The Inevitable Shuraba

Su Cheng turned his head to glance at Li Guanqi, then raised his hand to rub his eyes, explaining, "I accidentally fell asleep and ended up dreaming that a few idiots were pushing me around!"

As soon as he finished speaking, the expressions of the girls around him stiffened for a moment. Immediately after, Su Cheng felt a sudden chill sweep through his entire body.

He instinctively turned his head to the side and saw Ji Qingyi staring at him with an expressionless face. Her eyes were icy and piercing, as if devoid of any warmth.

He then sensed something else and turned to look behind him, only to find Gu Ruoxue doing the same.

The gazes of both women sent shivers down his spine.

Indeed, the emotions of women with such temperaments were utterly unpredictable.

He couldn't help but swallow hard, thinking to himself, and subconsciously shifted closer to his little angel, Li Guanqi.

His gentle little angel would never give him such a look!

However, when he turned to look at her, he found that Li Guanqi was also staring at him. Though her face was expressionless, there was a peculiar glint in her eyes.

Was she... blaming him?

At this moment, he felt the malice of the world.

Especially from Gu Ruoxue's gaze behind him.

A layer of sweat instantly formed on his forehead.

Thus, he had no choice but to sit stiffly upright in the middle, not daring to move a muscle. His drowsiness dissipated, and he remained steadily seated in the center.

A wandering, solitary soul doesn't need the protection of others.

.................

Time quietly slipped by.

"Ding ding ding ding ding!"

The bell rang.

Su Cheng shot up from his seat, so flustered that he nearly toppled over the desk. Fortunately, Li Guanqi, sitting beside him, quickly steadied him, or else he would have made a fool of himself in front of the hundreds of students in the lecture hall.

He turned to look at Gu Ruoxue behind him and noticed that she was packing up her things, her face calm and indifferent, as if she hadn't noticed his actions at all.

"Senior, are you free later?"

He tentatively called out to her. Meanwhile, the other students in the lecture hall began to leave, and soon only a few scattered individuals remained.

"For a short while, yes."

Gu Ruoxue responded without looking up, her voice cold.

Hearing her reply, Su Cheng nodded and was about to follow her when he suddenly heard Ji Qingyi knock on the table beside him.

Su Cheng turned to look at her and saw her retracting her finger. Damn, she could make such a loud sound with just one finger.

At the same time, Gu Ruoxue, noticing that Su Cheng hadn't followed, stopped in her tracks and turned her gaze toward him and Ji Qingyi.

"Club President, is there something you need?"

Su Cheng blinked, somewhat confused.

Ji Qingyi glanced at him, then used her intimidating gaze to shoo away the remaining unrelated people in the classroom. Her voice was cool as she said, "I have something to discuss. Come with me."

After speaking, she turned back to continue organizing the papers on her desk.

Su Cheng scratched the back of his head, feeling bewildered as he looked back and forth between Gu Ruoxue and Ji Qingyi.

At this moment, he found himself caught in a strange dilemma, feeling both dazed and conflicted.

Who should he follow?

He turned to Li Guanqi for help, hoping she might offer some guidance.

But before Li Guanqi could react, a gentle and sweet voice called out from the classroom doorway, "Junior~"

As the voice rang out, everyone turned to see Liu Qingyue, dressed in her school uniform, walking over with small, quick steps. Her face was adorned with a bright, sweet smile as she waved at him.

"Ah~ It seems you're quite busy. I'll catch up with you next time then. Have fun, bye-bye!"

As she approached, Liu Qingyue suddenly stopped, her eyes widening slightly in surprise, as if she couldn't believe what she had just witnessed.

No, Senior, you came at the perfect time!

Su Cheng's heart leapt with joy as he immediately shot Liu Qingyue a pleading look, desperately signaling for her to take him away!

As everyone knows, a triangle is stable and not easily deformed, while a quadrilateral is prone to deformation and instability.

Thus, Liu Qingyue's appearance subtly shifted the dynamics among the four of them.

However, Liu Qingyue seemed to completely ignore Su Cheng's hints. Instead, she turned around and continued walking away with her small, quick steps, calling back over her shoulder, "Junior, have fun! Make sure to tell me how today goes later!"

Her attitude made it clear that she had no intention of helping him and was instead deliberately setting him up for embarrassment.

But Su Cheng had no choice.

"Heh heh."

Su Cheng stood frozen in place, letting out an awkward laugh.

In the past, Ji Qingyi had always been considerate of his feelings and wouldn't put him in such a difficult position. But today, something felt off—very off.

"What are you spacing out for? Let's go."

