Forced to Love (GL) - Chapter 5

On Saturday morning, the two met in the classroom. This time, however, they were in Shen Sui’s classroom because Lingxi didn’t have the key to her own.

Lingxi arrived early and stood in the fifth-floor corridor, looking down at the school building. The campus was much quieter on the weekend, with only the occasional school staff member passing by. She gazed into the distance at the back gate, then looked toward the road leading to the front gate, trying to guess which direction Shen Sui would come from.

“What are you looking at?”

A sudden voice beside her snapped Lingxi out of her thoughts, making her look around.

Shen Sui wasn’t carrying her backpack today. Instead, she held a fabric bag containing some study materials. She had taken off her blue-and-white school uniform and was wearing her own clothes—high-waisted gray jeans paired with a simple white T-shirt.

Lingxi turned her head and saw the bright white of her T-shirt, and her eyes lit up slightly.

Shen Sui’s casual outfit suited her better than the school uniform. Lingxi could vaguely see her collarbones beneath the neckline of her T-shirt, and the high-waisted jeans accentuated her slender waist and long legs.

“I’m looking at you,” Lingxi answered honestly.

Shen Sui glanced at her without responding. She opened the classroom door and walked in, with Lingxi following a step behind.

“Sit in my seat,” Shen Sui gestured toward a desk in the third row.

“Okay.”

“I made a list of the topics you’re missing,” Shen Sui said, pausing as she took out the original textbook and placed it in front of Lingxi. Her dark eyes were as calm as a still lake. “Basically, we need to start from the beginning.”

Lingxi nodded. Based on Yao Jingzhu’s foundation, catching up wasn’t as simple as just reviewing this semester’s material. Shen Sui had actually put it quite mildly. After Lingxi reviewed everything yesterday, she realized that the missing parts would probably require her to start all the way from the first year of high school.

“I also found some practice questions to help reinforce your learning.”

Lingxi smiled as Shen Sui handed her book after book of practice exercises and took them with both hands. “Thank you, Shen.”

Shen Sui saw Lingxi’s smile, like a warm breeze gently dispersing the lingering morning chill. She lowered her gaze slightly and smoothed the lifted corner of her textbook with her fingertips.

“Alright, let’s begin.”

“Okay.”

Shen Sui sat beside Lingxi, pen in hand, breaking down the key concepts step by step. Occasionally, she wrote examples on scrap paper to illustrate her explanations.

Lingxi listened attentively, her eyes following Shen Sui’s pen strokes. Whenever she found something difficult, she frowned slightly. Shen Sui would then rotate her pen, circle the key points, and patiently explain them again. Soon, Lingxi’s frown would relax.

One sat upright, while the other leaned slightly forward, their distance unconsciously shrinking. Lingxi nodded frequently as she concentrated, and her unexpected insights into problem-solving sometimes even surprised Shen Sui.

Once the explanations were done, Shen Sui had Lingxi complete some practice problems. Lingxi double-checked her work on scrap paper before neatly writing the final solutions beneath each question. She continued one problem after another, only stopping when she finished the last number. It was then that she noticed the gaze beside her.

But it lasted only a moment—when Lingxi turned her head, the gaze had already shifted away.

“Shen, I’ve finished.”

“Alright.”

Shen Sui naturally set down her materials and took the notebook Lingxi handed her for grading.

Her fair hand held a bright red pen, making her already pale skin look even whiter. Her fingers were slender, and faint blue veins were visible on the back of her hand.

Lingxi stared at Shen Sui’s hand, lost in thought.

In that final battle, Lingxi had lost the power granted by the Divine One and took human form. She had rushed forward, trying to grasp her hand, only to find it was an illusion—her fingers passed through nothing but air. Then, the Divine One’s fragmented soul scattered into countless rays of light, dispersing into the Three Thousand Small Worlds.

The hand she failed to hold onto was now etched deeply in her memory.

“…Do you understand?”

“…”

“Yao?”

“…”

“Yao Jingzhu.”

“Huh?”

Lingxi snapped back to reality, realizing that Shen Sui’s pen had stopped moving. Shen Sui was tilting her head slightly, looking at her with clear, unreadable eyes.

“What were you thinking about?”

“N-nothing.”

“Then tell me what I just explained.”

Lingxi followed the direction of Shen Sui’s pen and saw a half-check mark in bright red on her solution.

Not entirely correct, but not entirely wrong either. Lingxi had no idea what to say.

After a long silence, she hesitantly glanced at Shen Sui, who, without changing expression, tapped Lingxi’s forehead lightly with the end of her pen.

“Pay attention.”

“Yes, Shen,” Lingxi replied, all distractions instantly wiped away.

Shen Sui glanced at her before continuing to explain the problem.

After that, Lingxi dared not lose focus again, following every step of Shen Sui’s pen carefully.

Two hours passed in the blink of an eye. The summer sun blazed through the windows, raising the temperature in the classroom.

After finishing the last explanation, Shen Sui coughed lightly but remained composed. In contrast, Lingxi, sitting beside her, was sweating profusely, her cheeks flushed.

“Are you hot?”

“Yes.” Lingxi wiped her sweat and looked at her. “Aren’t you hot, Shen?”

“I’m fine.”

Lingxi got up and filled her cup with warm water. “Here, drink some. Thank you for your help.”

“It’s nothing. Take the rest of the problems home. I’ll check them next week.”

“Got it.”

Shen Sui put away her math book and took out a physics book instead.

“Shen, should we eat first?” Lingxi quietly suggested.

“Alright.”

For lunch, Lingxi originally planned to take Shen Sui out to eat, but Shen didn’t even consider it and led her straight to the cafeteria.

They ate quietly. Shen Sui took small bites and soon put her chopsticks down. Seeing this, Lingxi instinctively stopped eating as well.

Shen Sui looked at her with a hint of confusion. “You’re not eating anymore?”

“No,” Lingxi shook her head.

While Shen Sui was still processing her response, Lingxi quickly gathered their trays and took them to the cleaning area.

Shen Sui, standing behind her, watched her movements. Her fingers twitched slightly.

In the summer afternoon, they walked along the wooded path back to the classroom. Lingxi intentionally stayed half a step behind Shen Sui. A breeze occasionally lifted the ends of Shen Sui’s hair, making them sway.

Back in the classroom, Shen Sui rested her forehead on her hand, eyes closed. Lingxi lay on her desk, secretly peeking at her. After a moment, she smiled softly.

“You’re not sleeping?” Shen Sui’s eyes barely opened as she glanced at her. “If you’re not sleepy, we can start physics.”

Lingxi’s smile lingered as she nodded. “Alright.”

Shen Sui studied her face for a few seconds before narrowing her eyes slightly. “Three seconds. Head down and sleep.”

Before the three seconds were up, Lingxi had already buried her head in her arms. “Good afternoon, Shen.”

The classroom fell into silence, but Lingxi could still feel a gaze resting on her.

Eventually, as darkness enveloped her senses, drowsiness took over, and she drifted off to sleep, missing the soft voice beside her—

“Good afternoon.”