Chapter 40 Holding Hands Under the Desk

The roommates returned to the boys' dormitory one after another.

Zhang Yanran walked behind Chu Feng.

She kept her head down.

"Oh, I need to go back and pack my luggage too! I'll live on campus from now on; otherwise, running back and forth for evening classes is too troublesome." Seeing the delicate situation between Chu Feng and Zhang Yanran, Yu Xiaoyu hastily chose to make a run for it.

Chu Feng looked at Zhang Yanran. "Aren't you going to pack?"

Zhang Yanran grabbed the corner of Chu Feng's shirt. "I've already admitted my mistake, and I've been so proactive. Why do you still say those things... Exactly where am I falling short for you?"

"Do you believe that effort always pays off?" Chu Feng slowed his pace.

Zhang Yanran hurriedly caught up, walking side by side with Chu Feng along the campus path. "Of course."

"Then back when I pursued you so persistently, where were my returns?" Chu Feng took a deep breath. "This world has never been fair."

"But back then... back then I didn't truly know you yet... Since you feel this way, why did you still help me find my grandfather, uncover the truth about my mother, and why... why did you kiss me?" Zhang Yanran's eyes grew misty with tears.

Naturally, Chu Feng wouldn't tell her that it wasn't help at all, but mutual exploitation.

He thought for a moment. "I don't know either."

"You jerk!" Zhang Yanran suddenly leaned into Chu Feng's embrace and gently punched his firm abs.

Chu Feng patted Zhang Yanran's head. "Go back. We still have a class meeting tonight."

"Can I sit next to you this time, please?" Zhang Yanran asked weakly.

Chu Feng smiled and nodded.

Zhang Yanran wiped away her tears, and a smile finally appeared on her face.

Somewhere near the school gate, a security guard was smoking. Seeing Zhang Yanran fling herself into Chu Feng's arms, he paused for a moment, but then he unlocked his phone, where one particular contact name stood out prominently:
President Zhang.

During the afternoon class meeting, the counselor droned on from the podium about matters concerning the new semester.

However, Chu Feng and his group all focused their attention outside the window.

Out the window, the freshmen were undergoing military training.

The chanting of slogans reminded Chu Feng of his past life in prison, where he had encountered the exact same scene.

"One, two, one, one, two, one..."

He suddenly felt a bit nostalgic for his past life. After all, back in prison in his previous life, Chu Feng only had to care about two things.

First, survival. Second, killing time.

It was far less complicated than the present.

Zhang Yanran sat next to Chu Feng. Although this girl had a prickly personality, she was quite formidable when it came to academics.

"Chu Feng, you have a lot of makeup exams coming up," Zhang Yanran said.

"Oh," Chu Feng replied indifferently.

The others in the class were also whispering among themselves.

"This semester is so strange. Didn't Zhang Yanran look down on Chu Feng last semester? How is she proactively sitting next to him now?"

"Yeah, could it be that a simp's spring is finally coming?"

"Does the fairy tale of a poor boy and a rich heiress actually exist?"

A few gossipy girls whispered softly.

Zhang Yanran noticed that Chu Feng was distracted, his gaze fixed entirely outside the window.

Following his line of sight, she saw that the window overlooked the playground, where a large number of freshmen were indeed undergoing military training.

Especially the few girls in the back row wearing military training uniforms; their figures were exceptionally striking, catching the eyes of many boys.

Zhang Yanran immediately felt piqued. She glared resentfully and pouty at Chu Feng.

"I purposely wore a skirt for you today, and you won't even look at me properly," Zhang Yanran muttered.

Chu Feng thought for a moment and deliberately teased her. "They're younger than you."

"You... you jerk!" Zhang Yanran was annoyed, but she still quietly reached out and grabbed Chu Feng's hand.

Chu Feng's hand was broad and his palms were quite rough.

Suddenly, Chu Feng turned his hand over and clasped hers back, causing Zhang Yanran's heart to skip a beat.

Even though the counselor was up on the stage chewing out the students for their poor grades from the previous semester, it didn't affect Chu Feng at all.

If the counselor were to see students holding hands under the table while lecturing, they would undoubtedly fly into a rage.

And Chu Feng himself hadn't expected that, on an impulse, he would actually accept Zhang Yanran's hand.

Was his heart stirred?

To say it wasn't would be a lie.

The person before him was the prettiest girl in school, the goddess of countless boys' dreams.

Yet he knew that if he fell too deeply into this, regardless of whether things worked out with Zhang Fuqiang, extracting himself later would likely prove exceedingly difficult.

Much like an antlion's trap in the sand.

Getting in was easy, but escaping was profoundly hard.

"Chu Feng..." Zhang Yanran whispered softly.

Chu Feng glanced at her and said nothing.

Zhang Yanran bit her lip. "I know I was wrong... I really was wrong. Forgive me, give me a chance, okay?"

She gazed at Chu Feng with those watery, peach-blossom eyes of hers.

Those little eyes possessed immense lethality.

Zhang Yanran was already extraordinarily beautiful, and paired now with this pitiful, almost pleading look, it was like a nuclear weapon on the battlefield.

Chu Feng averted his gaze, refusing to look at her, still offering no reply.

To his surprise, the next moment Zhang Yanran actually placed Chu Feng's hand upon her own lap. "I only just realized now that you're the one who truly cares about me... You still like me, don't you? Otherwise, you wouldn't have chosen to help..."

What a foolish girl. Chu Feng had helped her entirely out of a desire to use her to trap her old man.

Yet what on earth did it mean for her to place his hand on her lap?

If the former Zhang Yanran wore the untouchable armor of a campus belle,

Then the current her had stripped that layer of armor away completely.

Right at that moment, the bell rang.

Chu Feng pulled his hand back, though the tactile sensation of Zhang Yanran's leg still lingered on his palm.

When Yu Xiaoyu came to look for Zhang Yanran, she noticed Zhang Yanran's reddened eyes.

She sighed. "Yanran, let's go to the restroom together."

"Mhm." Zhang Yanran glanced at Chu Feng, seemingly awaiting some kind of response from him.

Nevertheless, she hurried out shortly after.

Right at the doorway, a male student blocked Zhang Yanran's path holding a bunch of fresh flowers.

"Boss, someone's trying to steal your girl. Do you want us brothers to..." Fatso chimed in.

"What's meant to be yours will be yours; what isn't, don't force it," Chu Feng said indifferently.

That male student was a junior. Seeing Zhang Yanran, he dropped to one knee. "Yanran, be my girlfriend!"

However, Zhang Yanran was already irritated. With this clueless senior showing up at the wrong time, she gritted her teeth, snatched the roses right out of his hand, tossed them into the trash can, and snapped, "Get lost!"

This little episode actually amused Chu Feng.

He had thought Zhang Yanran's personality had undergone a complete transformation, but it turned out she had only changed toward him.

She was still the same proud, willful bad girl.

Yet somehow, she looked a lot more pleasing to the eye now.

Beep, beep, beep!

Chu Feng's phone rang, displaying an unfamiliar number.

Chu Feng stood by the window and answered, "Hello?"

"It's Zhang Fuqiang. Chu Feng, do you have a moment? Let's have a talk. I'm right in the parking lot at your school gate," Zhang Fuqiang's voice came through the phone.