Returning to the Shamate Era to Seduce the Top Student - Chapter 8

With twenty minutes to go before the opening assembly, someone finally came to notify everyone that they could head to the assembly auditorium to prepare for entry.

The students lined up in long queues according to their respective classes and set off toward the auditorium in a grand procession.

Yin Xu’s Class 11-7 was a science class with a total of 42 students—29 boys and 13 girls. At this moment, they were divided into two lines based on height, standing side-by-side.

Upon reaching the auditorium entrance, they were notified again that they had to wait for the Grade 12 students to finish entering before it was their turn.

The poor Grade 11 and Grade 10 students could only continue their boring wait in the stifling heat outside.

While Yin Xu, Pan Zheshuai, and Song Xingyun were chatting at the tail end of the line, someone suddenly called him: “Yin Xu.”

Yin Xu looked toward the sound and saw Zhou Jilin walking over from the side door of the auditorium.

She handed him a bottle of mineral water she was holding: “Here, for your hard work.”

Having been out in the sun for so long, Yin Xu was already dying of thirst. He took the water, twisted it open, and took a large gulp.

“Thanks.”

Seeing this, Pan Zheshuai immediately leaned in and asked shamelessly: “Monitor, we worked hard too, don’t we get any water?”

Beside him, Song Xingyun looked at her expectantly as well. He didn’t speak, but everything was understood without words.

“Sorry, I only brought this one bottle,” Zhou Jilin had to say. “If you want water, the school will distribute some once we get inside.”

Pan Zheshuai was a bit disappointed, his gaze pitiful: “Eh, but I’d still rather drink water given by you…”

Just as Zhou Jilin was unsure how to respond, Yin Xu shoved the half-bottle of water in his hand into Pan Zheshuai’s arms: “Take it, take it, take it! You just want to steal my water, don’t you? Who are you acting cute for? Isn’t it disgusting?”

As Pan Zheshuai was about to twist the cap to drink, Yin Xu immediately reminded him: “Don’t touch the bottle with your mouth. I have a obsession with cleanliness.”

“Cleanliness, my ass!” Pan Zheshuai said. “Your desk drawer is such a mess that a cockroach would call it its happy home. How do you have the nerve to say you’re obsessed with cleanliness?”

“I’m strict with others but lenient with myself, is that not allowed?”

“Tsk, you’re spoiled.”

As Zhou Jilin watched the two of them bickering, she noticed a band-aid on Yin Xu’s forehead.

Her brow furrowed slightly: “Yin Xu, did you get into a fight again?”

Yin Xu remembered the incident and said indifferently: “It’s nothing, just a minor injury.”

“Minor or major, getting hurt shouldn’t happen. Your parents will definitely nag you again when you get back.”

Zhou Jilin felt somewhat helpless.

“Who did you fight with this time?”

Yin Xu thought for a moment. Well, he couldn’t answer that either.

It was such a long time ago.

Fortunately, Song Xingyun answered for him: “Who else? It was those little punks from the vocational high school next door. Their idiot boss, Du Ziteng, insisted on sending Brother Yin a challenge letter. Was he just looking for a beating?”

“Du Ziteng?”

Yin Xu froze, then burst out laughing.

Some long-buried memories were switched on, flooding back to him all at once.

He had a deep impression of that name.

Du Ziteng, “Duzi teng” (Stomach ache).

For some reason, these nutrient-free, trashy puns always hit Yin Xu’s funny bone.

The first time he heard that the fiercest bully at the neighboring vocational school was named Du Ziteng, he laughed so hard he couldn’t stand up straight.

Initially, Pan Zheshuai and Song Xingyun laughed with him, but after ten minutes, they were done laughing while Yin Xu was still going. They looked at him like he was an idiot.

And from then on, every time someone mentioned that name to Yin Xu, he would laugh all over again.

This time was no exception.

Seeing Yin Xu laughing until tears were almost coming out, Pan Zheshuai and Song Xingyun rolled their eyes in unison: “Big brother, your sense of humor is beyond saving.”

Yin Xu, with a tear in his eye, said aggrievedly: “But it really is funny.”

“Du Ziteng?” Zhou Jilin also repeated the name, and then remembered something. “Isn’t that the person from last time…”

Her face flushed slightly, and she couldn’t continue.

Pan Zheshuai finished her sentence: “Yeah, it’s that idiot who blocked you at the school gate to give you a love letter last time.”

Quite a few people knew that the vocational school bully Du Ziteng was pursuing Luhe No. 3 High’s school beauty, Zhou Jilin.

This was because Du Ziteng’s way of showing affection was incredibly blatant.

