SYLM Chapter 38
by VolareThis meal was sheer torture.
Gu Wan Jun’s arrival made the already awkward atmosphere even worse.
Even Fu Yi Wen, a versatile chatterbox who could usually smooth things over, didn’t know where to start.
Her Lulu’s face was so cold it could freeze ice, how could she possibly say anything?
The food on their plates was nearly mashed to pieces. Fu Yi Wen and Qin Hao Yang were cautiously observing Chen Lu’s expression.
Only Gu Wan Jun acted like nothing was wrong.
She ate while casually throwing out questions, such as mentioning that she remembered Qin Hao Yang used to go home for lunch, and asking why he suddenly came to the cafeteria, and whether he would eat lunch there from now on.
Then she asked Fu Yi Wen what she thought of the cafeteria food, whether she would eat there or off-campus, and a series of similar questions.
As the conversation went on, Fu Yi Wen started to sweat. She began to wonder if Gu Wan Jun knew that Qin Hao Yang had a crush on her Lulu…?
Otherwise, how could she so accurately avoid mentioning Chen Lu while still talking about her with every sentence!?
…
Listening to the person sitting directly across from her constantly firing off questions in her usual gentle tone, Chen Lu could roughly guess Gu Wan Jun’s intentions.
But from beginning to end, she didn’t say a word, or even look up at Gu Wan Jun.
Twenty minutes later, this torturous lunch finally came to an end.
—
Cafeteria entrance.
After lunch, Fu Yi Wen went to the small shop next to the cafeteria as usual. Chen Lu was so used to this that she automatically followed her friend into the shop as soon as they left the cafeteria.
As for Gu Wan Jun and Qin Hao Yang, who were unaware and had already taken two steps down to leave: …
Qin Hao Yang glanced at Gu Wan Jun, whose emotions were unreadable. He adjusted his glasses and said with feigned casualness, “Teacher, I’m going to buy a bottle of water,” as he stepped back up and followed the two girls into the shop.
All three went in.
Gu Wan Jun ground her back teeth.
The spring sunlight squeezed through the gaps in the leaves, lying leisurely on the ground, unwilling to leave for a long time.
Inside the shop.
Fu Yi Wen didn’t realize that her small action of coming to the shop had caused so many chain reactions.
Seeing Qin Hao Yang, who had followed them in, buying water at another shelf, Fu Yi Wen seized the opportunity and tugged at Chen Lu’s school uniform sleeve, whispering:
“Lulu, you and Gu Wan Jun—”
“They have this brand of milk now, do you want to buy it?”
Chen Lu interrupted Fu Yi Wen’s words in a calm tone.
She didn’t want to hear anything about Gu Wan Jun right now.
—
After buying their things, the three of them went to the checkout.
No one would have imagined that Gu Wan Jun was still standing at the entrance.
Fu Yi Wen and Qin Hao Yang subconsciously glanced at Chen Lu beside them.
Meeting the direct gaze of those peach blossom eyes, a complex look flashed in Chen Lu’s eyes. She deliberately looked away, looking down at the bottle of mineral water in her hand that wasn’t interesting at all.
Chen Lu didn’t take the bait, so the responsibility of speaking fell on Fu Yi Wen. She twitched the corner of her mouth, her smile more like a cry:
“Teacher, you haven’t left yet?”
“Yeah, I just got a phone call.”
Gu Wan Jun lied without batting an eye, then cleverly changed the subject:
“Are you three going back to class? Perfect, I’m going back to the office too, let’s go together.”
“…”
—
On the way from the cafeteria to the teaching building, the four of them had different thoughts.
Chen Lu and Gu Wan Jun had no specific expressions, making it impossible to see their true emotions;
Qin Hao Yang pretended that nothing had happened, but used the opportunity to adjust his glasses to steal glances at Chen Lu, guessing her current mood;
And Fu Yi Wen, who couldn’t hide anything, practically had the helplessness of “What have I done to deserve this, why am I caught up in this situation!” written all over her forehead!
—
Ten minutes later.
Second-year teaching building.
First-floor staircase.
Just as the group was about to part ways, Fu Yi Wen, who couldn’t keep things to herself, was about to sigh in relief that she was finally free, when Gu Wan Jun seemed to remember something and suddenly said:
“Oh right, the test papers on our class’s bookshelf in the Literature office are a bit messy, they might need to be reorganized.”
Gu Wan Jun spoke gently, looking into Chen Lu’s eyes as she spoke, trying to make the girl understand what she meant—I want to talk to you alone.
There weren’t many people in the hallway at noon, and Gu Wan Jun’s gentle and pleasant voice clearly entered the ears of the other three. Her eyes and subtext were so obvious that anyone could feel that something was wrong.
But Chen Lu just pretended not to notice.
Meeting Gu Wan Jun’s expectant and eager gaze, Chen Lu didn’t look away this time, but her beautiful crescent eyes were filled with a clear calmness.
Chen Lu made no indication or response.
Organizing the Literature test papers was the Literature Representative’s job, what did it have to do with her?
…
Several seconds after the words were spoken, Gu Wan Jun didn’t get the response she wanted.
Their eyes met, and Gu Wan Jun knew that Chen Lu was angry with her.
Qin Hao Yang, seeing that Chen Lu didn’t respond, was about to step forward and smooth things over by saying that he would go to the office to organize them, but Gu Wan Jun was one step ahead of him, saying by name:
“I might not be able to organize it all by myself, Chen Lu, can you come and help me?”
Gu Wan Jun’s gaze was locked on Chen Lu’s face from beginning to end.
If a roundabout approach didn’t work, she would be direct.
Before saying this, Gu Wan Jun thought that even if Chen Lu was angry with her, she probably wouldn’t refuse her, since she had made it so obvious.
