Chapter 20

The moment Zheng Yu was sent flying, to be honest, Chu Yin felt genuinely thrilled.
As the heir to a top-tier wealthy family, Lu Zhen had not only received an elite education but had also undergone physical training and combat skills since childhood, far surpassing the average person.
His kick, stance, angle, and force, was nothing short of perfect.
His long leg, full of explosive power, sent Zheng Yu flying in a flawless parabolic arc.
...So satisfying!!
Chu Yin restrained her delighted expression, trying hard to adjust it to one of shock mixed with horror.
Zheng Yu landed with a loud thud, startling a few students who happened to be passing by. They wanted to gossip but didn’t dare do so in front of Lu Zhen, each of them glancing back repeatedly as they walked away.
What was going on??
Zheng Yu got beaten up by Lu Zhen??
Wasn’t Zheng Yu pursuing Chu Yin??
Huh???
Zheng Yu couldn’t get up after hitting the ground, his greasy expression replaced entirely by one of pain.
Lu Zhen’s face was cold as he tilted his neck, radiating a heavy aura of hostility: "Your sincerity, my ass."
Chu Yin almost burst out laughing, quickly pressing her lips together to suppress it.
What a pity she wasn’t in the first-person perspective. Just thinking about Lu Zhen being confessed to by a man, and such a greasy one at that, made her find it absolutely hilarious.
It was undoubtedly one of the rare, bizarre experiences in Lu Zhen’s life.
Zheng Yu’s buddies had been watching from the shadows, but when Zheng Yu, blind as a bat, ended up slamming Lu Zhen against the wall, they immediately knew it was over. Sure enough, Lu Zhen showed no mercy, delivering a kick that looked excruciatingly painful!
After a few seconds, seeing that Zheng Yu truly couldn’t get up, his buddies risked their lives to rush over, apologizing to Lu Zhen while dragging Zheng Yu away.
Lu Zhen’s icy gaze swept around, and the few remaining onlookers, reluctant to leave, immediately scattered.
Chu Yin tugged at her school uniform sleeve and quietly slipped away along the wall. She hadn’t gone far when she felt a scorching gaze fixed on her.
"Sorry," Lu Zhen stared at her, "did I interrupt something?"
Chu Yin: ...This dog man and his sarcastic tone, he, tui!
She stopped and said seriously, "No, thank you."
Lu Zhen’s lips curled slightly: "He got beaten up by me, and you’re not going to ask about it?"
Chu Yin couldn’t help but glance at him.
Although she didn’t want to say much to Lu Zhen, she still replied, "He was distracting me from studying. Annoying."
Lu Zhen suddenly laughed.
Studying was more important than anything else; her heart was cold as ice.
A faint ache spread in Lu Zhen’s chest, yet somehow, his restless irritation was soothed.
"So you like people like you," Lu Zhen couldn’t help asking, "the ones who are good at studying?"
Chu Yin’s gaze at him grew even stranger, tinged with a hint of scrutiny.
Lu Zhen seemed to have developed some interest in her, a bookworm solely focused on studying, but it was clearly different from the previous lifetime. Chu Yin didn’t see the familiar aggression in his eyes. Instead, Lu Zhen seemed more amused, standing there chatting idly with her.
But was Lu Zhen really that kind of person?
Chu Yin glanced at him suspiciously, growing somewhat wary.
Unconsciously, Lu Zhen straightened his back. His hand, hanging by his side, tightened slightly, his thumb unconsciously rubbing against his knuckles.
I should have picked my outfit more carefully today, Lu Zhen thought.
Chu Yin finally shook her head. "I don’t like anyone. I just want to focus on studying."
It was her usual aloofness.
Lu Zhen’s heart, which had just begun to warm, slowly cooled, aching faintly.
After a moment, he chuckled softly. "Go to class, good student."
Chu Yin walked to a secluded spot and pulled up the script again, carefully reviewing it.
As a cold and aloof male lead, Lu Zhen could even turn into a twisted character later on, making him one of those hard-to-read types. In the novel, this was reflected in the scarcity of descriptions about his inner thoughts, with only an occasional line or two.
Chu Yin had once discussed this with Study System, only to find that, under the system’s rules, she couldn’t directly alter the emotional trajectories or psychological changes of all characters. For instance, she couldn’t make her fake sister repent, abandon her wicked ways, and stop stirring up trouble, nor could she make Lu Zhen ignore or dislike her from the bottom of his heart.
So, she could only deduce his thoughts from his actions, monitoring him in real time, guarding against fire, theft, and Lu Zhen.
She often mulled over the script, making subtle modifications to steer the situation on a macro level.
Sigh. Being a script artist was harder than being the author of the novel.
