Pretending to Be a Scumbag A, But Being Targeted by a Paranoid O - Chapter 12

Yun Shu opened her mouth, her face flushing crimson, but she couldn’t bring herself to say, “She’s not my girlfriend.”

 

The Advanced Mathematics Teacher nodded toward Yun Shu. “You, come up and solve this problem.”

 

Yun Shu’s hair practically stood on end.

 

There was nothing she feared more than being called on in math class.

 

As Yun Shu hesitated, Xie Tang patted her hand, signaling her to move aside. She wanted to step in and help Yun Shu.

 

But at that moment, Yun Shu found a sudden surge of courage. She whispered to Xie Tang, “Stay here. This problem is a piece of cake for me.”

 

She couldn’t let Xie Tang take the fall for her in this situation.

 

The Original Host’s grades at Capital University were notoriously poor.

 

No one expected this lazy student to come up with anything impressive.

 

But as luck would have it, the example problem Yun Shu had to solve was exactly the one she had studied the previous night.

 

After a moment’s thought, she wrote down the solution. The crowd, which had initially gathered to watch the spectacle, fell silent.

 

The Advanced Mathematics Teacher watched with approval, nodding in satisfaction. “Good. You may sit down. But don’t eat breakfast in my class again.”

 

Yun Shu forced herself to act nonchalant as she hurried back to her seat, head bowed.

 

She glanced at Xie Tang with a hint of pride, her eyes sparkling like a puppy’s.

 

Her voice, however, still carried a hint of smugness: “See? I did it.”

 

Xie Tang, focused on her practice problems, smiled faintly. “Mm, very impressive.”

 

Yun Shu’s heart swelled with pride. “Of course,” she murmured.

 

Leaning closer to Xie Tang’s ear, she whispered, “Are you busy after class?”

 

Xie Tang glanced at her, feigning ignorance. “Why?”

 

Yun Shu looked genuinely shocked. “To help you with the problems, obviously!”

 

Her voice grew slightly aggrieved as she continued, “Didn’t we agree?”

 

Xie Tang smiled helplessly. “I remember.”

 

When class ended at 10:45, the students scattered like birds, leaving only a few stragglers studying in the classroom.

 

Yun Shu proudly pulled out the problems and began explaining them to Xie Tang, covering each concept thoroughly.

 

After each explanation, she would gaze at Xie Tang with her bright, expectant eyes.

 

A single compliment from Xie Tang—”You’re really good”—would send her into a state of pure bliss.

 

At one point, when Yun Shu’s throat grew dry from talking, Xie Tang opened a peach-flavored juice box and held it to her lips.

 

Yun Shu, absorbed in the problem, drank without hesitation.

 

As a result, she carried the sweet scent of peaches throughout their study session.

 

This outcome deviated somewhat from Xie Tang’s initial expectations.

 

She had assumed Yun Shu’s recent diligence was solely motivated by improving her grades.

 

And since Xie Tang happened to be a top student, Yun Shu was simply using her as a resource.

 

But now… Xie Tang glanced at the faint dark circles beneath the girl’s eyes and knew she hadn’t been resting properly these past few days.

 

So she’s been staying up late doing problems instead of resting?

 

Xie Tang’s heart stirred.

 

She couldn’t quite understand why Yun Shu would go to such lengths for her.

 

“All done explaining,” Yun Shu said, putting down her pen. She tilted her head, meeting Xie Tang’s gaze. “Did you understand?”

 

Xie Tang was momentarily distracted. Her tone remained cool as she replied, “Yeah, you’re really good.”

 

Yun Shu hummed smugly. “Of course! You can ask me any questions you have in the future.” She deliberately lowered her voice, adding, “You’re the only one, you know.”

 

The two were so close that Xie Tang could see Yun Shu’s delicate pores and those lively, sparkling eyes. Their hair strands brushed together.

 

Though it was still the same voice, Yun Shu’s words sounded irresistibly sweet.

 

Xie Tang’s breath caught. She subtly created some distance between them.

 

While tidying her books, she asked, “Aren’t you hungry?”

