Invisible Jealousy1
Are you a couple
Auntie He had made breakfast.
Carrying it, she walked out and said with a smile, “Manman, go and call Miss Lin to get up.”
Shen Man nodded, put down the magazine in her hands, got up from the sofa, and walked to the front of Lin Shu’s room door.
Her hand was just placed on it when the door was opened from the inside.
Lin Shu was wearing pajamas, her fingers pinching the doorknob, and she gave a lazy yawn.
“Shushu, let’s eat breakfast, Auntie He made it today,” Shen Man said with a smile.
“Auntie He is here? So soon?” Lin Shu asked subconsciously.
After speaking, she saw the teasing smile on Shen Man’s face, immediately put away her surprise, and glared arrogantly at Shen Man, “I got tired of the food you make long ago.”
“Is that so?” Shen Man raised an eyebrow, her eyes full of disbelief.
Lin Shu snorted and walked out with a cold face.
Shen Man followed behind.
When Auntie He saw the two of them come out, she revealed a kind smile and said, “Miss Lin, Happy New Year.”
“Mm,” Lin Shu responded coolly and pulled out a chair to sit down.
Shen Man sat beside her with a smile on her face.
Auntie He ladled out two bowls of congee and placed them in front of the two of them.
Lin Shu lowered her head, eating in small bites, her downcast eyes and brows revealing no expression.
Auntie He felt a little uneasy in her heart, glanced at Shen Man, and asked a silent question.
Shen Man smiled, a leisurely look on her face.
“Miss Lin, is this congee to your liking?” Auntie He couldn’t help but ask in a low voice.
“Mm,” Lin Shu replied in a cold tone.
Auntie He was met with a snub, but she relaxed a lot in her heart. Looking at Shen Man, she said, “Manman, school is starting in a few more days.”
“Yes, ah, time passes so quickly.” Shen Man said, looking at Lin Shu with a smile on her face, “Unknowingly, I’ve spent so much time with Shushu.”
Lin Shu did not respond, put down her spoon, and got up to return to her room without a sound.
The door was shut with a bang.
Auntie He was a little alarmed and uncertain, and asked in a lowered voice, “Miss Lin seems unhappy, did I do something wrong?”
“No,” Shen Man comforted with a smile, continuing to eat her congee with a calm expression.
Auntie He sighed and lamented, “Manman, you’re still the bold one, daring to be alone with Miss Lin.”
“Shushu isn’t actually as scary as you say,” Shen Man said.
Auntie He shook her head, a look of fear on her face.
Shen Man said no more.
With Auntie He around, the three daily meals and housework at home no longer needed to be done by Shen Man.
Shen Man relaxed a lot, often sitting in the living room or her room to read.
Lin Shu returned to her usual state, asking friends to go out and play every day, only coming back after dark.
Time flew by, and in the blink of an eye, it was the start of school.
As the class monitor, Shen Man needed to go to school early to handle some matters.
She arrived at the school and walked towards the head teacher’s office.
“Shen Man, Happy New Year.” A soft and weak female voice came from behind.
Shen Man recognized it as Yin Ruxu’s voice, turned her head, and smiled slightly, “Happy New Year, why did you come to school so early?”
“I’m changing dorm rooms this semester, so I came early today to move my luggage,” Yin Ruxu replied with a smile, then looked at Shen Man and asked, “What about you?”
“The head teacher asked me to come over for something,” Shen Man said.
Yin Ruxu tactfully did not press for details.
The two of them walked side by side.
Yin Ruxu talked about interesting things that happened during the New Year, and Shen Man listened.
When they reached the intersection, the two separated.
Shen Man arrived at the head teacher’s office.
She knocked on the door, walked in, and said politely, “Teacher.”
“Shen Man, you’ve come at just the right time, I have something to tell you.” The head teacher said, picking up a file from the desk and handing it to Shen Man, continuing, “Our class has an exchange student this semester. This is her information. You are the class monitor, so help the new classmate integrate into the class more.”
