TSIFB Chapter 8

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穿成校草被迫营业 / Transmigrated into a School Idol and Forced to Do Business
I want to be together with you more

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“Hey, since when did He Yan and Pan Yi know each other?”

In the cafeteria, the loud noises were interspersed with the conversation of several girls, who were positioned to the side of the room.

The girl sitting oppositely replied, “I have absolutely no idea! With a difference like that of the heavens and the earth, I can’t imagine them knowing each other.”

Another girl also echoed, “That’s right, Pan Yi is a young master with face* in our school. His father holds the economic center of A city and his mother is a diplomat. Even the school leaders have to give him six or seven points to maintain face. On the other hand, He Yan’s family is poor, and he has been bullied since the first year of high school. If the two are actually acquainted, then it’ll probably be that Pan Yi bullied He Yan into knowing him.”

[T/N: having face = having respect/status]

The girl who had initially started the conversation said, “But for me, it doesn’t look like that. Seeing how Pan Yi acts, the two seem to have a good relationship.” She continued, “As the saying goes, ‘if not the same class, don’t share a boat*’. Do you guys think… that He Yan might actually be an invisible rich second generation?”

[T/N: basically, the rich and poor shouldn’t share the same space]

After the girl finished, the other two looked at each other and squinted their eyes simultaneously, then asked, “Be honest, did you do something behind our backs?”

The girl choked and shrank back a little embarrassedly, before slowly confessing, “Actually… Yesterday afternoon, I sent He Yan a love letter.”

The two girls: “What?!?!”

One of them exclaimed, “Are you crazy? Just what do you like about him?? Other than studying well, what other positives does he have? If others find out, you’ll become a joke!”

The girl shyly fiddled with her hair and tucked it behind an ear. “Don’t be so agitated, I haven’t finished talking yet. Although I sent a love letter, I didn’t write my name on it.”

A girl opposite her helped to relieve the situation. “This way, it’ll be fine… No wait, both of you are in the same class, will he recognise you by your handwriting?”

The girl waved her hand confidently. “Rest assured, he absolutely won’t!”

The opposite girl once again started questioning. “But then what was the point of sending a love letter in the first place? After all, he won’t know who you are.”

The girl leaned across the cafeteria table and replied to the two opposite her, “Actually, I’ve already thought this through. I want to see what kind of attitude He Yan has towards a love letter without a name. If he cares about the letter, then I will observe the situation and consider whether or not to tell him that it was sent by me; if he doesn’t feel much towards it or doesn’t consider it to be important, then I didn’t lose anything anyway, since he has no idea I sent it. I’ll just act as if I didn’t do anything in the first place and I won’t be embarrassed. What do you think?”

At this time, a student who was sitting next to the girl, and who had kept silent throughout the conversation spoke up. “Don’t you think that this feels like you pulled a prank?”

The girl who spoke wore a high ponytail and had a healthy complexion. Even while speaking, her pair of good-looking eyes did not slant. There was a feeling of questioning in her tone.

The girl choked on her words, then lifted her delicate chin slightly and said, “Even if it is, what about it? There are many more people who pull pranks on him, not just me. Besides, compared to the constant bullying from Yu-shao, I’m already sincere enough.”

“Really?” High-ponytail’s slender eyes swept across to the girl beside her, her words carrying no traces of a joke. “You did this because you dreamt of falling in love with a rich second generation. Since you didn’t catch Pan Yi, you decided to catch the person beside Pan Yi, and deliberately caused mischief.”

Having her lies torn apart, the girl’s face switched between blue and white for a while. “You…”

High-ponytail picked up her plate from the table and said coldly, “What an appetising meal. You guys eat slowly, I’ll leave first.”

The girl’s face was red with rage. “Ji Xiao, tell me clearly on what you meant!”

Unfortunately, Ji Xiao didn’t even give her one glance back. The girl was left the only one so angry she breathed out smoke.

The two other girls whispered amongst themselves.

“What’s wrong with Ji Xiao today? Why is her mood so bad?”

“I don’t know…”

In another part of the cafeteria, Yu Baizhou stressed, tapping his index finger on his cheek repeatedly while wearing a thoughtful look. Even when Tu Gaoming shouted at him several times, he still didn’t respond.

“Boss, Boss… Boss!!!”

Yu Baizhou immediately sat up straight, returning to reality. “En, en?”

