novelraw Chapter 160 : Haha, Lin Li, What a Clown!
Chapter 160 : Haha, Lin Li, What a Clown!
"Psst, psst— Psst, psst—"
The sudden sound from close range gave Chen Yuying a slight fright. Her body instinctively jerked to the left, away from the aisle, and as she turned her head toward the source of the sound, she covered her lips with the back of her left hand.
Only after she clearly saw that it was Lin Li squatting in the aisle did the emotion in her expressive eyes shift from shock to helpless amusement.
"Don't do that, it's scary."
"If it wasn't scary, I wouldn't do it. I walked over quietly just for this."
Chen Yuying: "..."
This is very Lin Li.
Lin Li pointed his thumb toward the corner where his seat was, continuing to make breathy "psst, psst" sounds.
Chen Yuying turned around to look. Realizing that Bai Bufan, who had previously stolen her spot, was gone, she understood what Lin Li meant. She nodded, capped her pen, and began gathering the homework and textbooks she planned to read and work on this noon.
Then, hugging her books, she stood up and followed Lin Li to the back row.
"Did Bai Bufan leave?" Chen Yuying asked curiously after sitting down in her noon-exclusive seat.
Hearing this, Lin Li immediately covered his mouth with his hand, began to take trembling deep breaths, nodded with great difficulty, and said with a heavy heart, "Class Rep, so you already know?"
"Huh?" Chen Yuying was even more confused.
Lin Li stood up, bowed his head, crossed his hands in front of him, and began to solemnly recite:
"Our dear classmate Bai Bufan unfortunately passed away at noon on the eighteenth of this month, at the age of 15.5. According to the medical examiner, the cause of death was an autopsy.
"His passing has brought us immense grief, and we express our deepest condolences and longing for his departure.
"Bai Bufan was our classmate. He excelled in his studies, had upright moral character, and actively participated in academic activities and social practice. His sudden departure has shocked us all, and we will forever cherish the beautiful memories and precious friendship he brought us.
"Here, we extend our most sincere sympathies to his family. May they feel our support and companionship during this difficult time, and we will do everything in our power to help them get through this tough period..."
Chen Yuying was dumbfounded.
She had only stopped looking at the back row for a few minutes. How was there already an obituary for Bai Bufan?
Wasn't this a bit too sudden? She didn't even get to see him off on his final journey.
And why was Lin Li so practiced at this? Exactly how many times had he rehearsed these lines in his head?
"I wasn't asking if he 'passed away,' I was asking if he left the classroom!" Chen Yuying said, both annoyed and amused.
"Didn't I just say that? Yes, he has left us forever. Our dear classmate Bai Bufan on..."
Seeing that Lin Li seemed prepared to recite it all over again, Chen Yuying pursed her lips, bumped the side of Lin Li's shoe with the tip of hers, and glared at him.
Alright then.
"It's all the same. Class Rep, just pretend Bai Bufan is dead," Lin Li said, sitting back down and waving his hand dismissively.
"Fine."
Chen Yuying nodded. From Lin Li's attitude, it seemed Bai Bufan wouldn't be coming back this noon.
She could sit here with peace of mind.
"By the way, Class Rep, on my way back from lunch just now, I saw a teacher teaching their kid how to ride a bike on campus. It reminded me that you still don't know how. Do you want to try learning it at school during free time, like before the evening self-study session?" Lin Li asked.
This "sighting" was, of course, completely made up just to bring up the topic.
"At school... I think I'll pass," Chen Yuying thought for a moment and shook her head. "I'd be too embarrassed thinking about all the people I know who might walk by."
"That makes sense. Then how about this weekend? Are you free? Let's set a time to hang out. We can find some deserted mountain valley—a dark and windy night, a lone man and a lone woman, sparks flying... learning to ride a bicycle!" Lin Li turned to look at Chen Yuying with a wicked smile on his face.
Chen Yuying: "..."
If someone who had just met Lin Li heard this, they would probably think he was a pervert.
Fortunately, Chen Yuying hadn't just met Lin Li. Although Lin Li was indeed a pervert, she knew he wasn't an ordinary pervert; he was a highly disciplined, good pervert.
So Chen Yuying found it more funny than anything else.
"This weekend probably won't work either. I've already made plans to go to the library to study with Ding Sihan and the others on Saturday, and on Sunday I need to visit my grandma's house," Chen Yuying replied crisply.
"I see. Then we'll just find another opportunity later," Lin Li nodded in understanding.
He didn't press further about when she would be free. Seeming too eager about this kind of thing would be weird, and since the task had no time limit, there was no need to rush.
At worst, he could just rely on the "knowledge" of piloting a mech to slowly complete this task, and focus more of his attention on the other tasks.
"Lin Li, do you really want me to learn how to ride a bike?"
