I Am More Paranoid Than the Villain – Chapter 82

A Forced Smile

Do you want me to leave?

After breakfast on Sunday.

Shen Man drove Lin Shu to school.

Flins Borg was staying in the same room as last time.

Just as the two arrived, an assistant opened the door. “Ladies, please come in,” he said with a serious expression.

“Thank you,” Shen Man and Lin Shu said in unison.

They entered the room one after the other.

When Flins Borg saw Lin Shu, a kind smile spread across his face. “Student Lin Shu, have you given any thought to my suggestion?”

Hearing this, Shen Man’s heart tightened, and she couldn’t help but turn her head to look at Lin Shu.

“Teacher Flins, I’m very sorry, but I don’t have any plans to study abroad for the time being.” Lin Shu smiled politely, her gaze firm. “I want to finish my current studies before making other plans.”

As she spoke, she turned to look at Shen Man.

Their eyes met.

Shen Man froze for a second, then quickly looked away.

Seeing this evasive gesture, a flicker of indescribable disappointment rose in Lin Shu’s heart.

She kept the smile fixed on her face as she lowered her head, staring at the floral pattern on her skirt.

Flins noticed the change in Lin Shu’s expression and didn’t press her.

He smiled gently. “You can take your time to think about it. If you change your mind, you can contact me anytime.”

“With your talent and ability, you are better suited for the international stage.”

“Thank you for your affirmation. I will continue to work hard.” Lin Shu bowed gratefully.

She stole a glance at Shen Man, but that gentle, smiling face showed no trace of anything unusual.

After bidding farewell to Flins, the two walked slowly across the campus.

Lin Shu reached out, her delicate fingertips brushing against the leaves of the trees lining the path. “Do you want me to go study abroad?” she asked, her voice muffled.

Shen Man gave her customary smile. “Going abroad is your decision to make,” she said, her voice steady. “If you want to go, then go. Don’t have any reservations.”

“For students in our major, being able to stand on a grand international stage is something everyone dreams of.”

Lin Shu’s fingertips trembled.

A sharp branch tip scraped her delicate skin. Bright red blood welled up from her finger, quickly staining the bark of the branch.

A pang of anxiety shot through Shen Man, and she wanted to go and take that injured hand.

She made a slight move, but in the next instant, she stopped, rooted to the spot. She looked away as if she hadn’t seen a thing.

Lin Shu gently pinched her fingertip.

The pain spread from the wound, seeping through her bones, reaching all the way to the bottom of her heart.

Strangely, once it reached her heart, it suddenly stopped hurting.

“By that, you mean you’re still trying to persuade me to go abroad,” she said with a smile, a hint of sorrow in her round, bright eyes.

Shen Man didn’t deny it.

Staring straight ahead, she tried to speak in a lighthearted tone. “Shushu, this is a good thing. Why would you refuse Teacher Flins?”

“If it were you, would you choose to go abroad?” Lin Shu glared at Shen Man.

The words came out in a rush, her voice nearly breaking into a sob by the end.

Shen Man was taken aback for a moment.

Then, a joyful smile appeared on her face. She looked up at the sky and said, “Of course. An opportunity this good is rare. Anyone would think so.”

Hearing this, Lin Shu bit her lip in anger, her tear-filled eyes conveying a world of unsaid things.

“Shen Man, you idiot!” she yelled as if making an accusation, then turned and ran off.

The smile vanished from Shen Man’s face, replaced by a cold expression.

She stared in the direction the girl had run, standing there for a long while before slowly following.

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Lin Shu sat by the lake.

She picked up the pebbles beside her and threw them forcefully into the water.

Plunk. The sounds came one after another, creating beautiful ripples on the clear surface of the lake.

A figure appeared beside her.

A long, slender shadow fell over her, casting a patch of darkness.

Lin Shu turned her head.

Seeing it was Shen Man, she pouted resentfully and threw a large stone into the water with a loud PLUNK.

Shen Man sat down next to her.

She reached out and gently stroked the girl’s straight, jet-black hair. “Shushu, does your finger still hurt?” she asked dotingly.

“None of your business!” Lin Shu snapped, turning her head and pulling away from Shen Man’s touch.

She scooted over, putting some distance between them.

Shen Man’s hand was left empty.

Her fingers instinctively closed on the air before she pulled her hand back, placing it by her side.

“I’m actually very envious of Shushu, being able to so easily achieve things that others can’t even with their utmost effort,” she said, gazing at the lake’s surface, a tangible melancholy in her smiling voice.

Lin Shu’s attention was immediately captured.

Forgetting that she was still angry, she pursed her lips and said, “What’s there to be envious of about me? Everyone should be envious of you. You’re so popular. Everyone likes you and wants to hang out with you.” As she spoke, an undeniable jealousy crept into her tone, which gradually turned back into anger. “Guys and girls both like you. You’re warmer than central air conditioning¹.”

Hearing that last sentence, Shen Man couldn’t help but chuckle.

It was the first time someone had compared her to central air conditioning.