Tu Gaoming pushed a milk box that already had a straw inserted towards him. “Boss, what are you zoning out about? After buying milk, I came and called on you for such a long time but you never replied.”

Yu Baizhou looked at the milk in front of him. “Oh, there was something I was thinking about and my mind wandered off.”

Yu Baizhou had been troubled for quite some time. Since last night’s self-study session, he found that the way He Yan looked at him seemed a little weird. Although he couldn’t describe it, he had felt that it was very strange.

Yu Baizhou originally wondered whether or not to talk about this matter with Tu Gaoming, since Tu Gaoming was considered a person close to him. But, when he thought about it more later on, he felt it to be inappropriate. Tu Gaoming’s attitude towards He Yan was truly not very good. If he had really confessed, Tu Gaoming would’ve come up with the idea of finding justice for his boss and find even more faults with He Yan.

Tu Gaoming was his own person, and any accounts that were yet to be settled had naturally piled up on his head. If he annoyed He Yan, then the other would write down a reminder in his small book of revenge, which would be very worrying.

“Right, boss,” Tu Gaoming thought of something and said, “Do you know that Pan Yi?”

“Pan Yi?”

“The super rich second generation with a little white face*, the one who needs to change more than ten girlfriends a month.” When he said the latter half of the sentence, Tu Gaoming’s tone and posture both held slight envy and hate.

[T/N: “小白脸”: a young man who doesn’t work, the ‘white face’ refers to one who does not help out on the farms/outside, so they maintain a light complexion]

Pan Yi… Yu Baizhou remembered that there was indeed such a person. ‘A rich second generation with a little white face’ was true, but ‘changing more than ten girlfriends a month’ was an exaggeration on Tu Gaoming’s part. Pan Yi held a very important supporting role in the book. He was a classmate that He Yan met in college, and the two later became good brothers.

Yu Baizhou drank his milk while saying, “En, continue.”

Tu Gaoming lowered his voice. “Just two days ago, I learnt that Pan Yi and He Yan actually know each other.”

Yu Baizhou froze. “Ah?”

How could Tu Gaoming know that the two are acquainted? This plot point should’ve appeared in the future!

Tu Gaoming thought that Yu Baizhou was also curious, and said, “The day before yesterday, I heard a few girls discuss Pan Yi. They said that Pan Yi came to our classroom two days ago to find He Yan, and had even called He Yan ‘Ge’.”

Yu Baizhou was stunned. Although Pan Yi and He Yan attended the same high school, didn’t they only come to know each other in college? How could this have happened? Was it possible that something had gone wrong with the plot?

Yu Baizhou thought for half a day but still couldn’t figure it out. He shouted for 008, but it turned out that the product was still hiding in its turtle shell today, too scared to come out. 

In the end, he just shook his head. Forget it, it’s better to worry about how to survive first.

Yu Baizhou was about to reach the classroom, but before he had time to squeeze in, he met up with Li Bei and Xu Zhihu, who stood behind his boss.

Xu Zhihu looked at him. It was obvious that the arrogance exuded from his body was not as strong as before. Yu Baizhou gave him a quick glance before turning away. He didn’t have much affection for this person.

Li Bei had just returned from the supermarket. He handed the bottle of apple juice in his hand to Yu Baizhou. “Here.”

Yu Baizhou didn’t particularly want to drink it, but accepted the juice anyway. “Thank you.”

The original owner liked apple juice.

Li Bei nodded, and after giving the apple juice took Xu Zhihu away.

After fully grasping the plot, Yu Baizhou realized that Li Bei was not simply an ordinary friend of the original owner, but a very close brother*. The two met in a fight during junior high school, and later reunited in the same high school. Their elders at home just happened to know each one another, so after a few visits, the two developed a relationship that was strong as iron.

[T/N: “哥们”/ge-men: a close friend that is considered a brother]

Yu Baizhou looked at the juice in his hand.

Understanding each other’s preferences, this was normal.

When school ended in the afternoon, Yu Baizhou let Tu Gaoming and Che Cong go to the cafeteria ahead of him.

“What about you, boss?” Tu Gaoming asked.

“Oh, I will stay to work on the blackboard report until it’s finished.”

His written portion was actually already completed, it was just He Yan’s drawings that still had some parts to fill in. Although He Yan had previously told him that he didn’t need to help, Yu Baizhou still chose to stay.

