Returning to the Shamate Era to Seduce the Top Student - Chapter 4

Yin Xu hadn’t expected that the tool bystander he had grabbed at random would be Shen Que. For a moment, he failed to control his volume, causing several nearby students to glance over at them.

Terrified of attracting Tang Xiaotong, he hurried to pull the two cotton-thread balls hanging from the hat’s ears closer, tying a knot below the bridge of his nose. The fluffy fabric barely managed to cover the lower half of his face, leaving only his eyes exposed.

Oh, wait—half a pair of eyes.

Because his left eye was naturally obscured by his thick, long bangs.

At that moment, he was in the stationery section. A boy nearby, who was picking out a notebook, kept sizing Yin Xu up with an odd look.

Noticing the gaze, Yin Xu used his single exposed eye to feign a fierce glare at the other party: “What are you looking at? Never seen a handsome guy before?”

The other party pulled back his gaze sheepishly without a word, but Shen Que unexpectedly spoke up, answering for him: “He’s paying attention to you because you look like a thief.”

“Bullshit.” Yin Xu immediately retorted. When he turned his head, the rabbit ears on the hat lightly brushed against Shen Que’s face. “How do I look like a thief?”

Shen Que: “…”

From head to toe.

Yin Xu didn’t have time to deal with him further. He quickly turned back to steal a glance and found that Tang Xiaotong had turned around to search elsewhere. This was his golden opportunity to slip away.

Overjoyed, Yin Xu didn’t forget to instruct Shen Que before leaving: “Hey, don’t you dare tell Tang Xiaotong you saw me here.”

However, just as he turned to leave, he felt a strange pull at his waist dragging him backward.

Yin Xu turned back impatiently and asked: “Is there something else?”

Shen Que frowned slightly, looking somewhat speechless. He lowered his eyes and silently motioned for him to look down.

Yin Xu looked down and realized that his metal waist chain had somehow hooked onto a red string bracelet tied around Shen Que’s wrist.

“Holy crap, how did this get hooked?”

Yin Xu felt like coughing up blood. How could such bad luck happen at a critical moment like this?

He had no choice but to try and unhook the thing first, but the silver chain had snared the red string very tightly. He studied it with his head down for a long time but couldn’t get it loose.

Moreover, the more anxious he became, the more disorganized his movements were, and the knot seemed to tighten even more.

Seeing this, Shen Que pulled on the waist chain to bring him a bit closer, looking down as he used his other hand to help untie the knot: “Don’t move.”

Their fingertips touched. Yin Xu silently let go, leaving the mess to Shen Que.

Shen Que’s fingers were very beautiful—fair, slender, and well-defined, with clean and tidy nails.

However, what attracted Yin Xu’s gaze the most was a piece of black bandage wrapped around the second knuckle of Shen Que’s thumb.

It was on both the left and right hands, perfectly symmetrical.

From a distance, one might mistake them for some kind of thick-band matte black rings.

It was the first time he’d seen someone wear bandages as rings.

Yin Xu thought to himself that this guy was likely a terminal “chuunibyou” poser.

But on second thought, with the ten-odd accessories of various sizes he currently wore on his ears, neck, wrists, fingers, and even his waist, he was like a walking hardware store. If he were unfortunate enough to encounter a magnet on the road, he probably wouldn’t be able to move. He didn’t seem to have the right to criticize others.

So, while cursing himself in his heart for insisting on wearing an obstructive accessory like a metal waist chain just to show off, he urged Shen Que: “Can you hurry up?”

Shen Que ignored him. His movements remained careful, as if he were terrified the red string might break or unravel.

Yin Xu didn’t understand.

Because this bracelet looked truly ordinary and unremarkable. At most, it was strung with a small silver plaque engraved with the four characters “Success in Every Exam,” with a pea-sized metal silver pendant hanging beside it.

With this texture and craftsmanship, he could bet that he could buy a whole bunch of them for five yuan at a street stall.

Yin Xu was so anxious that his gaze shifted, spotting a pile of colorful plastic knives in a small basket nearby.

He grabbed one at random and gestured to Shen Que: “Hey, can I cut it?”

