Chapter 40 Chapter 40

There was a knock on the door, forcing the conversation to end. Ren Li turned around and saw Wen Shuo.

He stood at the door, ignoring the many glances directed at him. "Teacher He, the courseware is all ready. Didn't you say you had something else to discuss with me? Is it okay now?"

He Guang glanced at the wall clock. It was almost time. He nodded to Wen Shuo and said, "Okay, go back to the office and wait for me. I'll give you a few more instructions and then I'll be right there."

He turned around and concluded, "Thank you very much, everyone. It's getting late, so why don't we call it a day? Ren Li, you and Lin Jiacheng should go back to class."

Ren Li came back to her senses from her depressed mood and was about to leave when Lin Yuan stopped her.

"Lili," she said, "Mom will have a good chat with you later."

Ren Li was in a state of confusion, so she nodded and passed Wen Shuo when she walked out of the meeting room.

He changed his indifferent look in the morning, glanced at Ren Li, and nodded slightly to her.

At that moment, Ren Li actually felt a sense of peace, but those sad emotions still existed, running rampant in her heart, unable to find any outlet.

Things may be worse than expected.

She walked back to the classroom in silence. Fortunately, Lin Jiacheng did not catch up with her.

The first morning reading class had already begun. She knocked on the door and walked in.

The English teacher was playing a course slide show at the podium. When she looked up, she probably hadn't expected Ren Li to be late. The students in the front row exchanged glances, their faces filled with curiosity, clearly wanting to know what had just happened in the office.

But Ren Li doesn't want to care about these things now.

She looked very bad throughout the entire class, and even her favorite part of organizing her stationery before class was missed.

Zhang Xintong, who was standing by, was very worried about her and kept looking over here. Finally, when the morning reading was about to end, she couldn't help but pass a note to Ren Li.

"Lili, are you okay? Is there something Mr. He wants to talk to you about?"

Ren Li didn't want to hide her good friend's concern. She didn't want Zhang Xintong to worry about her, so she picked up her pen and replied:

"I'm fine, Xintong. This is the first time in my life that I've been called to the parents' office. It's such a rare experience TT (crying face)"

She pushed the note to Zhang Xintong, who blinked slowly with sympathy, then wrote on the paper, "I heard Wen Shuo went to the office with you. Is it because of him?"

This was probably what the other students in the class thought as well. Ren Li shook her head slightly and replied on the paper:

"No, it's because of Lin Jiacheng. But everything has been resolved."

Zhang Xintong held the note, hesitating several times to speak. When the English teacher wasn't noticing, he leaned over and whispered, "Lili, are you really okay?"

Ren Li nodded: "Don't worry, I'm really fine."

It would be strange if nothing happened.

For the entire morning, her head was automatically replaying everything that had just happened in the office, even the smallest details were magnified.

She didn't want to be like this, but it was as if some emotional switch in her brain had malfunctioned. It was a vicious cycle: not paying attention in class due to her wandering thoughts and thus missing out on key points, which only increased her guilt, and this guilt made her even sadder.

The last class in the afternoon was taught by the Chinese teacher. After Zhao Xinmei assigned tasks to everyone, she called Ren Li to the corridor outside.

She did not directly explain the reason for calling her out, but leaned on the railing of the corridor, her long hair hanging gently on her shoulders, and her beautiful eyes looked at Ren Li as if they could speak.

"It looks like it's going to snow again today." Her tone was as gentle as ever. Although she was just talking about today's weather, Ren Li already wanted to cry.

"Teacher Zhao," Ren Li said, "When you were in school, did you also feel troubled by people liking you? Because you are really beautiful."

Zhao Xin frowned and said, "Yes, many people like me."

After saying that, she leaned close to Ren Li's ear and added quietly, "But those boys are not good-looking. None of them is what I like."

She has a light floral scent on her body, which is very pleasant. When she comes closer to me, she is like the sister next door, making people feel very caring.

"You should trust me now," Teacher Zhao said. "Don't worry, I won't tell Lao He or anyone else about our conversation today. This is a secret between us two."

