SYLM Chapter 37

Chapter 37 “Which boy? Where? How did you know?”

Chapter 37 “Which boy? Where? How did you know?”

Noon on the day of the “Small Note Incident.”

The hotpot meal was canceled, and Chen Lu, who wasn’t in the mood to eat, was dragged to the cafeteria.

The people who dragged her were Fu Yi Wen and Jiang Zhen Zhen.

Needless to say, Fu Yi Wen could eat wherever she wanted every day at noon.

And Jiang Zhen Zhen, who went home for lunch on time every day, used her recent weekly test scores to convince her parents to let her eat lunch in the cafeteria once.

They were really worried about Chen Lu’s condition.

—

In the cafeteria.

Jiang Zhen Zhen sat next to Chen Lu, and Fu Yi Wen sat across from Chen Lu.

After sitting down, Chen Lu looked down at her plate, her chopsticks never stopping, but after a few minutes, the food on her plate didn’t seem to decrease.

Fu Yi Wen and Jiang Zhen Zhen exchanged glances, silently discussing with extremely rich expressions and eye contact —

Fu Yi Wen wiggled her eyebrows: What should we do, Zhen Zhen??!!

Jiang Zhen Zhen’s eyelashes fluttered twice, her expression worried: I’ve never seen Lu Lu like this before.

Fu Yi Wen frowned, gesturing towards Chen Lu with her eyes: It’s useless to sigh now, why don’t you ask Lu Lu?

Jiang Zhen Zhen widened her eyes, her expression hesitant: Let me ask? Why don’t you ask…

Fu Yi Wen shrugged her shoulders, widened her eyes, her face full of excitement and helplessness: Of course I asked! I asked eight hundred times during the last class, okay! But Lu Lu she—

“I’m fine.”

The clear and calm voice interrupted Fu Yi Wen and Jiang Zhen Zhen’s silent exchange. The two of them paused, each turning their heads, and met Chen Lu’s calm gaze.

Fu Yi Wen, Jiang Zhen Zhen: …

It seemed that their eye contact was too obvious…

Fu Yi Wen and Jiang Zhen Zhen didn’t believe Chen Lu’s “I’m fine” at all, but now, faced with her gaze, they really didn’t know where to start asking.

What if they poked Lu Lu’s sore spot again?

…

Seeing her two friends’ conflicted looks, worried about what had happened to her but also afraid of making her even more upset by asking, Chen Lu’s lips trembled slightly, and she silently clenched her chopsticks.

Ultimately, she couldn’t bear to affect others because of herself. After a long silence, Chen Lu briefly told her two friends what had happened in the morning.

After hearing Chen Lu’s general account of the incident, Fu Yi Wen and Jiang Zhen Zhen’s moods were like a rollercoaster. The two exchanged glances, both with troubled expressions.

They were shocked that someone as principled and ethical as Chen Lu would choose to “take a risk” because she wanted to go eat hotpot with Gu Wan Jun at noon.

Compared to this “crazy” approach, the subsequent last-minute pulling back and calm confession was more like the Chen Lu they knew.

This was enough to show Gu Wan Jun’s importance in Chen Lu’s heart.

Gu Wan Jun was like a safety valve controlling Chen Lu’s emotions.

But now that the safety valve was gone, no one knew how to comfort Chen Lu.

…

After a long silence, Fu Yi Wen was the first to tentatively analyze:

“Um… so, in this matter, Old Wang Tou wasn’t really angry, the main one who was angry was our homeroom teacher…”

Fu Yi Wen spoke while secretly observing Chen Lu’s expression, continuing to carefully express her own opinion:

“Actually… I think it’s normal for the homeroom teacher to be angry, after all, she values you so much, concern makes you irrational.”

“That’s right, Teacher Gu cares about you a lot.” Jiang Zhen Zhen also echoed in a low voice.

“I know.” Chen Lu lowered her eyes and took a deep breath: “I was wrong in this matter.”

But…

An unspeakable bitterness surged in her heart, rushing fiercely to Chen Lu’s throat, blocking her from saying anything.

Gu Wan Jun could punish her, punish her however she wanted, but why use this way of distancing themselves from each other?

Was she disappointed in her? Was she going to become estranged from her?

No one but Gu Wan Jun herself could answer Chen Lu’s question.