However, Chen Yuying seemed to have noticed something and asked curiously.
"Of course.
"If you want to know the reason, the main reason is that I want to repay you for all the help you've given me with my studies.
"And there's another completely unimportant, super tiny reason: I want to see the scene where you're learning to ride, accidentally fall to the ground, start crying pitifully with tears streaming down your face, and then I stand next to you with my hands on my hips, laughing like a villain and calling you a super invincible idiot."
Lin Li had always been quite skilled at handling long, complex sentences. He delivered this entire speech smoothly without even pausing for breath.
"If it was a super tiny reason, you wouldn't look happier and more expectant the more you talked about it!"
Chen Yuying kicked her little leg out, and the sole of her shoe was ruthlessly blocked by the top of Lin Li's shoe.
"What, you're allowed to look at me like I'm an idiot, but I'm not allowed to look at you like you're an idiot? That's not fair!" Lin Li, having just been stepped on, didn't care at all and spoke with full confidence.
Lin Li broke the ancient rule that whoever looks away first loses, because the shameless will always emerge victorious.
Chen Yuying averted her gaze, pouted slightly, and let out a "Tch" sound. Then she said unyieldingly, "I won't ever let you see a scene like that. I'm very smart, I'll definitely learn how to ride a bike super fast. Hmph, when the time comes, you'll only be able to look at me in shock and say how amazing I am."
"Pride comes at a price."
"I'm just confident!"
"Heh." After a cold chuckle, Lin Li suddenly swallowed the words he was about to say. His expression turned odd, mixed with a hint of a smile. "Class Rep, let's just talk about this whenever you actually have time. Right now, the two of us sound like little kids arguing over nothing.
"It's like me saying my desk-mate dares to eat poop, and asking if your desk-mate dares to. You say, 'Of course he dares, my desk-mate dares to eat two tons,' and then you ask if my desk-mate can eat that much. I get furious and say, 'Why wouldn't he? Not only can he eat two tons at once, he can eat it and pack some to go...'"
Chen Yuying was amused by Lin Li's analogy.
She definitely had to find a chance to tell Ding Sihan about this comparison.
But thinking back on it, she really had been acting a bit childish just now.
It's all Lin Li's fault. If I wasn't around Lin Li, I probably wouldn't act like this.
"Alright, next weekend? Or maybe during the National Day holiday, there should definitely be time then. We'll talk about it when the time comes," Chen Yuying said, her voice still carrying a hint of laughter.
"Okay," Lin Li nodded. He wasn't in too much of a hurry anyway.
He would only start worrying if his task list ever filled up with six tasks and no new ones triggered for a long time.
"By the way, Lin Li, do you want to go to the library with us on Saturday?" Chen Yuying asked.
"Hmm? Who's going? Just you and Ding Sihan?"
"Wanqiu is going too. She's planning to stay at school this weekend. Sihan's house is actually pretty close to the Nansang Library, so it'll be convenient to go there," Chen Yuying explained.
Nansang Library didn't refer to the Nansang Middle School library, but the Nansang County Public Library located in Xiling Town. It was a first-tier library covering an area of over a thousand square meters.
"Oh, all people I know. Sure, that works," Lin Li nodded.
Since it was confirmed that Chen Yuying wouldn't be learning to ride a bike this weekend, Lin Li's focus would definitely be on the monthly exams. Studying was studying no matter where he did it, and the atmosphere at the library was indeed a bit better.
"Are we going in the morning or what?" Lin Li asked.
"Sihan and Wanqiu want to sleep in, so they probably won't get there until around ten or eleven?" Chen Yuying wasn't entirely sure about this.
A large county library like that wasn't like a school library where arriving late meant you couldn't find a seat, so there was really no need to go early just to save spots.
"Alright, but I might head over a bit earlier." Meeting up at ten or eleven meant it wouldn't be very practical for Lin Li to work out and then go back to sleep, so he might as well just head over early in the morning.
"Okay."
...
More than half of the lunch break had passed.
Lin Li stretched lazily.
Looking at the step-by-step solution Chen Yuying had written out for him, he said with some amusement, "Class Rep, how do you manage to draw both the left and right sides of these curly brackets so beautifully?"
When drawing curly brackets `{}`, Lin Li could usually draw the left one `{` quite perfectly. But the problem was that when he tried to draw the right one `}`, it would always twist and warp into an extreme S-curve.
"Just draw it slowly," Chen Yuying explained with a smile. Using a casual grip on her pen, she drew another aesthetically pleasing right bracket on the scratch paper to demonstrate her margin of error.
"It might not be an issue of speed." Lin Li tried to copy her, drew one, and shook his head.
"Then I don't know."
"Alright, I understand this question now. I'm going to sleep for a bit."
Having completed his study goals for the noon break, Lin Li rubbed his temples and said.