But this time, she misjudged Chen Lu.
“Sorry teacher, I have to do math problems at noon, I don’t have time. You should ask the Literature Representative to help.”
“…”
The tone was calm, but the words were shocking.
Chen Lu’s refusal surprised the other three present.
Fu Yi Wen desperately tried to suppress the urge to shout out loud, her eyes darting back and forth between Gu Wan Jun and Chen Lu!
What did she say!
Don’t provoke her Lulu!
Whether you’re a teacher or the principal, her Lulu will refuse you without hesitation!
Fu Yi Wen was thinking this one second, but the next second, seeing that Gu Wan Jun’s usually gentle peach blossom eyes suddenly held a strange forcefulness, she suddenly felt that things weren’t so simple…
…
Their eyes met. Gu Wan Jun, who had been rejected and embarrassed, should have followed the excuse Chen Lu gave her, but the damn possessiveness in her heart was blatantly running rampant. She stared fixedly at Chen Lu and said:
“Doing math problems is fine, you can bring your math problems to my office and do them there. If you don’t understand something, I can explain it to you.”
Her gentle tone held a hint of undeniable force, but Chen Lu didn’t take the bait:
“Aren’t you looking for someone to help you organize the test papers on the bookshelf? If I go, not only will I not be able to help, but I’ll also cause trouble.”
“I’m not afraid of trouble.”
“I’m afraid of trouble.”
Chen Lu’s tone was calm, but her attitude was unusually firm: “The teacher and I both have our own things to do. If I encounter problems I don’t understand, I can ask Fu Yi Wen. If that doesn’t work, I can ask the math teacher in the afternoon. I won’t waste your time.”
“…”
“If there’s nothing else, I’ll go back to class first. Teacher, you’re busy, goodbye.”
From beginning to end, Chen Lu’s tone was very polite, and there was absolutely nothing to criticize.
After speaking, as if she hadn’t seen the complex expression on Gu Wan Jun’s face at all, Chen Lu directly pulled Fu Yi Wen and turned to walk towards Class 12.
…
Just leaving her like that?
The sight of Chen Lu pulling Fu Yi Wen away flickered before Gu Wan Jun’s eyes, making her feel annoyed. A trace of gloomy grievance unconsciously appeared between her bright and gentle eyebrows, and a possessiveness that was difficult for others to detect instantly erupted in her dark and bright pupils.
Why did she call her “you” in the polite form?
Why couldn’t she go to her office?
She hadn’t finished speaking yet, why was she in such a hurry to leave?
The more Gu Wan Jun thought about it, the more aggrieved she felt. She suddenly had the urge to rush up and snatch Chen Lu to the office to listen to her speak.
“Teacher… are we still organizing the test papers?”
“…”
It wasn’t until Qin Hao Yang’s cautious question reached her ears that Gu Wan Jun barely managed to break free from her chaotic emotions.
“Organize.”
Some kind of emotion that had been burning in her eyes gradually died down. Gu Wan Jun retracted her gaze, touched her forehead somewhat helplessly, and turned to go upstairs.
—
From this noon onwards, the temperature of the interaction between Chen Lu and Gu Wan Jun could be said to have dropped to freezing point.
In fact, from the moment Gu Wan Jun wanted to keep her distance and her attitude became cold first, it was destined that this kind of scene would appear later.
Because Chen Lu, who had retreated into her armor, would only be colder and more resolute than her.
Sure enough, in the following week, whether it was coming to school in the morning or going home at night, the two, who used to walk together every day, never ran into each other on the road.
In fact, there were several times when Gu Wan Jun, despite saying otherwise, wanted to run into Chen Lu, but Chen Lu saw through it and deliberately avoided her.
After noticing this, Gu Wan Jun felt even more aggrieved. Although she often comforted herself on the way to and from work that it was nothing, after all, wasn’t maintaining a normal distance from Chen Lu the result she wanted in the first place?
But often before she could comfort herself, her emotions would collapse unconsciously, completely erupting with grievance and resentment.
Chen Lu is a little liar.
She clearly promised not to be distant with her, but now she’s hurting her heart.
She clearly knew how much she liked her as a student, but she was still so ruthless to her.
Didn’t she see the excuse she offered?
The more Gu Wan Jun thought about it, the more aggrieved she felt, but ultimately, she blamed herself the most for saying she wanted to keep her distance in the first place.
One sentence of keeping distance directly sent her favorite student ten thousand miles away. Gu Wan Jun, ah, Gu Wan Jun, Tang Ying was right, you deserve it.
…
—
Resentment is resentment, grievance is grievance, but Gu Wan Jun went to the cafeteria to share a table with Chen Lu and the others every noon without fail.
Officially and privately, she had to keep an eye on her little cabbage.
However, this made Fu Yi Wen miserable.
Not only did she have to mediate between the homeroom teacher, her best friend, and her best friend’s admirer every day, but when she was dragged to the Literature office to do English problems in her free time, Tang Ying would also ask her about Chen Lu and Gu Wan Jun’s situation from time to time.
Often, one second Tang Ying would listen to her gossip with a smile that wasn’t a smile, and occasionally offer an opinion; but the next second, when she saw that she had filled in the grammar all wrong, good heavens, the woman changed her face faster than flipping a book, not leaving any room for sentiment, and pinched her ears!
Heavens and earth! Who had she offended these days! Why were all the bad things revolving around her!?
Fu Yi Wen felt wronged for herself, almost wanting to howl at the sky, but in the end, she had to turn her grief and indignation into motivation and be dragged by Tang Ying to do problems.
—
March passed quickly, and April quietly arrived.
The spring breeze gently blew, the temperature rose, the ice and snow melted, and all things recovered.
The cold winter had completely passed, without even leaving a tail, and many things ushered in new turning points.