Lu Mingfei, why are you slaying dragons if you're not involved!

Chapter 114 Chen Wenwen's Regret (3.4K)

As soon as Chen Wenwen got out of the car, she noticed something was wrong.

Sight.

Many gazes lingered on her briefly before quickly shifting away.

As one of the "Four Beauties of Shilan," she was used to being the center of attention. But today was different. After those gazes shifted away, what followed was a series of quiet whispers.

So that gaze became like thorns, making people extremely uncomfortable and uneasy.

Chen Wenwen subconsciously tucked a stray strand of hair behind her ear, her fingertips brushing against her earlobe. Her pace quickened unconsciously as she fled the siege of those strange gazes.

But she couldn't escape; instead, she seemed to be deliberately walking into a deeper encirclement. This strange feeling persisted all the way, growing stronger and stronger until it reached its peak when she appeared at the classroom door!
Almost all the students in the class were looking at her. Their gazes no longer held the usual admiration, but a burning and undisguised expectation, almost tangible.

Yes, Chen Wenwen realized what it was all about. She finally understood what the strange look in her eyes had been all along was... it was this strange expectation!

"But what are they expecting...?"

Chen Wenwen's heart skipped a beat for no apparent reason. An inexplicable impulse seized her, driving her to instinctively turn around and leave.

It felt as if taking another step forward would plunge one into an unpredictable vortex, leading to some unpleasant events.

"That's impossible, this is a school..."

She silently told herself, pinching her palm hard with her fingertips, using the slight pain to dispel the absurd premonition.

"It can't be a prank, can it?"

She continued walking and entered the classroom.

The classmates who had been watching her quickly shifted their gaze, and Chen Wenwen's heart, which had been hanging in suspense, jumped again—they shifted their gaze so uniformly, like puppets being manipulated, all looking in one direction.

Chen Wenwen knew very well who the most special person was in that direction.

Lu Mingfei.

He started changing from the day his winter break tutoring began. The boy who used to follow her like a shadow gradually became a stranger.

First, there was the silent, inexplicable distancing, then the ambiguous rumors about him and Liu Miaomiao, then the icy transfer student Ling, and even Su Xiaoqiang, who had always been at odds with him, clearly sided with him...

Even Chu, a senior student who had already graduated, personally came forward to support him.

Chen Wenwen also frequented the campus forum, but she hadn't logged on for the past two days. There were always people who loved a good spectacle tagging her when discussing Lu Mingfei's gossip, and she was used to checking it out; seeing it always made her feel annoyed.

It wasn't that she was upset to see Lu Mingfei improving; in fact, she was happy that he was. But those who tagged her always implied in their comments that "Lu Mingfei's luck has improved since he stopped liking Chen Wenwen."

It's as if she's cursed with some kind of bad luck.

At this moment, all the students' eyes turned to look at him again, and then back to Lu Mingfei... their gazes shifted back and forth between the two.

what happened?

Finally, Chen Wenwen subconsciously followed their gaze and looked in that direction.

She saw—

Lu Mingfei?
That's... Lu Mingfei?!
She stood frozen in place, lost in thought.

Since she had talked things out with Liu Miaomiao, she has basically stopped looking at Lu Mingfei and hasn't contacted him again.

She believed that Liu Miaomiao would definitely tell Lu Mingfei about it, and Lu Mingfei didn't come to her to say anything afterward, which meant that... this unrequited love that lasted for two and a half years really ended so abruptly and uneventfully.

Therefore, she deliberately avoided looking in that direction, to avoid giving Lu Mingfei any false impressions, and to prevent the mistake she had just made from continuing.

Wait until enough time has passed, long enough to pretend that it never happened.

She could finally breathe a sigh of relief, and Lu Mingfei could have a better future.

Perhaps, after the college entrance exam, we'll all go our separate ways, and when we meet again at a class reunion, we can still talk about this casually, as a topic of conversation.
That's what she thought, just like the simple and beautiful endings in many coming-of-age stories.

But the truth is now like a sharp knife, piercing through that thin paper and revealing everything to her in all its glory!

That's Lu Mingfei.

The boy was no longer hunched over; he had a neat short haircut that was so handsome it was almost impeccable, making people subconsciously want to touch it and see if it was real.

She exuded a calm demeanor, and there was no trace of her former timidity or humility in her eyes.

Reborn!

But Chen Wenwen still recognized him at a glance.

The wretched monkey who had followed her relentlessly for two and a half years finally gave up and left her, transforming into the radiant Monkey King, the Great Sage Equal to Heaven!
My heart felt like it had been hit hard by something, a mix of sourness and bitterness, carrying a belated flutter of emotion.

In an instant, Thackeray's Vanity Fair came to mind.

William Dupin and Amelia Seydley...what an ironic contrast, how similar they are!
Could it be that if she just wrote a letter, like Amelia confessing her belated love, Lu Mingfei would immediately turn back to her, just like Dubin did?

A cold, sharp gaze pierced her like a needle, jolting her awake from her daze.

She looked up in a panic and met Liu Miaomiao's gaze.

The usually gentle and elegant piano prodigy, who was always kind to everyone, suddenly changed her gaze completely. Her eyes were now sharp as a drawn knife, filled with undisguised vigilance and hostility!

It was as if they wanted to dissect and expose the nascent, hidden thoughts in her heart to the sunlight.

Chen Wenwen panicked, hastily averting her gaze and quickly walking to her seat. She sat down, opened her book, but her fingertips trembled slightly. The printed words on the pages blurred into a blotch of ink; she couldn't concentrate on anything.

