Chapter 28

Lu Zhen seriously pondered the meaning of this gift.
He lowered his gaze to look at the three keys.
With the mindset of a young master, he first checked their material.
Were they silver? Or platinum?
Lu Zhen turned them over, examined them carefully, and then smelled the faint scent of rust on his fingertips.
...Oh, no.
They were made of iron.
Lu Zhen crossed his arms, his expression calm, and continued to think.
After a while, still unable to figure it out, Lu Zhen carefully put away the three keys and decided to seek outside help. He turned his head and called out to Tan Ke, "Tan Ke."
"What's up, Brother Zhen?" Tan Ke had just finished a game and looked up upon hearing him.
Lu Zhen asked, "If someone gave you keys."
Tan Ke waited for him to continue, ", Yeah?"
Lu Zhen looked at him, "What does it mean?"
Tan Ke looked puzzled, "Giving keys?? What does that mean? Is there some hidden meaning?"
Lu Zhen let out a soft sigh. Whatever.
He thought for a moment, then took out his phone and searched on Baidu: "What does it mean to receive keys as a gift?"
Surprisingly, someone had actually asked this question before,
#What does it mean when a girl gives a guy keys?_Baidu Knows#
Lu Zhen raised an eyebrow and clicked on it.
Best Answer: Every woman is a unique lock. If she gives you a key, it means she believes you are the one who can unlock her, she has already fallen in love with you.
Lu Zhen: "..."
His hand holding the phone trembled slightly.
His heart uncontrollably surged with warmth, but the next second, he suddenly realized that Chu Yin had no idea whose hands her gift would ultimately end up in. That warmth instantly cooled.
Irritated, Lu Zhen tossed his phone into his desk drawer and leaned back in his chair.
What a garbage answer.
The gift exchange activity continued noisily until school ended, and the presents under the Christmas tree on the first floor were finally almost all taken. The few remaining unclaimed gifts were eventually given to the security guards.
All over the school, people were checking out each other’s gifts. Some had drawn gifts from people they knew, or even luckier, from their secret crushes, and were using the opportunity to strike up conversations.
Amid the joyful and festive atmosphere, Song Zhaolin was no longer the happiest one.
He hadn’t found Sister Yin’s gift, heartbroken.
He glanced around. Zhao Yuxiong had drawn a figurine he liked, Jiang Yan had gotten a cute doll, but he himself had ended up with a car model from a male classmate in Class 3, pure straight guy style! Not romantic at all!!
Fortunately, after seeing what Sister Yin had drawn, Song Zhaolin felt he wasn’t the unluckiest.
"Pfft, who would give a Buddha statue? Hahahaha, "
Chu Yin thought expressionlessly, probably a lunatic would.
Song Zhaolin only glanced at it and didn’t realize it was pure gold, just thought it was weird and tacky.
"Sister Yin, did you see the name? Who gave it? Hahaha."
Chu Yin looked utterly detached: "Probably some not-quite-normal devotee."
Feeling a bit better, Song Zhaolin wandered off to see what his buddies had drawn and if there were any serendipitous connections.
When he entered the international class, he saw Lu Zhen sitting with his arms crossed, lost in thought.
"Brother Zhen, ask Zhaolin, he’s such a goofball, he might know the meaning, hahaha," Tan Ke said.
"Screw you!" Song Zhaolin retorted. "You’re the goofball!"
Lu Zhen didn’t have high hopes for Song Zhaolin, but it was better than nothing, so he asked, "What does it mean to give three keys?"
Song Zhaolin let out an "ah," then laughed like an idiot: "Hahaha, keys are ten yuan for three! How many do you deserve? You deserve a few!"
Tan Ke looked disgusted: "I think you’re the one who’s a few."
Lu Zhen: "..."
Damn it.
Whatever.
No matter what it means, since it ended up with him, it’s his.
Chu Yin gave it to him.
After bickering with Tan Ke for a bit, Song Zhaolin dramatically collapsed crying onto the desk in front of Lu Zhen: "Wahhh, why didn’t I draw my deskmate’s gift? My little cookies, aaaah, "
Tan Ke laughed heartily: "Serves you right for showing off! Her gift was obviously popular!"
But Lu Zhen suddenly raised an eyebrow.
"You said her gift was what?"
Song Zhaolin: "Little cookies, she mentioned it before."
Lu Zhen’s brow furrowed slightly.
He had indeed taken Chu Yin's gift, as her name was inside. Lu Zhen had initially thought she would give him handmade cookies, but upon opening it, he found several keys.
Had Song Zhaolin been mistaken? Did Chu Yin ultimately not give cookies as a gift, or... had something gone wrong with the gift?
But what could have gone wrong? Could it have been swapped? Lu Zhen had searched through the pile of gifts for a long time before finding her inconspicuous little box. Who would deliberately pick it out from hundreds of boxes and replace the contents?
