Chapter 48
At six o'clock in the morning, a sliver of pale golden light peeked through the gap in the curtains, like a soft ribbon falling onto the carpet.
Shi Mingyue was lost in a light dream when she suddenly felt an itch on her cheek.
A wet, warm little tongue gently swept across her cheekbone, with a touch of coquettishness.
Yun Zhan: Lick lick lick.
Shi Mingyue opened her eyes groggily and saw a snow-white figure squatting on her chest.
Yun Zhan was licking her face with his pink tongue, and when he saw that she was awake, his tail suddenly rose up, like unfolding a fluffy feather fan.
"So cute..."
Shi Mingyue's heart was instantly filled, and a sense of satisfaction washed over her like a tide.
She reached out and pulled Yun Zhan into her arms, gently scratching the little fox's chin with her fingertips, then lowered her head to place a light kiss on her neck, her voice still hoarse from just waking up: "Why did you wake me up so early?"
The fox's fur was so thick that Yun Zhan didn't feel Shi Mingyue's kiss; he just thought she had buried her face in his neck.
Yun Zhan's little paw stepped on Shi Mingyue's chest, leaving a small pink paw print.
Yun Zhan's ears twitched, and he muttered softly, "I need to go to school... but I don't have any clothes to wear. Once I turn into a human, I won't have any clothes."
She blinked her amber eyes, her tail brushing against Shi Mingyue's wrist as if urging, "Lend me your school uniform. I'm not much taller than you, so it should fit."
Shi Mingyue chuckled, reaching for a loose white shirt from beside the bed, its cuffs still carrying her faint fragrance: "Wear this for now. I'll find you a school uniform later."
She helped Yun Zhan peek his head out of his collar and carefully lifted the hem of his shirt at the tail to prevent it from pressing down on the downy fur.
“Let’s go,” she said, gently rubbing the tips of the fox’s ears. “I’ll have my private driver take you later. My father has grounded me, so I can’t go to school with him today.”
"Okay, I'll miss you, and I'll come see you again next time."
Despite Yun Zhan's words, his tail honestly wrapped around Shi Mingyue's wrist, like a soft scarf, encircling the cool morning air between the two of them.
When she arrived, morning classes had already started, so Yun Zhan could only sneak in through the back door. Once she got to her seat, she breathed a sigh of relief: "Luckily, there were no teachers on duty."
Yun Zhan's seat was by the window, where sunlight streamed in at an angle, landing on a light blue notebook on the table. The cover was clean, and Yun Zhan casually flipped to a page, which contained the content he had studied recently.
Classes have already started.
Yun Zhan only had time to put the notebook back in the drawer when the teacher pushed the door open and entered, so she had to turn her attention back to the podium.
But today, Yun Zhan clearly felt that someone was watching him from his right front, and the gaze was very intense.
"Who's watching me?" Yun Zhan stopped writing, his brows furrowing into a deep frown.
She glanced to her right front, then turned back.
Wen Sixue sat in the second row on the right, her back ramrod straight, but she couldn't hide the dark circles under her eyes.
She frequently looked up, her gaze sweeping over Yun Zhan's ears, hair, and the knuckles of his hand holding the pen, as if trying to etch every inch into her heart.
Every time she saw Yun Zhan, her eyelashes would flutter slightly before drooping, her fingertips unconsciously stroking the edge of the book pages until a row of tiny creases appeared on the corner of the paper.
She had faint dark circles under her eyes, and her lips were paler than usual, as if she hadn't slept all night.
During a break in the teacher's writing on the blackboard, Wen Sixue turned her head and her gaze fell on the blue spine of a book sticking out of Yun Zhan's drawer.
Can't you even look at your notes? Yun Zhan must have gone on a date with Senior Pei last night, right? After all, everyone at school is saying...
Wen Sixue's eyes darkened, and she managed a slight smile, but quickly pressed her lips together into a straight line.
"She just did that to me not long ago. Doesn't she feel any sincerity from me at all?"
Wen Sixue lowered her eyes, hiding her face behind the book and muttering to herself.
She was afraid that her secrets would be seen through, and even more afraid that Yun Zhan would turn back, so she could only withdraw her gaze again and again, and then secretly let it out again.
Throughout the entire class, her gaze was like the tide, rising and receding, rising and receding, each time silently lapping against Yun Zhan's back, carrying a bittersweet taste and a plea she dared not utter.
After attending half a class attentively, Yun Zhan realized that these were all things he had already learned.
Although the culture of this world is somewhat different from that of the original world, the science and engineering disciplines are still the same, and many mathematical and scientific knowledge has long been mastered.
"I'm a bit bored. Should I go to class and look at that notebook I got last time?" Yun Zhan thought to himself.
Not long after she received the principal's notebook, Pei Yanxi went to sea, so she didn't have time to analyze it carefully.
"Should we watch from here? Isn't that too dangerous?" 21 looked around; there were classmates around and teachers above, so the risk of being seen was very high.
"Someone is definitely looking for this ledger, and they're doing it all over the school. If you go to the dorm or other places, you'll attract the attention of those with ulterior motives. It's safer to look at it during class by tucking it into a book."
After analyzing the situation, Yun Zhan reached into a compartment in his bag and pulled out the old ledger.
She tore out a few pages and tucked them into the exam paper, where they were barely noticeable unless you looked closely.
"Pei Ying... 30 million, twelve properties; Zhuang Wei... 60 million, four overseas glass factories, eight villas in Yue Du; Shi Boshan... 1.7 billion..."
1.7 billion?
What? How can there be such a person?
