After eavesdropping on conversations from several directions, Shen Guang finally learned the name of the boy from earlier: Qin He.

Shen Guang had heard the name before. Apparently, Qin He was a pretty outstanding guy. Then again, who pays attention to the boys in a dating sim? Unless you’re playing the best-friend route!

It was just that Shen Guang really didn’t know how to deal with people like him.

Luckily, the boy sitting in front of him wore glasses and was quiet by nature. Having an unremarkable guy in front of him was great!

Shen Guang definitely wasn’t making fun of the boy in front of him. It was just that the guy seemed like the sort who didn’t want to cause trouble, so he rarely talked to anyone. That meant Shen Guang would have a lot less trouble, too.

At least no one would come bother him.

He felt a strange sense of relief. Then an adult man walked in from outside.

The noisy classroom fell silent in an instant. Not a single student dared even breathe too loudly.

Shen Guang instinctively looked up at the casually dressed man in a white shirt. Stubble still shadowed his face, and faint dark circles hung beneath his eyes. He looked exhausted.

Carrying some teaching materials, he walked to the front of the classroom and swept his gaze over the students. At last, his eyes stopped on Shen Guang.

“Hey, Shen Guang, you’re back? If you’re well enough to come to school, I guess you’re fine now, huh?” The man sounded completely casual, as if he were chatting with an old friend.

Shen Guang found it a little hard to get used to. Was this guy a teacher or a student? Why was he talking so flippantly to a classmate who’d just come back after being injured? Then again, people were different, so maybe that was just his personality.

Shen Guang quickly nodded. After that, the man paid him no more attention.

He pulled a sheet of paper from the textbook, pinned it to the small blackboard beside him, and said casually,

“This is the new seating arrangement. Take a look for yourselves after class. We’re starting now. Don’t daydream on me. Your scores on the last test weren’t exactly good.”

.......

Some things were impossible to avoid. Just like a cliché.

Shen Guang was gradually beginning to understand why the Shen Guang in the game had been so widely despised.

On the revised seating chart, he’d been assigned to sit next to Yan Qingxue.

Although they all had individual desks, Shen Guang sat at the very back of the left-hand row, by the window. Yan Qingxue sat to his right. The bespectacled guy was still in front of him, while Qin He was diagonally to the right.

It was like a script arranged by fate. Shen Guang could hear his classmates whispering even though he was just sitting there doing nothing.

They were probably unhappy with the new seating arrangement.

Some students even went to the office to talk to the teacher. Judging by how dejected they looked, they probably hadn’t gotten anywhere.

“What a pain. Can’t I escape this kind of cliché for once?”

Shen Guang scratched his head in frustration, only to meet Yan Qingxue’s bright eyes.

Yan Qingxue seemed to notice him. She smiled at him, then nodded in greeting.

Like a dry well finally receiving water, Shen Guang was struck by her smile. He wasn’t surprised.

Other students saw it, too. Most of them looked jealous and resentful. But the teacher had arranged the seats, and they knew their homeroom teacher’s personality best. Once he made a decision, he wouldn’t change it.

“How did someone as nice as Yan Qingxue end up sitting next to a guy like him?”

“The teacher assigned the seats. Complaining won’t help. Besides, he probably wouldn’t dare make a move on Yan Qingxue, right?”

“Who knows? I heard Shen Guang’s the one who provided the place where Yan Qingxue is staying.”

What a pointless conversation...

Shen Guang was just about to get up and go to the bathroom when a pretty figure happened to pass by outside.

Lin Qingqian’s figure flashed past the window, drawing plenty of curious glances from the students. One even leaned against the doorway, showing only half his head and pretending to be bored while actually staring at her back.

It looked like Lin Qingqian was a lot more popular than he’d imagined.

Sure enough, people ought to stick to the usual rules of socializing. If he could just stay away from a few girls who drew everyone’s attention, maybe he’d make it through this safely.

Staying away from the eye of the storm was the right choice.

........

“Shen Guang, let me treat you to lunch later!” The bell rang. Shen Guang put away his books and sat back down.

There was only one more class before the lunch break, but the girl sitting beside him had just invited him to eat with her.

Yan Qingxue looked at him, her eyes carrying a hint of hope.

It was probably her way of thanking him for what had happened before.

Shen Guang was about to refuse, but Yan Qingxue pressed her palms together and gave him such a pleading look that he couldn’t bring himself to say no.

“Please! I can only treat you to lunch in the cafeteria, but I have to repay you for saving my life!”

“...All right.”

Honestly, Shen Guang didn’t have any particular feelings for Yan Qingxue right now. If anything, he knew that staying involved with her would definitely drag him into some kind of trouble sooner or later.

“This is going to be a hassle...” Shen Guang murmured, sounding less than enthusiastic.

But Yan Qingxue, sitting beside him, was curious about how much he’d changed.

He really did seem different. In the past, if she invited him somewhere, he’d have shown obvious enthusiasm. Sometimes, though, his eagerness was a bit much. Especially the naked desire in his eyes—it was impossible to miss.

But after he’d been hospitalized, it was as if he’d become a different person. He was no longer so warm toward her, and the distance between them was suddenly obvious.

That made Yan Qingxue feel much more at ease, but it also left her with even more questions.

What exactly had happened to Shen Guang?

Maybe Shen Guang was the only one who knew.

“Clack.” A black pen fell to the floor and rolled slowly along its path until it came to rest by Shen Guang’s foot.

It belonged to the unremarkable boy sitting in front of Shen Guang.

Yan Qingxue quickly recalled that he was probably the most inconspicuous boy in their class: Jiang Ming.

She was about to call out and let him know, but Shen Guang had already bent down to pick up the pen.

He tapped the boy in front of him on the shoulder. The boy turned around and looked at Shen Guang, puzzled.

The scene made Yan Qingxue want to laugh, even though there wasn’t much that was funny about it.

“You dropped your pen.”

“Didn’t you used to tell me to pick it up myself?”

The boy’s words were an unmistakable jab at Shen Guang. Yan Qingxue’s expression shifted, and she instinctively wanted to speak up for him. But Shen Guang remained calm, as if he hadn’t heard a word the boy said.

“So, do you still want it?”

His voice didn’t waver at all. He sounded as if he were talking about something perfectly ordinary, but the people sitting near Shen Guang all reacted differently.

Yan Qingxue looked astonished. Qin He seemed thoughtful. The boy narrowed his eyes for a moment, then took the black pen from Shen Guang’s hand and said,

“Thanks.”

What on earth had Shen Guang done in the past? The boy had reacted so strongly to him just picking up a pen. No wonder nobody had stood up for him in the end.

“People are such a pain...” Shen Guang propped his cheek up with one hand and idly flipped through the pages of his book....