Ren Li nodded with tears in her eyes.

"So, which class is the boy from?" she asked curiously.

Ren Li: "He was from Class 20. Not really, because I didn't like him. He posted a love confession on the forum, and although he deleted it later, the school found out, and then Teacher He found out too, so things got complicated."

Zhao Xinmei nodded: "Oh, I guessed right, it's the post on the campus forum, right, Lin Jiacheng?"

Ren Li looked up, a bit surprised. Zhao Xin smiled and gestured to silence her. "Shh, don't tell anyone, this is a secret. I've actually been browsing this forum. It's really fun to watch students complain about school."

Ren Li couldn't help but laugh. It turned out that the forum, which everyone thought was only accessible to students, had long been no secret. But Ren Li was confident that even if Teacher Zhao had known about it, she certainly wouldn't have told Teacher He.

"That's right, you still look better when you smile." Zhao Xinmei helped Ren Li tuck her loose bangs behind her ears. "You're really too naive to be sad about such a small thing. What if someone confesses their love to you every day in the future? Wouldn't you be sad every day? Listen to Teacher Zhao, ignore them and pretend you didn't see anything.

You have the right to refuse. The more you give them the chance, the more they will push it further. If anyone dares to continue harassing you, tell me and I will deal with them.

Ren Li suddenly felt less sad. She had originally thought that everyone would look at her with tinted glasses from now on, but Teacher Zhao wouldn't. At least she always believed in herself.

"Thank you, Teacher Zhao," said Ren Li.

"It's no big deal. I'll protect you in your senior year." Teacher Zhao made a domineering gesture, "I guarantee that no one will dare to post such nonsense again."

Ren Li smiled, nodded vigorously, and then tears flowed unconsciously.

Teacher Zhao handed over a tissue and said, "Okay, wipe your tears first. If you cry any more, your eyes will be swollen. This is the last period today. If you don't want to go to class, don't go. You don't have to attend the evening study session either. It won't hurt to go home and get a good night's sleep. Tomorrow is a new day."

Ren Li had never skipped class before, so she shook her head and said, "It's okay, Teacher Zhao. I can do it."

Zhao Xinmei: "Is it really possible?"

She nodded.

"Okay then," Teacher Zhao said, "You can stay outside for a while before going back to class. It's okay."

After a pause, she continued, "There's one more thing I'm a little curious about, um...that is..."

She waved to Ren Li, who came closer, and then she heard Teacher Zhao whisper, "You and Wen Shuo, are you two together?"

For some reason, Ren Li always felt that there was a hint of excitement in Teacher Zhao's tone. It turned out that Teacher Zhao was also so gossipy.

Ren Li felt her cheeks turn red, and then she shook her head gently.

"Really? Uh, I mean, I thought... Don't think too much about it, I'm just asking out of curiosity."

She smiled, patted Ren Li's shoulder, and went back to class.

In the light gray sky, snowflakes fell down, it was snowing.

Ren Li raised her head and a snowflake fell on her cheek, cool like tears.

-

Ren Li was very benefited by Teacher Zhao's words. She knew that she had fallen far behind, so she needed to go all out in the days ahead.

Besides, only when she was studying would she feel a little better, at least she was not going around in circles.

In a blink of an eye, it was evening again. Ren Li didn't plan to go out for dinner because she had a workbook to organize.

Although Zhang Xintong was relieved that her mood had improved, she felt that Ren Li's behavior was not a good idea. So when she brought her dinner, she even brought back a small dessert cake that would make her feel better.

Seeing the cake, Ren Li thought of Wen Shuo again.

In the bag under the table was the cake he had framed that morning. Lin Jiacheng's phone was filled with apology messages all day long. He said he needed to find time to meet with Ren Li; some things needed to be discussed in person.

Ren Li remembered what her Chinese teacher had said, so she edited a message and replied to Lin Jiacheng.

