Everyone’s eyes were fixed on Shen Xiyan and Lin Ci.
Especially the boys—their sharp gazes made Shen Xiyan feel like needles were pricking his back.
He even started to think they weren’t looking at Lin Ci, but at him.
Well… it wasn’t just his imagination.
After what happened yesterday—Qin Sheng kissing him in front of so many people—he really should have seen this coming.
This was the exact same thing that happened in his previous life… just happening much earlier this time.
When a toad manages to kiss a swan, the first reaction people have isn’t to applaud the toad’s persistence. It’s to kick it into the sky.
After all, what right does a mere toad have to even dream of swan meat?
But then again, there was something nice about high school—no one really caused trouble just for the sake of it. No one deliberately tried to provoke him out of jealousy.
Most of the students had families who knew each other. They saw each other too often to start anything outright, and with the homeroom teacher keeping order, the most they could do was throw a few sarcastic or jealous remarks here and there.
Otherwise, given how much time he and Lin Ci spent together, someone in class would’ve started making a real fuss long ago.
This kind of peace would last until the second-year class reshuffle—where students were divided based on their grades.
The more arrogant, troublesome ones usually ended up being the so-called “street-smart” students.
In contrast, during university, the number of “interesting guys” from all over the country skyrocketed.
Back then, Qin Sheng’s contact list was bombarded with friend requests daily.
Still, they had a relationship based on mutual trust—both of them had each other’s accounts logged in on their phones. They could check anytime.
So Shen Xiyan had seen firsthand how sweet-tongued Qin Sheng could be when dealing with her admirers.
Whenever someone else caught wind of it, they’d tease him with a, “Wow, Shen Xiyan, you’re so petty!”
But the truth was, he never doubted Qin Sheng.
It was Qin Sheng who, worried about Shen Xiyan getting tempted, would constantly check in on him.
Looking back, he really should have recognized the signs—the depth of Qin Sheng’s obsession.
But he was already that frog, boiled slowly by her gentle warmth, completely unaware of the danger.
“Li Shuai Shuai, what’s with that look in your eyes?” Shen Xiyan asked, pulling himself back to the present.
Even after so many years, Shen Xiyan still recognized most of his classmates—especially the ones sitting nearby. They still kept in touch, even in college.
But there were some whose names he just couldn’t remember anymore.
Like the girls—except for Lin Ci. He wasn’t close to any of them back in high school, and after graduation, they never spoke again.
Qin Sheng had even wiped his entire friend list clean.
Li Shuai Shuai wasn’t asking to copy homework anymore. Instead, he gave Shen Xiyan a big thumbs up.
“Shen Xiyan, you’re seriously something else!”
“What are you talking about?” Shen Xiyan asked, pretending not to know.
“Yesterday after school—were you really kissing Qin Sheng at the school gate?”
The room instantly fell silent.
The girls whispered among themselves, while the boys tried to act cool, pretending like nothing had happened—even as jealousy gnawed at them.
“…You saw?”
“Nope! But it’s all over the school forum. Didn’t you see the pictures?”
Shen Xiyan actually hadn’t.
In his past life, after being hospitalized, Qin Sheng kept visiting him. Even after he was discharged, she came by every day.
The students weren’t blind. One or two visits could be brushed off, but Qin Sheng running over every day to chat during breaks?
Even a fool could see something was going on.
He pulled out his phone—but someone stopped him.
“Relax, the mods already deleted them. But you’re basically famous now. Didn’t you notice when you walked in this morning?”
“I thought everyone was looking at Lin Ci.”
“Please! Lin Ci doesn’t even come close to how much attention you’re getting now.”
Li Shuai Shuai leaned in, lowering his voice like he was sharing a juicy secret. “So… it’s true, huh? You and Qin Sheng?”
From an outsider’s perspective, it was hard to believe.
Shen Xiyan and Qin Sheng? Really?
And not just dating—kissing in public?!
“Did you two know each other before?” he asked.
Qin Sheng was practically a princess: beautiful, smart, from a wealthy family, and musically talented.
Most people only ever saw her at the school’s New Year’s performance.
And Shen Xiyan?
He was decent-looking, with okay grades. He didn’t fight, didn’t fool around online… but there was nothing special about him.
There were dozens of guys just like him—he just didn’t seem like he belonged in Qin Sheng’s world.
