They are still close to me today despite their negative feelings

As I instinctively tried to keep my distance, I was forced to dodge, and the distance I maintained with my senior was also brought to a level that was clearly not a normal or reasonable social distance.

As for the senior student, she was very nice, but she was a bit of a blockhead, so she quietly stayed in her seat and let me approach her.

Could this kind of chance encounter get any more outrageous?

I sighed inwardly.

"Junior, so you and Gu Yin are so close?"

The sound of a vengeful ghost calling for death came from behind.

It seems there's still enough room to reduce the level of absurdity.

……

“Ning Ruoyu? You’ve come at the right time. Actually, An Yu, she…”

In this awkward atmosphere, Chen Di spoke first in an attempt to ease the tension.

But his speech was quickly interrupted by An Yu, whose face looked somewhat pale.

No! I have no intention of apologizing now!

"..."

I said, is this some new model of suicide truck?

I gave Chen Di a questioning look.

Chen Di frowned, clearly not expecting An Yu to react this way.

Xu Xingxin, who was standing next to me, also looked up at her, but quickly turned his attention back to Ge Lanlan next to me.

Ge Lanlan seemed completely unconcerned about the gaze, instead looking worriedly at An Yu, who was acting unusually, like a prickly little hedgehog.

"Are you... arguing?"

After a few minutes of silence, Senior Sister Chu Guyin finally couldn't help but tug at my sleeve, her eyes filled with unease.

"Why...don't...argue...at...the school gate...it's not good..."

"This isn't an argument! Don't always misunderstand!"

An Yu continued to hold up his acupuncture needles, both anxious and annoyed, his voice even higher than usual.

This startled Chu Guyin, who was already somewhat at a loss, and she loosened her grip on my sleeve, looking bewildered.

"Junior Sister An Yu, Gu Yin is just..."

On one side was the junior she had just met and taken care of, and on the other was her (one-sided) best friend. Senior Wu Yuehua couldn't help but interject.

"I know my senior didn't mean any harm. But whether it's the notes or now, isn't it a bit presumptuous to make assumptions and interfere without permission?"

Is it okay to talk about the notebook so openly?

"An'an, calm down first. And senior, An'an isn't blaming you, don't take it to heart."

Ge Lanlan tried her best to smooth things over, but Chu Guyin didn't say anything; his knuckles, gripping the umbrella, turned slightly white.

"...I've been keeping a calm mind, and I don't want you to say things like that."

An Yu lowered his head, as if apologizing or running away.

"I'm sorry, seniors. I was rude and said the wrong thing. I have to go now."

Holding an umbrella, An Yu didn't greet Chen Di and Xu Xingxin beside her, and quickly walked away from us, heading towards the bus stop.

"I think she must have encountered something today and is in a bad mood. Class monitor, could you take Ning Ruoyu to the convenience store for me? I'll go talk to An'an."

"Go ahead, don't worry about things here."

"Um, Lanlan, I'll go with you..."

"No need. Xu Xingxin, thank you for coming over the weekend because you were worried about me, but this is a girl's conversation, so it's better if you don't come."

Xu Xingxin opened his mouth in surprise, then scratched the back of his head.

"Oh, oh, okay..."

Ge Lanlan turned her head and nodded to me and Senior Wu Yuehua, then took the umbrella back from me and ran over.

"Hehe, Ge Lanlan seems so gentle today, like she's a completely different person."

Ignoring Xu Xingxin, who had started grinning foolishly, I naturally slipped under Chen Di's umbrella.

"An Yu seems to be on edge—I thought she'd be happy to have successfully fulfilled her wish to have dinner with you. What happened on your end?"

[Next chapter preview: "I've actually been wondering if I did something really outrageous last week?"]

"This is so unfair! I haven't even become friends with him yet! I don't even have Ning Ruoyu's contact information! Ge Lanlan came later, didn't she? Shouldn't it be my turn in line?"

Chen Di rested his chin on his right hand, listening intently, while silently writing "I don't want to go!" on the dining table over and over again with his left hand.

"That's roughly the plan. Oh, by the way, about the gift to express my feelings, I..."

"Wait, wait, no way? Could it be a girl?"

Interlude: Yay! We're a team!

This chance encounter took place an hour ago.

"Sorry I'm late. I didn't expect the student council's draft end-of-term notice to take so long."

"Oh, it's okay. I asked you out suddenly, and I'm sorry for disturbing your work."

"It's not really work, it's just helping out over there."

As he sat down on the sofa in the family dining room with a smile, Chen Di glanced at the desserts on the table, which had already been mostly finished.

"...Um, I've already paid for these. Do you want them, class monitor?"

There doesn't seem to be any room left for the remaining food, does there?

Chen Di shook his head, and An Yu looked both regretful and relieved.

"So let's get back to the main topic. Although it's just my guess, you probably called me here because of what happened last weekend, right?"

"Um……"

When Chen Di brought up the matter, An Yu immediately showed a somewhat dejected expression, looking like a lonely little dog.