“What are you laughing at?” Lin Shu demanded angrily, her cheeks puffed out.

Shen Man shook her head, covering the smile on her lips with her hand. “I’m the class monitor. It’s my duty to care about everyone.”

“Especially Shushu.” That sentence was spoken with the utmost gentleness.

Lin Shu’s heart sped up.

She lowered her head to avoid Shen Man’s gaze and asked in a small voice, “Why am I special?”

“Because Shushu is the most outstanding,” Shen Man said with a smile, her eyes clear and bright. “If Shushu can become an internationally renowned designer in the future, our entire class will be proud of you.”

Listening to this praise, Lin Shu’s eyes fell in disappointment.

After a long moment, she said in a heavy voice, “Do you know why I don’t want to leave?”

“Going abroad is a major life event. Leaving a place you’ve lived for years to adapt to a new environment isn’t easy. It’s perfectly understandable that you’d be resistant to the idea,” Shen Man said, offering a comforting smile and a look of complete understanding.

Lin Shu shook her head.

She hugged her knees, resting her head on the back of her hands and gazing at the lake. “Because I don’t like being lonely,” she said in a low voice. “I’ve already lived alone for so many years. I don’t want to go back to that kind of lonely life again.”

“I hope that in the future, I can live like I do now, with someone to eat with every day, to go to and from school with. Someone who will be with me no matter what happens.” As she spoke, she looked at Shen Man, the corners of her eyes turning red.

It felt as though Shen Man’s heart had been struck a heavy blow.

She was stunned for a moment, then revealed a gentle smile. “Shushu, as long as you’re willing to make more friends, you won’t be lonely.”

“You’re so lovable, many people would want to be your friend. Even if you go abroad, you’ll be very popular.”

At these words, Lin Shu let out a sneering laugh.

She shot Shen Man a harsh glare, stood up, and started walking away.

“I don’t want to see you today!” she said as she walked, her voice filled with anger.

Shen Man remained seated.

She looked up at the azure sky, her cool eyes betraying no emotion.

After sitting by the lake for nearly an hour, Shen Man got up.

She took out her phone and called Auntie He. “Has Shushu gone back?”

“Miss Lin came back to change her clothes, and then she went out again,” Auntie He said.

“Did she say where she was going?” Shen Man asked.

“I heard Miss Lin mention the name Ding Xi on the phone,” Auntie He said, her tone growing worried. “Manman, did you and Miss Lin have a fight?”

“No,” Shen Man replied with a smile. “I have to go now.”

She hung up and called Tan Kai.

“Shen Man, are you looking for Lin Shu?” Tan Kai asked with a loud laugh.

“Mhm,” Shen Man admitted without hesitation. “Is she with you?”

“She went out to eat with Xixi,” Tan Kai said, then happily gossiped, “I heard Lin Shu is going to study abroad.”

“How did you hear about that?” Shen Man frowned, her tone turning serious.

“I heard it from my mom, who heard it from her mahjong friends. I reckon it’s probably spread all over my mom’s social circle by now,” Tan Kai explained.

Hearing this, Shen Man’s gaze sharpened. “Who was the first person to say it?” she asked calmly.

“That I don’t know. My mom’s mahjong friends will chat about anything, true or not. Some things might be fake, but when they say it, it sounds real,” Tan Kai said, a note of helplessness in his voice.

Shen Man’s expression grew solemn.

She couldn’t investigate the circles of these wealthy wives, but she could guess who had started the rumor.

If Lin Shu could be driven abroad, it would be excellent news for Feng Na.

Without Lin Huai’s biological daughter in the way, it would be much simpler for a little three² like Feng Na to secure her position.

Shen Man instantly understood the stakes.

Right now, she and Feng Na wanted the same thing.

“Shen Man, don’t worry. I’ll send Lin Shu back after they finish eating,” Tan Kai said with a laugh.

“Okay, thank you for the trouble,” Shen Man said politely before hanging up.

She walked alone on a campus path, her cold face radiating a “do not approach” chill.

Back in the house.

Shen Man stood in the entryway changing her shoes and said to Auntie He, “Shushu went out to eat with someone. I’m not having lunch, so you only need to cook for yourself.”

“Alright,” Auntie He nodded hastily, not daring to ask any more questions.

Shen Man went to her room and opened a book.

She wanted to focus on reading, but an hour later, she hadn’t turned a single page.

Shen Man raised her hand and slammed the book shut with a thump.

She picked up her phone and stared at Lin Shu’s name. Her fingertip lowered, only to lift again the moment it made contact.

After a moment’s hesitation, she tossed the phone aside and reopened her book.

For the entire afternoon, Shen Man didn’t absorb a single word.

A familiar set of footsteps sounded outside. She was about to get up but forced herself to stay still, listening until the footsteps faded away.

A new message popped up on her phone: “Shen Man, there’s no way I’m going abroad!”

Even through the screen, Shen Man could imagine the girl’s proud and stubborn expression.

She chuckled softly and didn’t reply.

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