Chapter 54: Dying of Social Embarrassment on the Spot

On Saturday afternoon, the final self-study bell of the day rang.

Lu You was in the midst of explaining a math problem to Yuan Wenliang when Meng Yi shouldered his backpack and walked over to them.

"Hey! Look at the two academic gods, still studying even after class has ended!"

Both of them raised their heads to look at him.

Lu You asked, "Something on your mind?"

"Tonight, a KTV presidential suite party, complete with girls from the neighboring class. Are you coming?"

Lu You: (￣ー￣)

"Do you even need to ask?"

"What, studying with Goddess Tang again? Every single week without fail, aren't you sick of it yet?"

"You eat rice every single day, aren't you sick of it? Besides, I only get one evening a week to spend with her, how could I possibly waste it singing karaoke with you guys?"

"Oh come on, my dear Lu!" Meng Yi wore an expression of profound disappointment. "The girls from the other classes are dying to see you. Are you really willing to give up an entire forest for just one tree?"

"Spare me. My heart is a tiny plot of land, large enough for only one flower. No matter how vast the forest is, it has nothing to do with me. So, forget about it."

Seeing Lu You decline so decisively, Meng Yi didn't press the issue further.

"Fine then. It's just a pity that you're destined never to experience the lifestyle of a man who wanders through a myriad of blossoms without a single petal clinging to his clothes."

"Ha!" Lu You chuckled, looking him up and down with extreme skepticism.

"My urine is quite yellow; do you need me to splash you awake?"

"Tch!"

Meng Yi ran a hand through his stubby, sub-five-millimeter buzz cut, tilted his chin up, pointed his nose at Lu You, and said smugly, "What if girls just happen to like my type—broad-minded, well-fed, and with a healthy complexion? You're just sour because you can't reach the grapes. Pure jealousy."

Damn it!

Lu You took a deep breath.

Don't get angry! Don't get angry! One must not lower oneself to the level of an idiot.

With that, Meng Yi turned his head and looked at Yuan Wenliang.

"Old Liang, what about you? Coming?"

"I already have plans. I'll pass."

"You too? With whom? It couldn't be Goddess Ye, could it?"

Instantly, the atmosphere fell silent.

"Haha! Don't tell me I guessed right?"

Lu You and Yuan Wenliang simply stared at him in silence, saying nothing.

The triumphant expression gradually faded from Meng Yi's face. Glancing back and forth between the two of them, he said nervously, "Say something, you guys! This is creeping me out! It really is her, isn't it? Tell me it's not her, quick!"

A twinge of guilt welled up inside Yuan Wenliang, and he slowly spoke, "I'm sorry, Meng Yi."

"Get lost!"

Two lines of hot tears welled up and spilled from the corners of Meng Yi's eyes.

"You're both heartless bastards! We can no longer play happily together. You two are beasts! How could you make a move on a goddess? The goddess belongs to everyone!"

Yuan Wenliang scratched his head. As if afraid that Meng Yi wasn't hurt deeply enough, he added, "I didn't harbor any intentions; she was the one who sought me out."

With that single sentence, Meng Yi turned and fled in panic.

Yuan Wenliang looked with puzzlement at the retreating figure, who looked like a stray dog.

"Brother Lu, is Meng Yi quite alright?"

Lu You patted him on the shoulder and said encouragingly, "He's fine, Old Liang. You answered wonderfully; you've shown him what reality truly is. Now then, let's continue with the problems."

Evening self-study for the elite classes ended half an hour later than the other classes on Saturdays, leaving Lu You plenty of time to go over a few more problems with Yuan Wenliang.

...

Ten minutes later.

Having finished explaining two calculus problems, Lu You asked, "Any other questions?"

Yuan Wenliang hesitated for a moment before speaking, "As for math problems, none."

"So that means you have other kinds of questions?"

"Mm."

"You pissed Ye Hongshu off again, didn't you?"

Yuan Wenliang nodded gloomily.

Lu You was already used to it. Ever since the two of them had gotten acquainted a few days ago, Yuan Wenliang had been bugging him with endless questions day after day.

