Chapter 76

"Hmph, let's go, Zhang Jing!" In a corner, Xia Shihan accompanied Chu Yarou to change her phone and happened to see Tang Yu and Chu Yarou walk in, witnessing the entire process of them buying the phone.

"I thought Tang Yu only liked you, but I didn't expect her to be so promiscuous! She even brought Chu Yarou out to buy a phone. It seems they are really in a hot romance?" Zhang Jing said angrily, looking at Tang Yu.

"I don't care about them!" Xia Shihan coldly snorted and glared at Tang Yu's direction, then walked towards the door.

"If you don't care about them, why are you so upset?" Zhang Jing asked Xia Shihan, testing the waters.

"I... I'm not! I just can't stand his behavior!" Xia Shihan pouted, speaking angrily. But she was indeed very hurt. Although she didn't plan to be with Tang Yu, she had clearly said she only liked herself. She never expected him to be with Chu Yarou now and even buy her a phone. Their relationship was obvious, and it turned out he had been lying to her. This was what Xia Shihan found most infuriating; she hated being lied to. She really wanted to pull Tang Yu over and ask him for an explanation!

Zhang Jing glanced at Chu Yarou: "Yarou, since you don't like Tang Yu, isn't this a good thing? It saves him from chasing you and bothering you. I think Chu Yarou is quite a match for him. Unlike Li Yunting, who was the proudest of the four school beauties and dumped Tang Yu, Chu Yarou is the one with the poorest family background among the four. She won't be too proud and dump him. And she is the type who, once she holds hands with someone, will be devoted to that person for life. I think she is more suitable for Tang Yu than you." Zhang Jing said on the side. The outside world didn't know the real situation between Tang Yu and Li Yunting, only that Li Yunting was too proud and dumped Tang Yu.

"Alright, stop talking, let's go!" Xia Shihan heard Zhang Jing's words, which made sense. If Chu Yarou and Tang Yu were dating, it would be reassuring. But why was her heart so uncomfortable and angry? Chu Yarou didn't look around and quickly walked out.

"Hey, you brat, wait for me!" Zhang Jing hurriedly followed.

Tang Yu and Chu Yarou walked towards the door from another small path. Lifting his eyes, he couldn't help but see Xia Shihan with a bad expression in front. Tang Yu was taken aback; how coincidental, she was here too?

Tang Yu didn't want to meet Xia Shihan, as Chu Yarou was with him, and he feared she would think his behavior was problematic or even misunderstand. But Xia Shihan also saw him.

"Hmph!" Xia Shihan coldly snorted and walked out directly.

"Shihan!" Tang Yu was surprised, not expecting Xia Shihan to glare at him and walk out. Did she see him buying a phone for Chu Yarou and misunderstand something?

"Ah..." Chu Yarou also saw Xia Shihan walk out angrily, her beautiful face turning pale. She didn't understand why Xia Shihan was so angry to see her with Tang Yu. Had they already started something? If so, seeing Tang Yu bring her to buy a phone today would...

Xia Shihan hurriedly followed, knowing it was all because of her.

"Shihan, wait for me, it's not what you think!" Tang Yu followed Xia Shihan and said.

Xia Shihan suddenly stopped, turned to look at Tang Yu, and glared at him: "Tang Yu, you don't need to explain anything to me now, because we have no other relationship besides being desk mates. I need to go back to class, so please don't follow me."

"You are clearly angry!" Tang Yu said directly.

"Does it have anything to do with you?" Xia Shihan glared at Tang Yu.

"Hey, Shihan, what's wrong with you? He's not your boyfriend, why do you care who he's with?" Zhang Jing came up, seeing Xia Shihan and Tang Yu arguing, and glared at Tang Yu, naturally siding with her good friend.

"Shihan, you really misunderstood. There's nothing between Tang Yu and me. It's not what you think." Chu Yarou saw that both Tang Yu and Xia Shihan were very agitated. It was clear that Xia Shihan was sulking over Tang Yu, and it was all because of her.

Xia Shihan paused, her eyes looking at Chu Yarou. She had seen Chu Yarou before but hadn't spoken to her. This time, seeing her up close, she understood why she was chosen as a school beauty. Although her clothes weren't fancy, she was truly graceful and elegant. Xia Shihan's beautiful eyes flashed with surprise, and her cherry lips opened: "A graceful lady, a gentleman's ideal. Chu Yarou, I can clearly tell you now that there's nothing between us, so you can be at ease with him."

"Ah... Shihan, you..." Chu Yarou was surprised; Xia Shihan's words clearly showed she was still angry.

