Oh no! My yandere school beauty is so clingy!

Lin Anran was on the verge of an emotional outburst when Shen Yu's words were like a bucket of ice water, causing her boiling blood to suddenly freeze.

Her grip on the girl's wrist loosened slightly without her realizing it.

Those eyes, which were particularly cold and sharp because of anger, also turned to Shen Yu, filled with astonishment.

Cousin...cousin?

Shen Yu's...cousin?

She blinked, as if to process the information.

His gaze fell once again on the face of the girl whose wrist he was gripping.

The sense of territorial intrusion hadn't completely disappeared; it had simply transformed from sharp hostility into a deeper scrutiny and suspicion...

Even if it's my cousin, isn't this attitude a bit too... intimate?

That tone, that expression, that tearful look... were they really just ordinary cousins?

She's still unhappy...

But Shen Yu spoke up, telling her to let go.

Lin Anran pursed her lips and slowly released her grip.

The movements were not gentle; in fact, they were stiff and reluctant.

With a quick release of her wrist, the girl immediately pulled her hand back, leaving several clear red finger marks on her fair skin.

She winced in pain, rubbing her aching wrist. Her gaze shifted between Lin Anran and Shen Yu, before finally settling on Lin Anran.

Who is this girl who is so beautiful, yet has eyes as cold as knives, and is also quite strong?

Shen Yu's tone when he called out "Ranran" was gentler than she had ever heard before...

The girl suppressed the surging emotions in her heart, looked at Lin Anran, and tentatively spoke:

"Are you... Shen Yu's friend?"

Lin Anran said almost without thinking:

"girlfriend."

The girl's expression froze for a moment, a flurry of emotions—astonishment and surprise—fleeting by.

She took another closer look at Lin Anran... This girl, who was so beautiful she was almost aggressive, and whose eyes were full of possessiveness, was actually Shen Yu's girlfriend?

Shen Yu actually... has a girlfriend?

She watched Lin Anran standing close to Shen Yu, almost leaning half her body against him.

And Shen Yu's attitude, though expressionless, clearly indicated acquiescence and even a hint of protection.

She forced a slightly awkward and complicated smile, cleared her throat, and tried to make her voice sound natural as she spoke to Lin Anran:

"Oh, so you're... my girlfriend. Hi, I'm sorry about earlier, I was in such a rush."

She paused for a moment and then formally introduced herself:

"My name is Su Linxue, and I am Shen Yu's cousin."

She took the initiative to lower her stance and tried to ease the tense atmosphere from before.

After Su Linxue took the initiative to introduce and apologize, Lin Anran's expression softened slightly.

She nodded in response to Su Linxue's self-introduction, and then briefly gave her name:

My name is Lin Anran.

His tone was flat, revealing little emotion; there was neither the previous tension nor much warmth.

After a brief introduction, Su Linxue's attention immediately returned to Shen Yu.

"Shen Yu..."

"How are you doing? Are you doing well? Have you been staying here the whole time? Everyone at home says you went to another city and they can't contact you. I've tried everything to reach you... What happened?"

She took a small step forward, trying to get closer to Shen Yu, but then stopped because of Lin Anran's watchful gaze.

"Why did you delete all my contact information? Why... are you pretending not to know me?"

"Did I do something wrong? Or... did something happen at home? Tell me, I'm so worried about you."

She fired off a barrage of questions, carrying with her long-suppressed confusion and worries.

Shen Yu listened quietly, his face expressionless; he could roughly guess what was going on.

When he broke with his family, he almost completely severed all ties with them.

He deleted all contact information for people he was connected with, including some relatives who still cared about him but whom he no longer wanted to have any dealings with.

Su Linxue, his aunt's daughter, was one of the few relatives who were kind to him.

When he was at his worst with his family, Su Linxue privately tried to persuade him and said a few words in his defense.

But precisely because of this, Shen Yu was even more unwilling to drag her into his quagmire.

Since you've decided to cut ties, then cut them off cleanly; it's better for both of you.

Presumably, it was his aunt, Su Linxue's mother, who lied to Su Linxue in order to completely sever ties with her daughter, saying that he had gone to a faraway place and that's why they couldn't contact him.

He understood his aunt's actions and never considered contacting Su Linxue again to disrupt the peace.

I never expected to run into you here in this way.

The urgency and worry in Su Linxue's eyes were genuine.

Shen Yu could tell, but he didn't intend to explain too much.

Let bygones be bygones. In his world now, there is only Lin Anran and the new life that is about to begin for them.

He didn't want to, and didn't need to, get involved with any unnecessary entanglements with people and things from the past, especially Su Linxue, and he didn't want Lin Anran to feel uneasy because of these old stories.

So, under Su Linxue's eager gaze, Shen Yu shook his head and said:

"It's nothing."

"I don't want to explain anything, I'm doing very well now."

"so..."

"That's fine, I don't want to be disturbed."

Su Linxue was frozen in place by this merciless rejection.

Looking at Shen Yu's distant and indifferent face, she felt an indescribable bitterness and helplessness welling up inside her.

She bit her lip and continued:

"Shen Yu! I know... I know you must be very sad and disappointed, especially about your family..."

"But, Shen Yu, I... I really want to know if you're doing well right now, if you're having any difficulties. I didn't mean to disturb your life, I... I'm just very worried about you."

"We're family after all, blood relatives. If you have any difficulties, you can tell me. Maybe I can help you? At least... at least let me know you're safe."

The words "family" were like a tiny needle, gently pricking Lin Anran.

The way it was said, especially with such an emotionally binding tone, felt jarring to her, as if it were implying some kind of connection that she couldn't intervene in.

Instinctively, her fingers curled slightly into a fist, and her brows furrowed a little...

Shen Yu did not miss her subtle change in emotion.

Or rather, a large part of Shen Yu's attention was always focused on her.

He interrupted Su Linxue, who was about to continue:

"my family..."

He paused for a moment, then shifted his gaze from Su Linxue's face to Lin Anran, who was leaning against him.

"Right now, she's all alone."