Chapter 20

The thought of how her classmates might react filled Qiao Zhenzhen with anticipation; after a quick bite she tugged Chi Shen back to school.
When they arrived, the first period of evening study had just begun. The classroom was quiet; students were either working on problems or secretly playing on their phones. Qiao Zhenzhen's entrance was barely noticeable, but in such a silent room it still stood out. The classmates instinctively glanced up; seeing it was her, they lowered their heads again.
But the next second, those heads shot back up in surprise,
Who was that handsome guy behind Qiao Zhenzhen?
Without any prior signal, everyone in the class turned to look at once. Someone was the first to react, blurting out "Chi Shen!" The rest froze for a moment, then suddenly it all clicked.
Right! Pale skin, tall and skinny frame, an icy aura, this was Chi Shen! He'd only cut his hair shorter, so how had he suddenly become so handsome?
Meeting everyone's astonished gazes, Qiao Zhenzhen led Chi Shen back to their seats with satisfaction. As soon as they sat down, whispers spread through the class.
"How did I never notice Chi Shen was this handsome? Did he get plastic surgery or something?" Zhao Lianqiao, her deskmate, gossiped.
The student in the row ahead immediately turned around. "Are you crazy? He hasn't been to school for only a few days; how could he have had surgery?"
"I was just joking," the deskmate clicked her tongue. "But he really is handsome. No wonder Qiao Zhenzhen suddenly isn't annoyed with him anymore, who could hate someone like that? He's stunning."
The boy beside them sneered, "What's so great about his looks? Tall and skinny like a praying mantis. And just because someone is handsome doesn't mean he isn't a creep. Can't you girls be less shallow?"
The deskmate, hearing that, sized up the chubby boy. "You may not look like a mantis, but you look like a winter melon."
"Pfft..."
The deskmate's remark drew a ripple of laughter. The boy flushed red. The student in front, still chuckling, sighed, "Qiao Zhenzhen is so lucky, wealthy family, pretty face, and even such handsome admirers. In a novel she'd be the definite heroine!"
Her words hit a sore spot for Zhao Lianqiao. Zhao's face darkened as she glared impatiently at them. "Can you not? If you're going to talk, go outside. Don't disturb my studying."
The others immediately fell silent. Only the deskmate muttered under her breath, "Someone unfamiliar might think you were some star student..."
Zhao Lianqiao was instantly mortified, about to confront her deskmate, but the deskmate had already bent her head to work on the problems. Zhao could only grit her teeth and swallow her anger.
Although Qiao Zhenzhen hadn't heard the specifics of their conversation, she guessed it was about Chi Shen; her vanity swelled with satisfaction. Just as she was about to share her joy with him, Chi Shen took out the notes he'd prepared. "Study," he said.
Qiao Zhenzhen: "..."
She stared at him speechlessly. She suddenly remembered that earlier at dinner, he had asked why she was in such a rush, and her answer had been... to hurry back to study.
...Wasn't that just shooting herself in the foot?
Chi Shen watched her silently; his eyes held their usual stubbornness and determination. After a long moment, Qiao Zhenzhen surrendered, sighed, and took out paper and a pen.
The classroom was quiet, not the ideal place for tutoring, but Chi Shen happened to have a sore throat and wasn't talkative. He could teach using only paper and pen, and Qiao Zhenzhen, with nowhere to hide, had to settle down and study.
However, it had been ten years since her high school days; she'd long since forgotten the textbooks. Even though Chi Shen explained things as simply as possible, she still struggled to understand.
They wrestled with a single problem for the whole period. When the bell rang, both Qiao Zhenzhen and the little Ba in her head breathed a sigh of relief. Chi Shen, however, remained quiet for a long while before rasping, "Tomorrow we'll start from the first semester of tenth grade."
"...Okay." Qiao Zhenzhen immediately agreed.
The little Ba in her head sighed, "Host, have you really not thought about getting a brain transplant?"
Qiao Zhenzhen's mouth twitched; she ignored the little voice's personal insult.
The class had grown lively. Those who had been whispering earlier no longer discussed Chi Shen; instead they jostled and played with their friends, occasionally glancing back to make sure that Chi Shen's sudden handsomeness wasn't a trick of their imagination.
"Host, why aren't they reacting much?" Xiao Ba asked, curious.
"Don't be impatient, they'll crack sooner or later," Qiao Zhenzhen replied slowly.
No sooner had she spoken than Zhao Lianqiao came over, deliberately avoiding looking at Chi Shen and instead staring at Qiao Zhenzhen. "Zhenzhen, you weren't in class all day, did something happen?" she asked.
"Nothing much, just went out for a bit," Qiao Zhenzhen said casually.
Zhao Lianqiao asked, concerned, "Who did you go out with? Do your parents know?"
"Why do you care?" Qiao Zhenzhen looked puzzled. "Are we that close?"
"...I'm just worried about you," Zhao Lianqiao said awkwardly. Her eyes flicked to Chi Shen, a flash of jealousy crossing her gaze.
Qiao Zhenzhen tugged at the corner of her mouth. "No need."
"Did you hear that? She doesn't need it! Can you stop being so fake?" someone sneered at Zhao Lianqiao.
