The next morning.

Lin An still arrived at the classroom early.

After Su Yuejin learned that he always came early, she started arriving early too. Every day, she sat beside him before anyone else.

Today’s breakfast was nori sushi.

But Luo Shuishui and Xiao Chacha had also arrived early today. Luo Shuishui walked straight up to Lin An and, for the first time, dragged him out into the hallway without a word.

“Lin An, Xiao Chacha’s driving me insane. Make her behave.”

“Huh?”

“You dumped this mess on me, and Xiao Chacha is such a pain.”

“But Shuishui, you can definitely handle her, right?” Lin An took a bite of sushi and answered casually.

Luo Shuishui glared at him. “That girl doesn’t do a single normal thing.”

Lin An couldn’t stop himself from snorting with laughter.

“What has she done?”

“I went to her house yesterday to tutor her. She stayed up playing some erotic game instead of sleeping. Then she actually started doing it right beside me…”

Lin An found that pretty shocking.

But after thinking about it, he decided it really was something Xiao Chacha would do. That girl was practically a professional tormentor.

“She probably did it just to gross you out. That’s how she is. She always does weird things to get people’s attention.”

“She’s like a puppy. If no one pays attention to her, she gets restless. It’s normal.”

“Then tell me. How do I crush her completely?”

“Huh? Well… if you can’t take it, just stop tutoring her. It’s no big deal.” Lin An shrugged.

If Xiao Chacha tormented Luo Shuishui until she quit tutoring, that would actually be good news for Lin An.

“She’ll study,” Luo Shuishui suddenly said.

“Huh?”

“Because she’s very interested in you. But even when she studies, she still likes tormenting people.”

This time, Luo Shuishui sounded like a little girl reporting another child to her parents.

Lin An couldn’t stop laughing. He patted her shoulder.

“I’ll teach you a trick. If she starts acting up again, pin her down and beat her once.”

“Assert dominance through force! Charge your fist!”

“She’ll behave in no time.”

“That’s how you deal with her?” Luo Shuishui asked, looking stunned.

“More or less… Not entirely.”

“Actually, once you get familiar with her, she’s pretty fun. Her thoughts go off in all sorts of strange directions, which is interesting.”

“She just needs a little training when she gets too restless.”

“How did I walk by and hear you talking about training me?”

Xiao Chacha had appeared behind Lin An at some point. She suddenly pressed down on his shoulder.

Her voice carried a slight chill, along with the prickly edge of a cat about to lash out.

“I’ve been thinking about it for a while. What do you say, Sister Chacha?” Lin An asked without changing expression.

He showed no fear.

“Oh?” Xiao Chacha raised her chin slightly, her voice turning flirtatious. “Should I bring my own whip, candles, and little rope?”

“Do you like cat tails or dog tails better?”

“…”

Lin An had known she would say something like that.

He felt like he could publish a complete training manual for Xiao Chacha by now. He had more or less figured out her behavioral patterns.

She was like this…

If you called her annoying, she could actually behave.

But the moment you decided she was well-behaved, she started itching to cause trouble.

Still, that was easy enough to deal with.

Lin An smoothly removed Xiao Chacha’s hand from his shoulder.

After hearing Xiao Chacha’s words, Luo Shuishui inexplicably blushed. She muttered silently to herself:

*Shameless.*

“What about you?” Xiao Chacha asked. “Did you do anything with Su Yuejin last night?”

“I’m not telling you.” Lin An answered with unusual decisiveness.

Xiao Chacha’s eyes shifted. “Then there was something?”

“Would knowing the answer mean anything to you?”

“Of course. If she has it, then I want it too.”

“No.”

“I insist.”

“I’m still not giving it to you.”

“Then tonight, I’ll call you and bother you. I’ll send you videos and bother you too.”

“…I’ll forward them straight to Su Yuejin for her viewing pleasure.”

“Go ahead! Tell her I sent them to you. Do you dare?”

Lin An’s teeth began to grind in frustration.

“Shuishui was right. You really don’t do a single normal thing.”

“I was only saying it.”

