Chapter 23: I Don’t Like Him

Chapter 23: I Don't Like Him

Meng Liangping was already in the classroom. He didn't believe that Xie Guilan would steal something and frowned as he asked Zhou Ye, "You can't just throw accusations around without proof."

"Teacher," Zhou Ye said, glaring at Xie Guilan with disgust, "I left my watch here last night. He was the last to leave, and his seat is the closest to mine. Who else could it be?"

Zhou Ye was only separated from Xie Guilan by a row.

All the students were crowded at the back of the classroom. Lu Wang stretched his neck and suddenly spotted Cen Wu. He struggled through the crowd, grabbed Cen Wu's arm, and whispered, "I just got to the classroom and heard Zhou Ye accusing Xie of stealing his watch."

The class divide was always obvious. The school uniforms tried to hide these differences as much as possible, but the wealthier students could still tell how cheap Xie Guilan's clothes were.

However, Xie Guilan stood tall, his face handsome and cold, he could look good in anything, even a burlap sack.

That was what made people overlook his shabby backpack and sneakers.

"You're having financial trouble, right?" Zhou Ye said with a tone of pity. "I can lend you some cash. The watch isn't worth much, but it was bought by my father. I'll give you ten thousand, just return it to me, alright?"

Xie Guilan stared at him and coldly replied, "I didn't take it."

Zhou Ye sneered, "Whether you took it or not, we can find out by checking, can't we?" He then turned to the homeroom teacher, "Teacher Meng, I request to check his bag. That's not too much to ask, is it?"

Meng Liangping's expression turned sour. Zhou Ye was a good student, having earned his place in Class 3 through his own merit, but like Cen Wu before, he was a headache to deal with.

However, Zhou Ye wasn't as wealthy as Cen Wu, so he couldn't be as arrogant.

It was clear Zhou Ye was aiming to humiliate Xie Guilan.

But before Meng Liangping could respond, Xie Guilan had already coldly thrown his bag to Zhou Ye's feet.

Xie Guilan's eyes were deep, his gaze dark and cold, like an impenetrable fog. His voice was equally cold.

"Go ahead, search if you want."

Zhou Ye clenched his jaw. What disgusted him most was Xie Guilan's superior attitude.

Just an illegitimate child, living a life worse than the lowest grade horse in the Xie family's stables, yet he always looked down on others as if they were dogs.

Now, Zhou Ye would have to bend down to check the bag himself. Who was humiliating whom?

Zhou Ye's fury turned into a mocking smile. He decided not to check the bag after all and instead lifted his foot, intending to step on Xie Guilan's bag.

Suddenly, Cen Wu spoke from outside the classroom, "You... are you sure he took it?"

Cen Wu's tone was slow, as if giving him a final chance, but Zhou Ye didn't catch on. He said suspiciously, "Second Master, are you trying to protect him?"

Cen Wu looked up. He had just recovered from an illness, his skin as pale as snow, fragile like a bird perched on a branch, his eyes innocent. He spoke slowly, "I... I'm just asking. If you're so sure, why don't you check the surveillance footage?"

"If he really took it last night, wou... wouldn't he have brought it back in his bag today?"

But before Cen Wu could finish, a chill ran down his back. Members of the student council were inspecting the class's appearance and grooming. Xie Shangjing, the student council president, had just passed behind him with his team.

Cen Wu turned around, looked at Xie Guilan, and sneered, "Top of the grade, and this is the best you can come up with?"

Xie Guilan: "..."

Xie Shangjing glanced over with a frown but did not stop. They had already checked Class 3, and now they were heading back to check on Class 8 at the end of the corridor.

After seeing Meng Liangping leave, Cen Wu slowly turned to Zhou Ye and said, "But you've never even ranked in the top ten in the class... It's normal that you didn't think of this."

Zhou Ye: "..."

What the hell did you even score?!

As a student from the advanced class, who could bear to be humiliated face-to-face about their grades? Besides, everyone knew that the surveillance in this classroom was just for show, only turned on for a few days during exams.

But before he could say anything, Cen Wu had already anticipated his reaction. Cen Wu pulled the curtain next to the back door of the classroom and raised his hand to point up, saying, "I'm talking about this surveillance."

In a hidden spot at the top of the curtain, a small camera was installed, difficult to notice if you weren't paying attention.

Even Meng Liangping was taken aback. There were only two cameras in the classroom, one in the front and one in the back. He had no idea when this one had been installed.

But this made things easier to resolve. With his face fallen, Meng Liangping said, "Alright, stop arguing. Let's go check the surveillance. I want to see what's really going on."

When Zhou Ye saw the camera, he panicked instantly. He suddenly realized why Cen Wu had repeatedly asked him earlier if he was sure that Xie Guilan had taken his things.

With everyone in the class watching, he couldn’t back down. He gritted his teeth and followed them out.

The surveillance room was in another building.

Zhou Ye's lips moved, but he finally bit down on his teeth and decided to go.

The watch had been placed in Xie Guilan's desk drawer by Zhou Ye himself the previous night, just to teach Xie Guilan a lesson. He didn't plan to escalate it to calling the police; a private apology from Xie Guilan would have been enough.