And the answer came faster than Chen Lu had imagined.

—

Afternoon.

The “Small Note Incident” didn’t blow up. Chen Lu took a class break to explain the situation to Wang Zhen De in the Party Secretary’s office and sincerely apologized.

The little old man, who hadn’t taken the matter to heart in the first place, waved his hand, saying that he believed in Chen Lu’s character, that it wasn’t too late to pull back from the brink, and that she shouldn’t make the same mistake again.

Returning from the Party Secretary’s office, Chen Lu, preoccupied with her thoughts, ran into the Literature Representative of Class 1 at the entrance of Class 12.

The other party was there to deliver a message, saying that a batch of new test papers had arrived in the Literature office, and Gu Wan Jun wanted Qin Hao Yang to go to the office to check the papers.

Although the name of the Literature Representative on the class committee bulletin board was Qin Hao Yang, ever since they had become familiar, Gu Wan Jun would always look for Chen Lu first for anything related to Literature, whether it was checking test papers or collecting small notes, etc. The frequency was so high that the whole class had become accustomed to it, and everyone could feel Gu Wan Jun’s trust and value of Chen Lu.

But today, Gu Wan Jun asked a classmate to call Qin Hao Yang to the office.

Not only did the other students in Class 12 find it strange, but even the Class 1 Literature Representative who was responsible for delivering the message had asked Gu Wan Jun twice before coming to confirm that she wanted to call Qin Hao Yang to the office, not Chen Lu.

Remembering the conversation during the last class in the morning, Chen Lu’s eyelids felt as if they had been pricked by a needle, and trembled several times.

She knew that Gu Wan Jun was intentionally distancing herself from her.

Noticing the Class 1 Literature Representative’s concerned gaze, Chen Lu didn’t say anything, just responded with an “mm,” and then entered the class and went straight back to her seat.

—

Evening Self-Study after School.

As soon as the bell rang for the end of evening self-study, Gu Wan Jun, who had packed up her things ten minutes early, was the first to leave the classroom. This was the fastest she had ever left work since taking over Class 12.

The others didn’t know what had happened, they just thought the homeroom teacher was probably in a hurry to get off work.

But Fu Yi Wen and Jiang Zhen Zhen, who knew the inside story, sensed a dangerous atmosphere.

Seeing Gu Wan Jun leaving the classroom like a rocket, their worried gazes fell on Chen Lu at the same time.

Chen Lu packed up her things on her own, her expression calm, as if she hadn’t noticed anything happening around her.

Five minutes later, Chen Lu, having finished packing up, bid farewell to Fu Yi Wen and Jiang Zhen Zhen in turn, and then left the classroom.

—

Rose Garden.

Unit 6, 301.

Since Gu Wan Jun moved to this neighborhood, there have been few times when Chen Lu was the only one in this corridor.

Now was one of those times.

The motion-sensor lights turned on and off, off and on.

Arriving on the third floor, Chen Lu stood at her own door, subconsciously glancing at 302 across the hall.

The air seemed to freeze completely for a few seconds, then she took out her key, opened the door, closed the door… this series of actions was almost done in one go.

Through the door panel, listening to the crisp click of the door across the hall locking, Gu Wan Jun, who had arrived home about ten minutes earlier, finally felt relieved and breathed a sigh of relief.

What was Chen Lu thinking during those few seconds of silence before opening the door?

Gu Wan Jun leaned against the door panel, pursing her lips tightly, afraid to think about it.

Before long, the phone clenched in her hand vibrated twice in succession. Chen Lu had participated in the “arrived home” check-in in the parents’ group chat.

The temperature inside the house wasn’t high, but what had happened during the day was like a heatwave blocking her chest, making it hard to breathe.

Looking at the pure blue avatar on the chat page, Gu Wan Jun’s eyes were dim and uncertain, her head filled with all kinds of messy emotions.

The messier it got, the more she thought, and the more she thought, the messier it got.

In the end, someone who was annoyed and restless simply threw her phone on the sofa and went to the bathroom.

Maintain boundaries, keep your distance.

Maintain boundaries, keep your distance.

Maintain boundaries, keep your distance.

Important things should be said three times.

It was normal for them to go their separate ways, and besides, it was enough that she had arrived home safely, so what was she worrying about?

