Chapter 80: Club

Even though An Yu said it with a completely blank face, the person hearing it, Ning Wanciu, felt entirely different.

Being told outright “I like being with you” was not only through actions but in actual words, carried a slightly different weight.

Ning Wanciu’s cheeks flushed a faint pink. She shot Cheng Shimumeng a glare but said nothing.

If she really had to say something, what could she even say?  

Tell Cheng Shimumeng to stop asking weird questions?

Cheng Shimumeng acted as if she hadn’t seen the glare at all. 

She kept her pleasant smile and continued softly,  

“But even just at school, Ning Wanciu can’t always be free to play with little An Yu whenever you want, right?”

Ning Wanciu blinked, not understanding why Cheng Shimumeng suddenly brought this up.

When they were free, why couldn’t she accompany An Yu?

But then she caught Cheng Shimumeng’s glance telling her to stay quiet. 

Though confused, Ning Wanciu instinctively didn’t object.

Not seeing any reaction from Ning Wanciu, An Yu blinked and tilted her head in puzzlement.

She didn’t quite understand, but if Ning Wanciu couldn’t be with her… she would be sad.

Like wanting to sleep but losing her favorite pillow—she wouldn’t be able to fall asleep.

“Mm…”  

Cheng Shimumeng’s lips curved into a smile. 

An Yu’s expression hadn’t changed, but she could tell the words had registered. 

“But don’t worry~”

She deliberately paused mid-sentence, wanting to see An Yu’s reaction.

As expected, although An Yu’s face stayed the same, those amber eyes were now fixed on her.

Perfect. 

An Yu clearly cared about what she was saying.

“Little An Yu, do you want Ning Wanciu to be able to stay with you the whole time you’re at school?”  

Cheng Shimumeng asked with a light laugh. 

“If you want it, I have a way~”

An Yu didn’t answer immediately. Instead, she stared straight at Cheng Shimumeng with those amber eyes.

In just a few seconds, Cheng Shimumeng’s smile almost cracked. 

Under that beautiful, unwavering gaze, she felt as if her little lie was being seen through.

Just when a bead of cold sweat was about to roll down her back, An Yu slowly nodded.

She needed her big pillow.

A big pillow was a necessity of life.

At the very least, it was on the same level as her smartphone.

Seeing An Yu nod, Ning Wanciu’s face turned even redder; the arms around An Yu’s waist trembled slightly.

This was… too much to handle.

An Yu was so direct. 

She liked what she liked, and when she said it out loud without any hesitation, Ning Wanciu felt like she’d been struck right in the heart.

But… was it really okay to trick her like this?

What on earth was Shimumeng planning…

Ning Wanciu instinctively glanced at Cheng Shimumeng, only to find the green-haired girl looking back at her with teasing eyes.

This is bad.

Ning Wanciu didn’t know what to do. Blushing and feeling shy weren’t things she could control!

If an ice-cold-looking, expressionless, super-cute girl who rarely showed big reactions suddenly told you very bluntly, “I need you,” would you not blush?!

There was literally no defense against that!

Of course, Cheng Shimumeng understood this perfectly, but that didn’t stop her from enjoying Ning Wanciu’s predicament.

Still, she didn’t tease further—because one of her main goals today, observing An Yu’s and Ning Wanciu’s reactions, had already been beautifully achieved.

An Yu’s deadpan “yes” and Ning Wanciu’s blushing shyness were both extremely entertaining.

“Hehe~”

Time to get to the point.

Cheng Shimumeng smiled and spoke gently to An Yu.  

“Actually, it’s very simple. You just have to join the club that Ning Wanciu is in~”

“Mm, the club members are exactly the three of us you already know~”  

Afraid An Yu might refuse because of strangers, Cheng Shimumeng quickly added an explanation.

She had personally witnessed how ruthlessly An Yu ignored Shen Huahua—no matter how the other girl tried, An Yu wouldn’t even spare her a glance.

“Okay.”  

Without the slightest hesitation, without even asking what kind of club it was, An Yu nodded.

Because Ning Wanciu was in it.

“Mm~ perfect~” Cheng Shimumeng nodded happily. 

Since An Yu agreed to join their club, everything would be easy from now on.

From now on, the four of them could officially hang out together. 

During free periods they could just go straight to the clubroom.

It would also prevent certain outsiders from staring at An Yu all the time.

Cheng Shimumeng’s face was full of smiles; she looked incredibly pleased.

She was happy, but Ning Wanciu was completely dumbfounded.

Club? What club?

Since when was she in any club?

Didn’t the three of them either go play after school or just go home separately?

When did a club activity suddenly appear?

Ning Wanciu instinctively looked at Cheng Shimumeng, only to receive a glance that said “calm down.”

Whether the club existed or not wasn’t important. What mattered was whether An Yu would join.

If An Yu didn’t join, the club wouldn’t exist.

If An Yu did join, the school would suddenly gain a new club.

Yep—for Cheng Shimumeng this was very simple, because this school was funded by her family.

In the end, Ning Wanciu didn’t expose the lie. 

She didn’t know exactly what Cheng Shimumeng was scheming, but joining a club together wasn’t a big deal.

Ning Wanciu stayed silent, but someone else really couldn’t hold it in anymore.

Huai Xiang had been forced to stay quiet the whole time. 

Watching the three of them interact, she understood absolutely nothing.

Why did Cheng Shimumeng suddenly start saying those weird things?

Why did Ning Wanciu suddenly blush?

And why was little An Yu so cute…?!

Cough—no, she’s always been this cute.

That’s not the point! 

The point was, since when had they been in a club? 

And why did Ning Wanciu just go along with it?

Could it be that there really was a club and she was the only one who didn’t know?

Was she… being left out by her best friends?!

No way, no way?!  

Huai Xiang looked at the silent trio in panic, and the more she thought about it, the more she felt her guess was correct.

That would be terrible!

“Shimumeng, Shimumeng! What club were you just talking about…”

Huai Xiang asked in a slight panic, but halfway through her sentence Cheng Shimumeng covered her mouth.

Cheng Shimumeng was genuinely felt speechless. Eye signals were completely useless on idiot Huai Xiang.

“Mmph mmph mmph!”

Luckily she had noticed something was wrong with Huai Xiang early and prepared to silence her in advance.

Otherwise the lie really would have been exposed!

“Mmph mmph mmph!”

Watching Huai Xiang flail around, Cheng Shimumeng knew the idiot was overthinking again.

But luckily, Cheng Shimumeng had a special technique for dealing with idiots: distraction.

All she had to do was bring up something else important and make her forget the question.

Still covering Huai Xiang’s mouth with one hand, Cheng Shimumeng turned to An Yu with a gentle smile.

“Speaking of which… little An Yu, your birthday is coming up soon, isn’t it?”