Shen Man opened the file and the first thing she saw was the ID photo in the upper right corner.
Even though it was just an ID photo, it was taken very beautifully, enough to show that the person in real life was a great beauty.
Shen Man scanned ten lines with one glance2, sweeping over the other information.
The name column read ‘Xia Ke3’.
Seeing this name, Shen Man’s eyes darkened.
After thinking for a moment, she finally remembered that this was a supporting character in the book.
Xia Ke was the fiancée arranged by the male lead’s family. Although it had not been publicly announced, between the Shao and Xia families, this was a matter of tacit understanding.
It was precisely because of this marriage alliance that Xia Ke returned as an exchange student.
In the book, Xia Ke’s role was not significant; much of the time, she was just a background wall4.
In the end, in order to let the male and female leads be together, she left this place and returned abroad to study.
Shen Man closed the file and looked at the head teacher.
“Classmate Xia Ke is staying in a hotel near the school. Help teacher go and pick her up,” the head teacher said with a smile.
Shen Man nodded, understanding the meaning of this smile.
Xia Ke was the Xia family’s thousand gold5, so the school administration definitely attached great importance to her. The head teacher saying this must have been a request from the school.
“Jot down Classmate Xia Ke’s phone number and give her a call when you get there,” the head teacher said.
“Okay.” After Shen Man spoke, she took out her phone and quickly saved the number.
Coming out of the academic building, Shen Man walked to the driving school and got her driver’s license.
Shen Man smiled joyfully and called Lin Shu.
“Hello, what is it?” Lin Shu’s not-yet-awake voice came from the other end of the line.
Shen Man let out a light laugh and said as she walked, “Shushu, I have some good news to tell you.”
“What?” Lin Shu’s eyes were half-closed, her face listless.
“I’ll tell you when I get back,” Shen Man said with a smile.
Lin Shu pouted and hung up the phone.
Shen Man returned to the house.
She was standing in the entryway changing her shoes when the corner of her eye caught a glimpse of a pajama-clad shadow. She immediately looked up and said with a smile, “Shushu, why aren’t you sleeping? Did I wake you?”
Lin Shu gave her a roll of the eyes and sat on a chair, saying in an unfriendly tone, “If you have something to say, say it quickly.”
Hearing this, Shen Man unhurriedly finished changing her shoes, walked to the living room, and slowly took a sip of water.
Lin Shu, growing a bit impatient from waiting, glared at Shen Man.
Shen Man smiled, took the driver’s license out of her bag, waved it in front of Lin Shu’s eyes, and said happily, “Shushu, I got my driver’s license. I can drive you to school from now on.”
“Oh,” Lin Shu responded coolly, as if she wasn’t interested.
The smile in Shen Man’s eyes deepened. She put away the license and said, “Shushu, let me borrow the car for a bit.”
“What are you going to do?” Lin Shu asked warily.
“Just something,” Shen Man replied.
“What thing?” Lin Shu sat up straight, staring intently at Shen Man.
Shen Man could see that she insisted on an answer and said truthfully, “I need to go pick up a classmate.”
“Who?” Lin Shu immediately asked.
“A classmate,” Shen Man said with a smile.
Lin Shu gave a cold snort, the upward tilt of her eyes carrying a hint of disdain, “Classmate? Which classmate needs you to go pick them up?”
Shen Man heard the sarcasm in her words but wasn’t the least bit angry. She took a file from her bag and handed it over.
Lin Shu reached out and took it.
Leaning against the chair, she slowly read the file. After finishing, she glanced up at Shen Man, the contempt in her eyes even stronger, “So it’s a great beauty.”
“You want to use my car, dream on!” After she spoke, she forcefully threw the file onto the table.
Shen Man gave a light smile.
She picked up the file, put it in her bag, and said with a smile, “Since Shushu is unwilling to lend me the car, then it’s the same if I take a taxi over.”
After saying this, Shen Man turned to walk out.
“Wait a minute!” Lin Shu hurriedly spoke to stop her.