As the hot water poured over her body, Gu Wan Jun closed her eyes and told herself this in her heart.

As long as she hid quickly, she wouldn’t see Chen Lu’s sad and disappointed eyes and expression.

…

Not seeing it didn’t mean Chen Lu wouldn’t be sad.

From childhood to adulthood, Chen Lu had always been losing, always being abandoned. She used a cold, hard shell to tightly wrap her injured and fragile heart.

And Gu Wan Jun was the one who had seen her sincerity but now chose to retreat and distance herself.

Regardless of the reason, to Chen Lu, who already had a conditioned response to loss and abandonment, Gu Wan Jun’s attitude would only make Chen Lu close the shell that wrapped her even tighter.

301.

In front of the white desk, a brown leather diary was open on the table, with two flattened White Rabbit candy wrappers and an unopened alcohol wipe tucked inside some of the pages.

Clutching a tissue, Chen Lu leaned over the desk and recorded—

[Wednesday, March 28, 2018, Cloudy]

[Today I made a mistake, and she was very angry.]

[I know I was wrong. I asked her to punish me, but she ignored me.]

[Was she disappointed in me?]

[Maybe.]

[She should have understood me by now.]

[Or perhaps, I thought she should have understood me by now.]

[She said I wasn’t allowed to mention estrangement, and I promised and assured her.]

[But I forgot that she didn’t promise me.]

[Gu Wan Jun, you’re being too cruel to me.]

[…]

—

No matter what happened the day before, the dawn of the next day would always arrive as scheduled.

Having suffered from insomnia for most of the night, Gu Wan Jun woke up late today.

Fortunately, she was quick with her washing and skincare, and was still five minutes earlier than usual when she was ready to leave.

After entering the second semester, the morning self-study session was brought forward by 10 minutes and changed to start at 6:20.

Before, Gu Wan Jun and Chen Lu would arrange to leave at 6 o’clock to meet up, but now it was only 5:55, so if she left now, she shouldn’t run into Chen Lu.

Gu Wan Jun calculated to herself.

She had to leave before Chen Lu, otherwise, if that child came to knock on her door later…

Just thinking about how those bright, sparkling crescent eyes would be disappointed and dim because of her, Gu Wan Jun was afraid that the determination she had worked so hard to build up would directly collapse.

While checking her bag to make sure she hadn’t left anything behind, Gu Wan Jun prepared to leave. The moment her hand touched the doorknob, there was a sound outside the door.

It was Chen Lu.

The hand that had just touched the doorknob recoiled as if it had been shocked, and Gu Wan Jun subconsciously took half a step back, carefully lightening her breathing.

Why was this child leaving at this time too?

Was she going to knock on her door?

The sound of the door opening and closing outside vibrated Gu Wan Jun’s eardrums through the door panel. Afraid of what might happen next, Gu Wan Jun unconsciously held her breath. She thought the sound of her pounding heartbeat was too loud.

However, things didn’t develop in the direction Gu Wan Jun was worried about.

Unlike the few seconds of silence before opening the door last night, at this moment, as soon as the sound of the door closing came, Gu Wan Jun heard Chen Lu’s footsteps going downstairs without hesitation, getting further and further away, until she couldn’t hear them at all.

—

Entrance of Ningcheng No. 1 High School.

There was still enough time, and Gu Wan Jun, as usual, came to the big sister’s breakfast cart to buy breakfast.

The winter when the cold wind poured into her neck had passed, and the big sister had also changed her equipment from head to toe. Without the cover of the warm scarf, her signature loud voice was even louder:

“Yo, Teacher Gu is here. Why are you alone? Isn’t that pretty little girl with you?”

“…”

The big sister’s words stumped Gu Wan Jun. She was stunned for a moment, then barely managed to force a smile: “She left earlier today.”

“Is that so? I was wondering why I didn’t see her. I woke up late today and just got here.”

The big sister pursed her lips and got to the point: “Still the ‘old three’?”

“Yeah.”

“Alright, coming right up!”

—

There was some distance from the school gate to the second-year teaching building.

Walking on this road that she walked every day with breakfast in hand, Gu Wan Jun thought about every morning she had walked with Chen Lu in the past.

Maintain boundaries, keep your distance.

This was the result Gu Wan Jun wanted.