...
Although the parties involved kept silent about the incident, word still got out.
After all, there were witnesses, and it involved Lu Zhen, with the central figures being some of the hottest topics in school recently. The entire student body was buzzing with gossip.
An anonymous forum had a post: [Rumor: Does anyone know about the incident where senior-year ZY got beaten up?]
OP: It happened right outside the second-floor girls’ restroom. Rumor has it he was confessing to a certain Y when he suddenly got punched!
1L: Passing the microphone to you.
2L: My internet’s fine, data’s enough, keep going.
3L: I can tell OP is trying hard to stay alive LOL, not even daring to mention who did it.
...
10L: I happened to be at the scene. This gossip made my jaw drop.
11L: @10L, caught!!! Lighting crew, look over here!!!
12L: Could it be a love rivalry? Wasn't Zheng Yu chasing Chu Yin and planning to confess, but ended up getting beaten up by Z? It’s hard not to think in that direction.
13L: Is the person upstairs insane? Z being jealous???
14L: That’s ridiculous! Just because you think Chu Yin is pretty doesn’t mean everyone else does!
…
Followed by dozens of posts of arguments.
85L: Everyone stop arguing! I’ll tell you the truth! Zheng Yu suddenly pinned Lu Zhen against the wall, and then got kicked flying! I saw it with my own eyes!!
86L: ??
87L: ????
The sudden twist caught everyone off guard.
Wh-what’s going on?? Suddenly it’s all gay vibes??
The problem is, the target is Lu Zhen! It’s something you wouldn’t even dare to imagine!
Song Zhaolin wasn’t paying attention in class and kept browsing the forum. When he saw this reply, the water in his mouth sprayed out: “Pfft, ”
The math teacher immediately glared at him: “Song Zhaolin, what are you doing?”
Song Zhaolin wiped the water while apologizing: “Sorry, teacher, I choked!”
This Zheng Yu really is hard to figure out, huh?? How did he go from chasing Sister Yin to chasing Brother Zhen??
In the same classroom, the good student Fu Mingxuan wasn’t paying attention either.
Her feelings were complicated. Although Lu Zhen had thrown her into the water before, shattering her schoolgirl crush, she still couldn’t accept the idea of Lu Zhen being interested in another girl, especially Chu Yin, that country bumpkin whom everyone looked down on at first.
So when she found out that Lu Zhen hadn’t beaten up Zheng Yu because of Chu Yin, Fu Mingxuan breathed a long sigh of relief.
After wiping his desk clean, Song Zhaolin poked the quietly studying Chu Yin beside him: “Sister Yin, Sister Yin, did Zheng Yu really pin Brother Zong against the wall?”
Chu Yin looked serious, but her tone was unusually animated: “Yes, indeed!”
“Holy crap!” Song Zhaolin covered his mouth, lowering his voice. “Why?! Wasn’t he supposed to confess to you?!”
Chu Yin thought for a moment: “Maybe he suddenly realized Lu Zhen was so handsome he couldn’t control himself, overwhelmed by passion, so he seized the moment, that’s love for you.”
Song Zhaolin: “…”
The last time she made a similar statement was when she shipped him and Brother Zong.
Every time Sister Yin twisted the facts officially, it always ended up sounding both absurd and strangely plausible.
Song Zhaolin: Strange knowledge has increased.jpg
But no matter how heated the arguments got at school, Chu Yin remained unfazed by the gossip.
Come to think of it, Lu Zhen’s kick actually helped her out, at least she didn’t have to see Zheng Yu’s greasy face these past few days, so she could finally focus on studying.
Chu Yin’s speech draft had passed the school’s preliminary selection, and she would be competing soon. Since she was aiming for the championship, she had to put in more effort.
The speech draft needed repeated polishing to fit the rhythm of delivery. Besides that, she also had to prepare for the impromptu speech section and accumulate plenty of material.
Having studied abroad, Chu Yin knew her English skills were sufficient, but what she lacked was experience in speech competitions. Her English teacher had found many speech videos for her to practice with.
After class, Jiang Yan came over to find her. Since Song Zhaolin wasn’t around, she sat in his seat.
Seeing Chu Yin practicing so seriously, Jiang Yan expressed some concern, "Yin Yin, I heard Liang Yueqi from the International Class is also participating. She was last year's champion."
Chu Yin raised an eyebrow slightly: Liang Yueqi?
She was actually quite familiar with her.
The Liang family was also a prominent one, considered old friends with the Lu family. In her previous life, the Lu family had intended to arrange a marriage alliance with the Liang family, but after Lu Zhen took control, he directly dismantled the plan. At the time, it was seen as rebellious.
