Chapter 86: Master, I Understand Now
"Eek, big news!" Yi Zhi Xuenai waved her phone excitedly.
"What? Which celebrity's reputation just collapsed?"
"It's not entertainment news—it's school news!"
"How's that big news?" Lin Yuxi scoffed.
After spending years in the entertainment industry, she'd seen every kind of headline imaginable. Unless a top celebrity had a major scandal, nothing really counted as "big news" to her.
"It's about the guy who confessed to that pretty senior yesterday through the cheering message! He's confessing again!"
The Japanese girl held up her phone.
"He made a post on the school forum, and now everyone's gathering to watch."
If anyone asked what she usually did while slacking off, the answer would definitely be: browsing gossip.
If Yi Zhi Xuenai wasn't eating snacks, she was eating gossip.
Seeing that no one else seemed interested, she quietly continued reading by herself.
"Huh? Someone's actually livestreaming it?"
She immediately tapped the link posted on the forum.
"The video's so blurry... but that's definitely that pretty senior."
As she watched the shaky footage, her eyes suddenly landed on a familiar figure standing in one corner.
"Nani? That person looks just like Pu Tong! There's actually someone who looks exactly like him!"
"Hm?"
The moment Yu Wanwan heard Pu Tong's name, she hurried over for a closer look.
Looks like him?
That was Pu Tong!
How did he get dragged into something like this?
"Let's go check it out!"
...
The boy waited for the girl's answer.
The girl didn't know how to reject him.
The atmosphere had frozen into awkward silence.
The crowd wasn't in a hurry. They simply stood around, waiting for the outcome.
As they watched, they noticed Pu Tong quietly studying not far from the two.
They had originally come to watch the confession, but discovering this strange scene only made everything even more entertaining.
Perhaps because the contrast was so bizarre, even the two people at the center of the story looked toward Pu Tong.
The girl's eyes seemed to say,
"Sorry... we disturbed your studying."
The boy's expression, on the other hand, seemed to ask,
"Bro... what are you doing here?"
What am I doing?
Studying, obviously!
Pu Tong had merely picked a random quiet spot to read. How had he somehow become involved in this?
"Um... ahem... thanks for letting me borrow your poem."
Chen Yu looked at Pu Tong's dazzlingly handsome face and decided to say something to establish his presence.
He had spent a long time researching confession letters and ultimately decided that Pu Tong's line fit his situation best.
He knew who this junior was.
"Use it however you want."
Pu Tong had no desire to stay in this mess.
"I'm heading out. You guys continue. Don't mind me."
"You can't leave!"
Oh no...
I've become Lao Feng.
Pu Tong stopped and looked at him, curious about what he intended to say.
With so many people watching, it wouldn't be polite to simply ignore him and walk away.
"Based on your experience..."
Chen Yu asked seriously,
"...how do you think my confession went?"
He had already decided.
Since the situation had reached a stalemate anyway, he might as well ask a professional to judge.
If even Pu Tong thought he'd done nothing wrong, then he'd continue pursuing Jiang Xuyu.
Besides...
If Pu Tong publicly supported him, he'd feel much more confident.
Maybe Jiang Xuyu would reconsider.
Pu Tong frowned.
He immediately realized what Chen Yu was trying to do.
The guy wanted to use him as leverage.
He glanced at Jiang Xuyu's worried expression and quickly made up his mind.
"Let me tell you a story."
Everyone blinked.
Instead of answering, he was telling a story?
Even the two people involved looked confused.
"There was once a boy who confessed to a girl in public.
"The girl didn't like him.
"To spare him embarrassment, she leaned close to his ear and whispered,
'I don't like you... but right now, you can hold my hand and leave this crowd with me.'"
Pu Tong paused.
"What do you think?"
Chen Yu's face instantly turned ugly.
He understood.
So did everyone watching.
Pu Tong was hinting that sometimes...
A girl doesn't reject you publicly not because she likes you—
but because she doesn't want to humiliate you.
"That girl is incredibly kind."
Jiang Xuyu answered.
"She protected the boy's dignity so he wouldn't be embarrassed in public.
"At the same time, she clearly expressed her feelings instead of stringing him along like some manipulative girl."
That's exactly what she had done.
She had already rejected Chen Yu privately several times.
He simply refused to listen.
The crowd silently nodded.
Girls like that were indeed rare nowadays.
