SYLM Chapter 56

Chapter 56: Avoiding Suspicion

Time seemed to fast forward, and in the blink of an eye, the class bell rang.

The second period for Class 12 was math.

During the group discussion, Fu Yi Wen told Chen Lu about her conversation with Tang Ying during the previous break. It was clear that Tang Ying was also aware of the recent rumors.

“Chen Lu, don’t worry too much. Tang Ying is good friends with our homeroom teacher. You know her temper. She definitely won’t sit idly by. Maybe this will be resolved in a couple of days.”

Fu Yi Wen comforted Chen Lu this way.

Since the last “plagiarism incident,” Fu Yi Wen could more or less sense that Tang Ying’s background wasn’t simple. Plus, with her personality of directly confronting anyone she didn’t like, with her around, Gu Wan Jun definitely wouldn’t suffer.

What Fu Yi Wen said wasn’t without reason, but Chen Lu’s heart still felt like it was carrying a dozen buckets of water, restless and uneasy.

She didn’t care about herself; people could say whatever they wanted about her.

But not Gu Wan Jun.

During the previous break, Qin Hao Yang passed on a message, telling Chen Lu to find time to go to the Literature office. After thinking about it for an entire math class, Chen Lu still couldn’t decide whether or not she should go.

As the second period ended and the bell rang, the math teacher, Wang Zhen De, immediately turned off the classroom’s loudspeaker switch. He planned to hold them back for a few minutes to finish explaining a problem on the blackboard.

“Just a few minutes, let’s finish this problem. Look at the blackboard. Haven’t we used this formula before? Okay, then in this problem–”

Knock, knock, knock!

The sudden knocking at the classroom door drowned out Wang Zhen De’s voice. The old man pushed up his glasses with a dark face and turned to look at the unfamiliar face outside the door:

“Class hasn’t ended yet. Whoever you’re looking for, come back later.”

“Ah… sorry, teacher. I’m just here to pass on a message for the Literature teacher…”

Meeting Wang Zhen De’s about-to-erupt gaze, the girl outside the door said timidly:

“The Literature teacher said to tell Chen Lu from her class to go to the Literature office after class…”

Hearing this, Wang Zhen De snapped the chalk in his hand and turned to look at the window seat:

“Chen Lu, did you hear that? Wait for me to finish this problem before you go. Okay, let’s continue looking at the problem…”

“…”

Chen Lu didn’t expect Gu Wan Jun to have someone pass on a message twice, asking her to go to the office.

And she still hadn’t decided whether or not to go…

The tips of her fingers holding the pen turned white, and Chen Lu secretly prayed in her heart that the math teacher would take up more of the break time.

However, after a concise two minutes, Wang Zhen De, having finished explaining the problem, left Class 12.

—

Two minutes later, at the door of the Literature office.

What must be faced cannot be escaped.

Fortunately, Chen Lu had dragged Fu Yi Wen along with her.

Fu Yi Wen, holding her newly refilled, pink Hellokitty thermos, looked reluctant. Although she was originally going to the fourth floor, she was going to the Liberal Arts office to find Tang Ying, not the Literature office!

During the break, other teachers and students occasionally passed by the fourth-floor corridor. The person being dragged along held the thermos in her arms, seemingly casually looking left and right, but her muttering mouth never stopped:

“Seriously, Chen Lu, Gu Wan Jun called you, not me. Why did you drag me here? I don’t want to be a third wheel!”

Fu Yi Wen’s words were purely literal.

She didn’t believe those outrageous rumors, but she wasn’t blind either.

Anyone with eyes could see that Chen Lu and Gu Wan Jun had their own bubble whenever they met, and no one else could get a word in. What was her Chen Lu dragging her here for? She still had to deliver hot water to Tang Ying!

On the other side, Chen Lu, her mind occupied with what to say later, had no time to pay attention to Fu Yi Wen’s words. She took a deep breath, told herself to calm down, and then raised her hand to knock on the door of the Literature office.

Perhaps it was because the more one knew, the more easily one overthought things. As soon as she entered the office, Chen Lu felt that the other teachers were subtly observing her every move.

The more it was like this, the more she had to stay calm.

Chen Lu told herself in her heart, then grabbed Fu Yi Wen’s arm and went to Gu Wan Jun’s desk.

