Chapter 29: Gangzi Strikes
"Understood." Xie Buchan dropped that and said nothing more.
Lin Shu was uneasy and sent him a message: "Read the post first. Let me know what you think, and I'll see if I can contact the forum moderator to have it deleted."
Xie Buchan: "Mm."
...
Half an hour later.
Lin Shu sat on the bus, waiting for a reply from the moderator, when a new trending post appeared on the forum.
The account of a certain student from Class 7 had been hacked. His trash talk about classmates, insults toward teachers, and the collection of bizarre, raunchy images he’d saved in his private space—all of it was exposed.
The popularity of this post was neck-and-neck with the "School Bully Carrying the School Beauty" thread.
What was even more explosive was that this guy had a peculiar quirk: he ate breakfast in the school restroom and had taken quite a few photos of it.
...
"I’m done. I always wondered why one stall in the second-floor restroom was always locked and wouldn't open even when you knocked. Turns out it was you, kid, eating in there."
"Is everyone really under that much pressure these days?"
"XXX, are you related to Lao Ba? This is disgusting."
"Everyone, keep an eye on your stalls, don't let him set his sights on them."
...
The user "RZ, Refusing Loneliness," who had been high and mighty just moments ago, criticizing Lin Shu in the thread for being "impure," was now begging for mercy in the exposure thread.
Before long, someone warned him to blur out Xie Buchan's face. Provoking Lin Shu was one thing, but provoking Xie Buchan was a surefire way to shorten your lifespan.
He actually listened to the advice and blurred only Xie Buchan’s face.
Huh?
Lin Shu was furious. She switched to a burner account, preparing to give his ancestors a piece of her mind, when the entire post vanished. She didn't know if the moderator had deleted it or if Xie Buchan had told him to, but only the exposure thread about that guy remained.
Lin Shu called Xie Buchan. "Did you do that?"
"What?"
"The post about the restroom breakfast."
"I don't know."
"...Are you going to play dumb with me?"
A low chuckle came through the phone. Lin Shu started laughing too, and her anger vanished.
She asked Xie Buchan how his exams went. The proficiency tests were tied to their high school diplomas, and failing them would be a hassle. Xie Buchan said it was fine.
Lin Shu added, "Thank you. For carrying me into the exam hall yesterday, and for fighting keyboard warriors today."
Xie Buchan replied, "If your legs were just a bit longer, or if you stayed further away from me, none of today's events would have happened."
Lin Shu said, "You were the one who wanted to carry me."
Xie Buchan said, "And you actually climbed on."
Lin Shu said, "Why wouldn't I? I don't care what they say. I do what I want; it’s not like I’m eating their rice. What, are you scared?"
Xie Buchan asked, "Are you going to climb on again in the future?"
Lin Shu said, "If you dare to carry me, why wouldn't I dare to ride? Giddy-up! Giddy-up! Giddy-up!"
...
Even without seeing his face, Lin Shu could imagine what Xie Buchan looked like right now—sitting somewhere, looking sour-faced. The sourer he looked, the more handsome he was, without a trace of "silly dog" impurity, attracting the joyous gazes of passing girls.
Hmph.
In her next life, she was going to be reincarnated as a handsome guy too.
Lin Shu sat by the window, bantering with Xie Buchan until her bus stop arrived. It was strange—she just didn't want to hang up. Cold air rushed into her throat, making her cough twice. Xie Buchan asked if she had caught a cold. Lin Shu said no, her body was forged from steel.
"What, are you worried about me?" Lin Shu teased.
Xie Buchan asked if Fang Chao was still bothering her.
...
What was this? He only knew how to change the subject.
"No, he detours whenever he sees me now. I owe it all to you."
Xie Buchan said she was imitating the Japanese again.
Lin Shu giggled and dropped a real Japanese phrase: "Baka!"
Xie Buchan laughed on the other end of the line.
It was a pure laugh, without a hint of mockery or pretense. Sometimes, he was truly a silly dog.
At other times, he was a bit profound and hard to approach.
Lin Shu walked along the residential sidewalk, kicking at the fallen leaves, and asked him why he hadn't accepted Jiang Xinyi.
Jiang Xinyi and Xie Buchan had known each other since elementary school; they were childhood sweethearts. It was impossible that he had zero feelings for her.
Xie Buchan said, "What kind of romance can you have at an age when you have nothing?"
"You can't say that." Lin Shu paused, then whispered, "When you have everything, feelings won't be this pure anymore. If she likes you now, she truly likes you for who you are."
