Unexpected Obstacles to Transfer

As he ate, Lin Ling noticed the light around him dim. He looked up, his gaze falling upon a cascade of silver hair.

“Still eating alone, Lin Ling?”

Chen Sishi’s voice remained as sweet and warm as ever. Yet, Lin Ling simply scooped another mouthful of food as if he hadn’t seen her, feigning an air of calm that belied the frantic beating of his heart.

“Say… wouldn’t you prefer to eat out, Lin Ling? You don’t enjoy being stuck on campus, do you?”

Chen Sishi’s voice echoed in Lin Ling’s ears. Perhaps he was overly suspicious, but her words struck him as subtly off-key. On the surface, she was merely asking if he disliked staying at school, but her true intention, he suspected, was to inquire about his desire to transfer.

“Hmm? What do you mean?”

Confronted by this, Lin Ling decided to play dumb, feigning ignorance of her meaning. Chen Sishi, however, didn’t press the issue, merely offering a faint smile.

“Of course, I’m asking if you’d like to eat somewhere else. If you do, lunch is entirely on me.”

Lin Ling’s lips twitched uncontrollably. The events of the past few days were still fresh in his mind. If he truly went out with Chen Sishi, they wouldn’t be dining at a restaurant outside school; they’d be eating at her house.

“Ahem… that won’t be necessary. I don’t like troubling others.”

“I see…”

A flicker of disappointment crossed Chen Sishi’s face, but it vanished as quickly as it appeared. She resumed eating in silence, her expression unchanged.

****

A moment later, Lin Ling suddenly heard a familiar voice.

“Lin Ling, what a coincidence!”

Upon hearing the voice, he started to look up, only to be met with a pair of slender, long legs. Lin Ling stared, utterly mesmerized, and the food he had just picked up slipped from his chopsticks.

Chen Sishi’s reaction, however, was far more intense than Lin Ling’s. Her watery blue eyes immediately fixated on the source of the voice.

Standing nearby, Xu Wei felt a surge of unease. It was as if a murderous intent had targeted her. She glanced around nervously, her eyes meeting Chen Sishi’s.

Their gazes locked, and Xu Wei felt a sudden constriction in her chest, a suffocating sensation. Only when she averted her eyes from Chen Sishi’s intense stare did she feel a measure of relief.

“Um… Lin Ling, I’ll go eat in my classroom. I’m leaving now.”

With that hurried utterance, Xu Wei fled, leaving Lin Ling alone at the table, facing Chen Sishi.

“Lin Ling, who… is she?”

“Ah, haha, she… she’s just a friend of mine.”

“Truly just a friend?”

Swallowing hard, cold sweat beaded on Lin Ling’s forehead. He had been managing Chen Sishi well enough, but Xu Wei’s sudden appearance had caught him completely off guard.

‘He was practically dying of exasperation. Why did the original protagonist have to stir up trouble with so many girls, only to leave Lin Ling to clean up his mess?’

Noticing Lin Ling’s silence, Chen Sishi leaned closer, her body inching towards his until their faces were almost touching.

Fortunately, this intimate moment didn’t last long. For reasons unknown, Chen Sishi abruptly retreated, settling back into her own seat.

Lin Ling scratched his head, utterly bewildered by Chen Sishi’s actions.

After finishing their meal, the two walked along a secluded path. As they strolled, Lin Ling covertly observed Chen Sishi beside him.

Ever since Xu Wei’s departure, Lin Ling had been wary of Chen Sishi. After observing her for a prolonged period, he noticed an unsettling shift in her expression. He was curious, yet he dared not ask.

“Lin Ling, do you think I’m scary?”

Her sudden question caught Lin Ling completely off guard. He found it rather perplexing and, for a moment, was at a loss for how to respond.

After a long pause, Lin Ling finally spoke.

“Not scary… at least, not as scary as that female ghost.”

Lin Ling left the latter half of his thought unspoken; with his courage, he wouldn’t dare say it directly to Chen Sishi. He feared that if he did, she might transform him into something bizarre.

Upon receiving Lin Ling’s answer, Chen Sishi’s expression visibly brightened. This sight made Lin Ling realize that Chen Sishi wasn’t entirely terrifying; at least, she possessed a charming side.

