Chapter 43 Troubled Incident

d see both of them visibly relax. They had only brought thirty yuan with them, a substantial sum for middle school students back then. If someone had thirty yuan at that time, they could entertain the...Chapter 43: Troubled Incident

Walking under the diffused sunlight of winter, Su Can encountered Li Lumei and Chen Ling珊 when he entered the school to attend class with Xue Yiyang in the afternoon. They chatted as they went upstairs, only to bump into Du Ting and Tang Wu by chance. Although Tang Wu was Chen Ling珊's desk mate, their relationship was merely polite and distant. However, due to the active nature of Li Lumei and Du Ting, everyone managed to engage in conversation together, making it less awkward for Su Can, Chen Ling珊, and Tang Wu to be present at the same time.

The atmosphere seemed odd once they reached their classroom floor. Looking at this group of girls that mostly recognized each other as members from Class 1 or Classes 3 and 4 below, Chen Ling珊 found it strange for so many of them to appear on a different floor simultaneously. This was unusual, and everyone present felt slightly surprised.

Su Can felt a headache coming; this morning's incident merely involved some trivial disputes among class girls, which he hadn't taken seriously at the time. However, seeing the current situation now made him realize that these girls were indeed willing to cause trouble.

Su Can had thought that girl cliques weren't as gentle and composed as they seemed on the surface; sometimes when they got excited, their energy rivaled that of boys.

"Hey, Ran Yu, what's going on Who are you waiting for with this setup" Li Lumei asked the tall woman she had spoken to in the morning with a smile.

But by the time she said that, it was already irrelevant. As Li Lumei and Du Ting ascended the stairs, they noticed the group of girls from below the floor watching them intently, their gazes clearly focused on one person among them.

Du Ting turned her head to look at Su Can, frowned slightly, and wondered whom he had upset. If it were a boy, perhaps a couple of fights could resolve the issue; however, she couldn't imagine him antagonizing the girl cliques from Class 1, 3, or 4, as that would be like putting himself in a situation where everyone spat at him. According to her knowledge, these girls often engaged in confrontations with boys, scolding them right to their faces while leaving them powerless and humiliated.

In this moment, Du Ting felt Tang Wu's grip on her wrist tighten.

Although Tang Wu maintained a calm demeanor, the anxiety that flashed across her eyes didn't escape Du Ting's notice, given how close they had become recently. Her heart sank as she realized that if these sharp-tongued girls decided to take Su Can down, even for Tang Wu's sake, she wouldn't hesitate to intervene!

Chen Lingshan's expression became unnatural as she forced a smile at Ran Yu, who was approaching her, and asked, "You guys... didn't get into any trouble, right"

The Ran Yu before them had been quite popular during junior high. Her tall figure and pretty face made many people chase after her. Mao Xiao seemed to be getting very close to her recently, making it obvious that this basketball prince was interested in her, which greatly displeased Li Lumei. Furthermore, Chen Chong from Wang Haoran's group had been pursuing Ran Yu all along, and she was also quietly seen as the de facto leader among the girls in Class 1, having an aura much stronger than Chen Lingshan’s. This made Chen Lingshan nervous when she saw her walking towards Su Chan.

Ran Yu ignored Li Lumei and Chen Lingshan and stood in front of Su Chan. She then waved a hand behind her to the girls, "Xiao Lu Zi, come here!" Then she looked at the waiting girls, "Let's see Xiao Lu Zi’s bravery! Let's see if you guys can still mock others after this!"

The girls were surprised when they saw Shen Lu, with two braids in her hair, approach Su Chan. Her face was flushed and she couldn't look up as she quickly but clearly said, "Su Chan, I like you!"

Then, unable to take it anymore, she covered her red face and rushed down the hallway.

A series of exclamations and praises came from behind. Their gazes were filled with some envy and resentment.

Ran Yu was taken aback when Shen Lu rushed away but then burst out laughing after a moment, giving Su Chan an astonished look, "You're really quite steady!"

...

"This Su Chan is becoming increasingly popular. Today I even saw a little girl confess to him," English teacher Yin Xiaotian shared in the staff room, causing the younger teachers to become very interested, "In the afternoon when school started, I said there were so many people in the hallway; ha-ha, this Su Chan really surprised me! He's usually quite low-key. His mid-term English score was 137 points too; that's a real dark horse!"

