Chapter 17 (1/2)

NPT C17No Protection TonightChapter 17: Brave Girl

”What lackey? Sanmao, don't be like this. We're in school to study, not to make a gang.” I was a little upset.

”Feng-ge, don't misunderstand my intentions. I just admire you, and if someone mighty like you were to take me under your wing, I can at least hold my head up high in front of the girls,” Liu Sanmao explained, afraid that I would reject him.

But before I could say anything, a feminine silhouette appeared next to him. It was Lin Xiaoya, Liu Jie's best friend. It was obvious that she had come to chastise me.

”Ahem.” Liu Xiaoya cleared her throat. Liu Sanmao was still waiting for my response and didn't notice her at all.

She became irritated. ”Hey, are you finished eating?”

”Oh, nope.” He looked really nervous, since it was rare for a girl to talk to him first. I didn't know whether to laugh or cry; such low emotional perception, but he could still spend all day thinking about picking up girls.

”Are you a pig? You're eating so much!” She rolled her eyes.

Liu Sanmao looked exasperated. ”I haven't even started eating, what're you—” He caught my eye.

”Oh, you wanted me to give you my seat. You should've said that before, I thought you were interested in me or something,” Liu Sanmao mumbled and shot me a glowing look.

For the sake of avoiding any awkwardness, I didn't want him to leave, but he still managed to slip away.

I felt agitated and restless while facing Lin Xiaoya, and she took the first pounce.

”Zhuang Feng, you're really dumb, aren't you? You hurt my Jie in front of so many people, how could you have the heart to do it?” Her accusatory words made me feel even more uncomfortable.

”Before this, I thought that you were a rather mature guy, but now I've realized that you're absolutely nothing! All you boys want is face, so does that mean you're not going to leave any for the girls? Even if you don't have any feelings for Jie, you probably shouldn't have done it like that, you're just making trouble!” She slapped the table with great force. Though I knew how to fight, I would never strike a girl. She had taken this opportunity to face off against me, picking a public place like the cafeteria on purpose.

This Lin Xiaoya was rather cunning. She'd effectively cut off all my escape routes.

”Okay, alright. What I did was wrong.” I admitted my mistake. To be honest, I just wanted to put an end to the whole thing as quickly as possible so she wouldn't have any lingering feelings.*

*I wrote a rather long piece on this whole ordeal, so I stuck it at the bottom.

”Hmph, at least you know what you did wrong. Now, I'm going to give you two options: one is to apologize to Jie and start going out with her; two is to come clean and not hurt her feelings, much less have her shed tears. She's a really fragile person and probably isn't willing to accept reality. Because of you, she hasn't been able to focus at all these days and refuses to eat. As her best friend, I keep all of these things in mind, you know.” Her tone was authoritative and commanding.

To be honest, if this had happened earlier, I would have said yes to Liu Jie a hundred times. Liu Jie was beautiful, and her body was perfect. There was no lack of boys who had a crush on her, and to be her boyfriend would almost be considered an achievement.

But right now, my heart could only store one person, and stuffing another one inside was very hard. I sighed and couldn't think of an answer. Coincidentally, I noticed Liu Jie sitting not too far off, glancing casually at me. Our eyes met for a moment, and she quickly tucked her small head down. Cute, I thought.

The beef noodles tasted excellent, but I couldn't enjoy it with Lin Xiaoya sitting across from me. After finis.h.i.+ng it in a few hasty bites, I hurried away before she could stop me.

It wasn't until I returned to the cla.s.sroom when I realized that I was on cleaning duty for the day. Just when I picked up the blackboard eraser, I was stopped by w.a.n.g Xiaopang.

”Feng-ge, you should go take a break. I can clean the blackboard for you.” He looked rather ardent in his decision, probably because of Liu Sanmao's earlier remark.

”Yeah, breathing in chalk dust can harm the kidneys. Our fatso* can't pick up girls anyway. Feng-ge should watch his health,” said a nearby cla.s.smate.

*The words ”小胖” (Xiaopang) in his name mean ”little fatty”, which is implied as a nickname (although not really seeming like one). The random cla.s.smate's use of ”fatso” is purely friendly and a harmless joke.

What a humorous bunch. Then, they started gossiping about how I was flirting with the cla.s.s flower while playing the young miss at the same time.

”Hey, don't talk trash, there's nothing between me and Liu Jie.” I raised my voice slightly, and they shut their mouths immediately. I could tell that they were a little afraid of me, but their eyes seemed fixated on something behind my back.

I turned around. I didn't know how long Liu Jie and Lin Xiaoya stood at the cla.s.sroom door, but I guessed they'd heard my biting words.

Well, this is awkward. I was scared that Liu Jie would break down, as there were plenty of people out in the corridor who were peering inside to get a glance. After all, seeing me right now was more interesting than looking at a hot girl.

If Liu Jie were to cry, my cla.s.smates would definitely spread out all kinds of rumors. I would definitely have a hard time clearing my image, then.

Thankfully, Liu Jie entered the cla.s.sroom without a fuss. She paused ever so slightly at my desk and returned to her seat.