Chapter 84: Su Linxi’s Resolution and Zhong Tian’s Dilemma

Su Linxi pressed the knuckles of her right hand, a subconscious habit she adopted whenever she found herself in distress.

At present, she had no idea what was happening with Yu Naixi, nor could she even locate her.

Even if she did find her, it seemed there was nothing she could do, and there was even a risk of Yu Naixi altering her perception.

However…

Ms. Yan’s deliberate visit to speak with her surely held a deeper meaning.

‘Could it be that Yu Naixi was on the verge of losing control over her other personality, having reached a critically urgent stage?’

Reflecting on it, she recalled that on the day of the Cultural Festival, she had followed Ms. Yan’s advice, returning to school to stop Yu Naixi.

If events had unfolded smoothly, Ms. Yan would never have gone out of her way to speak with her.

This implied that after the Cultural Festival, she had made some missteps, causing things to spiral in an unfavorable direction.

And those “missteps” were precisely the conversation she had with Yu Naixi at home that day.

That had been the catalyst for the deterioration.

“For what comes next, simply trust yourself.”

These were Ms. Yan’s final words before she departed.

‘Trust yourself…’

‘Very well, then she would trust her own judgment.’

‘Now, she had to exhaust every possible means to find Yu Naixi!’

She took a sip of warm water, consciously slowing her breath, allowing her emotions to gradually settle.

At present, Su Linxi knew of only one place where Yu Naixi might appear: Taisugi High School.

Concurrently, Taisugi High School was also the sole location where she could currently gather information about her.

Thus, her objective became unequivocally clear.

She placed a call to Butler Li.

“Hello, Butler Li. Please contact Taisugi High School for me; I intend to enroll.”

“Understood. When do you plan to enroll?”

“The sooner, the better,” Su Linxi stated after a brief pause. “The method of enrollment is irrelevant; speed is paramount.”

“And one more request: I need to be placed in Class 3 of the second year.”

“Certainly, I’ll contact them immediately. I will inform you as soon as I receive a response,” the butler replied. “Are there any other tasks I can assist you with?”

“There’s one more matter,” Su Linxi continued after a moment of thought. “Please investigate the events that transpired between Yu Naixi and Zhong Tian during middle school. This is not urgent.”

****

At five o’clock in the afternoon, the final class concluded.

As the dismissal bell rang, Zhong Tian stretched, then, as was his custom, tidied his stationery and notes.

Today’s homework load was rather heavy, so he planned to return early after dinner to complete it, freeing up some time during evening study for drawing his drafts.

Following his routine, he took out his phone and opened WeChat to check for any messages.

No sooner had he opened WeChat than Zhong Tian noticed a red dot illuminating next to a contact in his address book.

It was Yu Yinlian.

Zhong Tian immediately recalled their midday arrangement and accepted her friend request.

Immediately after the friend request was accepted, Yu Yinlian sent Zhong Tian a document.

[Zhong Tian, this is the outline I wrote. Please take a look. I only have seven minutes left today, so could you please read quickly?]

[Okay.]

After replying, Zhong Tian clicked on the document she sent, reading it quickly yet thoroughly.

Yu Yinlian’s outline was quite detailed; it took him about three minutes to finish reading it.

Summarizing his thoughts, he replied: [I think this plot is quite good. The daily life aspects are a bit too mundane, but there should be a fair number of readers who enjoy that calm feeling. Just try writing it first.]

[Alright! Thank you! I’m off to write!]

‘Her drive to act was truly impressive.’

After silently commending Yu Yinlian, Zhong Tian put away his phone, slung his canvas bag over his shoulder, and set off towards Li Jianren’s dorm.

Having been delayed by a few minutes, the fastest eater in the second year had already returned to the dorm ahead of Zhong Tian.

When Zhong Tian entered, he was already devouring his meal.

“You started eating without waiting for me, huh?”

“I did wait! Otherwise, I’d be halfway through by now.”

Zhong Tian sat on the edge of the bed and began to eat as well.

While chewing slowly and deliberately, Zhong Tian recalled the information he had subtly gleaned from Li Jianren at noon, then resumed analyzing it with his previous line of thought.

What reason would compel a psychologically and physiologically normal high school boy to conceal his desire for a relationship?

Zhong Tian could only think of two possibilities.

One was strict parental control, forbidding him from dating; the other was having a secret crush but being too shy to confess, thus pretending he wasn’t interested.

Applying these to Li Jianren, the first reason could be dismissed.

Li Jianren’s mother was so open-minded that she could even accept him being gay; clearly, she wouldn’t forbid him from dating in high school.

As for the second…

Zhong Tian also found it improbable.

If that guy Li Jianren had someone he liked, he would undoubtedly be the first to tell Zhong Tian, then pursue that person with all his might.