“It’s a misunderstanding,” Shen Xiyan said sincerely, calmly.
“Oh, come on. You kissed and you’re calling it a misunderstanding? How did you two even meet? You hid it so well!”
“Li Shuai Shuai! Shut up! Just because you don’t want to study doesn’t mean you can distract the rest of us!”
The class monitor, Lin Ci, was clearly “furious.”
Li Shuai Shuai shot her a sideways glance and made a face at Shen Xiyan.
“Is the class monitor… jealous?”
Shen Xiyan: “…”
Shortly before the bell rang, the homeroom teacher walked in—just like every morning before homeroom.
Almost everyone who’s been through high school has experienced those frantic last-minute note-taking sessions before class officially starts.
The teacher made a round through the classroom, pretending to inspect what everyone was doing.
When he reached Shen Xiyan’s desk, he didn’t say a word—just patted him on the shoulder and motioned for him to come outside.
Shen Xiyan nodded and stood up, completely calm.
In the office, the teacher’s expression was dark, though he kept his voice from getting too loud.
“Shen Xiyan, you’ve always been a good student. What were you thinking yesterday after school?”
“Haven’t I told you again and again—focus on your studies! And what do you do? Kiss someone at the school gate, in front of all those parents!”
“Do you know the principal called me personally last night? If I could’ve, I would’ve come to your house right then!”
“In all the years this school’s been around, yeah, we’ve had students dating early. But at least those couples had the decency to hide it!”
“Keep it from their teachers, from their parents… but you two? Are you trying to start a rebellion?!”
“I never thought you had it in you. You actually managed to snag Qin Sheng? She’s an art student! She barely even comes to school—how’d you pull that off?”
“You know your family’s situation. If you don’t study hard and you’re already dating—what’s your future going to look like?”
“She can rely on her father. What about you? Gonna rely on that pretty face? Is it that handsome? You think it’ll get you into the entertainment industry or make Qin Sheng fall head over heels for you?”
“Is your aunt home?”
“…”
In school, the scariest thing was getting your parents called in.
But for Shen Xiyan, even that didn’t bother him anymore.
In his past life, his aunt had been caught off guard. She’d scolded him fiercely in front of the teachers but then gently advised him at home to focus on school.
She didn’t oppose him dating—just wanted him to keep his priorities straight.
Now that he’d already warned her about Qin Sheng ahead of time, there was nothing to worry about.
The real issue was finding a way to create some distance between him and Qin Sheng.
But of course, now the whole school knew.
That was the trouble with Qin Sheng—she didn’t care what you thought.
As long as everything played out the way she wanted, she was happy.
Whether Shen Xiyan was really her boyfriend didn’t matter.
What mattered was that everyone else believed he was.
She’d drawn a line around him—declared: Shen Xiyan is mine. I belong to Shen Xiyan.
And now, it was time for her showtime.
“Fine. I’ll have your aunt come to school after dismissal. We’ll talk then. For now, go see the principal.
If you don’t want to get expelled, you’d better admit your mistake. Understood?”
“…Got it.”
“Go! Just looking at you pisses me off.”
Shen Xiyan left like a scolded eggplant, shoulders drooped, while the teacher looked on with a satisfied sigh—thinking his lecture had worked.
But the moment Shen Xiyan stepped out, his expression returned to normal.
By the time he reached the principal’s office, Qin Sheng was already waiting for him.
Maybe she’d stayed up too late the night before, because she looked a little tired—leaning against the wall, eyes half-closed.
Eventually she sat lazily down on the bench.
Her long legs stretched out, the tips of her white sneakers swinging back and forth.
Her cropped pants shifted slightly, revealing her pale, delicate ankles.
Then—whoosh—she suddenly pulled her legs back, just as Shen Xiyan looked up and saw the playful glint in her eyes.
“Xiyan~~” she cooed.
“…Thanks to you, I’m about to get expelled.”
“No way~” she said sweetly.
“Then I’ll apologize!”
Suddenly, she stood on tiptoe and kissed him lightly on the lips.
Then, pressing her cheek against his, she whispered into his ear in a soft, sultry voice: “Good brother… I’m sorry, okay? So how will you punish me?”
“Whip? Candle? Blindfold? Ball gag? Whatever you want—we can try it today, hmm? I’ve never done any of it before~”
Premium Chapter
Login to buy access to this Chapter.