Lin Li's mental and physical energy really wasn't as good as usual—all thanks to the "Flask of Hidden Passions."
Resting now was also a way to recharge so he could continue using it properly tonight.
"Okay, go ahead and sleep," Chen Yuying nodded.
"Wait a second." Lin Li, who had already laid his head down, suddenly popped back up, his eyes bright.
"What's wrong?" Chen Yuying asked curiously.
Lin Li stood up without a word and suddenly jogged out of the classroom.
Chen Yuying assumed Lin Li was just going to the restroom, so she didn't pay it much mind.
However, when Lin Li returned a few minutes later, he was clutching a handful of leaves, which he placed right in front of Chen Yuying.
Chen Yuying: "?"
"Class Rep, just in case you get bored after I fall asleep," Lin Li winked, his implication obvious.
Chen Yuying's face instantly turned bright red. She grabbed her textbooks and homework and stood up. "I'm going back to my own seat."
Lin Li just smiled, laid down on the desk, and used his arms as a pillow.
Having a better physique actually helped with sleeping at noon too.
In the past, when he used his arms as a pillow, it was incredibly uncomfortable because it was just bone pressing against bone. He always had to put on a long-sleeved jacket. But now, it was much better.
An unexpected perk.
With this thought in mind, Lin Li closed his eyes.
...
He couldn't sleep.
Wang Yuezhi tossed and turned in his dorm bed, finally coming to this conclusion.
No, seriously, why?!
He had been dead tired this morning and had slept through several classes. To prevent the same thing from happening in the afternoon, he had specifically come back to the dorm at noon to catch up on sleep.
But now the lunch break was almost over. He had been lying here with his eyes closed for so long, yet he hadn't managed to fall asleep for even a single second.
Why?!
He had finally managed to come back to the dorm at noon, only for his bed to defeat him so thoroughly?
Unable to sleep, Wang Yuezhi could only let his imagination run wild.
Will Chen Yuying notice that I didn't come to the classroom this noon and start worrying about me?
After all, he had never once been absent from the classroom during the lunch break before. If Lin Li wasn't a day student without a dorm, he and Chen Yuying would have been enjoying a long two-person world by now.
Chen Yuying must have noticed his perfect attendance, right?
So today...
Wait, won't today turn into a two-person world for Lin Li and Chen Yuying?!
Before Wang Yuezhi could even savor any sweet thoughts, this realization struck him with sheer terror.
Without him, the envoy of justice, keeping an eye on that bastard Lin Li, who knew what kind of outrageous things that guy might do?!
The more Wang Yuezhi thought about it, the more he sweated. He sat up abruptly in bed, burning with anxiety.
The doors downstairs in the dorm building were locked during the lunch break to prevent students from going in and out. Even if he wanted to go now, he couldn't.
He could only suffer in the frying pan of time.
Wang Yuezhi's current mood was like someone who had just finished a shift at a job paying three thousand a month, walked up to their office building at 9 AM, and saw the Hulk pick up a car bought on a 12-month installment plan to smash a villain—only for the Hulk to miss the villain and smash the house they had just paid the down payment on instead.
Despair. Agony.
Every second felt like a year.
Finally, the gentle bell calling everyone to wake up rang.
Wang Yuezhi, who had already dressed neatly, bolted out the door and sprinted all the way to the classroom.
Faster, even faster. Wang Yuezhi felt like his muscles were about to sprout wings. Hermes, the God of Muscles, was practically becoming his Stand.
Finally, panting heavily, Wang Yuezhi arrived at the classroom and threw open the front door.
Then, Wang Yuezhi froze.
Setting aside the fact that his worries were indeed unfounded—because there were other people in the classroom, so even without him watching, others were—
The real reason he froze was that Chen Yuying was actually sitting in her own seat, not in Bai Bufan's seat.
Not only that, but Lin Li, who had never once taken a nap during the noon break before, was currently sleeping on his arms. He hadn't even been woken up by the sound of the door opening.
The two of them were sitting far apart.
Could it be...
Not only was the situation not as terrible as he had predicted, but the two of them had actually had a falling out this noon?
Thinking of this, Wang Yuezhi could barely suppress the smile forming on his lips.
He regretted even more that he hadn't come this noon. Had he actually missed such a wonderful scene?
Wen Muyang looked at Wang Yuezhi, who was grinning foolishly after opening the door: "?"
What is this guy doing?
"Close the door, Wang Yuezhi. The AC is still on," she said impatiently.
"Oh, oh, sorry." Wang Yuezhi quickly closed the door and returned to his seat.
Then, he smiled again.
Because as he got closer, he noticed that someone had prankishly placed several leaves on top of Lin Li's head and arms.
He was being made a fool of and didn't even know it—
Haha, what a clown!
(End of Chapter)