 

“I guess I am a little,” Yun Shu replied. She had been so focused on the problems that she’d forgotten to eat.

 

Xie Tang slung her backpack over her shoulder. “I have to go to my part-time job now. Consider it a rain check for dinner.”

 

Yun Shu’s eyes lit up at Xie Tang’s words. She couldn’t hide her emotions; her lips twitched into a smile she couldn’t suppress.

 

“Then it’s settled! Don’t forget!” she reminded Xie Tang as she was about to leave.

 

Xie Tang waved goodbye. “I won’t forget.”

 

After Xie Tang left, Yun Shu hummed a tune as she packed up her textbooks, looking forward to a good meal later.

 

Even after leaving the teaching building, the smile lingered on Xie Tang’s lips.

 

She glanced at the sky, then thought of Yun Shu’s proud yet eager expression, as if she were waiting to be praised. Xie Tang couldn’t help but chuckle again.

 

How could anyone be so clueless?

 

Before Xie Tang could head to the cafeteria, her phone suddenly rang.

 

It was a message from the cafeteria stall manager:

 

“Xiao Xie, I’m sorry, but we no longer need part-time staff. Why don’t you try looking elsewhere?”

 

The smile gradually faded from Xie Tang’s lips. She replied politely, “Okay, thank you for your consideration these past few months.”

 

At the same time, Xie Tang opened her bank account. The balance was dwindling, barely reaching four digits.

 

Her lips pressed into a thin line. The medical bills for her grandmother’s hospital stay were nearly exhausted, enough to last only until the end of the month at most.

 

The rare spark of vitality quickly drained from Xie Tang’s demeanor.

 

She began to strategize her next move, desperately searching for ways to raise money.

 

She refused to return to those seedy venues.

 

While her looks allowed her to earn quickly, Xie Tang knew such work was a slippery slope to moral decay.

 

She loathed the deafening music and the reeking, drunken young masters and mistresses.

 

If Yun Shu hadn’t unexpectedly crossed into her world, Xie Tang might never have escaped that life.

 

Closing her eyes, Xie Tang forced herself to block out these troubling thoughts, determined not to let them cloud her judgment.

 

You can always find another job.

 

It’s okay.

 

In the days that followed, Yun Shu deliberately went to the cafeteria during lunch, hoping to catch a glimpse of Xie Tang, but she never saw her.

 

At first, Yun Shu assumed Xie Tang had taken time off. But when she still hadn’t appeared after several days, Yun Shu couldn’t resist asking the stall manager.

 

“Uncle, why hasn’t the girl who works the lunch shift at stall 8 been here lately?”

 

A strange expression flickered across the manager’s face. His eyes darted around nervously as he cleared his throat. “Oh, we don’t need part-time help anymore.”

 

Yun Shu didn’t believe him. “But stall 8 clearly has an afternoon shift…”

 

The manager looked helpless. “We just don’t need anyone for lunch anymore.”

 

Yun Shu pressed her lips together. With a resigned “Okay,” she turned and left.

 

Even the System could sense the manager’s evasiveness. “I bet he’s doing this on purpose,” it grumbled indignantly.

 

Yun Shu’s expression darkened as she listened.

 

If Xie Tang had lost her job, what had she been doing these past few days?

 

As she pondered this, Yun Shu felt a pang of regret—why hadn’t she noticed sooner?

 

Truth be told, Yun Shu had wanted to message Xie Tang many times recently, but she couldn’t think of any legitimate reason to ask her out, or even a natural way to start a conversation.

 

It seemed that without that contract binding them, there was no longer any connection between them.

 

Yun Shu sighed.

 

Feeling utterly dejected, she walked alone to a bench on campus and sat down.

 

Her usually radiant face was now clouded with gloom, carrying a hint of the original host’s icy demeanor.

 

She repeatedly checked Xie Tang’s WeChat step count, noticing it steadily increasing throughout the day, except during class hours.

 

What could she be doing…?

 

Just then, she felt a gentle tap on her head.

 

Yun Shu looked up and saw a person dressed in a cat mascot costume.

