The two morning classes ended, and during the break, the classmates in the class still seemed to have agreed not to acknowledge him.
Even Wang Guancong and a few others no longer greeted him proactively, instead deliberately keeping their distance, as if they were intentionally avoiding him.
It would be a lie to say this wasn’t strange or confusing.
And this situation had been going on for several days now.
"Ding ling ling~"
The bell for the next class suddenly rang.
Su Cheng, hearing the bell, sat down in his seat and withdrew his gaze from the window, scanning the classroom.
"But... why is this happening?"
Su Cheng was utterly puzzled and sank into deep thought again.
It wasn’t like this before he became famous, but now that he was, he was being isolated.
Could it be that in this world, excellence leads to ostracism?
From his perspective, he was clearly being isolated!
"This is truly something unbelievable," Su Cheng thought to himself.
With a self-deprecating smile, he turned his attention to the teacher lecturing at the podium and began to listen.
However, his mind was still filled with countless thoughts.
But he didn’t feel pain or discomfort because of this situation.
After all, most of his relationships with his classmates were just "greeting-level friendships."
They would occasionally exchange a quick hello when they bumped into each other, but that was it. There would be no further connection after graduation, so naturally, there was no deep emotional bond. Cutting ties now didn’t cause him any pain.
Suddenly, he turned his head and looked at Li Guanqi in the corner.
As long as she didn’t distance herself from him, he wouldn’t mind being isolated by the entire class for three years.
However, the next second, he frowned because he noticed that Li Guanqi was sneakily turning her body to the side, secretly drinking juice!
"Big dummy, what are you doing?!"
Don’t you know how much sugar is in that juice?
Li Guanqi seemed to sense Su Cheng’s gaze and, in a panic, quickly put down the juice, straightened up, and looked at the podium.
But Su Cheng didn’t shift his gaze because of her actions. Instead, he continued to stare at her with a serious expression.
Li Guanqi could feel his persistent gaze and grew increasingly uncomfortable. Finally, she had no choice but to stiffly turn her head and give Su Cheng a pleading look.
Su Cheng shot her an annoyed glance, as if saying, "You’re in trouble after class!"
Li Guanqi’s body trembled slightly. She raised a pale hand and used her thumb and index finger to pull up the corners of her mouth, forcing a stiff yet polite smile.
After a while, the third class finally ended.
"Ding ling ling~"
As the bell rang and the teacher left the podium, the classmates flooded out of the classroom like a tide. Su Cheng, however, remained standing in place, unmoving.
He was watching Li Guanqi.
Li Guanqi was also looking at him.
Suddenly, Su Cheng stood up and walked straight toward the classroom door, stopping at the deserted stairwell with his hands behind his back, waiting.
Li Guanqi followed him with her bag, step by step.
"Give it to me."
Su Cheng suddenly turned around and extended his hand toward Li Guanqi.
Hearing this, Li Guanqi lowered her head, took out a bottle of juice that was one-third empty from her bag, and reluctantly handed it to him.
Su Cheng glanced at the brand and ingredient list on the juice bottle and couldn’t help but feel a little exasperated. It wasn’t 100% freshly squeezed juice but rather one filled with additives.
Su Cheng shot her a stern look, while Li Guanqi kept her head down, staring at her toes like a child who had done something wrong, silently awaiting his scolding.
"Follow me."
Su Cheng didn’t press the issue further. Instead, he simply said this and walked into the stairwell first.
Li Guanqi followed, her voice soft as she replied, "Got it."
They stopped in front of a vending machine. Su Cheng took out some coins, carefully selected a bottle of additive-free juice, bent down to pick it up, and handed it to Li Guanqi.
"Although this still has a lot of sugar, it’s healthier. If you want to drink juice in the future, choose this kind."
Li Guanqi looked at him with some surprise, then took the bottle and held it in her arms, nodding.
"It’s not that I’m forbidding you from drinking it, but you need to control it," Su Cheng continued, sounding like a concerned father. "You can only have one bottle of this kind of juice per week, and only the additive-free kind. As for sweets, you can have them twice a week."
"Got it," Li Guanqi replied obediently.
Seeing her compliance, Su Cheng’s expression softened. He then added, "Sit down next to me."
"Okay."
Truthfully, Su Cheng didn’t want to be so controlling, but in the past, Li Guanqi had treated sweets as her main meals, so he had no choice but to restrict her diet.
