"So what if it's Le Gu Nan? What's the big deal?"
Shen Heng's tone was casual as he cast Yan Sheng a nonchalant glance, his eyes seeming to silently scorn him for making a fuss over nothing, like someone who had never seen the world.
That look from Shen Heng made Yan Sheng uncomfortable all over. He couldn't help raising his voice as he said with some urgency:
"That's Le Gu Nan! Brother Heng, aren't you even..."
The words reached his lips, but Yan Sheng suddenly seemed to choke on them. He slapped his forehead hard, as though remembering something crucial, and hastily corrected himself:
"Oh, Brother Heng, you don't know yet!"
"Know what?" Shen Heng looked at Yan Sheng with some confusion.
"Someone at our school put together a campus belle ranking recently, and Le Gu Nan came first!" Yan Sheng spoke animatedly, gesturing in the air as he talked, as though that could help Shen Heng grasp just how earth-shattering this was.
"Oh!" Shen Heng replied flatly.
Yan Sheng's eyes widened, disbelief covering his face as he pressed, "Brother Heng, aren't you excited at all? This is the campus belle ranking, and Le Gu Nan is in first place!"
"What's so exciting about her making the list? If you made it, then I'd definitely be excited!" Shen Heng replied.
"Stop joking, Brother Heng. I'm a guy. How could I make the campus belle ranking?" Yan Sheng said, not knowing whether to laugh or cry.
Shen Heng shrugged and said indifferently, "Then make the campus hunk ranking!"
"No thanks, no thanks. Fame brings trouble!" Yan Sheng waved his hands.
You really have no shame... Shen Heng silently snarked to himself.
"Brother Heng, there are two other people on the campus belle ranking. Guess who?" Yan Sheng asked.
Shen Heng's steps faltered slightly, and an inexplicable feeling welled up inside him. That hazy sense of fate draped gently over him like a thin veil.
Going by the melodramatic plot, Shen Shuning has to be on there... At that thought, Shen Heng spoke without hesitation:
"Shen Shuning's on there too, right?"
"Huh? Brother Heng, how did you know? Didn't you say you hadn't seen it?"
Before Shen Heng could answer, Yan Sheng suddenly seemed to see the light. He slapped his thigh and said excitedly:
"Oh-! I get it! Shen Shuning is your type!"
"..." Shen Heng shot Yan Sheng a speechless glance. "You're overthinking it. Out of everyone I've seen at this school, she's the only other good-looking one!"
"Oh, I see. And here I thought!" Yan Sheng said with a look of dawning understanding.
"So where did Shen Shuning rank?" Shen Heng asked again.
"Hang on, I'll show you!"
Yan Sheng took his phone out of his pocket and seemed to search for something. Soon, he handed it over.
Shen Heng took the phone and looked. It showed the final results of the campus belle vote.
First place: Le Gu Nan, 1,237 votes.
Second place: Shen Shuning, 1,179 votes.
Third place: Bai Baiqing, 872 votes.
Shen Heng's gaze swept quickly over their photos.
In her photo, Le Gu Nan had her head lowered as she wrote, her smooth hair falling along either side of her cheeks. She exuded a quiet, elegant air.
Shen Shuning's photo showed her heading home after school. Sunlight spilled over her, giving her a rare air of girlishness.
As for the last girl, Shen Heng's first reaction was that he didn't know her. Judging by the photo, there was quite a gap between her looks and those of the top two. Based on Shen Heng's years of experience, this was with makeup and beauty filters, too.
"Brother Heng, what do you think? Pretty, right?" Yan Sheng watched Shen Heng eagerly from beside him, his eyes full of anticipation, like a student waiting for his teacher to mark his homework.
Shen Heng nodded and handed the phone back.
"Yeah, pretty!"
"Hehe, told you. I knew you'd also..."
Halfway through his sentence, Yan Sheng suddenly froze in place as though he had been struck by an immobilization spell.
His eyes went wide, shock and excitement written all over his face. He reached out a trembling hand, tugged Shen Heng's sleeve, and stammered:
"B-Brother Heng, Le Gu Nan is looking at me! Do you see that?"
"..." Shen Heng said helplessly, "You could stand to be even more full of yourself!"
"Really, she really is looking at me! Look, she's still looking!" Yan Sheng tugged desperately at Shen Heng's clothes, urging him to look.
Unable to resist Yan Sheng's insistence, Shen Heng helplessly raised his eyes and looked toward the spot where Yan Sheng had just pointed out Le Gu Nan.
Sure enough, Le Gu Nan was looking their way, her eyes clear and bright.
When Shen Heng looked over, their gazes met in the air. After just a second of eye contact, Le Gu Nan immediately turned her head away like a startled fawn, moving swiftly as though afraid Shen Heng might discover something.
"Hey, Brother Heng, did you see that? She really was looking at me!" Yan Sheng was so excited he could barely contain himself.
Shen Heng frowned and asked, "There are so many people over here. How do you know she was looking at you?"
"Intuition! A man's intuition!" Yan Sheng declared confidently.
"..." Somewhat speechless, Shen Heng asked, "Since when do you have any intuition?"
"Really, I really do get this kind of intuition sometimes!" Yan Sheng vowed solemnly. "Like back when your debt was exposed, Brother Heng. Everyone left you, but I just felt I should keep sticking with you!"
Shen Heng gave Yan Sheng a long, searching look.
Holy crap, could this guy have awakened some kind of ability?
He even knows I have a bright future and that sticking with me means he'll do really well someday?
No, my ability is just F-rank Hearing Enhancement. Although I haven't slacked off, even I can't see how great my future could be right now!
At most, I could land a job heading an intelligence department, right?
No, that's not right. He's gotten me all mixed up. Le Gu Nan wasn't even looking at him just now. That alone disproves his whole premise.
When Shen Heng said nothing, Yan Sheng asked, "Well, Brother Heng? You believe me now, right?"
"Since you say she was sneaking looks at you, why would she do that?" Shen Heng glanced at Yan Sheng.
"Because she likes me, of course!" Yan Sheng said as though it were obvious.
Shen Heng: "..."
"Do you know the three great delusions of modern society?" Shen Heng prompted.
"What three?" Yan Sheng asked.
"'There's a message on my phone,' 'someone's knocking at the door,' and 'she likes me'!" Shen Heng said with a serious expression.
"But... is there a possibility that she really does like me?" Yan Sheng looked just as serious.
"Then why would she like you?" Shen Heng asked.
"Maybe she's discovered my one-in-ten-thousand, irresistible charm!" Yan Sheng said earnestly.
Shen Heng: "..."
"Enough, quit yapping and hurry up. Let's get back after using the restroom. I still need to go back to sleep!" Shen Heng quickened his pace.
Seeing this, Yan Sheng quickened his pace too.
"Brother Heng, how come these days you fall asleep as soon as you get here and sleep until school lets out? At night, do you..."
Soon, the two finished using the restroom and returned to the classroom.
Shen Heng lay down on his desk. Just as he was about to fall asleep, he remembered something and abruptly raised his head.
"Remember what I told you just now. Don't call me unless there's something!" Shen Heng looked at Yan Sheng seriously.
"Yeah, okay, got it!" Yan Sheng nodded.
Only after Yan Sheng agreed did Shen Heng lie back down without worry and go to sleep.