Xiao Chacha sensed that continuing would make her step over another line. She quickly put away her claws and returned to the classroom.

Then she sat down beside Su Yuejin.

“I want some too.”

“Take it yourself.” Su Yuejin couldn’t be bothered to deal with her.

She didn’t know why Luo Shuishui had dragged Lin An outside just now. But somehow, she felt that Luo Shuishui posed the greater threat.

Xiao Chacha came second.

There was something wrong with Xiao Chacha.

There had to be something between her and Lin An that Su Yuejin didn’t know about.

Her instincts told her so. There absolutely was.

But she had no evidence, and she couldn’t bring herself to ask Lin An directly. So the matter was temporarily shelved.

Xiao Chacha happily ate a piece of sushi, then gave a little hum.

“I’m going to beat you in the monthly exam. I’m not giving up such a comfortable back-row seat for sleeping.”

Su Yuejin only sneered.

“With your usual three-minute enthusiasm? Or are you talking about your three hundred points on the entrance exam?”

That hit Xiao Chacha right where it hurt.

Still, Xiao Chacha usually didn’t lose her temper.

“Hmph. Weren’t you about the same?”

“I got four hundred.” Su Yuejin looked smug.

Lin An returned to the classroom and overheard their conversation.

He felt that neither of them had anything to be proud of.

“Also, Yuejin, when are we practicing that street dance routine? And what are you going to wear? I want your opinion.”

Seeing Lin An return, Su Yuejin immediately looked up at him.

“Big Brother~ What do you want to see me wear? And what do you want me to dance?”

Lin An’s eyebrow twitched.

“Use a normal nickname.”

“Xiao An?” Su Yuejin tilted her head.

“Just call me by my name.”

Lin An had a feeling that whenever Su Yuejin and Xiao Chacha got together, Su Yuejin became an expert at causing trouble too.

He gestured for Xiao Chacha to get up now that he was back. Then he thought for a moment.

“Anything’s fine. As long as you’re happy. Dance whatever you want.”

“Then do you like black stockings or white ones?” Su Yuejin continued.

“…”

Lin An gave up on answering.

Su Yuejin laughed brightly on her own, while Xiao Chacha put on an extremely disdainful expression.

“Bootlicker.”

Su Yuejin wasn’t about to get upset so easily.

“Say whatever you want. No matter what I wear, your legs still aren’t as long as mine.”

“Nyah-nyah-nyah!”

She even stuck her tongue out at Xiao Chacha, looking especially happy.

That made Xiao Chacha anxious.

“So what if your legs are longer? You’re only—only six or seven centimeters taller than me…”

“Does your superiority complex really come from…”

“Yes. My legs are longer than yours.” Su Yuejin repeated it calmly.

Her expression was especially contemptuous.

This time, Xiao Chacha had no way to argue back. She grew flustered.

“Is being tall really useful? You’ll be taller than boys once you wear high heels…”

“I only need the person I like to enjoy it.” Su Yuejin wrapped an arm around Lin An’s shoulder again.

“Do you like it? Do you want to see me in high heels, Lin An?”

The corner of Lin An’s mouth twitched.

Xiao Chacha was currently at fifty percent anger. If he nodded now, she’d shoot straight to eighty percent.

That would be pure helpless rage.

But she might even transform into a self-destructing attack truck.

“You two argue. I’m staying out of it.” Lin An chose to protect himself.

“Hmm?” Su Yuejin leaned close to his ear, her smile sweet.

“You don’t like it?”

“Really don’t like it?”

“…”

Lin An’s silence had already given Xiao Chacha her answer.

Xiao Chacha was furious.

The more she thought about it, the angrier she became.

So she decided that she absolutely…

Wasn’t going to argue anymore.

She had to find a point she could use to strike back at Su Yuejin next time. Otherwise, no matter what she said now, she couldn’t win.

How infuriating.

Why was Lin An such a leg man?

Leg men were all—()

Xiao Chacha refused to fight a battle she couldn’t win.

She returned to her seat and turned her frustration into motivation. Then she began seriously memorizing classical Chinese passages and ancient poetry.

Luo Shuishui returned to the seat beside her.

