sbdcsierra Chapter 108, No. 1, the most affectionate.
Chapter 108, No. 1, the most affectionate.
At the end of the corridor outside Class 5, a slightly cool evening breeze blew by, but it couldn't dispel the solemnity between the two men. Lu Yuan and Ye Yixian leaned against the railing side by side, remaining silent for a long time.
Xia Anqi's offensive was so fierce and sudden, it was like a long-planned blitzkrieg.
Even though Lu Yuan had the experience of living two lives and considered himself knowledgeable, he had never encountered such a difficult and unreasonable opponent.
If Xia Anqi had truly developed romantic feelings for him, Lu Yuan wouldn't feel so distressed.
After all, the stirrings of adolescence, though troublesome, are at least pure.
The problem is that Xia Anqi's so-called "liking" is essentially a stress response to her arrogance being challenged.
In her subconscious, Lu Yuan was not a lover, but an enemy, the only "uncontrollable factor" in her perfect life. However, out of helplessness, she mistakenly identified this competitive desire to conquer and control as love.
Therefore, the confusion of adolescence often lies here: the boundaries between love and hate, possessiveness and admiration are so blurred that it is hard to tell them apart.
"What are you planning to do?" Ye Yixian finally spoke, his voice low and his mood visibly depressed.
"We're trying to figure out a way; we'll eventually break her scheme."
Lu Yuan said calmly, his brows slightly furrowed.
He was indeed having a bit of a headache. After all, this was a completely new variable he had encountered after his rebirth, and he couldn't think of a perfect solution that could both protect Ye Yixian's feelings and completely make Xia Anqi give up on him.
"Don't you think she... is better?"
Ye Yixian suddenly turned to look at Lu Yuan. Her usually clear and lively eyes were now a little red, with a thin layer of water mist in them.
What she actually wanted to ask was, "Don't you think she's better than me?" But the moment she said it, her inferiority complex made her subconsciously swallow the rest of the sentence.
Lu Yuan keenly sensed the sadness and unease hidden in her words.
His heart tightened, and he immediately turned around, placing his hands on Ye Yixian's slender shoulders, looking at her with gentle yet firm eyes: "Yixian, don't overthink it. If I really thought she was good, or even had the slightest attraction to her, I would have agreed to be with her long ago. Why would I be dragging this out until now, still here with you in the wind?"
Ye Yixian's thoughts were exactly the hidden danger that Lu Yuan was most worried about.
If it were just a private love letter, Ye Yixian could easily laugh it off and not take it to heart at all.
But today, Xia Anqi's public confession caused a huge uproar, and all sorts of rumors spread like wildfire throughout the school.
Some people even deliberately approached Ye Yixian during breaks, half-jokingly and half-sarcastically saying, "Ye Yixian, your boyfriend is going to be stolen away by the academic genius. You'd better watch out!"
Although Ye Yixian pretended to be indifferent on the surface and even retorted a few times, Lu Yuan knew that she was actually very sad inside.
Deep down, she was still insecure, especially when faced with a "perfect girl" like Xia Anqi who came from a good family, had good grades, and was good-looking. She found it difficult to maintain a calm mindset.
Lu Yuan opened his mouth, wanting to say something more to comfort her and put her at ease.
But just then, a series of hurried footsteps broke the brief moment of tenderness between the two.
The figure of the homeroom teacher, Wang Zhishu, appeared at the corner of the corridor.
Lu Yuan's heart skipped a beat, and he quickly released his grip on Ye Yixian's hand.
Ye Yixian also instantly composed himself, hurriedly turning around and pretending to look at the scenery downstairs, as if the two of them had not done anything intimate just now.
"Lu Yuan, come to the teacher's office with me." Wang Zhishu looked at the two of them, his expression complicated, his tone revealing neither joy nor anger.
"Uh... okay."
Lu Yuan's heart skipped a beat; he roughly guessed what the homeroom teacher was going to say. This was something he had to face, so he could only obediently agree.
"Then come with me now. Several teachers are waiting for you." Wang Zhishu urged, already turning and walking to the stairwell.
Lu Yuan was helpless and could only turn around and whisper to Ye Yixian, "Go back to your evening self-study first, don't think too much, we'll meet at our usual place after class."
"Go ahead," Ye Yixian replied softly without turning around.
Lu Yuan watched her lonely figure, overwhelmed with mixed feelings, but could only leave first under the urging gaze of the homeroom teacher.
On the other side of the corridor, Gao Zhe and several boys were lying by the window, watching this scene nervously.
