Chapter 50 [VIP]

The turmoil from last semester successfully continued into the next semester after the halftime break. Pei Xingzhi's reputation was ruined by Xie Nanyi once again, and wherever he went, he could hear the same discussions as last semester.

Fortunately, his experiences last semester had made him resistant to such situations, and he was now quite calm in the face of these rumors, simply pretending that they weren't talking about him. It was just that Chu Ling, who had always kept a low profile, was forced into this media storm because of him and Xie Nanyi.

Pei Xingzhi felt guilty, but Chu Ling, who was caught in the crossfire, was completely unaware that she had also become the subject of others' observation. After being secretly stared at countless times by passersby, Chu Ling finally asked Pei Xingzhi the question that had always been on her mind.

"Were they just staring at us? Did the school find out we were secretly earning extra money?"

Seeing Chu Ling's puzzled and innocent gaze, Pei Xingzhi silently looked away and replied, "No, who was looking at you? You're overthinking it."

"Really? Why do I feel like they're looking at us? Or... at you? Has something happened between you and Xie Nanyi lately?" Chu Ling crossed his arms and tilted his head slightly. The high frequency of people turning their heads to look at him finally made him realize something, but fortunately, he was always exceptionally oblivious in some ways.

Pei Xingzhi often suspected that Chu Ling might have missed joining some group chats, which caused him to receive messages very slowly. The news that Pei Xingzhi and Xie Nanyi's kiss was so intense that Xie Nanyi had to go to the medical school to seek scar removal medicine had spread throughout the entire school, even spawning various passionate versions. For example, there were excessive rumors, such as Pei Xingzhi accidentally injuring Xie Nanyi because their love was too intense.

Most of these rumors were filled with malice towards Pei Xingzhi. According to an "insider" on the student wall, these rumors originated from the Omegas who were pursuing Xie Nanyi. Because Pei Xingzhi "stole" their "dream love Alpha," he was being retaliated against by these Omegas.

But Pei Xingzhi wasn't stupid. Most of the students at Alliance University, especially Betas and Omegas, were exceptional talents, one in a thousand or even one in ten thousand. Xie Nanyi didn't have that much charm to drive them crazy. Besides, Xie Nanyi's pursuit of him had started last semester, while these rumors only began this semester. It was obvious who was behind it all.

Pei Xingzhi could probably guess who was spreading these things—who else could it be but those Alphas who were inexplicably hostile to him?

He had no intention of getting involved in these matters, yet he was repeatedly pushed forward as a scapegoat for gender antagonism. He didn't start the trouble, but he was the one who received all the criticism. He just wanted a peaceful university life, but trouble always seemed to find him; he was truly an innocent victim.

Fortunately, those people only waged a war of words and didn't go so far as to engage in physical combat, otherwise he would have really been killed by these Alphas.

The situation outside has become so dire, yet Chu Ling is like a caveman, only knowing how to cultivate in seclusion and remaining completely unaware of these matters. He spends his days following Pei Xingzhi around, practically announcing to the public that the two of them are in cahoots.

His troubles inadvertently dragged Chu Ling, an innocent Omega, into the mess. If he hadn't been so oblivious, he'd probably be walking to class alone again right now.

Mental exhaustion is often more unbearable than physical fatigue, and perhaps it's a good thing he doesn't know these things. Pei Xingzhi understands this deeply; Chu Ling is unaware of these things, and Pei Xingzhi naturally doesn't intend to tell him.

After all, it's already quite eye-catching that Chu Ling, as an inferior Omega, is frequently seen with him, a Beta who's in the spotlight.

"No, you're overthinking it. Xie Nanyi and I... it's just like that, nothing's changed." He wasn't exactly lying. Apart from that kiss that involved close physical contact, the two of them hadn't crossed any lines. He wondered what Xie Nanyi was planning, as she hadn't come back for the past few days. With no one bothering him, Pei Xingzhi had been having a great time these past few days.

Pei Xingzhi said no, but his wandering eyes betrayed his thoughts. However, Chu Ling didn't like to pry, so when he saw that Pei Xingzhi didn't want to talk about it, he stopped there and changed the subject.

"By the way, the program you sent me last time, I made a few changes, but there are still a few problems. I'll check it and send it to you again."

"Anything is fine." Pei Xingzhi was preoccupied with something and only heard half of what Chu Ling had said. It took him a while to realize what Chu Ling had just said. "No, that's not it. You can fix it first, and come to me if you have any problems."

