Chapter 55: I think I’m overthinking it

“Ah!”

“Ow, ow, ow, what are you doing, Sister Yuan?”

The next morning, in Sister Yuan’s office, I pitifully rubbed the top of my head, tears almost spilling from the corners of my eyes.

She had just given me a very hard rap on the head, different from the usual playful taps.

This one was meant to hurt.

“What do you think I’m doing?”

“Look at your homework this time.”

“Did you copy it from An Xue Ruo?”

“My English class representative, when did you get so bold?”

Sister Yuan’s brows were furrowed, her eyes filled with anger.

The way she gritted her silver teeth made her look genuinely mad.

“You were pestering me so late last night, I didn’t have time to do my homework…”

I lowered my head, poked my index fingers together, and muttered aggrievedly.

“Are you saying this is my fault?”

“No, no, no, that’s not what I mean.”

“I’ve copied other people’s homework before, and I’ve never seen you this angry.”

I waved my hands in denial, expressing my apology as sincerely as possible.

“Because this time you copied An Xue Ruo’s, and for my English class no less.”

“Xiao You, aren’t you provoking me?”

“Take this homework back and redo it.”

“Give it to me before school ends.”

“Okay.”

I returned to the classroom with my head hung low.

An Xue Ruo seemed to notice my dejected expression, a look of confusion appearing in her eyes.

“What’s wrong?”

“Did Teacher Mo find out?”

“Mhm, and I got scolded for it.”

I nodded my already lowered head, my gaze fixed on the smooth desktop, then slumped onto it limply.

“Teacher Mo rarely catches people for copying homework.”

“And you didn’t even copy everything this time.”

“How did she find out?”

‘Actually, she’s found out before, she just couldn’t be bothered to care.’

“Maybe it’s because I’m the class representative.”

I responded listlessly, and just as I was about to close my eyes to catch up on sleep, I felt a tap on my shoulder.

“Don’t think too much about it, Young Master Lu.”

“It’s just a scolding.”

“It’s not like Teacher Mo is going to eat you.”

“For the cultural festival on Friday, the class president needs three people to help her clean the auditorium.”

“Let’s go together.”

“The two of us plus Goddess Xue Ruo, that’s exactly three.”

Hearing Zheng Chen’s cheerful words, I looked towards Su Ye Mi.

Our eyes met, and she nodded at me.

Zheng Chen and An Xue Ruo looked on calmly.

They must have already discussed it and were just waiting for my response.

As the class president, Su Ye Mi did her best to take care of her classmates and had helped me out a lot.

Plus, like Zheng Chen, she was one of my few friends.

I couldn’t just stand aside.

So I agreed, dragging my sleep-deprived body with them to the school’s excessively large multi-purpose auditorium.

The vast hall was covered in dark shadows.

The curtains had been drawn, blocking the light out completely.

“Class president, we have to clean a place this big?”

Zheng Chen asked, a hint of surprise in his voice as he looked at the empty hall.

“We just need to clean the stage and the two small windows on the side.”

“We don’t have to do the rest.”

Su Ye Mi explained, pointing at the stage, then walked over to the huge floor-to-ceiling window on one side of the auditorium and pulled open the curtains.

Light streamed in, brightening the space considerably.

This window wasn’t part of our responsibility; the windows she mentioned were the two small ones at the front of the hall.

“Zheng Chen and I will handle the sweeping and mopping.”

“Can we leave the two small windows to you guys?”

I thought for a moment and suggested.

The class president and An Xue Ruo looked at each other, paused, then nodded.

“Alright.”

“We’ll come help you after we’re done with the windows.”

So, Zheng Chen and I found a mop and a broom and started clearing the dust and debris near the stage.

An Xue Ruo stood on a stool, her toes lightly pointed, revealing white socks with lace trim.

The bright morning light illuminated her delicate side profile, as lovely and moving as the most beautiful gardenia in summer.

Her slender hand held a rag, rubbing it back and forth on the glass pane.

Her long, aqua-blue hair swayed slightly with her body, leaving a beautiful afterimage.

