Chapter 15: Yuxiu protected the boy

Ring ring ring.

The bell rang, signaling the end of P.E. class for the students of Grade One, Class Two.

They could still run around and play during the break, but Lin You returned to the classroom immediately.

“Yuxiu, are you thirsty? Let’s go buy a drink together.”

A few of the “friends” from the morning gathered around Zhong Yuxiu, chattering and making suggestions.

“No, thank you.”

Zhong Yuxiu was intent on cutting ties with this group of friends. Her method was to give them the cold shoulder, figuring they would eventually get the hint and stop bothering her.

“You’re no fun at all. Everyone’s asking you to get a drink and you won’t go. Are you in a hurry to get back and play with your red-faced deskmate?”

Zhang Chunli immediately jumped out, her tone dripping with sarcasm.

She was still holding a grudge about Zhong Yuxiu confronting her earlier.

“My deskmate has a name. He’s called Lin You. Can you please have some manners?”

Zhong Yuxiu had intended to just walk past them, but Zhang Chunli’s words successfully made her stop.

“Hey, Zhong Yuxiu, you promised us this morning that you wouldn’t play with that red-face. Are you going back on your word now?”

“Exactly! We only became friends with you because you agreed. What’s wrong with you?”

Hearing Yuxiu speak up for Lin You, an outsider, the other little girls also began to complain unhappily.

“Zhong Yuxiu, did you hear us? Are you really going to go against everyone for an ugly red-face?”

With the support of her companions, Zhang Chunli’s confidence swelled, and she tried to force Zhong Yuxiu to bow her head and admit she was wrong.

“I will absolutely not stoop to your level. If you want to bully Classmate Lin, you’ll have to get through me first.”

Beneath Zhong Yuxiu’s pretty and quiet exterior was a strong heart.

She felt that her past self had been so foolish to even think of being friends with this group.

People who build their happiness on the suffering of others are the absolute worst.

“Oh, you…”

The group of girls led by Zhang Chunli were both angry and annoyed that Yuxiu still wouldn’t yield, but there was nothing they could do to her.

After all, they were only first-graders on their first day of school. The worst they could do was stay within the realm of cold-shoulder bullying, like ostracism and isolation.

Zhong Yuxiu paid the group of classmates no more mind and walked towards her classroom on her own.

‘They’re not like real girls at all. They’re so annoying.’

The young Yuxiu had already unconsciously set a rule for herself.

No matter what, she would never bully or torment others.

When she got back to the classroom, most of the students hadn’t returned yet.

But her deskmate was already back in his seat, treating the break time as if it were class time.

“Classmate Lin, you really like to sit still. Doesn’t your butt hurt?”

The girl quickly sat down in her own seat, just a dozen or so centimeters away from the boy beside her.

“I’m reading my textbook.”

Lin You quickly took a book out of his desk, hastily propping it up to make himself look busy, hoping his deskmate wouldn’t bother him.

“Your book is upside down.”

The girl’s lips curled into a small smile as she kindly reminded him.

“I know.”

Lin You was mortified, quickly turning the book the right way up and then burying his face in it.

‘So… cute!’

Such a descriptor popped into Zhong Yuxiu’s mind out of nowhere.

Getting Lin You’s attention and observing his little reactions was much more interesting than chatting about cartoons with the other girls.

But she couldn’t overdo it. It would be bad if he started to dislike her.

‘My deskmate is acting so strange this afternoon.’

Lin You’s mind was in a mess. Yuxiu’s kindness and proximity were slowly chipping away at the protective shell around his heart.

Just as things were developing in a good direction, Zhang Chunli and her group of girls returned to the classroom.

Their attention quickly focused on Lin You and Zhong Yuxiu.

“Sitting together even during the break. Are you two husband and wife? Waah, everyone, look! A husband and wife deskmate pair!”

Zhang Chunli’s beady little eyes darted around as she concocted a malicious remark, laughing out loud on the spot and attracting the attention of everyone else in the classroom.

“Hahaha…”

Hearing this teasing, even malicious, comment, some of the uninvolved students also laughed thoughtlessly.

As one of the subjects of the ridicule, Lin You was a bit confused at first. It was only when he moved the book from in front of his face that he saw the malicious gazes of Zhang Chunli and her friends.

His heart sank. The thing he had feared most had happened.

“If you’re going to laugh, laugh at me. It has nothing to do with Classmate Zhong.”

Lin You tried to get up from his stool, attempting to take all the blame so that this group wouldn’t find a reason to attack his deskmate.

He didn’t want to drag others down, and he was afraid that Zhong Yuxiu’s green kindness would once again turn into the white of a stranger.

“Bang! Zhang Chunli, and all of you…”

Zhong Yuxiu was truly angry. Her clear black-and-white eyes widened, and her tender palm slammed heavily on the desk.

“Don’t beg them. We’re going to the head teacher.”

The angry girl hadn’t lost her reason. She grabbed Lin You’s wrist, and together they headed for the teacher’s office.

“Hey, hey, Zhong Yuxiu, are you even a girl? Tattling to the teacher…”

Now, the previously smug Zhang Chunli and her friends were panicking.

“It’s impossible to communicate with ill-mannered, rude people like you.”

The girl looked down on this group of troublemakers who bullied the weak and feared the strong.

“Maybe we should just forget it…”

Lin You said weakly. He didn’t want to escalate the matter to the teacher, feeling it wasn’t good to involve adults.

“We have to go. Otherwise, these bad guys will never learn their lesson.”

The young Yuxiu was radiating an air of authority. It was unlikely any of her peers would dare to contradict her.

“Mhm, I’ll listen to you.”

His deskmate’s voice was loud, but Lin You didn’t find it annoying at all. In fact, it made his heart feel warm.

The teacher’s office was on the left side of the second-floor hallway.

This was the territory of the upper grades; lower-grade students generally didn’t dare to appear here.

In Grade Two, Class One, a bored Yuting was leaning against the classroom window, zoning out.

One more class to go. She wished school would end sooner, wished time would jump forward to 9:30 PM.

That was the time she had agreed to meet Lin You at the children’s park.

“Hey, why is it this guy again?”

By a strange coincidence, Yuting, who was leaning on the windowsill, saw the scene of Zhong Yuxiu leading Lin You by the hand as they passed by.

‘They look like first-graders, right? Why are they holding hands? Could it be that they’re… dating? Wow, that’s so impressive.’

Yuting’s mind leaped to an unrealistic conclusion, her mouth agape.

She wasn’t just guessing wildly. In the melodramatic family dramas her mom always watched, couples held hands just like that.

In the teacher’s office.

“Head Teacher, Zhang Chunli and the others…”

Zhong Yuxiu had a quick mind. On the way over, she had already prepared a mental draft of her report on Zhang Chunli and the others’ misdeeds.

“It’s all my fault for getting Classmate Zhong involved.”

Lin You added in a small voice.

“Don’t worry, the teacher will see that justice is done for you.”

For something like this to happen on the first day of school, the head teacher’s expression turned serious, and she immediately gave her assurance.

Soon, the head teacher went to the classroom to investigate the situation.

After confirming the facts, she called Zhang Chunli and the others to the office.

Lin You didn’t know the specifics of what happened, but for some time to come, Zhang Chunli and her friends wouldn’t dare to cause any more trouble.

📚 Also on NHV Novels

Could It Be That I’m Actually the Strongest Final Boss?

ComedyFantasyFemale Protagonist

Read Now →
Not interested