Qiao Zhenzhen followed the voice and recognized the boy who had helped Zhao Lianqiao bully Chi Shen when she had accused him of stealing her sanitary pad last time. It seemed the eye-drop trick she'd used back then had worked well, whenever these two boys saw Zhao Lianqiao they'd throw a few barbs, never believing whatever explanations Zhao Lianqiao gave.
The boy's voice was loud, instantly drawing most of the class's attention. Zhao Lianqiao glanced awkwardly at Qiao Zhenzhen; seeing she had no intention of defending her, she turned and went back to her seat.
Zhao Lianqiao had gone over once and opened the path, though not a pleasant one. Still, others started glancing this way more and more often, even scheming to pass by and make a show of it just to steal another look at Chi Shen.
Finally someone suddenly hit on the key point: "Chi Shen, you don't smell anymore!"
His remark was even more attention-grabbing than the previous boy's; the rest of the class couldn't contain their curiosity and craned forward to get a better look.
"There's really no smell anymore."
"Not totally none, there's kind of a minty scent."
"Idiot, that's body wash!"
The back corner erupted in chatter; it had never been this lively.
At first Qiao Zhenzhen let them make their own observations, but when someone suggested Chi Shen had missed the past few days because he'd gone to have his body odor removed, she couldn't help speaking up: "Body odor? He doesn't have that."
"Then how could he have..." the classmate trailed off, trying to be tactful.
Qiao Zhenzhen shot him a sidelong glance. "It's because his family runs a fish shop. He lives in the store, so his clothes picked up the smell."
"Oh, so that's it."
People gasped, then someone suddenly asked, "How do you know what his family does?"
"He told me," Qiao Zhenzhen said casually. Dating was forbidden at school; she didn't want to give anyone ammunition.
Another boy challenged, "He'd say something like that?"
"You never asked him, so how do you know he wouldn't say it?" Qiao Zhenzhen countered.
The boy was instantly left speechless. Right, he'd never actually talked with Chi Shen, so how could he know what Chi Shen would say?
With the short hair that had hidden his eyes gone and the source of the smell explained, Chi Shen's image in everyone's minds suddenly filled out a bit, no longer just the one-word label "pervert".
Qiao Zhenzhen sat for a while longer; seeing they had no intention of attacking Chi Shen, she went to fill her cup with water. As soon as she left, the others exchanged glances and, meeting Chi Shen's cool eyes, quietly moved slightly away from the back row.
Although Chi Shen's image in their minds had shifted, his aloof coldness still kept people at a distance. When Qiao Zhenzhen was around it was fine, others could toss out a few words, but once she left that air of indifference became even more pronounced.
Qiao Zhenzhen didn't know what everyone was thinking. When she returned with her cup, the seats in front had gone quiet again. She paused, puzzled, and sat down. "Why did they suddenly leave?"
"Class is about to start," Chi Shen said, not directly answering.
Qiao Zhenzhen glanced at the clock on the wall in front of her and saw there was only a minute until class, so she sat down at once.
She felt cheerful. Turning, she saw Chi Shen staring at her. She hesitated, then asked curiously, "Happy?"
Chi Shen didn't understand why she asked.
"They don't misunderstand you anymore, aren't you happy?" Qiao Zhenzhen clarified.
Chi Shen was silent for a moment. "Are you happy?" he asked.
"Yes," Qiao Zhenzhen nodded.
Chi Shen: "I'm happy too."
Qiao Zhenzhen blinked. "What if I'm not happy?"
Chi Shen didn't reply, but the answer was obvious.
Qiao Zhenzhen fell silent for a moment, then sighed, "…If you had an affection meter, it would definitely be off the charts by now." All that affection was hers.
Chi Shen didn't quite grasp what she meant but took it as a compliment.
"You can't always be happy just because I'm happy, or unhappy because I'm unhappy. You should have your own emotions, understand?" Qiao Zhenzhen said earnestly.
However, his capacity for such insight was as woeful as hers at studying, abysmally bad.
Qiao Zhenzhen sighed and gave up for the moment. While no one was looking she ruffled his hair; Chi Shen bowed his head and the corner of his mouth lifted into a barely noticeable smile.
When the homeroom teacher came in, Qiao Zhenzhen had just withdrawn her hand and wasn't caught, but the teacher immediately looked toward her. Seeing that the seat next to Qiao Zhenzhen wasn't empty, she smiled with relief; when her eyes landed on Chi Shen's face, a flicker of surprise crossed her features.
The brief emotion passed, and the teacher began handing out test papers, calling students up by name to collect them, and offering a few remarks as she did.
"Qiao Zhenzhen."
Resigned, Qiao Zhenzhen went up to the front. The teacher handed her the paper. "Even if you're planning to go abroad later, you can't give up studying now, understand?"
Although politely phrased, Qiao Zhenzhen could hear the teacher's exasperation. She took the paper awkwardly and went back down.
The teacher continued distributing papers; when she called Chi Shen's name, he went up to collect his.
“Good scores, keep it up,” the homeroom teacher said without much to add about his marks. But when the paper was handed back to him this time, she suddenly lowered her voice: “So neat and tidy, very good. Keep it up.”
Chi Shen’s eyes flickered. He took the paper and turned back to his seat, then after a moment suddenly said, “Happy.”
“...Huh?” Qiao Zhenzhen turned back, puzzled.
Chi Shen looked at her; his dark eyes tonight were unusually clear. “I’m happy.”