Xiao Rihua merely harrumphed with disdain, "If it’s serious early dating, the school will issue warnings! It’s not on the right path and has no proper conduct!"

Yin Xiaotian stuck out his tongue at the teacher next to him, thinking that Xiao Rihua really was old-fashioned; although it was still acceptable to discourage middle school students from dating, teachers turned a blind eye once students reached high school as long as their relationships did not cause significant disruptions. It seemed true then that Xiao Rihua indeed had issues with Su Cen.

Xiao Rihua was genuinely shocked by Su Cen's mid-term grades. Initially, he thought Su Cen’s background and abilities were abysmal, yet this student managed to give him a resounding slap in the face during the mid-term exam. Hence, upon seeing Su Cen’s published results, Xiao Rihua felt more bewildered than relieved.

Driven by curiosity and his suspicion of cheating, Xiao Rihua took out Su Cen's initial school entry scores only to find that Su Cen had been consistently ranked among the top fifteen students in the class since day one. Moreover, he was now even in the top ten. In previous years, this would have been a cause for celebration akin to discovering new continents.

However, recalling Director Tian Feng from the academic affairs office made Xiao Rihua uneasy; sometimes simple matters become complicated when viewed through a clouded lens.

Was there a trap here What kind of conspiracy was at work

Moreover, he had no justifiable reason to act against Su Cen. The indecision on his face mirrored the clouds in his mind; even superficial pleasantries with Director Tian Feng had ceased recently, and it's unlikely that the latter harbored favorable thoughts towards him.

Scholar Xu Yi Yang, a close friend of Su Cen’s, looked at him with bewilderment. He whispered to Su Cen during class breaks: "I've been attending this school for years, never has any girl confessed her feelings to me like this... Comparing our lives, how could there be such a big gap between people"

Su Cen was enlightened; in the future, Xu Yi Yang had once said something similar. However, back then he'd mentioned: "Our squadron's pilot married the champion of the Southern Airlines flight attendant beauty pageant. The girl is stunning... Her family are Zhejiang merchants, and they receive great benefits from the military. They have a 100 square meter apartment in the city. Why is there such a difference between pilots"

Su Cen chuckled silently; he was too lazy to pay attention to Xu Yi Yang’s musing alone. This incident naturally became a topic of gossip within the class.

The homework collection group leader would occasionally tease Su Cen: "Hearing that Shen Lu from Class 1 confessed her feelings to you" This demonstrated just how widespread the news had become.

Su Cun's expressions were different from before, and Zhang Xilai and a few troublemakers didn't forget to poke fun at him about this. However, they found it difficult to integrate Su Cun into their circle, so everyone felt somewhat disappointed.

As for when they subconsciously wanted to draw Su Cun into their group, that was something that had already passed and couldn't be traced back anymore.

During break time, Li Lumei casually mentioned this topic in conversation, which caused the girls to laugh at Su Cun incessantly. Chen Ling珊lightly chuckled, "Shen Lu has good grades and a nice personality; she probably doesn't just think of it as a bet. Perhaps she really does fancy you... I think she's quite suitable, how about considering her"

Li Lumei privately tugged on Chen Ling珊's clothes, feeling puzzled inside: Are you daft

Chen Ling珊 shot Li Lumei a glance but didn't say much. However, the jealousy in those beautiful eyes couldn't be hidden from someone as close to her as Li Lumei.

Faced with the chatter of these young girls and Xue Yi陽's exaggerated embellishments, Su Cun finally spoke up to dispel rumors: "It was just a bet; it doesn't matter much. I didn't think too deeply about it. You all should focus on your studies, there might be random quizzes next class."

This statement indicated that Su Cun wasn't interested in Shen Lu. The girls felt somewhat regretful while some secretly felt relieved.

Li Lumei thought of her own 25th rank and the top-tier Su Cun, feeling dejected as she returned to her desk with a pout: "Humph! What's so great about you"

The winter sun slanted into the classroom. Su Cun picked up his pen, frowned slightly, then shook his head with a smile, thinking that it was rather complicated for someone at this age.

==========agged back to his hometown when he was sixteen.The course of fate had paused, retreated, and started again, slowly rolling forward once more.This was the place where his life began anew. He hadn't tho...