Tsk.
Liang Yueqi liked Lu Zhen and saw herself as his future wife. She was more sophisticated than minor antagonists like Fu Mingxuan, she didn’t make a big fuss or cause drama, nor was she as flashy as Chu Qiuqiu in the International Class. Instead, she preferred to highlight her differences from others in subtle ways.
For example, she could be invited to the Lu family’s home as a guest, or she could ride in the Lu family’s car that picked up Lu Zhen, and so on.
In this life, she hoped Liang Yueqi would work hard, put in the effort to tie Lu Zhen down so he wouldn’t come and bother her.
Jiang Yan, noticing Chu Yin’s faint smile, asked puzzledly, "Yin Yin, aren’t you worried?"
Chu Yin smiled, "Worrying won’t help. I’ll just give it my all."
Liang Yueqi alone wasn’t enough to be a threat.
Jiang Yan sighed inwardly, truly, this was Chu Yin.
As a fellow girl, she constantly felt the "cool" aura Chu Yin exuded. She seemed mentally much more mature than them, unaffected by others’ gazes and gossip, and remained steadfast and focused on her goals.
Sometimes, Jiang Yan could understand why so many people were drawn to Chu Yin, she really had a powerful allure.
"I’ll come cheer for you during the competition!"
"Sure."
Meanwhile, Song Zhaolin had wandered over to the International Class again.
He was itching with curiosity, dying to know how Lu Zhen felt about being pinned against the wall and whether he was actually jealous. But Song Zhaolin didn’t dare ask, leaving him fidgeting restlessly.
Tan Ke found it unbearable to watch, "Zhaolin, did you forget to shower or something?"
Song Zhaolin retorted, "Bullshit, you’re the one who didn’t shower!"
His deskmate was a stunning beauty, so he made sure he was always fresh and clean to avoid annoying her.
Fortunately, the question Song Zhaolin didn’t dare ask was soon voiced by someone else.
Liang Yueqi walked over and stopped in front of Lu Zhen’s desk, "Lu Zhen, the rumors going around school aren’t true, are they?"
Everyone knew the Lu and Liang families were close, and the fact that Liang Yueqi dared to ask Lu Zhen directly was proof in itself.
Instantly, the entire International Class pricked up their ears. Even Chu Qiuqiu, who had been much quieter since the last dance, couldn’t help but eavesdrop.
Lu Zhen lifted his head slightly and glanced at her sideways, "Which ones?"
Liang Yueqi smiled lightly, her tone relaxed and clearly skeptical, "The ones saying you were jealous and got into a fight over love?"
Lu Zhen’s gaze paused.
A few seconds later, he let out a cold, mocking laugh.
That was his answer.
Liang Yueqi got her response, and the onlookers were satisfied. She casually shifted to another topic.
Lu Zhen, however, offered no further reaction.
He lowered his lashes slightly. In the game on his phone, his character had been killed by an opponent, but his mind was elsewhere.
Fighting for attention?
Was he even worthy?
She didn’t even give him the chance.
"...Could you lend us the foreign tutor Grandpa Lu hired for you?" Liang Yueqi’s tone was familiar. "The speech competition is coming up, and I need to practice."
Lu Zhen replied indifferently, "Whatever."
Tan Ke was more enthusiastic: "Oh, so the young lady is aiming for the championship again this year?"
Liang Yueqi smiled brightly, her eyes flicking toward Lu Zhen. "Well, it’s all thanks to Brother Zhen not participating. If he joined, I’d only get second place!"
It wasn’t an exaggeration. Those who knew him were aware that Lu Zhen had spent part of his childhood in the U.S., where his English was once even more fluent than his native language.
The teachers in their international class had also asked Lu Zhen to join, but he had refused, of course.
Lu Zhen didn’t need such accolades.
His future was already mapped out: finish high school, study abroad, return to take over Old Master Lu’s position, and become the true head of the financial conglomerate. Then, marry a woman from a suitable background to further consolidate and expand the Lu family’s empire.
Every step was meticulously planned, with no room for error.
Lu Zhen said nothing, slipped his phone into his pocket, and stood up to leave the classroom.
Out of habit, he headed to the rooftop first, but it was empty. He descended the stairs and wandered aimlessly through the school building, eventually stopping by a corner window on the third floor.
From this vantage point, he could see the person studying behind the window across the corner.
Chu Yin held her script, murmuring to herself while adjusting her expressions in the reflection of the glass.
Through the two layers of glass, Lu Zhen caught a glimpse of the cover of her script, which read "XX Speech Competition Draft." He paused briefly.
When the class bell rang, Chu Yin turned and hurried back to her classroom. Only then did Lu Zhen turn away and walk into the English teachers’ office.