"Out with it, what heaven-defying nonsense did you spout this time?"

"Why are you so certain it was my fault?"

Lu You shot him a sideways glance.

"Well, duh. Could you possibly think it was Ye Hongshu's fault?"

Yuan Wenliang: "..."

"At the time, she asked me how I studied Chinese, politics, history, and geography."

Ye Hongshu's class was Class 18, not an elite class. Her grades weren't bad—after all, she had entered Chunhua High on her own merit—but compared to Yuan Wenliang, who consistently topped the humanities rankings, she was far behind. Lu You had heard Yuan Wenliang mention that her humanities rank was around fiftieth. After the subject division next semester, getting into one of the two humanities elite classes was practically guaranteed.

"And how did you reply?"

"I told her, the answers are written in the books."

"And then?"

"She kicked me and called me an idiot."

"I'm asking what else you said."

"Is anything else needed?"

Yuan Wenliang tilted his head, his face a picture of pure innocence.

"My god! Are you genuinely clueless, or are you just feigning purity?"

In both of his lives, this was the first time Lu You had encountered someone so utterly dense in reality. Previously, he had only ever seen such characters in TV dramas or Japanese harem light novels. It was truly an eye-opener.

Yuan Wenliang furrowed his brow, failing to understand the implication of Lu You's words.

"What is wrong with telling the truth?"

"True. The truth isn't wrong, but the truth doesn't mean people like hearing it. It's like tracking down someone who has lost both parents and constantly reminding them, 'Your household registration book only has your name on it.' That's the truth, right? But do you think they'd pin you to the floor and beat you up?"

Lu You's single sentence enlightened him instantly, the confusion in his heart rapidly dissipating.

"You mean my phrasing was problematic?"

"The young man is teachable."

Lu You nodded in satisfaction; at least he was capable of understanding what was being said, rather than casting pearls before swine.

"For instance, just now, you could have added a few more sentences. Like, if there's anything you don't understand, you can come find me in Class 3. Or you could have directly invited her to study together sometime. Wouldn't that have resolved the issue neatly?"

"Extremely sound reasoning! I shall try this later!"

As the two chatted, the 5:30 bell rang, signaling that the elite classes had also finished for the day.

Lu You packed up his books in record time.

"As for how to reply to a girl, your humanities scores are better than mine, so I imagine I don't need to spell it out. Tang Wan is out of class, I'm heading out. See you."

Without waiting for a response, he trotted out of the classroom.

Yuan Wenliang lowered his head, sitting alone at his desk, silently pondering how to speak to Ye Hongshu in the future.

...

From the ringing of the bell to arriving outside the Class 2 classroom, the entire process took Lu You less than two minutes.

By this time, Tang Wan had already put on her white jacket, slung her backpack over her shoulders, and was standing in the hallway waiting for him.

"Why are you wearing your backpack? Aren't we just heading to the cafeteria for a meal and coming right back to study?"

Hearing his voice, Tang Wan turned around and looked at Lu You, her eyes brimming with undisguised delight.

"I plan to slack off tonight!"

"Truancy?"

"Yep!"

Lu You raised an eyebrow, surprised by her boldness. Chunhua High's school rules were generally relatively humane, but when it came to discipline—such as students violating rules—they were exceptionally strict.

There had once been a case where a student skipped class without permission to return to the dorms to rest, resulting in the entire freshman administration team mobilizing to hunt the student down, ultimately ending in a disciplinary probation.

"Aren't you afraid of the teachers?"

Tang Wan shook her head. "Not afraid. Teachers always turn a blind eye to exceptional students. Besides, we have two top students here!"

Lu You rested the back of his right hand against his chin, deep in thought.

Some kind of contingency measure was still necessary; students disappearing without a trace was a major taboo.

The best approach was still to give a heads-up to Mom.

Seeing Lu You remain silent, Tang Wan assumed he didn't want to go with her. Reaching out, she pinched the left sleeve of his shirt, looked up at him with pleading eyes, and said in a soft, gentle voice, "Pretty please? Just this once~ I'm begging you~"

So cute!

