Suddenly, Ji Yue Xuan pressed close to him, startling Chu Xin.
He felt the girl’s natural scent, perfectly blended with the surrounding floral aroma, and a wave of panic washed over him. He quickly glanced around to see if anyone was nearby, and only after confirming they were alone did he finally let out a breath of relief.
Observing Chu Xin’s subtle actions, Ji Yue Xuan couldn’t help but feel a flicker of displeasure.
With a slight pout, she spoke, “Darling, are you really so afraid of our relationship being known? Or perhaps you’re afraid the girl you’ve been in contact with will find out?!”
The first part of Ji Yue Xuan’s remark held a cuteness Chu Xin had never witnessed from her before.
However, the latter half was laced with an icy chill, and her expression had become unprecedentedly stern.
Chu Xin’s recently calmed nerves immediately became taut with anxiety once more.
He quickly interjected, “N-no, that’s not it at all! I’m certainly not afraid of others knowing about us. Quite the opposite, in fact! I’d love nothing more than to proudly show off such a beautiful girlfriend. It’s just that…”
Ji Yue Xuan, who had initially felt a surge of happiness from Chu Xin’s flattering words, immediately turned cold.
Upon hearing his hesitant ‘It’s just that…’, she pressed, “Just what?”
For some reason, Chu Xin sensed something amiss about Ji Yue Xuan in this state, which made him a little fearful.
He continued, “It’s simply not good for the school’s image. You see, I’m the only male student in this all-girls school… and if I were to date one of the students, it would definitely have a negative impact…”
He was, after all, an ‘insider’ who had gained admission through connections.
Although he had passed the rigorous entrance exam, his eligibility for it was ultimately due to those very connections.
If his relationship with Ji Yue Xuan, his former ‘good brother’, were to be exposed, the school would likely face immense public pressure.
Even if the school didn’t seem to have a ‘no dating’ policy—he wasn’t sure why Shimizuma could recite such a rule so clearly—he had casually flipped through the regulations after washing up that morning.
He vaguely recalled no specific mention of such a rule.
Regardless, it was better to keep a low profile.
He had no idea what complications might arise.
“Oh… alright then. I thought Darling was the type of scumbag who’d confess to a ‘brother’, then secretly hide it, flirt with other girls, and eventually abandon them…”
After a moment of contemplation, Ji Yue Xuan reverted to her usual smiling demeanor when interacting with Chu Xin.
Chu Xin detected a faint, almost imperceptible chill in her words.
Yet, after a rare moment of serious thought, he declared earnestly, “I won’t do that. I’ll take full responsibility.”
Ji Yue Xuan gazed at the young man who had inexplicably uttered such dashing words, and a faint blush crept onto her cheeks.
‘This was a huge bonus point in her heart! Even though Chu Xin already held a perfect score in her estimation, adding a little more was certainly no problem at all.’
‘Though she had just decided not to reveal her true feelings to Chu Xin too soon, and had feigned happiness, in reality…’
She playfully tapped Chu Xin’s head.
“Idiot,” she chided. “Saying you’ll take… responsibility, isn’t that a bit too much, too soon?”
Chu Xin feigned covering his head, then responded, “Isn’t that perfectly normal…”
Ji Yue Xuan, however, offered no reply.
Instead, she simply pulled Chu Xin directly onto a long bench in the garden.
“What are you doing? Why are we suddenly sitting…”
Chu Xin’s words were cut short, his speech abruptly stifled by Ji Yue Xuan’s unique scent.
Ji Yue Xuan embraced him tightly.
Chu Xin felt a surge of panic, feeling almost like the more feminine one in this scenario, yet he remained motionless, frozen in place. “W-what’s wrong? Why did you suddenly hug me?”
Clinging to Chu Xin, Ji Yue Xuan, mimicking Shimizuma’s somewhat dazed expression, spoke innocently, “Hehe~ Haven’t seen Darling in ages, have I? So… I just needed to replenish my ‘Chu Xin-element’!”
Chu Xin, feeling a blush of embarrassment, stammered, “W-what is a ‘Chu Xin-element’? Isn’t that a term from that dating sim game you used to play?”
Ji Yue Xuan playfully pinched the soft flesh at Chu Xin’s waist, then complained, “Oh, come on! Your good friend finally says something romantic, can’t you just play along?”
Only then did Chu Xin finally relax.
He gently wrapped his arms around Ji Yue Xuan, murmuring, “Alright, alright.”
However, seeing Ji Yue Xuan’s blissful expression in his arms, Chu Xin felt a peculiar mix of emotions.
