Incurable Pain

Incurable Pain | Chapter 15

Students from Class One were ushered out into the corridor for punishment, and among them were the school genius and heartthrob, as well as the school’s mute beauty. From any angle, they were subjects of attention.

Shen Langli made them stay in the corridor even during lunchtime, planning to continue their punishment.

Students passed by as Bai Xunyin kept her head down, feeling not so much hungry as embarrassed, wishing she could find a hole to hide in.

On the other hand, Yu Luoyin wasn’t afraid of being watched. He leaned casually against the wall, maintaining his usual lazy demeanor.

“Brother Yu, you’ve got quite a character,” Zhou Xin, coming forward, stood in front of him and pushed his glasses up, mocking him.

“You’re being punished to stand here during lunchtime. Isn’t it your first time?”

Yu Luoyin chuckled lightly, “Get lost.”

“I’m going to the cafeteria today,” Zhou Xin said with seriousness.

“Brother, I can still bring you some swill* back if you want.”

*T/N: Liquid food for animals, usually to pigs

“Yinyin, what do you want to eat?”

Ah Mo, standing beside him, asked Bai Xunyin. She kept checking her watch, showing clear signs of impatience, “I’ll come back early and bring you some food.”

Bai Xunyin frowned and typed on her phone.

[Why are you in such a hurry?]

“Can I not be in a hurry? I want to have lunch with Sheng Wen!”

Ah Mo widened her eyes, as innocent as a “swallow,” and said boldly, “I won’t talk to you about it. I’m going to pursue him. Text me what you want to eat.”

With that, she hurried away, her slender figure full of energy.

…

Bai Xunyin felt somewhat helpless.

Are all girls at the age of seventeen really so passionate?

First, there was Sheng Churan, now there’s Ning Shumo.

Both were girls who disregarded everything for the sake of “liking” someone.

Bai Xunyin knew that Ah Mo liked Sheng Wen. He was also a student in their class and performed well academically.

However, unlike Yu Luoyin and Zhou Xin, who were top students, Sheng Wen came from a less privileged background, was quiet, and had a cold and stubborn temperament. Yet, Amo was somehow smitten with him.

She told Bai Xunyin that this feeling was called “love at first sight.”

Even if Sheng Wen used cold words on her, she would accept them willingly.

“Your friend likes Sheng Wen, right?”

After the lunchtime commotion passed, Yu Luoyin finally spoke to her, his voice clear and cold in the quiet corridor. He hinted at something, “Sheng Wen is quite lucky; he has admirers.”

Unlike him, who couldn’t even catch someone’s glance.

Bai Xunyin remained silent for a moment and then typed a response to him on her phone.

[You have Sheng Churan.]

Heh.

Yu Luoyin was momentarily stunned before he couldn’t help but laugh.

He looked at the girl beside him, who was a head shorter than him and had a tense expression, and he genuinely felt happy.

“Bai Xunyin.”

With no teacher around, Yu Luoyin gave up even pretending to stand properly. He took a step forward and stood in front of Bai Xunyin, lowering his head to look at her soft bangs.

His voice was unexpectedly gentle, “Are you jealous?”

This question was the same as the one he asked at the cinema, but their mindsets were different now.

School was a “forbidden” territory; things like fighting, smoking, and early romance were like worms in a ditch, things the school’s sacred light couldn’t touch.

Yet, Yu Luoyin dared to do anything and was still seen as a “good student” by everyone.

He didn’t care about the school’s rules at all. When he felt like it, he would stand face to face with Bai Xunyin in the corridor, showing ambiguity.

Under the influence of Yu Luoyin, people around them couldn’t help but become bolder.

Bai Xunyin took a deep breath and sent Yu Luoyin a WeChat message.

[Only fools would be jealous for you.]

Looking at this message, Yu Luoyin smiled after a while and didn’t continue the conversation.

Last time he asked this question, Bai Xunyin had run away as if he were a ferocious beast.

This time…

It’s better. She’s making progress.

For lunch, she had packed sweet and sour pork over rice from Ah Mo.

Bai Xunyin didn’t mind. She mechanically chewed on her food, her mind flashing back to when Yu Luoyin had come close.

She realized that she had become somewhat numb. Somehow, she didn’t mind his proximity as much.

Bai Xunyin knew that this prelude to a certain feeling might not be a good sign, but a teenage girl’s heart was not something she could control.

…

Bai Xunyin found it a bit strange. After thinking for a moment, she decided not to eat anymore and threw her meal into the trash bin. She wrote on a piece of paper to communicate with her:

[Ah Mo, do you really like Sheng Wen? You’ve only known him for less than half a month.]

“Where is there time to separate feelings like that?”

Ah Mo looked up at Bai Xunyin with a slightly worried expression and couldn’t help but laugh.

