A Bitter Revelation

The day passed quickly. Before long, the swimming club’s afternoon training had ended.

After the last club member left, I locked the pool gate and returned the key to the advisor’s office.

“Hmm—Zhou Chen, you’ve really been working hard lately. You’ve made my job so much easier.”

The advisor stretched, leaning back lazily in her chair. A trace of fatigue showed on her handsome face.

“It’s nothing, Teacher Xia. You’re the one who works hard. Besides, I volunteered to help.”

I smiled. I no longer felt flustered by her thanks, unlike the first time when I was a nervous wreck.

“Haha, you’re such a nice guy, Zhou Chen.”

She patted my shoulder, then looked at me teasingly.

“Since that’s the case, how about giving my shoulders a rub?”

“Stop joking, Teacher Xia. I have to go now. They’re probably waiting for me at the school gate.”

I looked at her helplessly and refused.

“You’ve become less adorable, Zhou Chen. You used to get so flustered and blush. That was cute.”

She sighed, putting on a disappointed expression, but her eyes kept glancing at me.

I didn’t say anything. I knew she was joking, so I didn’t want to react in a way that would amuse her.

“No fun. You can go, Zhou Chen.”

Sure enough, seeing that I had no reaction, she waved her hand in a bored manner.

“Mm. See you tomorrow, Teacher.”

I greeted her, left the office, and let out a sigh of relief outside.

Advisor Xia Caihui was a gym teacher at the school and also coached the swimming club. She was once a national swimmer, they said, and was hired by Taolisi High School after retiring.

She was quite young—in her twenties—and very pretty. Honestly, her teasing was hard to handle.

But that was just her nature. She joked around with the club members too, and everyone treated her like an older sister.

With her being so excellent, she had many suitors, but like Ling Yan, she seemed to devote herself entirely to the swimming club.

The club trained every weekday morning before class and after school, with optional practice on weekends. She was almost always there.

She was truly a dedicated teacher, and I admired her. I always tried to help as much as I could, just to lighten her load a little.

“Chenzi, you’re so slow! If you were any later, we’d have stolen Little Yan away.”

“Alright, Ling Yan hasn’t said anything. Stop scaring Zhou Chen, Xiao Lu, or Ling Yan will get mad at you.”

When I reached the school gate, the chatting group turned their attention to me.

“Sorry.”

I clasped my hands together and apologized to the slightly complaining members.

“Hmph! If sorry were enough, we wouldn’t need the police. No, Chenzi, you have to treat us to food before we can forgive you.”

“Don’t bully Zhou Chen too much, Xiao Lu. But I agree with the treating part.”

“Me too!”

Faced with their teasing, I laughed and readily agreed. I knew they were just joking and wouldn’t really demand that. Even when we did eat together, we always split the bill.

Afterwards, we walked home together. As each member took a different route, soon only Ling Yan and I remained.

I glanced at her. She seemed different today. Was she happy? Cheerful? She had an expression I’d never seen directed at me. Had something happened?

My heart ached a little. Usually, she was so cold towards me that even the slightest change caught my attention.

“Ling Yan, did something good happen today?” I asked cautiously.

“Mm.”

She nodded, and as if recalling something, a rare smile appeared on her face.

I’d seen her smile a few times before, but never at me. This time was the same. What was it? I wanted to know, but she didn’t elaborate, which meant she didn’t want to tell me.

So I didn’t ask further. Ling Yan wouldn’t answer if she didn’t want to, and I never wanted to see that look of disgust in her eyes again.

Her steps were unusually light, and with each one, my heart sank further.

When we reached her door, I was drenched in sweat and felt a chill. But everything seemed normal, so I breathed a little easier.

“See you tomorrow, Zhou Chen.”

“Mm, see you.”

Just like always. I watched her walk into her yard.

But the moment she reached her door, my heart nearly stopped.

