Red Line Resurrection Chapter 7

Chapter 7

◎If you really can’t handle it, don’t push yourself.◎

Shen Lingjun hadn’t realized how much he could sleep.

After all, he had slept for so long during the day at school, and he had finally managed to get the password. He had planned to stay up until at least three in the morning, but when he opened his eyes and regained consciousness, it was broad daylight again. He rubbed his face in despair, cursing himself internally for being such a pig.

Also, who charged his tablet?

Shen Lingjun finished washing up and went downstairs, feeling a little guilty. Liang Ji’an, who hadn’t left for the company yet, was sitting at the dining table. He obediently said good morning and took the slice of bread He Wen had spread with cheese, starting to chew on it.

He wasn’t quite used to the food, and the atmosphere was inexplicably awkward. Fortunately, there were also steamed mini buns on the table. After quickly finishing the one in his mouth, he pulled the entire steamer basket toward himself. He ate them with vinegar and chili oil, and was just about to grab his schoolbag and leave when Liang Ji’an, who had been silent, suddenly said, “Don’t take the tablet to school. Play with it when you get home.”

Shen Lingjun immediately complied, certain that his late-night gaming session had been exposed. He instantly became as docile as a quail, not daring to cause any more trouble. This even carried over to his first three classes that morning, where he was wide awake and didn’t doze off once.

Unfortunately, he had been away from textbooks for too long, and he had missed so many lessons that catching up on any subject felt like trying to mend the heavens. Zhou Shunan, sitting behind him, watched him deflate like a punctured ball, his straight posture gradually slumping forward. The pen in his hand, however, didn’t stop moving. Finally, he seemed to give up, turning around to ask Zhou Shunan how to solve a physics problem.

It was the simplest kind from the first year of high school, solvable just by plugging in a formula, but the problem was that Shen Lingjun didn’t know which formula to use.

Zhou Shunan patiently explained it to him for a while. Shen Lingjun stammered out that he mostly understood and thanked him. Just as he was about to turn his head back, Zhou Shunan grabbed his wrist and said, “If you really can’t handle it, don’t push yourself.”

The words were very direct, but his tone held no mockery, only genuine concern, as if he truly couldn’t bear to see Shen Lingjun struggle. Shen Lingjun wasn’t angry. Zhou Shunan continued, “Wouldn’t it be easier to find another way to go abroad? Since you didn’t get in based on grades, your family must have paved a way for you, right?”

A way out? Shen Lingjun mumbled softly. He didn’t know if Liang Ji’an had prepared a way out for him.

These good days had only just begun for three or four days, and the superficial half-blood relationship didn’t seem to give him much security. He hoped Liang Ji’an genuinely liked him as a younger brother, and that they should have a familial bond based on blood ties so he could stay in this home for the long term.

Perhaps the confusion in his eyes was too obvious. Zhou Shunan knew Shen Lingjun hadn’t absorbed a single word of what he’d just said. He sighed helplessly, “Don’t worry about it. Next period is P.E. Go change your clothes.”

It was still spring, and the temperature difference during the day was significant. City No. 1 High School had even built an indoor gymnasium for the students’ convenience. Zhou Shunan was the main player on the school basketball team. After warming up on the court, he handed two bottles of water to Shen Lingjun, who was sitting in the audience stands, and specifically instructed, “You’ll bring me water later, okay?”

Shen Lingjun nodded, automatically classifying himself as Zhou Shunan’s follower. After two days of getting along, he was genuinely grateful that Zhou Shunan was willing to include him.

Zhou Shunan gathered with his teammates to talk. It was a large class mixing several grades. A person with blue-dyed hair looked at Shen Lingjun sitting below and asked, “Your boyfriend?”

Another tall guy said, “If he were his boyfriend, where do you think Little Zhou would be right now?”

Someone else chimed in, “The locked equipment room next door!”

Zhou Shunan adjusted his headband, chuckled, and said, “Don’t talk nonsense. I haven’t figured out his background yet. I just saw he was pretty, so I reeled him in first.”

“He is pretty,” someone followed his gaze and stared for a moment. “His physique looks good too. Thin and slight. Must be comfortable to hold.”

The group laughed and joked before starting to play seriously. Shen Lingjun, however, didn’t spare them any attention. Ji Yuxuan had messaged him this morning, but Shen Lingjun was determined to only reply after buying the skin, so the only thing making him anxious right now was the Learning Device he hadn’t sold yet.

Zhou Shunan kept trying to catch his eye, making his own eyes twitch, but Shen Lingjun never looked his way. It wasn’t until the bell rang for the end of class that Shen Lingjun suddenly stood up like an NPC whose automatic quest acceptance had been triggered, jogging over to Zhou Shunan to hand him the water.

He was very conscious of his role as a subordinate, even thoughtfully twisting the cap open.

Zhou Shunan hadn’t expected this. He had been a little annoyed, but now he was instantly mollified, holding the water and shaking it twice at his teammates in a show-off manner.

After lunch, Shen Lingjun didn’t go to the lounge to sleep. He rushed into a bathroom stall and began reviewing the messages on his phone like an emperor reviewing memorials. He checked the second-hand platform and was pleasantly surprised to find that two people had messaged him privately. One was local and didn’t haggle over the price, just asking if the item was still available and if he would ship it immediately after purchase.

Little Shen is Very Bright: [When do you want to meet in person? My time isn’t very flexible.]

Not only was it not flexible, but he had people picking him up and dropping him off for school, and he had to report where he was going before he could go anywhere.

User 178888: [I don’t have much time either. If it’s too difficult, I can pay for shipping and you can mail it.]

[Just send it to this address.]

Little Shen is Very Bright: [City No. 1 High School? Are you a student at City No. 1 High School too? I am. Are you free now?]

User 178888: […What a coincidence. Let’s meet in the lobby on the first floor of the Comprehensive Building.]

Shen Lingjun grabbed the Learning Device and dashed over. He didn’t wait long in the lobby before a boy wearing a school uniform and glasses walked toward him, tentatively greeting him.

The two got straight to the point and completed the transaction without any unnecessary talk. When he received the transfer notification, Shen Lingjun was so ecstatic he nearly jumped up. The boy held the device, thought for a long time, and finally said, “So rich people sell things on second-hand platforms too?”

“I thought you’d just leave them idle.”

Shen Lingjun was inexplicably stung by the phrase “rich people.” He retorted aggressively, “Why not? I thought people who couldn’t afford to buy them new came here to buy them?”

It was a completely illogical attack.

The other person, however, said calmly, “A month ago, I really couldn’t afford it, but this month I got the full scholarship.”

Shen Lingjun was hit from both sides and was momentarily speechless. Thinking of the problems he couldn’t solve and the books he couldn’t finish memorizing, he had nothing to say. For some reason, he felt deeply ashamed of what he had just said, lowered his head, and quickly returned to the lounge.

The eight thousand plus yuan he had earned was piping hot. Since Liang Ji’an wouldn’t let him bring the tablet to school to play, he went to find a proxy charger.

Then he quickly sent two messages back to Ji Yuxuan.

[Screenshot screenshot]

[See that? Newly bought skin.]

[See that? A week’s worth of my allowance!]

Ji Yuxuan replied instantly: [You finally replied to my message? I really thought you were still angry.]

Shen Lingjun: [Hmph, are you going to admit I was showing off?]

Ji Yuxuan sent him a remorseful emoji.

Shen Lingjun proudly sent back an “I forgive you” emoji.