Interlude

"Cao Nan, don't just rush to your bedroom as soon as you come home," the sound of footsteps came from the stairs. Ignoring his mother's reprimand, Cao Nan went straight to his own bedroom. He pushed open the bedroom door, turned on the light switch, and the room immediately lit up.

On the walls were posters of two-dimensional beauties, and the bookshelf was filled with light novels and figurines.

Even the bed had a pillow with the image of a two-dimensional beauty on it.

"Taoka, Taoka, Taoka," Cao Nan rolled on the bed, holding a gift, and kept saying this name with a creepy smile on his face.

"Just like Ayame-chan, the heroine from the game 'A Summer of Blue Skies.' She's cute and naturally cute, with pink hair. And most importantly, her breasts!"

As Cao Nan thought about this, his nose started to feel hot and he could feel his nosebleed coming. He took a tissue from beside him and wiped away the blood.

"Taoka, what kind of gift do you like?"

Taking the figurine of the game's female protagonist Ayame from the shelf, Cao Nan asked it,

"A doll? Hairpin? Bracelet? Pendant?"

Cao Nan waited for the figurine's reply, but it remained silent. In reality, the figurine couldn't reply at all.

"Why aren't you saying anything, you bastard! Don't you like the gift I bought? What do you want? Tell me, you bastard!"

Cao Nan suddenly became irritable and twisted the figurine's head, causing it to break off and roll onto the floor with a clatter.

"Ah! Ayame-chan, I'm sorry!"

"Cao Nan, why are you screaming like a ghost in here?" Cao Nan's mother pushed open the door and saw Cao Nan lying on the floor in an 'orz' pose.

"Mom, why did you come in! This is my sanctuary, don't you know? This is the place where Ayame-chan and I have a special connection!"

"You child, what are you fantasizing about all day?" Cao Nan's mother covered her face with a headache.

"Ayame-chan, I'm sorry. Let me put your head back on."

Cao Nan desperately tried to rotate the figurine's head, trying to reconnect the broken interface.

"Ah! It won't fit back!"

He began to scream hysterically again,

"You're too loud! You're disturbing the neighbors!"

"I can't fix it, I can't fix it, Ayame-chan!" Holding the figurine, Cao Nan shed tears of regret.

"It's so noisy! You're such a troublesome child!"

"Leave me alone, let me spend time with Ayame-chan."

"Fine, I can't be bothered with you."

With a loud bang, the door was tightly shut.

△△△△△△△△

During break, the compulsory math class came to an end. The strict teacher with black-framed glasses and a few strands of hair on his head, who could effortlessly write numerous mathematical equations on the blackboard, whether they were geometric shapes, ratios, or progressions, was known for being extremely demanding.

Today, the board was filled with numbers and symbols.

"Youjie, are you so dejected right after class?" He Yuqing, who always appeared in my field of vision with a sunny smile, asked.

"Math class is unexpectedly difficult," I said, unable to bear the bitterness.

"Difficult? Isn't it easy?" He Yuqing had a relaxed expression, as if math was as simple as 1+1 equals 2.

"I didn't understand any of it," I said.

"Is Youjie not good at math?"

"Well, just a little bit. I didn't pass the math test last time."

As soon as I finished speaking, He Yuqing covered his stomach, looking quite painful.

"What's wrong? Are you alright?"

"Haha, I'm... I'm fine."

Turns out this guy was laughing. Tears almost came out, and I thought he was feeling uncomfortable.

"To be honest, I wasn't good at math either. I also failed."

He Yuqing probably felt guilty for laughing at my failing math grades, so he made fun of himself.

But there's no need for that.

"Jie, if you're not good at math, I can help you."

Zhiye, sitting next to me, offered friendly assistance.

"I can help too." He Yuqing raised his hand.

Facing such kindness, aside from He Yuqing, I was quite grateful, but I've always relied on myself, whether it's studying or sports.

"I think I'll study on my own for now." I politely declined.

"Well, if you have any questions, feel free to ask me."

"Youjie, I'm very good at math too. You can ask me anytime, I won't hold back."

I nodded, just to appease them.

"Senior, are you free?"

Wen Xiaojing suddenly appeared at the door, waving urgently at me.

"What's wrong?" I stood up and walked towards the door.

"It's not convenient to talk here."

"Then let's go to the staircase platform."

There are relatively fewer people in the staircase platform area.

"What's the matter with you?"

"Things have become complicated." Wen Xiaojing looked worried, and this was the first time I had seen her expression like this.

"Stella, can you come out for a moment?"

Stella, hiding in a blind spot, walked out.

"Youjie, senior." Stella also seemed troubled.

"What exactly happened?"

"It's about what happened today. Early in the morning, Cao Nan bought a lot of gifts and wanted to give them to Taoxiang in person, causing a buzz in the class... and then..."

Wen Xiaojing glanced at Stella.

"I told him... that I have someone I like..." After a long silence, Stella finally said slowly.

"And it seems that Cao Nan doesn't believe it and is still persistent. So, to go along with this topic, I want you, senior, to pretend to be Taoxiang's boyfriend."

I was confused for a moment.

"So you want me to be Taoxiang's boyfriend?"

She emphasized it again.

"Not... that... I want you to be... my boyfriend," this news was too shocking, and the whole situation developed too quickly.

"Don't misunderstand, it's not like I want you to be my real boyfriend. It's just to deal with Cao Nan's harassment."

"But why me?"

"Senior, you seem like a nice person and not the type to take advantage of others. Besides, we're in the same club, with me as the president and you as a member. We should help each other for the unity of the club."

Wen Xiaojing only understands the true meaning of the club in such situations.

"But I think..." I showed a helpless expression, looking at Stella pleadingly.

"It's not good... I always feel..."

"Senior, I thought you were responsible, kind, and would be a unifying force. I didn't expect you to be like this. I misjudged you," Wen Xiaojing said disappointedly, grabbing Stella's hand.

"Taoxiang, let's go. Let's find other suitable candidates."

"I promise then." When faced with situations like this, if I don't agree, it will affect our relationship and they may even resent me. It's really difficult, but it's all pretend anyway, so I'll just agree.

"Thank you, Senior Youjie," Stella smiled, relieved.

"Senior, I really have to look at you with new eyes."

Watching Wen Xiaojing appear relieved, unaware that I'm going against my own will.

"Okay, we're about to have class. Senior, let's discuss the details later."

After saying that, Wen Xiaojing grabbed Stella and ran off. Speaking of which, these junior students nowadays don't respect seniors at all - they come and go as they please.