Aside from that possibility, it could only have materialized out of thin air.
But that was simply too absurd.
Lu Zhen’s expression remained unchanged, but a faint trace of suspicion rose in his heart.
Song Zhaolin whined tearfully, "I don’t know which bastard took it, boohoo... I’m so jealous of whoever gets to eat it..."
The bastard himself fell silent.
After a long while, Lu Zhen let out a soft sigh.
He hadn’t gotten to eat it either.
Song Zhaolin sighed along with him, melodramatically lamenting their shared misfortune.
Two men who hadn’t gotten to taste Chu Yin’s cookies.
Heartbroken.jpg
...
By evening, as Christmas drew to a close, the excited students of Quiwen Private High School finally remembered one thing.
Someone posted on the forum:
[So who ended up drawing the gifts from those 'key people'??]
The school heartthrob Lu Zhen’s, the School Belle... well, not that School Belle, the rising School Belle Chu Yin’s, the former heartthrob Gu Qiuzhe’s, along with popular seniors and juniors from both senior and freshman years.
Soon, people began stepping forward in the thread to claim their prizes.
10L: Gu Qiuzhe’s gift is with me! The senior is so gentle, he even included a card! Boohoo, I think I’m in love.
11L: Ahhhh, I’m so jealous!!!
12L: What kind of luck is this?! Ahhhh!
...
23L: I drew Chu Shi’s gift, what he gave was so practical, hahaha.
24L: Boohoo, I’d love that one too.
25L: Why am I so unlucky?!
Next, someone claimed the gift from senior Chen Yanfei, and another claimed the one from the cute junior Fu Yunting. Envious comments poured in beneath each post. Who wouldn’t want to draw a gift from someone attractive? It was such a fated opportunity, a chance to get to know them.
The thread climbed to over a hundred comments, and gifts from other highly anticipated individuals were all claimed, except for two people whose gifts still hadn’t surfaced.
157L: So who exactly drew Brother Zhen’s gift? Are they keeping it a secret on purpose?
158L: You must be a freshman, right? It's obvious this is your first time participating. Last year, those who drew Brother Zhen's gifts all made posts to share the wealth, they definitely wouldn't hide it.
160L: Suddenly remembered something, could it have been picked up by the security guard??
161L: Ahhh, no way! I'd cry my eyes out if that happened!
The entire thread collectively mourned. Soon after, someone asked, "Then, did anyone draw Chu Yin's gift?"
180L: I want the pretty sister's gift too...!!
182L: Draw your sword, rival!
183L: [Cleaver emoji]
After a night passed, no one came forward to claim Lu Zhen or Chu Yin's gifts. The entire school unanimously concluded that these two highly sought-after gifts had unfortunately ended up in the hands of the security guard.
Potentially one of the most regrettable incidents of the year.
…
After Christmas passed, the activities that had excited the students finally came to an end, and the class began to brew an atmosphere of preparing for final exams.
The students of Class 5 had been excited since the sports meet and were now refocusing on their studies. It was then that they realized there had always been one figure in the class who never changed.
They had watched all kinds of events during the sports meet and participated in a variety of events. Chu Yin, however, only watched the basketball game and participated in one billiards match.
The most terrifying part was that, while they participated in all sorts of events and mostly ended up in third place, or didn't even place at all, she competed just once and brought back a championship.
Besides that, Chu Yin hadn't spent any extra effort on these dazzling activities. A couple of days ago, the math teacher had praised her in class, saying Chu Yin was more mature and steady than the rest of them. At the time, they were all busy with activities and didn't pay attention. Now, looking back, she really had been studying diligently every single day.
Many suddenly felt a sense of urgency.
She's the top student in the grade, the number one!!
The top student in the grade works this hard every day, what right do they have to relax?!
Ms. Wang looked at the slowly recovering academic atmosphere in the class and was very satisfied. If Chu Yin hadn't transferred in late, she would have even considered making her class monitor or something, this child had a maturity and patience beyond her years, something the other students couldn't compare to.
After class, Ms. Wang signaled with her eyes for Chu Yin to come to the office.
"How have you been lately? You've been pushing yourself so hard with studying, aren't you tired?"
Chu Yin was the epitome of a model student in front of the teacher. She smiled and shook her head. "I'm not tired."
"Since you transferred here, you might not be aware of the situation, so I wanted to talk to you separately," Ms. Wang patted her arm. "Our school has spots every year for the provincial math competition. The 'Hope Cup' will be starting soon, it's the most suitable math competition for liberal arts students. Are you interested in participating?"
Chu Yin had been considering participating in higher-level competitions just a couple of days ago, so she didn't hesitate. "I'm interested, teacher."
Ms. Wang was very pleased, she knew this child had ambition!