"Are you still thinking about Xie Nanyi?" Chu Ling couldn't stand this nonsensical conversation anymore, so she flicked Pei Xingzhi's head with her finger to wake him up before talking to her.

Pei Xingzhi, whose name was mentioned, looked around and blew a breath with his lips slightly pursed. Before Chu Ling could continue asking questions, he was pulled aside and the topic was changed very stiffly.

"Didn't I say that my brother's mission is about to end and he can go home after his quarantine ends next week? I think it's about time I told my parents the truth, it doesn't seem right to keep it from them."

"Pei Xingzhi, I've never told you that you're really not suited to be an actor." There's not a trace of inner emotion in his performance; his acting serves only the surface, and it's all written on his face.

Pei Xingzhi was already in a bad mood, and Chu Ling was saying such things. He covered his head, his face down, and muttered under his breath, "When did you say that? I never said I wanted to be an actor."

"Have you thought about how to tell your parents?" After teasing Pei Xingzhi enough, Chu Ling changed her tone and began to wrap up her "harsh words." Children need to be coaxed more.

"No..." Pei Xingzhi sighed. One trouble after another had left him with little time to prepare his parents, and he hadn't figured out how to mentally prepare them either. But keeping it up like this wasn't a solution either; telling them proactively would be easier for them to accept than for them to find out suddenly.

But he didn't really want to tell them about it. He couldn't explain his feelings to Chu Ling, but he just didn't want to tell them.

Pei Xingzhi himself was struggling to make a decision, and Chu Ling couldn't offer him any advice. The two talked for a long time but still couldn't reach a conclusion. Chu Ling was called away halfway through the journey by a phone call. Pei Xingzhi had finally had some time to rest these past few days, and with Xie Nanyi not around, he didn't want to waste his rest time here. After thinking about it, he decided to take Wuyun home.

Pei's parents are still in the hospital, his brother is still in quarantine, and at home there is still only Pei Xingzhi, Wuyun, and their dog.

He lay in bed lost in thought for a long time, then opened his phone and switched between various apps before finally opening a chat app. Since leaving the student union, far fewer people had been contacting him, and his chat app had become much quieter. He spent most of his time in the lab; if someone needed to contact him, they could just call out to him from there. The chat app had practically become a mere decoration for him.

The only person constantly bothering him was Xie Nanyi. Xie Nanyi's chat history was still overflowing with messages, even though he had left. Despite not living together, Pei Xingzhi still knew exactly what Xie Nanyi was doing at what time.

Pei Xingzhi didn't want to open his chat window, but his messages were too frequent, popping up one after another, and Pei Xingzhi still couldn't help but see a few.

Since he had already read it and there was no read status here, Pei Xingzhi simply clicked to read it.

Xie Nanyi was summoned back to the Xie family home by his father. He didn't say why he was going back, but it was obvious it wasn't anything good. Father and son were a pair of snakes and rats, neither of them were any good.

Scrolling down further, you find Xie Nanyi rambling on about all sorts of meaningless nonsense, from what he ate for lunch to encountering a puppy on the roadside, and what he dreamed about last night—he tells Pei Xingzhi everything in great detail.

"Am I his dumping ground? Why do he have to tell me everything?" Pei Xingzhi turned over and lay on his side in a different direction, continuing to flip through the rambling account Xie Nanyi had sent him.

[Clingy]: Xiaozhi! I haven't been home for a day, have you missed me?

"I wasn't thinking about you at all."

[Clingy]: Okay, I know you won't admit you're thinking about me. But you must be bored when I'm not around, so if you're bored, you can think of me.

"How can you be so narcissistic? Who would think of you when they're bored?"

[Clingy]: Pei Xiaozhi! You haven't replied to me for a whole day. I'm very angry, but I will still continue to contact Xiaozhi.

[Clingy]: Look at this puppy, doesn't it look a lot like a dark cloud? But it seems to be a little smaller than a dark cloud.

【Clingy Person】: [Image]

Pei Xingzhi pursed his lips and clicked on the picture. The photo showed a small black dog whose fur color and breed had nothing to do with Wu Yun. No matter how you looked at it, you couldn't see any resemblance.

This person would even say such crazy things just to talk to him.

11:53 [Clingy]: Xiao Zhi—you haven't spoken to me for two days. I'm going to hold a grudge. I've decided to ignore you for a day.