She had heard the argument between Xiao Chacha and Su Yuejin from the classroom entrance. She was smiling especially happily, with an inexplicable air of schadenfreude.

It seemed that Xiao Chacha possessed a strange kind of magic.

She could drive even the calmest, most indifferent people into a frenzy.

Yet she wasn’t actually malicious.

She simply added a little more flavor to everyday life.

Lin An began having Su Yuejin memorize ancient poems and classical Chinese passages.

Su Yuejin was obedient and listened very well. Her long hair fell loosely over her shoulders.

The weather wasn’t very good today. Heavy clouds hung overhead.

Lin An opened the window just a crack, letting the classroom air grow a little fresher.

What day was it again?

Oh, right. Thursday.

Tomorrow was Friday. The monthly exam was the Monday after next.

That left Su Yuejin and Xiao Chacha fifteen days.

Lin An was rather looking forward to seeing how it turned out.

Come to think of it, wasn’t Su Yuejin’s birthday on the first of next month?

That wasn’t far away.

Lin An suddenly began wondering whether he should prepare a birthday present. But gifts were difficult to choose.

He didn’t really want to buy something with money. He always felt that if he was going to do that, he might as well give her the money directly.

Still, he thought he ought to give Su Yuejin a present.

She had truly treated him very well. In both emotion and reason, he should give her something.

So Lin An had already begun making plans.

He just hadn’t told Su Yuejin. He hoped he could give her a small surprise when the time came.

For now, Lin An was preparing to catch up on his sleep.

He really had been busy after returning home last night.

He really had been… quite busy.

Not everyone was a genius who mastered everything the moment they studied it.

True geniuses were rare.

There were far more people who worked hard in the right direction and eventually became what others called geniuses.

At night, Lin An had to write and build up his chapter backlog. He also had to practice drawing for a while.

As for being a gaming companion, he wasn’t planning to continue that for now. The money simply didn’t come quickly enough.

Games could be a form of entertainment. He had started working as a gaming companion because playing alone felt lonely, and he wanted to earn some extra money on the side.

Recently, he had been researching how to become a streamer.

It was the age of traffic and attention. His gaming skills were barely good enough to count as entry-level.

The rest depended on figuring out how to become an entertaining streamer.

He was considering whether he could make money by leaning into absurd content. He even wanted to conduct a big-data analysis.

But after thinking about it again and again, it seemed like too much trouble.

So he still hadn’t made up his mind.

Lin An really liked money.

He truly loved it.

It was one of the few things in his past that could give him a sense of security.

Back then, however, the person beside him had been far beyond his reach. He couldn’t cross the gap between their social classes and truly stand at her side.

Fortunately, he had been abandoned in the end.

That meant Lin An no longer had to worry about the future.

Qin Xueming had already given him his answer.

So Lin An felt nothing toward Qin Xueming.

He hated betrayers, but he was also helpless.

Reality was always like this.

That was why, compared to reality, he preferred fairy tales.

But Qin Xueming was actually the most normal person of all.

She was sensible and rational. Even when she became emotional, she knew how to be emotional.

But none of that mattered anymore.

The past was the past.

And he wouldn’t be part of her future.

Lin An began thinking about these jumbled things again. His head felt slightly muddled.

He felt so empty.

So lonely.

He really wanted Miss Xu Qinghuan to hug him.

But Miss Xu Qinghuan wouldn’t be giving him any more candy for quite some time.

It was just like Su Yuejin’s question earlier:

Did he like black stockings or white ones?

Did he like girls with long legs?

The truth was, Lin An’s answer was clear in his heart.

He would always love Miss Xu Qinghuan’s little legs in white lolita stockings!

Suddenly, another strange thought came to Lin An.

If Xu Qinghuan had a figure like Su Yuejin’s, then…

Lin An felt that he would’ve obediently become Xu Qinghuan’s willing, wholehearted dog long ago.

The kind that followed behind her every day, licking at her heels.

The thought made Lin An laugh at himself.

The little lolita at home probably wouldn’t grow long legs in this lifetime.

But that didn’t stop her from being sexy and adorable.