"Then for this final exam, prepare well. Our school's policy is that the top three students in the math subject of the final exam can be recommended to attend the Hope Cup winter camp. You'll receive training and assessments there, and after selection, you'll participate in the final competition."
Chu Yin understood, she had to do well in the math final exam.
"But don't stress too much," Ms. Wang said. "I saw your answer sheet from the last midterm, it was excellent. There are very few in the grade who did better than you, so just keep studying as usual."
Chu Yin nodded obediently. "I understand, thank you, teacher!"
"No need to thank me. Alright, head back to class now."
Other math teachers in the office looked at her with envy. "Teacher Wang, isn't this the student who ranked first in the grade last time?"
Ms. Wang said proudly, "Yes, she got perfect scores in math and English, and ranked first in liberal arts too."
The teachers looked envious. "She's so smart. She could probably win awards in competitions, right?"
Ms. Wang didn’t want to be too boastful and waved her hand. "Let’s get through the final exams first. Besides, your Class 1 and Teacher Chen’s international class also have plenty of students who are good at math."
Teacher Chen, who was older and sitting in a corner of the office, shook his head while holding a teacup. "The best math student in my class doesn’t even take exams. No matter how good they are, it’s useless!"
...
After leaving the office, Chu Yin quickly poked the system. "Isn’t it time to release the provincial competition task now?"
She was really eager to see what kind of permissions she could gain after completing a task of this level. Would it be two sentences? Or a whole paragraph? A whole paragraph would be amazing.
Study System: "Nonono! Host, you first need to complete the study task of [ranking first in the grade for the final exam] and [achieving the top score in math]!"
Chu Yin: "...Alright."
You have to take things one step at a time. Let’s tackle this final exam first.
She turned to head back to her classroom, thinking about picking a set of practice problems to work on, only to run into Lu Zhen again.
Lately, she’d been running into that jerk way too often in the hallway.
She remembered that in her past life, Lu Zhen wasn’t much of a mover, he usually stayed holed up in the classroom.
Chu Yin glanced at him. Lu Zhen looked lazy, holding a cup of iced coffee as if he’d just come out to buy it.
When he saw her, Lu Zhen curved his lips into a smile and greeted her, "Morning, good student."
Chu Yin nodded. "Hello."
A few people passing by couldn’t help but glance over.
For some reason, a while ago, when the dowdy, mask-wearing Chu Yin had spoken to Lu Zhen, the whole school found it unacceptable. But now, when Lu Zhen greeted Chu Yin, no one seemed to find it strange...
Grade rank one, potential school belle, oral English champion, billiards queen... All these labels attached to Chu Yin had turned her into someone others wanted to approach but didn’t dare to.
And were they crazy? They actually found the scene somewhat pleasing to the eye...
Chu Yin didn’t want to share the frame with Lu Zhen. She returned his greeting politely and tried to leave.
But Lu Zhen took a step forward, blocking her path, and suddenly said, "What about the cookies?"
Chu Yin raised her eyes.
Lu Zhen lowered his head, looked at her, and said with a smile in his voice, "I drew your gift."
Chu Yin immediately realized that it was probably Song Zhaolin, the big mouth, who had told him, perhaps even the appearance of her gift box had been blabbed by Song Zhaolin without him realizing it.
...So what did Lu Zhen mean by this?
Was he testing her? Had he discovered something?
Why had the original small cookies turned into three keys?
But no matter how sharp Lu Zhen was, he couldn’t possibly guess something so illogical, even bordering on the supernatural.
Chu Yin took a deep breath, looked up, and explained, "I thought keys would be more meaningful later on, so I changed it."
Lu Zhen raised an eyebrow slightly, tilting his head as he smiled at her. "What meaning?"
He knew she was brushing him off, but he couldn’t help wanting to hear her say more. Even if she said it meant exactly what Song Zhaolin had implied, he’d be willing to listen.
But Chu Yin’s face was serious, her tone earnest. "The meaning is, the three keys to life: accept, change, and leave."
Lu Zhen: "…?"
"If you can’t accept it, then make a change. If you can’t change it, then choose to leave," Chu Yin said. "Don’t be greedy, don’t be stubborn. Be a simple, happy person who knows how to be content."
Lu Zhen was stunned into silence.
Finally, Chu Yin said sincerely, "Classmate, do your best."
With that, the master of chicken-soup philosophy turned and left.
Not greedy, not stubborn, this was indeed Chu Yin’s sincere wish for Lu Zhen.
Looking at the current Lu Zhen, she could vaguely recall some traces of his former self from her past life.
During high school, although Lu Zhen could be domineering, overall, he was just a normal young master. Back then, the aloof and proud boy would even tear up when she rejected him.
How had he turned into that... chicken stew later on?
