Stop Chasing the School Belle, My Shy Deskmate is Sweet and Soft - Chapter 57

“You don’t have a secret crush, but I have an open love. So, let’s go.”

Hearing Xia Tian’s words, Ye Ningyu froze for two seconds before gently nodding.

“Okay.”

As she lowered her head to continue working on her assignments, she whispered softly in her heart.

“I do have someone I like, Xia Tian.”

Over the past month, Ye Ningyu had come to realize that Xia Tian really didn’t like Xu Yuan anymore.

But even so, she didn’t dare reveal her feelings.

If Xia Tian no longer liked the class monitor, he surely must have fallen for someone else…

—

During dinner that evening, most of the classmates had left the classroom to eat.

Xia Tian, feeling no appetite, leaned against the desk near the door, watching the students downstairs.

At that moment, Fang Yu came running over from the neighboring class, his face full of excitement.

“Little Tian, I’m so hyped right now! I can’t believe the money I lent you was for starting that Heartbreak Museum! Right now, QQ space and all the forums are buzzing about it—this is legendary!!!”

“Shh, keep it low-key… I hired internet promoters to spread the word; otherwise, it wouldn’t have blown up this fast.”

“Low-key? No way! Hiring promoters was just to get the ball rolling—what’s making it go viral now is the museum’s genuine appeal!”

Fang Yu was visibly excited.

When he’d first learned that the viral Heartbreak Museum was Xia Tian’s project about two weeks ago, he had been dumbfounded.

He hadn’t slept a wink that night, still processing the fact that while they were still in high school, Xia Tian had already set up his own shop.

And now, the whole young crowd in Beian City was talking about it!

Who would have thought that the brilliant idea behind the Heartbreak Museum came from a high school senior preparing for the college entrance exams?

If Fang Yu had been in Xia Tian’s shoes, he would have been broadcasting to the world that he was the mastermind behind all of it.

Xia Tian chuckled at Fang Yu’s excitement and turned to him.

“I told you when you lent me the money, I’d guarantee you a tenfold return…”

“Oh right, speaking of which, how’s the intel on those three girls from the High School Affiliated with the Normal University coming along?”

Seeing that Xia Tian was shifting to serious business, Fang Yu composed himself.

He glanced around to make sure no one else was nearby, then lowered his voice.

“Those three girls you asked me to look into? They were expelled from the High School Affiliated with the Normal University about six months ago. But at first, I couldn’t find out why.

Every time I asked, the students would clam up, like they were afraid of something. After a lot of effort, I finally managed to dig up some inside info…”

Fang Yu hesitated, as if unsure whether to continue.

Noticing this, Xia Tian frowned. “Spit it out. What’s with the suspense?”

“The reason they were expelled has to do with Little Ye… Over at the High School Affiliated with the Normal University, Little Ye’s reputation wasn’t very good…”

“Is this related to the rumors about her?” Xia Tian asked, his brows furrowing deeper.

Fang Yu looked surprised. “How do you know about that? The school strictly forbade students from talking about it, and anyone caught spreading the rumors was severely punished!”

Fang Yu’s reaction made Xia Tian’s heart sink.

It seemed Fang Yu had not only found out about the girls but also the specifics of the rumors.

Taking a deep breath to steady himself, Xia Tian responded.

“Just tell me. I already know some of it. That’s why I asked you to dig into those three girls in the first place.”

“I see… Well, you probably don’t know the whole story, though. Get ready—what I’m about to tell you shocked me, too. But I’m sure it’s all nonsense. Little Ye isn’t that kind of girl!”

“…… If you don’t tell me soon, I’m going to throw you off the third floor.”

Fang Yu shrank back slightly at the threat, then finally spoke up.

“The rumors started with Duan Yingying, Bai He, and Yang Yue. They spread it around that Little Ye was originally from Sichuan and Chongqing, and that before moving to Beian, she… she was involved in s*x work. They also said her mother worked in the same line of business and contracted an STI, which is why she’s stuck at home.”

When Fang Yu finished speaking, sweat had formed on his forehead.

He cautiously glanced at Xia Tian, afraid to even breathe too loudly.

He knew his childhood friend’s temper all too well.

Especially over the past month, Xia Tian had been incredibly gentle and protective toward Ye Ningyu in ways that even surpassed how he had treated Xu Yuan when he was pursuing her.

Fang Yu was convinced that Xia Tian would lose his mind upon hearing this.

But to his surprise, Xia Tian didn’t react explosively. He simply stood there, motionless, though the anger in his eyes was unmistakable.

After a long pause, Xia Tian finally spoke.

“If this were just an ordinary rumor without any proof, it wouldn’t have spread through the entire school, right? So how did Duan Yingying and the others manage to pull it off?”

“Yeah, I wondered the same thing. After digging a little deeper, I found out that there was a student at the High School Affiliated with the Normal University who was also from Sichuan and Chongqing, just like Little Ye. He claimed he saw her come out of ‘one of those places’ with his own eyes.”

Hearing this, Xia Tian’s expression finally shifted.

“Saw her with his own eyes? What’s his name?”

“That… I haven’t found out yet. I’ll try to figure it out in the next couple of days. As for the three girls, it seems they’ve been working odd jobs ever since they were expelled, but I haven’t tracked down exactly where. It might take another week or two.”

“Alright, keep looking into it. If you need money for anything, just let me know. Money won’t be an issue.”

Xia Tian’s tone was calm, but Fang Yu could sense the underlying intensity.

He gulped and hesitantly asked, “Little Tian, we all know these rumors about Little Ye were deliberately fabricated, but you’re not planning to, like… secretly kill them, are you?”

Fang Yu’s face suddenly filled with fear.

The more he thought about the money Xia Tian would make once the Heartbreak Museum took off, the more he questioned Xia Tian’s sudden drive to earn it.

Was Xia Tian gathering all this money… to hire hitmen?

Panicking, Fang Yu blurted out, “Holy crap! Little Tian, you can’t do something stupid! I mean, yeah, those girls are horrible, but you can’t resort to murder—that’s illegal!”

Xia Tian rolled his eyes at Fang Yu’s dramatic reaction.

“You’ve been watching too many crime dramas. What do you think this is—some kind of Tarantino movie?”

“Okay, okay, I admit I do want to get back at them, but I’m not going to kill anyone…”

Fang Yu finally breathed a sigh of relief.

“Little Tian, I know you care about Little Ye, and yes, the rumors forced her to transfer here. But you can’t act rashly—what’s done is done.

If you really want to be good to her, just protect her from now on. That should be enough.”

But Xia Tian’s voice was firm and resolute.

“No, it’s not over. Ye Ningyu transferring schools doesn’t mean everything’s in the past. Of course, I’ll protect her, but those who hurt her must pay.”

“She only needs to be the most beautiful rose. I will be her sharpest thorn.”

Fang Yu opened his mouth to say something else but stopped when he saw Ye Ningyu walking back toward the classroom with her head down after finishing dinner.

Fang Yu swallowed his words and said, “Alright, I’ll keep digging into the details. You focus on protecting Little Ye and running the Heartbreak Museum.”

“By the way… Little Ye’s mother doesn’t have the disease they mentioned in the rumors. She has lung cancer.”

Fang Yu nodded solemnly. “You don’t need to explain. I never believed Little Ye was anything like what those rumors made her out to be.”

After Fang Yu left, Xia Tian suppressed the heaviness in his heart and smiled as he called over to Ye Ningyu, who was trying to sneak back into the classroom unnoticed.

“Little Ye, come here. Watch the sunset with me.”

“Oh… okay.”