Chapter 9

Qiao Zhenzhen’s gaze swept across the crowd; the hand clutching her backpack strap tightened. After a long moment she steadied her voice and said, “What evidence do you have that he stole the sanitary pads? What right do you have to judge him for me?”
“Isn’t this the strongest piece of evidence?” Zhao Lianqiao glanced at the item in her hand, sighed, and tried to reason, “I know you’ve gotten closer to him recently, but the proof is clear now. You should face reality and stay away from him.”
As she spoke she reached out gently to take Qiao Zhenzhen’s arm. Qiao Zhenzhen’s face flickered with disgust and she reflexively pulled her arm away.
Her resistance was only instinctive, not forceful, yet Zhao Lianqiao froze, eyes reddening as she covered the spot Qiao Zhenzhen had touched and choked out an accusation, “I know you’re upset, but I’m not the one who stole your pads, why would you hit me?”
“Right, Lianqiao even got up an hour early just to help you catch this pervert. It’s one thing not to be grateful, but to bully her like this?” The girl friendly with Zhao snapped angrily.
Others chimed in,
“Chi Shen is the one who stole your things, plain as day. Fine if you don’t go after him, but taking it out on Zhao Lianqiao? That’s just unfair.”
“Probably just pride and shame getting the better of her. Ever since she fell out with Zhao Lianqiao she’s been eating with Chi Shen all the time, I’ve seen it. Now it turns out Zhao Lianqiao was the one who treated her well; Chi Shen’s just a sleazy pervert. She can’t swallow that.”
“In that case she’s pretty disgusting and doesn’t deserve Zhao Lianqiao’s kindness.”
The class buzzed with voices, but Qiao Zhenzhen stared only at the silent Chi Shen, equal parts angry and heartbroken. She didn’t know him completely, but after all this time together she knew he wasn’t cowardly, he’d never been afraid of their bullying. If he was quiet now, it was only because she was here.
He was afraid she wouldn’t believe him, and deep down he convinced himself she wouldn’t.
Seeing Qiao Zhenzhen standing there without defending him, Zhao Lianqiao felt a rush of satisfaction. After soaking up the group’s compliments she condescended, “Everyone, stop. Zhenzhen’s just too kind, she’d trust someone like that.”
“Zhao Lianqiao, stop always speaking for her and spoiling her!” someone protested on her behalf.
Zhao Lianqiao forced a bitter smile and was about to retort when Qiao Zhenzhen suddenly cut in, “Aren’t you going to say anything?”
Zhao Lianqiao blinked, realizing the question had been directed at Chi Shen.
Thanks to Zhao Lianqiao’s years of whispering campaigns, the image of Qiao Zhenzhen as the proud chairman’s daughter had sunk deep into people’s minds. Though she and Zhao Lianqiao often quarreled, there was still a certain wariness; when she finally spoke, the class fell silent.
Chi Shen’s downcast eyes trembled; his eyelashes were like the fragile wings of a butterfly torn apart.
Qiao Zhenzhen took a deep breath, stepped slowly in front of him, and, looking at his bloodless thin lips, asked softly, “Are you just going to let them slander you?”
“How are we slandering him?” a boy nearby protested.
Qiao Zhenzhen shot him a look and he immediately clamped his mouth shut.
The classroom quieted again. Qiao Zhenzhen exhaled softly and watched him patiently. “Aren’t you going to explain?”
A minute earlier she had already thought of a way to solve it, but she still wanted Chi Shen to speak first. If she could, she wanted to protect him forever, but there were always moments she couldn’t see. To avoid being demonized like last time, he needed to learn to defend himself.
Hearing her, Chi Shen pressed his thin lips into a bloodless line, yet he still wouldn’t lift his head.
Qiao Zhenzhen felt torn inside but kept encouraging him, “I believe you. If you explain, I’ll believe whatever you say.”
Her voice was low, but the whole class heard. Zhao Lianqiao frowned, “Zhenzhen, don’t be fooled.”
Qiao Zhenzhen ignored her and continued to watch Chi Shen quietly.
A minute passed, then two, and Chi Shen still showed no sign of speaking. His silence, and the absence of any softened regard, meant he didn’t believe she would trust him. The longer he stayed silent, the more it hurt Qiao Zhenzhen.
With morning reading about to begin, more students drifted in. The newcomers gathered and whispered gossip to those who had arrived earlier. The room lost its hush, and the murmurs that reached Qiao Zhenzhen’s ears were full of nasty words.
Zhao Lianqiao grew a little nervous and gave the two boys beside Chi Shen a meaningful look. They immediately started, “If you ask me, let’s just end this. Clearly someone doesn’t know how to appreciate real people and chooses to hang with a pervert, pathetic.”
“Exactly. She says she believes Chi Shen like we’re the villains. Come on, let’s go.”
They set the pace and the classroom noise swelled; more students chimed in, every word accusing Qiao Zhenzhen of being ungrateful and of being the same kind as Chi Shen.
Chi Shen’s hand slowly clenched; blue veins stood out along his pale knuckles, winding and shockingly visible.
Qiao Zhenzhen looked at him intently and suddenly had a fresh thought. “Do you hear them? If you don’t explain, I’ll be dragged down with you.”
