Chapter 42 "I have a boyfriend/girlfriend".
Chapter 42
The next day, Yu Pan was taken to school by Shen Yanzhou as usual.
People are always gossipy. Yesterday, Zheng Xinghao and his parents came to the school with such a big entourage, and then Yu Pan was called away by the homeroom teacher as soon as she arrived at the classroom. Many people in the class saw this.
Furthermore, Yu Pan never returned to the classroom, while Zheng Xinghao came back with red eyes and silently took all his books and belongings with his parents...
It's hard not to overthink this scene.
Curious students went to ask the homeroom teacher during break, only to receive a vague answer: "Zheng Xinghao has transferred schools."
This sparked even more speculation at get off work, with various versions of rumors circulating.
So, the moment Yu Pan pushed open the classroom door, the previously noisy morning self-study session instantly quieted down. Almost all the students inside focused their attention on Yu Pan.
Yu Pan disliked being the center of attention. He lowered his head slightly, quickened his pace, and tried to walk to his seat without looking to the side.
As soon as she sat down, Yu Pan felt a particularly direct and undeniable gaze upon her.
The owner of that gaze was standing next to him, his deskmate, Ling Luo.
Ling Luo pointed a finger at her chin, raised her eyebrows slightly, and looked him up and down without any hesitation. In her eyes, besides her usual arrogance, there was also a hint of curiosity.
Yu Pan felt uncomfortable under his gaze. While taking out her textbook for the first class, she asked in a low voice, "What's wrong?"
"I heard that yesterday," Ling Luo began, her voice not deliberately lowered, "Zheng Xinghao's parents came to the school? And caused you trouble?"
Yu Pan was taken aback by his direct question and paused for a moment before nodding. "Yes, but my brother came later and explained everything."
After he finished speaking, a brief silence fell between the two of them.
Yu Pan wasn't the type of person who would actively seek out topics to chat with people she wasn't very familiar with, and she continued tidying up her stationery on her own.
Ling Luo, on the other hand, was completely different from her usual indifferent demeanor. She seemed hesitant to speak, yet still wanted to say something.
Yu Pan sensed that he seemed to have something else to say, so she turned her head and asked him, "What's wrong?"
Ling Luo's expression was a little awkward, his eyes darting around. After coughing, he seemed to have finally made up his mind, looked directly at Yu Pan, and asked the question that had been on his mind for a long time: "Why were you staring at me the whole time on the first day of school?"
Yu Pan hadn't expected him to ask that. She blinked and answered very honestly, "I thought you were very good-looking, so I couldn't resist."
When Yu Pan said this, her tone was sincere and frank, without any ulterior motives.
"...That's it?" Ling Luo was clearly not expected to receive such a simple and straightforward answer. After a few seconds of stunned silence, she turned her head away awkwardly and muttered under her breath, "Well... at least you have some taste."
Just as Yu Pan thought the conversation was over and was about to continue organizing her stationery, Ling Luo spoke up again.
"Actually, I was in a pretty bad mood that day too."
"Hmm?" Yu Pan looked at him curiously.
"I just transferred here, I don't know anyone, and I feel out of place everywhere. It's so annoying." Ling Luo pouted. "Besides, the off-white wool sweater you wore that day was exactly the same as the one I was wearing!"
Yu Pan frowned, trying hard to recall. He had too many clothes, and in the winter mornings he couldn't get out of bed, so Shen Yanzhou would pull him up to put on his clothes. He rarely bothered to remember what to wear...
After winter set in, he basically wore a wool sweater and a thick coat, but he really couldn't remember exactly what those outfits looked like.
As for what Ling Luo wore that day... he did at the time
I was so focused on the other person's stunningly beautiful face that I didn't even notice the style of their clothes.
"Is it the same? I didn't really notice," Yu Pan said a little embarrassed.
“Exactly the same!” Ling Luo emphasized, her tone still carrying a hint of her displeasure from back then.
"Hmm..." Yu Pan tried to understand why the other person was unhappy, "Wouldn't it be better to wear the same clothes?"
He used to always want to wear the same clothes as Shen Yanzhou.
"You're wearing the same clothes as someone else! Don't you feel embarrassed?" Ling Luo seemed unable to understand Yu Pan's thought process. In his opinion, wearing the same clothes as someone else was one of the social tortures.
"I don't think so. The clothes weren't made just for me; there will definitely be other people wearing the same ones." Yu Pan genuinely didn't see anything wrong with it.
However, at this point, Yu Pan suddenly realized that the reason Ling Luo glared at him so fiercely on the first day of school was not only because he had stared at her for a long time, but also because they were wearing the same clothes.
