0120: Plan Successful

By noon, Xu Lin escaped from school with a weary expression, having endured from the morning self-study session through the breaks between several classes. Whenever there was no teacher around, a group of students would gather around him, and he would become like a storyteller, recounting the filming process of the past few days.

Of course, there were many strange and curious gossip questions as well, but he could clearly feel that Chu Qingchan’s popularity was truly formidable. Many had mentioned her; in contrast, Liu Qinnuan, the young star with solid acting skills, was rarely asked about.

When faced with cuteness and sexiness, she was hardly worth mentioning—far less impactful in terms of star power. Although Chu Qingchan wasn’t exactly a sex symbol, her fair skin, stunning beauty, and long legs were more than enough, and her acting this time was indeed excellent.

There were still some criticisms on certain social media platforms, claiming it was all edited and that the scenes must have been shot dozens of times to get right. But the director’s filming schedule quickly disproved that, and many students from the school also vouched that the filming was actually quite quick.

By the time the third period ended, the students in his class had calmed down and stopped disturbing him. However, students from other classes came over, leaving him no choice but to respond politely. After all, they were enthusiastic and didn’t say anything inappropriate, so he couldn’t just brush them off.

By the time he left school, his throat was dry and sore. Fortunately, once out of the campus, no one blocked his way anymore, except for a few girls who asked for his QQ contact.

Many girls from his class had also given him gifts, as if suddenly realizing he was quite handsome after all—something they had failed to notice before when his charm rating was just an average eight points.

Xu Lin didn’t blame them; he understood that in school, the girls didn’t always favor the most handsome boy.

“Enjoying yourself, huh, Big Star Xu?” Ji Yun teased him.

“I hate being famous. It feels exhausting…”

“Most people can’t become this famous even if they wanted to. I mean, with so many girls fawning over you, doesn’t it feel nice to be popular?”

“Are you jealous?”

“I’m just keeping an eye on you for Sister Chu.”

“Class monitor, that’s a convenient excuse.”

“Not at all!”

“Alright then.”

The young boy and girl walked along the path toward home. Although it was already November, the noon sun made it warm enough if one dressed a little thicker.

Passersby and students occasionally glanced at them. Together, their good looks were like a fairy tale couple, hard not to attract attention.

Fortunately, some students who recognized them didn’t make a fuss, only offering greetings.

After passing the first intersection, they reached a crossroads, and Ji Yun suddenly said, “If we go back this way, it’ll take forty minutes, right?”

“Yeah.”

“How about we don’t go home for lunch?”

Xu Lin was a bit surprised that the class monitor didn’t want to go home.

“Give my parents some space. Hopefully, everything will be resolved by the time I get back tonight.”

“Fair enough. But where shall we go, class monitor?”

“I want to check out that newly opened book café.”

---

“Is it far? Maybe a ten- or fifteen-minute bus ride?”

“Then let’s go. Wherever you want to go, I’ll accompany you.”

They took the bus to a book café on the east side of town. Calling it a book café was a bit of a stretch—it wasn’t as formal as on TV. It was more like a coffee shop with some books displayed, or perhaps a Western-style fast-food joint.

“What do you want to eat?”

“I want to try fried chicken. I’ve never had it.”

“Impossible! How could you have never had fried chicken?”

“Really. My parents say fried chicken and burgers are unhealthy.”

“But why crave it today? Rebellion phase?”

“Yeah, I’m rebellious enough now. Half a year ago, I definitely wouldn’t have been alone with a boy, let alone be late together, eat together, and even want to date.”

Though Ji Yun said this, she felt lighthearted and boldly took his hand. Xu Lin was taken aback but allowed her hand to intertwine with his fingers, leading her to the ordering counter.

They ended up choosing an extra-large family bucket. Since Ji Yun had never tried it, they decided to sample everything.

Though the packaging claimed “extra-large,” it wasn’t really that big—just appeared so in pictures. For the two of them to feel full would already be a good result.

They found a window seat and began eating. Xu Lin tried a piece of chicken and an egg tart, and he was already full.

His appetite was small, but not that small. He tried eating a chicken drumstick as well.

