Chapter 5: Shi Yu: Need Help?

Chapter 5: Shi Yu: Need Help?

The news that Shi Yu had sent someone to bring Lin Yao some spicy strips quickly spread throughout the entire school.

During the break, several groups of people pretended to casually pass by the classroom of Class 1, Grade 10, just to catch a glimpse of the girl who could make the former heartthrob of No. 5 Middle School and current bking of No. 3 Middle School specially remember to bring her a pack of spicy strips.

Unfortunately, Lin Yao wasn't even in the classroom.

She was hiding in the farthest stall of the restroom, holding her phone, trying multiple times to find out Shi Yu's WeChat.

But every time she typed a character, she would turn off the screen, then turn it back on again, repeating this process over and over.

Forget it, she didn't want to add Shi Yu's WeChat.

After all, Shi Yu deliberately asked someone to bring her spicy strips, surely with ill intentions to ruin her reputation.

He used the spicy strips to threaten her, telling her not to say anything bad about him to Aunt Song, or he would tell her mother that she secretly ate spicy strips.

Shi Yu was indeed cunning and deceitful!

Lin Yao put away her phone and came out of the stall, standing in front of the sink to wash her hands.

At this moment, three girls entered the restroom, chatting and laughing.

"Did you hear? God Yu had a boy from his class deliver a pack of spicy strips to a girl named Lin Yao in the neighboring top class during the break."

"A pack of spicy strips? Twenty packs of spicy strips! The version I heard was that he directly gave that girl more than twenty packs of spicy strips, filling up an entire drawer. How bizarre, how could a girl be so greedy, choosing twenty packs of spicy strips over dating a godlike man!"

"People from the top class must have studied themselves silly, it's normal. Not everyone is like Shi Nian or Gu Xizhou. But I heard that girl has a good relationship with Shi Nian, getting close to God Yu by fawning over Shi Nian..."

"Otherwise, what do you think? You haven't seen Lin Yao, but I saw her in the cafeteria last time. She's short, dark-skinned, and stocky..."

Lin Yao's hand trembled slightly as she pulled out a tissue, looking up at her reflection in the mirror.

The girl in the mirror had fair, translucent skin and naturally delicate features. Even though she wasn't an ice queen like Shi Nian, she still had her own charm.

Dark, ugly, and stocky? And eating twenty packs of spicy strips in one go?

"Classmate, do you have any extra tissues? Could you lend me one?"

One of the girls finished washing her hands and politely asked Lin Yao.

Lin Yao glanced at the girl who claimed to have seen her in the cafeteria, nodded lightly, and handed over the entire packet of tissues: "Here, use these. I don't need them anymore."

Surprised by Lin Yao's generosity, the girl thanked her: "Thank you... thank you."

"You're welcome. We're classmates, we should help each other." She smiled warmly, her eyes sparkling, and asked sweetly, "By the way, I'm Lin Yao from Class 1, Grade 10. Which class are you from?"

The girl who took the tissues froze, looking at her as if she had seen a ghost.

The two girls gossiping behind her also fell silent upon hearing this.

Their expressions were a mix of shock and embarrassment.

"Don't want to tell me?" Lin Yao tilted her head and smiled at them, blinking, "Which class are you from?"

The girls were speechless: "..."

"It's okay, actually, I'm not interested."

After saying this, Lin Yao turned around and left without looking back.

The three girls let out a sigh of relief.

Suddenly, Lin Yao stopped at the restroom door and looked back at them.

Their hearts leaped into their throats once again.

The three girls: "Wh-What is it?"

Lin Yao: "I suddenly remembered something I need to clarify."

Their voices trembled: "Wh-What is it...?"

Lin Yao cleared her throat and said seriously, "Actually... cough... actually, I'm not very familiar with Shi Yu."

"What?"

They thought they had misheard.

Lin Yao: "I said, I'm not familiar with Shi Yu at all. The rumors outside are not true."

The three girls: "..."

But he bought you spicy strips?

And it's the sold-out, exclusive kind.

