Chapter 18: Love-Brained
Qin Yue quickly stepped in front of Jiang Chuchu.
He had already inquired about what happened yesterday at noon and was completely convinced that there was nothing wrong with Gu Qinghuan and her friends—this was purely because Yan Zhengqing’s brain was full of holes.
The Yan family couldn’t even compare to the Jiang family. If Yan Zhengqing had even half a brain, he wouldn’t dare openly make trouble with Jiang Chuchu.
But looking at the situation now, Qin Yue figured that Yan Zhengqing must’ve lost his brain entirely.
Other classmates were whispering among themselves, all utterly confused about what was going on.
A classmate sitting near the door, taking advantage of the fact that Yan Zhengqing’s lackeys weren’t paying attention, quickly hid their phone under the desk and typed a message.
Bao Qingsong: [I think I know a bit about this!]
Bao Qingsong: [That girl Xiaoxue is probably the one who came to find Xie Xiangxue at noon today, but Xie Xiangxue doesn’t even know her.]
Bao Qingsong: [She took one look at Xie Xiangxue, started crying, said “sorry,” and ran away.]
Yan Xiaolan: [Judging by how this guy is acting now, is Xiaoxue his girlfriend? Maybe he thinks Xie Xiangxue bullied her?]
Yu Xin, holding her phone, hesitated but eventually decided to share Lin Xiaoxue’s info in the group.
Xu Xinghe: [The more I hear, the more confused I get.]
Xu Xinghe: [Why would Lin Xiaoxue go looking for Xie Xiangxue?]
With Gu Qinghuan shielding her, Xie Xiangxue had the chance to check her phone. As the person involved, combining what Yu Xin and Yan Zhengqing had said, she immediately understood.
That “crazy man and crazy woman” line from Jiang Chuchu was spot on!
Xie Xiangxue suddenly stood up, and before Yan Zhengqing could start yelling, she said loudly, “I didn’t say anything!”
She quickly explained the incident from yesterday when Yan Zhengqing had wrongly accused her, and emphasized, “I don’t know what Xiaoxue told you, but I didn’t do anything to her!”
Although she was nervous and her sentences weren’t very smooth, everyone still understood. The classroom immediately erupted into murmurs loud enough for Yan Zhengqing to hear the criticism.
“Poor Xie Xiangxue—she just accidentally bumped into someone, and now these two lunatics are harassing her like this.”
“I can’t—haven’t seen such an overconfident—no, self-absorbed—guy in ages.”
“Does he think he’s some CEO defending his lover?”
“This is so greasy I’m switching to congee for dinner.”
“I just want to know what Lin Xiaoxue imagined in her head.”
“Same. I don’t get her logic at all.”
Yan Zhengqing’s expression darkened. Song Yi subtly adjusted his stance so that if Yan tried to get physical, he could block him immediately.
From what Xie Xiangxue had said, she really hadn’t done anything to Lin Xiaoxue—it might’ve just been a misunderstanding.
But could he admit, “I was wrong”? Absolutely not! He was already being talked about like this by Class Three—how could he admit fault? Where would his pride go?
If Gu Qinghuan knew what he was thinking, she’d probably roll her eyes: Isn’t this mess entirely your own fault?
Yan Zhengqing decided to dump the blame entirely on Xie Xiangxue. “If you had just explained properly to Xiaoxue, how could she have misunderstood?”
“Misunderstood what? Explain what? I don’t even know who she is. Is she money? Does everyone have to know her?” Xie Xiangxue shot back, speaking fast and sharp.
Maybe it was because she was in her own classroom, with Gu Qinghuan guarding her in front and Song Yi—who clearly could fight—nearby, plus classmates on her side, but Xie Xiangxue felt a lot more confident.
“You—” Yan Zhengqing stepped forward, looking like he wanted to throw a punch.
His two lackeys quickly moved in front of him, ready to hold Song Yi down.
Gu Qinghuan instantly turned her back, shielding Xie Xiangxue as she moved toward the back of the room. She pulled out her phone to call Bai Hanshan and urged the classmate by the window, “Quick, open the window and yell for a teacher—say there’s a student about to jump!”
The classmate gave her a side-eye: Monitor, you really can talk nonsense.
But yelling “fight” might not get much attention. Yelling this, though… someone was sure to find a teacher, and the teacher would come running faster than anyone.
The situation was getting complicated, but before the classmate could even shout, a clear male voice came from the doorway, “Is my big sister here?”