Shen Que frowned: “No.”

Yin Xu tugged the red string over: “It’s just an ordinary ‘luck-turning’ red string. If I break it, I’ll compensate you with an identical one tomorrow. I guarantee it’ll be exactly the same!”

Shen Que tugged it back: “No, it’s not the same.”

Tugging it over: “Then take this string off your hand and give it back to me after I get it untied.”

Tugging it back: “What if you just cut it once you leave?”

“Hey, this isn’t okay, that isn’t okay. Why are you so stubborn? Or is this crappy string a gift from your first love, and that’s why you treasure it so much?”

“Tch.”

“Shit! Don’t pull on my pants!”

In his panic, Yin Xu suddenly stepped back.

“Bang—”

The good news was that the red string and the waist chain had separated as if by magic.

The bad news was that Yin Xu’s elbow had accidentally knocked into a nearby shelf. A small ceramic pig piggy bank fell to the ground with a thud, instantly shattering into eight hundred pieces, cracking along with Yin Xu’s heart.

Yin Xu: “…”

He guiltily looked up at Shen Que, the eyewitness, with an innocent look in his eyes: “This pig must have been in a hurry to be reincarnated; it’s so fragile.”

Before Yin Xu could say anything else, the proprietress of the Two-Yuan Shop rushed over, pointing at Yin Xu’s nose and scolding:

“Well, well, you brat! I knew something was wrong with you the moment you walked in. Dressed like a thief, sneaking around here and there—I thought you were trying to steal something, but you went straight to smashing things! You’ve got some nerve! Pay up!”

The proprietress was a middle-aged woman. Her full-throated scolding directly drowned out the BGM on the radio, causing the customers in the shop to look over one after another.

“Misunderstanding, misunderstanding! I’m not a thief, and I didn’t smash it; it was an accident!” Yin Xu hurried to explain. “I…”

As he spoke, he looked up and saw Tang Xiaotong, not far away, also attracted by the sound of their dispute and walking this way.

Seeing this, Yin Xu instinctively turned to flee, but the proprietress grabbed his arm: “You still want to run? Pay up quickly!”

But at this moment, how could he have the mind or the time to pull out his wallet?

Yin Xu quickly scanned his surroundings. Right now, curious customers were all around, blocking the aisles completely, and he was caught by the proprietress and couldn’t escape.

Seeing that Tang Xiaotong was only about two meters away, Yin Xu, in his desperation, suddenly twisted his body and tightly hugged the person beside him, burying his entire face into the crook of that person’s neck!

Meeting him head-on was the refreshing scent of soap on Shen Que, carrying a faint trace of green apple fragrance.

Yin Xu’s cool nose and hair brushed against the warm skin of Shen Que’s neck. It was a bit itchy. He felt the person in his arms stiffen slightly.

“Help me.” Yin Xu said softly.

This sudden hug left the proprietress dumbfounded, and the onlookers were also stunned.

However, the most speechless person in the room was undoubtedly the party involved—the one Yin Xu had thrown himself into the arms of.

With a dark face, Shen Que pushed at the person clinging to him: “Let go.”

“Don’t.” Fearing he would break free, Yin Xu hugged him even tighter. “Student Shen, you can’t just watch me die without saving me, right?”

Shen Que: “I can.”

Yin Xu: “…”

The proprietress sized Shen Que up for a moment and asked: “Is this kid your friend?”

Shen Que: “No.”

“Who are you trying to fool? Why would he hug you if he wasn’t?” The proprietress clearly didn’t believe it. “Is this friend of yours trying to skip out on the bill? Then you pay for him!”

Just as she finished speaking, Tang Xiaotong pushed through the crowd and walked over. She saw Shen Que and was somewhat surprised: “Shen Que?”

Shen Que also saw her, so he greeted: “Hello, Teacher Tang.”

“What are you doing here?”

“Buying some stationery.”

Tang Xiaotong understood, then looked at the unidentified object in his arms—wearing a fluffy hat in the middle of summer and clinging to him for dear life—and asked: “Who is… this?”

Being named, Yin Xu couldn’t help but feel nervous and continued to play dead like an ostrich. In the next second, however, he heard Shen Que answer: “Yin Xu.”

