Young Couples Are Not Allowed to Whisper in Class

Chu Mingzhe was utterly shocked by what he saw.

Wang Haoran, however, brushed it off. "What's the big deal? Su Bai isn't some kind of plague. Why is it strange for Chen Yusheng to sit next to him?"

"Brother Haoran, you might have missed the details," Chu Mingzhe adjusted his glasses, his eyes gleaming with sharp insight. "Chen Yusheng was the one who invited him over. And damn it, after Su Bai sat down, she was whispering in his ear! Damn you, Su Bai!"

The level of detail was too much… Wang Haoran had no comeback and could only respond with a sweating emoji in his mind.

"Keep it down. Stop making a scene here," Xue Tao interjected, both embarrassed and annoyed. "If you don’t care about looking ridiculous, we do."

Xue Tao wanted to revel in the schadenfreude but found himself unable to.

While it was satisfying to see the "Shanghai elite" (Chu Mingzhe) so rattled, the fact that Su Bai and Chen Yusheng seemed unusually close bothered him.

Xue Tao couldn’t help but wonder—when did these two even get to know each other?

In his memory, Su Bai and Chen Yusheng had never exchanged a single word.

Had they crossed paths in some hidden corner of life, forming some kind of bond?

But here was the problem: Su Bai barely left his dorm except for classes, spending his time gaming or scrolling on his phone. He wasn’t the type to go out socializing.

And from what he’d heard, Chen Yusheng was similar—her life revolved around her dorm, lectures, and the lab. A strict three-point routine.

So how the hell did they get so chummy?

Honestly, Xue Tao was jealous. A girl like Chen Yusheng—beautiful, brilliant—was the ideal choice for a local Jiangcheng guy like him, a privileged only child from a family with multiple properties. But Chen Yusheng was so far out of his league that he’d never dared to dream.

He’d never even heard of her being close to any guy.

And yet, Su Bai was the one making moves?

This was hard to swallow. Sure, Xue Tao admitted Su Bai was decent-looking, but Chen Yusheng had no shortage of handsome guys chasing her.

And Su Bai’s financial situation? Frankly, it was borderline pitiful—might even qualify for welfare.

Meanwhile, Xue Tao had an allowance of over 10,000 a month, drove a Magotan as a freshman, and owned four local properties…

So where was the disconnect?

To his credit, Xue Tao, despite his showy tendencies, wasn’t completely brainless.

You didn’t get into Jiangcheng University by being an idiot.

After a long moment of contemplation, a thought struck him.

"Wang Haoran, did Su Bai and Chen Yusheng meet through gaming?"

"Huh?" Wang Haoran, absorbed in grinding his mobile game, looked up blankly. "You’re asking me?"

"Yeah, don’t you usually game with Su Bai?"

"Not always. He mostly plays ranked solo. I’m more into anime-style games." Wang Haoran smiled sheepishly, his expression clear: Don’t ask me, I know nothing, meow.

"Damn, that’s weird."

Meanwhile, in the middle of the classroom—

Chen Yusheng was either oblivious to the gossip or simply didn’t care.

Her focus was entirely on Su Bai.

Throughout the entire math lecture, she’d been wrestling with one question.

Deep down, she knew she liked Su Bai. But did he feel the same? If she pursued him and then asked him for money, wouldn’t he think she was a gold-digger? Ugh…

When it came to romance, Chen Yusheng had zero experience. She’d never even imagined herself in a relationship.

Since childhood, she’d been the studious type—hitting the books, tinkering with computers, grinding solo queue, watching absurdist videos on Bilibili, and shitposting on forums.

Maybe her interests were too niche for a girl, because she’d never had close girlfriends.

And the guys who approached her always had ulterior motives, so she’d shut them down harshly, cementing her icy reputation.

Then, that day at the café, she’d talked with Su Bai for hours—and realized, to her delight, that there was someone out there whose soul resonated with hers so perfectly.

If love at first sight existed, this was it.

But realistically… was she even worthy of dating Su Bai?

Her dad had abandoned them, her mom was hospitalized with a serious illness, and her family was in shambles.

"Yusheng, you free this afternoon? I’ve got another side gig for you."

Su Bai’s voice snapped her out of her thoughts.

She blinked, then her expression shifted. "What did you just call me?"

"Uh… I thought ‘Yusheng’ sounded nice. If you don’t like it—"

"No, it’s fine. Call me whatever you want."

"Seriously?"

"Really. I mean… we’re not exactly strangers anymore, right?"

"Exactly! I’d say we’re on the soulmate level. SOULmate."

"……"

The term felt too intimate, but Chen Yusheng couldn’t muster the energy to protest.

So she let it slide.

"What kind of side gig?"

"Help me buy a PC. You mentioned before that you’ve scoped out the computer market south of campus—know how to avoid scams and even get better deals than online."

"Right. So?"

"Build me a gaming rig. Budget… just make it more cost-effective than ROG."

"……"

The topic instantly reminded Chen Yusheng of how they’d first spoken—she’d intervened to stop Su Bai from getting ripped off on an overpriced gaming laptop.

In other words, she was the one who initiated their first conversation.

Holy crap.

If you didn’t count their online interactions, their first real-life interaction was Chen Yusheng making the first move!

The thought made her cringe. She was a socially awkward introvert!

Maybe this was fate’s doing.

"Sure, no problem," she agreed readily.

"I’ll pay you the usual rate—200 an hour."

"Mhm…"

Since this was a private conversation—a little secret just between them—Chen Yusheng felt self-conscious and leaned in close, their heads nearly touching.

Ahem!

The professor at the podium had finally had enough. "You two lovebirds by the window—keep it down. No whispering in class."

The classroom erupted in amused glances and hushed gossip.

Chen Yusheng’s face burned crimson, her mind going blank as she stared at her fidgeting fingers, too mortified to speak.

Su Bai, on the other hand, just grinned and apologized without a shred of shame. "Got it, professor! My bad. Sumimasen~"

Some might call it confidence. Others would say he was shameless.

Maybe it was that shamelessness that won Chen Yusheng over?

More than a few students were thinking along those lines.

The way they acted, calling them a couple wouldn’t be a stretch—they looked perfect together.

And even after being called out, Chen Yusheng didn’t distance herself from Su Bai. Once the attention died down, they went right back to whispering.

At the back of the classroom, Chu Mingzhe suddenly staggered to his feet, clutching his chest as he stumbled toward the door.

"Bro, you good?" Wang Haoran asked.

"Need air… Hah… My heart… can’t breathe, bro… Hah…"

"……"