Chapter 156: An Unexpected Surge of Enthusiasm

As He Zhen entered, everyone instinctively fell silent. For a moment, the classroom atmosphere seemed to freeze. Yet the man himself appeared completely unruffled, greeting with a faint smile, “Hi, good morning.”

“Good morning,” several nearby students responded.

Luo Yixia felt utterly uneasy, as if invisible eyes were occasionally fixed on her from behind. She knew she hadn’t handled things well the previous night. He Zhen had kindly sent her flowers, but she had instinctively refused to accept gifts from any man.

“Xia Xia, tell us how you got involved with He Zhen?” A few girls from the front row turned around, grinning as they asked.

Though the class returned to its usual lively chatter, when such a sensitive topic arose, many lowered their voices, straining to catch the gossip.

“Ah? Haha, we’ve always been neighbors...” Luo Yixia tried to evade the question casually.

“I envy you. Being close like that, you get the first chance. I just wish I had a male idol as my neighbor,” said a girl upfront, folding her hands with a melancholic expression.

Laughter rippled around.

“Xia Xia, tell us, is the male idol really that aloof in private? I think he’s so gentle with you.”

“He doesn’t say much, but he’s very clingy. I’m clingy to him too,” Luo Yixia admitted, a blush creeping across her cheeks.

“You wouldn’t guess it at all,” they teased, continuing to joke and laugh.

Suddenly, someone forcefully stood up, the chair scraping loudly. The class fell silent for a few seconds, all casting puzzled looks. Then Xu Nian strode out briskly.

The girl in front curled her lips disdainfully. “Xia Xia, don’t mind her. She’s always pestering Song Chengyi, but your male idol has never paid her any attention. A while back, when he protected you in the cafeteria, she behaved for a bit, but now she’s causing trouble again. It’s about time she faced reality instead of dreaming all day.”

Luo Yixia was at a loss for words. She couldn’t comment on this now and could only smile awkwardly. Still, several others offered her comforting words.

There was no exclusion or resentment as she had feared. People often overthink things; in reality, others are simple and don’t care about what you worry over.

In fact, many were quite excited, eager to gossip—perhaps thanks to Song Chengyi’s influence, Luo Yixia had become more popular than before.

Of course, not everyone’s interest came from Song Chengyi.

“Xia Xia, your Latin dance last night was amazing. Your outfit was beautiful; I searched all night on Taobao but couldn’t find anything like it.”

“That was a gift my mom brought back from Tibet. It’s ethnic style.”

“No wonder, it looked great.”

“You two were so in sync last night. I’m thinking of learning Latin dance now. You danced ballet last year, right? Have you learned anything else?”

“Just ballet and Latin, plus a bit of other styles.”

Yu Wenjing used to scold her for being restless and never sticking with anything, but ballet was the one thing she’d kept up. She’d dabbled in ethnic dance, Latin, tango, even street dance—not mastering any, but gaining some familiarity.

In hindsight, learning a bit of everything wasn’t bad. Maybe next New Year’s Day she could try tango…

The class bell rang, and everyone returned to their seats obediently.

Old Sheng, with his round figure, shuffled into the classroom.

“Hey, why so quiet? Aren’t you going to welcome me?” Old Sheng joked.

The class erupted in laughter. “Welcome, welcome, a warm welcome!”

“That’s better,” Old Sheng smiled, his squinted eyes nearly disappearing.

“Last night, the New Year’s Eve gala went smoothly. Our class did very well—we won second prize. The skit group also did well, taking third prize, plus special and encouragement awards. So, I’m thinking of treating you all to a meal. How about that?”

“Great!” The class cheered.

“Teacher, do all the second prizes count for our class?” someone raised a hand.

That reminder made everyone realize that sometimes the cooperation between classes wasn’t fully counted for one class, often attributed only to the individual student.

“Our class’s Luo Yixia was the lead dancer; the piano was just background music,” Old Sheng waved his hand nonchalantly.

Actually, Old Sheng and the head teacher of Class 169 had argued heatedly all night over this, neither willing to concede.

No resolution came, but that morning Song Chengyi visited the office saying his performance was just a friendly gesture and hadn’t been reported to his class, so the credit went to Old Sheng’s class.

The Class 169 head teacher’s face turned pale with frustration, but Old Sheng gained quite a bit of goodwill from the school’s legendary student.