He could handle external injuries, but internal ones were beyond his control.
As a former heart disease patient, he knew all too well how dangerous such habits could be, even increasing the risk of heart disease. So, he could only try to minimize Li Guanqi’s exposure to sweets.
He decided he would take her for a check-up when he had the time.
On the bench, the two sat together in silence.
Su Cheng took the drink, opened the cap for her, and handed it to her lips.
"Thank you," Li Guanqi said as she took the drink.
Then came the soft sound of her sipping the juice.
"Is it good?"
"Mhm, it’s very refreshing and sweet."
Li Guanqi turned her head, her small face tilting slightly as she murmured, her large eyes filled with innocence.
This scene made Su Cheng feel a little dazed. Just as he was about to say something more…
"Try it too."
Li Guanqi handed the drink to Su Cheng, who hesitated for a moment before taking a sip.
Cool and sweet.
"It’s pretty good," Su Cheng said, handing the juice back to Li Guanqi, who took it and began sipping again.
Su Cheng quietly watched Li Guanqi beside him. Her long hair reached her waist, her clear and intelligent black eyes, and her fair skin—outwardly, she was the epitome of a literary girl, a refined young lady.
But internally, there was only one word to describe her.
'Perfect!'
But not truly perfect.
Why?
She didn’t have many flaws, except for one: her addiction to sweets.
The truly perfect one was probably Ji Qingyi.
Ji Qingyi had extraordinary qualities, but her personality issues were hard to ignore, which in turn highlighted Li Guanqi’s own kind of "perfection."
In any case, from any angle, she was the perfect partner.
Having someone like her as a girlfriend would probably mean you had saved the world in a past life—no, at least the entire galaxy.
If Li Guanqi didn’t have her "low presence" trait, she would probably be very popular at school.
"What’s wrong?" Li Guanqi looked up, meeting Su Cheng’s gaze.
"Ah… nothing. Let’s head back soon."
"Okay."
With that, Li Guanqi placed the half-empty drink back into her bag and followed Su Cheng.
...
Afternoon
Friday
As usual, it was time for the public lecture.
When Su Cheng and Li Guanqi arrived at the large lecture hall, it was already filling up. Su Cheng scanned the room and locked eyes with the ice sculpture club president in the corner.
Su Cheng looked away and walked over to Ji Qingyi.
"President," Su Cheng greeted her with a bright smile, then pulled out a seat and sat down.
Ji Qingyi glanced at him and nodded slightly, her gaze shifting to Li Guanqi, who had also sat down beside her.
"Senior Ji," Li Guanqi greeted expressionlessly.
Ji Qingyi responded with a soft "Mhm," her tone casual yet dignified.
After sitting down, Su Cheng noticed that Xuan Ying’s usual duo, as well as Cornelia and Ailiya, were absent.
Public lectures didn’t take attendance, so students could either go to club activities early or skip altogether.
Su Cheng felt a bit puzzled but didn’t dwell on it.
At the same time, Gu Ruoxue walked into the classroom, drawing the attention of most people in the room, including Su Cheng.
After all, he needed to visit her club later—the panda plushie was still in his system space.
When he delivered it, he could also ask her if it was really her that day.
He already knew it was her, but he just wanted to ask.
Gu Ruoxue’s arrival naturally caught the attention of both Li Guanqi and Ji Qingyi.
The gazes of the three met for a second, and then Gu Ruoxue also walked in their direction, taking a seat in the empty spot behind Su Cheng.
Su Cheng glanced at Ji Qingyi, then at Li Guanqi, and couldn't help but think to himself, "Is this the legendary love triangle?"
As everyone knows, a triangle symbolizes stability, representing balance and security. Moreover, having three people together means better mutual support. From this perspective, sitting in the middle should feel very safe—or so he thought. What a joke!
Although none of the three spoke a word, the three distinct fragrances lingering in the air, along with the strange atmosphere, made Su Cheng feel a momentary suffocation.
Last time, when Xuan Ying and Cornelia were present, he didn’t feel this way. But this time, Su Cheng felt as if he had been sucked into some kind of whirlpool.
At this moment, the teacher walked up to the podium and clearly explained the content of the day's lesson.
Su Cheng silently lowered his head, pretending to focus intently on his notebook, but what caught his eyes were two pairs of long, slender legs clad in black stockings.