Shen Man’s lips curved into a smile, and she stopped her steps.
Turning around, she looked at Lin Shu with confusion and asked, “Shushu, is there anything else?”
“I can lend you the car, but I’m going too,” Lin Shu said, her chin held high with an arrogant expression.
“Shushu, this is my business, there’s no need to trouble you,” Shen Man gently persuaded.
“I’m not going to pick her up, I’m going to watch you,” Lin Shu said loudly.
“Watch me?” Shen Man was puzzled.
“Watch you, to prevent you from damaging my car,” Lin Shu said with righteous conviction.
Shen Man cooperated by showing a look of sudden realization and said with an ambiguous smile, “Is Shushu worried about me?”
Lin Shu heard the double meaning in her words, snorted, said nothing, and strode outside.
Shen Man got the car keys in the entryway and caught up to Lin Shu’s steps.
The two entered the elevator together.
Shen Man pressed the floor button, and the elevator doors slowly closed.
She leaned against the railing, her slender fingers gently swinging the keys, and asked with a light laugh, “Shushu, do you know this girl named Xia Ke?”
Lin Shu stared intently at the elevator doors, looking at the smiling face reflected in them, and said with some impatience, “So what if I know her?”
“She’s the Xia family’s thousand gold, how could I not know her.”
“Is there bad blood between you? Looking at you, it seems you don’t like her.” Shen Man moved closer, leaning down to breathe warm air into the curve of Lin Shu’s ear.
Lin Shu immediately took a step to the side, covering the spot reddened by the warm breath with her hand, “What’s it to you!”
As soon as the words fell, the elevator doors opened.
Lin Shu was the first to walk out, rubbing the curve of her ear with her fingers as she walked.
Shen Man followed behind, her face full of smiles.
The two got into the car.
Shen Man started the car, steering the wheel with a joyful expression, enjoying the delight of having gotten her license.
Lin Shu turned her head and saw this eager expression. She bumped the back of her seat, making a clank sound.
“Shushu, what’s wrong?” Shen Man asked.
“Nothing,” Lin Shu replied unhappily, her fingers tightly gripping the seatbelt as she pretended to look at the scenery, turning her head to glance outside.
Seeing this, Shen Man’s mood became even more cheerful.
The two drove to the hotel where Xia Ke was staying.
Shen Man parked the car, took out her phone, and dialed Xia Ke’s number.
After a short moment, the call connected, and a gentle, smiling voice came from the other end, “Is this Classmate Shen Man?”
“It is,” Shen Man replied with a smile, “The head teacher asked me to come and pick you up. Have you finished packing your luggage?”
“It’s already done,” Xia Ke said, her tone carrying a hint of embarrassment, “I’m really troubling you. Actually, I told the head teacher it wasn’t necessary, I can go by myself.”
“It’s fine, it’s no trouble at all,” Shen Man said.
Lin Shu listened to the two of them chatting like good friends, bit her lip angrily, and cut in, “Stop with the hypocritical words.”
Her voice was not loud, only Shen Man could hear it.
Shen Man hung up the phone, unbuckled her seatbelt, and looked at Lin Shu with a smile.
The calm understanding in those eyes made Lin Shu feel guilty for no reason. She turned her head and said, “I’m not going up.”
“Okay,” Shen Man said, then got out of the car and closed the door.
Lin Shu sat alone in the car.
Watching that figure grow more and more distant, a wave of feeling wronged rose in her heart. She forcefully opened the car door and followed.
Hearing the footsteps from behind, Shen Man instantly recognized that Lin Shu had come.
She deliberately quickened her pace, her figure disappearing around the corner.
Lin Shu’s heart tightened, and she hurriedly jogged to catch up.
She wasn’t paying attention when turning the corner and bumped into a figure.
“Ah…” Lin Shu’s footing was unsteady, and her body fell forward uncontrollably.
A pair of hands reached out from the side and unhurriedly caught her.
“Shushu, be careful,” Shen Man said with a smile, holding the young woman in her arms.