"There's nothing about me worth liking."
"I disagree. Your face is decent! And your physique isn't bad!"
"...Lin Shu, why are you acting like a pervert?"
"...I'm just speaking the truth."
"Dating based on looks, liking any guy you see—you'll be divorced at least three times in this life."
"Huh? You brat!"
She gave him a heartfelt compliment, and he actually turned it around on her!
...
Xie Buchan wasn't wrong, but even if one didn't date based on looks, three divorces weren't out of the question. In the future, those who treated emotions seriously would seem incredibly foolish.
She arrived at her doorstep.
Lin Shu still couldn't bring herself to hang up.
She felt satisfied, yet somehow unfulfilled.
How long had it been since she felt this way?
Probably ten years.
After she got married, she no longer felt the same anxiety and insecurity she had in her student days with Ji Xingshen. She only accumulated disappointment, waiting to see just how rotten this man she once loved deeply could become.
No...
The person on the other end was Xie Buchan.
Her soul wasn't that of a naive young girl anymore; why was she still falling into such a bittersweet state?
It was too strange.
Could it be that the hormones of a youthful body were exceptionally sensitive?
Lin Shu couldn't figure it out.
"Xie Buchan, I'm home."
"Mm."
"...What are you doing?"
"Waiting for someone."
"Who?"
"Zhang Bing and the others. We're going cycling."
"At the skate park?"
"Yeah."
There was nothing left to say.
Lin Shu still didn't hang up.
Xie Buchan said, "Didn't you say you were home?"
Lin Shu felt the roots of her ears burning. Not knowing what to say, she asked about the dog Xie Buchan kept. Xie Buchan said he would bring it for her to see when he had the chance.
"Okay, hanging up then," Lin Shu whispered.
Xie Buchan's voice seemed even quieter than hers. "Mm."
She hung up.
The call lasted one hour and twenty-three minutes. A terrifying length—it was almost catching up to her gossip sessions with Zhou Ya.
Lin Shu suddenly thought of a saying: a good partner is also a best friend. They were so in sync as friends; if they were lovers, wouldn't they be... Stop.
Just the thought of them actually being together, of kissing Xie Buchan, made Lin Shu lose her composure.
She opened an app and checked the time from the end of her last period to now, realizing it was right around her ovulation window.
Alright, case closed.
It really was hormones at work.
She had almost made a fool of herself; thank goodness her rationality had saved her life.
...
"Brother Chen, finished with the call?"
Zhang Bing stood on his bike, calling out to him.
After finally getting through the exams and having time to ride, Xie Buchan had spent his time playing on his phone and making calls. He’d even said he was "waiting for someone," when it was actually a whole group of them waiting for him.
Xie Buchan pocketed his phone and hopped onto his bike.
The others started jeering, asking which girl it was.
Xie Buchan ignored them.
He simply said, "Let's ride," and jumped his mountain bike onto a ledge. He rode along the edge, looking focused, his control rock-solid—steady and cool.
The girls might have found it a bit frightening, but the guys just shouted, "Awesome!"
A few of the boys yelled and started making plans to hit the pump track tomorrow; they could manage to squeeze into a van to get up the mountain.
...
Because of the exams, there was no homework assigned.
With a two-day weekend after the tests, honestly, it felt even better than the National Day holiday.
Lin Shu was forgetful.
She had already pushed the forum incident to the back of her mind.
She opened the school magazine folder on her hard drive and reread the novel she had written previously. The lost structure couldn't be recovered, but new inspiration had emerged.
In the dead of night, the girl, wearing a cartoon headband, hunched over and tapped away at the keyboard. In the blink of an eye, the sky turned bright.
She stretched, got up to eat breakfast, and then went to catch up on sleep.
...
She thought it was all over.
In reality, it wasn't over at all.
When she got to school on Monday, Lin Shu had just squeezed into line and hadn't run two steps before "Brother Gang" plucked her out and told her to stand aside.
Zhou Ya noticed and kept looking at her from within the formation.
Lin Shu was rarely spoken to by teachers.
Her grades were above average, she didn't cause trouble, and the only "commotion" she’d ever caused was fainting from low blood sugar—or perhaps her craze for Ji Xingshen. But it takes two to tango; since Ji Xingshen ignored her, her little actions never really counted as a disturbance.
"Lin Shu, have you been putting your mind to your studies lately?"
Her homeroom teacher, Li Gang, got straight to the point.