Chapter Twenty: Admit It, I Care Very Much

Gu Yan felt that today had been a great success. He was rather pleased with himself for the things he’d said to Yu Sheng—perhaps a little shameless, even managing to force her to come watch. Clearly, reading those romance novels had been somewhat useful after all.

Yes, he would read a few more tonight.

But once he started, it proved to be a double-edged sword. The more he read, the less he could sleep. The books described girls' lips as sweet and soft as cotton candy, their waists supple and springy like jelly, and... as he read those passages, Gu Yan grew restless, a flush of heat surging through his body. Imagining all sorts of scenarios with Yu Sheng, he found it unbearable and ended up taking a cold shower.

After showering, Gu Yan went to the living room to get a glass of water. The clock showed it was already one in the morning. As he was drinking, he glanced up and noticed that the lights were still on in the apartment across from his on the third floor. Though the curtains were drawn, he was sure there was a gap.

Almost as if in response to his thoughts, a vague shadow flitted across the window. It was only for an instant, but Gu Yan saw it clearly.

Was someone watching him? Was it coming from Yu Sheng’s family upstairs?

Gu Yan frowned deeply. If he hadn’t noticed today, perhaps he would have remained entirely in the dark. But when had they started spying on him?

The basketball game came around quickly. The school had given them the entire afternoon off: those with matches could compete, the rest could either go home or stay to cheer for their classmates.

Before the game, Gu Yan kept an eye on Yu Sheng, curious to see what she would do.

"Gu Yan, Chen Ke'an, let’s go, we should practice a bit before the game," Yang Xiaolong called out.

Gu Yan glanced at Yu Sheng ahead of him, hesitated for a moment, then headed out.

Yu Sheng heard Yang Xiaolong calling for Gu Yan, but she had no idea he had been watching her, or that he was worried she might not show up.

As for herself, once she made a promise, she would always keep it.

"When are we going to watch our class’s basketball game?" Lin Ning asked Yu Sheng.

Yu Sheng was working on some problems; her results in the last monthly exam hadn’t met her expectations, and Gu Yan had even come in first. She didn’t want to fall too far behind him.

"Let me finish today’s homework first. By the time I’m done, they should be starting," Yu Sheng replied without looking up.

Lin Ning pouted and was about to lay her head down for a nap when she noticed a group of girls in their class, those who were always showing off, all dolled up as if they were about to get married. Their makeup skills were lacking, yet they fancied themselves as ethereal beauties, insisting on heavy Western eyeliner and bright red lips.

Their appearance made Lin Ning want to laugh. She tried hard to keep it in, planning to wait until they left to let it out.

But Lin Ning was always easily amused. She buried her head in her arms, trying to muffle her giggles, but the more she thought about it, the funnier it got, and eventually she burst out laughing. Besides those “goddesses” and herself, there were hardly any others left in the classroom; most had gone to watch the game. The girls who remained were probably still fussing over their appearance.

Lin Ning’s laughter drew their attention. She looked up, met their eyes, and couldn’t help but laugh even harder, accidentally spitting water onto the desk.

"Gross, Lin Ning, you’re disgusting!" Yu Sheng grumbled, wiping the saliva from the desk in disgust.

The made-up girls realized then that Lin Ning was laughing at them, and their faces turned sour.

One of them, leading the others, walked over with a look of mockery.

Shen Ting, the leader, tossed her hair arrogantly and looked down at Lin Ning and Yu Sheng. “Two bumpkins, dreaming of something they’ll never have.”

Shen Ting was a top student, ranked in the top ten, from a wealthy family, and trained in ballet. She always held her head high, brimming with pride.

Lin Ning scoffed at her act. “With those raccoon eyes, you really think you’ll catch anyone’s attention?”

Yu Sheng usually kept to herself and hardly spoke to them; their little clique rarely bothered with her. For them to pick a fight today seemed random, but Yu Sheng stayed alert, ready to step in if needed.

“Hmph, even if we painted our faces with mud, we’d look better than you lot,” one of Shen Ting’s sidekicks sneered.

Yu Sheng found their words amusing. “Right, even your pile of dung would look better than us. So why don’t you and your group take your beauty contest somewhere else? This classroom is for studying, and your stench is rather overpowering.”

Yu Sheng ended with a polite smile and went back to her homework.

Lin Ning nudged Yu Sheng under the table, giving her a secret thumbs-up.

But Shen Ting and her followers were not pleased. Shen Ting, used to being flattered by everyone—even the teachers tread carefully around her family—was clearly provoked by Yu Sheng’s words. Still, with others watching, she couldn’t lash out publicly and instead made a mental note to settle the score.

Her sidekick wanted to retort, but Shen Ting stopped her. She motioned for them to leave, but before going, she glanced disdainfully at Yu Sheng’s homework. “Two underachievers who can’t even finish their assignments—do you really think you can befriend the top student in the back row?”

Yu Sheng, just wait! One day, I’ll make you bow your head and apologize! Someone like you isn’t even fit to shine my shoes, Shen Ting thought angrily.

