TPPCGEM Chapter 25

Yan Ci hadn’t been this angry for a long time. The moment he saw Chu Qingjian, an uncontrollable irritation surged into his mind, igniting a fire in his heart. The sharp pain in his head became more apparent.

Xia Zhinian shivered; the hairs on his neck stood up, and he lightly trembled all over.

“Um.”

No.

He just wanted Yan Ci to pay more attention to Chu Qingjian, and the letter to Chu Qingjian said something similar.

But he didn’t expect to be discovered by Yan Ci so quickly.

Xia Zhinian’s whole body tensed, his heart pounding against his chest, and he felt regretful.

He should have started with Chu Qingjian.

Now things were terrible; the black sesame glutinous rice balls (YC) were angry.

On the other side, Chu Qingjian’s voice came from a distance, shouting, “Is anyone here? If no one is here, I’m leaving.”

The outside light flickered while they were hiding in the corner, unnoticed.

Yan Ci gave a low hum, completely ignoring Chu Qingjian. He placed Xia Zhinian against the wall, blocking him in, and lowered his eyes, stepping closer.

Although he was smiling, the thin scar at the corner of his eye carried a chill, and his voice was gentle.

“Classmate Xia, tell me, what are you trying to do?”

Xia Zhinian’s heart pounded, and he took a step back. His heel hit the corner of the wall, and his back pressed against the cold wall. He shrank back pitifully.

His almond-shaped eyes were wide, and he averted his gaze, directly revealing his purpose in another way.

“I just…” He paused slightly, leaning against the wall, and said softly, “Someone said you and Brother Chu are a couple. I want to know… is it true?”

The boy hung his head, his slender neck exposed to the cool air, his fingers curled up, his left thumb rubbing the knuckle of his index finger, and his lips tightly pressed together.

Yan Ci stared at him for a while, his dark eyes not revealing a single trace of light, and an inexplicable irritation rose in his heart.

A vague and indescribable discomfort spread to his heart, mingling with the icy pain all over his body, penetrating his spine.

He said softly, “Do you care about Chu Qingjian that much?”

Xia Zhinian keenly noticed that Yan Ci was not as angry as before, but a deeper… not very pleasant emotion had replaced it.

His rosy lips pressed together, and he couldn’t quite understand Yan Ci’s current state. He glanced at Yan Ci’s expression, his eyes rolling, and carefully nodded.

But he couldn’t finish the nod.

Yan Ci lowered his eyes, his dark pupils swirling with complex emotions. He pulled at the corner of his mouth, his long fingers pressed against Xia Zhinian’s chin, preventing him from nodding.

Xia Zhinian: “???”

He shrank back, a hint of confusion crossing his amber eyes, “Yan Ci.”

What’s wrong now?

Yan Ci’s fingertips gently brushed his chin, the soft and tender touch bringing a gentle warmth. An irresistible itch and desire dissipated from his fingertips. He felt like he was soaking in warm water, his whole body comfortable.

But he was still not happy.

An inexplicable displeasure stuck in his heart, making him particularly irritable.

Yan Ci pressed his lips together, his gentle and jade-like face expressionless, and after a moment, he sighed lightly.

“Classmate Xia, I feel a bit uncomfortable.”

–

The school forum exploded again.

The reason was that all the posts shipping Yan Ci and Chu Qingjian as a couple disappeared overnight, and not a single one was left.

The students of No. 3 High School spread the news quickly, rushing to the forum to try and get the latest gossip.

[ChuYan Flag Never Falls]: QAQ, what’s going on? I was only halfway through my ChuYan fanfic!

[A Brick from No. 3 High School]: Don’t think about fanfics anymore. Someone with a nickname similar to yours had their account suspended for seven days for slander and defamation.

[Salad Makes Me Puke]: What’s the situation? Deleting everything so cleanly must be the student council’s doing, right?

[Go Study]: It doesn’t matter who did it, why? What did the CP fans do wrong?

