SVWL Chapter 80.2

Shao Ming spent some time completing the necessary assignments before picking up his phone again.

The program he had used before was still there – it’s where he read a novel, and this one he had already read half of.

In this novel, there was the system involved, and it issued missions to keep the protagonist alive.

Thanks to using this novel as a basis of thinking, he previously speculated whether Zhu Tong’s mission of continuing his life was to conquer him, but this speculation was denied by him.

If it was just a simple conquest, they were already together, the conquest had already succeeded, why wouldn’t Zhu Tong tell him?

And has Zhu Tong ever tried to conquer him?

Apart from initially asking to sit together, he seemed to have never taken any initiative to get closer to him, but instead intentionally kept his distance.

He had done many things too.

Like getting someone to teach Yuan Shaozhou a lesson, helping clarify the situation at the milk tea shop… But rather than conquest, those seemed to stem from Zhu Tong’s innate sense of justice.

If one had to find a conquest target, from the time Zhu Tong transferred until now, the thing he had put the most effort into should be studying.

Studying…

Shao Ming glanced at the young master who was already immersed in the sea of mock exam questions, smiled helplessly and closed the novel interface. He then opened WeChat, and contacted people from A City.

Recently, rumors about the young master of the Zhu family having an illegitimate child as a lover had been fermenting in A City. Some people couldn’t resist sending private investigators to Gongsui County as a result. Zhu Tong and Shao Ming went in and out together every day, making it easy for them to identify the rumored lover.

Soon, someone else discovered that the person with Zhu Tong had also appeared at Liu Jianbai’s private estate during a banquet.

That kind of occasion wasn’t somewhere just anyone could go.

His ability to enter easily, in the eyes of many, was proof that he was the illegitimate child of someone with status.

As for whose illegitimate child he was, they had various speculations.

In Gongsui County, life at the school was unaffected by outside influences. Without some miscellaneous troubles, Zhu Tong truly began to enjoy a normal school life.

He spent Christmas Eve and Christmas with Shao Ming.

Ordinary county high schools didn’t formally celebrate foreign holidays, but students still created a festive atmosphere, which was very interesting.

Most importantly, it was Zhu Tong’s first time celebrating holidays at school.

The school also prepared a New Year’s Eve party.

Students from all grades squeezed into a hall to watch performances on stage, which was far less formal than the parties Zhu Tong had once attended with Cheng Chen. But Zhu Tong still eagerly took photos and sent them to Zhu Xin, who would also be taking the stage at her school tonight.

Xiao Xin had recovered her spirits after a period of low emotions.

In return, she sent Zhu Tong a photo of her outfit for today.

In the photo, the girl, who was naturally beautiful even without makeup, had applied a light makeup on her face. She was wearing a white strapless feather dress, with her long hair styled into a gentle side braid. She exuded an elegant and graceful temperament, with a dazzling and exquisite appearance.

She was the host for her school’s party. 

As soon as Zhu Tong received her message, he couldn’t wait to share it with Shao Ming. “What do you think? Isn’t she beautiful?”

Shao Ming lowered his head to glance at it, then looked back at Zhu Tong, “You’re the most beautiful.”

Zhu Tong was speechless, “Where am I beautiful? I didn’t even dress up.”

Shao Ming said, “Beauty is in the eye of the beholder. In my eyes, no one is more beautiful than you.”

Zhu Tong: “…”

Zhu Tong couldn’t be bothered to deal with him and replied to Xiao Xin’s message.

Shao Ming then hugged him again and asked, “Do you want to go back?”

Zhu Tong puzzled, “Go back where?”

Shao Ming looked at his phone screen, “Who did you usually spend the holidays with before?”

“Before?” Zhu Tong paused, “I usually spent them in the hospital. There was no need for ordinary holidays, and for important ones, I spent them with Xiao Xin…”

He suddenly realized what Shao Ming meant by “going back”, paused for a moment, and then said, “There’s nothing much to go back to at that school. Although I regret not being able to see Xiao Xin on stage, if I were there, Xiao Xin would either drag me up on stage or sit with me in the audience, and I probably wouldn’t be able to see her on stage anyway.”

Some people are born to shine on stage.

Looking at the girl in the photo, Zhu Tong felt amazed and yet also unfamiliar. Perhaps it was because of her styling, Xiao Xin seemed to have lost her usual lively and cute demeanor, appearing more like a young but mature professional host.

The girl who used to act spoiled and cute in front of him, seemed to have grown up and could now stand on her own in her field of expertise.

Zhu Tong couldn’t help but smile faintly, staring at the photo for a while, then locked his phone screen and looked up, “And besides, I have you now, don’t I?”

Shao Ming: “…”

His hand on Zhu Tong’s shoulder tightened slightly, and Shao Ming lowered his voice, “Have you forgotten where we are, in the auditorium?”

Zhu Tong: “?”

What about the auditorium? He didn’t let anyone hear.

Shao Ming didn’t explain, but directly said, “Remember to write an IOU.”

Zhu Tong: “…”

Why did he have to write an IOU again?

Before he could react, Shao Ming had already grabbed his hand, forcibly intertwining their fingers.

With the third row of seats, the lighting was neither bright nor dark. The two boys sat in the middle, and if anyone tilted their head slightly, they could see their obviously abnormal intertwined hands.

Zhu Tong nervously looked around, but also didn’t want to withdraw his hand.

In the school auditorium during winter, and with the limited air conditioning performance that the school bought. It should be quite cold. And yet, sitting together, the two boys exchanged warmth through their palms, and that warmth traveled all the way to their hearts.

After the New Year’s Eve party came the New Year holiday, which wasn’t exactly relaxing because it was followed by final exams.

Before the holiday, Shi Wenshu stood on the podium and earnestly reminded the students that even during the holidays, they couldn’t slack off on studying. Forgetting to eat was one thing, but forgetting knowledge was another. The final exams were just around the corner, and the college entrance examination would soon follow.

Shi-laoshi lectured for an entire class period, and the students of Class 3 were deeply moved. After class, they expressed their admiration: Shi-laoshi was indeed worthy of being a Chinese language teacher.

The New Year holiday finally arrived as scheduled. Zhu Tong didn’t go back to A City, and the reason was simple. Although it was said to be a three-day holiday, it was actually only two and a half days at most. It was better to do a few more math papers than to visit relatives and friends in A City.

During the day of the holiday, he still spent it at the milk tea shop.

After the onset of winter, the flow of customers in the milk tea shop noticeably decreased, and with the biting cold outside, Shao Ming’s usual face-giving tactics couldn’t hold up and went into hibernation, leaving only the delivery guy still working diligently.

With the shop quieter, Zhu Tong, the temporary worker, was laid off. He brought two papers with him, one in math and one in physics. 

He was buried in doing the papers when the door of the milk tea shop was pushed open. A finely dressed girl stood at the door, looking around inside for a moment before heading straight for the dining table where Zhu Tong was working on the paper.

“Excuse me, can I sit here?”

Zhu Tong had just started drawing a force diagram, and when he heard the voice, he looked up… at an unfamiliar face.

Before he could say anything, the girl froze when she saw his face.

This young master of the Zhu family, in person, was even more handsome than in the photos.