“Luo Yixia, remember to bring Song Chengyi to tonight’s gathering. After all, the honor belongs to both of you. Our class is very enthusiastic.”

Luo Yixia was momentarily stunned but aware that this was an undeniable fact, understandable in its fairness.

“Yeah, bring Song Chengyi. Our class doesn’t have many girls, and some have been 'taken away' already,” some boys shouted, sparking cheers.

“Are you guys even worthy to compare?” a girl retorted.

“Come on, he’s just a bit better looking!”

“A bit? He always tops the grade-level exams and was the science champion in City A. What about you?”

The boys were silenced, quietly shutting up.

“What’s all this noise? Do you think I’m dead or something?” Old Sheng said sternly but without any real authority, making people chuckle.

“Teacher, you know, our class lost another single dog,” someone joked.

Luo Yixia just wanted to stay a bystander, but clearly, no one intended to let her off the hook.

The whole class looked meaningfully at her. He Zhen’s eyes flickered slightly but remained calm, as if unaware and uninvolved.

Luo Yixia was speechless.

“Who’s taken?” Old Sheng squinted and followed their gaze.

Luo Yixia??? Her mind raced, connecting the dots instantly.

“Good, good, well done! Our class just recruited another formidable member,” Old Sheng laughed heartily.

Luo Yixia wanted to disappear underground. “Teacher, at your age, how can you still say such things? Such fierce words!”

“I say, you singles better step up your game. Don’t keep it all in-house. Our class is counting on you to grow stronger,” Old Sheng said earnestly.

“Hahaha.”

Luo Yixia felt this enthusiasm was a bit too much...

As noon approached, the advanced math teacher was still lecturing energetically.

Luo Yixia disliked advanced math and the teacher too—the woman was stern, always scowling, never smiling. Her high cheekbones made her seem a little harsh and unapproachable.

Luo Yixia rested her head on her hand, still puzzled why math torment persisted in university.

“Xia Xia, Xia Xia,” Gan Yanyan nudged her several times.

Confused, Luo Yixia turned to her. “What’s up?”

“Look, outside the window,” Gan Yanyan whispered.

Luo Yixia glanced out. Leaning against the corridor railing was a figure facing the classroom, arms resting on the rail—watching something intently.

But somehow, he looked irresistibly charming…

The class began to stir.

After all, a handsome guy always draws attention.

The math teacher frowned, stern as ever.

She cleared her throat, attempting to encourage focus, but to no avail. Just as she was about to reprimand them, the bell rang—class dismissed.

The teacher reluctantly collected the textbooks, muttering on her way out, “You still need to focus in class.”

With the bell, everyone stood up, preparing to head to the cafeteria, many still eyeing Song Chengyi.

Almost no teacher in the school didn’t know Song Chengyi, especially the math teacher, familiar with his excellent grades. Seeing him standing outside was a surprise—this was the freshman and sophomore building; seniors didn’t even know where it was.

“Song, hello,” the math teacher managed a rare smile.

Song Chengyi turned his head. Seeing her cold expression, he slightly changed his own, nodding politely, “Teacher.”

“Why are you here?”

“I’m here to pick up my girlfriend.”

The class erupted again—so handsome...

The math teacher looked a bit embarrassed, her expression somewhat awkward.

She watched as Song Chengyi’s eyes fixed on a certain slow-moving girl in the classroom.

Unable to stand the prodding from classmates, Gan Yanyan and others pushed Luo Yixia out.

“Teacher,” Luo Yixia mustered her courage.

The math teacher fell silent.

“Well, then, we’ll go ahead,” Song Chengyi said smoothly, taking her hand.

Luo Yixia turned to the teacher, bowing slightly, “Goodbye, Teacher.”

Once around the corner and out of the building, Luo Yixia finally exhaled.

“I almost got lynched by all those looks,” she said, still uneasy.

“Really? Did someone bother you?” Song Chengyi smiled, obviously a little proud.

“No, everyone was nice, just a bit gossipy.” Though the special attention all morning was overwhelming, she wasn’t unhappy or feeling persecuted.

“Good.”

Luo Yixia relaxed completely, no longer timid or constantly looking around. She held Song Chengyi’s hand with both of hers, smiling as she recounted her morning’s experiences.

She laughed now and then, occasionally pouting in mock displeasure.

Song Chengyi listened tenderly, occasionally chiming in.

This scene left the onlookers quite “traumatized”—the aloof male idol could be so gentle?

Envy, pure envy.