Ji Qingyi finished packing her things and spoke to Su Cheng in a casual tone, as if the presence of Li Guanqi and Gu Ruoxue meant nothing to her.

"But, Club President..."

Su Cheng tried to explain that Gu Ruoxue had approached him first, but before he could finish, he suddenly felt a chill run down his spine. His body stiffened, and he turned around as if facing a formidable enemy.

Gu Ruoxue was standing at the doorway, her voice icy as she said, "It seems someone wasn't paying attention in ethics class and missed the lesson on first-come, first-served."

This was a clear jab at Ji Qingyi for cutting in line and trying to take Su Cheng away without regard for order.

"Holy crap, they're really going at it!"

Su Cheng's eyes widened in disbelief. He could hardly believe his ears, and his heart felt like it was stuck in his throat.

This...

This was an absolute battlefield!

Ji Qingyi also turned her head, her gaze sweeping over Gu Ruoxue before finally landing on Su Cheng. Her eyes carried a dangerous glint as she coldly stated, "According to school regulations, it's now club activity time. I have business with a club member. How can 'first-come, first-served' override the rules?"

Her words were harsh and left a bitter taste in everyone's mouth.

"..."

Gu Ruoxue's brows furrowed slightly, clearly annoyed by Ji Qingyi's attitude. However, she didn't lose her temper. Instead, she calmly said, "In that case, let's leave the decision to the person involved. I can spare at most one hour. I suggest you make your choice quickly."

Her words were clever, shifting the focus onto Su Cheng and implying that he was only staying out of obligation to Ji Qingyi's authority. She was subtly pointing out that Ji Qingyi was putting him in an awkward position.

"You're quite skilled at redirecting the conflict, aren't you?"

Ji Qingyi's expression darkened as she spoke, her voice growing colder.

Caught between the two, Su Cheng lowered his head. He could feel the tension and hostility thickening in the air.

Both Ji Qingyi and Gu Ruoxue were formidable individuals.

If this continued, the consequences would be disastrous.

At this moment, as a man, he had to step up and stop the two from escalating further. Otherwise, he would never be able to hold his head high in front of them again!

How dare these women treat him as if he were invisible!

Taking a deep breath, Su Cheng mustered his courage, reached into his pocket, and pulled out...

Pulled out...

A handful of sunflower seeds!

Then, he looked up at Ji Qingyi and Gu Ruoxue, picked up a seed, and popped it into his mouth.

Fighting fire with fire.

He had transformed into a spectator, munching on seeds as if he were watching a show!

"Crunch!"

The sound of him cracking open a seed echoed clearly.

Ji Qingyi and Gu Ruoxue simultaneously turned their heads to look at him, but Su Cheng acted as if nothing was happening. He casually picked up another seed and popped it into his mouth, chewing nonchalantly.

He looked like a bystander enjoying the drama, as if none of this had anything to do with him.

Ji Qingyi and Gu Ruoxue frowned as they watched him. At the same time, Li Guanqi, who had also been quietly munching on seeds beside him, suddenly muttered to herself, "This Friday's classes were so exhausting. I really need to relax tomorrow."

On the surface, it seemed like an ordinary remark, but it was actually a subtle hint about what day it was.

Hearing this, Ji Qingyi and Gu Ruoxue exchanged a glance, then fell silent. Without another word, they turned and walked away—one heading toward the front door, the other toward the back. Both exuded an icy aura as they disappeared down the hallway.

The classroom fell silent once more.

"Hey, how did you do that?"

Su Cheng pushed the sunflower seeds toward Li Guanqi, offering her some, then asked with a mix of curiosity and intrigue.

"Do what?"

Li Guanqi asked, clearly confused. She glanced at the seeds in Su Cheng's hand and reached out to grab a few.

But Su Cheng suddenly pulled his hand back, denying her the seeds, and explained, "Oh, I almost forgot. These are cream-flavored seeds. You can't have them."

Li Guanqi: ......

Then she looked up and saw Su Cheng's face, which bore an expression that seemed to say, "I'm doing this for your own good."

This made her very unhappy, so she directly reached out her hands and placed them on the corners of her mouth, pulling them slightly downward to make a slight expression of displeasure. She glared at Su Cheng, her cheeks slightly red under the glow of the setting sun.

Seeing her react like this for the first time, Su Cheng was momentarily stunned and unconsciously swallowed hard.

So even when Li Guanqi is angry, she’s this cute!

Unable to bear disappointing such a beautiful girl, Su Cheng immediately began peeling sunflower seeds. After peeling seven or eight, he handed them to Li Guanqi, coaxing her, "You can only have this many."