When Gu Wan Jun saw Chen Lu and Fu Yi Wen appear together, she was obviously surprised. She asked Fu Yi Wen why she was here and if she had something to say to her. Just as Fu Yi Wen was about to speak, she suddenly felt a slight pain in her arm. The cold, calm voice beside her took over:

“The teacher asked someone to call me, and I thought there might be papers to check in the office, so I had Fu Yi Wen come with me.”

“There are no papers to check. I have something else to discuss with you.”

Gu Wan Jun’s tone was direct. After saying that, she turned her gaze to the Hellokitty thermos in Fu Yi Wen’s hand, smiling and speaking calmly:

“Teacher Tang just came to me to talk about the students’ recent class performance. She seems to have a class next period. If you don’t go now, she probably won’t be in the office later.”

“…”

Fu Yi Wen, who didn’t want to come to the Literature office in the first place, widened her eyes instantly when she heard this, her restless heart immediately taking flight.

A minute later, only Chen Lu was left at the desk.

Chen Lu clenched the hem of her school uniform pants, trying to avoid observing the people around her.

“What did the teacher want to talk to me about?”

“Why didn’t you come to check the papers during the last break?”

“Something came up.”

“Was it resolved?”

“Yes.” Chen Lu nodded, her usually direct gaze now like a wet leaflet, falling emptily on the desk.

Chen Lu didn’t dare to look directly into Gu Wan Jun’s eyes.

Gu Wan Jun noticed all of the unusual reactions.

Looking at Chen Lu standing before her desk, her eyes downcast and not looking at her, Gu Wan Jun remained silent for a moment before simply saying that the small assignments were graded. She told Chen Lu to take them back, her tone as gentle and kind as usual, and then said nothing more.

When Chen Lu left the Literature office, she was still uneasy. She seemed to know why Gu Wan Jun had called her to the office, but she couldn’t fully understand it.

Her thoughts were a tangled mess that was about to tie into a dead knot. As she walked to the stairwell, Chen Lu suddenly heard two familiar voices–

“I already filled it with hot water for you, just take it!”

“I said I don’t want it, stop nagging.”

“What’s wrong? You already drank a cup during the first period. It’s not like you can’t handle this second cup.”

“I don’t want it, take it away. It’s too ugly.”

“Seriously, how is it ugly? This little Hellokitty cat is so cute. And there aren’t any other cups right now. Just bear with this one for now.”

“I can’t bear with it. Stop waving it in front of me. I have class next period.”

“…Okay, if you don’t take it, I won’t let you leave!”

“…”

On the stairs, Fu Yi Wen, her face flushed, and Tang Ying, eager to go to class, were staging a “tug-of-war.” Their actions were hard not to notice.

Seeing Fu Yi Wen’s ardent and sincere gaze fixed on Tang Ying’s face, Chen Lu’s eyes flickered. She felt a strange sense of familiarity, and the accompanying doubt sprouted like weeds in her heart.

Does Fu Yi Wen really only see Tang Ying as a teacher…?

—

Back in class, Chen Lu, preoccupied with her thoughts, and Fu Yi Wen, whose happiness was written all over her face after finally giving away the thermos, were in completely different states. This absent-mindedness lasted all morning for Chen Lu.

Finally, it was noon, and school was over. As usual, Chen Lu and Gu Wan Jun would meet at the stairwell on the first floor and then go to lunch together.

But today, after hearing the news from Liu Zi Xuan, Chen Lu excused herself by saying that she wanted to eat with Fu Yi Wen.

After hearing this, Gu Wan Jun didn’t react much. She smiled and agreed, also telling Chen Lu and Fu Yi Wen to enjoy their meal.

—

At a small noodle shop.

At the table, Chen Lu recalled Gu Wan Jun’s last smile, and a strange vexation arose in her heart.

“Twenty-two sighs.”

“What?”

Chen Lu looked up at the person across from her. Fu Yi Wen’s cheeks were stuffed full, and her speech was a little unclear:

“If you sigh again, that’ll be twenty-three. I’ve been listening the whole time.”

“…”

“I mean, wasn’t it you who wanted to avoid suspicion and took the initiative to say you wouldn’t eat with Gu Wan Jun? Now that she’s actually agreed, you’re not happy. What’s wrong with you?”