As a villain who had already tormented the male protagonist countless times, Yu Baizhou was very clear with the fact that even if he ran away in the future, the protagonist would still find a way to retrieve him. So, he wisely chose to stay put while slowly developing a ‘personal correction’ plan.

It won’t be feasible to sit still, he can only take the initiative to attack.

The reason why the male protagonist wanted to take revenge was because this character design made him out to be a vicious villain and an unyielding foe. Since it’s like this, his current plan was——to change his image in front of the protagonist and let the man see the positive side of himself, then finally, change his personal design from the male protagonist’s enemy to the male protagonist’s friend.

After all, not only does being a friend mean that the male protagonist was willing to accept him, his guilt value would go down to zero, and at the same time he would get the chance to retire.

So, to have such a good opportunity to put on a performance, he absolutely won’t let it go.

Che Cong said to him, “Then, Old Tu and I will bring back your meal.”

Yu Baizhou quickly rejected Che Cong’s good intentions. If Che Cong really did this, then it meant his plan today would’ve already failed halfway.

Although Che Cong did not understand how the mind of his boss worked, in the end he could only nod.

Che Cong and Tu Gaoming left while Yu Baizhou returned to the classroom.

He Yan was already in the middle of drawing, so he walked to the side, looking at the blackboard to see if there was anything he could work on.

“I already said, you don’t have to stay.” He Yan’s voice came from above.

He Yan’s figure was naturally tall. Because he was standing on a chair, Yu Baizhou had to raise his head high to be able to see He Yan’s cheek.

He Yan did not wear the school uniform jacket, only a white short-sleeved shirt. Wind blew in from the back door, carrying a gust of air that gently swayed the shirt’s hem. His bangs were also lifted slightly, revealing the unusual brown eyes that were hidden underneath.

But, from Yu Baizhou’s perspective, He Yan’s eyes could not be seen at all.

Yu Baizhou picked up a few pieces of chalk and brought them together. “Ah, it’s okay. Two people are always faster than just one, right?”

He Yan heard the words and lowered his eyes, looking at Yu Baizhou. Seeing Yu Baizhou hold several pieces of colourful chalk to put up graffiti on the corner of the blackboard, he said with a puzzled tone, “What are you doing?”

Yu Baizhou replied while doodling, “I’m adding some decoration. Aren’t you drawing a white horse? I’ll put a rainbow next to it. White horse with a rainbow, very fitting!”

Yu Baizhou didn’t know how to draw lined patterns, so he held several pieces of chalk together in one hand and swept across the blackboard with one motion, forcibly creating a somewhat rainbow-like effect.

He Yan stared at the wonky and barely-recognisable rainbows on the side: “…”

Yu Baizhou couldn’t see He Yan’s expression but already knew that he had basically abandoned his character design. He straightened his back and explained, “You probably don’t understand, so let me clarify: this is called abstract art.”

He Yan glanced at him and took back his gaze.

Seeing how he had successfully bluffed, Yu Baizhou complacently continued to draw his rainbows.

When they had finished the blackboard report, it was almost six o’clock. Yu Baizhou put down the chalk in his hand and was about to ask He Yan if he wanted to go wash their hands together. After turning his head, he found He Yan already cleaning his hands with a wet wipe, movements steady.

Obviously, it was just a very simple movement, but he inexplicably thought it to be quite elegant…

Yu Baizhou felt that he might have an abnormal brain.

Worried that He Yan would leave without waiting for him, Yu Baizhou went to wash his hands in the bathroom before quickly returning to the classroom, standing in the doorway a little anxiously.

He Yan had just left the room when he was called to a stop by Yu Baizhou. “Going to eat?”

He Yan’s eyes took in Yu Baizhou, scanning his entire body. “En.”

Yu Baizhou wore a happy face. “Let’s go together!”

If he wanted He Yan to come to know him once again, he had to create opportunities for the two to get along. Today’s shared meal would be a good opportunity.

The evening sun made the atmosphere several times warmer, wrapping Yu Baizhou’s brown hair with sunlight that gave it a soft appearance.

He Yan looked at the person in front of him and took in his expression. The darkness in his eyes sunk deeper and deeper. “…Go by yourself.”

Then he went downstairs.