Li Guanqi looked at the carefully peeled seeds in Su Cheng's hand, then at Su Cheng himself. She nodded, then reached out with one hand to turn Su Cheng's palm over, while the other hand gathered the seeds into her own palm.

"Alright, go do your own thing now."

Holding the seeds, Li Guanqi turned around, picked up her bag, and headed toward the classroom door. However, after just a few steps, she stopped and asked without turning back, "We can talk about other things tonight on our phones."

With that, Li Guanqi left, not taking a single cloud with her.

"Sigh~"

Su Cheng couldn't help but shake his head in resignation, then sat back down and continued cracking sunflower seeds. As he ate, he pondered whether he should go to President Ji or President Gu first.

"Looks like I came back just in time."

At that moment, the useless Liu Qingyue poked her head out from the classroom door and called out to Su Cheng. She then walked in with a cheerful stride and plopped down on the seat next to Su Cheng, smiling brightly as she said, "Are you mad at me?"

Su Cheng tilted his head away while cracking seeds, clearly unwilling to engage with Liu Qingyue.

Seeing Su Cheng sulk, Liu Qingyue quickly changed her tone and continued, "I came to give you some news so you won’t have to overthink things!"

"What news?"

Only then did Su Cheng turn his head, his big eyes fixed on Liu Qingyue.

"I want you to peel some seeds for me too."

Liu Qingyue pointed at the seeds in his hand, her face beaming with a radiant smile, her eyes pure and innocent.

However, her words revealed that she hadn’t left earlier but had instead been secretly observing and eavesdropping on their conversation.

"Fine."

Su Cheng sighed, quickly peeled a few seeds, and then extended his left hand to hand them to Liu Qingyue. "Here, take them. Now, spill it."

"Thanks~"

Liu Qingyue took the seeds with a smile, peeling them one by one and popping them into her mouth as she spoke. "The young lady never went back to the club, so there’s no point in looking for her. No need to overthink it."

"She didn’t go back?"

Hearing this, Su Cheng’s expression froze. Didn’t this mean he was in for some trouble later?

But there was nothing he could do about it now. He nodded, stood up, and said, "Then I’ll go find Senior Gu. See you later!"

"Mm, take care!"

Liu Qingyue nodded, still sitting in her seat and munching on seeds as she waved goodbye to Su Cheng.

...

Special Building.

Social Practice Club.

With a heart full of doubts, Su Cheng walked down the hallway and arrived at the corner.

He glanced around, making sure no one or any cameras were nearby, then retrieved a panda plushie Gu Ruoxue had given him from his system space.

He planned to hand it over directly.

Although the conditions for obtaining this plushie were a bit strange.

Soon, he arrived at the door of the Social Practice Club with the plushie in hand. However, upon entering, he was surprised to find that, despite other clubs being active nearby, the noise didn’t seem to reach Gu Ruoxue’s club. It was as if the walls were soundproofed, the effect almost too perfect!

This left Su Cheng deeply puzzled.

Was it due to the building’s layout, or was it because of the inexplicable aura Gu Ruoxue seemed to radiate?

He placed his hand on the doorknob, his heart heavy and nervous. He took a deep breath to steady himself.

What was about to happen might reveal what had truly occurred before he jumped into the river. This was something deeply personal, a truth he had always wanted to uncover.

After opening the clubroom door, he found Gu Ruoxue sitting at her desk, typing on her laptop with the same composed demeanor as always.

In an instant, she glanced up at Su Cheng, then immediately returned her gaze to the laptop, speaking in a tone devoid of any warmth, "Sit."

"Okay."

Su Cheng took a deep breath to calm himself, then handed the plushie to Gu Ruoxue. "Here, the plushie!"

"Put it on the table."

Gu Ruoxue glanced at it, then stood up and walked to the small tea table beside the office. She poured a cup of water and placed it in the spot where Su Cheng usually sat.

Su Cheng glanced at it, thanked her, and placed the plushie on her desk. As he sat down, his attention was drawn to the cup. It looked familiar.

Was it the same one he used last time?

Or was this just how rich people treated disposable cups?

He didn’t dwell on it too much, though. Instead, he looked up at Gu Ruoxue, who had already returned to her work, and couldn’t help but feel a bit annoyed.

You were the one who called me here, and now you’re acting like this!

So, he directly asked, "Senior, was it you who flipped the claw machine at the mall last time?"

As soon as he said this, Gu Ruoxue’s hands stopped moving, and the atmosphere in the room seemed to twist.

"Are you hallucinating? Should I book you an appointment with an expert at Qingshan Hospital? It’s free."

Suddenly, Gu Ruoxue looked at him with a strange expression, giving off an incredibly intimidating vibe.