0152: Su Qingwan's Morning

Xu Lin and Ji Yun arrived at the classroom together, as they usually did lately. However, the rest of the class had grown increasingly indifferent to seeing them side by side.

On the contrary, a few students had started shipping them. Several girls would sneak glances at them, logging their more intimate moments.

This made Ji Yun so shy that she refused to give him any further opportunities for intimacy—though, of course, their version of intimacy merely extended to sharing a drinking cup or whispering secrets to each other.

He recalled certain young couples who would head straight for a corner and run lip-collision tests, though anything more thrilling was out of the question.

As campus surveillance cameras grew more numerous, the school chose to turn a blind eye to minor infractions—not out of ignorance, but because they would inevitably have to intervene if anyone dared to cross the line.

Of course, this was also what annoyed him the most; the school knew about many things, yet as long as the situation didn't blow up, they simply pretended nothing happened.

Morning self-study resumed. Some students skimmed books while idling away the time, while a small fraction studied diligently.还有一部分是疯狂胡抄作业，害怕班主任随时可能到来的突击检查 (A few were frantically copying homework, terrified of a sudden pop inspection by the head teacher at any moment).

"Xu Lin, come here for a moment."

"Ms. Su is calling you." Li斌 (Li Bin) gave him a tug, snapping him back to reality.

"Alright."

Xu Lin walked out of the classroom and saw Su Qingwan leaning against the wall, elegant and refined like a lily flower.

"Ms. Su seems to be in quite a good mood today."

"Don't give me that cheeky grin. At school, we need to keep a slight distance."

"I know, but aren't you the one who sought me out?"

"I'm here on official business. What's going on with your English grade?"

"You mean the test paper from last weekend?"

Xu Lin searched his memory; that seemed to be the only exam paper he had taken recently, and he remembered doing it quite earnestly.

"Yes, why did your score drop by a dozen points compared to last time?"

"Isn't fluctuation normal? I'm not that great at English to begin with, and last month's mid-term was just me performing way above my usual level."

"Then you should be studying even harder!"

"Yes, yes."

"Don't brush me off. Is Ji Yun tutoring you now?"

"Yes."

"Tell me, do the two of you study at home?"

"Yes."

"Alone?"

"Yes."

"With neither her parents nor yours at home, then..."

"Ms. Su, why are your questions getting stranger by the minute?" Xu Lin looked at Su Qingwan with a playful smile.

"I'm just caring about a student's personal life to see if there are any issues. Mind you, outside of school, I can't really interfere~"

"Then I'll go back to class."

"Hmpf."

Xu Lin turned around, brushing past Su Qingwan as he headed back toward the classroom. As a cool breeze drifted down the corridor, a familiar scent wafted from Xu Lin's body straight to the tip of her nose.

She had gone to her best friend's house this morning and washed her hair on the way. Her friend's shampoo had this exact scent. Why did Xu Lin's hair smell like this too?

"Xu Lin!"

"Ms. Su, what is it?" Xu Lin had no idea he was being targeted for the second time today simply because of a scent.

"What brand of shampoo do you use? It smells rather nice."

Hearing Su Qingwan ask this, Xu Lin's mind started racing. For Ms. Su to suddenly bring this up, there had to be a reason.

The scent of the shampoo—he had washed up at Qin Yunhe's place today. If Ms. Su had called to visit Qin Yunhe this morning, she must have caught a whiff of the familiar fragrance.

He needed to be careful. Then again, Ms. Su wasn't really good at prying after all; he had to keep his composure.

Without a trace of panic, Xu Lin casually replied, "Head & Shoulders. I cycle through whatever shampoos are lying around, using all sorts of brands. As a rough guy, I'm not picky about these things."

"Oh, I see. Maybe I'll switch brands next time too." Hearing his answer, Su Qingwan let out a sigh of relief, and Xu Lin turned back toward the classroom.

She immediately convinced herself that she was just being overly sensitive. There were simply too many people using the same shampoo, especially a brand as common as that.