"Forget it, forget it, I can't reason with a blockhead like you." Ling Luo gave up on communication, sat up straight, and stopped looking at Yu Pan.
Seeing his expression, Yu Pan thought for a moment and then added earnestly, "But that sweater looks really good on you."
These words seemed to strike a chord with Ling Luo, and the corners of his mouth involuntarily curved upwards, only to be quickly suppressed.
Ling Luo turned her head and snorted: "Nonsense, of course I know it looks good, I picked it out myself."
Although his tone was a bit arrogant, the atmosphere between the two of them noticeably eased.
After this experience, Ling Luo seemed to have found a way to get along with Yu Pan. He started talking to Yu Pan from time to time, complaining about how bad the school environment was, how unsanitary the food in the cafeteria was, and sharing some gossip.
Yu Pan would always listen quietly, then think carefully before giving her own opinion. She didn't say much, but there was absolutely no perfunctory attitude.
Ling Luo often jokingly calls Yu Pan a "little dummy" because she's slow to react. Yu Pan, however, retorts that she's just thinking and not dummy.
For Yu Pan, he had never interacted with someone like Ling Luo before. Unlike the quiet and back-and-forth conversations with Xu Rui, being with Ling Luo was much more relaxed, even a bit noisy.
He only knew that he didn't dislike this kind of interaction.
-
During the morning self-study session that day, Yu Pan noticed Ling Luo secretly reading a book.
Although it's close to the monthly exams and teachers are being stricter with extracurricular reading than usual, it's not to the point that Ling Luo feels like a thief—
He left his coat open, completely covering his sides, and leaned over the table, placing the book on his lap to read.
From a distance, it looks like she's sleeping, but Yu Pan, her deskmate, knows that if there's even the slightest movement around her, Ling Luo's body will immediately freeze, and she'll tuck her legs under the desk to perfectly hide the book. The whole process is incredibly smooth.
Yu Pan loved reading, and seeing Ling Luo so engrossed in reading while also keeping a close watch on her, her curiosity was piqued.
Several times he couldn't help but ask, "Ling Luo, what book are you reading? Is it good?"
Ling Luo would never look up and would give a vague, perfunctory reply: "It's just a regular book, oh, don't ask anymore, it's not suitable for you."
Now Yu Pan was puzzled. What kind of book couldn't he read? He, Yu Pan, could even read through all of Shen Yanzhou's professional books in the study!
Until one day, when Ling Luo moved her body and didn't get the angle right, Yu Pan caught a glimpse of the book cover, which looked a bit like... Lu Xun's "Dawn Blossoms Plucked at Dusk"?
Yu Pan felt a surge of smugness, even thinking Ling Luo was making a mountain out of a molehill. He had already finished reading "Dawn Blossoms Plucked at Dusk," and he could even recite large sections of many of the famous pieces from memory! What was so unsuitable for him to read?
So, Yu Pan had a plan. He carefully observed the thickness of one side of the book Ling Luo was reading and estimated which chapter he was probably reading.
When morning reading time arrived, while everyone was reading their texts aloud, Yu Pan pretended to be reading attentively as well. In reality, she slightly turned her head towards Ling Luo and recited a passage from "Dawn Blossoms Plucked at Dusk" in a volume that only the two of them could hear.
"Behind my house is a large garden, which is said to be called the Hundred Herbs Garden... It seems that there are only some wild grasses in it..."
Yu Pan recited a passage, then secretly glanced at Ling Luo, who showed no reaction and continued reciting the ancient poem in a half-hearted manner.
Could it be that I memorized the wrong passage? Yu Pan thought for a moment, then switched to memorizing a different passage.
After two morning reading sessions, Yu Pan had almost memorized all the more famous passages from "Dawn Blossoms Plucked at Dusk," but Ling Luo seemed to have cotton stuffed in his ears and didn't react at all. He even said that Ling Luo was looking at him and muttering something.
Yu Pan was completely dumbfounded. Could it be that he had remembered it wrong? Or had Ling Luo watched a version that he didn't know about?
When it comes to books, Yu Pan is always stubborn and unwilling to admit defeat. When he got home that night, he specifically found the copy of "Dawn Blossoms Plucked at Dusk" on the bookshelf and carefully read it through from beginning to end, making sure he had memorized everything before putting the book down.
The next day at school, Yu Pan changed her strategy. Instead of focusing on memorizing famous passages, she randomly selected passages to memorize, trying to awaken Ling Luo's interest.
As a result... Ling Luo still didn't react at all.
Yu Pan was deeply puzzled by this. What kind of version of "Dawn Blossoms Plucked at Dusk" was this? What could make Ling Luo so obsessed?