Not only did he go to the gate of No. 3 High to block Zhou Jilin in front of many students to shove love letters and roses at her, he also insisted on following behind her every day after school to watch her go home, and even changed his Q/Q signature to “Zhoū Jìlín, yoǔ rē thē onlÿ trūē lo/ē oƒ mÿ l¡ƒē” (written in Mars script – stylized internet slang)…

Every time she heard others teasing her about these things, Zhou Jilin felt ashamed and annoyed, yet helpless.

As a friend, Yin Xu saw her distress and fear, so he acted as a flower-protecting envoy for a period, escorting Zhou Jilin home every day after school.

Du Ziteng was very unhappy about this and naturally viewed Yin Xu as his love rival, coming to provoke him and start fights from time to time.

Thinking of this, Zhou Jilin couldn’t help but feel a bit guilty.

She looked at Yin Xu: “He came to find trouble with you again? Is this injury from him too?”

Yin Xu replied: “This wasn’t from him, he doesn’t have the skill.”

Song Xingyun chimed in: “Even if he wanted to hit him, he couldn’t, right? Didn’t that guy Du Ziteng fail to show up for the fight?”

“He didn’t come?” Yin Xu was a bit puzzled. “Why? Didn’t he send me the challenge letter? Did he chicken out first?”

“Did you forget, Brother Yin?” Song Xingyun explained, “Because today is school registration, but Du Ziteng hadn’t finished his summer homework. He was kept at school by his head teacher to finish it, saying he wouldn’t be allowed to go home until it’s done! Hahaha!”

Pan Zheshuai also added while stifling a laugh: “So he sent over a dozen underlings to the appointment, saying he couldn’t lose face even if he lost the man. In the end, you beat the whole group of them by yourself! One of those little punks, while scrambling to escape, picked up an empty soda can when you weren’t looking and threw it at your forehead. It actually knocked you out!”

“Yeah, it gave me a scare! Pan and I thought you were acting at first to mess with us.”

“Exactly! Who would have thought our Young Master Yin would be so weak today, getting knocked down by a damn can! Tsk tsk, nobody would believe it if we told them.”

Facing the teasing of his two bad friends, Yin Xu felt a bit embarrassed and could only stubbornly try to save face: “That was from the sun! The sun, okay? Is it not allowed for my ‘young master’s disease’ to flare up and give me heatstroke?”

The conversation made Zhou Jilin, standing by, unable to help but smile. Suddenly, a student behind her called out: “Zhou Jilin! Teacher Tang is looking for you!”

She immediately responded: “Okay, I’m coming!”

Just as Zhou Jilin was about to turn and leave, Yin Xu called her back: “Wait, one more thing.”

“What is it?”

Yin Xu pulled a white lace butterfly hairpin from his pocket and held it out to her: “This is for you.”

Zhou Jilin looked at the girl’s hairpin, which was clearly out of place for Yin Xu, and was very surprised: “Why are you suddenly giving me this?”

Yin Xu answered casually: “Someone gave it to me, I have no use for it.”

Zhou Jilin laughed: “Who would dare give you something like this as a gift? Did you not hit them?”

Yin Xu curled his lip, his expression a bit hard to describe: “Shen Que.”

Hearing the name, Zhou Jilin froze: “Shen Que gave it to you?”

“Mhm.”

This time Yin Xu had learned his lesson. Badmouthing someone should be done behind their back.

He turned his head to confirm that Shen Que was not in the class line—estimating he was still in the auditorium—and then added: “He’s sick in the head.”

Zhou Jilin, however, seemed not to hear his words, staring at the hairpin in a slight daze.

Seeing that she didn’t take it, Yin Xu said: “If you don’t want it, I’ll throw it away. I can’t use it anyway.”

“Wait, hold on.”

Zhou Jilin immediately snatched the hairpin from Yin Xu’s hand.

“I never said I didn’t want it. It would be a waste to throw it away, even if it’s just ‘so-so’.”

She then clipped the hairpin onto her head. The white butterfly paired with her high black ponytail looked youthful and vibrant.

“Does it look good?” she asked.

“It looks good,” Pan Zheshuai answered first. “Monitor, you look good in anything.”

Zhou Jilin’s face flushed slightly as she ran off toward the distance, turning back to show a bright smile: “Thanks!”

Yin Xu waved his hand dismissively.

Seeing Zhou Jilin walk away, Pan Zheshuai leaned into Yin Xu, put an arm around his shoulder, and pulled him to a corner of the wall, speaking with a serious face:

“Old Yin, tell me the truth. Do you like Zhou Jilin or not?”

Yin Xu didn’t expect Pan Zheshuai to suddenly ask this. Without thinking, he replied: “Of course I don’t.”

