Creditor, where exactly have I wronged you?
Song Ci was in a bad mood those few days because of the continuous high temperature and because the senior year of high school started early.
On the day of class reassignment, the temperature was still above 33 degrees Celsius after school. In this kind of weather, one should go to the water to escape the heat. He went home to get his swimming trunks and went straight to the swimming pool at the InterContinental Hotel.
Coincidentally, an internet celebrity was filming a video at the swimming pool that day. The main character was a Shiba Inu, and four or five girls in dresses were playing around it. It happily plunged into the water with a "plop," splashing water all over Song Ci.
Just as he was about to yell at her, a girl pushed through the crowd and ran over to apologize to him.
The girl had long, straight hair and a pure face. Her features looked remarkably like a member of a girl group he liked. Song Ci swallowed the swear words he was about to utter.
They chatted casually for a while, and then the girl asked him if he could take some underwater photos of her after the team finished filming the video. He knew, of course, that the girl was flirting with him and that he was also attracted to her looks, so he readily agreed.
The only problem was that I didn't bring a waterproof phone case, so I called my best friend for help.
This phone call is what got me into trouble.
Half an hour later, Zhou Lin arrived. Not only did he arrive, but when he threw the condom at her in full view of everyone, the girl's eyes changed, and she cursed him as a hooligan.
When he got home, things got even worse. Tang Shi found out about it and immediately deleted all the videos of him being picked up on the streets of the Czech Republic from his computer. She would track his whereabouts as soon as get out of class ended, making him feel like he was going out to hook up rather than going to school.
A perfectly innocent boys' high school student was ruined just like that.
Recalling the bloodshed caused by that box of Jissbon condoms, he slammed down his drink, his bangs swaying from the force of the movement, his voice still tinged with resentment: "Tell my sister, wasn't the condom I asked you to buy that day waterproof?"
Zhou Lin slowly picked up the teacup and drank the water: "Yes."
Song Ci clasped his hands together and bowed in the direction where no one was around: "Heaven has eyes, finally letting my injustice be exposed to the world."
He tapped his finger on the table, pressing on relentlessly, "Then why did you buy a box of Jissbon?"
Upon hearing this question, Lin Shih-jen held his breath, and his back involuntarily tensed up.
What is the answer? And why is she so nervous? Her mind is a jumbled mess. If there's more to this story, then she's been wrongly accusing an innocent person all along.
Zhou Lin smiled innocently: "That one has better waterproof performance."
Whether intentionally or not, his gaze suddenly swept over, a knowing glint in his eyes: "What else could it be?"
When their eyes met, Lin Shiren's throat suddenly went dry. She grabbed a can of drink from the table and tilted her head back to slam it down, trying to hide her unease. As she put the can down, everyone's eyes were fixed on her. Lin Shiren sensed something else in their knowing glances.
She asked, a little flustered, "What's wrong?"
Zhou Lin slightly raised an eyebrow, his lips trembling slightly as if he were holding back: "What you drank was mine..."
The six words, strung together, were like a nunchaku hitting her brain, making a buzzing sound.
Lin Shiren: ...
The meal lasted almost two hours, and the total bill for the four people was 392 yuan, which was paid by Zhou Lin again.
Lin Shiren didn't want to take advantage of him again, so he secretly took out a hundred dollars from his wallet, folded it in half to the size of two fingers, and wanted to find an opportunity to slip it to him.
Tang Shi came up from behind and, seeing that she seemed preoccupied, deliberately changed the subject to something lighter: "Does Song Ci have any scandals at school?"
Lin Shiren shook his head honestly.
Although the school explicitly forbids it, rumors can't be hidden. Who announced their relationship with whom, who broke up with whom—gossip spreads vividly in the shadows. She had never heard of Song Ci.
"Useless fellow." Tang Shi's unrestrained mockery echoed through the air.
The rain stopped sometime ago, and moonlight shone through the clouds.
As Tang Shi walked towards the parking lot, she glanced at Lin Shiren. She tucked her long hair behind her ear, and there was a small mosquito bite on her cheek. She looked both innocent and pure.
"Actually, it's really great to date in high school. Studying together and taking the college entrance exam together is such a wonderful life experience."
Love has no early or late. They are not too young to understand what love is; they are just too young to handle love properly.
