SBAB Chapter 52

When Cheng Shiyin saw Gu Nian’s message, she was already at her cousin’s house celebrating Beibei’s birthday. Cheng Shiyin read the message carefully several times before confirming that it was just a simple apology. Gu Nian didn’t ask to apologize in person, didn’t offer to help, and didn’t bring up borrowing money. Perhaps he had a sudden change of heart and felt guilty.

Cheng Shiyin put the message aside, deciding that there was no need to reply.

Just as she set her phone down, she received a call from Lin Xin. Her expression was much warmer than before as she immediately answered the phone and sweetly said, “Hello?” Beibei, who was nearby, shivered at the sweetness. However, Lin Xin enjoyed it, and their voices were both soft and gentle.

“Let’s go out for lunch! There’s a place next to our school that does paper-wrapped fish, and it’s delicious!” Lin Xin emphasized the “really delicious” part. Cheng Shiyin, intrigued, was about to agree, but then remembered she would be staying at her cousin’s house for the night and wouldn’t be able to return until the afternoon the next day. “How about tomorrow afternoon? I’m out of town today and tomorrow morning, so I can’t make it.”

“Well…” Lin Xin hesitated. She had to go to the student council tomorrow afternoon, but she wasn’t sure when it would end. The longer she put off confessing the secret, the more complicated things would get. To avoid prolonging the deception, she decided to come clean sooner rather than later. “How about we meet at 8 PM tomorrow?” She figured that even if the student council event ran late, two hours would be enough, and she could always find an opportunity to slip away.

“Okay, 8 PM tomorrow at the entrance of your school,” Cheng Shiyin agreed.

With the main matter settled, they both wanted to chat a bit more, but Cheng Shiyin was pulled away by her cousin, so they had to cut the conversation short.

The next day at 5 PM, Lin Xin had spent the day in her dorm, recharging. She took care of a few errands, organized her luggage, and napped. Then, she practiced how she would confess, drafting a long speech. He wrote thousands of words starting from his unintentional deception, explaining his love for Cheng Shiyin, his struggles, and finally his commitment to a long-term relationship. Three thousand words were dedicated solely to praising Cheng Shiyin’s beauty.

As the time for the meeting drew closer, Lin Xin began feeling more and more reluctant. Anxiety and doubt filled his mind, and he started imagining the worst. “What if Gu Nian hires someone to beat me up?”

If Gu Nian challenged him to a fight directly, Lin Xin wouldn’t be scared. He could at least hold his own or end up in a draw, and he’d admit that Gu Nian was tough. But if Gu Nian used his connections to bring a group of ten or twenty people, Lin Xin knew that even his biggest punches wouldn’t matter. He’d be overwhelmed.

After thinking it over, Lin Xin came up with a really bad idea. Since he couldn’t run and didn’t stand a chance in a fight, he figured he should at least be somewhat prepared to take a beating. Otherwise, if they didn’t get their fill, they might come back for a second or third round.

Lin Xin decided to prepare himself by physically boosting his short-term defenses.

He opened his wardrobe, pulled out all his clothes, and tossed them onto the bed. Without much thought, he started putting them on one by one. After managing to get several layers on, he could barely bend over anymore and finally gave up on putting on a tenth layer.

At that point, Lin Xin resembled Gru from Despicable Me. His upper body was overly stuffed, while his legs were thin and frail.

Next, Lin Xin focused on his legs. He was dressed for winter, with jeans over thermal pants. After jogging in place for a few steps, he broke into a sweat. His upper body was all about survival, though. If his legs were more agile, he might be able to buy some time and dodge a few attacks. So, he swapped the jeans and thermal pants for a pair of loose athletic pants.

Once fully “armed,” Lin Xin looked in the mirror. His defense had improved, but his appearance was far from stylish. Though he wasn’t playing Miracle Nikki and didn’t need to worry about fashion, he still had to live at this school for four years. Wearing this outfit would probably get him mocked in the school forum tomorrow. He was already imagining what nickname he might earn: “Fat Cat” or “Lin Xue.” If anyone snapped a photo of him trying to dodge punches, they’d probably think he was some action star, like Jackie Chan.