“…”

Meeting Fu Yi Wen’s puzzled expression, the twenty-third sigh came, though belatedly.

To be honest, Chen Lu didn’t know why she was like this. She had clearly chosen to avoid suspicion in order to protect Gu Wan Jun, but when she heard Gu Wan Jun smilingly agree to let her eat with Fu Yi Wen, she felt an inexplicable sadness in her heart.

So twisted.

The beef noodle soup slowly neared its bottom. Fu Yi Wen, busy eating, knew that Chen Lu’s lack of appetite was because she was still worried about Gu Wan Jun. She coaxed her good friend gently:

“Chen Lu, I know you’re worried about Gu Wan Jun. Actually, I’m pretty worried about her too. But didn’t we analyze the current situation this morning? So far, Gu Wan Jun is still our homeroom teacher and nothing’s happened. That means those old fogeys at school aren’t completely unreasonable. The rumors won’t last long and will collapse on their own. And I think–”

As she spoke, Fu Yi Wen choked a little. She quickly picked up the mineral water next to her and took a big gulp. After swallowing it, she took a breath before continuing:

“And I think Gu Wan Jun’s attitude towards you is exactly the same as before. She doesn’t have any intention of avoiding suspicion at all. So I don’t think you need to feel pressured to avoid her. You two are innocent in the first place. Let the others say what they want. What’s fake is fake. I don’t believe they can make something out of nothing. Our conscience is clear, and an upright person isn’t afraid of a crooked shadow!”

“…”

The earlier words from Fu Yi Wen had a minimal soothing effect on Chen Lu, but the last sentence made Chen Lu’s shoulders tremble slightly. Her crescent-shaped eyes, which had been looking at Fu Yi Wen, quickly darted elsewhere.

A clear conscience.

If only she really had a clear conscience.

—

After lunch, Chen Lu was dragged by Fu Yi Wen to a small supermarket near the school to choose a thermos for Tang Ying.

After all, it wasn’t right to always let Tang Ying use her thermos, and Tang Ying had complained more than once that her thermos was ugly.

After some careful selection, Fu Yi Wen chose the most expensive thermos in the supermarket. Because she didn’t have enough money with her, she even borrowed fifty yuan from Chen Lu.

“Chen Lu, I’ll pay you back tomorrow, okay?”

“It’s okay, no rush.”

Looking at Fu Yi Wen’s satisfied expression as she held the new thermos, Chen Lu suddenly recalled the ardent gaze she had seen on the stairs that morning.

Did Fu Yi Wen look at Sun Li Xia with that same gaze before?

A sudden curiosity prompted Chen Lu to temporarily put aside the matter of Gu Wan Jun and start searching for previous memories in her mind. At the same time, Fu Yi Wen’s bright voice came from her ear:

“Hey, before, when I bought things for that person, didn’t you and Jiang Zhen Zhen advise me to buy less, saying I was stupid, or stop me from buying? Why didn’t you stop me today when I was buying for Tang Ying?”

“…”

Hearing this, Chen Lu carefully looked at Fu Yi Wen twice, and found that the expectation in this person’s eyes was almost overflowing. Chen Lu directly stated the point:

“Do you want me to praise Tang Ying?”

“Hey, I didn’t say that!”

Fu Yi Wen subconsciously denied it, but there was a bit more laughter in her tone that she wanted to suppress but couldn’t:

“But, come to think of it, other than being sarcastic when she speaks, Tang Ying is actually pretty good, right?”

“…”

Isn’t she still trying to get her to praise Tang Ying?

And why does this sound so familiar?

Weren’t these the words she had said to Fu Yi Wen before?

Chen Lu grumbled in her heart, but she still followed Fu Yi Wen’s words and replied that Tang Ying was a good teacher.

Hearing Chen Lu praise Tang Ying, Fu Yi Wen smiled so hard that her teeth disappeared, her mouth reaching to the roots of her ears, even happier than when she heard Chen Lu praise herself.

Fu Yi Wen’s rare reaction made Chen Lu feel even more that something was wrong, but at this time her thoughts were almost entirely on Gu Wan Jun, and she had no mind or energy to think about her friend’s abnormal situation.