Returning to the Shamate Era to Seduce the Top Student - Chapter 17

“The Late Emperor had not yet completed his great undertaking when he passed away midway.”

As for Yin Xu, he suffered a Waterloo just as he had taken half a step onto the road to a counterattack.

He had barely knocked on the door with a flattering smile, and before he could even voice his thoughts, he was ruthlessly shut out by Shen Que.

Yin Xu dejectedly carried his mountain of snacks back to his seat.

He thought to himself that the nickname Pan Zheshuai had given Shen Que was quite apt—truly ‘Shen Sangu’ (Shen of the Three Visits).

Did he really have to be like Jia Zongcheng and visit the thatched cottage three times before he could persuade this Buddha to soften his heart, come out of seclusion, and lend him a hand?

As soon as Pan Zheshuai entered the classroom, he saw Yin Xu looking this dejected.

He tossed his bag on the desk and asked, “What’s going on? Sighing and groaning first thing in the morning.”

“Nothing.”

Yin Xu thought for a moment, but still couldn’t help asking:

“Hey, Old Pan, let me ask you: if you want to make friends with someone you’re not very familiar with, but they ignore you, what should you do?”

“Oho.”

Pan Zheshuai’s eyes lit up. He pulled over a stool, sat down, and leaned in gossipingly.

“You’re facing emotional troubles, eh? What’s the situation?”

“You’re overthinking it. There’s no ‘situation.’ I just simply want to make a friend.”

Yin Xu emphasized.

“Pure friendship, you get it?”

“I get it, I get it. ‘Lip’ friendship, right?”

Pan Zheshuai gave Yin Xu a wink, looking like a soulmate who understood everything without it being said.

“Could I possibly not understand what you’re thinking?”

Yin Xu found the wink a bit baffling, but since the words themselves didn’t seem to have a problem, he just followed up with an uncertain “Mmh.”

“Then tell me, the person you want to chase—ah, I mean, the person you want to make friends with—what type are they? I’ll help you analyze the right remedy for the symptoms.”

Pan Zheshuai asked.

“Are they the cute and soft type, or the ethereal and cold type?”

“Him?”

Yin Xu thought for a moment. He really couldn’t associate the words “cute and soft” with Shen Que, so he answered, “Cold, I guess.”

“Oh, like Zhou Jilin?”

“Colder than Zhou Jilin.”

“Hiss.” Pan Zheshuai pondered. “Then it’s a bit tricky, but it’s not like there’s no countermeasure.”

“What countermeasure?”

“As the saying goes: a determined woman fears a pestering man, an iceberg fears the sun, and a lady fears a rogue.”

Pan Zheshuai started by reciting theories with a swaying head.

“Just shamelessly pester her for a few days. Strongly express your desire to be her friend. Use the ‘boiling a frog in lukewarm water’ tactic. Plus, with a face as handsome as yours, I don’t believe anyone could keep a hard heart and not agree!”

The more Yin Xu listened, the more it felt off: “What kind of messy theories are these? Where did you learn them? Are they reliable?”

Facing the triple interrogation, Pan Zheshuai slapped his chest with full confidence:

“Trust me, brother, it’s guaranteed to be reliable. I’m in a similar situation to yours, so I’ve consulted a lot of literature and conducted case study research. The success rate of this move is as high as 90%!”

Yin Xu was skeptical: “What literature did you consult?”

Pan Zheshuai spoke vaguely: “Oh, don’t worry about that. In short, just do it and you’ll be fine.”

Yin Xu mulled it over for a while and finally nodded: “Fine, I’ll give it a try.”

After all, he had been a ‘dog’ in society for so many years in his previous life and gained nothing, but what he did gain was patience, perseverance, and a thick skin.

What did a mere three visits matter? Even if he had to wear down the threshold of Shen Que’s house, Yin Xu swore he would pull him into the fold!

Thus, throughout the morning, Pan Zheshuai and Song Xingyun watched Yin Xu busy himself back and forth as if they had seen a ghost.

To be precise, Yin Xu was busying himself behind Shen Que’s heels like a little tail.

