Chapter 74: My Girlfriend Doesn't Exist

Chapter 74: My Girlfriend Doesn't Exist

It's impossible to drink alcohol. A person can break many rules in their life, except for alcohol.

Fang Yuenian held up the menu in front of Cheng Bing, pointed to two dishes and asked for her opinion. Cheng Bing said, "If you like them, that's fine."

The atmosphere between the two remained peaceful as always. Li Peixiang, sitting opposite him, held a cup in his hand and tapped his fingers as if he were typing a telegram. Finally, he couldn't help but say, "Um, Cheng, the school heartthrob."

Cheng Bing briefly looked up from the menu and asked seriously, "Why does it have to be called that?"

"Hey, isn't it because Brother Nian always calls you 'brother'? It doesn't seem right for me to just call you by your name to show respect, right?" Actually, it's because Cheng Bing always seems to have a bit of a distance from people. Although he has become very close with Fang Yuenian, Li Peixiang still can't be completely at ease in front of Cheng Bing.

Meng Xiaoyang chuckled, and Fang Yuenian said, "If you don't say so, you're a coward?"

Cheng Bing glanced at him.

Fang Yuenian immediately said, "Alright, from now on just call him by his name. Don't keep calling him 'school heartthrob,' you're leading everyone astray. Now so many people call him Cheng, the school heartthrob, that's what people who don't know him think is his real name."

“Okay, okay, I was wrong,” Li Peixiang said. “Um, Cheng Bing, can I ask you something?”

"What are you asking now?" Fang Yuenian became alert the moment she saw his eyes burning with gossip. This guy had been wanting to find out about Cheng Bing's "girlfriend" for a long time. "Don't ask such nonsense."

Li Peixiang got impatient. "What do you mean by asking nonsense? What's wrong with brothers asking each other questions? Brother Nian, you can't be so arbitrary. Oh well, never mind, I won't ask anymore."

Cheng Bing didn't say anything, handed the menu to the waiter, and said "thank you".

Fang Yuenian was not used to Li Peixiang taking a break like this, and said, "What's wrong? You seem to be very frustrated. What do you want to ask? Ask away, and I'll think about whether I should let Cheng Bing answer you."

“Cheng Bing, you’re family,” Li Peixiang blurted out, “You two might as well be inseparable. Brother Nian, you’re acting like one of those little girls who’s controlling their boyfriends, you know? Did Cheng Bing’s girlfriend give you some kind of task? Like keeping an eye on her boyfriend and reporting any problems immediately or something?”

Meng Xiaoyang was drinking water when he choked a little.

Fang Yuenian was stunned. "What? What is that?"

“That’s exactly right, I really can’t think of any other reason,” Li Peixiang raised an eyebrow at Cheng Bing, “Isn’t that right?”

For some reason, the room suddenly fell silent after he asked that question.

Fang Yuenian's mouth was slightly open, Meng Xiaoyang blinked a few times, and Cheng Bing slowly said in the sudden silence, "Actually, I don't have a girlfriend."

Fang Yuenian: "Brother Cheng!"

"What?!" Li Peixiang exclaimed in surprise, "What happened? You broke up? No way?"

“It’s not a breakup,” Cheng Bing said. “I lied.”

Li Peixiang's mouth dropped open. "Damn, I know! You don't want to date early and are afraid of others pursuing you, so you just announce to the public that you have a girlfriend. That's awesome."

Fang Yuenian: "You, keep your voice down."

Li Peixiang looked at him: "Why are you speaking so quietly? There's no one here, are you just playing along to smooth things over? Hey, you know what, this method actually works, but it's a bit heartless. So why aren't you pretending anymore?"

Fang Yuenian was about to speak when Cheng Bing spoke up before him: "It's nothing, the homeroom teacher talked to me, it's not good."

Fang Yuenian was shocked: "Did they really look for you? Did they scold you?"

Cheng Bing shook her head: "No."

Li Peixiang hurriedly said, "Of course not. Their homeroom teacher values ​​grades the most, how could he bear to scold the top ten? But if word gets out, Cheng, the school heartthrob, will also get scolded."

Cheng Bing looked at him: "Why did it get out?"

Li Peixiang: "..."

Meng Xiaoyang quickly interjected, "Alright, alright, let's all shut up once we're out this door!"

Fang Yuenian immediately shut up.

Cheng Bing's sudden revelation of this matter was unexpected, and he seemed unhappy about it.

He must have been scolded by the homeroom teacher.

After dinner, the boarding students returned to school. Fang Yuenian grabbed Cheng Bing and suggested they go for a walk, but Meng Xiaoyang, being very perceptive, went back to his dormitory first.

"What are you doing tomorrow?" Fang Yuenian asked indirectly. "Going to work or studying?"

Cheng Bing hesitated for a moment, which was uncharacteristic of hers.

Fang Yuenian looked at it and became even more certain, saying, "To be honest, did you get scolded? What did I tell you before? This method is not good. Although it can solve the problem temporarily, it will cause endless trouble in the future. Now, your homeroom teacher's impression of you will probably be greatly reduced. He will definitely keep a close eye on you from now on. Your life was not easy to begin with, and now it's even worse."

Cheng Bing said, "...It's okay."

She looked at him again and said, "I have something to do tomorrow; a classmate invited me to the library."

Fang Yuenian said, "The one we went to together?"

They once went to a public library in the city one weekend. At that time, they didn't know how to index the books in the library. They just wandered around aimlessly, glancing at whatever books came up, thinking that they were learning something new. There was no library in Shuibiwei Town, and the high school library was too small.

Cheng Bing nodded: "...Mm."

Fang Yuenian said, "Alright, study hard. But let's just let go of what we just talked about. Although you've regressed a little this time, it's negligible. Don't worry about it too much."

“I know,” Cheng Bing said, glancing at him. “Go back to your dorm.”

Fang Yuenian smiled mysteriously again: "Before I leave, let me tell you some gossip."

"What?"

“Li Peixiang, let me tell you, the saying ‘suspecting the neighbor of stealing the axe’ is becoming increasingly strange to me. No matter what, Meng Xiaoyang’s words are treated like imperial edicts. I think he might really be…”

"Not necessarily," Cheng Bing suddenly interrupted him.

"Huh?" Fang Yuenian was stunned.

“From now on,” Cheng Bing said softly, “don’t guess about these things anymore.”

Fang Yue Nian was very confused.

But he quickly realized that Cheng Bing had been scolded for this messy early romance, so she didn't want to listen now.

"Oh, okay, alright."

The next day, Sunday, Cheng Bing left school early.

No classmates invited him, and he didn't go to the library he had visited before. Instead, he took two buses to another public library that was further away.

The library was quiet with few people and lots of books. After registering his ID card, he entered through the door. There was a row of computers for indexing in the lobby. Cheng Bing chose the one on the far right and silently followed the method he had specifically learned before to find the book he wanted.

It wasn't that he didn't want to listen to Fang Yuenian's gossip; he was just too confused. Ever since that day when he went out to watch a video with his roommates, he had been in a state of confusion.

The thought of the person suffering in the movie, their agonizing expression, plunged him into immense turmoil. If such things always end with those terrible consequences—injury, bloodshed—it's practically the same as... what's the joy in that?

It shouldn't even exist!