MTLNOVEL Ch. 3
Even if Guan Ren swore on his life, he had never used pink sticky notes.
Yet now, black ink on pink paper, the ironclad evidence was right in front of him. The love note for Gu Youli was laid bare, and Guan Ren had no idea how to explain himself.
Hmm…
Could this be… quantum mechanics?
“You’re in your second year now, time to grow up. Can’t you focus on the right path?”
“Ms. Li, I really didn’t write that note.”
Guan Ren stood upright with a clear conscience. Why admit to something he hadn’t done?
Fortunately, the handwriting on the note was a deliberately neat and formal script, clearly written to convey sincerity, which made it impossible to identify the writer.
So as long as Guan Ren insisted it wasn’t him, there really was no way to “convict” him.
“Ms. Li, someone’s clearly framing me. That note was forged on purpose.”
“Oh, Guan Ren, Guan Ren…”
Li Min tucked the note into a drawer, took a sip of her rose tea, and after stalling for a while, looked back at Guan Ren.
“You brat, where did you place in the beginning-of-term diagnostic exam?”
“?”
I was just defending myself with logic and evidence about the note. How did we suddenly switch lanes and get to the diagnostic test?
……
Actually, Li Min was just “settling both old and new scores.” Guan Ren, once a top student in middle school, had turned into a chronic slacker since entering his first year of high school. Along with Zhang Chi and Liu Xiong, that trio had always been the biggest obstacles in Li Min’s path to getting promoted.
This time, using the note incident as a fuse, Li Min launched into a lecture that spanned two entire class periods.
Guan Ren was nearly asleep the whole time, barely hearing a word.
Only when the bell rang again and Li Min’s tea cup ran dry did she finally wave her hand.
“That’s enough. Go back… and listen, the monthly exam’s coming up. Don’t drag me down.”
Guan Ren felt as if he’d been granted amnesty. He turned to leave. Only to crash headlong into a soft, fragrant figure just as he stepped out of the office.
“So sorry, so sorry…”
Guan Ren didn’t even bother to see who it was. He mumbled his apology and hurried away.
The person he’d bumped into entered the office, and Li Min opened her drawer and handed over the pink note.
“Here, Ms. Gu, take a look at this. It fell out of Gu Youli’s book yesterday. Tsk, these kids these days…”
“……”
---
When Guan Ren got back to class, there were still two afternoon periods left.
One was math class.
The other was also math class.
The sleepiest time of day paired with the sleepiest subject—the misery was self-explanatory.
Apart from proper students like Gu Youli, and “subject specialists” like Zhang Chi who focused solely on fiction, most of the others were half-asleep.
But what surprised Gu Youli was that her deskmate, Guan Ren the “Phantom God,” wasn’t among the sleepwalkers. Instead, he was quietly bowing his head over his math book, even looking like he was deep in thought.
……
“…Using the Heron–Qin Jiushao formula to design an area calculation algorithm… and choose the correct program flowchart? Tsk…”
Guan Ren stared at the sample question in the book and sucked in a cold breath.
What strange language was this?
What the hell was this even talking about? Was this still math?
Algorithms and programs… weren’t those supposed to be for bald IT guys?
……
Guan Ren felt this wasn’t just a matter of forgetting how to solve it.
He seriously doubted whether he’d ever actually studied this stuff before.
No wonder it was math. If you didn’t understand it, you didn’t understand it.
He didn’t get it before, and reincarnation didn’t help.
“Sigh…”
Thinking that, Guan Ren let out a long sigh.
“……”
Meanwhile, Gu Youli, who had been quietly observing him for a while, glanced at Guan Ren’s furrowed brows, then looked at the classmates slouched on their desks all around them. Somehow, a strange impulse stirred in her heart.
A few seconds later, a soft voice came from beside Guan Ren:
“Choose A.”
“？”
Guan Ren froze and turned his head to the right. His deskmate was simply nodding as she read her own book.
Just now… that was her speaking, right?
Guan Ren felt a bit doubtful and tentatively asked.
“Why?”
This time, he saw it clearly. His deskmate’s soft, slender lips did indeed part slightly.
“Because both B and C are missing input boxes, and D has the wrong formula.”
“Input boxes… formulas…”
Guan Ren tapped his pen against his head, feeling like he had caught onto something.
“Alright… better take a look at the previous examples first…”
He bent over his desk, muttering to himself as he began scribbling furiously.
Gu Youli glanced sideways, casting another thoughtful look his way.
……
To be honest, after nearly a month of sitting together, this was the first time she had seen Guan Ren actually studying seriously. It was rare, which was why she, too, had rarely taken the initiative to help clear up his confusion.
……
“Alright, I kinda get it now. Thanks, Sister Gu!”
“…Mm.”
Gu Youli gave a small nod and didn’t reject the nickname.
Seeing an opportunity to finally break the ice with his deskmate, Guan Ren hurried to take advantage of the moment and clarify a few things.
“Sister Gu, about that note…”
Gu Youli didn’t even lift her head.
“What note?”
Guan Ren thought for a second and lowered his voice:
“Sister Gu, you and I both know what note I’m talking about. Did you really not see what was written on it, or do you just not want to bring it up and want to let it slide?”
“……”
Gu Youli’s writing hand clearly paused for a second.
Guan Ren continued.
“Whatever the case, I just want to say, I really didn’t write that note. I honestly don’t have that kind of intention toward you. Someone must’ve been messing with me. It’s all just a misunderstanding. I hope you can understand.”
After he finished, there was a brief silence before Gu Youli gave another small nod.
“Got it.”
……
In truth, Gu Youli didn’t really believe what Guan Ren said.
At least, not at this moment.
It wasn’t because she was narcissistic and thought every boy in the world liked her.
On the contrary, Gu Youli had never had a clear concept of the vague feelings between male and female classmates. At school, all she ever wanted was to quietly study.
But ever since elementary school, there had always been boys, just starting to awaken to romance, who would write her love letters and the like.
Gu Youli wasn’t good at handling such situations, but she quickly discovered that silence was the best response.
As long as she didn’t reply or engage, eventually, those boys—who acted as if they were ready to swear eternal love in their letters—would just fade away.
That said, she had to admit, it was her first time encountering someone like Guan Ren. Confessing on day one and denying it on day two.
Still, she understood. Boys cared about saving face.
It had nothing to do with grades or how mischievous they were.
Guan Ren had just made the small mistake of getting involved in a puppy-love misunderstanding. It wasn’t like he meant any harm.
Since he clearly didn’t want to admit it because of pride, and she wasn’t interested in making a fuss over it anyway, she figured it was better to just play along and pretend nothing had happened.
Which, honestly, worked out just fine.