But when he checked that morning, the watch was indeed missing, so he insisted that Xie Guilan had stolen it.

He was afraid that the surveillance might capture something else.

Zhou Ye's face was filled with struggle. Cen Wu, walking beside him, lowered his voice and said, "Zhou Ye, you... were originally called Zhou Yuan, right?"

"..." Zhou Ye's expression changed instantly.

Zhou Ye was a minor troublemaker, but Xie Guilan, someone who held grudges, didn't let Zhou Ye off in the end.

Zhou Ye was originally named Zhou Yuan. He was actually a bastard. When he was born, his father’s wife was three months pregnant. His mother had stormed into the house to try to force his father to divorce.

The wife, upon discovering her husband's affair during her pregnancy, argued with him and was accidentally hit by a car and died, losing both her and the baby's life.

Zhou Ye's father was originally a building materials boss in a town. The incident caused quite a stir, ruining his reputation. Later, as his business grew, he moved the company to Huai Jing and changed Zhou Ye's name for school.

Because of his lowly status, he had to stay by the original owner’s side, treated like a dog. Just looking at Xie Guilan’s cold face made Zhou Ye feel irritated.

Zhou Ye clenched his teeth and said in a low voice, "Mr. Second, what exactly do you want? What else do you know?"

"I don't want anything," Cen Wu's eyes were cold and tired, "What I know depends on you. Stay away from Xie Guilan, and I can know nothing."

"Otherwise, I can't guarantee that only I will know."

Zhou Ye's jaw tightened, and his breathing became heavier.

Meng Liangping wanted to check the surveillance, and the Assistant Principal had also arrived. The surveillance room was crowded with people, so Cen Wu returned to the classroom first.

Anyway, Cen Xiao had arranged for the camera to be installed through the school, so it wouldn’t be an issue.

The surveillance footage indeed captured everything clearly, showing not only Zhou Ye placing a watch into Xie Guilan's desk but also him throwing trash into it and tearing up Xie Guilan's test papers.

Zhou Ye's watch was taken by one of his lackeys, who was from Class 8. After coming to Class 3 to carry out these actions with Zhou Ye, he stole Zhou Ye's watch, intending to frame Xie Guilan.

"Bring this kid from Class 8 here!" said the Dean of Discipline, his face dark with anger.

He had the previous days' footage checked as well, which showed someone lurking outside the classroom door.

Meng Liangping's face also darkened. There were so many troublemakers in their class? But the next second, when the person looked up, he realized it was Cen Wu.

Cen Wu had been pacing outside the classroom for over a minute before poking his head in. Relieved to find no one inside, he walked in and started cleaning Xie Guilan's desk.

Several people were watching—Meng Liangping, the Dean of Discipline, the school secretary, and a few other teachers.

Their expressions started to look strange.

Especially when Cen Wu, after finishing wiping the desk, scattered a handful of fruit candies onto Xie Guilan's desk, arranging them in a heart shape, trying to look charming.

But Xie Guilan never showed up, so Cen Wu took a candy for himself.

Then another.

And another.

When Lu Wang arrived, Cen Wu gave him a few candies.

When Zhang Yuan came, Cen Wu also gave him a few and then took one more for himself.

By the time Cen Wu realized what he had done and turned around, only a few candies were left on Xie Guilan's desk, no longer in the shape of a heart. Cen Wu, after a moment of silence, simply took them all away and secretly lifted Xie Guilan's test papers to copy a few questions.

When Xie Guilan entered the classroom, Cen Wu turned around and watched him take out exercise books from his bag.

On that stormy night, Xie Guilan left the classroom early, and Cen Wu grabbed his sleeve, stuffing an umbrella into his hands.

Xie Guilan's face remained cold throughout.

But Cen Wu's beautiful eyes were glistening, reflecting the flickering lights of the stormy night. When Xie Guilan looked at him, his eyes caught a glimmer of light.

Cen Wu always looked at him with such eyes—soft but distant—as if he had been concerned about him for a long time.

The surveillance room went dead silent.

The Dean of Discipline wanted to say something but feared being too harsh. In the end, he could only hint, "Xie... you... I... sigh."

"I don't like him," Xie Guilan said, his dark and aloof almond-shaped eyes lifting, Cen Wu not being there, his gaze reflecting no one's light, "I won't be in a relationship with anyone."

The Dean of Discipline finally felt relieved.

That's more like it.

At this age, you should be focusing on your studies.

"Alright," Meng Liangping patted Xie Guilan's shoulder, "go back to the classroom. The teachers will handle the rest."

Xie Guilan left without giving Zhou Ye a second glance.

Cen Wu had only thought about how the footage would clear Xie Guilan. He hadn't considered that it would also show him.

When Xie Guilan returned to the classroom, Cen Wu watched him carefully for a while, relieved that Xie Guilan didn't seem upset, before turning back around.

Xie Guilan sat in silence for a few minutes.

The egg pancake Cen Wu had bought for him in the morning was now cold, and he picked it up, eating it slowly.