They were wrong. All of them were wrong.
Gu Chenshi wasn’t playing hard to get—he was making a clean break.
Zhou Xiangyu, who had been waiting to walk with Gu Chenshi, tactfully stepped away when he heard this.
In the past, he had felt it was unfair to his friend because Lin Xiaohua never seemed to appreciate his good qualities. But now that Lin Xiaohua was taking the initiative to reconcile, it was a good thing.
He shouldn’t play the third wheel between them.
A gentleman doesn’t argue with a lady, so he would be magnanimous and let his friend go with the school belle.
Kong Xiao was very displeased. “Ranran, have you forgotten how he bullied you yesterday? Let me go with you instead. No matter what, I would never make you angry.”
While one person tactfully left, another shamelessly pushed forward, trying to make his presence known.
Lin Ranran glared at him irritably. “I have something to say to Gu Chenshi. Stay away from me!”
If it weren’t for her parents’ repeated warnings yesterday, urging her to stay calm, she would have confronted him first thing this morning.
Until her parents’ investigation into Kong Xiao’s family yielded results, she had to control her temper. If she made a scene, it would alert Kong Xiao’s parents.
Gu Chenshi calmly closed his book, placed it in his desk, and stood up to leave the classroom.
From start to finish, he made no response to Lin Ranran’s invitation.
In truth, he found it a bit strange.
He had made himself perfectly clear yesterday. Given how proud Lin Ranran was, she should have ignored him from then on.
So why…?
Was it because of what happened with Lin’s mother yesterday?
Perhaps her parents had instructed her to apologize to him again today?
He really didn’t mind, so why bother?
Besides, Lin Ranran wasn’t genuinely sorry—she was just mechanically carrying out her parents’ instructions.
So why would he care?
The two of them trailed behind the crowd, walking to the cafeteria as they always did, unhurried and side by side.
In the past, Gu Chenshi had wished this walk with Lin Ranran could stretch on forever, with time slowing to a crawl.
But now, looking back on those feelings, he found them both naive and laughable.
Walking beside Gu Chenshi, Lin Ranran felt anxious and melancholy. She stole glances at him, and her grievances swelled like a sponge soaked in water.
Her birthday had been on Monday, and today was Friday—four whole days. Gu Chenshi hadn’t spoken to her for four entire days!
How could he be so cruel?
“Gu Chenshi…”
Gu Chenshi glanced at her briefly. His gaze wasn’t cold, but it wasn’t warm either.
In short, the familiarity Lin Ranran had grown accustomed to seeing in his eyes was gone.
Lin Ranran’s heart sank.
Suddenly, Gu Chenshi felt so unfamiliar.
It was as if the Gu Chenshi who had once looked at her with adoration and considered her in everything he did was nothing more than a figment of her own wishful thinking…
“…Are you still mad at me?” Lin Ranran murmured.
Gu Chenshi replied, “This matter has nothing to do with you, so I can’t really say I’m mad at you.”
Lin Ranran thought bitterly, You know it has nothing to do with me, so why haven’t you spoken to me for days? In the end, you’re still angry.
Gu Chenshi naturally had no idea about Lin Ranran’s inner thoughts at that moment, nor did he care to guess.
Because Lin Ranran was merely a passerby in his life.
He couldn’t be bothered to give too much attention to someone destined to be a passerby in his life.
However, Gu Chenshi also knew that he and Lin Ranran were classmates, sharing the same space where they would inevitably cross paths. It was impossible to immediately cut her out of his life.
No matter, it was just a little over half a year.
Once he got into university later, they would each go their separate ways, and then they would have no further connection.
As for these six months…
It wasn’t actually that unbearable.
It was only now that he understood—when you truly manage to ignore someone, even if they stand right in front of you, you might not remember what they were wearing.
Naturally, you wouldn’t pay attention to their emotions either.
Perhaps this was how Lin Ranran had felt about him before?
“If you didn’t like Kong Xiao walking me home, why didn’t you say anything at the time?”
Lin Ranran bit her lower lip, feeling utterly wronged.
Although she realized that asking this herself might lower her dignity, the grievance in her heart was too much to hold back.
Gu Chenshi was taken aback.
Lin Ranran’s earlier anger wasn’t about her mother’s incident last night, but about that evening on her birthday…
Gu Chenshi was baffled. What was this all about? Why would he be angry?
Well, if it were before, he probably would have felt uncomfortable.
But that was her freedom, wasn’t it?
She could let whoever she wanted walk her home—after all, they were nothing to each other.
In the past, he had no right to be angry, and now, since it didn’t matter to him, why would he be angry?
To put it bluntly, even if Lin Ranran and Kong Xiao became a couple or even went to a hotel, it wouldn’t stir a ripple in his heart.
Gu Chenshi said, “Lin Ranran, letting Kong Xiao walk you home was your freedom. I wasn’t angry.”
Lin Ranran looked at him in surprise.
She tried to find any hint of deception in Gu Chenshi’s calm expression but failed.
She pressed further, “You really weren’t angry?”
Gu Chenshi shook his head.
Lin Ranran suddenly couldn’t hold back anymore. “Gu Chenshi, you jerk!”
With that, her eyes reddened, and she turned and ran back.
Gu Chenshi: “…”
What had he said wrong?
How exhausting!
Being a doormat was truly exhausting.
If this had happened before, he would have been anxious and rushed after her to explain.
Fortunately, he had already reined himself in and turned toward a brighter path.
Zhou Xiangyu was halfway through his meal when Gu Chenshi walked over with a freshly filled tray.
Seeing Gu Chenshi holding only one tray, Zhou Xiangyu instinctively glanced behind him but didn’t see Lin Xiaohua.
Zhou Xiangyu asked curiously, “Old Gu, where’s Lin Xiaohua? Weren’t you two together? Why did you only get food for yourself?”
Gu Chenshi replied, “I can’t eat two portions by myself, so of course I only got one.”
Zhou Xiangyu bit his chopsticks. “Old Gu, I actually think that while studying is important, if you manage your time well, you can balance both studying and love.”
Gu Chenshi looked at him, puzzled. “From what you’re saying, are you trying to convince me to go back to being a doormat?”
“No, no, no,” Zhou Xiangyu waved his hand. “How could that be? I just think… I might have misunderstood Lin Xiaohua before. I used to think she was deliberately stringing you along, but now I feel like she actually cares about you quite a bit. You might not know this, but while you were studying at your desk, I accidentally noticed her stealing glances at you. Later, I paid a little more attention and saw it happen several times.”
Gu Chenshi was slightly taken aback.
Lin Ranran stealing glances at him?
He must be mistaken.
She was the proud Lin Ranran—how could she possibly be secretly watching him, a mere “simp”?
“I think if you put in a bit more effort, you might actually win the beauty’s heart. Although I don’t support you being a simp, I have to admit, you and Lin Ranran are a perfect match—both talented and attractive, you look really good together.”
Gu Chenshi smiled mockingly.
Impossible.
Between him and Lin Ranran, whether in this lifetime, the next, or the one after that—no matter how many lifetimes he had—it was impossible.
Even if Zhou Xiangyu was mistaken and Lin Ranran hadn’t suddenly started paying attention to him, even if Lin Ranran truly recognized his worth and wanted to be with him… the problem was, he no longer liked Lin Ranran.