 

The mascot held an unopened cup of peach-flavored milk tea in its pink paw and offered it to her.

 

Yun Shu blinked in surprise and pointed at herself. “For me?”

 

The cat mascot nodded.

 

Yun Shu accepted the drink and smiled up at the mascot. “Thank you.”

 

With her usual cheerful facade gone, Yun Shu glanced around curiously. “What are you doing here?”

 

The cat mascot pointed to the newly opened milk tea shop nearby and shook the flyer in its other paw.

 

Yun Shu understood. “Do you have to hand out all these flyers today?”

 

The mascot nodded.

 

Yun Shu looked at her, her voice suddenly tinged with melancholy. “That must be exhausting…”

 

Sensing her dejection, the cat mascot pointed to the milk tea in her hand, urging her to try it.

 

Yun Shu never wanted to disappoint others.

 

She took a deep breath, adjusted her mood, and brought the straw to her lips for a sip. Her eyes lit up. “This is so good!”

 

Ever since learning that Xie Tang’s pheromone scent was peach, Yun Shu had developed a fondness for all things peach-flavored.

 

I’ll have to bring Xie Tang here sometime, she thought.

 

The cat-person clasped her paws in front of her mouth and shook her head, as if delighted.

 

Yun Shu’s earlier gloom began to dissipate. She patted the chair beside her. “Want to sit down?”

 

The cat-person shook her head, pointed to the flyers in her hand, and then clenched her paws into fists, rotating them in front of her eyes as if crying.

 

A brilliant idea struck Yun Shu. “Then I’ll help you hand them out!”

 

The cat-person quickly hid the flyers behind her back, shaking her head and gesturing for Yun Shu to just enjoy her milk tea.

 

Yun Shu’s phoenix eyes curved into crescent moons, her smile sweet. “It’s no problem at all. I don’t have anything else to do today anyway.”

 

She stood up and extended her palm toward the cat-person. “Let me take some.”

 

After a moment’s hesitation, the cat-person handed her a thin stack of flyers.

 

The two stood by the entrance, handing out flyers to the passing crowd.

 

They finished their task in just an hour.

 

The catgirl seemed genuinely pleased to have completed the task early. She gestured to a nearby chair, inviting Yun Shu to sit down.

 

First, she signed a thank you to Yun Shu.

 

Yun Shu quickly waved her hand. “No need to thank me. I was free today anyway.”

 

The catgirl tilted her head and continued signing. It took Yun Shu a moment to understand her question: Why are you in a bad mood today?

 

Yun Shu lowered her gaze and took a sip of her peach-flavored milk tea, her smile fading slightly. “It’s just…”

 

She was about to say it was nothing when she noticed the catgirl watching her with her cheek resting in her palm, her large eyes filled with concern and curiosity.

 

Yun Shu finally decided to share a bit of her true feelings. “It’s just… I realized I don’t know how to start conversations with people.”

 

She puffed out her cheeks. “But I can’t show my concern too obviously either.”

 

The catgirl tilted her head again, as if puzzled by why Yun Shu couldn’t show her concern more openly.

 

Yun Shu smiled.

 

Since no one was around, she didn’t mind revealing her true feelings. “I’m afraid she’ll… find me annoying.”

 

“But thank you anyway.”

 

Yun Shu gave the plush toy’s soft, furry cheek a light kiss, her voice light and airy. “Thanks to you today, I feel much better now.”

 

Yun Shu didn’t notice that the catgirl had frozen completely after the kiss.

 

She glanced at the time, stood up, and waved goodbye to the catgirl. “I have to go now. See you later!”

 

After the girl left, the catgirl remained in the same cheek-resting pose.

 

“Xie Tang! Time to clock out!”

 

A coworker patted Xie Tang on the shoulder, pulling her out of her reverie.

 

After removing her headpiece, the coworker looked around in surprise. “Why is your face so red?”

 

A faint blush now tinted Xie Tang’s delicate, porcelain-white face.

 

At the question, her slender eyelashes fluttered slightly, and she replied in a flat tone, “It’s nothing.”