Lu You felt as though his heart had been pierced by an arrow. He quickly averted his gaze to the scenery outside the hallway, not daring to look at Tang Wan another second for fear that the next moment he would give in to the urge to hug, kiss, and lift her up.

Meanwhile, Xu Nian and Li Yu, who happened to be walking out of the classroom, were completely dumbfounded by this scene.

Xu Nian, in particular, never imagined that Tang Wan would actually act so spoiled in front of Lu You.

"Holy crap, Wanwan! I never took you for this kind of person!"

As if jolted by an electric shock, Tang Wan instantly retracted her hand from his sleeve. Her face flushed red at a speed visible to the naked eye, matching the shade of rouge. She then turned around to face the railing, and even gave Lu You a light smack to signal him to bail her out.

When she was alone with Lu You, she sometimes subconsciously forgot her surroundings.

Jolted back to reality by the tap, Lu You turned to Li Yu and asked, "Did you bring your phone?"

"I did."

"Then let my mom know later. Just tell her the truth."

With that, he grabbed Tang Wan's wrist and, under the gaze of everyone present, vanished toward the stairwell.

"Your bro is bold! Daring to hold a girl's hand right on school grounds, and in front of so many people?"

Li Yu thought about Lu You's personality and replied, "Actually, the most likely scenario is that in his eyes, only the two of them exist, and everyone else is just invisible."

Seeing Tang Wan and Lu You dash off so recklessly, Xu Nian felt an itch of his own and suggested, "Shall we play truant too? Didn't you say you picked up a few more boxes of model kits? Let's go build them."

"Sure. Two people working together makes it go faster anyway. The delivery has already arrived at the Carp Club, let's go."

"What about the teacher?"

"Lu You has a mom, don't I?"

"Uh... fair enough."

...

Lu You brought Tang Wan back to the Class 3 classroom, picked up his backpack, and the two headed toward the parking lot.

At this moment, Tang Wan's eyes held the dim, lifeless look of a dead salted fish. Moreover, she deliberately walked two steps ahead of Lu You.

Lu You sped up to catch her and walk side by side, but Tang Wan promptly quickened her pace as well, refusing to let him get close.

Lu You simply stopped walking altogether. After she had taken three or four paces forward, she noticed the person behind her had frozen in place, so she obediently retreated, still stopping a couple of paces away.

How could this person be so adorable?

Amused, Lu You looked at Tang Wan's flowing black hair and teased, "What's wrong? Still embarrassed?"

"Tang Wan is very angry right now, and she doesn't want to talk to you."

When a girl is throwing a little temper tantrum, the simplest and most effective method is to feed her and divert her attention.

"That's a headache, then." Lu You shifted to a troubled tone. "I was going to ask whether she wanted barbecue or hot pot tonight."

Tang Wan took a step back, closing the distance to just a single step.

"Tang Wan says she wants hot pot."

"And does she want Haidilao, mutton hot pot, or beef hot pot?"

Tang Wan took another step back, and they were standing side by side once again. Turning her head, she said earnestly, "Beef hot pot is number one in the world."

"Not mad anymore?"

"I'm hungry and have no strength. We'll talk after eating."

"Let's go then. My treat tonight, order whatever you like."

"Is that really okay? You're treating every time. At least let me treat once, or we can go Dutch."

They were still students, and their allowance money came entirely from their parents. After everyday expenses, there shouldn't be much left over.

Tang Wan didn't want Lu You to put on a false front of wealth just for the sake of saving face, only to end up pinching pennies over a meal.

She really does look out for my wallet.

Lu You reminded her, "Remember the reward for the mid-term exams?"

"I remember. I got first place in the grade and was rewarded 500 yuan. Should I treat this time?"

"Now count up how much I got."

Tang Wan silently did the math in her head.

First place in a single subject was 300 yuan. He had gotten first place in math, English, physics, chemistry, and biology—that was five subjects in total, which roughly equaled... 1,500 yuan!

Without a moment's hesitation, she declared, "Your treat! Let's hurry up and go!"