When she thought that the original host's tragic ending might've been caused by her constant attempt to find trouble with the antagonist, Lu Qingyan fell silent for a moment before she said to him, "Deskmate, you really are a good person."
Wang Jingyuan looked like he had just been slapped with a fish.
"Pardon?"
"I mean it." Lu Qingyan patted his arm as if giving a heartfelt blessing. "Not every man would protect a weak, vulnerable, completely innocent girl hiding in his locker from public humiliation."
He stared at her.
She added helpfully, "I'll remember this for the rest of my life."
Lu Qingyan worked hard to appear touched, even though she had no such emotions in her heart. Instead, she even felt that she was incredibly unlucky.
"You actually disregarded our previous enmity and covered for me," she continued, even placing her hand on her chest like a tragic heroine. "So I wouldn't be discovered by others. When I was hiding inside the locker, I was... deeply moved by your righteousness. I've decided—starting today, I too will become a good person."
There. That should convey her peaceful, mind-your-own-business attitude. Very saintly. Very noble.
Wang Jingyuan looked at her for a long time—too long—and then he let out a short, amused laugh. "If I had let them open that locker and found you," he said slowly, leaning against the locker with lazy menace, "What do you think they would've thought we were doing?"
He paused meaningfully, voice dipping lower.
"Playing some shameful adult game?"
When he said adult game, his tone was deliberate. Weighted.
The air around him suddenly felt heavier, like he'd casually cranked the tension dial to dangerously flirty.
His gaze swept over her—cool and calm, but with a sharp edge. Like a cat eyeing a mouse who had voluntarily leapt into its food bowl.
Lu Qingyan:"…"
Fine, she was the one that praised the wrong person.
The antagonist didn't appreciate it at all.
Okay. She took it back. All of it. Every single compliment. Return to sender, do not process.
This guy? Not a good person at all. He was evil. Demonic. Rotten to the core with a splash of sarcasm and a face too unfairly pretty for someone who probably enjoyed psychological warfare as a hobby.
Lu Qingyan felt that standing there was just citing further embarrassment.
She was about to leave when she suddenly heard footsteps behind her.
She watched as Wang Jingyuan picked up his school uniform jacket from his locker and directly threw it at her.
A dark blue school uniform jacket landed on her head like a parachute dropped by fate.
"???"
The faint scent of detergent and something cleanly herbal—perhaps shampoo?—immediately filled her nose.
Caught off guard, she pulled the jacket off her head and stared at it.
Wait a second—wasn't this the same jacket she'd accidentally spilled ink on a few days ago?
The school uniform jacket was thrown through the air and landed on her head with great precision. She almost fell as the light fragrance of the jacket immediately surrounded her.
Lu Qingyan removed the jacket from the top of her head and look at for a moment before she realized that it was the school uniform jacket that she had previously accidentally spilled ink on.
She looked up at Wang Jingyuan with a complicated expression. "You… want me to wash it?"
Was this his way of accepting her apology? A sign of truce? A peace offering disguised as laundry?
Wang Jingyuan, still toying with his goggles, gave her a crooked smile that didn't reach his eyes. "Deskmate," he said slowly, "There seems to be something wrong with your red pen."
"?"
His gaze landed lightly on her pants. He twirled the goggles in a circle before he slowly said, "The ink is leaking."
Lu Qingyan walked out of the locker room with a dazed expression as she contemplated what he meant.
Her red pen was leaking?
When she arrived at the women's locker room, she suddenly caught a glimpse of herself in the mirror. At some point, a crimson red bloodstain had appeared on her light-colored school pants.
Lu Qingyan: ? ?
Lu Qingyan: ! ! ! !
It turns out to be her Great Aunt that was leaking!!
He saw everything??
He saw everything???
Saw??
Everything????
Her soul momentarily left her body. She wanted to crawl back into the locker and stay there until the apocalypse.
What red ink?? LEAK A GHOST!!!
She screamed internally—AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH—but on the outside, she was perfectly still, like a malfunctioning robot.
Her face betrayed nothing. Not fear, not shame, not even the intense desire to evaporate on the spot.
She rejoiced in her heart, luckily he gave her his jacket. Otherwise, she didn't know how she could've returned to the classroom.
After Thursday's math class was over, they were divided into study groups. After each major exam, the three groups at the bottom would have an extra assignment every day.
When Lu Qingyan saw her study group, her whole person felt unwell.
She and Wang Jingyuan were actually assigned to the same group.
Even the heavens wanted her to suffer.
The leader of their group was Peng Jiangda and there was also another acquaintance in their group, which was Tang Jie.
The other groups all named themselves things like Torrential Advancement or Never Give Up. As a result, they named themselves the FFF Group.
When Zhao Minghua asked what the name meant, Peng Jianda solemnly explained, "It means Fighting! Fighting! Fighting!"
Lu Qingyan: "..." Liar. It stands for FAIL, FAIL, FAIL, doesn't it?
Tang Jie set up a study group chat on WeChat. The name of the group was: Sharing Blessing, Avoiding Difficulties.
Looking at the name, Lu Qingyan felt that this study group was extremely unreliable.
Lu Qingyan glanced sideways at Wang Jingyuan, who was sitting with his long legs stretched lazily under the desk, flipping through a notebook with a faint smirk.
Right. No need to panic.
Except for the fact that her deskmate had seen her period stain, saved her from total humiliation, and now shared a WeChat group titled Avoiding Difficulties.
What else could she do?
Other than wish for spontaneous combustion.
Right after class, everyone met with their group members for discussion.
Peng Jianda seemed to be in a very good mood and said to his team members, "With Brother Jing, we will be safe. There's no need to panic."