Chapter 38 So clingy, has something wronged you? ...
Chapter 38
Holidays always fly by. Yu Pan and Shen Yanzhou spent more than half a month in Beijing, and the day after they returned was New Year's Eve.
This year, Tan Ming and his brother will have to go back home for the Chinese New Year. Shen Yanzhou is away on a business trip and can't find the time, so he and Yu Pan will still spend the New Year in Lanzhou.
They didn't do nothing during their holiday; at least Yu Pan was coaxed by Shen Yanzhou to study math for half a month.
The arts/science track selection form was submitted last semester, and the class assignment results came out after the final exams.
After seeing the class assignment list, Yu Pan was depressed for most of the day because he and Xu Rui were not assigned to the same class.
He was in Class 1, and Xu Rui was in Class 3. Although Yu Pan knew beforehand that the liberal arts classes were all on the same floor and that they would see each other frequently after class, he was still depressed.
After all, Xu Rui was the first friend he made at school. Even though they didn't talk much and mostly just sat quietly together, in Yu Pan's heart, they were good friends.
The thought that he would no longer sit next to someone in the same class after being reassigned to a different class, and that no one would ask him to borrow erasers, pens, or rulers anymore, made Yu Pan feel somewhat lost.
In the past two years, Yu Pan has been too well protected by Shen Yanzhou, so much so that her emotions are now very easily displayed on her face.
When Shen Yanzhou got home from get off work that day, he saw Yu Pan curled up on the sofa watching TV. He could tell at a glance that Yu Pan was in a bad mood. After changing his shoes, he went over and asked, "What's wrong? Isn't today a holiday? Are you unhappy even on your holiday?"
Yu Pan hugged her legs and leaned against Shen Yanzhou's legs, not intending to hide anything, and said listlessly, "The class assignment list is out, and Xu Rui and I are no longer in the same class."
Upon hearing this, Shen Yanzhou chuckled, "I thought it was something serious. I'll go talk to your school leaders and ask them to put you two together."
To everyone's surprise, Yu Pan shook her head after hearing this. "Brother, no need. The class assignment list is already out, so let's just forget about it. The teacher said that all the humanities classes are on the same floor. Xu Rui and I are just one classroom apart, so we can see each other after class. It's the same."
Upon hearing this, Shen Yanzhou felt both tender and gratified, as if his child had grown up and was now able to comfort him.
Startled by his own sudden thought, Shen Yanzhou patted Yu Pan's head and said, "Yes, you're right. Good friends can still be good friends even if they're not in the same class."
…
On the first day of school, Shen Yanzhou was away on a business trip and couldn't take him to school. Yu Pan didn't let Tan Bai accompany him to find the classroom; he went to find it himself.
The classroom was quite lively with many students. Yu Pan first went to check the seating chart.
His seat was in the third row of the fourth group. Yu Pan shifted his gaze to the side and saw the name of his deskmate, Ling Luo.
The name was completely unfamiliar to Yu Pan; she had never heard of it before.
My deskmate is a classmate from my previous class.
This expectation was dashed, and Yu Pan sat down in her seat with her schoolbag in her arms.
The surroundings were lively, and everyone seemed to know each other well. The soft whispers of laughter kept reaching Yu Pan's ears.
I'm a little irritable.
Yu Pan pursed her lips and took out a story magazine from her bag. Shen Yanzhou had brought it back from get off work yesterday, saying that he saw the latest issue when he passed by the bookstore and bought it for him.
In recent years, he has never stopped buying books. He buys almost every book by a famous author that is being printed and sold, and puts it on his bookshelf, waiting for him to discover it.
Just after the New Year, someone suddenly brought a large box to the door. Shen Yanzhou asked him to open it and take a look. After Yu Pan opened it, he almost burst into tears.
It turned out to be the book he hadn't taken with him when he left Xishan Village!
It was a book that Teacher Ji gave him!
Shen Yanzhou has been brought all over Lanzhou!
The consequence of this was that their large bookshelf against the wall was completely crammed full.
Originally, they planned to leave a 40-centimeter-wide space on the bookshelf for Shen Yanzhou to store his usual study materials and project documents, and use the rest of the wall to store Yu Pan's books.
At first, everyone's things were neatly arranged, but later, as Shen Yanzhou bought more and more books for him, Yu Pan's books took up more and more space on the bookshelf.
The space where Shen Yanzhou put his things was moved from 40 centimeters to 30 centimeters, then to 20 centimeters. Finally, Shen Yanzhou had someone build bookshelves in the living room and above his desk, which made the bookshelves look less cramped.
Thinking about these things, Yu Pan felt less panicked. She flipped back to where she had left off yesterday and continued reading. When she found a book she liked, she quickly became engrossed in it, ignoring the noise around her.
Suddenly, he felt the light around him dim, and then a scent like a mixture of face cream and floral water wafted by—fragrant but not overpowering, and very pleasant.
Yu Pan subconsciously looked in the direction of the fragrance and found that the source of the fragrance was right next to him. When he turned his head, he happened to meet the profile of the person next to him and was immediately stunned.