Standing in front of his pile of clothes, Lin Xin hesitated for a while before pulling out the one item he had once hated the most—the school uniform.

The two-meter-long thread, poorly sewn feet, fabric worse than a rag, and the terrible black and brown color scheme—yet it boldly displayed the Adidas logo, looking like a knockoff. But there was one good thing about it—it was HUGE!

The old Lin Xin could easily hide under this uniform, but now, with his new physique and outfit, it fit him perfectly. He wrapped a scarf around his face, and no one would know it was him. Satisfied with his “armor,” Lin Xin couldn’t feel his own body beneath all the layers.

It was nearly time. Lin Xin moved his heavy body toward the student council office. Along the way, he saw many familiar faces, but none of them recognized him.

This made Lin Xin feel even better, though he couldn’t help but wonder: Were there this many local college students during the holidays? Just as the question popped into his head, he got his answer. He had completely forgotten about Gu Nian’s charm. If it had been earlier, he would have made the trip himself. So it wasn’t hard to understand why so many people were around.

By the time Lin Xin staggered to the office door, the line of people waiting to sign in had stretched outside, seemingly larger than the total number of students in the student council group. Lin Xin took a careful look and noticed many unfamiliar faces, mostly girls. They were probably all there for Gu Nian’s face, though he had no idea how they had found out about the student council event.

Gu Nian was watching the people sign in while scanning the crowd for Lin Xin. It was already 10 minutes past 6, and there was still no sign of Lin Xin. He began to feel uneasy. Could it be that he had come for nothing? Was Lin Xin a rebellious type who didn’t care about graduation? That was hard to believe.

Gu Nian apologized to the person in front of him, asking Ying Lun to keep an eye on things while he stepped outside to check the situation. Ying Lun, wondering what there was to check, turned to reply but saw that Gu Nian had already disappeared. He could only sit down obediently and direct the non-student council members to sign on a different sheet.

Gu Nian scanned the crowd of people, crossing his arms in confusion. It seemed like he had found him, but then again, it didn’t seem like he had.

There was a girl with half her face exposed who resembled Lin Xin. The sharp eyes, the confident eyebrows, and the unique aura that set her apart from the other girls immediately caught Gu Nian’s attention. But then there was her bulky frame, and… her slightly thick legs?

Alright, Gu Nian understood now—these were all just Lin Xin’s tricks.

Gu Nian couldn’t help but laugh at Lin Xin, all wrapped up as though trying to hide from him. But he hadn’t expected those legs to betray her. If only she’d at least worn more layers, then she wouldn’t have given herself away so easily. But, in a way, it made her even more adorable—so ridiculously cute.

Once Gu Nian saw Lin Xin, he felt relieved and returned to his high-end leather chair, the supreme position of student council president. He quickly posted an announcement in the group: “Today’s important news: The party!!!”

As soon as the message was sent, many student council members who had been pretending to be out of town started complaining in the group chat. It was as if missing out on the chance to spend public funds on food and drinks was the end of the world.

Meanwhile, some girls, who weren’t involved with the student council at all, shyly raised their hands and said, “So, are we…”

Before they could finish, Gu Nian interrupted: “It’s fine, let’s all go together. The point of the party is to have fun.”

As soon as Gu Nian spoke, everyone went wild, chanting his name like they were trying to nominate him as the new leader of the country.

But Lin Xin furrowed his brows, sensing that there was some kind of plot behind all this.

Lin Xin was at the back of the crowd, and once he had signed in, everyone surged toward the school gates. Lin Xin was squeezed into the crowd, unable to move, and could only go with the flow. Eventually, he found a chance to get to the edge of the group. Just as he was about to escape, Ying Lun, who had been waiting outside, grabbed him.

Damn it, he couldn’t run anymore.

Lin Xin glared and followed the group, eyeing the back of Gu Nian’s head. Quietly, he flipped him the bird.