"Yes, I already told Liu Miaomiao that back then..."

"Can't you take back what you've said?" A small, tempting voice suddenly popped into her mind.

"no!"

Another, more rational voice immediately retorted, tinged with panic.

"What if the chat logs are made public? Wouldn't we become a laughing stock? Do you really think Lu Mingfei is Du Bin? What if he doesn't come back?"
Besides, in two and a half years, with so many opportunities, how come others didn't realize he was the Monkey King? Now that you've thrown it away, you're thinking of taking it back? Have you no shame?!

With her mind in turmoil, Chen Wenwen stared blankly at the book in front of her.

For the first time in her life, she experienced a feeling. It was a strange and novel feeling, like overcooked maltose, bitter and burnt, clinging to her heart, something she would probably never forget, no matter how much time passed.

Its name is regret.

……

"Humph!"

Liu Miaomiao looked away and gave a soft hum.

Last night, she was depressed for a while at the beginning, and even thought about giving up, so she eventually drew the curtains.

But who told Lu Mingfei to send her a selfie?

She wanted to harden her heart and delete it, but in the end she couldn't bring herself to do it. Instead, she kept looking at the selfie while hesitating... as if Lu Mingfei was right in front of her, as close as she wanted.

In the end, she rallied her spirits and mustered her fighting will!

She currently has the smallest advantage in the battle for the "Imperial Seal of the State," but she is not without hope.

Winning a comeback game is the most satisfying, isn't it?
Although she hasn't come up with any feasible plans yet, it seems she can only pin her hopes on a four-handed piano duet...

But one thing is clear—there are already enough competitors!
So even though she felt heartbroken when she saw Su Xiaoqiang's post on the campus forum, thinking to herself, "Shameless to play the seduction game," she still wholeheartedly agreed with Su Xiaoqiang's "Closed for trading, no entry allowed."

Especially targeting Chen Wenwen!

The other girls were fine, but Chen Wenwen had the added bonus of being Lu Mingfei's "seemingly secret crush, but actually an open crush for two and a half years, and still his first love." Back then, Lu Mingfei was completely devoted to her, ignoring everyone else!

What if Chen Wenwen regrets it... no, she will definitely regret it. What if she wants to make amends, but Lu Mingfei can't resist?
First love is a hurdle that many men can't overcome!

So even though she knew her actions would be noticed by others, and that they might even post about it on the campus forum, Liu Miaomiao still mustered the courage to do it.

Su Xiaoqiang used his ultimate skill like a basic attack, so how could our side not do something in return?
Thinking of this, she quietly took out her phone and logged onto the campus forum... Sure enough, a post titled "[Liu Miaomiao glares at Chen Wenwen! Three of the Four Beauties of Shilan are suspected of joining forces to block the event? The battle is escalating!]" had already been featured and pinned.

"Don't these people study? They're moving so fast!"

Liu Miaomiao felt her cheeks burning again, her fingertips hovering over the screen, hesitating whether to click.

A new message popped up from Su Xiaoqiang—

"Well done! That Zero is obviously arrogant and can't be relied on. I can't go to school, so the task of keeping an eye on Chen Wenwen is yours! Hmm... I'll give you a little something extra after it's done!"

This tone!
Liu Miaomiao instantly bristled.

"I don't need your orders!"

She slammed her fingers on the screen in reply, "And don't talk like you've already won!"

"Fine, go ahead and use whatever tricks you have up your sleeve. I'll be watching." Su Xiaoqiang's reply carried his usual confidence and provocation.

Liu Miaomiao was so angry she almost crushed her phone, but couldn't think of a powerful counterattack. Su Xiaoqiang was always like that, always looking confident and poised to strike. But the problem was… what moves could she possibly make?

Tonight is practice time... Am I really just going to sit here doing nothing?

The girl's newly mustered fighting spirit was once again entangled by the harsh realities of life, and her brows furrowed and tightened.

……

Lu Mingfei is focused on his studies.

He was well aware of the commotion his changes would cause in the class, and he had even fantasized about the triumph he would feel at that moment. But after the initial thrill, that vanity quickly cooled and became utterly tasteless.

He doesn't care about the reactions of unimportant people; his heart is small, only big enough to hold a few people he cares about.

Needless to say, Uncle Chen naturally provided feedback on Chu Zihang. Su Xiaoqiang even personally transformed him into this. Zero had seen it and also delivered a devastating blow. Liu Miaomiao posted a selfie to let everyone know… Who else?

Gone.

Everyone else is unimportant.

Chen Wenwen? We parted amicably and went our separate ways. Last night, when I sent Liu Miaomiao a selfie, he just ignored the message. How could he still care?

In terms of academics, after reaching LV2 in mathematics, Lu Mingfei chose to temporarily put it aside.

Because it takes 400 skill points to go from LV2 to LV3!
This is clearly not something that can be achieved by simply reading a book on mathematical analysis. Lu Mingfei strongly suspects that it would require him to devour all the textbooks for a mathematics major throughout his entire undergraduate studies.

This is not something that can be accomplished in a day!
"Let's focus on physics first."

After a brief moment of thought, Lu Mingfei made a decision.

"The Physics LV2 attribute is definitely useful enough! It should be the most helpful to me right now..."

Thinking of this, Lu Mingfei's gaze fell on the Chinese language section of the proficiency panel, and he sighed inwardly.

"Theoretically speaking, the vocabulary provided by the Chinese language department is the strongest. But strong as it is, it's completely useless if you can't use it!"

"How do we 'express' the true meaning of words... and the images and insights we 'describe'?"

(End of this chapter)