In the following days, Gu Chenshi’s life was remarkably peaceful.
He studied, helped his mother with household chores, called his father to remind him to take care of his health, and then spared a little energy to persuade his friend to rein in his gaming habits and spend more time on studying, lest he be beaten to death by his parents six months later.
It turned out that after removing Lin Ranran from his life, he could live so fully.
When he reached the end of his life and looked back on it, there would likely be far fewer regrets than in his previous life.
While he was thoroughly enjoying his fulfilling life, Lin Ranran was having a terrible time.
These past few days without Gu Chenshi by her side felt very unfamiliar.
Though she didn’t want to admit it, it was an undeniable fact.
Despite appearing aloof and indifferent at school every day, she was actually paying close attention to him all the time.
During breaks, Gu Chenshi mostly stayed quietly at his desk, reading or doing homework.
Sometimes, Zhou Xiangyu would rush over to occupy his deskmate’s seat and chat with him.
Sometimes, when his female deskmate asked him for help with questions, he would patiently explain.
Sometimes…
When Lin Ranran realized how much attention she was paying to Gu Chenshi, she was startled herself.
Was she still the lofty queen she used to be?
It had always been Gu Chenshi’s eyes following her around. When had it become her eyes following him?
Wasn’t this all messed up?
As a girl, a beautiful girl who attracted attention wherever she went, she should remain aloof like a proud queen. Focusing all her attention on a boy would only lower her worth, wouldn’t it?
But she… she couldn’t help it!
Gu Chenshi was really stubborn.
Four days, a full three days had passed. Not only had he stopped hovering around her as before, but it seemed he hadn’t even glanced at her properly.
When had Lin Ranran ever suffered such humiliation?
Furious, she thought bitterly, “Ignore me, will you? Fine, I’ll ignore you too, forever!
Even if you come crying and begging me later, I won’t pay you any attention!
I, Lin Ranran, am still that proud queen, with or without you, Gu Chenshi!
I mean what I say. If I can’t do it, I’ll be a dog!”
That’s what she said, but less than half a day after making this “solemn vow,” Lin Ranran couldn’t hold back and took the initiative to speak to Gu Chenshi.
It happened after school on Thursday.
Gu Chenshi, as usual, walked leisurely along with the crowd.
As he walked, he chatted with Zhou Xiangyu, still urging him to seize the time and make a final push to avoid regrets later.
In fact, Zhou Xiangyu was quite clever—the kind of person who could improve his grades with just a little effort. Unfortunately, he was too fond of playing, with his mind entirely focused on games, so his grades remained mediocre, causing others to worry for him.
Zhou Xiangyu complained aloud that Gu Chenshi was even more nagging than his own mother, but deep down, he was considering whether to quit gaming for a while, follow his friend’s lead, and make a final push before the college entrance exams, then indulge in gaming to his heart’s content afterward.
He wasn’t unaware that if someone wasn’t genuinely concerned about you, who would bother giving you unwelcome advice day after day?
Walking beside them was Gu Chenshi’s deskmate, Tang Xiaoxi.
Tang Xiaoxi was carrying a stack of study materials in her arms when someone tripped her, causing her to stumble forward.
Gu Chenshi, quick-eyed and swift-handed, reached out in time to steady her.
But the materials in Tang Xiaoxi’s arms scattered all over the floor.
Since Gu Chenshi was already helping, he decided to see it through. As Tang Xiaoxi hurriedly crouched down to pick up the materials, he bent over and casually helped gather them.
Just as Tang Xiaoxi thanked him with a hint of shyness,
Lin Ranran, walking behind, snorted coldly, “Hey, Gu Chenshi, you were the one who tripped Tang Xiaoxi, weren’t you? Aren’t you even going to apologize?”
Tang Xiaoxi quickly clarified, “It wasn’t Gu Chenshi who tripped me. The person who did it has already left…”
Gu Chenshi, on the other hand, glanced back at her indifferently without saying a word and simply started to walk away.