A minute later, although he forced himself to finish it, he felt painfully bloated.

“What’s wrong? Not hungry?”

“Not really. You go ahead and eat.” Xu Lin replied.

Had something gone wrong with his body? He decided not to tell Ji Yun just yet—no need to worry her. He would see how things went in the evening first.

Speaking of his health, last time he had left the healing orb at home; otherwise, he could try using it to treat Uncle Bai’s leg. If it worked on fractures, then maybe Aunt Yao could still be saved. Although she had already resigned herself to death, saving a life was always a blessing.

But since he was fine now, he couldn’t say anything. Whether people believed him was another matter. People aren’t afraid of having no hope; they fear being given hope only to face despair.

Before the word “despair” even finished in his mind, Xu Lin’s own despair arrived. His left-hand window was suddenly tapped.

He turned to see a girl with a baseball cap staring straight at him. He was momentarily dazed before recognizing her.

“Sister Qin?”

The next moment, he was even more bewildered. He was in his school uniform, and if anything came up about him and Su Qingwan, it would be a disaster! Ji Yun was right across from him!

My goodness, what terrible luck—I’m stunned!

Before he could recover, the girl had already circled to the door and was walking toward them.

“Xu Lin, what’s going on?”

“Sister Qin.”

“The policewoman, right?”

---

“Yeah.”

“Then why are you so nervous? Did you do something wrong?”

“No… it’s complicated. Don’t rush; I’ll explain when we have time.”

Xu Lin’s vague response puzzled Ji Yun.

Just as Xu Lin was preparing for Sister Qin Yunhe to expose him and Ji Yun to question why he had such a close relationship with a teacher, Qin Yunhe sat down beside him and surprisingly said, “Xu Lin, I found evidence.”

“Huh? What… evidence?”

“Evidence against that scam company.”

Qin Yunhe was visibly excited. This was her first time completing such a special task alone.

“I completely forgot—I was supposed to contact you about this, and also about the company’s affairs in East City. I totally forgot.”

“You wanted to help your buddy, and I said leave it to me, so I really took it on.”

“Sorry, you said you found evidence? They didn’t even disguise themselves?”

“Of course they disguised themselves. I used this.”

She pulled out a small white device, about the size of a button. Xu Lin didn’t recognize it but guessed it was some kind of listening device.

“I spent the whole morning there, experiencing the work firsthand. On the surface, it’s a small internet media company, some so-called marketing account with online writers.”

“I secretly planted a bug in their office and took it back when I left.”

“When I checked it, I unexpectedly got some direct evidence that could incriminate them.”

“The two of them talked about a lot, thinking no one was listening, but they basically exposed everything themselves!”

Qin Yunhe grew more excited as she spoke, feeling she was on the verge of achieving her first real accomplishment. Her father would surely approve of her decision!

“So, are you going back to the station to report and prepare for action?”

“Yeah.” She nodded immediately.

But Xu Lin saw the flicker in her eyes and knew she probably planned to act on her own without telling anyone at the station.

Qin Yunhe noticed Xu Lin’s skeptical look and quickly cleared her throat to change the subject.

“So, what’s the deal with you wearing your school uniform? I didn’t expect that… no wonder Wanwan didn’t tell me the full story, kept stammering.”

Xu Lin hadn’t anticipated her train of thought. He had thought she’d immediately see through his fake boyfriend act, but this policewoman’s imagination had taken a different turn—like an old cow courting a young girl?

Mentioning Su Qingwan, Ji Yun, who was eating fries and sipping a drink, looked up at him with a glance that clearly said, “I’m going to report this to Sister Chu.”

Xu Lin decided not to hide it any longer. After all, the main reason for faking his relationship with Su Qingwan was to stop her parents from pressuring her about romance.

Telling her best friend shouldn’t be a problem. Qin Yunhe didn’t seem like the type to gossip recklessly, especially given her profession.

Understanding the difficulties of a close friend, she would likely sympathize and help keep the secret.

Most importantly, Qin Yunhe was one of the twelve girls certified by the system. Without explaining things clearly, how could he possibly proceed? Ah, truly a clever little trickster!