‘As expected of a girl who can be compared to Sister Yuan.’

“Is she pretty?”

“Want to try going after her?”

Zheng Chen stood beside me, leaning on his broom, and asked in a low voice as he watched the swaying figure by the window.

“I think Goddess Xue Ruo is a little interested in you too.”

“Seize the opportunity, Young Master Lu.”

“She’s interested in me?”

“You must be mistaken.”

In An Xue Ruo’s kindness, which she extended equally to everyone, I hadn’t noticed any special treatment towards me.

“Eh, you can’t tell, Young Master Lu?”

“The way Goddess Xue Ruo looks at you is different from how she looks at others.”

“Anyway, if you like her, you might as well try pursuing her.”

“I think your chances of success are high.”

‘Heh heh, if I tried to pursue An Xue Ruo, it would be a miracle if Sister Yuan didn’t tear me to shreds.’

“Hmph~”

I faintly heard a suppressed chuckle.

I looked around but didn’t see anyone else.

I must have misheard.

“Forget it.”

“I’m not interested.”

After brushing off Zheng Chen’s suggestion, I averted my gaze and was about to continue cleaning the floor when he pulled me by the arm and turned my head.

“What about the class president?”

“Isn’t she pretty too?”

“Are you interested?”

Su Ye Mi was even more impossible.

Although I had received a confession from her, she was in love with a completely non-existent, fake character at the time—Lu Ming.

She’s into girls; there’s no way she would like Lu You as a boy.

As for her being pretty, I wouldn’t deny it.

Although the class president’s looks were a notch below An Xue Ruo’s, she was much more well-endowed in the chest department.

And if she dressed up a little, she might even be able to compete with Sister Yuan.

“Don’t you have any ideas yourself?”

“Aren’t you the one who likes pretty girls the most?”

I kicked Zheng Chen’s foot, which was stepping on the trash I was trying to sweep up, and retorted.

“Me?”

“I’d better just forget it.”

“Whether it’s Goddess Xue Ruo or the class president, I don’t see any hope for myself.”

“What do you think, Young Master Lu?”

I glanced at him, shook my head without replying, and turned back to the broom in my hands, sweeping the scattered dust on the floor into a pile.

It was morning now.

The fiery summer sun was slowly rising.

The golden light pouring in from the small square window grew hotter and more intense, gradually stretching the shadows cast behind the window.

Beads of sweat had formed on An Xue Ruo’s forehead.

She stopped what she was doing, wiped her sweat, and tucked the sweat-dampened strands of hair behind her ear.

Her elegant, slender lashes half-concealed her bright eyes.

Looking at her work on the windowpane, she opened her arms and stretched languidly.

Her graceful figure in the light made the scene exceptionally beautiful.

‘Honestly, for such a striking girl, being friends is the deepest relationship I can ever have with her.’

‘If we were to take it a step further, there’s only one possibility—she is Sister Yuan.’

“Where’s the dustpan?”

The dust and debris on the floor were mostly swept into a pile.

The floor cleaning could be considered finished, and it was easier than I had imagined.

“Go look in the utility closet over there.”

“I saw one there last time I was here.”

An Xue Ruo turned around and pointed to a small door by the stage.

For some reason, I inexplicably felt like I saw a bottomless ambition in her sparkling eyes.

It was the exact same gaze as usual, just with a bit of morning light reflected in it.

Why did I, at this moment, find it so unfamiliar, so profound, so unfathomable?

Wait!

A gaze like that… I think I’ve seen it on Sister Yuan’s face too, and more than once!

I quickly shook my head, clearing out the unrealistic, wild thoughts in my mind, and walked through the small door to find the dustpan.

‘No, no, I must be overthinking it.’

‘What kind of ulterior motives could Sister Yuan have?’

‘After living together for eight years, wouldn’t I know her well?’

By the time I found the dustpan in the utility closet and Zheng Chen and I had dealt with the trash on the floor, the two girls had also just finished their work.

Glancing inadvertently at the class president, I had the inexplicable feeling that her eyes were extremely pure, without a trace of anything unusual, clear enough to see right to the bottom.