He really wanted to see it too...
-
Fortunately, this opportunity came very quickly. Perhaps because she had been staying up too late to study lately, Ling Luo fell asleep on her desk during a self-study class that afternoon.
Ling Luo's leg suddenly twitched, and she didn't know what she was dreaming about.
With a soft "thud," the book he had been carefully clutching on his lap slipped off and landed between the two seats.
Yu Pan was doing his homework when he was startled by the noise. He instinctively looked up at the podium and saw that the class monitor on duty was writing something, and the teacher was not in the classroom.
His gaze fell back on the book on the ground. Curiosity ultimately triumphed over politeness, and almost as if possessed, Yu Pan bent down and picked up the book.
With a sense of awe and remorse, Yu Pan looked down.
It's not "Dawn Blossoms Plucked at Dusk" at all!
The book cover was taken from "Dawn Blossoms Plucked at Dusk," but the contents inside have absolutely nothing to do with it!
Before his brain could even fully process what was happening, some offensive words on the paper entered his mind, stirring up a storm.
Yu Pan's face turned bright red as if it had been set on fire, and her hand trembled, almost causing her to drop the book back onto the ground.
Just then, Ling Luo, who was standing next to him, opened his eyes groggily and saw Yu Pan holding his "treasure" in his hand.
Their eyes met, and the air seemed to freeze. Awkwardness overwhelmed them both.
"!!!"
Ling Luo instantly snapped out of her daze, snatched the book back from Yu Pan's hand, and quickly stuffed it into the drawer.
They both sat stiffly, their hearts pounding, neither daring to look at the other.
After a long while, Ling Luo cleared his throat very awkwardly, his eyes darting around, trying to break the suffocating situation with his usual nonchalant tone.
"Uh, well, what's so strange about this? Don't make a fuss." He stammered, and his words sounded completely unconvincing.
Yu Pan was still reeling from the intense impact of the book's contents, his mind a jumbled mess. Hearing this, he lowered his head and his voice was barely a whisper: "You... how can you read this kind of book?"
Ling Luo straightened her back, her voice strong despite her lack of conviction, though her voice was a little weak and her ears were bright red. "What's wrong with that? These days... who doesn't know this? Isn't this how it is when you're dating?"
After he finished speaking, he glanced at Yu Pan, whose face was as red as a tomato, and raised his eyebrows in surprise, "Hey... Yu Pan, don't tell me you've never been in a relationship?"
Upon hearing this, Yu Pan retorted softly, "I have a boyfriend."
"You have a boyfriend?" This time it was Ling Luo's turn to be shocked. He looked Yu Pan up and down, her innocent expression practically glowing. "Are you kidding me? You really have a boyfriend? Look at how red your face is! Have you even held hands?"
"Of course I did!" Yu Pan recalled her daily life with Shen Yanzhou, and her confidence grew significantly, her voice becoming much louder.
They don't just hold hands, they kiss every single day!
But regarding the profound and straightforward content described in that book, he truly... hadn't experienced it, and couldn't even imagine it in detail.
Ling Luo then pressed him with winks and asked, "What stage has your relationship progressed to? Besides holding hands, is there anything else?"
Yu Pan could no longer resist and kept brushing it off with "I do have a boyfriend." When asked anything else, she would purse her lips and pretend not to hear.
Ling Luo asked gossipy questions for a long time, but seeing that Yu Pan kept her mouth shut and refused to say any more details, she concluded that Yu Pan was just trying to save face and was making things up to fool her. She guessed that Yu Pan had never even held a girl's hand.
When Yu Pan discovered her secret, Ling Luo stopped pretending and openly put the book on the table to read it. She even turned to Yu Pan and asked if he wanted to borrow one.
Yu Pan quickly refused; the few paragraphs of text and illustrations he had just seen were enough to unsettle him.
Shen Yanzhou has been very busy with work lately, returning home late at night every day, and then continuing to work.
Yu Pan has been talking to him less about school lately. He goes to sleep on the small bed in the study when it's time to sleep, and Shen Yanzhou will carry him back to the bedroom when he's done with his work.
That evening, after school, Shen Yanzhou returned home very late as usual, and after washing up, he still had to handle affairs in the study.
Yu Pan lay on her side on the small bed, hugging the blanket, looking at Shen Yanzhou's straight nose, the Adam's apple bobbing as he swallowed, and his well-defined knuckles...
The words and images I saw during the day suddenly popped up uncontrollably.
Yu Pan blushed and shrank back under the covers.
Will he and Shen Yanzhou... also do the things described in the book?
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Author's Note: Panpan: [Heart][Heart][Heart]
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