Chapter 16

Shen Yuze usually paid great attention to his diet. He rarely ate out and seldom touched seafood at home. It had been a long time since his last allergic reaction, so he never imagined he would end up like this because of a glutinous cake.

Lu Ping hurriedly took Shen Yuze straight to the infirmary. The infirmary teacher took one look and immediately brought out some allergy medicine for Shen Yuze to take.

After taking the medicine, Shen Yuze’s allergic symptoms were suppressed, and no new red spots spread. However, the existing ones showed no signs of fading.

The infirmary teacher said, “Allergies can be minor or major. In severe cases, they can cause throat swelling and block the airways. You should go to the hospital right away so a doctor can treat you.”

—He actually had to go to the hospital!

Lu Ping never expected that his glutinous cake would lead to such serious consequences. He anxiously paced around like a little mouse, but Shen Yuze remained quite calm and comforted him. “I should have asked about it beforehand. You don’t need to blame yourself.”

Lu Ping wanted to accompany him to the hospital, but the infirmary teacher said, “Classmate, go back to class without worry. The teacher will call a car.”

They thought “calling a car” meant hailing a taxi or having a teacher with a car drive Shen Yuze over. They never imagined that ten minutes later, an ambulance with flashing red lights would come blaring into the campus.

It was lunchtime, and the classmates who had finished eating were all out on the playground. The sudden arrival of an ambulance in the school was as shocking as tossing a fluffy pink bomb into the deep sea—it immediately drew everyone’s attention.

Everyone crowded against the playground fence, craning their necks to peer toward the infirmary.

Two doctors jumped out of the ambulance and rushed in with a stretcher.

The doctors carrying the stretcher shouted, “Where’s the patient? Where’s the patient?”

Lu Ping: “…”

Shen Yuze: “…It’s me.”

Shen Yuze was perfectly fine otherwise; aside from the skin allergy, he didn’t have a single scratch on him.

The reason the infirmary teacher called the ambulance was simple: While the students might not know Shen Yuze’s identity, the teachers did! The young master of the Shen Group had an incident at school—of course they had to treat it with the utmost importance. He absolutely had to be escorted to the hospital by ambulance!

Lu Ping advised him, “…The stretcher’s here now. Why don’t you just lie down on it? It could be a new life experience.”

Shen Yuze: “Lu Ping, don’t think I can’t see you sneaking a laugh.”

Lu Ping threw his head back proudly and said, “Where’s the sneaking? I’m laughing right out in the open!”

In the end, the ambulance carried Shen Yuze away.

After the ambulance left, the infirmary was quickly surrounded by classmates. They had all seen it: the school’s celebrity, Shen Yuze, had been taken away by ambulance! Curiosity was at an all-time high, and everyone perked up their ears, eager to know what had happened.

There was nothing to hide about the incident, so the infirmary teacher told them straightforwardly, “Shen ate something at lunch that he couldn’t have, and he felt unwell, so he’s going to the hospital.”

The classmates: “!!!”

“Shen Yuze ate something he shouldn’t have?”

“Shen had food poisoning???”

“Someone poisoned his food???”

“Shen Yuze’s going to the hospital for a stomach pump!”

“He’s going to die! He was poisoned!!!”

Lu Ping: “…No, wait, let me explain…”

But Lu Ping’s voice was too small. He was like a single drop of water in the ocean, instantly drowned out by the tide of voices.

By the time Lu Ping finally squeezed his way out of the infirmary and dragged his exhausted self back to the classroom, he saw the class’s famous gossip queen—and loyal fan of @fake-diaond—Chen Miaomiao charging at him like a little cannonball.

Chen Miaomiao’s face was full of horror as she grabbed Lu Ping’s clothes. “Lu Ping, Lu Ping, did you hear? Shen Yuze was poisoned!!”

Lu Ping: “…”

Chen Miaomiao: “The poisoner hasn’t been caught yet, but we all think it was those guys from Class 9 and Class 10! On Saturday, Shen Yuze beat them up, so they held a grudge and poisoned his lunch!!”

Lu Ping: “…” He was truly exhausted.

Lu Ping tried hard to explain. “Chen Miaomiao, have you thought about how they could have accessed Shen Yuze’s lunch? He never eats at school.”

“Ah!” Chen Miaomiao’s eyes widened. “You mean—”

Lu Ping: “Exactly, the truth is—”

“—They poisoned his water cup!!” A lightbulb went off over Chen Miaomiao’s head, and she said delightedly, “Lu Ping, I see you’re pretty sharp-minded. You have real detective potential!”

Lu Ping: “…”

This was how rumors were born. Rumors were born just like this QAQ!

…

The rumors among the students grew more and more outrageous. During class meeting, the homeroom teacher Wu Yingxia specially clarified the matter: Shen Yuze had a “food allergy,” not “food poisoning.” She hoped all the students would stop spreading false information.

“Also, instead of obsessing over Shen Yuze, you should pay more attention to your grades.” Teacher Wu stood on the podium and slammed her pointer down on the desk. “The monthly exams are this Wednesday, Thursday, and Friday. How’s your review going? Pull yourselves together! If our average score comes in dead last again, just see how I deal with you!”

Her outburst instantly turned the class into a bunch of quailing chicks, all hanging their heads and not daring to make a sound.

