Pei Xingyan quietly glanced up at Su Shanshan, who was still carefully covering her dark circles. This girl was now fully focused on restoring her appearance, not distracted by Pei Xingyan’s movements.
He quietly took out his phone and opened the chat history with Su Shanshan, comparing it carefully.
Starting from when Su Shanshan said she was a bit sleepy, her messages became fragmented.
All those past messages demanding “Why didn’t you reply?” had completely disappeared, along with those harsh, pressuring tones. By late at night, the eerie photos and videos that seemed like a vengeful ghost demanding a soul were nowhere to be found. If it weren’t for the fact that Pei Xingyan’s own phone still held these messages, he wouldn’t believe he had ever received such things.
What’s going on?
Could it really be a paranormal incident?
Pei Xingyan muttered to himself, scrolling up further. He realized maybe Su Shanshan hadn’t lied or been stubborn last time. After he smiled at some other girl, causing her to bombard him with messages for an entire day, there was no trace of those messages on Su Shanshan’s phone either.
It was as if she had never sent those messages at all.
A chill ran down Pei Xingyan’s back. He didn’t know what to make of it. Even if he could accept that Su Shanshan might have multiple personalities and sometimes couldn’t control herself from saying harsh things, the disappearance of those messages…
What did that mean?
The only thought that came to Pei Xingyan was that he might need to find Tang Xin. Maybe she could check the backend and figure out what was really happening.
While he was thinking this, Su Shanshan finished her touch-up and quietly rested her head on his shoulder, softly asking, “Baby, what are you looking at?”
Pei Xingyan shivered in fright and quickly closed the chat page.
He forced a fake smile, “N-nothing… I just wanted to see what apps you usually use. I was a bit curious…”
“Hmm…” Su Shanshan tapped her slender finger on her red lips, teasing, “Then why don’t you just ask me? I can tell you directly; that’s much faster~”
“Aren’t you busy…” Pei Xingyan handed the phone back to her. If she stared at him any longer, the fake smile on his face would definitely crack.
“Baby, you’re so thoughtful~” No matter when or where, Miss Su was always ready to suddenly praise her boyfriend.
She tugged at Pei Xingyan’s arm excitedly, chatting with him about where to go for lunch.
The two of them walked unsteadily side by side. Su Shanshan seemed weak, leaning on him at every moment. Pei Xingyan dared not use his hand to support her—who knew if she’d just slip right into his embrace—so he braced himself and carried her weight.
Passing by the Art College building, a group of female students came out and immediately greeted Su Shanshan.
“Shanshan~ Want to grab lunch together?” One of the girls chirped as she hurried over, warmly joining her side.
“No, I’m going with Baby~” Su Shanshan shook her head fiercely and grabbed Pei Xingyan’s arm.
“Baby?” someone asked, eyes wide, scrutinizing Pei Xingyan.
“That’s right, Baby~” Su Shanshan smiled at him, introducing, “He’s my classmate.”
Pei Xingyan responded with a grunt and waved his hand to acknowledge the greeting.
He didn’t dare look up, afraid of missing some subtle social distance and triggering Su Shanshan’s wild mode again, which would mean a whole day of scolding. Although he didn’t really mind, his phone couldn’t take the constant messages draining the battery, and he wanted to keep using it longer.
Usually, when a boyfriend is shy or introverted, girls get a bit annoyed, but Su Shanshan was even happier now. She squeezed Pei Xingyan’s arm proudly and said to the girls in front, “Sorry, my Baby only has eyes for me~”
Pei Xingyan kept his head lowered. He had never been this shy since birth. Su Shanshan’s words were more childish than a three-year-old’s. He really didn’t have the courage to look up and face these girls’ strange gazes.
But even without looking, he could sense their surprise. They whispered among themselves, the chatter loud, almost all discussing how Su Shanshan had changed.
Yet no one dared to say anything to Su Shanshan.
Until finally, a girl who seemed close to her pushed through the crowd, grabbed Su Shanshan’s arm, and whispered in her ear, “Shanshan, didn’t you say you didn’t like men and didn’t want to date?”
Though the girl’s voice was very quiet, Pei Xingyan’s hearing was excellent—he was a 4db-level expert. Not only whispers, even leaves rustling a few meters away, he could vaguely hear.
He stayed silent, listening. This girl’s words were valuable. If a person showed such a huge shift in values, it usually meant major underlying variables.
Su Shanshan’s reaction was intense. Though her voice was low, she firmly denied it, “I never said that, and even if I did, that wouldn’t include my Baby!”
Pei Xingyan thought to himself, we’ve only just met. When you said that, you probably didn’t even know me…
He quietly glanced sideways. Su Shanshan’s face was full of conviction, showing no sign of lying.
The girl’s expression was the exact opposite—jaw dropped, unable to say a word. It was clear she wasn’t lying either. Su Shanshan might really have said that.
Pei Xingyan made a mental note of the girl’s appearance, planning to ask her about this if he got the chance.
But not now. Su Shanshan tightened her grip on Pei Xingyan, holding him even closer as she dragged him along, still saying goodbye to her classmates, “Bye, Baby’s taking me to eat~”
She didn’t give anyone else a chance to respond, as if afraid Pei Xingyan would linger even a second longer, leading him away.
After they had walked quite a distance, she suddenly asked Pei Xingyan, “Baby, did you hear what that girl just said…?”
“What?”
“N-nothing… She said some nonsense. I already argued with her just now. Don’t overthink it…”
“What are you talking about? I didn’t hear anything.” Pei Xingyan pretended to be clueless.
“If you didn’t hear it, then just forget it. We really didn’t say anything.” Su Shanshan obviously didn’t understand the saying ‘hiding silver here makes it obvious.’ She explained firmly several times.
But Pei Xingyan still played along, pretending not to see or know anything.
Finally reassured, Su Shanshan leaned against him, her tone sweet and body softening.
But in Pei Xingyan’s heart, questions kept piling up. He felt Su Shanshan’s condition was no longer something a simple mental illness could explain.