People are always willing to take a second look at beautiful things, and Yu Pan is no exception.
The boy sitting next to him had fair skin with a rosy glow, delicate features, lips like a red cherry, and thick, long eyelashes.
At this moment, the boy was looking down slightly, his long eyelashes casting a small fan-like shadow under his eyes. As Yu Pan looked at him, she inexplicably thought of those exquisitely beautiful dolls in the shop windows of department stores.
When someone stares intently at another person, it's quite obvious, especially since Yu Pan doesn't try to hide it at all, and at such a close distance, it's hard for Ling Luo not to notice.
Yu Pan was still staring blankly when the boy suddenly turned around, his brows furrowed tightly, glaring at her, and said in a rather unfriendly tone, "What are you looking at?"
Yu Pan realized she had been staring at someone for so long, and quickly lowered her head to apologize: "I...I'm sorry! I didn't mean to..."
"Shut up, don't look at me."
Yu Pan obediently shut up, and when she saw him turn his head to rummage through his bag, she secretly breathed a sigh of relief.
The first class of the semester was, as usual, a class meeting. The homeroom teacher was a male teacher who looked very serious. He didn't talk much, but he succinctly finished explaining what the class should do this semester. Then he asked everyone to stand up and introduce themselves in order of their seats.
Yu Pan disliked this part very much, feeling it was like a public execution, but the teachers seemed to like it.
The wait was agonizing. When it was their table's turn, it should have been Yu Panxian's table, but Ling Luo stood up instead.
Although he still had a nonchalant and impatient expression, his voice was clear and his pronunciation was articulate. Even a simple sentence uttered by him gave Yu Pan a sense of poise and confidence.
In addition, Ling Luo was good-looking, which immediately attracted the attention of most of her classmates.
As if infected by his 'generous' demeanor, Yu Pan completed her self-introduction without any nervousness whatsoever.
Then classes officially began.
New class, new teacher, new classmates—Yu Pan needs time to adjust to all of this.
Although her deskmate looked like someone from a magazine, Yu Pan was a little afraid of him because of their unpleasant conversation at the beginning of the semester and his almost expressionless, sullen, and indifferent demeanor. She was even less likely to take the initiative to talk to him or make friends with him.
The two maintained this tacit understanding of not disturbing each other, and had virtually no communication except for necessary conversations.
What broke this deadlock was an accident.
That afternoon, there was a calligraphy class. After class, Yu Pan's deskmate behind her finished writing and got up to wash her brush with water. However, she accidentally bumped the table and knocked over the ink bottle on it.
Most of the bottle of thick black ink spilled out, splashing right onto Yu Panyi's back.
Yu Pan was wearing a sweater and a coat today. Because it was warm in the classroom, he took off his coat and draped it over the back of his chair.
The splash of ink not only soaked through the coat on the back of the chair, but also stained the back of the wool sweater he was wearing.
The wool sweater was off-white, and the splash of water on it was very noticeable.
The student who caused the trouble was also terrified. He frantically grabbed some paper to wipe it up, but found it was no use. He apologized repeatedly, "I'm so sorry! Yu Pan, I really didn't mean to! I didn't see... your clothes... I, I'll pay for them!"
Yu Pan was also stunned. She took off her sweater and looked at the large ink stains on her coat and sweater, feeling a little distressed.
But in his opinion, it wasn't serious enough to warrant replacing the clothes. He thought Shen Yanzhou might have a way to clean it, so he shook his head and said, "I'll take it home and wash it first; maybe it can be washed off..."
At this moment, Ling Luo, who had been watching from the side, spoke up, her tone tinged with disdain, "This kind of ink, once it gets on clothes made of this material, is basically impossible to wash clean. Even if the color fades, that area will still harden and turn yellow. Yu Pan, your clothes are ruined."
His words were like a bucket of cold water poured over him, making the classmate who caused the trouble even paler. "I'll pay you back! Yu Pan, how much did your clothes cost... I'll get the money for you tomorrow..."
Yu Pan genuinely didn't know the exact price of the clothes. His clothes were always taken care of by Shen Yanzhou; he just wore them and never asked about the price. He hesitated for a moment, then said, "I don't know either, I'll have to ask my family..."
Before he could finish speaking, Ling Luo spoke again. This time, he glanced at the two pieces of clothing up and down, his tone as calm as if he were saying that the weather was nice today, "I have the same two pieces of clothing you are wearing. The sweater is 480 yuan and the coat is 720 yuan."
"How...how much?!" the student who caused the trouble exclaimed in shock, his eyes wide open, clearly stunned by the price. 1,200 yuan, that was half a year's salary for his parents!
Yu Pan was also startled. Looking at the sweater in his hand, he knew that Shen Yanzhou always gave him nice clothes, but he didn't usually pay much attention to them.
Only now, after Ling Luo quoted the price so specifically, did he truly realize that the clothes he was wearing were actually so expensive!
What shocked him even more was that he was actually wearing so much money on his body!?