Lin Shu came back to her senses, looked up into those smiling eyes, and was instantly both shy and angry, preparing to scold her loudly.
“This is a hotel. If Shushu shouts, it will attract onlookers,” Shen Man reminded her.
Lin Shu bit her lip, suppressed the bellyful of anger, and roared in a low voice, “Let go of me!”
Shen Man obediently released her hands.
Lin Shu shot Shen Man a fierce glare and walked towards the elevators.
Shen Man followed behind and asked with a smile, “Shushu, didn’t you say you weren’t coming? Why did you follow along?”
“I’ll come if I want to, what’s it to you!” Lin Shu’s face was slightly flushed, and the words she spoke were domineering.
Shen Man shrugged, her face full of indulgence.
Lin Shu immediately became even angrier and said without thinking, “Xia Ke doesn’t like women, don’t waste your efforts.”
“Shushu, I’m just caring for the new classmate as the head teacher instructed. Where did your thoughts wander off to?” Shen Man said with a smile, her eyes full of helplessness.
A wave of heat rose on Lin Shu’s face. She couldn’t think of a rebuttal for a moment and turned her head to the side in annoyance.
Shen Man smiled, leaned closer, and asked in a lowered voice, “Shushu, are you perhaps…”
“I am not jealous6!” Lin Shu hurriedly retorted. After speaking, she froze and quickly explained, “Don’t misunderstand, I would never…”
The rest of the words were stuck in her throat, unable to come out.
“I know, you were afraid I couldn’t take good care of the new classmate by myself, so you came along,” Shen Man said with a smile.
Lin Shu gritted her teeth and nodded reluctantly.
Shen Man’s smile grew even more cheerful.
The two arrived in front of Xia Ke’s room door.
Shen Man knocked on the door.
After a short moment, the door was opened, and a beauty with long, wavy hair walked out from inside.
Her eyes were a light blue and her nose bridge was high; one could tell at a glance that she had mixed-blood features.
Although she was a beauty with striking features, she looked very innocent.
“Hello, my name is Xia Ke. Thank you for your trouble,” Xia Ke said with a gentle smile.
Shen Man smiled and shook her head, introducing, “My name is Shen Man, and she is Lin Shu.”
“Lin Shu?” Surprise appeared on Xia Ke’s face. She carefully studied Lin Shu’s face and said with some disbelief, “Are you Uncle Lin’s daughter?”
“Yes,” Shen Man answered on her behalf.
Lin Shu shot Shen Man a dissatisfied glance.
“It really is you. We haven’t seen each other in so long. I didn’t expect us to be so fated,” Xia Ke said happily, reaching out to take Lin Shu’s hand.
Lin Shu crossed her arms over her chest and gave a cold ‘mm’.
Xia Ke wasn’t embarrassed either. She withdrew her hand and said with a smile, “You’re still as cute as when you were little, as exquisite as a doll.”
Only then did Lin Shu’s expression improve a little.
“Classmate Xia Ke, do you have a lot of luggage? Let me help you carry it,” Shen Man said.
“No need, there’s only one suitcase.” Xia Ke shook her head. After speaking, she went back into the room and pushed out a suitcase. “Let’s go.”
Shen Man nodded.
The three of them walked outside.
Xia Ke looked at Shen Man and said with a smile, “Just call me Xiao Ke.”
“Can I call you Manman?” she asked cautiously.
“Of course,” Shen Man readily agreed.
Lin Shu snorted, her face covered with unhappiness.
“Classmate Lin Shu, you can also call me Xiao Ke. Can I call you Shushu?” Xia Ke said in a friendly manner.
“Call me Lin Shu,” Lin Shu said in a cold tone, walking ahead by herself.
Xia Ke looked at Shen Man, at a bit of a loss, and asked in a low voice, “Manman, did I do something wrong to make Lin Shu angry?”
“No,” Shen Man said with a smile, quickening her pace to catch up with Lin Shu.
Lin Shu walked even faster.
