NOVEL WEB Ch. 2
Gu Youli.
As for this girl who had already begun to show traces of beauty in her adolescent years, Guan Ren didn’t actually know her that well.
He only vaguely remembered two things.
First, Gu Youli was a teacher’s family member. While that wasn’t exactly some earth-shattering “big background,” for a student, it was at least something memorable.
Second, in his previous life, this “Little Pear Blossom” who had once captured the admiration of many boys from other classes, continued to embrace singlehood well into adulthood, which many found regretful.
As for during their school days...
Well...
To be honest, Guan Ren seemed to have spent most of his time back then goofing off with Zhang Chi and the gang. He didn’t give much thought to the fact that his deskmate was a pretty girl.
But maybe that was a good thing.
Otherwise, he might have ended up like some other teenage boys. Harboring a secret crush, confessing before graduation, getting rejected, then finding out in college that his “white moonlight” was dating someone else, becoming depressed, holing up in the dorm playing video games, and eventually turning into a socially withdrawn Chu Nan...
---
“Hello, Gu Youli.”
Freshly reincarnated and still adjusting to his identity as a high school student, Guan Ren recognized the “Little Pear Blossom” before him and extended a hand like a gentleman.
“Nice to meet you.”
“You're happy too early.”
Gu Youli smoothed down her school uniform pants with both hands behind her hips and sat down at her desk:
“Ms. Li is looking for you.”
“Ms. Li?”
Guan Ren thought for a moment, and a mental image surfaced of a woman with a frizzy wine-red perm.
“Li Min?”
“Mhm.”
Gu Youli nodded. She usually didn’t call teachers by their full names.
That said...
Gu Youli glanced at the hand Guan Ren was still holding out in front of her.
This guy really had no manners...
...
Back in their first year, Gu Youli had heard of the notorious trio in Class 7 known as the “Three Phantom Gods: Liu, Guan, and Zhang.”
She hadn’t expected that, after switching to the science track and being reassigned to Class 7, she would end up drawing “Guan the Phantom God” as her new deskmate.
Sure enough, Guan Ren lived up to his reputation as a troublemaker.
It hadn’t even been that long since school started, and he already dared to casually use his new deskmate’s pen.
And after that, he had the nerve to reach out his hand?
They were in their second year now—definitely not kids anymore. Did Guan Ren still not understand that a girl shouldn’t just casually touch a boy’s hand?
Honestly, with someone this reckless and rude, it was no wonder he had already gotten into trouble with Ms. Li so early in the term...
...
“What does Li Min want with me?”
Gu Youli didn’t answer. She quietly poured some lemon water from her cup onto a tissue and began wiping down the area of the pen Guan Ren had used. Her ponytail swayed gently with her movements.
“…”
Guan Ren didn’t press her. Clearly, this deskmate wouldn’t be talking to him anytime soon.
He understood the situation. At this point, they barely knew each other. Gu Youli had a cool and aloof personality, and she was simply maintaining a normal level of social distance.
On his part, casually using her pen and acting overly familiar did come off as presumptuous.
But he couldn’t help it. For someone who had reincarnated, trying to act like a stranger in front of people you used to know was surprisingly difficult.
Dealing with people he’d been close to since childhood? Now that was much easier.
Thud!
Guan Ren kicked the underside of Zhang Chi’s chair.
“?!”
Zhang Chi’s rear jolted. He instinctively shrank his neck and looked around nervously—first at the back door, then at the front. Leaning forward to block his desk, he shoved his phone as deep as he could into the drawer, as if he wanted to cram his whole ringtone in there.
“Brother Chi, it’s me.”
“?”
“It’s me, man.”
“Again?! You scared the crap out of me... Guan Ren, damn you!”
“I don’t have a younger sister, only a big sis.”
Of course, that “sis” wasn’t a blood relative.
That’s why Guan Ren usually only called her “sis” from time to time, to show affection.
At that thought, the image of that beautiful woman floated into his mind. Remembering the regrets of his past life, a swirl of emotions welled up in his heart, and he felt a sting in his nose.
If there was one person Guan Ren most wanted to see after reincarnating, it had to be her...
But from what he remembered, during the early days of their second year, she wasn’t home yet—she had gone to the city to train at a company and wouldn’t be back for a while.
...
“Brother Ren? So do you actually need something or not?”
“Oh, uh... about that…”
Guan Ren snapped back to the moment. Zhang Chi had a heavy seat. His foot was starting to hurt from the kick.
“Gu Youli just said Li Min’s looking for me. Any clue what that’s about?”
“Nope.”