She, who was usually carefree, now looked a bit shy, “With some people, you just know you like them the first time you meet.”

Bai Xunyin’s heart skipped a beat unexpectedly.

It was like the first time she saw Yu Luoyin in the corridor after school, his slightly long black hair being tousled by the wind, his thin lips biting a cigarette. Her heart had also skipped a beat then.

Lately, Yu Luoyin seemed to have stopped smoking much, but Bai Xunyin knew he was a bad boy.

However, sometimes, girls had no resistance against bad boys.

“Yinyin, sometimes you really have to be brave. We only have eight months left.”

Ah Mo clenched her fist, speaking firmly, “I want to be with Sheng Wen, and get into the same university with him. I’m afraid I’ll regret it if I miss him.”

Ah Mo’s words seemed to seamlessly connect with Bai Xunyin’s thoughts, like a needle piercing her brain.

Being together, getting into the same university…

It sounded great, but the word “youth” was always the most fickle.

Everyone around you, every event, could influence you, making the originally “calm girl’s heart” start to stir.

“Yu Luoyin, what’s been going on with you lately?”

After school, Yu Luoyin was called into the office by the current class teacher, Yu Shen.

Yu Shen was known in Third High School for being strict and tough in teaching, a teacher in the style of “Judge Bao*” from historical tales. He was iron-faced, impartial, and distant.

*T/N: 包青天, was a Chinese Magistrate known for treating all cases fairly.

He was a middle-aged man in his forties who, despite his dedication to work, didn’t have the “happy fat” or “beer belly” that was often associated with his age. He remained slim and straight.

Being an experienced educator who had dealt with numerous students, his eyes carried a sense of oppression when he looked at people.

“Yu Luoyin, I have to ask you, you…”

Yu Shen paused for a moment, seeming hesitant to ask, “What’s going on between you and that Bai Xunyin in your class? Rumors have reached my ears!”

He had deliberately called Yu Luoyin to his office when there was no one around, and his voice was suppressed. In a teacher’s eyes, dealing with students’ suspected “early romantic relationships” was absolutely not something to publicize.

“Teacher, did you call me in for this?”

Yu Luoyin wasn’t afraid of this Judge Bao-like figure. Instead, he leaned against the wall.

Showing a cheeky attitude, he joked with the teacher, “I thought it was something serious. You can rest assured.”

His attitude, both serious and not, left Yu Shen momentarily stunned, his prepared speech was jammed in his throat—

“You… are you saying you’re not interested in puppy love?”

“Puppy love? Who’s involved with me? Bai Xunyin?”

Yu Luoyin sneered, “Teacher, you’re overthinking it.”

He spoke candidly, as if he didn’t like the girl at all.

Yu Shen scrutinized him carefully and then sighed in relief, showing a slight smile, “That’s good to hear. Having no puppy love is better.”

“Teacher, who’s gossiping to you? I was just joking around with a classmate.”

“What kind of talk is that!”

Yu Shen felt uncomfortable hearing this “lascivious talk.”

He turned his head and glared at Yu Luoyin, saying sternly, “We’re in the final year of high school, why play around like this?”

“Yu Luoyin, I warn you, I have high hopes for you. I won’t allow you to be distracted by anything else and affect your performance in your final year. Do you hear me?!”

Yu Luoyin nonchalantly replied with an “um.”

“And not just you, Bai Xunyin is also one of the promising students I intend to nurture.”

Actually, the teacher had always liked students who were good at studying, bold enough to chat with him.

Yu Shen unconsciously continued to ramble, “This girl has maintained steady grades all along, performing very well. At this pace, getting into a top university like Jingda or Lan University shouldn’t be a problem. Don’t mess around with her!”

Jingda University, Lan University— she has no problem with that?

Well, that’s good. Yu Luoyin thought, pondering.

“What are you thinking?”

Yu Shen knocked on the table, bringing Yu Luoyin’s thoughts back. He then mentioned something else, “By the way, before the National Day, can your mother spare some time to come and speak a few words to the senior high school students during the swearing-in ceremony?”

“Well, I don’t know either. Teacher, you know my mom has recently joined the Academy of Sciences. She’s been busy all the time.”

Yu Luoyin shrugged and casually suggested, “Why don’t you contact her yourself?”

After all, he and his mom might not see each other for ten days or half a month.

In this world, there were always people who were busier than the President of the country, feeling like the world couldn’t function without them—

Yu Luoyin’s mom, Gu Yuan, was such a person.

Yu Shen looked at him, feeling that every family had its own struggles.

“Alright, I will contact your mother to discuss this matter.”

He rubbed his face, then instructed, “But you need to prepare a speech as a student representative to go on stage. Go back and prepare your script properly!”