A Collective Social Death Scene

And beside the picture, they had written all sorts of ways to quit!

In painstaking detail!

Lu Zhe instantly turned to stone...

"What the fuck..."

Seeing that the matter had already been "exposed," Ning Shu adopted an earnest, well-meaning tone. "This is all for your sake, Lu Zhe!"

Tang Xiaoguo said helplessly, "Lu Zhe, this isn't good for you. You have to quit!"

Jiang Yao said worriedly, "Xiao Zhe, although having other people, especially girls, find out about this sort of thing is embarrassing, believe us-we all have your best interests at heart!"

Lin Qianqian said timidly, "Please put your studies first, Lu Zhe, and don't do things that harm your health!"

Lu Zhe was on the verge of tears!

Having girls suspect him of having a bad habit was devastating enough!

Worse still, these girls were working together to "help" and "save" him!

He didn't fucking know whether to get angry or feel touched!

"Just you wait!"

Three minutes later, Lu Zhe moved the fire to the campsite.

He said, enunciating every word, "My four divine ladies, can you all see clearly now? I was moving my arms because I was starting a fire with a hand drill!"

The four girls sat side by side in front of the fire, staring at the burning flames, dumbstruck!

A fire?

No!

That wasn't a fire!

That was an execution ground where they were all being put to social death!

"We... thought..."

"Oh, no..."

"Stop talking..."

"I'm going to die of embarrassment!"

"This is all the class monitor's fault. She led all our thoughts astray!"

"How can you blame me? Anyone would have misunderstood a scene like that, okay?!"

"Only you would! None of us did!"

"Ugh, how are we supposed to face anyone now?!"

Lu Zhe didn't know whether to laugh or cry!

Still, the sight of four campus belles so embarrassed that their toes were digging into the ground wasn't something you got to see every day!

What should he do now?

Magnanimously forgive them?

Not a chance!

He could use this opportunity to properly straighten out their attitude toward survival!

Lu Zhe deliberately put on a stern tone and cleared his throat twice.

"I was working tirelessly to start a fire with a hand drill so we could survive, wearing my arms out to the point of breaking! And you mistook it for a bad habit? Go on, whose mind was so dirty?"

Three girls pointed at Ning Shu. "The class monitor!"

Ning Shu gave a sheepish smile. "Well... I'll reflect on my mistakes! But... Lu Zhe, you have to understand my position, too. As class monitor, I have to care about every classmate's physical and mental health! Look at everything you've been through lately. As a guy, it isn't easy to keep yourself under control."

Lu Zhe asked in bewilderment, "What do you mean, it isn't easy to keep myself under control? Do you know that much about guys?"

Ning Shu sighed. "Actually, I don't know that much. I've just read a few webnovels for female readers, and they describe some things in great detail..."

Tang Xiaoguo pursed her lips. "What do you mean, a few? Class monitor, unless I'm remembering wrong, you spend all your free time reading novels!"

Jiang Yao nodded and said with a wicked grin, "During the last sports meet, I accidentally saw a passage. A really dirty one!"

Lin Qianqian blushed. "I've seen one, too!"

Ning Shu said helplessly, "How could you all... ugh, those scenes only come up occasionally! I read for the exciting plots, the beautiful prose, and the earth-shaking romances. I'm not reading them for those kinds of scenes!"

Jiang Yao said languidly, "Who can say for sure?"

Annoyed, Ning Shu was about to argue further. "Hey, you lot..."

"Enough!" Lu Zhe felt that if he didn't stop them now, the conversation would veer off track.

"Let's set literary appreciation aside for now. How about we discuss how we're going to settle the matter of you four misunderstanding me today?"

How were they going to settle it?

How else could they settle it?

Looking deeply conflicted, Ning Shu said, "Lu Zhe, can't we just apologize?"

Jiang Yao squirmed a little and blinked her innocent eyes. "Exactly, deskmate. We're just ignorant girls led astray by trashy books. We don't know anything. Could you bear to punish us?"

Tang Xiaoguo looked as though it went without saying. "Even if we were wrong, you're a guy. You should be more magnanimous!"

Lin Qianqian said quietly, "You've always taken such good care of us girls in PE class..."

Lu Zhe clutched his chest in feigned pain. "I wasn't being falsely accused back then. Now I have been, and my soul has suffered a terrible wound!"

Tang Xiaoguo pouted and said in a tsundere manner, "Can only punishing adorable girls like us soothe the wounds in your soul?"

Lu Zhe nodded. "Exactly!"

"In that case..."

At that moment, Ning Shu stood up!

She patted her chest, taking full responsibility. "As class monitor, I was the mastermind behind this. They were accomplices at most, so I should bear all the responsibility. If you insist on punishment, just punish me alone!"