Chapter Ninety-Six: No Need to Pretend to Be a Good Samaritan Anymore

The few of them bore not the slightest grudge over what their homeroom teacher had just said. Yin Leze took the memory card from the desk and, leading the way, walked out of the office.

Before long, everyone in the class had heard that the four of them, led by Yin Leze, had taken on tonight’s big cleanup. Yet it seemed that no one knew the exact reason.

The dismissal bell rang on time. After most of the class had left, Wen Yichen finally rose leisurely from his seat. His clear eyes rested on the mess of the classroom, but there was not the faintest ripple in their depths, making it impossible to tell what he was thinking.

Only when his gaze fell on Bai Xu did a trace of confusion surface in his eyes. “Why are you still here?”

The way Bai Xu looked, he did not seem prepared to leave.

Bai Xu looked up at Wen Yichen and forced out a smile. “Isn’t this a time for shared hardship? I’m staying to help you with the cleanup.”

Wen Yichen did not take Bai Xu’s words to heart at all. They went in one ear and out the other. After his gaze lingered on Bai Xu for a moment, he looked away. Turning around unhurriedly, he pushed back his chair. “What did you do outside to make enemies?”

He knew Bai Xu’s character well. Would this boy, who vanished every few days whenever it was his turn to do chores, stay behind to help them with a full cleanup?

Of course not.

“Yin Leze, I’ll wipe the blackboard. You wipe the windows first,” Wen Yichen said as he walked to the platform and casually picked up a board eraser to clean the board.

“Hey, Wen Yichen, what kind of person do you think I am?” Bai Xu defended himself indignantly while following him onto the platform. “Would a model student like me go around causing trouble outside?”

“Then why don’t you dare go back?”

“I...” Bai Xu was about to say something, then suddenly stopped. Turning his head, he glanced around the classroom before slowly edging closer to Wen Yichen, as though confiding a secret. “Recently, there’s been a senior from twelfth grade who keeps walking home with me. He’s so intent on it that it’s making me a little uncomfortable.”

Even Bai Xu himself did not know what was wrong with that senior. He and the other boy were not related in the least, yet he had inexplicably begun to feel as though he had been targeted. To be honest, it made him uneasy.

But out of consideration for their classmate relationship, he found it hard to refuse outright. So he could only use the excuse of staying behind for duty and tell the boy to go home first, even adding, “You don’t need to wait for me anymore.”

The boy stayed silent after that.

When Bai Xu finished, he looked quietly at Wen Yichen, waiting for a reply. But Wen Yichen said nothing.

“Wen Yichen, are you listening to me?” Seeing that Wen Yichen still did not speak, Bai Xu grew anxious and asked again.

“I’m listening.”

Only after saying that did Wen Yichen turn around, set the board eraser on the lectern, then climb down from the platform and take a rag from behind the door. “How did you end up being targeted by a senior?”

As soon as the words left his mouth, the other three immediately took notice. All three lifted their eyes at once, their attention gathering on Wen Yichen and Bai Xu.

“How would I know?” Being stared at like that, Bai Xu felt a little embarrassed. His ears reddened as he gave an awkward answer. He glanced downward by accident, then unexpectedly noticed the backpack on Xia Manman’s desk.

At that sight, Bai Xu seemed to remember something all at once. He tugged at Wen Yichen’s oversized sleeve and deliberately lowered his voice. “Hey, I heard that the memory card was secretly handed to the homeroom teacher by Xia Manman.”

The moment those words fell, Wen Yichen suddenly stopped what he was doing. His eyes tightened almost imperceptibly as he asked, his voice so low it was almost eerie, “How do you know that?”

“Just now, when you all went to the homeroom teacher’s office, I heard Xia Manman talking about it with Zhou Yao,” Bai Xu said softly. After speaking, he could not help glancing at Wen Yichen again. His gaze was clear and cold, carrying an air of authority even in silence. Bai Xu knew instantly that things were looking bad, so he gave a knowing little smile. “I-I’ll go help you sweep the floor.”

Watching Bai Xu climb down from the platform, Wen Yichen slowly withdrew his thoughtful gaze. He rolled up his sleeves, took the rag, and left the classroom.

When Wen Yichen had finished wetting the rag and was coming out of the restroom, he happened to run into Xia Manman, who was leaving the teachers’ office. He did not react much at the sight of her. His eyes stayed on her for only two seconds before moving away again.

Xia Manman naturally noticed Wen Yichen. Seeing that no one was around, she hurried over to him. “Wen Yichen.”

He heard her call his name, of course, but he did not want to respond.

Seeing that he still ignored her, Xia Manman quickened her steps and moved in front of him. “Are you doing the cleanup?”

Wen Yichen lowered his eyes to glance at her, gave a soft sound of acknowledgment, then stepped forward, intending to go around her.

Xia Manman could not bear this cold indifference from him. Seeing that he was about to bypass her, she shifted with him, continuing to block his way. She called his name again, then lifted her hand as if to catch his wrist. “Do you need help?”

Her expression was complicated—whether from guilt deep in her heart or from unease, it was impossible to tell.

Before Xia Manman’s hand could reach him, Wen Yichen withdrew his own. “Stop pretending to be a good person.”

He spoke calmly, his voice cold, and beneath that coldness there seemed to be a trace of anger as well.

As soon as Wen Yichen finished, Xia Manman froze. It felt as though her heartbeat had skipped a beat. Looking at him, she wore confusion tinged with panic. “What do you mean?”

“What do I mean? You know better than anyone, don’t you?”

Wen Yichen answered with a question of his own. There was no ripple in his tone, yet that only made it all the more unsettling. It felt like the calm before a storm, and no one knew what fierce squall was brewing beneath that quiet surface.

“What kind of person do you think I am? Why—”

“It’s getting late. Go home early.”

Before Xia Manman could finish, Wen Yichen cut her off.

What kind of person she was, he did not know, and did not want to know. Whatever she might be, she would never be the sort of girl he liked. Her thoughts were too complicated, so complicated that they had already begun to repel him.

Wen Yichen was about to leave, but before he took another step, he paused again, as if suddenly remembering something. “Also, Xia Manman, I’ve already reminded you. Some things are better left within limits.”