Before she finished, Chi Shen snapped his head up. Her face was clearly reflected in his dark pupils. Qiao Zhenzhen held his gaze patiently, waiting quietly for what he would say next.
But his expression only grew worse, and still he said nothing.
…She had been too hasty. Qiao Zhenzhen sighed and gently patted his shoulder. “I was joking…”
“It wasn’t me.” He spoke hoarsely, his voice dry as a rusted dull blade.
Qiao Zhenzhen froze for a moment; a flash of joy crossed her eyes. “What did you say?”
Her voice rose with excitement, drawing the attention of the rest of the class.
“I didn’t”
Chi Shen watched her intently, as if he wanted to explain only to her. The others, however, still looked astonished. In their minds, Chi Shen never defended himself; none of them had expected to one day hear him deny it with his own mouth.
A sheen gathered at Qiao Zhenzhen’s eyes; she nodded solemnly. “I know, it wasn’t you.”
Chi Shen tugged at the corner of his mouth, trying to smile at her, but in the end he failed.
Qiao Zhenzhen smiled for him; if there hadn’t been so many people in the class she might have hugged him. Feeling her kindness, Chi Shen’s clenched fists slowly loosened, the cramped muscles beginning to relax as a belated ache from overexertion spread through him.
Their classmates watched, and some began to hesitate. “Could it be that we misunderstood?”
“The pad was found in his bag, what’s there to misunderstand? Don’t believe him just because he sounds sick,” a boy sneered.
Another boy chimed in, “Yeah. I don’t know what kind of person he is, but only someone like him would do something as disgusting as hiding girls’ sanitary pads.”
Those two boys had been the ones to help Zhao Lianqiao set Chi Shen up; now they lectured loudly, putting him down while lifting themselves up. Seeing others nod along, they grew unbearably smug.
Qiao Zhenzhen ground her teeth silently. She gave Chi Shen a reassuring smile, then told Xiao Ba in her head, “I want to pause time.”
“This is the second use. It costs 15 affection points every thirty seconds. Host, how long would you like to pause?” Xiao Ba asked.
Qiao Zhenzhen: “How many points do we have left?”
“Currently 90 points.”
Qiao Zhenzhen did a quick calculation and came up with a rough number: “Pause for two minutes.”
“Okay. That consumes 60 points. Remaining: 30.”
No sooner had Xiao Ba finished than the classroom froze. Qiao Zhenzhen didn’t waste a second; she darted to the first row of girls’ desks and rummaged into the desk compartment. When she found a pad she let out a breath.
She’d known this would be the case, long school hours, short breaks, and the poor quality of pads sold on campus meant most girls stashed a spare in their desk hole. She suspected her own pack had most likely been taken by Zhao Lianqiao and planted in Chi Shen’s bag, and she knew Zhao Lianqiao wouldn’t leave a trace. So she hadn’t planned to spend time hunting for evidence to directly prove Zhao Lianqiao’s guilt.
She would use a simpler method to clear Chi Shen.
Two minutes wasn’t a lot, but it was tight to check the whole class. Qiao Zhenzhen didn’t linger, after pulling out a pad she slipped it into the boy’s backpack beside her and hurried to the next row.
“Twenty seconds left!” Xiao Ba reminded.
Qiao Zhenzhen ran even faster. After tucking the last pack into a desk compartment she looked up and saw the two boys who’d been grandstanding. Their expressions were frozen at the peak of arrogance, deeply malicious and intensely off-putting.
She paused, then fished the pads out of their desk holes and, with a quick motion, shoved them into someone else’s bag.
“Five, four, three…”
Qiao Zhenzhen spun back to her previous spot. As Xiao Ba shouted “one” and time resumed, she braked badly and toppled straight into Chi Shen’s arms.
The classroom, which had just regained its bustle, went utterly silent.
Qiao Zhenzhen’s mouth twitched. She straightened up, breathing hard and pretending innocence, and met Chi Shen’s stunned expression.
…Did I scare him again?
Before she could say anything, the girl next to Zhao Lianqiao gasped, “They actually hugged each other!”
“…We didn’t hug; I just lost my footing,” Qiao Zhenzhen explained.
“They hugged!” the girl exclaimed again. Zhao Lianqiao was utterly dumbstruck, unable to speak for a moment.
Qiao Zhenzhen shot them a sideways look and was about to speak when a boy in the front corner suddenly blurted, “Holy shit! What is this?!”
His shout drew everyone’s attention. He looked disgusted and bewildered as he held up an opened pad he’d found in his bag. Before others could react, pads began to surface,
“Holy shit, there’s one in my bag too!”
“I’ve got one as well!”
“Ah! That’s mine!” a girl screamed as she recognized her own mark.
The classroom instantly descended into chaos. Qiao Zhenzhen watched the farce in silence and, while everyone was distracted, quietly hooked her pinky through Chi Shen’s, soothing him without a word.
Chi Shen blinked, looked down at their linked fingers, and his thin lips tightened again.
“Thinking of finding me a new psychiatric hospital?” Qiao Zhenzhen suddenly asked.
Chi Shen hesitated and averted his eyes, the expression on his face practically read, How did you know?
Qiao Zhenzhen snorted coldly, remembering how he’d treated her as if she were crazy.
It was time to settle the score with him.