SBAB Chapter 20

Lin Xin’s entire dorm was already sitting in their neatly arranged seats, eating breakfast during early self-study. Only Lin Xin’s spot, where she should have been, was empty.

“Why’s she still not here? Does she not want her perfect attendance points anymore?” He Xiangtong asked Xia Xia, who usually had the most up-to-date news, as she absentmindedly broke pieces of flatbread into her spicy soup.

Xia Xia shook her head, indicating she didn’t know either. She only knew that Lin Xin had gone to meet Gu Nian’s girlfriend early yesterday morning—maybe she’d exposed her secret little crush on Gu Nian, and they’d gotten into a big fight, ending up in the hospital? It couldn’t be that reckless…

Just as Xia Xia started imagining Lin Xin and Cheng Shiyin pulling each other’s hair and wrestling on the ground, Lin Xin appeared in Xia Xia’s line of sight, carrying the same backpack from yesterday and wearing the same clothes from when she went out. The only difference was that Lin Xin’s newly washed sneakers had been swapped out for light blue home slippers, but the socks were still the same white ones from yesterday.

Looking at Lin Xin’s lower half, the outfit wasn’t much different from the grandpas in the square who did morning exercises, but his face was as expressionless as a fashion model on a runway. Lin Xin didn’t greet anyone, just walked directly to the seat his roommate had saved for him, and didn’t explain why he hadn’t returned last night.

But when the roommates saw the slippers, they all had their theories—maybe he stayed out overnight…

But who was with him?

At that moment, Xia Xia, He Xiangtong, and Zhang Yun’s thoughts synced in perfect unity, conducting a heated discussion with nonexistent psychic powers:

He Xiangtong: First, we can use elimination; it’s not me.

Zhang Yun: Nor me.

Xia Xia: Well, duh, all three of us were in the dorm yesterday.

Xia Xia exits the group chat.

Xia Xia exchanged a glance with the other two naive roommates, dismissing them one by one as less practical.

Although she already knew Cheng Shiyin was Gu Nian’s girlfriend and Lin Xin lost out on a date with her, there could still be others present, like Gu Nian himself.

Xia Xia couldn’t quite fathom how Lin Xin could go out and play with his rival, but if he’s already done it, then accepting a few more perplexing actions from him wouldn’t be a stretch. For example, being a third wheel.

But that thought only stayed in Xia Xia’s mind for a second—Lin Xin was a man now; there was no way he could go out and sleep over without revealing himself. Besides, Gu Nian wasn’t gay—if he knew Lin Xin was a guy, he’d be nowhere near him.

That’s not possible.

So, maybe he went out with Cheng Shiyin overnight?

As that thought appeared, Xia Xia hugged her arms tighter, feeling a chill run down her spine. If Lin Xin was interested in girls, it might still be risky to keep him in the dorm. For example, a heartbreak-drunk moment, lacking rationality.

Xia Xia turned her head, trying to surreptitiously observe Lin Xin’s every move, hoping to find some clue to counter her suspicions.

Lin Xin didn’t notice the roommates’ odd behavior, nor did he seem to realize there was anything wrong with his current outfit. Even as he sat down, he took his feet out of the slippers and scratched at a mosquito bite on his leg with his sock-covered toes.

Lin Xin pulled out his phone, opened the album, and started deleting the photos he had once cherished of Gu Nian, one by one. His actions were without hesitation; Lin Xin was very clear that now and in the future, his relationship with Gu Nian was only as rivals.

Lin Xin deleted all the photos of Gu Nian, leaving just one picture of him with Cheng Shiyin. This action was visible to Xia Xia, who was watching closely.

So Lin Xin went from being a fan of his ex-girlfriend to a shipper for them? Xia Xia wondered to herself. However, Lin Xin’s expression toward that photo didn’t suggest any joy—none of the typical enthusiasm a shipper should have.

Lin Xin looked at the photo filled with “glass shards,” starting to sort through the feelings he suddenly discovered last night.

Since Cheng Shiyin was no longer Gu Nian’s girlfriend, maybe he could boldly pursue a single Cheng Shiyin now, right?

No.

Lin Xin was too timid; he couldn’t bear to lose the connection he currently had with Cheng Shiyin, even if it was just a casual friendship now. The idea of taking a high-risk, high-reward approach didn’t sit well with him; a steady, reliable friendship that let him see her smile was good enough—this was Lin Xin’s final answer.

Confessing was out of the question.

This morning, Lin Xin didn’t hear a word of the lecture. Though he habitually chose a seat near the window, not much of his enthusiasm for studying was added; he just looked a little like an anime protagonist.

Lin Xin didn’t listen to the class; after opening his book, he didn’t turn a single page. He rested his chin on his hand, staring at the sky, watching the clouds slowly move but not caring about how they changed shape. He was just watching.

“This path we walked together, right? On the school festival day, we ran from one end to the other, hand in hand.”

“This bench, we sat on it together, just resting for half a minute.”

Lin Xin remembered every corner of the campus where he and Cheng Shiyin had walked together, as though the path outside the window was filled with Cheng Shiyin’s figure, even seeing her waving at him with a smile, holding up a plastic bag and calling out, “Your shoes!”

She never said that.

Lin Xin stopped reminiscing; he didn’t want his memories with Cheng Shiyin to be tainted with his imagined fantasies. So, Lin Xin rested his head on the table, planning to spend the last 10 minutes of the morning in sleep.

“Lin Xin! Lin Xin!” The imagined voice hadn’t stopped when Xia Xia elbowed Lin Xin awake, “Someone is looking for you outside.”

“What?!” Not a fantasy?!

Lin Xin quickly waved at the window, then sprinted out of the classroom, sending papers on the lectern flying to the ground with the wind from his run.

The teacher, bending down to pick up the fallen papers, asked, “What’s so urgent? You couldn’t wait ten more minutes?”

“To the bathroom!” “To eat!” two students who were randomly chatty shouted one after the other.

“Oh…” The teacher paused, hand halfway to note the early departure, then decided to just carry on as if nothing had happened.

These kids these days—they have strong tastes…