[Chu Yan Flag Never Falls]: It can’t be that they asked someone to delete it, right? Could it be that the school grass and Lord Chu are together? Are they planning to clear the screen and then make an official announcement?! Excited.jpg

[Lemon Lemon Lemon Lemon]: … Is that for real?

[Yan Ci]: It’s fake.

[Yan Ci]: I am not in any romantic relationship. Please do not spread rumors and mislead uninformed students.

[ChuYan Flag Never Falls]: A fake account? Or… the real one?

[Yan Ci]: It’s real. Your nickname is suspected of spreading rumors, so I’ve reported it. Please understand.

[Go Study]: …?

[Front Row Spectator]: …??

[Holy Mother Maria’s Light]: …??

Yan Ci’s nickname disappeared, and the post instantly exploded.

[Miss You So Much]: School grass, why? Who is the uninformed student? Ahhh, I’m going crazy!

[Changing nickname on the Spot]: I’m also going crazy. What happened? What triggered Yan God?!

Xia “Uninformed Student” Zhinian stared at the post, watching the replies pop up quickly, and sighed worriedly, feeling dejected.

The romantic plot had no progress, and it was getting worse.

He always felt that Yan Ci was a bit strange, but he couldn’t figure it out.

The only thing he was clear about was Yan Ci’s posture of holding him from behind. It was very similar to that day at the hospital with the mysterious man.

Xia Zhinian avoided Yan Ci for a few days, taking advantage of having no scenes with him, avoiding him like the plague.

He took a detour whenever he saw Yan Ci from a distance.

Yan Ci turned around and saw the little rice cake running away quickly in the distance. A vague sense of annoyance surfaced in his heart.

In the evening, Xia Zhinian lay on his bed, his phone dinged, and a new message popped up. It was a very familiar friend request, with the reason—

[YC]: Classmate Xia, this Friday, the school is organizing an exchange activity with another school. Ten students from the second year will go to Shengguang International High School for exchange and observation. There are spots available in our class. Would you like to sign up?

“…” What does the protagonist want now?

Xia Zhinian’s temple twitched. He clicked to reject the request with a reason: I’m not going.

“Ding.”

Friend Request—

[YC]: Not going? Chu Qingjian will be going ^_^

Xia Zhinian: “…”

He stared at that emoji for a second.

Of course, he knew Chu Qingjian would go; this scene is when the protagonist CP meets their rival.

He clicked reject again: Not going.

Let the protagonist gong and shou develop on their own for a few days; if he interferes anymore, it might be too much.

But what he didn’t expect was the exchange activity. Chu Qingjian went, but Yan Ci didn’t.

Xia Zhinian widened his eyes at the refined and elegant boy in the classroom. His expression froze for a second.

“Why are you here?”

Yan Ci, in a crisp and clean white shirt, smiled gently, “Classmate Xia didn’t go; only Chu Qingjian from our class went. I’m not familiar with him, so I didn’t go either.”

Xia Zhinian: “…?!”

Then what about this part of the plot?

Shengguang International High School was… the school where those twins were.

Xia Zhinian, worried, sat back in his seat.

With students absent, Old Qin used the last math class to show a movie. The classroom curtains were tightly drawn, and the dim room was only lit by the deep blue glow of the movie, making it hard to see.

Xia Zhinian planned to check out the exchange activity. He sat in the last row, quietly moved his chair back, crouched down, knocked on his deskmate Zou Ziqian’s chair leg, and pointed to the door, mouthing:

I’m sneaking out.

Zou Ziqian looked down, blinking at him in the dim light of the movie.

Xia Zhinian: “??”

He blinked back.

Zou Ziqian: “…”

He blinked again.

Xia Zhinian looked at him, his heart suddenly skipping a beat, slowly looking up.

In the dimly lit classroom, a handsome face had appeared above him at some point, smiling down at him, leaning in close, and softly asking,

“Is it comfortable squatting like that?”