Even Lin Ning realized that Shen Ting’s comment was aimed at Gu Yan. She cast a worried glance at Yu Sheng, but Yu Sheng’s expression remained calm and unchanged.

“Yu Sheng, they’re just petty people. What they say is pure nonsense—sometimes it stinks, but just hold your nose and ignore it.”

Yu Sheng couldn’t help but laugh at Lin Ning’s analogy, and seeing her smile, Lin Ning relaxed.

“Let’s go watch the basketball game. I just checked the group chat; our class is up soon.”

Lin Ning looked at Yu Sheng expectantly. It wasn’t that she minded going alone, but she didn’t want to leave Yu Sheng by herself; at least together, they’d have company.

But Yu Sheng hesitated. “Why don’t you go first? I want to finish this problem, and then I need to use the restroom.”

“No worries, I’ll wait for you.”

Yu Sheng blushed and held her stomach. “It might take a while.”

Lin Ning immediately understood, gave an “OK” gesture, and left the classroom.

Once Lin Ning was gone, Yu Sheng’s pained expression vanished. She set down her pen and looked at her work, feeling a little dejected. Remembering Shen Ting’s words, she slumped over her desk and covered her face.

She really had tried her best.

“Yu Sheng, aren’t you going to watch the game? It’s started already,” the last person in the classroom said on their way out.

Yu Sheng lifted her head. “I’ll go in a bit. You go ahead.”

“Alright, see you.”

When even the last person had left, Yu Sheng glanced around the empty classroom and suddenly felt a wave of helplessness.

She cared deeply about what others said. Outwardly she seemed carefree, but inside she was soft and sensitive; she repaid kindness doubly and kept her distance from those who disliked her.

At that moment, she longed for warmth. Autumn had come, and outside the window, the maple leaves had fallen, covering the ground.

Tomorrow’s duty student would have a hard time.

She sighed for the future duty student, only to remember that it was her turn for outdoor duty tomorrow.

Yu Sheng laughed at herself, then buried her face in her arms again, searching for the lingering warmth, but her arms had long since gone cold.

Checking the time, she realized she had been lost in thought for nearly half an hour—the basketball game was almost over.

Yu Sheng turned on her phone, which had been off, and opened QQ. The class group had over ninety-nine messages, and she had no desire to read them. Scrolling down, she saw several messages from Lin Ning sent a few minutes ago.

“Are you done yet?”

“Do you need to go to the hospital?”

“Our class’s game is almost finished.”

“Gu Yan is really good at basketball—I had no idea before. Chen Ke’an isn’t dragging the team down either!”

That last one was just sent.

“You’re not here, and Gu Yan seems to have lost all his energy (dog emoji). Should I come find you?”

Yu Sheng quickly replied, “No need, I’m on my way.”

Lin Ning responded instantly—she must have been watching for her reply.

“Okay, I’ll wait for you at the store!”

Yu Sheng saw Lin Ning’s message and hurried over.

When she arrived, Lin Ning was eating an ice cream and waved with it as she saw Yu Sheng coming.

Yu Sheng jogged over.

“Here, this is for you!” Lin Ning handed her another ice cream.

“Thanks!” Yu Sheng took it, not caring about the autumn chill.

Lin Ning rolled her eyes. “Oh, please, no need to be so formal.”

Yu Sheng laughed.

“Come on, we can still catch the last few minutes,” Lin Ning said, checking the time.

Yu Sheng nodded and followed her to the basketball court.

Though the game was nearly over, the crowd hadn’t thinned at all—especially around their class’s section, which was packed.

“What’s going on with our class? Why so many people?” Yu Sheng asked, puzzled.

“They’re all here to see the handsome guys in our class!” Lin Ning replied, licking her rapidly melting ice cream.

“The handsome guys?” Yu Sheng immediately thought of Gu Yan.

“Gu Yan, of course! Everyone’s heard that the top student is incredible at basketball. Word spreads fast, and now almost every girl in the year is here to watch.”

As she spoke, Lin Ning watched Yu Sheng’s expression carefully. “That’s why you have to act fast!” Lin Ning hinted.

Yu Sheng feigned ignorance. “Act fast for what?”

Lin Ning thought she genuinely didn’t get it, feeling a little exasperated.

Girl, you’re right by the water—don’t you know to seize the chance?

As they pushed through the crowd, they heard a cheer from the front—Gu Yan had just scored another three-pointer.

Yu Sheng felt a pang of disappointment. He told me yesterday he couldn’t play well without me, but today, with all these other girls, he’s playing just fine!

With some effort, Lin Ning managed to squeeze them to the front. Though people still blocked their view, they could just about see the court.

Yu Sheng glanced at the scoreboard: 26 to 12.

There was less than a minute left, and their class was already winning.

She spotted Gu Yan, high-fiving his teammates in early celebration.

Was it her imagination, or did his eyes keep darting toward the edge of the crowd?