Looking at the two tall, slender figures in front of her, she suddenly became interested in playing matchmaker: "I've watched these two boys grow up. They're pretty good people. Would you like to choose one?"
The tone didn't sound like a genuine recommendation; it was more like someone who had already fattened up their two pigs and figured they were going to die sooner or later anyway, so they might as well find a slaughterhouse that looked good to kill them.
Before Lin Shiren could even blush, Tang Shi added, "Don't worry, they're both virgins."
Good heavens, cross-species matchmaking is strictly prohibited.
A wave of heat rushed to his head, and Lin Shiren felt like he was on fire. Fortunately, the darkness provided cover, and they quickly arrived at the parking lot.
"Shi Ren, where do you live?"
"Mercury Garden Residential Area, No. 40 Nangang Street".
After Tang Shi set the navigation and started the car, Song Ci peeked into the rearview mirror at the two people in the back seat. They were quite far apart, as if separated by a galaxy. Lin Shiren obediently looked out the window, not daring to glance out even slightly. Zhou Lin was also more aware of boundaries than expected, keeping his head down and scrolling through his phone.
There were fewer vehicles and pedestrians on the road, the streetlights cast a vast beam of light, and a few people occasionally exchanged a few words.
Mercury Garden is an old residential area with no security guards, no property management, and no parking spaces. In the building where Lin Shiren lives, there is no way to turn around once the car enters, so she asked Tang Shi to park the car outside the residential area.
She opened the back door, walked around to the driver's seat, and bent down to thank Tang Shi.
In just one meal, Tang Shi had taken a liking to this innocent young girl. She rolled down the car window and said, "Renren, let's get together again next time."
"Okay, sister."
"Are you sure I don't need to drive the car in?"
"No need, there are only a few meters left."
At that moment, the other side of the back door opened with a "click," and they all looked over. Zhou Lin got out of the back seat briskly, and then they heard the door close with a "click." He said, "I'll take you inside."
Lin Shiren was stunned, her fingers unconsciously tightening around the hem of her skirt: "Isn't that unnecessary?"
Seeing this, Song Ci nodded vigorously and immediately told Tang Shi to turn off the car: "Yes, yes, Zhou Lin must make sure to get the team leader home safely. We'll wait for you here."
The night was dark, a gentle breeze was blowing, and the air was filled with the scent of camphor trees after the rain.
Zhou Lin followed behind her. The two walked around a patch of dilapidated fitness equipment and past two residential buildings before Lin Shiren stopped.
The three-minute journey felt like an eternity.
She pointed to the building entrance three meters away and gave a polite look: "I'm home."
Zhou Lin hummed in agreement and said nothing more.
Just as she was about to turn around, Lin Shiren suddenly remembered something and handed over the red banknotes she had been clutching all the way: "Here, take this. We'll split the bill for dinner today."
The banknotes were so wet from being held for so long that they became a crumpled little ball and looked rather shabby.
The girl stretched out her slender, fair hand in front of him, her eyes glistening with a misty light. Zhou Lin looked at her, puzzled: "Lin Shiren, what have I ever done to offend you? Why do you always look so pitiful?"
She truly forged a unique path in the world of unrequited love.
Lin Shih-jen was speechless, thinking that his posture resembled that of a child who had made a mistake. He couldn't possibly analyze his entire emotional journey over the past few days and then congratulate him on not being a scumbag.
Zhou Lin had a smooth life for the past seventeen years and had never encountered such a problem before. He sighed and said, "I don't accept cash. Transfer it to me via WeChat."
She looked at him with clear, bright eyes: "But I don't have any of your friends..."
Zhou Lin pointed out her grammatical error: "So what?"
...
It was already very late when Lin Shih-jen arrived home.
This was the first time she had come home so late without any explanation. Before opening the door with her key, she felt a little uneasy, wondering what kind of storm was about to break out.
The front door had just closed behind him when the living room light was slammed on and turned on. Lin Shiren instinctively closed his eyes.
When her vision returned, she saw Xin Xiaomei sitting in a chair with four dishes and a soup on the table, and rice served, but there was no sign of her eating.
In that instant, my throat suddenly felt blocked and uncomfortable.
Xin Xiaomei stood up from her chair and said calmly, "Next time you're not coming back for dinner, just let me know." There was no nagging, no blame, and not even a hint of anger.