But when she found that Chen Lu seemed to be withdrawing even faster than her, she felt an indescribable bitterness in her heart.

You were the one who said to keep your distance, you were the one who took the first practical action, and now that little Chen Lu is following your wishes, you’re not happy, Gu Wan Jun, you’re such a weirdo.

Gu Wan Jun shook her head. She subconsciously began to wonder if her approach was really a bit inappropriate.

—

After the morning self-study session, Gu Wan Jun didn’t hand the small notes over to the subject representatives as usual, but chose to deliver them to the office one subject at a time after the self-study session.

This action was like a bolt from the blue for some “opportunistic” students.

After Chen Lu’s “small note incident” yesterday, Gu Wan Jun realized that everyone was still half-grown children and didn’t have enough self-control over certain things. She had to control them more strictly to really help them, instead of letting them continue to make mistakes for the sake of temporary convenience.

—

Whether it was affected by her mood or the days were really getting longer as winter went and spring came, the morning passed especially slowly.

All morning, except for answering questions normally in Literature class, Gu Wan Jun and Chen Lu had absolutely zero communication.

Gu Wan Jun asked Qin Hao Yang to complete any test papers or tasks that came to the Literature office.

—

The fourth period, Politics class, ended.

Gu Wan Jun, who was going downstairs to check the surveillance room, ran into Tang Ying at the corner of the stairs on the second floor, who had just finished teaching class and was preparing to return to the office.

Tang Ying came straight to the point: “Are you still having problems with your little follower?”

“…”

How did Tang Ying know that she and Chen Lu had a conflict? Was it that obvious?

Gu Wan Jun subconsciously wanted to deny it, but Tang Ying coldly hit her shoulder twice with the Politics book in her hand:

“Don’t take me for a blind and deaf person who doesn’t know anything. The last period yesterday morning was my class. When your little follower came back, her eyes were red. I heard about her small note incident.”

“Who did you hear it from?” Gu Wan Jun reacted extremely quickly, a hint of worry and sharpness flashing in her eyes.

“Tsk.” Tang Ying frowned in dissatisfaction, and said coldly, “Is that the point? It’s a trivial matter. What’s worth arguing about? Besides, didn’t she pick it up and put it down? What can’t you get over?”

“I can get over it.”

“Still stubborn?”

“I’m really not stubborn. Isn’t it normal for teachers and students to maintain a proper distance when they get along?”

Gu Wan Jun still denied it. Tang Ying laughed directly at these words. She crossed her arms and squeezed out a cold voice from between her teeth:

“Okay, very good. Maintaining boundaries and distance, huh? Fine, then consider me meddling in things I shouldn’t. I was originally going to tell you that your little follower was going to have lunch with a young boy at noon, but now it seems there’s no need—”

Before she could finish speaking, Tang Ying’s arm was suddenly grabbed, and the next second, she met Gu Wan Jun’s instantly sharp eyes:

“Which boy?”

“…”

Gu Wan Jun’s 180-degree change in attitude made Tang Ying feel very interesting. Tang Ying wasn’t one to be trifled with either. She raised her eyebrows and directly moved in close:

“Didn’t you just say you didn’t care?”

“Tang Ying.”

The hand clutching her arm tightened a bit. Gu Wan Jun no longer cared about what she had just said. She asked with a serious and solemn expression:

“Which boy is Chen Lu going to have lunch with? Where? How did you know?”

“…”

—

Second Year (12) Class.

Having finally endured until noon dismissal, Fu Yi Wen was so hungry that her front was sticking to her back.

Jiang Zhen Zhen had to go home for lunch today, so as soon as the dismissal bell rang, Fu Yi Wen dragged Chen Lu towards the back door.

Oh right, and Qin Hao Yang.

During the fourth period of Politics class, taking advantage of the group discussion time, Qin Hao Yang suddenly came to their group to ask if they were going to the cafeteria for lunch. If so, could he join them because he was afraid there wouldn’t be any seats because there would be too many people at noon.

Either he was prone to getting nervous when he saw Chen Lu, or he was afraid that Chen Lu would reject him, Qin Hao Yang asked Fu Yi Wen when he came to ask.

Although she knew that Qin Hao Yang had “impure thoughts” about her Lu Lu, what he said was also true.