"Brother Zhe, why does it seem like Brother Yuan is under a lot of pressure lately?" a boy asked with a serious expression.
"How could it not be serious? Once Xia Anqi gets involved, how can things end well?" Another person sighed, their tone full of sympathy. "Xia Anqi has the typical spoiled princess temperament. She only cares about the result, not the process. She doesn't care who she offends in the process, because there are hardly any people worth her attention. Brother Yuan is in big trouble this time."
Everyone watched Lu Yuanyuan's departing figure with mixed feelings. They didn't know whether to envy him for being favored by the school beauty or to feel sorry for the storm he was about to face.
Lu Yuan followed his homeroom teacher all the way to the grade office.
When he opened the door, he found the atmosphere was more serious than he had imagined.
The class teacher, several subject teachers, and even the Dean of Students, Zhang Dabiao, were all present, sitting in the very center.
It seems that today's incident has indeed blown up too much. For high school seniors who are fully preparing for their exams, the school's leadership absolutely cannot ignore such a sensational "scandal" that has shaken the entire school.
The office was brightly lit, and more than a dozen pairs of eyes were all looking at the door, their expressions varied, as they sized up Lu Yuan.
They certainly couldn't understand what was so extraordinary about Lu Yuan that could make Xia Anqi, who used to scoff at puppy love and regard boys as dirt, suddenly change her mind and even go so far as to pursue him in public.
Zhang Dabiao looked at Lu Yuan with a very unpleasant expression.
If it were any other student openly dating, he would definitely slam his fist on the table, arrest them, and issue a public reprimand as a warning to others.
But the main characters are Xia Anqi and Lu Yuan.
Xia Anqi is the top student in her grade and the most promising candidate from our school to be admitted to Tsinghua or Peking University this year. She is the pride of the school.
Lu Yuan is the biggest dark horse this year, with his grades improving by leaps and bounds. He may very well become an inspirational role model that will be praised throughout the history of No. 1 Middle School.
The college entrance examination is less than two months away, and soon the crucial third mock exam will follow.
The opinions of the school leaders were surprisingly unanimous: this matter must be dealt with and intervention must be made, but the methods must be gentle, and the self-esteem and emotions of the parties involved must be taken into account. It is absolutely necessary not to affect the exam preparation of these two top students.
What kind of temper does Xia Anqi have? All the teachers in the school should know it.
Once she's made up her mind, nothing can change it.
The teachers certainly didn't want to confront her directly, since it's a normal physiological phenomenon for a young girl to experience first love, and so far, her grades haven't been affected.
Therefore, Zhang Dabiao's previous strategy was to have the class teacher of Class 1 talk to Xia Anqi privately and give her some encouragement, while focusing on Lu Yuan and trying to solve the problem from this "breakthrough point".
"Please sit down."
Zhang Dabiao pointed to an empty chair in front of him, his voice calm, yet carrying an invisible pressure.
Lu Yuan obediently sat down. There were more than a dozen teachers standing or sitting in front of him. The pressure of being "interrogated by three teachers" was extremely strong.
"Lu Yuan, you should know why the teachers asked you to come here, right?" Zhang Dabiao placed his hands on the table and leaned forward slightly.
"Yes, I know." Lu Yuan nodded, indicating his understanding.
Zhang Dabiao cut to the chase, asking directly, "What exactly happened between you and Xia Anqi?"
Lu Yuan raised his head, meeting more than a dozen scrutinizing gazes, and helplessly tugged at the corners of his mouth: "Would you believe me if I said there was nothing between me and her, that it was entirely her doing?"
A brief silence fell over the office.
A group of teachers looked on with suspicion, remaining silent, their eyes saying, "Do you think I believe you?"
In reality, they didn't believe it at all.
Like most students, they felt that a proud and arrogant girl like Xia Anqi would never suddenly confess her feelings to Lu Yuan without him doing anything.
The most likely scenario is that Lu Yuan pursued Xia Anqi in private, and by some twist of fate, he even won her over.
After all, Lu Yuan's reputation at No. 1 High School is that of "the most affectionate person in No. 1 High School". It is rumored that he is very clever in pursuing girls, and he may have used some kind of trick of playing hard to get.
Looking at the teachers' expressions of "having seen through everything," Lu Yuan felt a deep sense of powerlessness.
For the first time, he truly understood what the injustice of "Dou E" meant. He cried out in his heart: "May Heaven judge the loyal from the treacherous, and send a snowfall in June to prove my innocence!"