Zhang Chi shook his head.
“You cause trouble every day. Who knows which one Li Min’s on about today?”
“Pfft. What about recent stuff?”
“Recently…”
Zhang Chi thought for a moment. There might actually be something, though he wasn’t sure how much it had to do with Guan Ren.
He glanced at Guan Ren, then at Gu Youli, who was quietly reading beside him. His expression grew a little more cautious, and he lowered his voice.
“Yesterday during class, Gu Youli got up to answer a question, and a slip of paper fell out of her book. Li Min picked it up. Maybe it’s about that?”
The moment he said this, it wasn’t Guan Ren who reacted first, but Gu Youli. Her ear twitched slightly, and she tilted her face just a bit to glance at Guan Ren.
When Guan Ren noticed and looked back, Gu Youli had already turned her gaze away.
A slip of paper...
Guan Ren narrowed his eyes. A slip of paper in Gu Youli’s book. What did that have to do with him?
Could it be... he wrote it?
But come on, who hasn’t passed notes before? Was Li, that old curmudgeon, really targeting him that hard?
Ding-ling-ling——
At that moment, the class bell rang.
A slightly plump woman with frizzy wine-red hair and her hands behind her back appeared silently at the classroom door.
Several students began nudging their dozing deskmates.
“Wake up, Ms. Li is here!”
“Hurry, it’s Li Min!”
“Idiot, get up!”
...
The once-quiet classroom suddenly grew a bit restless with the arrival of homeroom teacher Li Min.
She stood at the door, her sharp gaze sweeping over the class before locking decisively onto Guan Ren.
“You.”
She raised a finger—a commanding, almost mythical gesture—and pointed straight at him.
“Out.”
Swish swish swish…
Countless eyes turned to stare at Guan Ren.
Clatter——
Guan Ren slowly stood up, the scraping of his chair loud and grating.
Since he sat on the leftmost side of the classroom near the window, his deskmate Gu Youli also stood up to make way.
Whether intentional or not, she kept her head slightly bowed and didn’t look at him at all, sitting back down only after he had walked past.
Guan Ren understood.
After all, this probably had something to do with the note, and Gu Youli might be implicated.
Though honestly, Guan Ren had no memory of ever writing her a note...
“Go wait in the office.”
Li Min ordered, watching as Guan Ren slowly disappeared into the office next door. Then she suddenly spun around and barked at the now-chattering classroom.
“Anyone else wanna go?!”
The room instantly fell silent.
“Summer break is over and your minds are still on vacation!”
“You’re in your second year now! And this is a science track class! Get your heads in the game!”
“Books! Take them out now!”
“What’s the first subject today?”
A few weak voices responded hesitantly.
“Chinese…”
“Where’s the Chinese teacher?”
“Haven’t come yet…”
“So just because the teacher’s not here, you don’t know to start previewing the lesson?!”
“……”
Damn it, should’ve just kept quiet...
Grumbling under their breath, the students obediently pulled out their books and pretended to study. As soon as Li Min left, the classroom erupted again, brushing off the sleepy atmosphere of the afternoon. Boys and girls alike buzzed with excitement over Guan Ren’s situation.
“What’s up with Guan Erye this time? Just got here and he’s already in the office?”
“Liu Xiong, Guan Ren’s from your Class 7, right?”
“C’mon, what’s the point of talking Class 7 or Class 8? We’re all in Class 7 now, part of the same family. Don’t divide us.”
“Rumor has it Li Min picked up a note from Gu Youli yesterday. Might have something to do with Brother Ren.”
“Could it be a love confession~? Hey, hey, Xiao Bei, aren’t you close with Guan Ren? Go dig up some dirt!”
“Wha—what’s there to dig up... Come on, can you all just study properly? All you do is gossip! Don’t come crying when you age fast!”
---
Smack!
Meanwhile, inside the office, Li Min slapped a pink sticky note onto the desk, her eyes locked intently on Guan Ren.
“Guan Ren, what is the meaning of this, hmm?”
“……”
Guan Ren stared at the pink note, the corner of his mouth twitching. Honestly, he wanted to know even more than she did.
There it was—the very same slip of paper that had fallen from Gu Youli’s book yesterday. On it were four big characters: 【我喜欢你】—I like you.
And at the bottom, it was signed: 【关仁】—Guan Ren.
No doubt about it. Li Min wasn’t just picking on him. This wasn’t some ordinary note. It was unmistakably a love confession from him to Gu Youli.
Damn it. A love confession to my deskmate right after reincarnating?
What kind of trashy plotline was this? Had I really done something so absurd?