???

Yin Xu suddenly lifted his head from his arms, the rabbit ears on his head shaking three times in anger, his face full of disbelief.

Big brother, you don’t hesitate at all when selling someone out, do you?

Ten thousand curses whistled through his mind. Ultimately, what popped out from between his teeth was a sentence laced with deep resentment: “Didn’t I tell you to help me?”

Shen Que’s expression was indifferent: “Why should I help you? Are we that close?”

Yin Xu choked for a moment and could only grit his teeth: “…Fine, we aren’t close.”

Tang Xiaotong was stunned: “Yin Xu?”

Yin Xu feigned composure and turned around gracefully, flashing her an awkward but polite smile: “Hi, Teacher Tang. What a coincidence, meeting you here…”

“Are you still addicted to acting with me?”

Tang Xiaotong irritably snatched off Yin Xu’s hat.

“I finally caught you! Hurry up and go back to write a self-reflection! Eight hundred words—not a single word less!”

Yin Xu’s head instantly felt twice as large.

He really wanted to tell Tang Xiaotong that he was actually an adult, twenty-eight years old—could she please stop making him write self-reflections? It was too embarrassing.

But right now, he could only respond aggrievedly: “…Okay. Can it be two hundred words fewer?”

“Do you think this is a wet market where you can haggle? One thousand!”

Yin Xu immediately shut his mouth.

He was terrified that if he said one more word, the word count would increase again.

“Hey, wait a minute!” The proprietress called out to him. “You smashed something in my shop, you haven’t paid yet!”

Hearing this, Tang Xiaotong glanced at Yin Xu, then adjusted her glasses and switched to a warm and friendly smile to soothe the proprietress:

“I’m sorry, Ma’am. I expect my student accidentally broke your thing because he was in a hurry to hide from me. How much was the piggy bank? I’ll pay you back.”

“No need to pay for me. I have money.”

Yin Xu interrupted her, pulling his wallet from his pants pocket. Upon opening it, he was dazzled by the stack of glittering red bills.

“Holy shit, I’m this rich?”

Oh, right. His father was still the richest man right now.

This long-lost sense of security from having money in your pocket and not panicking when things happen moved Yin Xu so much he nearly shed tears.

He pulled out a hundred-yuan bill at random and stuffed it into the proprietress’s hand, saying grandly: “Keep the change.”

Tang Xiaotong propped her forehead and sighed, looking helpless as if thinking, “This kid really is a spendthrift.”

“At least you’re sensible.”

The proprietress gave him a side-glance and walked away, satisfied with the money.

Seeing that there was no more drama to watch, the crowd also dispersed.

After Tang Xiaotong took Yin Xu to the shop entrance to give him another lecture, she hurried away, saying she was going to catch the two fish that escaped the net, Pan Zheshuai and Song Xingyun, telling him to get back to school on his own first.

Yin Xu mourned for his two brothers for two seconds, and he couldn’t help but admire Tang Xiaotong’s perseverance. Looking at her back, he suddenly felt a sense of sympathy for a fellow humble worker.

If he remembered correctly, Tang Xiaotong was only about twenty-eight or twenty-nine this year, roughly the same as his mental age.

Sigh. For that three-thousand-yuan salary, it’s not easy for anyone.

He was just thinking that he should try to cause her as little trouble as possible in the future when a hand suddenly reached out from the side and placed something on his head.

Yin Xu turned his head to look; it was Shen Que, who had just finished buying his things and come out.

He instinctively touched the spot on his head where Shen Que had just touched: “What is it?”

Shen Que didn’t answer directly. He just sized him up indifferently and said: “It suits you quite well.”

“What?”

Before Yin Xu could react, Shen Que had already turned and left: “I’ve already paid for you. No need to thank me.”

Puzzled, Yin Xu turned sideways to look in the reflection of the glass door, only to see a hairclip on his head—

It was that white lace bow hairclip he had said suited Shen Que back in the shop.

“Shit! Shen Que, you bastard!”

Was this guy the younger brother of Careless Superman—Careless-Hearted-Man?