Chapter 21
After dinner, Chu Junyuan volunteered to escort the two girls home. Zhu Shiyan didn’t contest and simply greeted them before leaving with Xi Yan.
The mall wasn’t far from where they lived. Wanting to walk off his meal, Zhu Shiyan suggested they walk back, and Xi Yan agreed without objection.
As they walked, Xi Yan asked, “Are you close with them?”
“First time meeting today.”
Xi Yan fell silent.
Zhu Shiyan smiled, glanced around, then lowered his voice. “Xiao Yuan likes Milin. He wants to ask her out alone but doesn’t dare, so he’s using me as a shield.”
“Likes?”
Zhu Shiyan raised an eyebrow. “Didn’t you notice?”
“No.”
His attention was fully on Zhu Shiyan, oblivious to what was happening across the street.
Zhu Shiyan sighed. “That silly kid… Luckily, the girl likes him too, or else he’d be chasing her forever without a chance.”
Xi Yan stopped, hesitated, then asked, “What does ‘like’ mean?”
“Well…” Zhu Shiyan thought for a moment. “It means you think about him when you can’t see him, and even when you do, you still think about him. Even if there are many others around, you want him by your side the most. No matter how pretty others are, you only see him. You want to make him happy, to give him the best in the world…”
His lips curved slightly. “When you meet someone you like, you’ll understand.”
Xi Yan’s heart pounded as he looked at him.
“No more distractions. So, how’s City S? Fun?”
When there was no immediate reply, Zhu Shiyan poked him. “What are you thinking about? Your face is so red.”
“Nothing, nothing,” Xi Yan stammered, lowering his eyes to avoid his gaze. “I don’t know. I’ve never gone out to play.”
“I heard City S has a sea. Haven’t you gone to see it?”
“No.” Xi Yan glanced at him. “Do you want to see the sea?”
“Yeah, I want to.”
“Then… let’s go together sometime.”
“Sure.” Zhu Shiyan’s eyes curved into a smile as he agreed, then asked, “How was the exam? Difficult?”
“Not really, not too hard.”
“Good. We don’t care about the prize; participation matters.”
“Mm.”
Monday at school, Zhu Shiyan finally understood what Xi Yan meant by “not too hard” and “okay.”
Xi Yan had won a gold medal.
Xue Heng, beaming with joy, personally brought the medal to him, no longer showing any disdain but treating him like a treasure.
Classmates gathered around, gasping in disbelief at the gold medal.
Xi Yan remained expressionless, took the medal, said a cold “thank you,” and sat down.
When the crowd dispersed, Chu Junyuan bit the medal and gave a thumbs-up. “Kid, you really pulled it off—silent but winning a national gold.”
Zhu Shiyan snatched the medal back, carefully wiped it with paper, shot him a glare. “What’s wrong with you?” Then placed it in Xi Yan’s hands, eyes full of warmth. “You’re amazing.”
Xi Yan’s heart raced again.
No amount of praise from others compared to this simple compliment from Zhu Shiyan.
He pulled out a wad of cash. “First place comes with a 2,000 yuan prize. I used 100. The rest is for you.”
Zhu Shiyan pushed it back. “Why would I want your money? That’s your prize. Keep it.”
Xi Yan insisted, holding it out, not letting go.
Zhu Shiyan had no choice but to take it. “I’ll keep it safe for you. When you want it back, just say.”
After that, Xi Yan became famous at school, instantly a new heartthrob, even receiving several love letters.
Zhu Shiyan found it amusing at first and teased him with Chu Junyuan.
Xi Yan, embarrassed and angry, threw the letters in the trash. Seeing Zhu Shiyan’s indifferent attitude only made him feel restless and frustrated, wanting to silence that aggravating mouth.
After a while, Zhu Shiyan stopped teasing since all the love letters ended up in the bin anyway.
Perhaps because Xi Yan was so guarded, even when a school beauty confessed, he coldly said, “I don’t know you,” and the number of love letter deliveries dwindled.
Besides, a new gossip story soon spread among students, diverting attention from him, and Xi Yan’s life finally returned to normal.
Early one morning, Zhu Shiyan overheard people talking all around.
“Who’s the pervert stealing girls’ underwear…?”
“So scary! Today it’s underwear, tomorrow who knows what…”
“Who is it? Why haven’t the teachers caught him yet?”
“If you ask me, the police should be called to lock this freak up.”
Chu Junyuan loved stirring things up. After listening, he told Zhu Shiyan, “Someone’s been stealing underwear from the girls’ dorm. It’s a big deal.”