The moment Shen Que was about to touch his water bottle.

Yin Xu dashed over: “Student Shen, are you thirsty? I’ll go pour water for you! How is 45°C for the temperature?”

The moment Shen Que finished solving a math problem.

Yin Xu popped up from behind him: “Student Shen, are you tired? Do you want me to massage your shoulders?”

Shen Que was staring out the window, spaced out.

Yin Xu leaned in holding a book of Cold Jokes: “Student Shen, are you bored? Shall I tell you a joke to help pass the time?”

Shen Que stood up to walk out of the classroom.

Yin Xu opened the door for him like a welcome hostess: “Student Shen, where are you going? Do you want me to help you—”

“Going to the toilet.”

Shen Que interrupted him, his brow twitching slightly.

“You want to help me with that?”

Yin Xu blinked.

Help with what? How to help? Did he want him to hold it?

Thinking of this, he sheepishly withdrew his hand, looking hesitant: “This… it wouldn’t be very convenient for me to help with that, would it?”

Shen Que: “……”

Yin Xu felt like the boy walked away with a face full of black lines.

When Yin Xu turned around, he bumped right into Pan Zheshuai and Song Xingyun.

Without a word, the two of them grabbed Yin Xu and dragged him to a deserted stairwell, saying they were going to interrogate him under torture.

Yin Xu: “What’s wrong with you two?”

“That’s what we should be asking you!” The two said in unison.

Song Xingyun gripped Yin Xu’s shoulders tightly, looking horrified: “Brother Yin, when did you start liking a pretty boy like Shen Que!”

???

Yin Xu became angry and embarrassed, slamming a fist onto Song Xingyun’s forehead: “What nonsense are you talking about? I’m doing serious business!”

“What serious business?”

“Did you guys forget what I said last night about finding a tutor? I have to build a good relationship with Shen Que first so that he’ll be willing to be used by me, right?”

“No, big brother.”

Pan Zheshuai was dumbfounded.

“We were just joking last night. You actually took it seriously?”

“Otherwise?” Yin Xu said. “I thought about it all night after I got back. The more I mulled it over, the more I felt your analysis made perfect sense. Really.”

The analysis from Tao Mingzhao and the others last night had given Yin Xu a eureka moment.

He felt that whether from the perspective of his current situation or the long term, Shen Que was the best help he could find on his road to a counterattack.

In the short term, he could study with him to get into university. In the long term, he could cling to his thighs to find a job.

After all, this number one student was going to be the big boss of a listed company in the future.

Right now he was “Student Shen,” but later he would be called “President Shen”!

If he got well-acquainted with him, maybe he could even be hired directly by the boss to work at a big firm in the future. At the very least, he could land a job as the captain of the security detail…

Pan Zheshuai wasn’t stupid. He naturally understood that if Yin Xu could really handle Shen Que, it would likely be a way to solve things once and for all. But this matter wasn’t as easy as their casual talk last night.

He really couldn’t help but pour cold water on Yin Xu:

“Old Yin, that’s Shen Que. Have you ever seen him pay attention to anyone? How could he be so kind-hearted as to agree to tutor you?”

Yin Xu curled the corners of his mouth and gave a confident smile: “A mere Shen Que is nothing. Pretending to be infatuated with him is just part of my plan. Stop talking, I have my own arrangements. Watch how I take him down within three days!”

Song Xingyun: “You even have a plan?”

Pan Zheshuai realized: “Wait a minute, don’t tell me that your plan is all this rolling around, pestering him, and giving him all sorts of bribes today? How can that possibly work!”

“Why wouldn’t it?” Yin Xu countered. “Didn’t you say this move was very reliable?”

Pan Zheshuai wanted to cry but had no tears: “How was I supposed to know that the person you wanted to be friends with this morning was Shen Que? Actually, the literature I consulted was—”

“Ring—”

Mid-sentence, the bell for class rang out abruptly.

“Alright, alright, class is starting. If you two have any more brilliant ideas, come and present them to me next time.”

After Yin Xu finished speaking, he hurried back to class.