‘He hadn’t managed to deduce anything at all…’

Chewing his food, Zhong Tian felt a twinge of vexation.

‘Perhaps he should ask someone else.’

‘Someone who understood the situation and possessed the ability to offer sound advice…’

Lin Yu.

She immediately came to Zhong Tian’s mind.

Zhong Tian had previously discussed Bai Ruijin and Li Jianren with her, and she was also quite familiar with Li Jianren, making her the ideal person to help with the analysis.

Zhong Tian finished his last bit of rice, washed his bowl, then sat down and opened WeChat.

[Are you there?]

[I poked “Lin Yu.”]

[I am.]

[What’s up, Little Zhong?]

[I have a question for you.]

[Go ahead.]

[It’s about Li Jianren. He told me he doesn’t want to date, but I could tell he was lying. What do you think his reason for lying is?]

[Could it be strict family rules?]

[Or perhaps he has a secret crush?]

‘Why is that exactly what I analyzed…’

Zhong Tian, feeling helpless, continued tapping on the virtual keyboard.

[Probably not.]

[Then I can’t think of anything else.]

[Oh, alright then…]

[Or,]

[You could ask my sister.]

[My sister knows more about these romantic matters.]

‘Editor Lin Chu, huh.’

Zhong Tian considered this carefully.

As an older woman, Editor Lin Chu’s life experience far surpassed his own as a student; perhaps she could provide a plausible answer.

[Then I’ll go ask her later.]

[Mm, feel free to ask. She loves these kinds of topics.]

[Okay.]

Zhong Tian put away his phone and said to Li Jianren, who was already lying on his bed playing games, “I’m heading back to do my homework now.”

“Oh, okay.” Li Jianren waved to Zhong Tian. “Remember to let me copy it when you’re done.”

“No… I’ll charge you.”

“That’s so dark,” Li Jianren said, still operating his phone and gazing at the screen. “Come on, buddy, what’s wrong with letting me copy some homework?”

“If you’re always copying homework, you won’t get any practice, and if you don’t practice, how will you master the textbook knowledge…?”

“Ha! Who am I? A Taisugi High genius! Mastering textbook content just requires listening in class—Oh, what?! Golden Land again? Damn it, duels like this won’t bring any smiles!”

“Sigh… fine. Just remember to treat me to dinner next time.”

“Alright, alright.”

Having said that, Zhong Tian exited through the back door of the dorm.

****

Yu Naixi had slept an entire day away again.

She sat up from the bed, her head throbbing faintly.

Clutching her head, she struggled to get out of bed.

Stepping out of her room, she found the area outside equally dim, mirroring the gloom within her own space.

‘They must have gone out, she mused…’

Lacking both strength and spirit, Yu Naixi couldn’t prepare dinner.

Instead, she could only take out two packets of oatmeal and steep a bowl with boiling water to quell her hunger.

After finishing the oatmeal, Yu Naixi felt her dizziness significantly ease.

She washed the bowl and returned to her room.

‘She hadn’t returned to school for four or five days now…’

It wasn’t that she didn’t want to go back, nor was it due to feeling unwell.

Rather, she feared her other self might seize control of her body and commit dangerous acts.

She found these current days quite agreeable, much like the previous year, spent cooped up in her room, sleeping all day.

This way, there would be no emotional fluctuations, preventing her other self from emerging.

‘Perhaps this was the future best suited for her…’

[I don’t think it’s suitable at all.]

“Shut up… I want to sleep.”

[Hey, hey, we’ve done so much for Zhong Tian, and you’re just going to do nothing, watching someone else take him away… I can’t stomach that.]

Yu Naixi offered no reply to her other self, retreating into the covers and closing her eyes.

[Hmph…]

****

Eight-thirty in the evening.

Evening study hall was nearing its end, and Bai Ruijin had just completed her day’s homework in these final moments, slumping onto her desk as the dismissal bell rang.

“So tired…”

“I’m a bit tired too,” Zheng Qiao said, stretching her fingers as she began to pack her schoolbag. “Today’s homework was quite a lot indeed.”

“Mm…”

“Xiao Bai, didn’t you say you were going to ask Li Jianren to go out this weekend after school? If you keep lounging around, he’ll be gone soon.”

“Oh, right.” Bai Ruijin quickly got up, packed her schoolbag, and exited the classroom door with Zheng Qiao.

Just as they stepped out of the classroom, they saw a figure burst from the door of Class 3, Second Year, like a gust of wind, rushing down the stairs with an unstoppable momentum, and then out of the teaching building.

“I’m soaring to the skies!”

Zheng Qiao, Bai Ruijin, and several other students leaving school stood frozen in place for a few seconds.

“Was that… Li Jianren?”

“It appears so…”

“He runs quite fast,” Zheng Qiao remarked. “So, Xiao Bai, what will you do?”

“I suppose I’ll just message him on WeChat instead…”