Of course, there was a reason she had been on edge. When she arrived at Sister Qin's place this morning, she noticed her uncharacteristically cleaning up, with the windows wide open.

She had intended to pitch in—or rather, she usually liked helping Sister Qin clean. But this time, her friend declined her help, finished tidying up alone, and went out to take out the trash.

Yet, she had coincidentally caught a glimpse of something: the garbage bag seemed to contain a torn square wrapper.

And inside the wardrobe, there were pajamas that clearly didn't look like they belonged to a woman. That instantly convinced her that the other woman definitely had a boyfriend!

Although she had never been in a relationship herself, she wasn't a child; she understood everything, and the meaning behind airing out the apartment with open windows was blatantly obvious.

Once Sister Qin came back, she had been ready to demand who the mystery man was, hiding for so long and so deeply!

She and Qin Yunhe had known each other for so many years. While Qin Yunhe appeared straightforward, she was deeply emotional and valued the cultivation of relationships.

Therefore, she must have reached a deep emotional milestone to take things to that stage. Thus, she was genuinely happy that Qin Yunhe had found a boyfriend.

After all, she was a few years older, and Uncle Qin had been pressing her urgently. Finding a good home and a reliable settling point was undoubtedly a good thing for her.

Yet when she returned to the topic, the other party started dodging questions. While she didn't deny it, she refused to give a direct answer about his name or what he did for a living.

The more evasive she was, the more suspicious Su Qingwan felt. In the end, she hadn't had the courage to bring up the packaging wrapper she had seen.

Who on earth could it be? The need to keep it a secret became her lingering doubt. Since she couldn't force her best friend to talk, she could only ponder it herself.

That was why, upon arriving at school and catching the scent of Xu Lin's shampoo, she had reacted with such agitation.

A moment's reflection, however, told her it couldn't possibly be Xu Lin. He and Sister Qin had met for the very first time just over a week ago, and she had been right there on the scene.

Later, there was that whole scam ring incident; the two of them had indeed spent some time together to crack the case.

Xu Lin had even received commendation, though it hadn't been publicized yet. All things considered, they had only met twice.

How could a little brat possibly be Sister Qin's man? Sister Qin must surely prefer someone mature, steady, skilled in hand-to-hand combat, handsome, and with a great personality.

Wait... wasn't Xu Lin the exact embodiment of all those traits? Except for being a bit less mature, but—sigh, no! I still need to investigate further.

Su Qingwan gripped her carbon pen tightly, only to snap her fingers open a few seconds later. Even if the two of them were together, so what?

She was merely his teacher. Having her best friend find an exceptional young man like Xu Lin didn't seem like a bad thing at all, aside from the age gap.

For Qin Yunhe, it was a case of an older woman enjoying a younger man, which wasn't purely a bad thing. She had no grounds to object and could only offer her blessings.

So why was she investigating and feeling a slight urge to stop it from being Xu Lin? Just because she was his teacher, and also his fake girlfriend?

It seemed that was precisely the case! She hadn't even sorted out her own situation yet! Because of her parents—definitely because of her parents, absolutely not for any other reason—she certainly didn't harbor any ulterior motives!

Su Qingwan's thoughts suddenly cleared. She recalled the popsicle Xu Lin had handed her back then, and how his comforting words during her moments of confusion had helped her break out of her predicament.

While she told herself these excuses, deep down she had understood her own feelings long ago, but she was terrified to speak them aloud.

She was even more terrified than when she was forced by her parents to go on blind dates and deal with Jia Qing—she was terrified of hearing him say no to her.

Yet Xu Lin remained completely oblivious to Su Qingwan's hesitation and fretting over such trivial matters. As far as he was concerned, when it came to the twelve zodiac signs—or rather, romance—the more, the merrier. Still, since Teacher Su wasn't making the first move and throwing him a straight pitch, he didn't dare act recklessly either.

The two of them stood separated by a thin wall, yet that very wall currently blocked the thick-skinned courage they both needed.