The cafeteria was crowded at noon, and it was easy to not be able to get a seat if you went late, and even if they were together, it would be the three of them together. Everyone was a classmate, so there shouldn’t be anything wrong with it.

That’s what Fu Yi Wen thought, but afraid that her good friend would feel uncomfortable, she still looked at her Lu Lu at the first moment.

The two exchanged glances, and Chen Lu indicated that anything was fine.

Seeing that Chen Lu didn’t refuse, Qin Hao Yang’s face flushed red. After saying a few simple words, he turned around to sneak back to his seat, but accidentally ran into Tang Ying, who was patrolling the area.

Chen, Fu, Qin: …

She didn’t know how long Tang Ying had stood next to them or how much she had heard. Anyway, in the end, Fu Yi Wen shouldered all the responsibility and happily received the “honor” of having her ear pinched for the Nth time.

—

In the cafeteria.

When the three rushed in, large areas of empty seats came into view.

Obviously, the “student army” had not yet arrived. The three of them were among the first batch.

The three first occupied seats with the things they carried with them, and then each went to get the food they wanted to eat. After returning with their food and sitting down, the cafeteria was already crowded with people.

On both sides of a 4-person table were connected benches. Chen Lu and Fu Yi Wen sat in a row.

At first, Qin Hao Yang wanted to sit across from Chen Lu, but he was afraid that he would be too obvious, and he was afraid that he would be nervous if he faced Chen Lu. After consuming hundreds of calories in place on the bench, he still chose to sit across from Fu Yi Wen.

Seemingly thinking of something, Fu Yi Wen, while busily stuffing food into her mouth, mumbled with puffed cheeks:

“In the short passage correction in the morning, Jiang Wen spoke too fast. I didn’t keep up. Lu Lu, can you explain it to me again after we get back to the class later?”

“Yeah.” Chen Lu nodded. She knew that Fu Yi Wen had to go to the office every day to give Tang Ying random English questions.

“Hey Qin Hao Yang, did you eat in the cafeteria before?”

Qin Hao Yang, who was asked, was stunned for a moment. He glanced at Chen Lu diagonally across from him, then adjusted his glasses and explained:

“No, it only started recently. My parents changed jobs and are busier. They don’t come home for lunch, so they gave me money to eat in the cafeteria.”

Qin Hao Yang told a small lie in this question. His parents didn’t change jobs. He told his parents that the reason he wanted to eat lunch in the school cafeteria was because he wanted more time to study at noon.

And the fact was that he found that Chen Lu seemed to have started eating in the cafeteria recently.

At first, Qin Hao Yang wasn’t sure, but after hearing several classmates say that they had encountered the homeroom teacher Gu Wan Jun and Chen Lu eating together, and based on Gu Wan Jun’s attitude towards Chen Lu from yesterday afternoon to this morning, although he didn’t know what had happened, he guessed that the two might not eat together in the near future.

…

The three chatted while eating. To be precise, Fu Yi Wen chatted with this one and then that one.

From beginning to end, Chen Lu couldn’t muster any interest, just humming in agreement from time to time.

Just as they were finally talking about a common topic related to their respective hobbies, a sudden female voice broke the existing balance:

“Is it you three? What a coincidence. There are no other seats left. Can I sit with you?”

“…”

The moment she saw Gu Wan Jun appear with a plate in her hand, Fu Yi Wen almost spat out the food in her mouth. She subconsciously covered her mouth and glanced at her Lu Lu quickly.

Gu Wan Jun didn’t have class during the last period. Why did she come to the cafeteria so late?

A hint of suspicion flashed through Chen Lu’s mind subconsciously.

Clearly aware of something, Chen Lu didn’t want to explore the reason behind it. She didn’t answer and didn’t look up.

Fu Yi Wen and Qin Hao Yang next to her subconsciously defaulted that Gu Wan Jun was waiting for Chen Lu’s answer, so both of them tactfully didn’t speak.

In this way, Gu Wan Jun’s words fell to the ground for several seconds, and none of the three responded.

However, Gu Wan Jun didn’t give up.

The gentle and pleasant voice sounded again, but this time the question was changed to a statement:

“Why aren’t you saying anything? Then I’ll assume you agree.”

Gu Wan Jun smiled and answered herself, then put the plate in her hand across from Chen Lu on her own.