Her arm was suddenly grabbed. She turned her head and glared at Shen Man, “Let go!”
Shen Man smiled and coaxed softly, “Shushu, don’t be angry. You’ll make the new classmate feel uneasy like this.”
“Where am I angry?” Lin Shu retorted with her chin held high, continuing to question, “Why should I be angry?”
“Alright, alright, you’re not angry, I saw wrong. I apologize to you.” Shen Man softened her voice, her fingers sliding down to hold Lin Shu’s hand. She hooked her pinky finger and said, “Shushu, I need to go arrange a dorm for Xia Ke, are you coming or not?”
Lin Shu didn’t speak. After a while, she finally said, “I’m only going because you begged me.”
Shen Man nodded.
Xia Ke watched the scene of the two holding hands from behind, walked over, and asked with a smile, “Are you a couple?”
“What nonsense are you talking about?” Lin Shu immediately retorted. Her gaze fell on their hands, and she instantly flung Shen Man’s hand away, looking at her own wrist to explain, “I don’t like women!”
Xia Ke was startled by her extreme reaction and hurriedly apologized, “Sorry, I misunderstood.”
After speaking, she looked at Shen Man, her light blue eyes filled with curiosity.
Shen Man smiled without commenting and said, “You go handle the check-out procedures, I’ll help you move the luggage to the car.”
“Okay, thank you.” Xia Ke tactfully stopped discussing the topic.
Shen Man pushed the suitcase out the door.
She put the suitcase in the trunk and, seeing that Lin Shu was already sitting in the front passenger seat, knocked on the window.
Lin Shu, with a cold little face, lowered the window.
“Shushu, I should take you back first, and then take her to the dorm,” Shen Man said.
“I insist on going to the dorm,” Lin Shu demanded forcefully.
The two looked at each other for a few seconds.
Shen Man conceded with a sense of helplessness and said teasingly, “Shushu, you’ve become a little unlike yourself today. What’s making you so nervous?”
“You’re the one who’s nervous!” Lin Shu snorted, closed the window, and leaned back against the seat to feign sleep.
Seeing this, Shen Man walked to the other side of the car.
Just then, Xia Ke came out.
“Manman, I’m done,” Xia Ke said happily. She glanced at the car and said with some embarrassment, “My suitcase is a bit heavy, sorry to trouble you.”
“It’s fine, get in the car,” Shen Man said.
Xia Ke sat in the back.
She looked at Lin Shu and said apologetically, “Lin Shu, I’ve lived abroad for a long time and have some homosexual friends. I accidentally misunderstood you two, I hope you don’t mind.”
Lin Shu ignored her.
Shen Man started the car and played some soothing music.
Hearing the familiar melody, Xia Ke tapped her fingers to the beat and said with a smile, “Manman, do you like this piece of music too?”
Shen Man nodded.
Xia Ke immediately became excited and eagerly exchanged her thoughts on the piece.
Shen Man responded from time to time.
Lin Shu had no knowledge of music. Listening to the two of them discussing it familiarly, she said with a cold face, “I want to sleep, turn off the music.”
“Okay.” Shen Man immediately turned off the music, glanced at the temperature in the car, and said, “Xiao Ke, help me grab the small, thin blanket from the back.”
Xia Ke took the small, thin blanket and passed it over.
“For Shushu,” Shen Man said.
Lin Shu frowned, looking at Shen Man with confusion.
“Shushu, if you’re going to sleep, cover yourself with this so you don’t catch a cold,” Shen Man explained.
Lin Shu couldn’t help but curl the corners of her lips, but she quickly suppressed it and said with a nonchalant expression, “I’m not cold.”
Xia Ke looked at the two of them and put the small, thin blanket back in its place.
The car was silent.
Shen Man focused on driving.
Xia Ke admired the scenery outside the window.
Shen Man drove the car to the base of the dormitory building, parked, and said, “Xiao Ke, your dorm room is here.”
“Manman, thank you,” Xia Ke said happily, getting out of the car and taking out her luggage.
