"Of course." Jiang You casually brushed her hair back, her posture proud. "My luck has never been bad."
’Yes, "she" is so confident and arrogant.’
"Sister You is amazing!" The three followers looked at Jiang You with stars in their eyes.
Perhaps only Zhou Yu, who was nearby, knew the truth.
Jiang You hadn’t guessed; she already knew how to do it.
Zhou Yu slowly packed his textbook into his bookbag and then sat quietly in his seat.
The paths on either side of his seat were blocked by Jiang You and her crew.
He had no intention of leaving anyway. He wanted to see why Jiang You had come looking for him.
’There’s no system task, yet she came to find me.’
’If this was to make it up to me, hadn’t she already done that yesterday?’
’So why come looking for me again today?’
’Perhaps... it was really for me...’
Zhou Yu’s dark eyes shifted slowly, and his fingertips trembled with joyful excitement.
He suppressed his secret delight.
"Sister You, everyone’s gone now." Yu Lin glanced at Zhou Yu, then looked back at Jiang You, her expression unreadable.
Jiang You knew it was time to get down to business.
"I’ll get the doors!" Chen Yu stood and walked toward the front of the classroom.
She closed both the front and back doors.
Jiang You: "..."
’Well, they certainly have experience. They’re so practiced at this.’
Jiang You stood up, then braced her hands on a desk and hoisted herself onto it. She crossed her legs and looked down at Zhou Yu beside her.
From her perch on the desk, her angle gave her a condescending, bird’s-eye view of him.
Yu Lin and Lin Xue also stood up, surrounding Zhou Yu.
Jiang You slammed a hand on the desk in front of Zhou Yu, her tone arrogant. "Hey. I hear you’re dating someone online?"
Zhou Yu’s gaze inevitably fell on her slender fingers, planted on the desk before him. His dark, profound eyes shifted slowly, his line of sight seeming to linger on her hand as if by a gentle touch.
He looked sideways at Jiang You. "I’m not dating anyone online."
Jiang You looked down at him, sizing him up with an arrogant and indifferent air. She seemed to be weighing the truth of his words and said nothing.
"You stinking pauper, how dare you lie?" Ever perceptive, Yu Lin naturally stepped up for Jiang You. She frowned in displeasure. "You dare say you’re not dating someone online? We’ve had people following you for days. You check your terminal over a hundred times a day, and every time you reply to a message, you get that dopey, lovesick look on your face. You still dare say you’re not?"
As she spoke, she slammed her hand on the desk, making a loud BANG.
’With an act like that, she really is the villainess’s number one lackey.’
Hearing this, Zhou Yu understood.
’So, the number of times I check my terminal, the number of times I check to see if Jiang You has sent me a message... it’s really more than a hundred times a day?’
But he wasn’t in an online relationship.
That was right. Even online, the two of them just shared bits about their daily lives. They never crossed any lines or discussed being a couple.
So it really couldn’t be considered an online romance.
He was just always desperate for Youyou to message him.
"I’m not in an online relationship," Zhou Yu said again, his expression calm.
"You..." Yu Lin couldn’t believe Zhou Yu was still being so stubborn. For a moment, she was too choked with anger to speak.
Jiang You raised a hand and placed it on Zhou Yu’s shoulder, but before she could say anything...
...Zhou Yu instinctively glanced at her hand, then looked up at her. His eyelids drooped, then fluttered open. His gaze locked onto her as he said softly, "I’m not in an online relationship. I... I’ve always liked you."
Jiang You had been about to speak, but the interruption made her mind go blank for a second. She recovered quickly, raising an eyebrow with cold arrogance, her tone displeased. "You say you’re not in an online relationship, and I’m supposed to believe you? Whatever. I’m warning you now—you are forbidden from dating anyone online!"
Hearing this, a strange feeling fluttered in Zhou Yu’s chest. His dark eyes stirred as he stared right at her, his lips parting slightly. "Why am I not allowed to?"
’Is it because she cares about me?’
He watched her with restrained, throbbing emotion in his eyes. But even with his restraint, he couldn’t completely hide the slivers of longing and hope.
Seeing the look in his eyes, Jiang You’s own pink eyes flickered. She looked away and said with cold arrogance, "Don’t get the wrong idea. It’s not because I care about you."
She tilted her chin up slightly. "And you better remember this: until the day I decide to forget you exist, you’re my dog. You’re not allowed to date anyone else, and you’re not allowed to date online. Even if I don’t want you, no one else is allowed to have you."
’Oh, how domineering. What a strange philosophy on love.’
’She doesn’t even like the guy, but she won’t let him be with anyone else.’
’"She" is being so unreasonable. It’s utterly absurd.’
Jiang You inwardly complained about her character persona.
With that, she hopped down from the desk, intending to leave him with one final, harsh remark.
But the hem of her jacket was gently tugged.
Jiang You froze. Looking down, she saw a pale, almost translucent hand, its blue veins slightly raised, gripping the hem of her jacket. He wasn’t looking at her. He just remained in his seat, head lowered, his bony fingers clenching her jacket with just enough force to twist the fabric into deep little creases.
"Why?" Zhou Yu’s voice was soft and hoarse.
’Why what?’
It was only when Zhou Yu spoke again that she understood. "Why don’t you want me?"
His voice was so quiet it seemed it might shatter in the air.
Then Jiang You realized. He was referring to her line: "Even if I don’t want you, no one else is allowed to have you."
He had only latched onto the part about her not wanting him.
In truth, Jiang You already believed that Zhou Yu wasn’t in an online relationship.
She suspected his hacker identity was the reason; he probably had to keep checking his terminal for some freelance work.
"A filthy pauper from the slums like you, worthy of someone like me, who wears nothing but luxury brands?" Jiang You yanked her jacket out of Zhou Yu’s hand, her voice dripping with arrogance. "Only a man at the very top of the pyramid could ever be worthy of me."
"Keep your filthy, poor hands to yourself." Jiang You sneered and took a few indifferent steps back.
’Why didn’t she want him?’
’Because her persona didn’t want him.’
’Even back when she pursued him over a bet, the "Young Miss" persona had always looked down on him.’
Yu Lin scoffed. "A filthy pauper like you isn’t even worthy to carry Sister You’s shoes."
Chen Yu added her own insult, "Exactly. Someone like you should know your place. Don’t go lusting after things that are out of your league."
Lin Xue drawled, "That’s right. If the school hadn’t started accepting scholarship students, people like you could struggle your entire lives and never even get the chance to meet our Sister You. A person needs to know their place."
Zhou Yu’s eyes lowered, a dark gloominess flickering within them.
He told himself, ’This is just her persona. Don’t mind it, don’t let it get to you...’
But it still hurt. His breathing grew short and heavy, the pain making it hard to draw a full breath.
’Maybe, even without the persona, she still doesn’t like me.’
’That’s right. On the terminal...’
’...he was Teacher Zhou.’
’And the real her, the one without the persona, showed no interest in Teacher Zhou either.’
Jiang You’s eyelid twitched. She was well aware of how vicious her three lackeys could be.
She had to drop her last threat and get her crew out of here, fast.