Chapter 51 — No Matter How You Look at It, They’re a Couple
Netizens kept reposting those photos, and the hashtag #NianshenYuejiuCP sat firmly at the top of the trending list.
Class 2-1 of Year Two had plenty of internet junkies, and by now they had all seen it.
“Holy crap, have you guys checked Weibo’s hot search?”
“What’s up, what’s up? Is there some big gossip?”
“You could say that—God Xu and Goddess Lin are trending!”
“Wait wait… who?” The person thought they’d misheard.
“God Xu and Goddess Lin!”
The whole class instantly exploded. “They’re on the hot search? What hot search?!”
“Just open Weibo and see for yourself.”
Everyone opened their apps at the same time, and one minute later, they all looked up.
“I feel like… the couple vibes are off the charts?”
“More than that—they look like they were born for each other.”
“Honestly, that eye contact shot was insane. The picture was chef’s kiss perfection!”
“The hashtag ‘Nianshen Yuejiu’ is literally just their names stuck together!”
“I’m obsessed. The scene looks straight out of a romance novel—handsome boy in a black suit supporting a beautiful girl in a white dress. Absolute perfection, am I right?!”
“I hereby announce: starting today, I’m officially a NianshenYuejiu CP fan!”
Chen Qianxi nearly jumped out of her seat. Our Nianshen-Yuejiu duo finally got noticed? Finally someone else sees it? Finally I’m not the only fan? Waaaah, I’m not alone anymore!
“Wait, do you think God Xu and Goddess Lin know people are shipping them? And they’re not actually a couple, right?”
“Oh come on, who cares! Even if they’re not real, we can still ship them. And besides, we can always help make them real!”
That line won the unanimous approval of the whole class.
The one who had raised the question gave a silent thumbs-up.
“You guys are the real deal.”
Meanwhile, the two people in question had no idea.
Xu’s mom and grandma had already seen the trending photos, hurriedly saved them, and even said they should print them out and hang them at home.
Xu’s mom glanced at her husband, who was calmly sipping tea. “Aren’t you going to save them? Don’t you also like looking at our son with Jiujiu?”
Father Xu gave her a look, then opened his phone and showed her.
Xu’s mom leaned in and saw: his lock screen and wallpaper were already photos of the two of them.
She gave him a thumbs-up.
Father Xu smiled faintly, hiding his pride like a man of great achievements.
The next day, when the two of them arrived at school, they were met with countless stares. The moment they stepped into the classroom, every pair of eyes turned to them.
Lin Yuejiu, who walked in after Xu Nianshen, immediately noticed the strange attention. Puzzled, she leaned toward him and asked, “What’s going on with everyone? Did something happen at school recently?”
Xu Nianshen shook his head. “I don’t know either. They were looking at me like that when I walked in too.”
Lin Yuejiu nodded thoughtfully.
Meanwhile, their classmates, secretly watching them whisper to each other: !! Our CP is having private little chats! So sweet!!
Lin Rumeng observed quietly. She couldn’t understand why everyone else was giving them that kind of look, but deep down, she instinctively thought it must be jealousy. They were envious that Lin Yuejiu not only won first place but also got to perform a duet with Xu Nianshen—and now they were trending online together.
Putting on a gentle smile, she said, “Sister, I haven’t had the chance to congratulate you yet. Congratulations on winning first place, and for trending together with Brother Nianshen. You’re famous now.”
Lin Yuejiu reflexively replied, “Thanks,” but then caught a key detail. “Wait—what hot search?”
Lin Rumeng thought she was pretending to be modest, silently flaunting her hot search fame, so she spoke in a slightly mocking tone: “Sister, don’t act like you don’t know. You’re still number one on the hot search right now.”
Lin Yuejiu, “?? Why didn’t I know about this?”
She quickly pulled out her phone and opened Weibo.
#NianshenYuejiuCP — Hot Search #1
Lin Yuejiu immediately showed the trending topic to him.
Xu Nianshen narrowed his eyes.
“What do we do?”
“What do you mean, what do we do?”
“We’re on the hot search!” She was a little anxious.
“This is a good thing for you,” he said calmly. “You’ve gained exposure.”
“But…” She hesitated, looking at him. “You’re on the hot search too. You told me before you don’t really like having too much attention on you. I’m sorry.”
Xu Nianshen chuckled. “Why are you apologizing? This has nothing to do with you.”
Lin Yuejiu pouted. “But I can’t help feeling like it does.”
He reached out and patted her head. “It’s fine. Don’t worry about it. The hot search is already up—there’s nothing we can do now.”
Everyone else watching: Waaaah, this CP is impossible not to ship!
Lin Yuejiu wanted to say more, but the class bell rang and the teacher walked in.
Seeing her troubled little expression, Xu Nianshen found himself smiling. “Don’t worry, I don’t mind. Just focus on class.”
“…Okay.” She still pouted a little.
Xu Nianshen shook his head helplessly.
During the lesson, the homeroom teacher kept glancing in their direction.
Lin Yuejiu poked Xu Nianshen’s arm with her pen, lowering her voice. “Why is the teacher staring at us? We didn’t do anything, did we?”
Xu Nianshen used the tip of his pen to nudge her forehead back into place. “Pay attention in class.”
Lin Yuejiu rubbed her forehead and muttered softly, “All you ever do is study, study, study. One day it’s going to kill you.”
Xu Nianshen, the one cursed with “death by studying,”: “……”
He was both exasperated and amused, nearly losing control of his hand that wanted to flick her on the forehead.
Behind them, Chen Qianxi, who witnessed everything, shed tears of happiness in her heart. My CP is so sweet, ahhh! Please, keep being sweeter, I don’t mind!
Next to her, Du Zhuo was full of question marks. What’s wrong with my deskmate this time?
After class, the homeroom teacher called out, “You two, come with me to the office.”
They exchanged a glance, then stood up and followed.
The teacher sat down in her chair, looking at them with complicated eyes.
Lin Yuejiu and Xu Nianshen obediently stood side by side.
With a sigh, the teacher said, “I’ve been your teacher for years now. I really like both of you, and I’ve always trusted you. But there’s something I can’t ignore anymore.”
Lin Yuejiu glanced at Xu Nianshen, her eyes full of question marks. He just shrugged, as if to say, I have no idea either.
“Stop looking at each other,” the teacher said, frowning. “Both of you—look at me.”
They turned back to face her in unison.
Taking a deep breath, the teacher asked seriously, “Tell me honestly—are you two dating?”
Lin Yuejiu: “???”
Xu Nianshen: “???”
Seeing their bewildered expressions, the teacher pressed on, “There’s no need to be embarrassed. It’s just us here in the office, no one else. You can tell me, I won’t spread it.”
They exchanged another glance, then answered in unison, “Teacher, you must be mistaken.”
“Mistaken? How am I mistaken? Haven’t you two seen Weibo?” She pulled up the page and showed them. “Look at these pictures. No matter how you look at it—you are a couple!”