The door opened, revealing a young man with blonde hair, dressed casually, exuding a sunny aura. Though I couldn’t see his face clearly from a distance, his silhouette was that of an incredibly handsome guy. He was stroking Ling Yan’s glossy black hair, speaking to her affectionately.

Then I felt him glance at me—a scrutinizing look. Ling Yan also turned back, her face slightly flushed. She waved her hands frantically, pushed him into the house in a fluster, and closed the door.

I stood there dumbfounded, my heart feeling battered and bruised.

Maybe this was why Ling Yan never let me come to her house, why she never talked about herself. She was always aloof towards other guys, though slightly warmer to me. But that shy, anxious look? I’d never seen it before.

That blonde guy must be her real boyfriend, the one she truly loved. Why else would she explain so frantically? I could easily guess from her actions.

My heart ached. So Ling Yan didn’t like me after all. Even after spending so much time with her, I still couldn’t make her love me.

But even so, I still loved her. I still wanted to be with her. Even if we could never be a real couple, if I could just be with her, I’d willingly be her shield at school.

No hatred, no resentment. I knew my place. How could I compare to that blonde guy? How could Ling Yan ever like someone like me?

So, I’d be satisfied as long as she never looked troubled in front of me.

I just wanted Ling Yan to be happy. That was the only thought in my heart.

After a moment of silence, I let out a laugh. Was it a laugh of relief or release? I didn’t know, but my heart felt lighter than I expected. Maybe I’d always known that Ling Yan and I were impossible.

I turned and walked back home, wanting nothing more than to sleep.

“Hey, wanna come hang out with us?”

“Don’t worry, it’ll be fun~”

“No! Let me go!”

Dragging my heavy body, my mind replaying the intimate scene of the blonde man and Ling Yan, I walked home. Then I heard a conversation that sounded like a classic light novel trope. I shook my head and looked towards the sound.

Two blonde guys were cornering a girl. Judging by her uniform, she was a student at our school. One of them was grabbing her arm, and she looked distressed.

Despite my mind being full of Ling Yan, I had to admit that this girl made me pause. She had exquisite, delicate features, a petite figure, and a vulnerable expression that rivaled even Ling Yan’s beauty.

Then I looked at the two blonde guys with their sleazy grins. A string snapped inside me. No matter how much I lied to myself, I couldn’t ignore this. A sickening anger welled up inside me.

“Hey, scumbags. Didn’t you hear her say no?”

I rolled my shoulders and walked towards them. I couldn’t vent my anger on innocent people, but these two bastards were fair game.

One of them noticed me and turned his head. Ugh, so sleazy. Compared to Ling Yan’s handsome boyfriend, these guys were trash.

“Who the hell are you? Get lost if you don’t want to die!”

“Ha. What if I want to die?”

That didn’t sound like a heroic line to rescue a damsel in distress. More like I was deliberately picking a fight.

“Ah, you’re…”

The girl seemed to recognize me, looking at me in surprise. But I ignored her, charged forward, and punched one of the blonde men in the face.

…

“Tsk. That hurts,” I muttered, touching the bruise on my cheek and sighing. But I felt much better.

“…”

For some reason, the girl was staring at me with curious, bright eyes. Was something wrong with me?

“…Um, what is it?”

“Are you Senior Zhou Chen?”

“Huh? You know me?”

I didn’t expect such a pretty girl to know me. I thought I was just an ordinary background character.

“How could I not? You’re the boyfriend of the school idol, Senior Ling Yan, right?”

“…I see.”

I didn’t want to hear that. The relief I’d felt was gone, replaced by heaviness.

“You’re safe now. Go somewhere crowded. I should go too.”

“Huh? Senior, don’t you know who I am?”

The girl looked shocked.

“I haven’t even thanked you yet.”

“No need. And it doesn’t matter who you are. Let’s part ways here.”

This girl was weird. Why would I need to know her? We’d probably never interact again.

So I ignored her frozen stare and continued walking home.