Ling Luo looked at the two men, one with a deathly pale face and the other with a dumbfounded expression, and found the scene rather amusing.
He curled his lip and said to the classmate who was about to cry, "Alright, it's not like you did it on purpose. You can't afford to pay for it anyway."
After saying that, Ling Luo turned to Yu Pan, her tone still somewhat harsh, but the meaning had completely changed, "Yu Pan, when you get home, tell your family that I'm the one who dirtied the clothes, I'll pay for them, and I'll give you the money tomorrow."
Yu Pan and her classmate were both stunned.
Ling Luo felt a little uncomfortable being stared at, so she turned her face away and said in a stiff tone, "What are you looking at? Consider this as repayment for the time I scolded you on the first day of school. We're even now."
"Huh?" Yu Pan couldn't possibly accept such a large sum of money for no reason, and besides, it was his fault when school started. He quickly shook his head: "No need, and besides, I was the one who was impolite back then, so it's right for you to scold me."
He looked at the clothes and his terrified classmate, "I'll take them home first and see if I can wash them clean. If I really can't wash them clean, then I'll deal with it."
The classmate nodded quickly, his voice trembling slightly: "Yes, yes! Let's try it first! Yu Pan, if it really can't be cleaned properly, I'll definitely find a way to make it up to you!"
Ling Luo looked at them, rolled her eyes slightly, and ultimately said nothing more.
It was warm inside the classroom, but still cold outside.
As school was about to end, the classmate who had dirtied his clothes offered to give him his jacket, but Yu Pan refused, as he didn't like wearing other people's clothes.
In the end, he made do with the sweater with a black stain on the back and left the classroom with his dirty coat.
As soon as Yu Pan stepped out of the classroom, a gust of cold wind made her shiver. The driver had parked the car in the usual spot, and when Yu Pan arrived, Tan Bai was already sitting inside.
Tan Bai, with her sharp eyes, immediately noticed the black patch on his back, and her face changed instantly. "Damn it, Yu Pan, what happened to your back? Who did this? I'm going to find him right now!"
He then opened the car door and was about to get out.
Yu Pan quickly stopped him and explained what had happened. Tan Bai listened with some skepticism, but his anger subsided somewhat. He muttered, "You really weren't bullied?... Damn, that was so careless! How big of a bottle of ink was that!"
When she got home, Aunt Zhou had already prepared the meal and left. Shen Yanzhou hadn't returned yet. Yu Pan put the dirty clothes in a conspicuous place in the living room, then sat on a small stool in the entryway, hugging her knees and waiting.
As soon as the key turned the lock, Yu Pan looked up.
When Shen Yanzhou came in, Yu Pan buried her face in his chest and wrapped her arms around his waist.
Shen Yanzhou was taken aback when he was suddenly embraced. He turned around, closed the door, and hugged the person in his arms. "What's wrong? Why are you so clingy? Did something happen?"
Yu Pan shook her head in his arms, her voice muffled, "No..."
He remained in that position, clinging tightly to Shen Yanzhou like a koala, as Shen Yanzhou led him slowly towards the living room. As they walked, he recounted everything that had happened at school that day, including Ling Luo's promise to make amends.
“Brother, I said to bring it back and wash it first.” Yu Pan looked up at Chen Yanzhou, her brows furrowed slightly. “That classmate seems really scared.”
Shen Yanzhou picked up the clothes on the coffee table and examined them carefully. After listening to Yu Pan's words, he had a better understanding of the situation.
He patted Yu Pan's head. "It's okay, it's just two pieces of clothing. I'll take them to a dry cleaner later, they might be able to help. As for compensation..."
Shen Yanzhou smiled and pinched Yu Pan's cheek. "How can I really ask my classmate for so much money? I'm not doing anything malicious. As long as it's washed enough and wearable, that's fine."
"Yes! That's what I thought too!" Hearing Shen Yanzhou say that, Yu Pan finally felt relieved and had time to feel sorry for the clothes. "Why did you buy me such expensive clothes... I didn't even know..."
"Where is it expensive?" Shen Yanzhou put down the clothes, pulled Yu Pan back into his arms, and rubbed his nose against Yu Pan's. "It's not expensive, as long as you're comfortable."
Yu Pan felt ticklish from his rubbing, and her little bit of annoyance completely disappeared. She couldn't help but smile and say "Mmm".
Seeing his obedient appearance, Shen Yanzhou's heart softened completely, and he kissed Yu Pan's lips.
I don't know how long she asked, but when we parted, Yu Pan was still dizzy.
Shen Yanzhou was very fond of Yu Pan's appearance and kissed him intermittently.
The two kissed quietly in the living room for a while, and Yu Pan's worries about school quietly dissipated in this intimacy.
After a long while, Shen Yanzhou finally let go of her hand. "Let's go eat."
Yu Pan's face was still slightly flushed from the kiss. He nodded, "I saw it when I got back. Aunt Zhou made sweet and sour pork ribs today!"
"Wow, it's sweet and sour pork ribs! Have you had any?"
"...I only ate a small piece."
"No wonder you have such a sweet tongue."
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