“Class Monitor, this suggestion probably isn’t suitable for all the students.”
“It’s still a good option, right?”
Tang Ziya thought for a moment and then offered another suggestion.
She really was obsessed with this sort of thing.
“It’s either an escape room adventure or a wilderness survival trip.”
Li Yanqiu also felt it wasn’t appropriate, so she politely declined the class monitor’s proposal.
“I’ve heard there are many legends over in the northern mountains. It would be a great chance to go experience them.”
“Then… we could go camping, do some mountain exploration. That should be pretty good too.”
“But in this heat, going up to the mountains—isn’t that just offering ourselves as a free meal for the mosquitoes?”
“I’ll take it as a sign that your suggestion is great and I’ll seriously consider it.”
With no other choice, the homeroom teacher had to let her sit down and let others speak.
“Teacher, I have a suggestion!!”
It was like an earthquake—rumbling and booming.
At that moment, Guo Ming stood up and jumped, and the whole classroom seemed to shake.
“Oh? Let’s hear it.”
“We can go swimming in the pool! It’s hot anyway, and this is the perfect sport for it.”
Guo Ming’s eyes lit up; he was practically writing the word “creep” across his face.
‘You! The hell you’re going there for swimming—I’m too embarrassed to call you out on it!’
Sure enough, it immediately drew contempt from all the girls.
“How about we go to a hot spring hotel and soak together? It’s hot anyway, so it’s a good way to get rid of dampness, right?”
Seeing everyone’s expressions turn sour, Guo Ming switched ideas.
‘Great, now he’s planning to draw a hot spring doujinshi!’
Even Gu Chen couldn’t take it anymore and snapped, “If you’re hot, why don’t you go streaking? Shut up.”
Having this guy as her underling was truly embarrassing.
She felt that half her bad reputation was due to this idiot’s efforts…
The discussion continued, with suggestions for all kinds of places.
At least things were a lot more normal now.
Finally, they settled on a few locations that everyone could accept, but they needed to check the budget.
Class funds were limited, so Li Yanqiu would have to negotiate and see if they could get a group discount or something.
The trip would be after the monthly exam, so there was no need to rush a decision.
After lunch, Gu Chen enjoyed a rare moment of leisure.
She went straight to the rooftop to rest, lying back on a lounge chair, soaking up the sun’s warmth, feeling drowsy.
It was already the end of September—this should be the last stretch of heat.
After National Day, it should cool down.
Then, after the team-building event, there would be a seven-day holiday—another rare break.
“Ahh—”
Gu Chen yawned.
She was about to nap for a bit, so she set a timer on her phone to avoid oversleeping.
“Hm?”
Suddenly, she heard a noise from the direction of the door.
“Who’s there? Get the hell out!”
Gu Chen frowned.
‘Have these guys gotten cocky, or am I not carrying enough weight anymore? Who dares to bother me?’
“No!”
“Brother Chen, don’t swing! It’s me!”
The figure in the shadows startled, quickly came out, and raised his hands to show he meant no harm.
“Liu Han?”
“You followed me here, huh?”
Gu Chen’s expression darkened further.
That morning, he had suddenly blocked her path, saying he wanted to talk privately about something—she had no idea what he was up to.
She ignored him, and now he’d come looking for her anyway.
“No, no, I really have something important.”
Liu Han bowed and scraped—nothing like the school bully he used to be.
“Spit it out already.”
Gu Chen waved her hand impatiently.
Liu Han paused, then stated his purpose:
“Well… Huang Jun asked me to pass a message to you.”
“Huang Jun? What the hell does that bastard want? Why didn’t he come himself, and instead sent you? When did you become his lackey?”
She hadn’t expected it to be about him.
Gu Chen’s heart skipped a beat.
Instinctively, she felt it had something to do with Chu Xiaomeng, and she immediately became alert.
“Come on, we’re all friends. He’s just afraid of you, so he asked me to relay the message.”
Liu Han kept a grin on his face.
“Get on with it. What message?”
Gu Chen didn’t want to beat around the bush. She told him to get to the point.
“Well… it’s about Chu Xiaomeng. Huang Jun wants to pursue her as his girlfriend, but he knows she’s under your protection. So he’s hoping that Brother Chen will let it slide and not get involved.”
“Oh? And what do you think? Should I get involved or not?”
Gu Chen was so furious she laughed.
‘That scumbag—as long as he doesn’t mess with girls in my class or under my protection, I don’t bother with the rest. And now he dares to step on my turf? Is he tired of living?’
“Cough, it’s just a girl. Huang Jun said that if you put in a good word for him, he guarantees he’ll introduce you to nine girls prettier than Chu Xiaomeng, plus plenty of other perks. He won’t shortchange you!”
In his eyes, as long as the benefits were good enough, why care about one girl?
Just like Qian Zhiyu—he dumped her without a second thought.
Liu Han declared this loudly.
“Dream on!”
Gu Chen was so angry she slapped him.
“You bootlicker! How come I never noticed you were this spineless before!”
“Brother Chen, I, I…”
Liu Han staggered back, seeing stars, stammering.
“Today, on behalf of the school and the class, I’m going to beat the crap out of you!”
Gu Chen rolled up her sleeves. It had really been too long since she’d taught him a lesson.
The guy scrambled away in terror, not daring to say another word.
“Pah! What a bunch of trash!”
Gu Chen sneered, glaring fiercely.
‘Thank goodness Guo Ming happened to see it. If I’d discovered it later, it would have been too late.’
But at the same time, she found it strange.
Huang Jun might be shameless, but he was usually pretty cowardly.
Since he knew Chu Xiaomeng had acknowledged her as Big Brother, he almost certainly wouldn’t have dared to make a move.
Yet now he not only dared, but even sent a messenger.
‘There must be some reason he absolutely needs to pursue Chu Xiaomeng—otherwise, he wouldn’t risk getting beaten up for this.’
To be sure, Gu Chen called Chu Xiaomeng.
“Hello, Big Brother.”
“Has Huang Jun been bothering you again?”
“No. I made it clear to him last night and deleted all contact info.”
Chu Xiaomeng answered confidently.
As long as she was safe on her end.
“Good. Huh? What exactly did you say to him?”
Gu Chen nodded.
“I just repeated what you told me, Big Brother, to Senior Huang. Though… it’s fine. I believe in you, Boss.”
“So you sold me out just like that?”
Gu Chen could tell she was holding something back, but what left her more speechless was that her exact words didn’t need to be repeated verbatim!
This girl was way too straightforward.
“What’s wrong?”
“Nothing. Anyway, deleting him is for the best. Don’t believe anything he says from now on. If anything happens, contact me anytime, got it?”
Gu Chen sighed.
There was no use arguing about that now.
As long as Chu Xiaomeng listened, everything else could be handled.
“Mm, I’ll remember. Big Brother, I’m really happy that you’re protecting me…”
There was a note of emotion in Chu Xiaomeng’s voice.
“Don’t be so mushy. Bye.”
Gu Chen still felt a secret satisfaction.
Hearing a girl say that gave her a pretty good sense of achievement.
But she felt that things weren’t that simple. She’d have to look into it.