"Wrong."
Pu Tong interrupted everyone's romantic assumptions.
"Maybe she is kind.
"But she overlooked one thing."
He paused.
"She didn't just reject that boy...
"She rejected every other girl for him as well."
Everyone suddenly understood.
To all the bystanders, it would look as though the confession had succeeded.
After that, no other girl would approach the boy.
It seemed gentle...
but the consequences would be lasting.
If you hesitate when you should make a clean decision, you'll only create more trouble.
Jiang Xuyu's eyes widened.
She understood immediately.
Since she didn't like him...
She should reject him openly.
It might be embarrassing...
but it would prevent future misunderstandings.
Following her own heart...
That was the best solution.
"Th-Then..."
Chen Yu looked at Jiang Xuyu blankly.
"The boy did so much...
Did none of it matter?"
"Don't rush."
Pu Tong smiled.
"I haven't told you the second half of the story yet."
There's a second half?
The spectators instantly perked up.
"After hearing the girl's words...
"The boy replied,
'You should reject me publicly instead.
I don't want others to think you're an easy girl.'"
Silence fell over the crowd once more.
It was the same logic.
If the boy really held the girl's hand and left...
Then when she eventually got together with the person she truly loved...
People would gossip about her.
What appeared to be a gentle response...
would actually put both of them in a difficult position.
"So tell me..."
Pu Tong continued.
"The boy thought one step further for the girl's sake.
"What would you call that?"
"Love..."
Chen Yu murmured to himself.
"...That's love, isn't it?"
"Because he truly loved her...
he didn't want this incident to affect her future."
"Exactly."
"That's love."
Pu Tong sighed softly.
"Small love clings.
Great love lets go."
"I think letting go is painful...
but it's also the greatest form of love."
"Rather than endlessly suffering over a relationship with no future...
it's better to end the pain sooner and let go."
"Everyone wishes to hold the hand of the one they love and grow old together.
"But life is full of things beyond our control."
"Because true love is—
'As long as you're happy...
even if that happiness has nothing to do with me.'"
Chen Yu's legs nearly gave out.
Jiang Xuyu instinctively reached out to support him.
He looked at her.
Then smiled bitterly.
"Thank you."
At that moment...
He finally understood.
Did he love her?
Of course he did.
But how much trouble had his self-centered version of love caused her?
He knew she desperately wanted to get into her dream university.
Yet at such a critical time...
he had still insisted on doing something that disrupted her peace of mind.
How shameless.
The spectators were stunned.
"Master... I understand now!"
Everyone looked at Pu Tong with newfound admiration.
So this was the legendary romance expert.
Before, they had only thought he could write beautiful love poems.
They never expected...
he actually understood love this deeply.
Seeing that everything had been resolved, Pu Tong prepared to leave.
Then he spotted three familiar figures in the crowd.
Yu Wanwan.
Yi Zhi Xuenai.
Lin Yuxi.
"When did you guys get here?"
"When you started telling the story."
Yu Wanwan's expression was rather strange.
"You really understand relationships so well...
How many times have you dated?"
"I've been single since birth."
Whether it was his previous life or this one...
he had never been in a relationship.
Though admittedly...
that wasn't exactly something worth bragging about.
"I don't believe you anymore."
The Japanese girl chimed in.
"You sound like you've dated countless girls."
"I really haven't!"
Everything he'd said came from things he'd read while surfing the internet in his previous life.
How should he put it?
The people who spent the most time reading relationship advice online...
were usually the ones who had never dated.
Just then, the loudspeaker announced:
"The First-Year Girls' 800-Meter Race will begin shortly.
All participants, please report to the west-side check-in area of the track to receive your race numbers."
The announcement perfectly interrupted their conversation.
"My race is coming up! I'm off!"
Lin Yuxi waved goodbye, handed her belongings to Yu Wanwan, and jogged toward the track.
Since his friend was competing, Pu Tong naturally had to go watch.
Besides...
his quiet study spot had already become the scene of a major incident.
He might as well return and watch the race.
"By the way..."
He looked at the three girls.
"How did you even know where I was?"
"The livestream."
Yi Zhi Xuenai waved her phone.
"...A livestream?!"
Pu Tong's voice instantly rose several octaves.
"It was just a confession!
Someone actually livestreamed it?"
"Why are you yelling so loudly?"
(End of Chapter)
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