He had no choice but to raise his head again and direct his gaze toward the podium.
His unusual behavior was naturally noticed by Gu Ruoxue and Li Guanqi.
Why not Ji Qingyi?
Because her mind was currently trapped in a dilemma.
Should she give the gift she had chosen at the convenience store the other day?
This morning, she had discussed the gift with Ji Yuewu over the phone. Although Ji Yuewu didn’t say much, Ji Qingyi could sense that the other party found her choice of gift strange and seemed utterly unable to accept it.
What’s so strange about it?
She didn’t understand, nor could she comprehend.
But if it really was strange, what if Su Cheng opened it in front of the whole class…
"Would it be embarrassing?"
As Ji Qingyi was lost in her thoughts, Su Cheng suddenly spoke up beside her, "What time is it? My phone broke today, and it won’t be fixed until tomorrow."
Su Cheng was speaking to Li Guanqi beside him.
"Ten past three," Li Guanqi replied nonchalantly. She naturally understood Su Cheng's intention.
Su Cheng's phone wasn’t actually broken; he just couldn’t use it for the entire day. So, this sentence was actually a message being passed to the other two.
It seemed that he was now in regular contact with either Ji Qingyi or Gu Ruoxue.
In fact, it was daily.
Unexpectedly, Li Guanqi had stumbled upon some unexpected information.
"Oh," Su Cheng responded, then instinctively turned his head. His gaze inadvertently met Ji Qingyi's, and he was momentarily stunned. He then gave her an awkward smile before turning his attention back to the podium.
Half an hour passed…
Su Cheng's eyelids began to droop, and his head grew heavier. He hadn’t slept well last night. After all, with three beautiful girls at home, how could he possibly get a good night’s sleep?
Today's lunch was prepared by Li Guanqi in the morning.
A bowl of zhajiangmian (noodles with fried bean sauce).
What struck him as odd, however, was that Li Guanqi seemed unusually awkward while eating her own portion.
After some serious questioning, Li Guanqi finally lowered her head and offered him a taste of her specially customized zhajiangmian.
Upon tasting it, Su Cheng was shocked to discover that Li Guanqi had replaced the bean sauce with cotton candy!
She had created a new recipe—cotton candy noodles.
This was absolutely insane!
How could this be allowed?
So, during lunch, Su Cheng gave Li Guanqi a thorough scolding.
It wasn’t just about the zhajiangmian; it was also a stern critique of her clever little trick.
In any case, he didn’t get any sleep at noon either.
…………
Sitting in his seat, Su Cheng's eyelids grew heavier and heavier until he finally dozed off.
What he didn’t know was that his swaying figure instantly caught the attention of the three girls.
Ji Qingyi watched Su Cheng's head swaying back and forth, her eyes flickering. Though her expression remained as calm as ever, there was a hint of something unusual in her demeanor.
Gu Ruoxue's gaze slightly froze, and she looked at Li Guanqi with a hint of suspicion.
She noticed that Li Guanqi had grabbed Su Cheng's sleeve and tugged it slightly toward herself. This detail surprised her.
Originally, Su Cheng's head had been about to lean naturally toward Ji Qingyi's shoulder, but because of this action, his center of gravity shifted to the right, leaning toward Li Guanqi's shoulder instead.
Just as Su Cheng was about to rest his head on Li Guanqi—
Unexpectedly, Gu Ruoxue made a move.
She used her pen to apply a slight force from behind Su Cheng's right side, skillfully adjusting his center of gravity so that his head returned to the middle.
Li Guanqi was slightly surprised but didn’t show much reaction, instead calmly looking toward the podium.
Beside them, a rare, amused smile appeared on Ji Qingyi's lips.
Then, without changing her expression, she subtly moved her foot and pressed it against one of the legs of Su Cheng's chair, applying a slight force to the right. Instantly, Su Cheng's center of gravity tilted completely to the left.
It happened so quickly that Gu Ruoxue immediately reached out with her pen to stop Su Cheng's head, while Li Guanqi also grabbed his clothes.
Su Cheng, who had been on the verge of falling asleep, regained his balance but was startled awake. The three girls quickly retracted their subtle movements.
"What’s wrong?"
Li Guanqi's voice sounded beside him.
Su Cheng turned to look at her, then averted his gaze. He raised his hand to rub his eyes and explained, "I accidentally dozed off. Then I dreamed that a few idiots were pushing me around."