Holding the phone in her hand, she felt helpless, not knowing what to say. Xia Shihan was really angry. Suddenly, she handed the phone to Tang Yu and said softly: "Tang Yu, I'll give the phone back to you."

Tang Yu was taken aback, turned to look at Chu Yarou, and knew she was trying to avoid a misunderstanding. He waved his hand: "Keep it. Since someone is making assumptions, I can't do anything about it."

"I'm making assumptions! Fine! Zhang Jing, let's go!" Xia Shihan was even more angry after hearing Tang Yu's words, turned, and walked away. This time, Tang Yu didn't chase after her.

"Ah, she's gone, you should go after her!" Chu Yarou said anxiously.

"There's no need. Chasing her would only make things more complicated." Tang Yu suppressed his emotions, glanced at Chu Yarou, and said: "Let's go back."

"But..."

Tang Yu looked at Chu Yarou and walked forward. Tang Yu thought he had become much more mature and calm about relationships after the Li Yunting incident, but seeing Xia Shihan angry, he still felt at a loss, not knowing what to do. His heart was in turmoil.

Chu Yarou silently followed Tang Yu, not knowing how to comfort him. She could see that Tang Yu was really troubled. But she suddenly thought about herself. Since Tang Yu cared so much about Xia Shihan's feelings, what did he think of her? He had given her things several times, but what was his purpose?

She had thought he liked her and wanted to pursue her. But why had he never confessed to her?

Suddenly, she remembered what the old man had said about Tang Yu being a flirt. Could he really be trying to win both her and Chu Yarou, one by one? Chu Yarou suddenly felt she needed to get to the bottom of it. She couldn't keep accepting his gifts without reason and not returning them. If Tang Yu really liked both her and Xia Shihan and wanted to have both, she didn't want to see him again.

Her beautiful eyes lifted slightly, looking at Tang Yu walking ahead. Chu Yarou's peach lips trembled for a moment, then she said: "Tang Yu, I have a question for you."

"Ah, what is it, Yarou?" Tang Yu turned to look at Chu Yarou, whose expression was a bit strange, but he pretended nothing was wrong and smiled, asking.

"Do... Do you like me?" Chu Yarou asked suddenly.

"Yarou, you..." Tang Yu was taken aback. He was still troubled by Xia Shihan's question and didn't expect Chu Yarou to ask the same thing. Was it contagious for girls to be confused?

Looking at Chu Yarou, who was eagerly waiting for an answer, Tang Yu didn't know how to respond. Chu Yarou was so beautiful that any man would be attracted to her, but Tang Yu couldn't deceive himself. After the Li Yunting incident, he forced himself to plant his feelings in the right person. He had some affection for Chu Yarou, but it didn't reach the level of liking. It was more of a sense of empathy and shared experience, as their living conditions were so similar.

He was afraid that saying he didn't like her would hurt her self-esteem, but in this complicated situation, Tang Yu didn't want to make things worse.

Looking straight at Chu Yarou, Tang Yu said: "Yarou, you are a very good girl. Right now, I like... Shihan. I consider you a close friend, so don't feel guilty about the things I've given you. Just think of them as gifts from a close friend."

"..." Looking at Tang Yu's sincere face, Chu Yarou was speechless. She didn't know whether to be happy or sad. She was happy that Tang Yu wasn't the flirt she thought he was, but deep down, she felt a strong sense of loss. Wasn't this the answer she had been hoping for? Why was she still sad?

Chu Yarou forced a smile: "Okay, I understand. It's getting late, let's go back."

"Alright." Tang Yu saw that Chu Yarou seemed fine, thinking he had overreacted. Chu Yarou didn't seem to like him in that way.

When they entered the classroom, Tang Yu was surprised to find that Xia Shihan was not at her usual seat but had moved to the last empty desk. Tang Yu's heart was shaken. He suddenly remembered what Chu Yarou had said before: if his behavior didn't meet her standards, they would switch seats. This time, it wasn't just switching seats; it was moving away from him!

Some classmates, including Song Xiong from the phone store, looked at him curiously.

Tang Yu smiled bitterly, sat down, and started reviewing. Xia Shihan was really angry this time, and no matter what he said, it wouldn't help. He opened his book and began to study.

Over the next few days, Tang Yu and Xia Shihan were like strangers. Even when they passed each other face-to-face, Xia Shihan just glared at Tang Yu and left with Zhang Jing. She spent most of her time at her desk, studying intensively.

With only a little over a month left until the college entrance exam, those who were determined to do well were reviewing intensively, striving for the final push. Although the science subjects were mostly set, there was still room for improvement in the humanities. After all, the more one remembered, the more one could potentially score.

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