Shen Man glanced at Lin Shu and asked, “Shushu, do you want to go in?”
Lin Shu opened her eyes, thinking with a blank expression.
Xia Ke walked over and bent down to look through the window.
Shen Man opened the car door, got out, and said, “I have the access card, I’ll take you in.”
“Okay, thank you,” Xia Ke smiled lightly.
The two of them walked towards the dormitory building.
Lin Shu pouted, opened the car door, and closed it with a bang.
Hearing the sound, Shen Man stopped her steps, turned her head, and smiled slightly, “Shushu.”
A faint blush immediately rose on Lin Shu’s little face, and she walked over with her head down.
Shen Man used the access card to open the door.
The three of them arrived in front of the dorm room.
The door was open. Inside, some items were scattered about, and a pretty figure was wiping a cabinet door.
Shen Man glanced over and recognized Yin Ruxu.
A flash of surprise passed through her eyes, but she quickly returned to normal, walked in, and greeted with a smile, “Yin Ruxu, so you moved into this dorm room.”
Yin Ruxu turned her head, revealing a surprised smile, “Shen Man, why are you here?”
After speaking, she saw the suitcase in Xia Ke’s hand and instantly understood, asking with a light laugh, “You must be the roommate moving into this dorm too, right.”
Xia Ke nodded with a gentle expression.
Yin Ruxu immediately looked around the dorm in a fluster and said embarrassedly, “I just moved my things over and haven’t had time to organize yet…”
“It’s fine, it’s fine, take your time organizing,” Xia Ke shook her head, indicating she didn’t mind.
Yin Ruxu breathed a sigh of relief, revealed a sweet smile, and extended her hand, saying, “My name is Yin Ruxu, I’m very happy to be in the same dorm room as you.”
“My name is Xia Ke, you can call me Xiao Ke.” Xia Ke extended her hand and held hers. The soft feeling in her hand made her unable to resist exclaiming, “Your hand is so soft, and it has a faint fragrance.”
“Thank you.” Yin Ruxu calmly withdrew her hand, turned to look at Shen Man, her eyes holding a question.
“This is a classmate from our class who just returned from abroad. She will be studying here for half a year as an exchange student. Please take good care of her,” Shen Man said.
Yin Ruxu nodded lightly, brought over two chairs, and said in a soft voice, “Shen Man, you guys sit down. I’ll be done tidying up right away.”
“Thank you,” Shen Man sat down.
Lin Shu stood to the side, silently sizing up the three of them.
Her gaze fell on Shen Man.
Shen Man looked up, smiled with curved eyes, and reached out to pull Lin Shu’s wrist, “Shushu, sit down. We still have to help Xiao Ke with other procedures later.”
Hearing this, Lin Shu sat down with a cold little face.
Xia Ke put down her suitcase and tidied up the dorm room with Yin Ruxu.
The two of them worked very quickly. Coupled with the fact that Yin Ruxu had already organized a portion beforehand, the dorm was tidied up in less than ten minutes.
Xia Ke went to the restroom to wash her hands.
Yin Ruxu walked over, looked at Shen Man, and asked in a low voice, “Is she a foreigner? Her Chinese is really good.”
“Her dad is the chairman of the Xia family’s enterprise. She inherited those eyes from her grandfather,” Lin Shu said in a disdainful tone.
“She’s the thousand gold of the Xia family’s enterprise?” Yin Ruxu was extremely surprised.
Realizing her voice was too loud, she quickly covered her mouth and lowered her eyes.
Shen Man noticed a flash of pleasant surprise in Yin Ruxu’s eyes.
She gave Lin Shu a somewhat helpless look.
Lin Shu didn’t understand and glared back arrogantly.
Shen Man smiled and didn’t explain.
Xia Ke came out of the restroom.
Shen Man stood up and asked, “Xiao Ke, are you done?”
Xia Ke nodded, picked up her bag from the head of the bed, checked the contents, and said, “I brought my ID card and other documents.”
