“My baby~” Su Shanshan became overly excited the moment she brought up the topic, firing off words like a rapid-fire cannon. “My baby is the most perfect person under heaven. You might not agree with me, but he absolutely deserves to be called that.”
Lin Xiaoyu maintained her elegant, polite smile — which was really just a fake smile — while inwardly grumbling. She didn’t believe there could be anyone more perfect than Pei Xingyan in the world.
But she was here to learn, not to give up halfway just because she wanted to refute this boastful girl. It was like when Tang Sanzang and his disciples entered the Thunder Sound Temple, and the two guardians, Ah Xiong and Jiaye, took the chance to ask for bribes. Even someone as mighty as the Great Sage had to endure it in silence.
There was no way around it when you were asking for help.
“I know you don’t buy it, but I’m telling you.” Su Shanshan said, “My baby only pays attention to me. No matter how good other women are, he won’t glance at them even once if they’re standing right here.”
“That…” Lin Xiaoyu was shocked, but she couldn’t quite put her finger on what felt off.
“Not only that, he doesn’t talk to other girls either, and there’s definitely no physical contact.” Su Shanshan was completely lost in her own world. “Last time, we happened to run into some classmates from our class, and he didn’t even bother acknowledging them.”
“That’s… not very polite, is it?” Lin Xiaoyu felt even more uncomfortable.
“So what if it isn’t?” Su Shanshan scoffed, then asked back, “That’s just avoiding suspicion. Don’t you think avoiding suspicion is important? Isn’t it the purest form of love when your lover only has eyes for you?”
Lin Xiaoyu was actually a little moved. Especially when she imagined if there was someone whose eyes and heart belonged only to her — she felt as if her breath had stopped for a moment. But years of upbringing still compelled her to reflexively argue against something so illogical. “But—”
“There’s no ‘but.’ My baby is just that perfect.” Su Shanshan, seemingly unaware of anything else, continued on her own. “I took him around the places with the most beautiful girls on campus, and he didn’t so much as glance their way. Not even a single song was more attractive to him than me.”
Inside the walls, Pei Xingyan let out a relieved laugh. He had been a gentleman back then, and now he was going to be nagged by Su Shanshan for life.
But sometimes, a single moment could decide everything. He was finally certain that Su Shanshan’s extraordinary initial fondness for him really did come from his behavior at that time.
He didn’t know if that was a good thing or a bad thing.
“But what about when you’re not around? Do you know how he really is?” Lin Xiaoyu became unexpectedly firm as she retorted, “People can put on masks, and if he only acts like that in front of you—”
“No!” Su Shanshan’s tone suddenly grew sharp. She cut Lin Xiaoyu off coldly. “Don’t speculate and insult my baby.”
“S-sorry…” Lin Xiaoyu was intimidated and quickly apologized.
“Oh no, I’m not blaming you~” In the blink of an eye, Su Shanshan returned to her sweet expression. She smiled brightly. “I know it’s hard for others to accept that someone so perfect exists in this world, but the gods have blessed me and sent him to my side~~”
Watching Su Shanshan’s shifting expressions, tinged with a hint of madness, Lin Xiaoyu felt her head spin a little. She had no choice but to change the subject.
“C-could I ask who your boyfriend is?”
“Hm?” Su Shanshan sniffed suspiciously. The smile on her face didn’t fade, but she decisively refused Lin Xiaoyu’s simple question. “I can’t tell you that. Only I get to know about my baby—he’s that perfect.”
Right! Exactly! That’s how it should be!
Pei Xingyan’s heart, which had almost died a moment ago, miraculously revived at Su Shanshan’s strangely possessive words.
He had never agreed more with Su Shanshan’s view on love. People should be a little selfish, protect what’s theirs, and never let their baby’s name be spoken by others!
“Okay, okay…” Lin Xiaoyu began to suspect this girl might be crazy, saying such strange things.
But at the same time, a subtle unwillingness rose in her heart.
Although she hadn’t yet achieved the kind of relationship she hoped for with Pei Xingyan, she also didn’t want anyone to belittle him—praising other men and saying no one in the world could compare was also a form of belittling!
She secretly fired back, “Actually, when it comes to that, my guy isn’t bad either.”
Su Shanshan stopped laughing.
“If there really is a god in this world, then he’s not some perfect person sent by a deity. He is the angel himself, the one who came to save me.” Lin Xiaoyu’s tone was a little excited as she said to Su Shanshan, “He genuinely pulled me out of despair. No matter how perfect others are, he will always be the best in my eyes.”
Her emotional tone even brought tears to her eyes. The corners of her eyes were damp, and her nose tingled.
These were not words spoken out of spite—they were her truest feelings after countless days and nights of inner reflection.
From a certain angle, Lin Xiaoyu also agreed with Su Shanshan’s words, but not about that perfect guy. It was about herself. No matter what happened now, she would never shift her gaze toward anyone else.
She rarely cracked under pressure these days. Even her mother had commented that she had become much braver, sighing that taking her out to toughen her up was indeed useful.
But Lin Xiaoyu knew deep down that it was simply because she carried someone who shone brightly in her heart.
If that person disappeared or belonged to someone else, she didn’t know what she’d become then.
So she couldn’t even imagine ever turning her gaze to someone else.
“You…” Su Shanshan’s tone softened, as if she had met a fellow sufferer. After a long pause, she could only squeeze out, “I wish you luck…”
Su Shanshan knew better than anyone the torment of longing for a perfect relationship. If she hadn’t been lucky enough to meet someone so good, she might have slipped into the abyss just like the girl in front of her.
But thankfully, she had her own one-and-only baby.
The two girls, inexplicably feeling a shared kind of sympathy, found their bond deepen as comrades. Girl friendships were fragile yet easy to form, and after several exchanges, they reached the point of adding each other’s contacts.
“Scan this code. I’m Su Shanshan.”
“Okay, I’m Lin Xiaoyu.”
The two girls exchanged contact info and each added notes on their phones.
Just then, the players wearing baseball jackets reappeared in the room, with people continuously walking on the plastic track of the sports field, drawing everyone’s attention.
They stopped what they were doing, eyes wide, looking toward the exit, waiting for the figure that tugged at their hearts to appear.