00:02 [Clingy Person]: Fine, I forgive you.

...

Neuropathy

Pei Xingzhi couldn't help but chuckle. Wuyun, who was strolling around the living room surveying its territory, heard the commotion and jumped over to snuggle into his arms.

"Woof!"

"Why did you come here? Have you eaten?" Pei Xingzhi scratched Wuyun's head and wiped the dog food off his face.

"Woof!" Wuyun could tell that its master was in a good mood. Although it didn't understand why, it barked along with its master because its master was happy. Its chubby body rubbed against Pei Xingzhi and rolled around.

Although the cloud was not large, its strength when it started to cause trouble was something Pei Xingzhi could not handle. He was knocked down on the bed by the cloud and played with it for a while until the cloud got hungry again and ran to the living room to replenish its energy. Only then did Pei Xingzhi calm down.

The cloud's antics left a lot of fur on Pei Xingzhi's bed. Pei Xingzhi resignedly cleaned up the fallen fur, and when he opened his phone again, there was something new in their chat window.

Pei Xingzhi looked at the voice message he had just sent. The message had been sent four or five minutes ago, and the voice message was 42 seconds long. Pei Xingzhi clicked to listen to it. It was the sound of him and Wuyun playing around.

It was too late to retract the message. Pei Xingzhi's fingers froze on the screen, feeling the awkwardness of having insulted someone only to have the message forwarded to the person directly involved.

Wouldn't Xie Nanyi discover that he was spying on the messages he sent? Pei Xingzhi deleted his own voice message and rolled around on the bed, clutching his head. Before he could even come up with a solution, Xie Nanyi's message came through again.

[Clingy]: Xiaozhi, what are you doing?

What is he doing?

He's embarrassing himself.

Which direction should he pray in to make Xie Nanyi forget that voice message? Or perhaps he could just have a meteorite fall from the sky and knock Xie Nanyi's memory out of him, making him forget everything? He desperately needed something that could turn back time to regain the face he'd lost with Xie Nanyi.

Just as Pei Xingzhi was feeling troubled, his phone flashed again, and a message from Xie Nanyi popped up on the screen.

[Clingy]: Xiaozhi, did you miss me?

Once you've lost face, you can't get it back; Pei Xingzhi understood this well.

Escaping may be shameful, but it can be useful.

He tossed his phone aside, rolled around on the bed like a chicken roll, then rolled onto the floor and thrashed around a couple of times before finally letting himself go.

After a brief moment of thought on the ground, Pei Xingzhi suddenly threw off the blanket, jumped up, and patted his flushed cheeks to force himself to calm down.

He just accidentally triggered a voice message. What's there to be ashamed of? Xie Nanyi, who's been bothering him all along, doesn't even know how to be ashamed. He just sent a voice message. It's such a normal thing. Why should he feel ashamed about it?

Having figured this out, Pei Xingzhi did a few squats while holding his head, but still didn't have the courage to pick up his phone and reply to Xie Nanyi's message.

"Let him be for a while," Pei Xingzhi thought, running to the living room to pick up the culprit, Wuyun, and torment him. Wuyun cried out in confusion as he was pinched and squeezed, its little paws gently patting Pei Xingzhi's head.

Pei Xingzhi had vented his anger and put the dark cloud back into its little nest. It was still early, so he didn't need to rush to prepare dinner. He had already finished his homework before coming back, and now he was in a state of having nothing to do.

He sat in the living room watching Wuyun's mukbang for a while, lost in thought. As his eyes wandered around, he inadvertently caught sight of a small protruding corner tucked behind Wuyun's little nest.

As if guided by fate, Pei Xingzhi walked over and moved the doghouse, causing the small toy that had been trapped inside to fall to the ground. He picked up the fallen elf toy and, in doing so, remembered where it came from.

Chu Ling helped him pack and bring his things, and this doll was tucked inside his clothes and brought back with him. Pei Xingzhi initially wanted to throw it away, since the doll didn't bring him any pleasant memories in any way.

But Little Cloud really liked the toy and would carry it with him even when he slept. Seeing that he liked it, Pei Xingzhi simply put the toy into his doghouse, which could be considered as making the last bit of use for the toy.

But the fact that this doll is here probably means that the dark clouds don't need it anymore. Pei Xingzhi held the elf's hand, and when he came to his senses, he was already sitting in front of the computer, with the login screen of "Levels" prominently displayed on the monitor in front of him.

A note from the author: