Chapter 21: Nickname
In Lin Xiaoxue’s misunderstanding, there was an invisible “third person.”
If Lin Xiaoxue had actually witnessed that farce herself, she should have known what Xie Xiangxue looked like and wouldn’t have needed to come to Class 3 to confirm.
From what Yan Zhengqing had said, it could also be inferred that he’d never mentioned this matter in front of Lin Xiaoxue.
Furthermore, anyone who had really watched that whole farce would have known clearly that Xie Xiangxue had no such intentions.
Someone knew about that farce, deliberately told Xie Xiangxue about it, but didn’t tell her the whole truth…
It was obvious—someone had intentionally provoked Lin Xiaoxue to make her misunderstand Xie Xiangxue.
Gu Qinghuan suspected that this “invisible person” might have been scheming against Lin Xiaoxue at the time.
After all, Jiang Chuchu had also been present that day. If Lin Xiaoxue misunderstood Xie Xiangxue and it led to Yan Zhengqing coming to confront her, it could very well have angered Jiang Chuchu. Maybe the goal was to make Lin Xiaoxue, this “troublemaker,” suffer a bit.
Yu Xin, who was standing beside them, was stunned. She was smart both academically and mentally, and once Gu Qinghuan pointed it out, she immediately understood.
Yes—Lin Xiaoxue must have heard it from someone before going to confront Xie Xiangxue. Why had she completely ignored that “someone”?
Lin Xiaoxue froze for a moment, then recalled, “It… it was Yu Yuan who told me…”
Yu Xin gasped sharply and clamped a hand over her mouth.
Gu Qinghuan didn’t turn around, but hearing Yu Xin’s reaction, she knew something was off. She suppressed her curiosity for now and continued speaking to Lin Xiaoxue:
“I understand. But I want you to know—Xie Xiangxue doesn’t like Yan Zhengqing, and she doesn’t want to be his girlfriend.”
She watched Lin Xiaoxue’s expression carefully. Seeing no change at all, she guessed her words hadn’t gotten through to her at all.
With a love-brained person, it seemed she needed to use a different tactic.
Gu Qinghuan shifted the topic: “Yesterday, when Yan Zhengqing came to our class, he got really angry at Xie Xiangxue. Seems he really hates being misunderstood as having something to do with another girl.”
That caught Lin Xiaoxue’s attention instantly, and a faint blush appeared on her face.
Even though Gu Qinghuan had planned this approach, seeing her words work still left her with mixed feelings.
She pressed on: “And what about you? Don’t you dislike Yan Zhengqing being close to other girls? If you do, then why are you letting go? Shouldn’t you trust him? Why not only doubt him, but even push him toward someone else?”
Lin Xiaoxue stammered, “But… he’s so outstanding. I’m nothing compared to him. I don’t have anything special to offer…”
Gu Qinghuan went in for the kill: “Did Yan Zhengqing choose you because of those things?”
Lin Xiaoxue looked as if she had been struck on the head, unable to respond.
Calmly, Gu Qinghuan said, “I only came to explain the situation to you. Whether you believe it or not is your choice. But as Class Monitor, I don’t want conflicts between our two classes—especially over something completely unfounded.”
“The break’s almost over. We should go. Goodbye.” With that, Gu Qinghuan stopped looking at her, grabbed Yu Xin, and headed back toward their classroom in long strides.
As they rounded the stairwell, Yu Xin glanced back at Lin Xiaoxue, who was walking into her own classroom in a bit of a daze.
Turning her head back, she saw Gu Qinghuan looking in good spirits and whispered, “Will that work?”
“Worth a try. I think the success rate isn’t bad,” Gu Qinghuan replied.
With Lin Xiaoxue’s way of thinking, reasoning wouldn’t work—better to strike directly at the point she cared about most.
Though she thought it was unfortunate to have such a severe case of “love brain” as a first-year in high school—especially with someone like Yan Zhengqing—Gu Qinghuan still hoped Lin Xiaoxue could get over it.
That said, to be practical, between Lin Xiaoxue and Xie Xiangxue, she was closer to Xie Xiangxue, and they’d be classmates for the next three years. Naturally, she had to put Xie Xiangxue first.
Yu Xin thought so too. “Let’s see if it works,” she said.
When they returned to the classroom, Jiang Chuchu was already waiting with her arms crossed.
Seeing them, she lifted her chin and said in a threatening tone, “You’d better explain what you two were just doing.”
Qin Yue was staring fixedly at the wall, as if he’d discovered a new continent there.
Traitor! He must have overheard her and Yu Xin talking and gone to snitch to Jiang Chuchu!
Gu Qinghuan looked away. “Oh, it’s nothing major. I’m over eighty percent sure I’ve convinced Lin Xiaoxue…”
“Aren’t you afraid of running into Yan Zhengqing again?” Jiang Chuchu glared at her.