“Then, will you be afraid of me in the future, Lin Ling?”

“Of course not…” The words barely left his mouth when Lin Ling sensed a hint of danger, prompting him to quickly add, “As long as Sishi doesn’t go too far.”

“Mm-hmm, of course not.”

The silver-haired girl flashed a sweet smile, feeling as though she had tumbled into a honey pot, utterly enveloped in sweetness.

Lin Ling, naturally, had no idea of Chen Sishi’s inner thoughts. He simply walked in silence, maintaining his guarded demeanor.

****

As the final class of the afternoon began, Lin Ling found himself, for the third time, standing before Liang Rumeng’s office door. After a moment of hesitation, he gently knocked.

Soon after, the office door opened, revealing a middle-aged man.

Lin Ling recognized him as another Chinese language teacher. He had seen him grading assignments when he’d visited Liang Rumeng before.

“Teacher, I’m here to see Teacher Liang.”

The man simply acknowledged him and allowed Lin Ling to enter. Arriving at the office for the third time, Lin Ling felt a pang of awkwardness, aware of how many times he’d shown up today.

Liang Rumeng’s expression, however, remained calm, betraying no hint of disdain, embarrassment, or annoyance.

“Lin Ling, I have news this time.”

The words made Lin Ling’s heart leap. He quickly stepped closer to Liang Rumeng, asking with an urgent tone.

“The principal didn’t approve. He said, ‘If you can’t stay in this class, I can transfer you to another one.’ It essentially means he won’t let you leave the school.”

Lin Ling was dumbfounded. He had anticipated Chen Sishi might try to prevent his transfer.

What he never expected, though, was for the principal to be the one to refuse. Lin Ling wasn’t even a top student at this school; at best, he was slightly above average.

‘So why would the principal reject his transfer request? Surely, Chen Sishi hadn’t bribed him, had she?’

As the thought crossed his mind, Lin Ling realized it was entirely plausible. Given Chen Sishi’s family connections, influence, and financial power, achieving such a thing wouldn’t be difficult. If that were the case, he would need to rethink his entire strategy.

Lin Ling returned to the classroom dispirited, utterly lacking energy.

Li Yan, seeing his gloomy state, was about to approach and inquire. But just as he took a couple of steps, a graceful figure beat him to it. Li Yan scratched his head, returning to his seat, a sneaky thought forming in his mind.

‘My Brother Lin is truly something; he can even win over someone like Class President Qin.’

Qin Ruoxue, of course, was oblivious to Li Yan’s thoughts; she simply wanted to understand Lin Ling’s situation.

“Where were you just now?”

Lin Ling glanced at her, then replied with a sigh.

“My transfer application was rejected. It’s going to be hard to explain to my family.”

Hearing this, Qin Ruoxue’s brows furrowed deeply. She paced back and forth beside Lin Ling for a few moments.

“How about this? I’ll have your parents brought over in a couple of days. Anyway, moving is moving, it doesn’t matter where to.”

Lin Ling nearly choked. ‘How could it possibly be the same?’ he thought. Thankfully, this was just an excuse he’d fabricated. Given the original owner’s parents’ personalities, they would never move somewhere far away.

“Thanks, but I’ll figure this out myself.”

“Alright.”

Returning to her seat, Qin Ruoxue watched Lin Ling’s troubled expression, a pang of sympathy stirring within her.

Lin Ling was genuinely distressed. His original plan had been to escape this city, giving him some time even if Chen Sishi pursued him.

During that interim, he would have ample opportunity to prepare his next move. But now, with the transfer option closed, Lin Ling had to devise an entirely new strategy.

‘What if I just drop out and go back to my hometown?’

‘No, no, absolutely not. If I actually did that, my mom would kill me.’

The original protagonist’s family wasn’t well-off, and the cost of sending Lin Ling to this high school had already turned his parents’ hair gray. If they found out he wanted to transfer, they’d undoubtedly take a train here just to beat him senseless.

He pondered for a long time, so long that class ended, yet he still hadn’t come up with a viable solution. It was only after Qin Ruoxue’s reminder that he finally packed his schoolbag.