Lin Yao seemed to realize it didn't make sense either, so she emphasized with a slightly aggrieved tone, "Let's forget about that... anyway, remember, I don't like spicy strips at all."

The three girls: "..."

"It's true!" She emphasized, her eyes shining brightly, "Believe me."

"Okay..."

"Believe... believe..."

The three of them were stunned, never expecting that the seemingly gentle and soft girl would actually blush and seriously explain such matters to them.

They thought Lin Yao had suddenly stopped and turned back just to confront them.

Indeed, a girl as fair and delicate as Lin Yao looked so well-behaved; how could she possibly get into a fight?

It wasn't until Lin Yao truly left the restroom that the three of them snapped out of their shock.

They looked at each other, then suddenly burst out laughing, covering their mouths.

"She's so cute... She was actually so serious about making me believe her."

"What I said earlier was all wrong. I only assumed she looked dark because of the forum. Oh no, it's all my fault. She must have been hurt hearing me say those things. Oh no, the way she looked at me—it was like an innocent little puppy who's been wronged. I want to apologize to her."

"What puppy? Her eyes were more like an innocent and cute little deer."

"Close enough. Anyway, I really feel terrible... I didn't expect Lin Yao to be like this. I'm such an idiot for believing rumors."

None of them took Lin Yao's 'clarification' seriously.

Come on, if Lin Yao wasn't close to Shi Yu or didn't like spicy chips, how could the most arrogant guy in their trio publicly ask someone to bring her that sold-out pack of spicy chips!?

But this didn't stop them from realizing they had been misled by the rumors and had wronged Lin Yao.

Before leaving the restroom, the three girls hurriedly took out their phones and started countering the posts on the school forum that had slandered Lin Yao.

Who said Lin Yao from Class 1, Grade 11, is dark, short, and ugly? She's clearly a cute, gentle, and beautiful girl!

...

Lin Yao returned to the classroom without telling anyone about what happened in the restroom.

Regardless of the chaos caused by the rumors on the school forum, the classmates in Class 1, Grade 11, seemed unaffected.

Everyone was buried in their work, scribbling away. Even Qiu Xueer only gave Lin Yao a concerned look when she returned before diving back into her sea of problems.

The only difference was that Shi Nian's seat had been empty since the fourth period in the morning.

Shi Nian hadn't returned to class all day, and no one knew where she had gone.

Sitting at her desk, Lin Yao told herself not to be affected by the chaos outside. In such a good learning environment, she needed to prepare well for the weekend's class division exam to stay here.

By the time afternoon classes ended, Lin Yao had completed her planned study tasks for the day.

At that moment, her phone vibrated, signaling a new message.

"Mom": Have a quick bite after school and head straight to Zhi Xue for the test. Remember, don't eat any unhealthy junk food.

Seeing this WeChat message, Lin Yao's beautiful eyes curved into a smile, finally feeling cheerful.

She obediently replied and quickly packed her bag.

Qiu Xueer turned around, curious. "Aren't you attending evening classes tonight?"

Lin Yao, eager to go out for a quick bite, didn't even lift her head. "No, my mom booked a spot for me at Zhi Xue, and I need to go there for the test."

"Zhi Xue?" Qiu Xueer said admiringly, "Your mom is really something. Getting a spot at Zhi Xue, which is so hard to enroll in."

Lin Yao nodded slightly.

Zhi Xue was the most prestigious math competition institution in Jincheng. For ordinary people, it took at least half a year to get an exam slot after registering.

Some might even wait from junior high to senior high without getting a chance to try.

Of course, if someone had already won national awards or made it to the national team, that was another story.

But clearly, most people didn't have that kind of talent.

Qiu Xueer whispered, "But now everyone on the forum is talking about you and Shi Yu. Zhou Yuwei likes him so much. What if she causes trouble for you?"

Lin Yao had already explained to Qiu Xueer that she didn't know why Lin Jingtao suddenly mentioned Shi Yu giving her spicy chips on the playground.

Qiu Xueer immediately thought it was related to their gossip being overheard by the boys from Class 13 and believed it was intentional revenge.

