As Chen Cheng stepped onto the school grounds, she toned down her usual carefree attitude around her close friends, keeping a blank expression.
She walked beside An Yuan, lips pressed together, brows slightly furrowed, staying silent to maintain a cold and distant aura, convinced she was giving off an unapproachable, ice-cold vibe.
Even though she looked calm on the outside, she was secretly anxious about seeing her deskmate.
Would Pan Jie cry when he got back?
Calling him out just to leave him within ten minutes, wasn't that way too harsh?
What if the rose was really just a thank-you gift, and she had completely over thought it?
Feeling guilty and uneasy, Chen Cheng had no idea how to face Pan Jie. She always cared too much about how others saw her and how they felt. Even a single wrong word could make her worry for ages.
This constant overthinking drained her energy in social situations, making her mentally exhausted all the time. It was one of the reasons she preferred being alone.
Only around her close friends could she relax. Even if she accidentally said something offensive, An Yuan would just respond with something even worse.
A large group of girls was walking over from the dorms.
Chen Cheng glanced over and immediately spotted the peacock-like presence among them, Li Wanyi.
That troublemaker was wearing makeup today. She was already tall, and among the average-looking and average-height girls, she stood out like a crane in a flock of chickens.
To be honest… she looked pretty good.
Narrowing her eyes, Chen Cheng quickly stepped closer to An Yuan and grabbed his arm.
"???"
An Yuan froze and looked down at her. "Are you sick or something?"
"Didn't you see Li Wanyi all dolled up, trying to seduce you?" Chen Cheng clung to his arm tightly, staring at Li Wanyi like she was showing off a prize. "You better not fall for it."
Li Wanyi raised an eyebrow but pretended not to notice, turning her head away.
"Li Wanyi? Where?"
Only after Chen Cheng pointed it out did An Yuan finally notice her.
"I'm totally reporting this to the homeroom teacher. We're in our last year of high school, and instead of focusing on studying, she's busy wearing makeup? And looking this good, it's a distraction to the whole class!"
"Keep your cool. Stay cold and distant."
"Oh, right."
Chen Cheng kept a straight face as she walked past Li Wanyi, still holding onto An Yuan's arm. She even shot Li Wanyi a deliberate glance, hoping to see a frustrated expression. Unfortunately, she got nothing.
After climbing the steps into the school building, she finally let go of An Yuan's arm.
"You do realize this just makes misunderstandings worse, right?" An Yuan frowned, worried.
He knew Chen Cheng cared a lot about what others thought of her. "Don't do that next time."
Besides, she probably didn't notice, but he had definitely felt something soft pressing against his arm just now.
"Aww, just a little sacrifice for my brother."
Chen Cheng sighed dramatically, secretly trying to emotionally manipulate An Yuan.
"Yeah, not buying it."
Too bad An Yuan had way more social experience than she did, he wasn't falling for it.
After climbing the stairs to their classroom, Chen Cheng glanced at Pan Jie, feeling slightly nervous. But he didn't seem to show any particular emotions.
"Morning." Pan Jie greeted her just like usual.
She wasn't sure how to respond, but to avoid deepening any misunderstandings, she simply gave a cool nod and sat down.
For once, she had actually finished all her homework during the break, so she didn't have to rush-copy anything during morning study.
She took out the assignments that needed to be submitted, including a test paper that required a parent's signature. Since she was the "parent," she had already forged her mother's handwriting and signed it in advance.
"Want some bread?"
Pan Jie hesitantly pulled out a breakfast pack of bread and milk from his desk.
"No..."
"Just take it. Otherwise, I'll have to throw it away."
Before she could refuse, Pan Jie shoved the bread into Chen Cheng's arms. She looked at him strangely, confused by his behavior.
She should have been able to easily relate to a seventeen or eighteen-year-old virgin boy, just like she understood why Pan Jie gave her roses because he was caught up in a naive romantic fantasy. However, she couldn't understand Pan Jie's current attentiveness.
Honestly, he was acting like a total simp.
If it were her, even if she had feelings for someone, the moment she got rejected, she'd back off immediately.
Keeping up her indifferent facade, Chen Cheng organized her assignments to turn in later. Before the morning study session started, she decided to quickly finish reading the novel she was following.
"Want me to turn in your homework for you?"
"...?"
Just as she was debating whether to go herself, Pan Jie had already grabbed the neatly stacked assignments and ran off to hand them in.
She hadn't even asked him to do it. She hadn't even agreed to accept his help…
And suddenly, it hit her.
So this is why those so-called "goddesses" always keep their simps hanging, neither rejecting them nor giving them hope.
Because, honestly, it's really convenient.
This was just a small favor like turning in homework. If it were something bigger, having someone always eager to help out? That'd be pretty nice.
Chen Cheng shot Pan Jie another weird look, then silently moved her chair a little further away from him.
Then another thought crossed her mind, what if Pan Jie was only acting this way because he wanted something from her?
The idea made her skin crawl, and she frowned in disgust.
"Thanks, but you don't need to help me anymore," she said coldly, forcing herself to stay firm. "We're just deskmates, that's all."
She didn't want to owe anyone too many favors. If she let things go on like this, she'd end up feeling guilty later, so it was best to cut it off before it got out of hand.
Pan Jie froze, then slumped over his desk like a stray puppy that had just lost its home. "Oh..."
Seeing his dejected reaction, Chen Cheng suddenly felt guilty and avoided looking at him. She lowered her head and focused on her phone instead.
Did she go too far again...? After all, they were still deskmates.
"Chen Cheng!"
An Yuan walked in and called out to her.
The cold expression on Chen Cheng's face melted instantly. The corners of her lips lifted, and she eagerly got up from her seat, her eyes curving into crescent moons as she smiled.
"What's up? Class is about to start."
"Got any extra pen refills? I ran out. I need a 0.7mm one."
"You seriously came to me for this? What about Gao Dong?"
Muttering under her breath, Chen Cheng reached over to her pencil case, pulled out a refill, and handed it to him.
"Thanks." An Yuan took it and, with a glance at Pan Jie, leaned down and whispered in her ear, "Stop overthinking. Don't worry so much about what other people think."
He had been watching how she handled things with Pan Jie this whole time.
"Ugh, that's easier said than done..."
Chen Cheng rubbed her ear, it tickled like crazy, then pushed An Yuan away. "Don't talk so close to my ear, it's itchy!"
Seeing the way the two interacted, Pan Jie slumped even further.
The rumors in class might actually be true, Chen Cheng and An Yuan really did seem like a couple.
At the very least, they were close enough to look like one.
Just look at An Yuan, he's over 1.8 meters tall, with clearly defined arm muscles, the class heartthrob. More importantly, he and Chen Cheng had grown up together, childhood friends since forever…
Pan Jie knew he had zero chance.
Watching Pan Jie sigh in defeat, An Yuan felt a deep sense of satisfaction.
Especially after seeing how Pan Jie had been fawning over Chen Cheng earlier, and how his own clueless friend didn't even know how to reject Pan Jie properly.
It had been frustrating as hell.
<+>
If you want to see more chapter of this story and don't mind spending $5 monthly to see till the latest chapter, please go to my Patreon[1]
Latest Chapter in Patreon: Chapter 67: A Close Call[2]
Link to the latest chapter: https://www.patreon.com/posts/129811097?collection=1362427[3]
https://www.patreon.com/collection/1362427?view=condensed[4]
[1] https://www.patreon.com/collection/1362427?view=condensed
[2] https://www.patreon.com/posts/129811097?collection=1362427
[3] https://www.patreon.com/posts/129811097?collection=1362427
[4] https://www.patreon.com/collection/1362427?view=condensed