Jiaojiang No. 1 Middle School wasn’t large. There were only ten classes in the sophomore year: seven science classes and three humanities classes, with fifty students per class. High School Year 2 Class 8’s performance was mediocre; their average scores dragged, and individual subjects weren’t great either. In the last monthly exam, out of the six subjects, the top scores in history, geography, politics, and humanities math had all been taken by the other two classes. Chinese and English were unified exams for sciences and humanities, with the laurels going to the science classes… To boost High School Year 2 Class 8’s scores, Wu Yingxia’s hair had gone several shades grayer from worry.

With another monthly exam approaching that week, and the class still gossiping instead of studying, Wu Yingxia was even more furious.

She decided to make examples of a few students who weren’t studying properly.

“Chen Miaomiao,” Wu Yingxia nabbed the first one. “As soon as class ends, you flit around like a butterfly, chatting here and gossiping there. Looks like the class isn’t enough for you to show off in. Should I talk to the school radio station and send you there as a broadcaster? We could even give you your own segment to share your hot news every day.”

The named Chen Miaomiao stood up delightedly. “Ah? Really? I can go to the school radio station as a broadcaster?”

Wu Yingxia: “…”

The whole class: “…”

Wu Yingxia was so angry her blood pressure spiked. The Chinese teacher often complained to her about Chen Miaomiao’s perpetually rock-bottom Chinese scores. With reading comprehension like that, no wonder!

Afterward, Wu Yingxia called out several other students who weren’t focusing on their studies and criticized them one by one. Even the class monitor got scolded for “failing to maintain class discipline.”

As she lectured from the front, Lu Ping in the back row… quietly zoned out.

He hid his phone in his sleeve, bowed his head, and typed rapidly. The person he was messaging was none other than Shen Yuze.

[Lu Ping: How are you?]

A minute later, his phone vibrated lightly with Shen Yuze’s reply.

[Shen Yuze: Alive.]

[Lu Ping: …]

[Shen Yuze: Just an ellipsis? Texts aren’t free?]

Who was Lu Ping doing this for!! Everyone else used Penguin software to chat, but Shen Yuze this weirdo had uninstalled all social apps and only used basic texts and calls. Fortunately, Shen Yuze had uninstalled social apps, so Lu Ping could safely impersonate him on Partner.

[Lu Ping: You’ve been out of school all afternoon, and the rumors are wild. They’re saying you were poisoned.]

[Shen Yuze: …]

[Lu Ping: Just an ellipsis? Texts aren’t free?]

This time, Lu Ping mimicked Shen Yuze’s tone to tease him back.

[Shen Yuze: I’m fine now.]

[Lu Ping: I didn’t know you were allergic to shrimp. Jiao River is famous for seafood, so you won’t be able to try our local specialties.]

[Shen Yuze: I can eat nearshore and freshwater farmed fish and shellfish. I can’t eat deep-sea fish, squid, crab, or shrimp.]

[Lu Ping: …]

It was the first time Lu Ping had heard of someone choosing fish based on their “hukou” origin. Wasn’t that straight-up regional discrimination?

Lu Ping almost wanted to ask Shen Yuze: Are you the little mermaid princess from the deep sea? Can’t eat deep-sea fish because they’re your friends?

While Lu Ping and Shen Yuze were engrossed in chatting, his name suddenly rang out from the podium.

“Lu Ping… Lu Ping!” It was homeroom teacher Wu.

Lu Ping jolted and quickly shoved his phone back into his sleeve. He jumped up from his chair and stood at attention. “Here!”

“What ‘here’? You didn’t hear a word I said earlier, did you?” Wu Yingxia said irritably. “Since I didn’t call you, you thought it had nothing to do with you and could slack off?”

Lu Ping didn’t dare argue and just gave a sheepish grin.

Fortunately, he usually behaved well. His grades weren’t top-tier but not bottom either. He paid attention in class and didn’t cause trouble after, so he was the type teachers trusted. This time, Wu Yingxia wasn’t trying to pick on him.

She continued, “I heard from the infirmary teacher that Shen’s allergy was handled promptly thanks to you—you took him there right away. Since you’re his desk mate, how about this: After school today, go visit Shen Yuze on behalf of the class. Remember to buy some flowers; the money can come from the class fund.”

Lu Ping: “Huh???”

…

Lu Ping awkwardly clutched a bouquet as he boarded the bus to the hospital.

Since the class fund was limited, the class monitor thought buying flowers at the hospital entrance would just get them ripped off, so he pre-ordered a discounted bundle online with his smartwatch. Though inexpensive, the bouquet was beautifully arranged with an orange-red theme: sunflowers, dahlias, chamomile, orange tulips, and two orange roses, accented with baby’s breath and eucalyptus leaves. The whole thing looked both vibrant and romantic.

Dressed in his school uniform and holding flowers, Lu Ping definitely turned heads.

Kids this age didn’t need makeup or fancy clothes—the youthful energy bursting from their souls was their best foundation.

On the bus, passengers’ gazes landed on him subtly at first, then some started discussing openly.

“Wow, high schoolers are so romantic these days. Going to see his girlfriend with flowers?”

“Hey, school uniform with fresh flowers—what campus pure love drama is this?”

“High school dating—isn’t that puppy love? Doesn’t the school care?”

“The ugly ones get called puppy love; the good-looking ones get called childhood sweethearts!”

At first, the passengers kept their voices down a bit, but soon they let loose. Those kind eyes and teasing words fell on Lu Ping without fear of being overheard. Lu Ping, the person involved, was so embarrassed he couldn’t lift his head—who said a high schooler with flowers must be visiting a girlfriend? Couldn’t he be visiting a male… classmate?