He rubbed his arm, goosebumps rising. “What kind of person is so twisted?”
Zhu Shiyan’s expression darkened.
—The third major plotline in the book was about to unfold.
[Someone is stealing girls’ underwear from the dorm. To avoid discovery, the thief frames the male lead, leading to his arrest by the police and being despised by the entire school.]
When Zhu Shiyan first saw this plot, he was speechless. According to the system’s description, the person framing the male lead was brainless and robotic, like the original author randomly copied a scene from another novel just to torment the protagonist.
An easily solvable problem, but all the antagonists acted foolishly.
He had to think carefully about how to deliver a satisfying comeback and drive away those pests completely.
Just then, Milin came to deliver something to Chu Junyuan. The two kissed through the window. Zhu Shiyan didn’t want to interrupt but had a question, so he knocked lightly.
“Sorry to bother you. Is it true someone’s stealing underwear from the girls’ dorm?”
Milin blushed. “Yes, it’s true.”
“Has anyone seen the thief?”
She shook her head.
“Anyone acting suspicious?”
Milin hesitated then shook her head again. “No one saw; he steals at midnight.”
“What about surveillance?”
“There’s no camera there.”
Which made sense; placing cameras where underwear was hung would be inappropriate.
Zhu Shiyan fell into thought. Milin glanced at him and whispered, “Teachers have been taking turns watching there lately, and cameras are being installed. They’ll catch him for sure.”
“Exactly,” Chu Junyuan pushed him aside. “With teachers and police around, that freak won’t get away. Don’t worry.”
Worry? Zhu Shiyan didn’t feel reassured at all.
Sure, the pervert might get caught, but what if they end up catching the framed Xi Yan?
---
“What’s wrong?”
Xi Yan returned with a cup of hot water and saw Zhu Shiyan deep in thought. He set the cup down. “Did something happen?”
Zhu Shiyan looked up. “There’s a pervert stealing underwear in the girls’ dorm.”
“Yeah, I heard.”
He couldn’t be direct, so he hinted, “Be careful lately. I’m afraid the pervert might do something irrational out of panic.”
Xi Yan didn’t understand the urgency but replied seriously, “Okay, I’ll be careful.”
The cameras were installed, no more underwear was stolen, though the previously stolen items remained missing. Things seemed to calm down.
But just as everyone relaxed, the unexpected happened.
Early one morning, as Xi Yan sat down and habitually tried to put his backpack into the desk, he sensed something wrong and his expression changed.
Zhu Shiyan sat beside him and, noticing his unease, whispered, “What’s wrong?”
Xi Yan looked troubled. “Someone put something in my desk.”
“A love letter?”
“No.”
Zhu Shiyan reacted quickly, scanning the room, then pressed Xi Yan’s hand urgently. “Put it in your backpack and throw it away immediately.”
“What should I throw away?”
A nasal voice sounded behind them.
Zhu Shiyan nudged Xi Yan’s backpack inward, then turned to the speaker. “Nothing. I told him to throw out some trash.”
“Really?” The person didn’t believe him, attempting to rummage through Xi Yan’s desk. “Is he hiding something shameful that’s why he wants to throw it away?”
Zhu Shiyan blocked him. “There’s nothing shameful. Just some trash. He never throws it out, so I told him to get rid of it.”
“If not, then what is he hiding?” The man raised his voice. “Show us if you dare!”
His shout attracted other classmates. “What’s going on? What happened?”
“What’s up with the class monitor?”
“Hiding something? Porn magazines?”
And so on.
Zhu Shiyan smiled wryly. “You seem to know what’s inside his desk?”
Sun Zhicai stiffened, trying to sound fierce but nervous. “How would I know? I just saw him acting suspicious, hiding something he didn’t want anyone to see!”
“Why so worked up?”
More students gathered, some even went to call the teacher. Zhu Shiyan, surprisingly calm, said, “There really is something shameful in there.”
Sun Zhicai’s face lit up. “Then why don’t you hand it over?”
“I will,” Zhu Shiyan gave Xi Yan a reassuring look to stay calm, then said slowly, “But it’s inconvenient right now. We’ll wait for the teacher.”
“What’s going on?” Xue Heng entered, frowning. “Why aren’t you in class so early? Class monitor, explain.”
Sun Zhicai immediately pointed at Xi Yan’s desk. “Teacher, he’s hiding something! Zhu Shiyan said it’s shameful!”
Xue Heng looked sternly at Xi Yan. “What is it? Show me.”