After saying that, he explained: “Well, not like that. As a friend, I like her a lot, but not ‘that way.’ Why do you have the same misunderstanding as everyone else? Just because I gave her a hairpin?”

“Isn’t it normal for me to think that?” Pan Zheshuai said with a bit of defiance. “You and Zhou Jilin are childhood sweethearts, your families are a good match, and you’re always protecting her. Anyone who sees you would think there’s something going on between you two.”

Yin Xu found himself unable to refute for a moment.

From childhood to adulthood, his relationship with Zhou Jilin had often been teased by those around them. Even when they were little, their parents joked about arranging a marriage for them.

Initially, Zhou Jilin didn’t understand what an arranged marriage was, but once she started kindergarten and began to have a vague concept of relationships between the opposite sex, if her family joked about it again, she was so thin-skinned that she couldn’t help but cry out of grievance.

It wasn’t that she disliked Yin Xu, but that kind of joke without boundaries made her feel very uncomfortable.

Since then, the parents on both sides never mentioned it again.

And Yin Xu had absolutely no such feelings for Zhou Jilin; he just saw her as a good friend he grew up with, or even as family—a younger sister.

“Anyway, it’s not what you think. I don’t like her, and I can feel that she definitely doesn’t like me either.”

“Are you sure?”

“I’m sure,” Yin Xu said with certainty. “I told you, you wouldn’t understand. Xiao Zhou is a very proud person. If she really liked someone, she wouldn’t be this relaxed and at ease around them like she is with me.”

“Then what would she be like if she liked someone?”

“She would probably…”

Yin Xu paused. In his memory, Zhou Jilin had never shown that she liked anyone.

But he remembered Zhou Jilin’s attitude toward Barbie dolls in mall windows when they were kids; she clearly wanted them to death, her eyes practically glued to them, yet she insisted on acting as if she didn’t care at all, stubbornly saying they were just okay.

So he said: “She would probably become very awkward.”

Pan Zheshuai was puzzled: “Very awkward? What kind of state is that?”

“It’s hard to describe to you, but anyway, we have at least that much mutual understanding.” Yin Xu was too lazy to continue. “Why are you asking?”

Pan Zheshuai cleared his throat, and then a rare look of seriousness appeared on his face, along with a subtle hint of shyness: “Cough, I wanted to ask, can I pursue her?”

Yin Xu froze for a moment. He had almost forgotten that this kid had a crush on Zhou Jilin during his school days.

Some youthful and beautiful memories gradually returned. He looked directly into Pan Zheshuai’s eyes and knew he wasn’t joking.

Yin Xu couldn’t help but laugh: “If you like her, go for it. Why are you asking me? I’m not her mother.”

“True, you’re not her mother, but you’re better than her mother! You grew up with her. At the very least, you count as half her family. Who else would I ask but you?”

Pan Zheshuai chuckled, already unable to resist imagining the future.

“Aiya, if Zhou Jilin and I really make it, I’ll have you be her bridesmaid at our wedding.”

“Get lost,” Yin Xu said, annoyed. “Why wouldn’t I be your best man?”

Pan Zheshuai said righteously: “Duh, how could I allow a best man more handsome than the groom at my wedding? Isn’t that just upstaging me?”

Yin Xu: “……”

In his previous life, he only knew that Pan Zheshuai had feelings for Zhou Jilin and had pursued her, but he lost contact with everyone after transferring schools in Grade 12 and didn’t know how things ended between them.

Later, when he accidentally met Pan Zheshuai again, they didn’t specifically mention romantic matters.

Yin Xu only heard Pan Zheshuai mention that he had become a wedding planner, and he seemed to quite like that job.

Looking at it now, this guy really had the potential for that line of work. After all, at such a young age, he was already worrying about this and that for his own future wedding.

But Yin Xu, holding the mindset of an old father picking a son-in-law for his daughter, was very picky about everyone, so he intentionally poured cold water on Pan Zheshuai:

“Heh, keep dreaming. How many times has Zhou Jilin actually looked you in the eye for you to even think that far? Besides, there are plenty of guys who like her. Where would you even get a turn?”

“Isn’t that why I have you, my brother, as my strategist? A person in a favored position gains the advantage.”

Pan Zheshuai hugged Yin Xu’s shoulder tighter with a flattering look.

“This is your brother’s lifelong happiness; you wouldn’t refuse to help me, would you?”

Yin Xu looked at his pitiful eyes and felt quite disgusted. He shoved him away: “Fine, fine, fine, don’t get so close to me. Isn’t it hot enough already?”

As they were talking, Song Xingyun waved to them: “Hey, it’s our class’s turn to enter!”

So the two quickly returned to their spots and followed Class 7’s line into the auditorium.