The hard-working Yu Baizhou’s efforts were doused with a bucket of cold water, but he couldn’t spare time to feel discouraged. He followed in He Yan’s footsteps and said, “Let’s go together! It’s very boring to eat alone. You see, you are one person, I am one person, together we are two people. Isn’t it good for two people to have dinner together? There’s someone you can speak to, someone who can exchange study tips with…”

Yu Baizhou rambled on beside He Yan all throughout the walk. Unable to bear the noise that was drilling into his ear, He Yan continued until the foot of the building, stopped, and turned to face the boy who was shorter than him by an entire head. “Do you want me to eat with you because you are bored by yourself?”

Hearing this, Yu Baizhou paused. After a while, he found this excuse not too bad, and nodded.

Every change in reaction on Yu Baizhou’s face fell onto He Yan’s sight, and his dark eyes flashed with a complex emotion.

Seeing that He Yan appeared to be shaken, Yu Baizhou extended his invitation again.

He Yan stared at the person in front of him. “…Okay, but today is the only time.”

This…meant that today was the only chance?

Yu Baizhou inhaled a deep breath. Today’s performance was too important!

The two set off to the cafeteria together. At six o’clock, the cafeteria was almost empty, and the same could be said for the dishes available.

Yu Baizhou wasn’t picky with his food, he was satisfied with the few dishes he chose. On the other hand, even after passing through several windows, He Yan’s plate was still devoid of food after half a day.

Yu Baizhou pondered over this. The information given to him did mention that He Yan was very picky about the food he ate, but that was at a later time. While he was in school, because of poor family conditions, He Yan would eat anything he could get his hands on. He had no chance to be picky.

When Yu Baizhou saw that the food on his plate was no longer steaming, he understood it at once… It should be because he didn’t want to eat cold food. After all, if he got sick, then the expenses would total more than the bad meal.

When He Yan had finally chosen his dishes, five minutes had already passed.

Yu Baizhou took the other person over to the empty seats. On the way, he thought about how to compose himself later on.

First of all, picking a seat. Don’t think of this as a trivial matter, something small can be significant. So, he must give He Yan the initiative. Let He Yan choose, so he can see how important he was.

Then, during the chat, intentionally or unintentionally approach the topic of He Yan’s private life. Understand his situation, care about his everyday life, and show him how thoughtful he was…

After knowing the plot, it wasn’t as if Yu Baizhou didn’t think about it. He had wanted to go directly up to He Yan and apologize for the mistakes he had made and ask for his forgiveness, but once he rationally examined the character design of both the original owner and He Yan, he suddenly realised how fortunate it was that he didn’t go and shout out an apology out of impulse. According to his analysis, if he had rashly made the decision to ask for forgiveness, not only will He Yan not have accepted it, but the other man would’ve felt it to be hypocritical, and would be more serious about his own vigilance. It’s all in vain. So, he planned to change the roles between the two ever-so slightly. Firstly, clear away some of his guilt value, wait for He Yan to see his true heart, and then take responsibility for the torment that the original owner had inflicted. The success rate of receiving forgiveness from He Yan could be as high as 90%.

Right now, there was the first opportunity to remove some values of sin.

As long today went smoothly and they set up a good beginning, then everything will follow as planned in the future.

Thinking up to this point, Yu Baizhou couldn’t help but lift his lips into a smile.

Just as Yu Baizhou proudly went over the plan in his head, He Yan behind him stopped in his steps.

Yu Baizhou quickly noticed, pausing his thoughts as well as his walk, and looked back at He Yan confusingly. “What’s wrong?”

He Yan asked him, “Yu Baizhou, wasn’t it because you had no one else so you asked me to have dinner with you?”

Yu Baizhou didn’t understand why He Yan had asked this question out of nowhere. “Er, yes?” 

He Yan pointed his chin in the direction of the door. “Your friend is here now, so you aren’t alone.”

Yu Baizhou: “???”

Yu Baizhou followed his line of sight. He saw Li Bei.

He Yan’s voice came from his side. “Then, I’ll leave first.”

Yu Baizhou turned his head and found that He Yan had already walked away.

Wait?? It’s not??

He stared after He Yan, who was getting farther and farther away from him. Feeling anxious in his heart, he reached out a hand…

He Yan had only taken two steps when suddenly, the corner of his shirt was grabbed from behind. Stunned, he turned his head back and saw Yu Baizhou looking up at him nervously. “Don’t go, I… I want to be together with you more.”

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To the people who hoped for YBZ to save some face: sorry. He’s an egg.