She said she had forgiven him, but there was no need for them to meet. However, Lin Jiacheng still appeared at the door of Class 20 during the break of the second evening study session.

There were people outside making noises and shouting Ren Li's name. Ren Li felt that this matter needed to end, so she put down her book and calmly walked out of the classroom.

"What's up?"

There were people all around watching the fun, so Lin Jiacheng said, "Want to find a quiet place to chat?"

Ren Li shook her head: "Let's talk about it here, class will start soon."

"Okay," Li Jiacheng said. "Although I never felt I had done anything wrong, I still want to apologize to you in person. I don't think there's anything wrong with liking someone. If I have to apologize, I only want to apologize for my behavior due to my inability to control my emotions."

Everyone started to make a noise again. Lin Jiacheng was like this again, putting her in this awkward situation alone, but she was different now, she was able to express her views calmly:

"Thank you for liking me, but I don't have to apologize for not liking you. I think what Teacher He said is absolutely right. Now I just want to study hard and do well in the college entrance examination."

Lin Jiacheng nodded, took out a takeaway bag from behind him and handed it to Ren Li: "I heard that you didn't have dinner, so I bought some food. Don't worry, this is definitely the last time. I won't bother you again in the future."

Ren Li didn't answer. She knew that what she had just said was in vain - Lin Jiacheng didn't listen to her at all.

"No need." Ren Li said, "I've already finished eating."

When he turned around and went back to the classroom, he stood at the door and saw Wen Shuo's cold gaze from a distance - but she didn't care so much now.

Although she behaved very bravely throughout the evening study session, what happened today did not have any impact on her. After school, she was still too scared to go home.

The huge clock on the main building emitted a soft and bright light in the darkness. Snowflakes were falling quietly outside. Ren Li walked aimlessly along the campus for a while, and then somehow walked to the playground.

It was snowing, and the playground was deserted. She walked slowly around the track, snowflakes falling when she looked up, and a warm feeling when she looked down.

But she had already cried enough today, and Ren Li didn't want to be pretentious, so she wiped away her tears with the back of her hand. But the tears kept coming, and just as she was about to search her pockets for a tissue, a tissue was handed to her.

She raised her head and saw Wen Shuo.

The light and shadow outlined a clear outline behind him. He faced the light and said to Ren Li, "You coward, you only dare to hide here and cry alone. You cry like a little cat, it's really beautiful."

Ren Li didn't know how Wen Shuo found this place, but she really didn't want to embarrass herself in front of Wen Shuo, so she quickly turned her back and wiped her nose with a tissue, feeling a little embarrassed: "It's none of your business, don't you need to rush home today?"

Wen Shuo: "I promised someone before that I would wait for her to go back together. But you, are you really that sad to be liked one-sidedly?"

He took the initiative to bring up this topic, and Ren Li no longer wanted to cry.

She wiped away her tears and tried to be tough: "No, I cried because I didn't do well in this monthly exam."

Wen Shuo tutted his words, indicating that he didn't believe it. After a pause, he continued, "If you really feel embarrassed to be liked by Lin Jiacheng, why don't you let me like you instead?"

Time seemed to stand still for a second, snowflakes floated in the air, and then fell quickly at the moment when my heart was beating violently in my chest.

Ren Li looked at Wen Shuo. He seemed to be joking, but also seemed to be serious. "How about I post something on the forum and say I like you. If you get called to the parent's office again, maybe you won't mind it anymore."

When Ren Li heard that her parents were going to be called again, she instantly wilted.

Ren Li didn't believe that he was telling the truth, especially after what he had just said that was unreliable.

But she still felt it would be better to respond in a joking tone: "You sound so serious, who would believe you?"

But what Wen Shuo said seemed to be true.

He took out his phone, unlocked the screen, and edited something.

Ren Li didn't know what he was doing, so she curiously leaned over to take a look. As a result, she saw the forum page and realized the seriousness of the problem. She was instantly frightened and broke out in a cold sweat.

If Wen Shuo were to do this again and be called by Teacher He as a parent again, she would rather die.