NOVEL ONLINE FREE Chapter 12 - Lan Yuxi, Have You Done Something Guilty?
Chapter 12 Lan Yuxi, Have You Done Something Guilty?
Wang Cheng, unable to outtalk Qi Lin’s sarcastic remarks, could only retreat to his seat, embarrassed. He couldn’t tell if Qi Lin’s words were intentional or accidental.
In Wang Cheng’s eyes, Qi Lin had always been like the ‘naïve son of a rich landlord’—foolish, gullible, and easy to trick. Whatever he said could be dismissed as nonsense.
Probably just a coincidence, Wang Cheng thought.
Forget it. No point arguing with a useless rich kid. I’ll find another chance to take advantage of him later.
Wang Cheng comforted himself silently.
_____
The class bell rang, marking the start of the morning reading session. Strangely, halfway through the session, Lan Yuxi, who had gone to the office to hand in assignments, finally returned.
“Class monitor, didn’t you go to the office to report me? Why are you only back now? Did the teacher call me to the office?”
Qi Lin, noticing Lan Yuxi walking in with her head down and looking guilty, cupped his hands like a megaphone and shouted loudly. His voice easily drowned out the sound of the students reading. Instantly, the entire class turned their eyes to Lan Yuxi.
Lan Yuxi, who had just returned from copying answers, was tiptoeing into the classroom, trying not to draw attention. Qi Lin’s loud shout startled her, making her face turn slightly pale, afraid her cheating would be discovered.
“The teacher went to a meeting. I’ll talk to them next period,” she said, biting her lip and glaring at Qi Lin.
“Oh, so the teacher went to a meeting? Then why were you in the office for so long, Class Monitor? Could it be you were doing something… unspeakable?”
Qi Lin’s mischievous tone made her face turn completely white this time. His words seemed to suggest he knew exactly what she’d been up to.
“Stop slandering me! I… I was just helping clean the teacher’s office because it was dirty!”
Lan Yuxi stammered, but she managed to come up with a plausible excuse. Not wanting Qi Lin to say anything more shocking, she ignored him and hurried back to her seat.
“Yuxi, you…”
Seeing the girl he adored being bullied by Qi Lin, Wang Cheng’s heart ached. He tried to comfort her.
“Don’t talk to me. Read!”
Lan Yuxi bit her lower lip and stared at her book, her mind in turmoil. Anyone who talked to her now only made her more anxious.
“Damn you, Qi Lin! Can’t you just behave for once?”
“Whoever let this idiot into school must’ve been out of their mind,” Wang Cheng said and cursed under his breath, glaring at Qi Lin.
While the rest of the class focused on their reading, Qi Lin leaned back in his chair, using a book to cover his face as he napped. Seeing this, Wang Cheng felt another wave of resentment.
“God must be blind to let this useless rich brat have such a good life.”
_____
Morning reading ended, and Qi Lin casually tossed an empty beverage bottle. It flew through the air and landed perfectly in the trash can.
“There’s just something better about drinks that someone else pays for,” Qi Lin smirked, savoring the memory.
“With the upcoming grade-wide exams, the next two hours will be dedicated to tests. No bathroom breaks or unrelated activities during this time. If you need to use the restroom or buy water, do it now,” the homeroom teacher announced as he entered the classroom after his meeting.
The teacher, Mei Sanyuan, was a strict and responsible man in his fifties, known as a national award-winning educator who treated all students equally.
In his past life, Qi Lin recalled how Mei Sanyuan had tried to help him improve his grades, but Qi Lin’s lack of motivation led him to fail miserably in the college entrance exam, scoring barely over 100 points. His wealthy father had to pay for him to enter a private university.
Teaching countless top students but ending up with a failure like Qi Lin was probably the biggest regret of Mei Sanyuan’s career.
After reminding the students, Mei Sanyuan returned to the office to prepare the test papers.
The first exam was Chinese, and Mei Sanyuan would personally proctor it.
“Hmm, since I’ve finished my drink, I might as well go to the convenience store for a few more bottles,” Qi Lin said aloud, stretching lazily.
As he spoke, his gaze fell on Wang Cheng. His words were deliberate, aimed at catching Wang Cheng’s attention.
In his previous life, Qi Lin had often been taken advantage of by Wang Cheng under the guise of friendship. Wang Cheng would tag along whenever Qi Lin went to buy snacks or drinks, guilt-tripping him into paying.
Sure enough, as Qi Lin stood up, Wang Cheng quickly appeared by his side.
“Perfect, I wanted to check out the convenience store too. Let’s go together, Qi Lin,” Wang Cheng said with a smile.
“Sure,” Qi Lin replied, smiling back.
Under the curious gazes of their classmates, the two headed to the school convenience store.
In 2002, most high school students didn’t have much pocket money. They usually brought water bottles from home instead of buying drinks from the store.
Many of them envied Qi Lin, the rich kid who could afford to buy snacks and drinks whenever he wanted. They also envied Wang Cheng, who shamelessly followed Qi Lin around to enjoy the perks of being his friend. But they couldn’t bring themselves to act like Wang Cheng, lowering their dignity to befriend someone like Qi Lin, a known slacker.