Song Xingyun was curious about the half-finished sentence Pan Zheshuai hadn’t completed: “Brother Pan, what literature?”

Pan Zheshuai sighed and silently pulled a small booklet with a pink cover from his pocket.

The book looked like it had been flipped through so much it was falling apart, the corners of the pages looking wrinkled.

Song Xingyun took it and saw the eye-catching title: “Thirty-Six Stratagems of Love: How to Handle Your Goddess.”

Song Xingyun: “……”

The two stood in silence, and finally could only look at Yin Xu’s retreating back and observe two seconds of silence: “…… Er, let’s wish him success.”

The noon bell for the end of classes rang on time.

Pan Zheshuai prepared to call out to Yin Xu to go to lunch as usual, but when he looked back, there wasn’t even half a shadow left in the seat behind him.

“Where’s Old Yin?” Pan Zheshuai asked Zhang Bin.

Zhang Bin pointed out the window with a look of horror.

Pan Zheshuai looked over and saw that young master, who usually acted all high and mighty, now smiling like a flower. He was following the number one student, eagerly trying to help carry his bag, only to be flatly rejected—looking like a total lapdog.

Pan Zheshuai suspected he hadn’t woken up. He rubbed his eyes and looked again.

He almost hallucinated petals splashing into the air around Yin Xu for free, with a dog tail wagging enthusiastically behind his butt.

“…… Holy crap, this is the end of the world.”

Pan Zheshuai wasn’t the only one shocked by this scene.

All along the way from the Grade 11 Class 7 classroom to the school gate, many students passing by couldn’t stop staring at the two of them, all looking like they had seen a ghost.

No, since when did these two legendary big shots have such a good relationship?

Yin Xu was completely oblivious to the gazes around him, incessantly striking up conversation with Shen Que beside him.

“Student Shen, where do you want to eat for lunch? My treat.”

“Going home.”

“Oh, then can I go to your house for a meal?”

“No.”

“Then is your house far from school? I’ll send you back.”

“Not far. No need. I have a bike.”

In the time it took to exchange those few words, Shen Que had already found his bicycle in the shed at the school gate.

He tossed his bag into the front basket, swung his long leg over, and gripped the handlebars ready to leave.

Suddenly, the seat behind him sank, and the resistance to starting off felt slightly more difficult than usual.

The next second, Shen Que felt the corner of his school uniform being firmly gripped from behind. The faint itchiness at his waist made his whole body stiffen.

Shen Que paused, one long leg propping the ground to maintain balance.

Just as he was about to speak, he heard a light laugh from behind: “But my house is quite far. Give me a ride for a bit.”

Shen Que: “…… Don’t you have your own bike?”

Yin Xu lied without blinking: “I was in too much of a rush leaving this morning and forgot to pump the tires. It’s unrideable.”

Shen Que didn’t comment on his clumsy lie, but Yin Xu could see the speechlessness from the back of his silent head.

Fearing Shen Que might get annoyed and throw him off the bike, Yin Xu quickly tugged at his clothes and urged:

“Let’s go quickly, Student Shen. We’re blocking the way for others standing here.”

It was the noon dismissal, and more and more people were passing by the school gate. The strange looks cast their way were becoming more and more blatant.

When a boy rode by on a bike with his girlfriend, both of them gossiped and turned their heads in unison to stare at them, seemingly unafraid of crashing into pedestrians while riding blind.

Shen Que: “……”

He didn’t say anything more. As if admitting defeat, he stabilized the bike and slowly rode out of the school.

Yin Xu let out a happy whistle from the backseat.

Then he heard Shen Que comment: “Are you a rogue?”

Yin Xu froze slightly at the words, then couldn’t help but curl his lips, and finally simply laughed into the wind.

Shen Que asked: “What are you laughing at?”

“Nothing, I just thought of something Pan Zheshuai said to me this morning. He said a lady fears a rogue.”

Yin Xu spoke to himself, his tone light.

“If I’m the rogue, then what are you? A lady?”

The bicycle frame wobbled violently: “……”

Shen Que practically said it through gritted teeth: “If you don’t know how to talk, then shut up.”