One More Try

Seeing the ironclad evidence, Sakura Airi grew so anxious that tears were about to fall. She looked at Shi Cheng and argued frantically, "It's fake! I didn't!"

She rarely interacted with others, and this had happened so suddenly.

Sakura Airi had not prepared herself at all.

She could only clumsily state her position, hoping Shi Cheng would believe her.

In truth, Shi Cheng had believed her long ago.

With her courage, even if she were given ten times as much, she would not dare take the initiative.

But Shi Cheng was not about to take her side right now.

"Whether it's real or fake, words alone prove nothing. Do you have any evidence?"

Shi Cheng continued pressing her.

How could the anxious Sakura Airi realize from those words that Yamauchi Haruki had no proof either?

She could only rack her brains in desperation.

But no matter how hard she thought, she could not come up with a solution.

Seeing that Sakura Airi was truly on the verge of tears,

Shi Cheng chuckled. "If it has nothing to do with you, then be my girlfriend."

Sakura Airi was instantly speechless.

What necessary connection did those two things have?

Why did he have to keep targeting her?

Feeling deeply wronged, Sakura Airi's eyes shimmered with crystalline tears, and she looked ready to cry at any moment.

Seeing this, Shi Cheng kindly lent her his warm embrace.

"Eh? Eh... eh!" The sudden warmth caught her completely off guard. Sakura Airi's body stiffened, and her mind short-circuited.

She had not even agreed yet.

"It's fine. He may not have discovered your beauty, but isn't there still me?" Shi Cheng said magnanimously. "I don't mind you taking those photos for him to see."

Under Shi Cheng's patient guidance, Sakura Airi finally thought of how to prove herself.

After coming back to her senses, she temporarily gave up on trying to push him away.

"I have proof, but Shi Cheng, you have to promise not to tell anyone else about this."

Sakura Airi raised her head, her sparkling eyes shyly meeting Shi Cheng's gaze.

"Don't worry. My lips are sealed."

Shi Cheng raised one hand, his expression earnest.

Having received his promise, Sakura Airi took a deep breath.

At this point, for the sake of her reputation, she had no choice.

Sakura Airi took out her phone, opened the School Network, and shyly handed it to Shi Cheng.

Blushing, she said, "There's a reason I did that. Actually, I'm a print model. My online name is Shizuku. Shi Cheng, you might not know that."

Sakura Airi was not arrogant enough to think everyone should know her.

So she deliberately added that last sentence.

After a casual glance, Shi Cheng could immediately confirm that Sakura Airi was telling the truth without her even showing her face.

Because he had seen her other side long ago.

Though they had not known each other for long,

that beautiful figure had remained firmly etched in his mind.

Shi Cheng sighed. "I really couldn't tell. Airi, you're unexpectedly bold."

"Ugh!" Sakura Airi was no longer hung up on how he addressed her.

As long as her reputation was saved, that was enough.

Shi Cheng released her and said regretfully, "All right, then. Looks like it was just wishful thinking on my part."

Sakura Airi felt a slight reluctance in her heart. Shaking her head, she said, "It's not your problem, Shi Cheng. It's just that I haven't considered that sort of thing yet."

Her face red, Sakura Airi carefully tried to comfort Shi Cheng.

It was rare for someone to understand her, and Sakura Airi did not want Shi Cheng to be hurt.

"It's fine." Shi Cheng acted very carefree as he smiled. "Now we have a secret in common."

Sakura Airi was close to breaking down, but she still forced herself to suppress the urge to run away.

She bowed and properly bid him farewell. "Goodbye, Shi Cheng."

After saying that, without waiting for Shi Cheng to respond,

Sakura Airi fled the classroom in a flustered rush.

The next day was sunny and bright, another fine day for school.

Unfortunately, even fewer people were taking things seriously.

With the teachers' indulgence, some students who had still been watching from the sidelines joined in as well.

After all, they had already missed out on enjoying themselves for so long.

As for their studies, it was fine. The school had guaranteed it.

There seemed to be nothing to worry about, right?

Shi Cheng frowned, feeling that things should not be so simple.

If they were merely deducting living expenses,

could that really wake so many people up?

Shi Cheng shook his head and stopped dwelling on it.

Instead, he met the gaze of Sakura Airi, who kept sneaking glances at him from behind.

Their eyes collided.

Not expecting to be caught, Sakura Airi panicked and immediately shrank into herself like a quail, burying her head in her chest as usual.

Shi Cheng's eyelid twitched, and he could not help feeling tempted.

But now was not the right time. He still had to wait.

Shi Cheng did not launch a fierce offensive like he had yesterday.

As the saying went,

haste makes waste.

Besides, could Sakura Airi possibly escape his grasp?

Absolutely not.

So Shi Cheng decided to leave her alone for a while.

He would let her win herself over first.

From the current situation, it seemed to be going rather well.

The progress bar was steadily advancing.

Shi Cheng did not take the initiative to greet her.

And Sakura Airi, who only wanted to be invisible, was even less likely to do so.

Because she had not figured out the fluttering in her heart yet.

The fact that she dared sneak looks at Shi Cheng now

was already the furthest she could go.

Under Sakura Airi's occasional attention, lunchtime soon arrived.

Because he did not want to get up early in the morning, and Kato Megumi refused to keep providing bento lunches, Shi Cheng could only head to the cafeteria.

Before he could move,

his phone gave a faint vibration.

Shi Cheng had a bad feeling.

He did not have many friends.

And there were even fewer people who would contact him at this time, so it was very likely not good news.

Sure enough,

Kushida Kikyo was inviting him to meet outside once again.

Looking at the message on his phone, Shi Cheng sighed at the damned sense of déjà vu.

If he did not know Kushida Kikyo could not possibly be confessing to him,

Shi Cheng really would have been touched.

He had not even made a move yet,

and someone had already come to his door voluntarily.

Unfortunately, that was not the case.

Slipping his phone into his pocket, Shi Cheng slowly walked out of the classroom.

And he consciously headed toward the same place as last time.

It was not because they were in sync.

He simply did not want to waste time.

He still had to go to the cafeteria to eat.

Hearing the light footsteps following behind him, Shi Cheng ignored them.

He did not turn around until they reached the previous spot, then asked rather bluntly, "Kushida, what is it this time?"

Kushida Kikyo's expression froze slightly.

Yet she did not seem confused, which meant she knew

why Shi Cheng was speaking to her in that tone.

Kushida Kikyo sincerely apologized, "I'm sorry, Shi Cheng. Because of me, you and Horikita had a conflict."

Shi Cheng blinked in confusion.

Hadn't this matter already been settled? Why bring it up again?

Ignoring Shi Cheng's thoughts, Kushida Kikyo quickly skipped over the topic.

An extremely serious expression appeared on her cute face.

"I still want to become friends with Horikita. I don't want to see her all alone in class."

What do you mean by that?

Am I not a person too? Damn it.

Shi Cheng clenched his fists. He was standing right here, and she could not see him!

A good man did not fight with women.

With that in mind, Shi Cheng deliberately pretended not to understand her flawed statement.

"You don't mean to ask me for help again, do you?"

Shi Cheng raised an annoyed brow, a strange glint appearing in his eyes.

The more he thought about it, the more something felt wrong.

Was she a little too obsessed with Horikita Suzune?

Could she really be into girls?

Shi Cheng was overjoyed inside.