Lin Yao: "What can I do? I don't like Shi Yu, just like I don't like spicy chips!"

Even though she was in a hurry, she still emphasized her preferences.

She couldn't let her mom know she was associated with junk food like spicy chips.

"It's a pity Shi Nian isn't here today. Otherwise, we could tell her to make those boys clarify. Anyway, go take your test." Qiu Xueer waved goodbye, muttering to herself, "That pack of spicy chips... If only you didn't want it, I could have eaten it for you. Why throw it away..."

Lin Yao didn't hear the rest. She had already slung her backpack over her shoulder and briskly left the classroom, trying to contain her excitement.

*

In March, it was already dark when school ended.

Lin Yao's petite figure soon blended into the crowd of students wearing No. 3 Middle School uniforms.

Unbeknownst to her, a few figures in No. 5 Middle School uniforms also joined the flow of people, following closely behind her.

Yellow-braised chicken, fried chicken cutlets, skewers, hot pot, barbecue, small stir-fries, Splatoon sets... oh no, I mean, Hua Laishi sets, and milk tea shops.

Lin Yao's eyes scanned the row of storefronts outside the school gate, swallowing lightly.

How wonderful... It had been so long since she had eaten at the shops outside the school. Ah... she wanted to try everything. Which one should she choose?

Hesitantly looking around to confirm there were no familiar faces nearby,

Lin Yao worried about running into parents of classmates who knew her mom. If someone reported back to her mom, she'd be in trouble.

Finally, she turned left and right, winding her way into the alleys behind the school where there were fewer people.

A few minutes later, she emerged from the alley with a large cup of Snow King's Triple Mix Supreme Milk Tea in her left hand and a big bag of freshly made chicken cutlet skewers in her right, a contented smile on her face.

Unable to wait, she happily took a sip from the milk tea in her left hand, then hurriedly placed it on a ledge by the wall. She fumbled to open the box containing the skewers.

Lin Yao didn't dare eat outside, so she took advantage of the darkening sky and found a secluded corner. She lowered her head and picked up a piece of crispy roasted pork belly with a bamboo skewer, dipped it in chili powder, and took a bite.

Mmm... It was delicious, so satisfying.

At that moment, several hurried footsteps echoed from the alley entrance behind her.

"Where is she? How did she disappear?"

"I saw her come into this back alley just now."

"She must still be inside... You guys go around from the other end, I'll enter from this side and block her. Zhou Yuwei said if we bring Lin Yao to her, she'll give each of us the latest iPhone."

"Miss Zhou is so generous; let's find her quickly..."

Four or five boys wearing No. 5 Middle School uniforms, who looked rather rowdy, ran past Lin Yao.

Lin Yao, hiding in the corner with her cheeks stuffed full of fried pork belly, lifted her head, her eyes wide with surprise.

What? They're coming to catch her?

No way, she had to run.

Lin Yao immediately swallowed the pork belly in her mouth and stepped out of the corner.

But in the next second, she suddenly ran back, reaching for the milk tea left on the ledge.

Her Snow King, barely sipped, couldn't be forgotten!

Voices called out from behind, "Hey, there seems to be someone over there!"

"Go check if it's Lin Yao!"

She turned around, seeing two boys from No. 5 Middle School pointing in her direction.

Terrified, Lin Yao grabbed the milk tea and ran.

But the sudden turn caused her to slip, and in the panic, the milk tea flew out of her hand, smashing onto the ground.

She barely managed to support herself with her palms on the gravel-strewn road, feeling sharp pain in her palms and knees.

Lin Yao stifled a groan.

It hurt so much...

Tears instantly welled up in her eyes.

She wanted to call for help, but the two boys from No. 5 Middle School were getting closer, and she dared not make a sound.

Suddenly, there was a creak.

The back door of the small store at the alley entrance, which connected to the front, was pushed open from inside.

Through her blurry vision, Lin Yao lifted her head and saw a cool figure in their No. 3 Middle School uniform slowly emerge from the door.

"Hey, need some help?"

Shi Yu leaned against the door frame, looking down at her.