Lin Ranran stood frozen in place, unable to believe that Gu Chenshi, with his long strides, had actually walked away?
To others, her words might have seemed like she was standing up for Tang Xiaoxi, but in reality, she was trying to provoke Gu Chenshi.
However, her true intention was to give Gu Chenshi—and herself—a way out.
After all, she had taken the initiative to speak to him, hadn’t she?
This was something she had never done before.
If Gu Chenshi had just offered a simple explanation or smiled gently at her as he used to, she would have forgiven him immediately, restoring their relationship to how it was before.
But Gu Chenshi didn’t seem to care?
He genuinely seemed unwilling to acknowledge her…
Lin Ranran’s eyes suddenly reddened.
She couldn’t stand Gu Chenshi ignoring her.
In the past, whenever Gu Chenshi saw her, his eyes were always filled with affection. Why had it suddenly… changed?
She truly didn’t understand why Gu Chenshi could be so petty.
What Lin Ranran didn’t realize was that Gu Chenshi wasn’t being petty—he had been deeply hurt by her and had completely given up on her.
Along the way, he had also come to understand his own heart.
In truth, he had misunderstood Lin Ranran all along.
Lin Ranran simply wasn’t the type of girl he liked.
“Gu Chenshi!”
Lin Ranran couldn’t take it anymore and called out to Gu Chenshi’s retreating figure. In that moment, she lost control, disregarding her image as the campus goddess and the curious glances from others.
Gu Chenshi frowned and looked back.
Back when his eyes were always fixed on her, why hadn’t he found her so annoying?
It was because, at that time, he had been blinded by his deep affection for her, unable to see her flaws.
Zhou Xiangyu didn’t fully understand what had happened between them but still whispered a word of advice, “Old Gu, why don’t you go hear what she has to say? Even if you can’t be boyfriend and girlfriend, you’re still classmates. There’s no need to make things too awkward.”
Zhou Xiangyu’s words were objective.
That was because he didn’t know what Gu Chenshi had gone through, nor did he understand the disgust Gu Chenshi felt toward Lin Ranran at that moment.
The girl he had once held dear in his heart had now become the person he disliked the most. Thinking about it, it was truly laughable.
“Gu Chenshi, what exactly do you want?”
In a milk tea shop outside the school, the two sat facing each other. Gu Chenshi absentmindedly gazed out the window until Lin Ranran finally broke the silence.
Gu Chenshi looked at her with an unreadable expression.
Shouldn’t he be the one asking her that?
But he couldn’t be bothered.
Once he saw someone clearly and grew to dislike them, he truly wanted nothing more to do with them.
In his past life, because he cared too much about Lin Ranran, he had suffered a devastating blow—his legs were broken in an accident, and his life was ruined forever.
He hated her to the bone, having fantasized in his mind about all sorts of ways to take revenge on her.
Yet, after silently hating her for over three hundred days and nights in his previous life, when he returned reborn, he suddenly found he couldn’t hate her anymore.
Because hating someone is a peculiar form of remembrance, and in his heart, she had completely ceased to exist—so much so that even hatred felt beneath him.
Sometimes Gu Chenshi wondered, if he looked at it from Lin Ranran’s perspective, had she really done anything wrong?
She didn’t like the gifts he gave her, threw them away like trash, and her blunt response to his questioning was merely a sign of low emotional intelligence, not a crime.
She never asked him to like her, never made him spend hours knitting her a scarf, and certainly never pushed him in front of a private car…
If he had to blame anyone, it was himself for being too self-deluded, trying to warm a heartless stone with his sincerity.
But now, the stone was pitifully questioning him about what he really wanted—what exactly did the stone mean by that?
Weren’t you heartless? Why do you care what I want to do?
No matter what I want to do, it seems to have nothing to do with you…
Provided by the great author, Irritable Little Pumpkin: “School Belle, Don’t Cry, My Devotion Isn’t Meant for You.”