Jiang Chuchu’s concern was reasonable—Yan Zhengqing was like a mad dog, and right now, the only person he toned it down for was Jiang Chuchu. Gu Qinghuan, in his eyes, wasn’t worth a second thought.
If the system hadn’t assured her that Yan Zhengqing’s hostility wasn’t directed at her, Gu Qinghuan wouldn’t have acted so directly.
Of course, from Jiang Chuchu’s perspective, Gu Qinghuan’s move had been far too reckless.
Gu Qinghuan shrank her neck, her voice tightening, “Well, nothing happened to me, right…?”
Jiang Chuchu still wanted to say something, but Gu Qinghuan acted fast, pouncing forward to hug her neck. “I know, Chuchu, you’re just worried about me. I can handle it, you have to believe me!”
Ever since Miss Jiang had entered elementary school, she hadn’t been hugged this intimately by someone her age. Gu Qinghuan’s “sudden attack” startled her so much she forgot what she had been about to say. “Y-you—what are you doing?!”
Then she realized Gu Qinghuan’s form of address. “Who said you could call me Chuchu?!”
“What!” Gu Qinghuan instantly slipped into drama-queen mode, looking so aggrieved she seemed on the verge of shattering. “I thought we were already friends, and I still can’t call you Chuchu?”
Jiang Chuchu nearly bit her tongue. “F-friends and all that…”
Gu Qinghuan blinked at her expectantly.
“…I guess it’s fine.” Jiang Chuchu turned her face away.
Yu Xin, who had still been worried about the name Lin Xiaoxue had just mentioned, relaxed completely seeing Gu Qinghuan and Jiang Chuchu fooling around, and couldn’t help but laugh out loud.
The still-bickering Gu Qinghuan and Jiang Chuchu turned to look at her, then exchanged glances, speaking in unison, “Our names both have three characters. Since we’re friends now, we can just use the last two characters.”
“But how should we say it if it’s only two characters?”
“Xiao Xin? Xin Xin? Doesn’t that sound a bit childish?”
“I can’t tell the difference between front and back nasal sounds. ‘xin’ and ‘xing’ come out the same when I say them.”
The two of them kept going until Yu Xin got embarrassed, quickly stopping them. “Don’t, no need. Just call me by my full name.”
“No way,” Gu Qinghuan refused flatly. “That’s not close enough.”
“Exactly!” Jiang Chuchu chimed in. “Why shouldn’t I be allowed to use a nickname!”
Yu Xin could only smile helplessly and let them debate.
By lunchtime, Gu Qinghuan had a sheet of paper in hand and was leaning over Jiang Chuchu’s desk, enthusiastically presenting, “After tireless brainstorming between me and Chuchu, we’ve come up with the following options—Number one, A-Xin.”
“Kinda rustic,” Qin Yue interjected from the sidelines.
He promptly got both his chair legs kicked by Gu Qinghuan and Jiang Chuchu, almost sliding off his seat.
“Number two,” Jiang Chuchu continued, “Xin’er.”
Yu Xin rubbed her arm, hesitating. “That sounds like something from a period drama… maybe a bit too pretentious?”
Gu Qinghuan stared at the ceiling, refusing to admit it was her idea.
“Number three, Xinbao.” Gu Qinghuan read out the last nickname.
Qin Yue let out a loud “Ew”—“Why are they getting more and more mushy?”
Jiang Chuchu slammed the table in embarrassed anger. “Who asked you!”
Yes, this nickname had been Jiang Chuchu’s suggestion.
Gu Qinghuan was about to enjoy the spectacle when she noticed Yu Xin had frozen. Yu Xin awkwardly scratched her cheek. “That one… might be a little too mushy…”
Before she could finish, a tear rolled out of Yu Xin’s eye. Startled, Gu Qinghuan immediately grabbed Jiang Chuchu.
Jiang Chuchu turned her head and was also stunned. She stammered, “It—it’s not that bad, is it?”
Yu Xin lowered her head, fumbling to wipe her tears. “It’s not that… I just… I never thought… anyone would call me ‘Bao’…”
The word “bao” (treasure) was something she’d only ever heard her mother—no, foster mother—call her younger brother. When it came to her, she was “money-loser,” “debt collector,” and worse. Forget being called “treasure”—she wasn’t even considered a person.
She’d thought she had forgotten all those unpleasant things after leaving that place, but she hadn’t. She still remembered, and it still hurt.
Gu Qinghuan picked up a pen and drew a neat star next to “Xin Bao” on the paper. “Then it’s decided! From now on, you’re Xin Bao!”
Jiang Chuchu was quite proud—it was her idea!
Ignoring Qin Yue, she called out to Yu Xin, “Xin Bao, let’s go eat fried skewers after school today!”
Last time, when Gu Qinghuan organized a group order for takeout, they’d had fried skewers, and she’d found them delicious.
“I want starch sausages!” Gu Qinghuan chimed in immediately.
Yu Xin nodded hard. “Then I want a chicken drumstick!”
All those things she could never have before—now, she had them.