After graduating from high school, Chu Yin hadn’t seen Lu Zhen for a while. Although Lu Zhen would make his presence known in her life in various ways, the eventual plundering still caught her off guard. She had wondered about the reason for the change, but in her past life, she had been too busy resisting, constantly clashing with him, and never found the answer.
Now that everything had changed in this life, without her as the catalyst, would that dog of a man still turn out the same way?
...But no matter what, Chu Yin wouldn’t allow him to become a variable in her life again.
Of course, she couldn’t let him discover that she was the "variable" either.
For sustainable development (assassination), she needed to be more careful...
…
That evening, when Chu Yin returned home, she noticed Chu Qiuqiu’s gaze on her several times.
This fake sister was observing her too.
After being forcibly silenced during the last lecture, Chu Qiuqiu had even rushed over to call her a sorceress. Although Chu Yin had retaliated at the time, it was clear that Chu Qiuqiu hadn’t let go of her suspicions.
Chu Yin remained calm.
If the enemy doesn’t move, I won’t move. Let’s see what tricks she can come up with.
At the dinner table, Father Chu said, "Your Uncle Chen will be visiting in a few days. His son is around your age. You can get to know each other then."
Chu Qiuqiu knew the Chen family, their business was larger than the Chu family’s, making him a good prospect for marriage. She acted very enthusiastic, nodding with interest. "Okay, I’m looking forward to it."
Chu Yin remained silent.
Father Chu glanced at her, his expression dissatisfied. Chu Qiuqiu naturally noticed her father’s reaction and felt smug, Chu Yin never knew how to seize opportunities. What use was just studying like a fool?
Mother Chu didn’t want any arguments at the dinner table, so she quickly changed the subject to something lighter. "Qiuqiu, Yin Yin, have you made any good friends at school?"
Chu Qiuqiu glanced at Chu Yin and smiled sweetly. "Lately, I’ve been getting along quite well with Senior Zheng Yu. He’s a classmate of Brother’s."
Chu Shi frowned.
He hadn’t known that Zheng Yu, after failing to pursue Xiao Yin, had turned his attention to his other sister.
Father Chu, however, was pleased. "The Zheng family’s boy? Not bad, not bad! I’ve met that kid before, he’s quite the handsome and talented young man."
Chu Yin: "..."
What did the phrase "handsome and talented" ever do to deserve this?!
Only Chu Qiuqiu and Father and Mother Chu spoke during the meal, and the atmosphere remained lukewarm. Dinner ended quickly.
Chu Qiuqiu paced around the living room a few times, watching Chu Yin, who was sitting on the sofa drinking water, and her mind began to stir.
Since both her parents happened to be home today, she wanted to try and make everyone notice Chu Yin’s strangeness!
After much thought, Chu Qiuqiu came up with a testing method, since she had inexplicably started dancing and then lost her ability to speak before, if she did the opposite and something unusual happened again, it must be Chu Yin’s doing!
Chu Qiuqiu walked over and sat down beside Chu Yin. "Sis, what you said about the Ebbinghaus curve last time was wrong..."
Chu Yin glanced at her. "What?"
Chu Qiuqiu stared at her without speaking.
Chu Yin looked baffled. "What do you want to say?"
Chu Qiuqiu remained silent.
Chu Yin: "..."
Are you cosplaying as a mute gourd here??
Chu Qiuqiu seemed determined to outlast her, just glaring silently.
The scene felt vaguely familiar, reminiscent of the time in the international class.
Chu Yin’s mind raced, and she suddenly realized, was Chu Qiuqiu trying to bait her?
How imaginative??
Chu Yin poked the system. "Let me check the script."
[Chu Qiuqiu wants to test whether the strange occurrences happening to her are really Chu Yin’s doing. She decides to use opposite behaviors to provoke her into action, so she can then explain to her parents how abnormal Chu Yin is!...]
After reading it, Chu Yin felt even more composed.
You want me to change it? Well, I just won’t!
Chu Qiuqiu held back for a long time, then opened her mouth and found she could still speak. "You, "
Chu Yin hugged her water glass, looking at her as if she were an idiot.
Chu Qiuqiu gritted her teeth, stood up, and suddenly began dancing in a serpentine motion!
Chu Yin nearly spat out her water with a "pfft."
Chu Qiuqiu was going all out.
She replicated the snake-like movements that had once been uniquely captivating, dancing wildly from side to side while using her eyes to entice her: "Come on! Do something to me already!"
"Come on!!"
Just then, an incredulous voice cut in:
"Qiuqiu, what are you doing?!"
Chu Father and Chu Mother stood at the living room entrance, staring at their adopted daughter in shock.
Chu Qiuqiu abruptly stopped.
At that moment, Chu Yin slowly turned around with a grave expression.
"Little sister seems to have some issues here," Chu Yin pointed at her own head, "You should take her to the hospital quickly."