Xia He leaned slightly forward, hands behind his back, standing at the door like a well-behaved Pomeranian waiting to be fed.
He seemed oblivious to Yan Zhengqing’s group about to fight, peering around the room until his gaze found Gu Qinghuan. His face lit up. “Sister, let’s go home together!”
Jiang Chuchu’s skin crawled: Who is this? This is definitely not the Xia He I know!
If it weren’t such bad timing, Gu Qinghuan would’ve shouted, “For the last time, I’m not your sister!”
She tried to signal him with her eyes. “I’m busy here, you go back first—”
“You brat, what are you interrupting for?!” one of Yan’s lackeys shouted.
Xia He tilted his head slightly, gaze falling on the lackey. “You just interrupted my sister, didn’t you?”
Qin Yue didn’t even know this boy calling Gu Qinghuan “sister,” but just from that one sentence, a chill shot up from his tailbone to the back of his neck. Instinctively, he stepped in front of Jiang Chuchu and almost stepped on her foot.
The lackey clearly didn’t take this delicate-looking boy seriously and wanted to teach him a lesson. “Looks like you’re asking for trouble!”
“Enough!!”
Gu Qinghuan yanked a broom from the cleaning corner and shoved it into Xie Xiangxue’s hands, then raised her voice toward Song Yi.
“The matter’s been explained—it has nothing to do with our class!” she said, staring at Yan Zhengqing. “Are you sure you really want to start a fight in here?”
If a fight broke out, they couldn’t be the first to swing. Even if Yan’s group started it, once fists flew, the nature of the matter changed. The semester had barely begun; making a huge scene would do no one any good.
Yan Zhengqing’s face was dark. Losing face twice in front of these three was unbearable.
“Are you done? Can I go home with my sister now?” Xia He asked lazily, kicking at the corner of the doorframe. “I heard the Yan family has a dinner party tonight. Shouldn’t you be getting back?”
Yan’s eyes narrowed. Finally, he looked at Xia He directly.
Xia He met his gaze with an innocent smile.
“Go back for now,” Yan said with a frown. “I still have to take Xiaoxue to the dinner. You two, come with me.” The last part was to his lackeys.
The lackeys left reluctantly, throwing a few parting threats.
Once they were gone, the classroom filled with the sound of heavy breathing, and many people began exchanging bits of gossip about Yan Zhengqing.
Xia He was about to approach Gu Qinghuan, but she turned and ran to Xie Xiangxue instead.
Only now did Xie Xiangxue start to feel the fear, her hands shaking so much she couldn’t hold the broom.
Gu Qinghuan tossed the broom aside and hugged her directly. “It’s fine now—they’re gone. This wasn’t your fault at all; those two lunatics are the ones with problems.”
Xie Xiangxue was half-laughing, half-embarrassed from the hug in such hot weather, but she felt genuinely reassured. Her voice came out shaky: “I really didn’t—”
“Of course you didn’t! You didn’t do anything wrong!” Gu Qinghuan said firmly.
Other classmates gathered around, muttering about how ridiculous Yan Zhengqing and Lin Xiaoxue were. The girls hugged Xie Xiangxue or patted her back and shoulders.
Gu Qinghuan found herself squeezed out and worrying—she hadn’t expected Yan Zhengqing to come looking for trouble so soon. She’d just joined the student council and hadn’t even gotten close to any actual authority yet.
Qin Yue rubbed the back of his neck as he came over. “I think if we want to solve this, we’ll have to start with Lin Xiaoxue. Yan Zhengqing really seems to like her.”
“Give me a break—we still don’t even know why she came to find Xie Xiangxue, why she cried, or why she told Yan Zhengqing that stuff,” Jiang Chuchu said irritably.
“Well… I might know…” Yu Xin raised her hand hesitantly.
Everyone immediately turned to look at her.
Yu Xin swallowed. “Could it be… she heard about Xie Xiangxue and Yan Zhengqing, wanted to check out the girl supposedly trying to get close to him, then thought Xie Xiangxue was better than her, more suited to him, and decided to bow out… or something like that…”
Her voice got smaller and smaller—their expressions were getting harder to read.
Jiang Chuchu looked like she was about to scream. “What kind of brain logic is that?!”
“I think I’m going to be sick,” Gu Qinghuan pressed a hand to her chest.
The rest of the class was equally stunned— So this is what being love-brained looks like?!
