say that, Yan Can finally set her heart completely at ease.

At that moment, Yu Ting and Zhang Ru came over. After clearly seeing who the boy was, they more or less guessed what had happened.

After the few of them left, Cao Shuai finally ground his teeth and walked out of the grove.

He watched the backs of those people, fists tightly clenched.

.

After this little incident, Yan Can was once again unwilling to let Su Ci stay home alone.

She had thought that the school bullying would end the moment Wang Hui dropped out.

She hadn’t expected there to be another disgusting man.

Come to think of it, Wang Hui bullying Su Ci had been because of that disgusting man, too.

“He really didn’t do anything to you?” In the car, Yan Can still wasn’t reassured and asked Su Ci again.

Su Ci shook her head.

Yan Can had only jumped in halfway through; who knew how long they’d been confronting each other before that? The moment she thought about how this man might have touched Su Ci somewhere, flames kept bursting up inside her.

She wouldn’t allow that bastard to touch Su Ci.

She wanted to ask more, but considering that Chen Shu was still in the car and some things weren’t convenient to say, she dropped the idea.

Back home, Yan Can immediately dragged Su Ci into the sunlight and carefully examined her from head to toe. After confirming that she had no external injuries and that there were no prank marks on her school uniform, she finally let out a breath of relief.

But she was still uneasy, afraid Su Ci had been wronged and just wasn’t telling her.

Seeing her strange behavior, Su Ci asked, “What’s wrong?”

“I’m worried about you,” Yan Can said, looking into her eyes. “I’m afraid if someone bullies you, you’ll just take it on yourself and not tell me; that would make me sad.”

Su Ci hadn’t expected her to suddenly say something like that; her heart gave a hard thump.

Yan Can held her hand and thought of how close the two had been standing back then, and how that bastard had liked her. Before she had gotten there, who knew what had happened? Even though Su Ci looked as if nothing was wrong, just in case, Yan Can still lowered her voice and asked, “He didn’t touch you, right?”

Su Ci: “No.”

Yan Can relaxed. “Good. As long as he didn’t.”

If that bastard had dared to touch Su Ci, she definitely wouldn’t have let him off.

Su Ci didn’t know what she was thinking and called her softly.

Yan Can: “What is it?”

“You don’t need to worry about me,” Su Ci said. “I’ll handle it my own way.”

As long as she turned over the recording, even if Cao Shuai wasn’t expelled from school, he’d still be given a major demerit.

Yan Can gave a quiet “oh,” as if Su Ci didn’t like her interfering in her affairs. She felt a little unhappy.

But then Su Ci said, “If I can’t handle it, can I ask you for help then?”

Yan Can immediately looked up, her eyes bright. “Of course.”

If Su Ci was willing to accept her help, that would be even better.

The two of them did what they usually did and started on their homework.

Su Ci had already finished her school assignments; what she was writing now were extra materials she had bought herself.

“Right, Su Ci—”

Yan Can’s hand was still in recovery, so after writing for a while she had to rest. She tilted her head and looked at Su Ci’s face.

Then her thoughts wandered, and she asked in a low voice, “Do you know your lips have a taste?”

A taste? Su Ci frowned and set down her pen, turning her head to look at Yan Can.

Afraid she might misunderstand, Yan Can explained, “I’m not saying your mouth smells bad. I mean last time when I kissed you… um, your lips were really soft and sweet…”

Yan Can didn’t think there was anything that couldn’t be said; after all, they were both girls, and they were friends.

“Your lips are sweet. They’re really nice to kiss.”

“Is that so.” Su Ci’s expression was faint, and so was her voice. She said, “So? What are you trying to say?”

“Nothing much.” Yan Can lowered her eyes, picking at the edge of the desk with her fingers. “Just that…”

Su Ci glanced at her, then turned back and continued writing her homework.

The weather was nice today. Sunlight poured in through the glass window, laying a warm golden glow across Su Ci’s face; it made the usually cool-looking girl seem a little gentler.

Yan Can rested her cheek against the tabletop, facing Su Ci, her gaze tracing the contours of this person’s features in tiny detail.

From those beautiful eyes and brows to that prominent nose bridge and then the pale, elegant line of her swanlike neck, every part of her seemed like a masterpiece carefully carved by God; there wasn’t a single thing not beautiful.

How could she be this beautiful?

“You’re not writing anymore?” After who knew how long, the person being stared at finally couldn’t stand it anymore and asked, “Is there a problem on my face?”

“You’re too pretty; I can’t focus,” Yan Can blurted out.

Probably because she was too familiar with Su Ci by now, and because they had been doing homework together so often lately, Yan Can could now praise her beauty without so much as changing expression.

Su Ci tucked a loose strand of hair back, hiding the slightly hot tips of her ears, and stayed silent with her lips pressed together.

Yan Can looked at her pursed lips and thought of that kiss again.

Su Ci’s lips really were wonderful to kiss.

Anyway, they were both girls; a kiss didn’t really matter, right? They’d already done it once.

“Um, Su Ci, I want to kiss you. Is that okay?” Yan Can blinked twice and held up one slender, pale finger, smiling with a harmless innocence. “Just once. I want to see whether your lips are sweet all the time.”

Su Ci didn’t answer.

Yan Can was like a child who couldn’t get candy, coaxing and pleading. “Please, Su Ci?”

Su Ci...

“Can I, Su Ci?” Yan Can shamelessly leaned closer, resting her head on Su Ci’s shoulder as she watched her lower her head and do her homework, thick lashes drooping and fluttering.

People who looked good even had beautiful eyelashes.

“Please, Su Ci?” Getting no answer, Yan Can kept pestering her, rubbing her face against Su Ci’s shoulder.

If this had been before, Yan Can wouldn’t have dared act this presumptuously.

Maybe because Su Ci had been giving her such a good attitude lately, Yan Can had grown bolder and bolder; now she even dared say anything in front of Su Ci.

“Let me kiss you once, okay? I promise it’ll only be once.”

Whether she was doing it on purpose or not, she breathed her warm, damp breath against the sensitive skin behind Su Ci’s ear.

Su Ci’s hand softened, and she nearly lost hold of her pen.

Biting her lower lip, she said, “Finish your homework first.”