He also let out a sigh of relief, for Ji Yue Xuan’s demeanor just moments before had indeed been a little frightening.
‘Oh, dear. I hope I don’t turn into a henpecked husband in the future, do I?’
‘Hmm…’
Nestled in Chu Xin’s embrace, Ji Yue Xuan inhaled his scent, which filled her nostrils, leaving her feeling somewhat dazed.
‘It seems Darling’s little gestures have defeated me once again…’
‘But this is exactly what I like…’
‘Still… Darling carries the scent of another woman.’
As for who it was, Ji Yue Xuan didn’t yet possess the ‘ability’ to identify it instantly.
However, the subtle hint was enough of a warning for Darling, so Ji Yue Xuan chose not to question him there. ‘After all, some things were better left unknown to Darling for now~’
‘But not asking now didn’t mean she wouldn’t ask at all. She didn’t have X-ray vision, after all, so she’d just find another time to inquire…’
The two remained quietly embraced on the garden bench.
Time flowed by, second by second, yet for them, it seemed to freeze into an eternal tableau.
****
Just then, the preparatory bell for class rang, signaling the imminent start of lessons.
A stir of activity rose from the teaching building, but thankfully, no one seemed to notice the garden behind it.
Chu Xin gently stirred.
“We should go,” he said. “Class is about to start.”
But as soon as he spoke, Ji Yue Xuan seemed to grow a little annoyed.
“Honestly,” she huffed, “can’t I just spend a little more time with Darling? Besides… couldn’t we just skip this class? Wouldn’t it be nice for us to just stay here until lunch break?”
Chu Xin froze, taken aback.
‘That didn’t sound right… Such words didn’t typically come from this academic overachiever, did they?’
Yet, faced with such a tempting proposition, Chu Xin still found himself momentarily stunned…
‘After all, what man wouldn’t hesitate when his fair-skinned, beautiful partner made such a request?’
However, he also had to consider the consequences: the inevitable impact on the school, and the repercussions of Ji Yue Xuan missing class.
‘He couldn’t just think of himself.’
As he gazed into Ji Yue Xuan’s expectant eyes, just as Chu Xin had made up his mind and was about to speak, a phone suddenly rang, abruptly interrupting his train of thought.
Their embrace was also broken by the sudden ringing, leaving them sitting with their hands clasped, just as they had been moments before.
Ji Yue Xuan looked somewhat displeased.
Nevertheless, after a sigh, she gestured for Chu Xin to answer the call first.
Chu Xin picked it up and saw an unfamiliar number.
Yet, it felt vaguely familiar.
After a moment of thought, and noticing Ji Yue Xuan’s questioning gaze beside him, he answered it.
From the phone, a somewhat dazed yet gentle voice echoed, sounding a little hollow, likely from a teaching building corridor.
“Ah… it connected…”
Chu Xin immediately recognized Shimizuma’s voice.
However, receiving a call from his class president during class hours instinctively made him feel that something was amiss.
He wasn’t surprised that she knew his number; it had been filled into the contact book during enrollment.
Moreover, his phone number was quite distinctive and easily noticeable.
He glanced at Ji Yue Xuan, who still wore the same expression by his side, before finally speaking, “What is it, Class President?”
‘In truth, Ji Yue Xuan was seething with extreme displeasure, but it was clearly not the time to voice it.’
After Chu Xin spoke, a moment passed before Shimizuma’s rambling began on the other end of the line.
She mumbled about ‘apologizing for this morning’s incident…’ before finally saying, “Right, right~ Time for the main topic~ Chu Xin-kun, it seems you’re late…”
Chu Xin was utterly bewildered.
He knew he was late, but surely that didn’t warrant a phone call? After a moment of hesitation, he asked, “Ah… and what about it?”
Shimizuma’s reply was immediate and her voice sounded remarkably cheerful.
“Nothing much, really! You’re just late for the class meeting, and the homeroom teacher seems quite upset…”
Chu Xin froze on the spot, realizing with a jolt that he had forgotten about the regular Monday morning class meeting.
His homeroom teacher, Tina, would be there.
At that moment, an image of Tina materialized in Chu Xin’s mind: dressed in her nun’s habit, casually crossing her legs in her characteristic manner, and smiling at him…
A smile that would then fix him with an unwavering stare for half an hour.
Seeing Chu Xin offer no reply, Shimizuma continued speaking, her naturally innocent demeanor almost palpable to Chu Xin.
“So you’d better hurry over, Chu Xin-kun! See you soon~”
Chu Xin held his phone in a fixed position.
He wasn’t particularly afraid of being late, but Tina was truly… something else.
‘It’s over. It seems everything is completely over…’