2: Hearing
“Why didn’t you tell me earlier that Si Xiuyuan was in the office too? Is this rehabilitation system trying to set me up?!”
If she had known, she would never have confessed, even if it killed her!
Being locked away and driven insane was even worse than death.
Wu Jiao felt a cold sweat break out all over.
Xiao E sobbed, 「I’m so sorry, host, wuwuwu. I don’t have that kind of notification function!」
She didn’t dare make eye contact with Si Xiuyuan. She quickly lowered her head, pretending to be calm, but inside, she was frantic, desperately trying to think of a way to fix things.
Xiao E: 「Host, what do we do, what do we do? What can you say now to take back what you just said?」
She was trying to figure that out too!
It wasn’t like she could say, ‘Surprise! Teacher, I was lying! I didn’t actually want to bully anyone. I’m just mad at myself and wanted to bully me. See? I even soaked myself!’
If she said something like that, she’d probably be expelled and sent straight to a mental hospital.
In her desperation, an idea flashed across Wu Jiao’s face, bringing a glimmer of hope.
She said to Xiao E, “Quick, exchange those 10 points for the mind-reading tool!”
..
From the moment the office door opened, Si Xiuyuan had heard a jarring, noisy sound that didn’t belong.
At first, he thought it was an auditory hallucination from lack of sleep and didn’t pay it any mind.
But the voice rambled on and on, speaking a long, incomprehensible string of words.
He ignored the voice and sped up his grading. After marking a big red “43” on the last math test paper, he paused for a moment.
This paper had the lowest score in the class. The name column bore two bold, uninhibited characters:
Wu Jiao.
She was the new transfer student. As class monitor, of course he knew that.
He also knew that she had always followed Yan Yixin around since childhood.
And he knew that the voice he was hallucinating in his head sounded exactly like Wu Jiao’s speaking voice.
His slender, well-defined fingers capped the pen.
Si Xiuyuan turned his computer chair slightly and tilted his head. The group of people talking by the wall came fully into view.
He tapped his fingers rhythmically on the desk, producing a dull thud, but the group by the wall didn’t seem to notice his deliberate hint at all.
Si Xiuyuan scanned them briefly, then fixed his gaze on Wu Jiao.
Her outfit was truly striking, and with her meek, downcast expression, she looked rather pitiful. But what was going on inside her head was another matter entirely.
It was as if a groundhog was standing inside his skull, shrieking at the top of its lungs.
Si Xiuyuan quickly accepted the fact that he could hear Wu Jiao’s inner thoughts.
He listened to her congratulate herself on being so clever, then ramble on about “male leads” and “young ladies” and such. Though her words were nonsensical, he could roughly figure out who she was talking about.
“The female lead” — she meant Mo Li.
“The young lady” — she meant Yan Yixin.
“The male lead” — unknown, but from what she said, he didn’t sound like a very good person.
Boring.
He wasn’t interested in any of this. So, he stood up, put on a smiling face, and spoke up to get their attention.
Si Xiuyuan had originally intended to pretend nothing was wrong.
Truth be told, being able to hear other people’s thoughts made no difference to him.
These high school students practically wore their hearts on their sleeves. He could tell just by glancing at them — anxiety over grades, emotional exhaustion, worries about money, arguments with parents, conflicts with friends.
Dull.
However, if Wu Jiao’s inner voice kept chattering in his head like this…
He would find a way to deal with her.
That was, until he heard her shout his name, followed by that whole string of… nonsensical nonsense.
So —
He was a male lead?
And a contradictory psycho?
“Crazy” was also describing him?
He tortured her until she went insane?
No way.
From the sound of it, she seemed to know him better than he knew himself.
Si Xiuyuan curved his lips, locking eyes with someone.
Interesting. He suddenly found the groundhog’s screeching not quite so noisy after all.
Zhang Hongli still had to deal with Wu Jiao and the others. She said to Si Xiuyuan, “Sorry to trouble you, Xiuyuan. I don’t need anything else here. This P.E. class isn’t over yet, so go have some free time. I’ll call your homeroom teacher to come handle this.”
Zhang Hongli didn’t give Wu Jiao a chance to turn things around. She stepped out into the hallway to make the call.
Though it was the beginning of April, with beautiful spring weather outside, inside Wu Jiao’s heart, it was snowing.
Wu Jiao realized she couldn’t hear Si Xiuyuan’s thoughts.
She could hear the young lady swooning, Li Rongrong cursing her out as an idiot, and Mo Li… Mo Li’s thoughts were a mystery; she couldn’t hear them either.
“You can only read the thoughts of non-main characters? This tool is really useless!”
Xiao E: 「It’s just a 10-point item, host. You won’t lose out on the deal, but you might get tricked~」
Wu Jiao was speechless: “Whose side are you on anyway!”
When it rains, it pours. A gust of wind blew in through the window, and without her jacket on, she couldn’t help but sneeze.
“Ah-choo—”
[So cold… And I’m all dirty. This is miserable.]
Wu Jiao was standing by the door. Si Xiuyuan walked over from nearby but stopped right in front of her.
“Classmate Wu,” he called out.
Wu Jiao immediately snapped to attention, her mouth reacting faster than her brain: “Here!”
Seeming amused by her response, Si Xiuyuan’s eyes curved into a smile. He took off his jacket, handed it to her, and said softly, “Here, wear my jacket. Be careful not to catch a cold.”
True to his reputation as the recognized gentle school heartthrob, Si Xiuyuan didn’t show the slightest disgust at the dirt and smell on Wu Jiao. Instead, he took off his own clothes to offer her.
Before Wu Jiao could react, the young lady coughed a few times.
Wu Jiao immediately waved her hands. “Thanks, but no need. I’m not cold.”
[How could I, filthy as I am in front of the young lady, dare to touch you, who’s completely clean?]
Rejected, Si Xiuyuan didn’t withdraw his hand. Instead, he turned his head slightly and glanced at Yan Yixin.
Seeing that Si Xiuyuan had finally noticed her, Yan Yixin gave him a reserved nod while casually hugging her own arms and putting on a fragile expression.
Si Xiuyuan nodded back politely, acknowledging her, but nothing more.
The girl before him appeared calm on the surface, but inside, she was screaming like a madwoman.
A timid little groundhog.
So, Si Xiuyuan pulled his hand back. “Alright, then. I’ll be going.”
Hearing that Si Xiuyuan was about to leave, Yan Yixin grew anxious.
Just then, Mo Li, who had remained silent until now, timidly called out to him.
“Class monitor, could I borrow your jacket?”
Among everyone present, only Mo Li and Si Xiuyuan were clean.
What did she need a jacket for?
Wu Jiao heard Yan Yixin’s inner thoughts:
[You damn white lotus, why are you trying to borrow Brother Xiu Yuan’s jacket? What kind of pitiful act are you trying to put on now? You got lucky escaping this time, but next time won’t be so easy for you!]
Wu Jiao tensed up.
[Young lady, please don’t let there be a next time! You might be fine, but I’m the one who’ll die!]
Si Xiuyuan glanced at Yan Yixin again, as if confirming something.
Wu Jiao could hear Yan Yixin’s thoughts?
This time, he smiled at Yan Yixin.
Dazzled by that smile, Yan Yixin was completely unaware that her true colors had been exposed.
**
AUTHORS THOUGHTS:
Before finding a wife:
Si Xiuyuan: I’m a psycho?
While finding a wife:
Si Xiuyuan: I am a psycho.
After finding a wife:
Si Xiuyuan: I AM A PSYCHO!