Dedicated to studying, yet forced into a chaotic situation.

Chapter 103 Lovers all start as friends

Shi Sui paused for a second, then smiled.

She didn't expect Chi Yan to come to his senses so quickly. They were just friends; confessing feelings was just a teenage impulse.

“Yes, Chi Yan and I are friends,” Shi Sui said to Yan Ze. “Yan Ze, can you focus more on your studies? Spreading rumors everywhere is really not good.”

Not a couple? Just friends?

Yan Ze looked as if he had been struck by lightning, glancing at Chi Yan and then at Shi Sui.

Aside from having the same band-aid on their faces, Chi Yan still had that lazy yet arrogant face, and Shi Sui still had that sweet and gentle face.

Yan Ze, however, always felt that there was some subtle change in the relationship between the two.

Are you absolutely sure you weren't having a secret relationship?

Just as she was about to ask, she looked up and met Chi Yan's icy gaze.

Yan Ze shuddered involuntarily, then caught sight of Pei Shuoxun out of the corner of his eye and immediately ran away: "Brother Pei, how come you're injured too? I'll go find him, you guys talk."

Pei Shuoxun, who was walking towards Shi Sui, was stopped and looked annoyed.

Yan Ze had no idea what a great achievement he had made.

Finally, with the third wheel gone, Chi Yan asked, "Shi Sui, is your injury any better?"

"The plasters at the hospital are really effective. I feel like I'll be able to take the bandage off in a couple of days." Shi Sui turned to look at him. "And you, Chi Yan, I'm really sorry for causing you trouble the day before yesterday. Thank you for taking me to the hospital."

Chi Yan looked down at her; the girl smiled sweetly, her eyes sparkling as she looked at him.

But he now knows that this is not love.

She doesn't just smile at him; when she's happy, she smiles like that at her close friends too.

Feeling a pang of sadness, Chi Yan said casually, "It's okay, we're friends."

Lovers always start as friends.

He's been thinking about so many things these past two days.

He discovered that what he feared more than not being able to date her was her ignoring him.

The relationship is fine, just like before.

He can't chase her too hard, or he might scare her away and that would be the end of it.

He can't be too conspicuous at school, or he'll go crazy if he drags her into unnecessary danger again.

Shi Sui is really happy.

Last night I was thinking, what if I see Chi Yan today and he's still head over heels in love and wants to start a relationship?

She was prepared to be blinded by money and the underworld and agree to a relationship, so now that he says they can be friends, that's perfect.

With no worries, Shi Sui was happy when suddenly someone rushed up from behind and pounced on her.

Song Xinying took Shi Sui's arm and said, "Don't smile at him, he has ulterior motives towards you."

She glared at Chi Yan, her hostility palpable.

Chi Yan's gaze fell on their intertwined hands, and he sneered, "Heh, you're the one who's plotting against her."

Shi Sui was immediately at a loss, almost forgetting that Song Xinying had also confessed her feelings to her that day.

But she couldn't resist the girls' affection. Changing the subject, Shi Sui looked up at the big screen: "It's almost time, let's look at the rankings."

Nervous and excited, waiting for the system to process the payment.

Song Xinying: "Sui Sui, relax. I believe you will definitely make the list. Even if you don't, your ranking will definitely be higher than Jiang Tianyao's. I believe in you."

The ranking refers to the overall ranking of the entire grade, while the list refers to the top 100 in the grade. The font size is much larger, which makes it look much more prestigious.

Song Xinying: "If my ranking is not as high as Jiang Tianyao's, it will just be an apology. Sui Sui, don't worry, even if my grades are bad, it won't affect my image of you. I still like you."

Shi Sui: "..."

With five minutes left before the rankings were announced, more students gathered around, and the first thing they noticed was the tall boy.

"What's going on? Why is Chi Yan here to check the rankings? His grades aren't... wait, did he even take the exam?"

Then they noticed Shi Sui and immediately remembered the bet between Shi Sui and Jiang Tianyao.

"Sweetie checked the answers with me right after the exam, so she's definitely going to be in the top 100 in the grade this time."

“Shi Sui comes from the countryside and has a poor education level. Have you seen her previous English test papers? They were all failing.”

"Her grades must be among the worst, so she shouldn't have made a bet with Jiang Tianyao about grades."

"Academic performance doesn't represent everything. I'm a sucker for good looks, so I support Shi Sui!"

"What's the use of just being pretty? Does that make you a brainless, naive girl?"

"..."

At this moment, a beautiful young woman appeared in the crowd. Jiang Tianyao was wearing the most fashionable dress at the moment, with a carefully braided hairstyle and a fake no-makeup makeup look, and she walked towards Shi Sui.

Shi Sui instinctively turned and left, not even wanting to look at the rankings anymore.

What bad luck!

"Shi Sui, I have something to say to you." Jiang Tianyao quickly ran a few steps and blocked her way.

Seeing that she couldn't avoid it, Shi Sui said, "Then tell me now. After the rankings are released, according to the bet, you shouldn't show up in front of me again."

The surrounding classmates all looked over; they just love watching the drama unfold.

When Jiang Tianyao saw Shi Sui and Chi Yan standing together, she remembered what her father had said—

In the afternoon, her brother would pick Shi Sui up to go home. Whenever she thought about how badly Shi Sui had beaten her brother, she couldn't help but feel scared.

It is now imperative to ease tensions with Shi Sui.

Most importantly, Gu Chenyi has disappeared.

Last night, she called Gu Chenyi as usual, but couldn't get through. Later, she went to his house to look for him, but he was nowhere to be found.

She thought Gu Chenyi's phone was out of battery and he would be home late, but when she went to his house this morning, she didn't see him.

The Gu family is in complete chaos. I heard that Mr. and Mrs. Gu, who are doing business abroad, are both coming back urgently.

Jiang Tianyao panicked.

She recalled Gu Chenyi's confident words that night, saying he would deal with Shi Sui, and vaguely guessed what was going on.