“Classmate Xia.”

“…!!”

Xia Zhinian’s eyes widened, his heart pounding fiercely, his body reacting faster than his mind. He instinctively moved to the side, pressing close to the edge of the desk.

“Why are you—um…”

Yan Ci reached out and grabbed the back of his collar, pulling him away from the desk with a half-smile, “Classmate Xia, are you planning to skip class again?”

He spoke softly, “Are you trying to find Chu Qingjian or avoiding me?”

“Or maybe both?”

Xia Zhinian’s neck hairs stood up at Yan Ci’s gentle voice, and the tension from being caught delivering a love letter surged through him again, making his body stiffen for a moment.

“No, I just sat for too long and squatted for a bit.”

He felt exhausted, pouting sadly and subtly trying to move away from Yan Ci.

Yan Ci had been so angry that day; if the protagonist paid less attention to him because of it and reverted to seeing him as a minor antagonist, it would be a good thing.

Xia Zhinian sat back on the stool, turning his head to avoid eye contact.

Yan Ci stared at him, the smile on his lips fading slightly. The light from the film reflected in his eyes, and the thin scar at the corner of his eye made him look a bit pitiful.

“Classmate Xia.”

He lowered his voice, “You’ve been avoiding me for days.”

Avoiding him as if he were the plague.

Yan Ci looked down, the gentle smile on his refined face fading, giving a signal to Zou Ziqian, who was trying hard to blend into the background while watching the movie.

Zou Ziqian kept his eyes straight ahead, but with a hint of excitement, he moved to Yan Ci’s seat.

“…?”

Everyone in the classroom was watching the movie, and since it was the last row, no one noticed what was happening.

Xia Zhinian widened his eyes, looked around, almost in tears, and saw Yan Ci sitting beside him. He whimpered softly, “I’m not avoiding you. Do you need something?”

He carefully moved to the side, but his arm was suddenly grabbed, a strong force pulling him back. Xia Zhinian instinctively tensed up, his almond-shaped eyes widening, and he tried to pull his arm back.

“Yan Ci.”

Yan Ci pressed his lips together, loosening his grip slightly but still pulling the boy back, “And you say you’re not avoiding me.”

Xia Zhinian: “…”

He turned his head, refusing to engage.

The movie scene transitioned to nighttime, making the classroom even darker. Yan Ci’s eyes grew blacker, and he sighed softly.

“Classmate Xia, what would it take for you to stop being scared of me?”

He couldn’t explain why, but he didn’t want the little rice cake to avoid him.

Xia Zhinian: “…?”

Xia Zhinian was momentarily stunned, and Yan Ci handed him something long and thin—it was the toy snake he had used to scare Yan Ci during a previous plot.

“Why are you giving me this?” he asked, confused about Yan Ci’s intentions.

The movie reached its climax, with chaotic voices and the protagonists facing off with guns.

Xia Zhinian put the toy snake on the desk, pressing his lips together thoughtfully.

“I won’t tell anyone about your situation. It was my fault with the love letter.”

Halfway through, he realized that a cannon fodder villain wouldn’t apologize, so he added, “It was my idea, and Brother Chu was implicated. Please don’t give him trouble—”

“Classmate Xia.”

Yan Ci gently interrupted, grabbing Xia Zhinian’s hand and placing it on his pulse.

“Bang!”

A muffled gunshot sounded in the movie, followed by a flash of light, and the entire screen went blank, plunging the classroom into total darkness.

The classroom erupted in chaos, with desks and chairs clattering loudly.

“What happened?”

“Is it a power outage?!”

Xia Zhinian was momentarily dazed, his vision dark and blurry. He felt Yan Ci’s arm through the sleeve, the sharp lines of his arm tensing and trembling uncontrollably.

Xia Zhinian’s almond-shaped eyes widened, and he instinctively tried to pull his hand back, but his arm was held tightly, preventing him from retreating.