Yun Zhan was stunned for a moment.
Yun Zhan counted the zeros after the seven and realized that he had not misread it.
Who would bribe the principal with 1.7 billion yuan?
"The only family that can afford to spend 1.7 billion yuan on bribes throughout the month, and whose surname is Shi, is probably the Shi family." Yun Zhan raised an eyebrow, wondering how even the Shi family could get involved.
Since he is a high-ranking official in the capital, there's no need for him to bribe someone of a lower rank.
Moreover, Shi Mingyue's father is a powerful official, so there's even less need for that.
Yun Zhan seemed to have thought of something. She quickly flipped through the entire ledger but did not see Shi Ke's name.
"Just as I thought..." Yun Zhan solemnly closed the ledger.
"What's wrong?" 21 asked.
"This Shi Boshan should indeed be from the Shi family, but Shi Mingyue's father should not have been involved in this bribery, because high-ranking officials with real power rarely give money to people in lower positions."
Since ancient times, it has been said that a higher-ranking official can have absolute power over others, and it is always the lower-ranking person who tries to curry favor with the higher-ranking person.
Shi Ke was already an unattainable figure among the celebrities in the capital, so there was no need for him to risk having his family bribe the principal.
"I have a reasonable suspicion that Shi Boshan may not get along with Shi Mingyue's father, or even have some conflict with him. This gift is meant to win him over."
Yun Zhan's fingertips swept over the names in the ledger: "....Mington School is also a gathering place for the elite."
Yun Zhan was engrossed in watching.
As soon as the bell rang, the classroom became noisy.
Wen Sixue gripped the pen tightly, her gaze passing through the swaying figures and landing on Yun Zhan.
Yun Zhan sat by the window, looking down at something, his brows slightly furrowed, his fingertips lightly tracing the margins of the pages, his expression so focused that he seemed detached from the world.
Wen Sixue stood up and walked hesitantly towards the window.
She wanted to say something simple like, "What have you been up to lately?" or ask, "Where did you go last night?", but as soon as she took two steps closer, Yun Zhan's gaze never left the table.
She didn't even lift her eyelashes, as if she couldn't feel her own existence at all.
In that instant, Wen Sixue froze in place.
She looked at Yun Zhan's profile, a silhouette she knew all too well, but now it felt like there was an invisible glass between them, so cold that she dared not get any closer.
A wave of grievance washed over her, and she remembered the rumors circulating at school: Yun Zhan went out with Pei Yanxi late at night, and Pei Yanxi drove Yun Zhan back the next day...
Some people even said they saw them at the hotel entrance...
Each image was like a needle, piercing her heart.
She lowered her head, her eyes began to burn, but she dared not let the tears fall.
He could only walk back to his seat, sit down, bury his face in his arms, and pretend he was just sleepy.
But the slight trembling of her shoulders betrayed her. Tears fell silently, one by one, onto her sleeve.
Wen Sixue dared not raise her head, nor did she dare to look at Yun Zhan again.
I can only ask myself this question over and over again.
"Is Yun Zhan... already with Senior Pei?"
The night Yun Zhan and Pei Yanxi left school, she listened to their rumors all night long.
She witnessed firsthand how her classmates vividly described their dates in the group chat.
Pei Yanxi gave Yun Zhan roses, they kissed in the underground parking garage, and afterwards they drove to a hotel. Yun Zhan was even wearing Pei Yanxi's coat...
Undeniably, many of these descriptions contain elements that appear to be fictional.
However, that night, tears streaming down her cheeks still soaked Wen Sixue's entire headrest.
The corridor during the long break is like a river filled with sunlight, bustling with voices.
Yun Zhan wanted to go to the toilet, and as he turned to the side, his sleeve was suddenly gently tugged.
Wen Sixue tightened her grip, her gaze signaling her to stop.
In the instant he lowered his gaze, Yun Zhan caught a glimpse of Wen Sixue standing against the wall, her shoulders thin, her eyes red and swollen like crushed peach blossoms, her eyelashes still damp, clearly she had just been crying.
She opened her mouth, her voice so hoarse it was almost inaudible: "Yun Zhan..."
Two enthusiastic discussions suddenly broke in from the side.
"Senior Pei is so beautiful. When will I be able to find a girlfriend as beautiful as her?"
"Someone saw her driving Yunzhan to school last time, I wonder if she came today."
Her words were like pebbles hitting water; Wen Sixue's face turned even paler, and her knuckles unconsciously gripped the wall.
The person in question was right next to him, and Yun Zhan coughed awkwardly a few times.
Okay... she was definitely in the wrong that night, she went too far, she apologized... it was her fault.
Wen Sixue looked up at Yun Zhan, her voice trembling as she tried her best to control herself: "Are you... with Pei Yanxi?"
Yun Zhan shook his head, his tone tinged with apology: "No, but I did some things that weren't good for her..."
Wen Sixue bit her lip, her eyes almost overflowing with tears.
Yun Zhan had noticed Wen Sixue's red and swollen eyes long ago. She asked in a low voice, "What happened to your eyes? They're all red. Did someone bully you?"
Yun Zhan stared at Wen Sixue, his expression somewhat serious.
Are those people causing trouble for Wen Sixue again?!
Wen Sixue turned her face away, her voice so hoarse it was almost inaudible: "No, I just didn't sleep well last night."
She clutched the hem of her clothes tightly; in reality, she hadn't slept at all.
She cried all night because every rumor circulating at school that "Pei Yanxi likes Yun Zhan" felt like a dull knife, cutting into her heart inch by inch.
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