"I've actually been thinking a lot about whether I did something really outrageous last week?"

Chen Di fell silent.

To put it simply, after skillfully maneuvering against those delinquent youth groups, the greatest harm I suffered came from a slap from the very person I was protecting.

"My personal feeling is that Ning Ruoyu is quite similar to Sun Wukong from the movie 'The Monkey King Thrice Beats the White Bone Demon'."

Chen Di tried her best to express her feelings in a tactful and appropriate way.

An Yu thought about it seriously, then opened his mouth slightly and suddenly realized.

"Ah, am I that ungrateful, foolish monk?"

She looked very frustrated; she even stopped holding the fries.

"Then I have to apologize, but what can I do? There's never been a chance to talk to you alone..."

"If I remember correctly, Ning Ruoyu usually eats lunch on the rooftop. Didn't you go today?"

If Ning Ruoyu were here right now, she would definitely protest loudly, wondering how her peaceful spot at noon had been turned into a fixed monster spawn point.

“He went, but today he seemed to be chatting with Grandma…it feels like their relationship has suddenly improved a lot.”

Ah, got it.

Chen Di finally understood why An Yu had asked him to come.

Besides helping to find solutions, it also seems to be to confirm the unease in their hearts.

"I hadn't heard much about his close relationship with Ge Lanlan before..."

An Yu nodded repeatedly while drinking water.

"Right, right? I've never heard of him either. I remember Grandma used to really dislike him!"

"However, after going through this, it's normal to become friends after thanking each other."

An Yu choked on his water and stared wide-eyed.

"Yes, but..."

"This is so unfair! I haven't even become friends with him yet! I don't even have Ning Ruoyu's contact information! Ge Lanlan came later, didn't she? Shouldn't it be my turn in line?"

No, this isn't about selling breakfast... and besides, I don't actually have Ning Ruoyu's contact information.

Chen Di tried her best to maintain her watchful smile.

He wasn't actually very close to An Yu before; their interactions were mostly just casual conversations between classmates. Now, he's starting to understand Ning Ruoyu's feelings.

"Perhaps everyone just spoke up when they saw an opportunity? It seems that President Wu Yuehua greeted Ning Ruoyu on the way just now, and it looks like they have reconciled privately."

"Hey, wait a minute, please wait a minute? I can't pretend I didn't hear that. Does that mean I'm the only one in a bad situation? While everyone else is either making up or thanking each other, am I the one who slapped someone and then didn't say anything afterward?!"

An Yu looked shocked, not even noticing that a large chunk of ketchup had fallen to the ground.

Just as Chen Di was about to speak, he heard a plaintive voice in his ear.

"Squad leader, you're here... What should I do? I'm in such a terrible situation..."

Turning his head, the haggard young man with dark circles under his eyes continued to sob.

"I didn't get to talk to Lanlan again today, and she seems to be getting more and more impatient with me... Oh, An Yu, you're here too, what a coincidence..."

"Xu Xingxin, you're my classmate! Here, have some fries!"

"I don't understand what you're saying, but thank you... Ugh, I stepped on something! How disgusting! Someone threw such a huge blob of ketchup on the ground! Where's their sense of social responsibility?!"

While feeling dejected and wallowing in self-pity, Xu Xingxin sat down next to Chen Di.

"Stop sighing. You've come all this way, you must have wanted more than just a chat, right?"

Chen Di rubbed his temples.

"...Hehe, then I'll just say it directly. I didn't mean to, it's just that the two of you together are quite eye-catching, that's why I heard it."

"Attract attention? Was I being particularly loud just now?"

An Yu covered her mouth in concern.

Chen Di thought to himself, "So you are actually aware of this aspect."

"No, no, no, it's just about looks and stuff... ah, that's not important!"

"It seems like you want to apologize for what happened over the weekend. I also want to explain to Lanlan, so how about we form an honesty alliance?"

"!" An Yu clapped his hands heavily. "Want to confess and apologize together? That's a good idea! With three people, we can definitely find an opportunity."

Three people? What am I supposed to apologize for? Didn't I keep an eye on the kids?

Chen Di rested his chin on his right hand, listening intently, while silently writing "I don't want to go!" on the dining table over and over again with his left hand.

"Squad leader, do you have a tablet? Could you help me write down our plan?" Xu Xingxin said excitedly to Chen Di.

Chen Di remained silent for a while.

"Have."

He took out his tablet and electronic pen and opened the notebook software.

"First of all, I think we should find a suitable time! Just like..."

...half an hour later.

Looking at the nearly ten pages of notes he had taken, Xu Xingxin was finally satisfied.

"That's roughly the plan. Oh, by the way, about the gift to express my feelings, I..."

"Ah, I've already prepared that, I just didn't have a chance to deliver it today."

"An Yu, you're very reliable! ... I'll pick out a gift for Ge Lanlan and send it to you. Can you check it for me?"

"Yes! We're a team!" After finding her teammates, An Yu's unease had mostly disappeared, and she even looked at Chen Di with great excitement.

A sentence popped into Chen Di's mind.