“Okay, I’ll take you to get your door card first,” Shen Man said.
The two of them walked outside.
Lin Shu followed behind, her little face cold.
After being busy for two hours, Shen Man had helped Xia Ke complete all the necessary procedures and had also taken her to familiarize herself with the campus environment.
Xia Ke bought three bottles of water, handed two to Shen Man, and said gratefully, “Manman, thank you both. If I were by myself, I probably wouldn’t have gotten it all done in a day.”
“You’re welcome, I’m the class monitor. If you need help with anything in the future, you can always find me,” Shen Man said with a smile, handing one of the water bottles to Lin Shu.
“I want to drink milk tea,” Lin Shu said in a cold voice.
“Okay, I’ll treat you to milk tea,” Xia Ke said immediately.
“No need, I’ll buy it myself,” Lin Shu refused with a cold expression.
Xia Ke was stunned for a moment, then belatedly realized something was wrong and asked tentatively, “Lin Shu, do you hate me?”
“Shushu is cold on the outside but warm on the inside. You two will be fine once you get familiar with each other,” Shen Man explained with a smile.
Lin Shu was choked up, turned her head, and glanced to the side.
Xia Ke smiled happily, “I’ve really troubled you both today. Let me treat you to dinner.”
“I have a maid at home to cook, there’s no need,” Lin Shu refused coldly, turning to walk in the direction of the car.
The smile on Xia Ke’s face froze. She looked at Shen Man and said in a low voice, “She really does hate me.”
“And I wanted to become good friends with her,” she said, a hint of regret appearing in her blue eyes.
“Don’t overthink it,” Shen Man comforted, then thought of something and asked, “Have you bought your daily necessities?”
Xia Ke shook her head, “I only brought some clothes over.”
“This supermarket has daily necessities, you can buy them here,” Shen Man said, turning her head to glance in the direction Lin Shu had left.
Xia Ke nodded, saw that Shen Man was about to chase after Lin Shu, covered her mouth with her hand, lowered her voice, and asked with a curious expression, “Are you two really not a couple?”
“I can tell that you like… women,” she added with conviction, but the words on the tip of her tongue, Lin Shu’s name, were not spoken.
Shen Man smiled, showing no embarrassment at being seen through, and said calmly, “We are not.”
“But, you look just like a couple,” Xia Ke said with surprise, her eyes full of confusion.
“Is that so?” Shen Man’s eyes narrowed slightly as she asked in return.
Xia Ke was stunned for a few seconds, then hurriedly changed her tune, “Sorry, maybe I misunderstood.”
Shen Man turned around, saw a figure walking out of the supermarket, and said loudly, “Yin Ruxu, are you free? There’s something I’d like to ask your help with.”
“What is it?” Yin Ruxu asked softly.
“Xia Ke just arrived and isn’t familiar with the school yet, and there are many things she needs to buy. Could you please help her?” Shen Man said.
“Okay, no problem,” Yin Ruxu agreed with a smile.
Shen Man turned and left.
Xia Ke blinked her eyes and said in a low voice, “I think I made her angry.”
“Are you talking about Shen Man?” Yin Ruxu asked.
Xia Ke nodded.
Yin Ruxu immediately smiled, “You’re overthinking it. Shen Man has a very good temper, she won’t get angry.”
“She’s never even gotten angry at a young lady like Lin Shu.”
“That’s because she…” Xia Ke started to say, then realized and quickly stopped.
“Because of what?” Yin Ruxu asked with confusion.
“Nothing, let’s go buy things,” Xia Ke said with a smile, shaking her head and changing the subject.
Shen Man walked slowly by herself, Xia Ke’s words constantly replaying in her mind.
She stopped, looked down at the pile of withered yellow leaves on the ground, picked one up, and squeezed it forcefully in her hand, producing a crisp sound.
When she opened her hand, the leaf had already become fine fragments, drifting from her palm to the ground.
Shen Man let out a breath, forcefully suppressing the annoyance in her heart.
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