Shen Lingling's expression changed drastically, and she turned to Leng Mingchuan with a crooked smile. "Mingchuan?"
"Enough!" The surrounding whispers agitated Leng Mingchuan. He ignored Shen Lingling's question and glared at Shi Yue, confirming once more, "Are you adding me or not?"
"Heh." Shi Yue's response was to turn her head and leave decisively.
"Tch!" Leng Mingchuan ran his hands through his hair in frustration, taunting her back, "Fine, don't add me! Who cares! Hmph!"
Thus, the post that had briefly dipped in popularity—"Shi Family Miss Clings to Ling Young Master"—was bumped back to the top of the forum, but this time, everyone was mocking the original poster for being blind.
[Saw it with my own eyes. It was Leng Mingchuan begging Shi Yue to add him.]
[Leng Mingchuan is a player, and his girlfriend is something else too. Always thinking someone's trying to steal her Alpha. Paranoia much?]
[Tsk tsk, seems like the one eager to marry into a rich family isn't Shi Yue. Didn't you see how cool it was when the beauty gave the rich playboy the cold shoulder at the teaching building?]
* * * *
Shi Yue practically blocked out the distractions. She just hoped that Leng Mingchuan would stop bothering her.
But things rarely go as planned. The next day, Leng Mingchuan showed up again.
This time, he even barged into Shi Yue's classroom as soon as the bell rang, standing right in front of her desk.
Shi Yue had just finished revising a sketch. She looked up, and her brow furrowed immediately upon seeing him. But she didn't lash out because Leng Mingchuan looked terrible—his face was sallow, sporting obvious dark circles, and his messy hair seemed like it hadn't been cared for in days, making him appear quite pitiful.
In the original novel, even when Leng Mingchuan had a moment of clarity and tearfully tried to win back the original heroine, he never looked this bad.
Afraid he might actually have lost it, Shi Yue lowered her voice and asked, "What's up?"
Leng Mingchuan pursed his lips and slapped a piece of paper on her desk with a loud "bang."
Shi Yue's eyes widened slightly, "???"
When he moved his hand away, she noticed it was a slip of paper with a series of numbers on it. Glancing briefly, she realized it was a phone number.
The next moment, Leng Mingchuan spoke, cutting straight to the point, "Add it."
Shi Yue was just as direct, "No."
She wasn't sure why Leng Mingchuan had let himself get to this state, but she had no intention of feeling sorry for him.
Leng Mingchuan's sallow face turned green.
Shi Yue started packing up to leave, and he took a deep breath, softening his tone. "What will it take for you to add this number?"
Shi Yue began to piece things together.
She had been so disgusted by Leng Mingchuan and Shen Lingling that she hadn't wanted anything to do with them. But on second thought, there had to be a reason why Leng Mingchuan was so desperate for her to connect.
What kind of situation or person could make Leng Mingchuan change so drastically?
Looking at his panda-like eyes, Shi Yue had a suspicion about what was going on.
Suppressing a laugh, she cleared her throat to disguise her amusement and reached for the slip of paper. Examining the unfamiliar number on it, she thought for a moment before speaking to Leng Mingchuan. "I see."
"See what?" Leng Mingchuan gritted his teeth. "Are you adding it or not? When? And what are you going to say when you do?"
Shi Yue casually slipped the paper into her pocket and raised an eyebrow. "Do I need to report that to you too?"
Leng Mingchuan was about to reply when a familiar figure appeared at the classroom door. Shen Lingling pushed past the onlookers, her expression incredibly complex—betrayed by Leng Mingchuan yet afraid to lash out, she could only glare at Shi Yue with venomous eyes.
"Why are you here again, Lingling?" Leng Mingchuan grabbed her arm.
"Mingchuan..." In just a few moments, Shen Lingling's eyes welled up with tears. "Tell me, did Shi Yue do something behind the scenes again, making you get close to her?"
Shi Yue was almost impressed by her logic. No matter what happened, Shen Lingling could always find a way to blame her.
"Lingling..." Leng Mingchuan sighed but still tried to comfort her. "This isn't something you should be involved in. I'll explain later." He turned back to Shi Yue. "I'm telling you, you have to add that number tonight."
Shi Yue had already planned to do so, but hearing Leng Mingchuan's commanding tone, she sneered.
"Is this how you ask someone for a favor?"
Leng Mingchuan's face flushed with embarrassment. "When did I ever ask you for a favor?"
Shi Yue pulled out the slip of paper. "Here, take it back."
"You! No!" Leng Mingchuan backed up a few steps. "You already took it, how can you go back on it now?"
Shi Yue tilted her head, "Why should I listen to you?"
Leng Mingchuan: "…So what do you want?"
Shi Yue didn't enjoy making things difficult for others.
She crossed her arms and glanced at Shen Lingling. "There's nothing between us anymore, but Shen still treats me as a rival.
"Don't you think you both owe me an apology?"
"Whoa, go Shi Yue!" someone in the crowd cheered, followed by a chorus of support.
Shen Lingling wiped her tears and glanced at Leng Mingchuan.
Leng Mingchuan didn't know where to put his hands. "Lingling, there's really nothing between me and her." He took a deep breath. "I was wrong. Shi Yue did come to me the day before yesterday, but she was asking for someone else's contact, not mine."
Shen Lingling was stunned. "Not your contact? Then why didn't you say so?"
"There was nothing to say," Leng Mingchuan muttered, looking down in embarrassment. "It was all the same anyway..."
A round of boos erupted from the crowd.
"What's the same? How long has Shi Yue been slandered?"
"Does he think he's all that? That Shi Yue was just making an excuse to get close to him? I'm dying of laughter."
"Playboy's really full of himself."
"..."
Shi Yue let out a cold laugh.
Leng Mingchuan could have cleared up the misunderstanding with just a few words, but he had chosen to watch the drama unfold. If it weren't for this slip of paper, he would probably still be hiding behind the public opinion, gloating.
"I didn't think much of it. Anyway..." Leng Mingchuan mumbled with a dark face, "I'm sorry, is that enough?"
Shi Yue glanced at Shen Lingling.
Unwilling to admit fault, Shen Lingling shot Shi Yue one last resentful glare before turning to run out of the classroom, sobbing.
Leng Mingchuan panicked and looked at Shi Yue. "I'll apologize on her behalf, okay? Lingling's naive. She only said those things because she misunderstood us. Anyway, we've apologized, so you need to keep your promise."
With that, he hurried after Shen Lingling.
That night, after successfully calming Shen Lingling, Leng Mingchuan returned to his apartment, exhausted. He hadn't even had a chance to catch his breath before his phone rang. He glanced at the number and nearly jumped out of his seat, answering in a rush.
"Aunt, I gave her the contact. I really did!"
"Huh? She hasn't contacted you? How should I know why? That Shi Yue woman doesn't know what's good for her, and you..."
"Ugh, why are you suddenly mad at me? Did I say something wrong? I'm sorry, okay..."
"What? Go look for her again tomorrow? Why? To tell her to call you? Are you guys talking about some billion-dollar business deal? Hello? Aunt? Aunt?!"
Leng Mingchuan pulled the phone away from his ear, realizing the call had been cut off.
He let out a wail and collapsed into the sofa in despair.