“You want to join the competition?” the teacher asked, surprised.
Given Lu Zhen’s status, although she hoped he would participate in more competitions each year, the young master had no interest, and no one dared press him.
Now, the coldly handsome boy in front of her didn’t seem to be joking.
“Yes, I’ll join.”
Perhaps he wanted to prove something.
That he wasn’t truly unaccomplished, that he could be a good student, too.
…
Zheng Yu returned to school three days later.
The Zheng family’s precious son had been beaten up, and his parents were initially furious. But as soon as they found out who was responsible, they immediately fell silent.
Not only did they dare not demand an explanation, but they even had to bring gifts to apologize and clarify the situation.
Zheng Yu felt wronged from start to finish.
He genuinely had no idea how he had offended Lu Zhen! He wasn’t even interested in Lu Zhen!
All his carefully prepared heartfelt confession and the dazzling ring had gone to waste, not to mention the two days he’d spent lying in the hospital for nothing!
When he returned to school, his classmates looked at him as if he were a joke.
His pride wounded, Zheng Yu slammed the table and shouted, “I won’t give up!!”
He still refused to believe he couldn’t win Chu Yin over. Besides, he was sure she had feelings for him too!
Chu Shi frowned, speechless at this fool’s antics.
Beside her, Gu Qiuzhe also sighed. "I really feel for my sister."
But the other onlookers were quite pleased with the situation. Many in the grade took the opportunity to probe under the guise of concern.
"So, what's the deal? Has she given in yet?"
"Are you even capable? Can't even win over a plain girl?"
"If you can't handle it, I'll step in."
Zheng Yu: "Give me another chance, I’m sure I can win her over."
That same day, someone started a forum thread to share the gossip:
[The person involved says his feelings haven’t changed and he’s still pursuing her. I bet he’ll succeed in three days!]
1L: I’m almost moved.
2L: Honestly, last time it was just because Zheng Yu messed up. Otherwise, he would’ve won her over already, it’s not that hard.
3L: Agreed. If you ask me, Chu Yin is just playing hard to get.
4L: Yeah, maybe she’s enjoying the attention and being chased. She’ll agree once she’s had enough fun.
...
20L: Latest update, Zheng Yu bought two bags from a certain brand, planning to use a money-based approach.
21L: 666, I bet he’ll succeed by tomorrow.
Chu Yin herself was the last to know about the confident Zheng Yu making a comeback.
Song Zhaolin knew she was busy with her studies and didn’t check forums or group chats, so he acted like a little eunuch delivering a memorial, personally gathering all the intel and presenting it to Chu Yin.
Chu Yin was utterly annoyed.
The challenging problem Study System had assigned today happened to be particularly difficult. Chu Yin was already frustrated working on it, and now someone had to go and provoke her.
Gripping her pen, Chu Yin scowled, crumpled the draft paper, and tossed it aside before spreading out a fresh sheet to recalculate.
Beside her, Song Zhaolin watched with starry-eyed admiration.
Oh my god, even when she’s fierce, Sister Yin is so beautiful...!!
It took Chu Yin another ten minutes to solve the problem, just as the morning class ended.
Chu Yin opened the script and quickly learned that a certain confident young man was planning to make his final move during this lunch break.
[Location: Outside Class Five. Characters: Chu Yin, Zheng Yu, students.]
[Zheng Yu holds a bouquet of flowers, gazing tenderly at Chu Yin as he walks step by step toward her.]
[...This time, Zheng Yu didn’t dare close his eyes and finally succeeded in pinning her against the wall! Staring at the girl so close to him, his Adam’s apple bobbed as he poured out his heartfelt confession in front of everyone.]
Chu Yin: "..."
Again?
Again?!
Chu Yin took a deep breath, smiled, and changed "wall" to "ground."
If you like pinning so much, go pin Mother Earth!
Outside the classroom, Zheng Yu was indeed waiting with flowers in hand, surrounded by an excited crowd.
A thread had already been posted on the forum, [Live Broadcast! A Heartfelt Confession Scene, a Campus Couple Is About to Be Born!]
As soon as Chu Yin appeared, Zheng Yu walked toward her, first spouting some meaningless chatter to build up the audience's anticipation.
Then, he made his move!
In one swift stride, he charged forward,
And threw himself flat on the ground!
The air suddenly fell silent.
Zheng Yu stared at the ground just ten centimeters from his face and at Chu Yin’s shoes not far away. It took him a long moment in the deathly silence to realize,
In front of everyone, he had become a "kneeling boy."
Chu Yin took a step back, her expression noble and aloof.
"No need for such a grand gesture."
"I don’t accept you. You may rise."