Lin Shiren paused, suppressing the tears welling in his eyes, and said hesitantly to her retreating figure, "I understand, Mom."
Xin Xiaomei paused for a moment: "Don't stay up too late."
The bathroom was filled with steam. Lin Shih-ren completely cleared his mind for a while under the shower, and finally let out a long breath.
Once the anger dissipates, the drive to get stuck on a problem also disappears.
After drying her hair, she slipped on her slippers and left the bathroom. She went to the dining table, ate a bite of each dish, then covered them with plastic wrap and put them back in the refrigerator.
While lying in bed, a new message appeared in the friend request section, with a simple verification message of just two words—Zhou Lin.
Speechless.
Why not accept cash? Is cash a cardinal sin? Even if he's not a scumbag, he's still a weirdo! But no matter how dissatisfied he is, Zhou Lin is still the creditor, and under these circumstances, he simply can't refuse this friend request.
Lin Shiren hesitated for a long time before finally accepting her friend request. She sent him a 100-yuan red envelope, then locked her screen and went to sleep without any further delay.
Twenty-four hours passed, and the red envelope was returned.
However, Lin Shih-ren no longer had the energy to care about this matter, because the first monthly exam was coming at the end of August.
On the day of the exam, Lin Shih-jen woke up very early, not on purpose, but because she had been having nightmares about the exam all night. She kept forgetting her pen, going to the wrong exam room, and even when the bell rang, she hadn't finished the paper and was woken up in a fright.
The National College Entrance Examination (Gaokao) truly lives up to its reputation as the most nightmare subject in China for years.
She bought a basket of xiaolongbao (soup dumplings) to eat on the way, and declined the millet porridge offered by the shop because she was afraid of having to go to the restroom.
At Huiwen High School, students were assigned to exam rooms based on their grades, with thirty students per group. Lin Shiren was assigned to the second exam room, where most of her classmates were from Class 1, but she was still nervous. When she was nervous, she would fidget a lot, and her ballpoint pen would click and clack on her slender fingertips.
Five minutes before the exam, Zhou Lin appeared in the corridor, without his backpack. Every exam room he passed stared at him, and whispers rippled through the room. Compared to the other students, who were on high alert, he was far too relaxed—to the point of being annoyingly relaxed.
I hope he fails the exam.
Unfortunately, retribution came too quickly.
Having never encountered such tricky questions before, Lin Shih-jen was deeply discouraged during the exam. English and chemistry were her strong points, but even so, she could only barely finish the paper, not to mention her other subjects, which were already weak.
On the afternoon the results were announced, someone called her to the office from the classroom door.
Chen Mo unscrewed the thermos and took a sip of water. Looking at the monthly exam report card, he turned his head and saw Lin Shiren sitting there shivering. His tone of reproach suddenly changed: "You dropped 50 places in this exam. Do you know what that means? Some people are starting to work hard, and some people are starting to fall behind. This is senior year of high school. It's that cruel."
Lin Shiren felt bad too. She sniffed and said, "Teacher Chen, I will catch up with the group."
Chen Mo didn't reply to her. He propped himself up on his elbows, stared at her test paper, flipped through it several times, and finally rubbed his temples: "You and Dong Rui are both weak in physics and math. It seems I have to separate you two. I'll find you a new deskmate."
As he scrolled up the report card, his pen hovered between Shen Xuqing and Zhou Lin's names for a few seconds before he seemed to finally make a decision.
In those few seconds, Lin Shih-jen's heart nearly stopped.
Chen Mo looked up, his gaze settling on her face: "You're willing to be with Shen Xu..."
"Knock knock knock".
Just then, there was a knock on the office door, and Lin Shiren and Chen Mo both looked toward the door.
As soon as the door opened, Zhou Lin came in from outside, his brows furrowed, looking somewhat annoyed.
Chen Mo blinked: "What's wrong?"
Didn't you get first place in the grade again? You scored 32 points more than the second place, what's there to be dissatisfied about?
Zhou Lin raised his eyes: "Teacher Chen, I'd like to change my deskmate."
A note from the author:
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My darlings, the next chapter will be available for purchase (VIP chapter), so I hope you'll continue to support me! There will be lots of red envelopes during the serialization.
50 red envelopes in this chapter~ Love you all
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