Chapter 208 - 176: A Massive Amount of Information

Chapter 208: Chapter 176: A Massive Amount of Information

At lunchtime, following the teacher’s declaration of "Class dismissed," the exhausted students stood up one by one, chattering about random things as they headed to the cafeteria.

Jiang Qian also rose to go to the cafeteria. Only Fang Meng and Lin Zhengran remained in their seats.

Throughout the morning, ever since the dean mentioned the heroic incident, hordes of students—especially girls—flocked to Fang Meng during every break to ask what had happened. However, no one approached Lin Zhengran because Jiang Qian was by his side.

For the past three years, everyone in the class knew that the vice president liked the president. At least, that was the general consensus. The relationship between the two class presidents was quite delicate.

"What’s the situation, Fang Meng? When did you get together with the class president?"

"Yeah, Fang Meng, did you swoop in and snatch him from the vice president?"

"Have you two gone on a lot of dates? How far have you progressed? Have you kissed? Or are you already at *that* stage?"

"Does the class president ever act cute with you?"

"I’m so jealous of you, Fang Meng."

The barrage of chaotic questions gave Fang Meng a massive headache, even though she repeatedly emphasized that they were not in that kind of relationship. But some of the more bizarre questions made even her blush. And once she blushed, no one believed they were just normal friends anymore. Most people simply assumed it wasn’t convenient to talk about such things at school, perhaps because the teachers had already warned them.

After all, there was a video on the official school account, and the Fang Meng in the video was pressed very close to Lin Zhengran. So, even if she refused to admit it, everyone still felt that the two were definitely dating.

Those absurd questions caused Jiang Qian, who was sitting by the wall, to wear a tense expression, her fingers unconsciously curling into tight fists. Fang Meng noticed Jiang Qian’s reaction as well. She sighed in her heart, lamenting how the situation was getting increasingly troublesome. Could they really still reconcile after this?

Now that school was dismissed for the afternoon, Jiang Qian left the classroom like a thorny ice queen.

Fang Meng kept staring at Jiang Qian’s retreating figure. Feeling helpless, she sprawled over her desk and buried her face in her arms. "It’s over," she muttered to herself.

Lin Zhengran didn’t look back; instead, he glanced outside the classroom. Those three girls hadn’t come over yet, meaning their classes likely hadn’t ended.

Fang Meng lifted her head slightly to look at him. "Lin Zhengran? Why haven’t you gone to eat yet?"

"I’m waiting for people," Lin Zhengran replied. "Waiting for those three to finish class."

Fang Meng recalled the three beautiful girls from the next class. "Speaking of which... everyone knows about your heroic deed now. Those three probably know about it too. I’m sorry, I’m the one who dragged you into this mess. If you need me to testify for you, I can do it anytime."

Lin Zhengran had actually guessed how those three would react the moment the homeroom teacher brought it up that morning. He gave a helpless smile. "Thanks, but it’s fine. We aren’t really a couple anyway, so it’s easy for me to explain. What about you? When do you plan to confess the truth to Jiang Qian? You’ve sung the songs and drank the alcohol. You should have enough courage by now, right?"

Fang Meng lowered her head and stared at the desktop. "Tonight. Even though there’s been another unexpected incident, tonight it is. I’ll go talk to Qianqian. Do or die, this is it." She stood up and headed for the cafeteria. "I’m going to eat."

"Yeah, take care."

Fang Meng reached the door, but a sudden question popped into her head. "By the way, I’m still really curious—which of those three is actually your girlfriend? At first, I thought it was He Qing. Later, during my investigation, I found that Jiang Xueli seemed remarkably close to you too. As for Han Wenwen, it’s not as clear, but I always get the feeling that she’s unfathomable... like a fox.

"You said before that you weren’t two-timing," Fang Meng casually blurted out a truth that even she deemed impossible. "You couldn’t have meant... that you’re actually three-timing right now, could you?"

Lin Zhengran turned his head and glanced at Fang Meng. The two of them stared at each other once again, looking directly into each other’s eyes. Neither knew how many times they had locked eyes for such a prolonged period.

In the past, Fang Meng had always remained expressionless. But this time, after the KTV incident, she suddenly recalled his comforting profile as he sang to her. To her surprise, his gaze made her blush, and she shyly turned her head away.

"Forget I said anything. I don’t think you’d do something like that anyway. Besides, it’s none of my business. I’m going to eat. If you need me to explain things, just find me anytime. Also, I haven’t forgotten that I owe you a favor."

Fang Meng left the classroom and walked down the corridor, her hand slowly coming up to clutch her chest. Her heart was racing inexplicably. She couldn’t understand what was going on. She reasoned that it was probably because she hadn’t slept well last night, causing her heart rate to spike. It had to be a perfectly normal phenomenon.

A short while later, Class Three was finally dismissed for lunch.

Amidst the bustling crowd heading to the cafeteria, He Qing, Jiang Xueli, and Han Wenwen appeared together at the door of Lin Zhengran’s classroom. The Three Royal Families glared at a certain someone with burning eyes, looking as if they all had something to say.

Inside, Lin Zhengran stood up with a sweatdrop, readily accepting whatever was about to happen next. Sure enough, as the four of them left the teaching building, He Qing kept her head down with her hands clasped in front of her. Jiang Xueli held her hands behind her back, her lips pressed tightly together. Han Wenwen linked arms with Xiao Heqing, her eyes glancing at Lin Zhengran from time to time. Each of them had their own little tics.

Lin Zhengran took the initiative. "Do all three of you know what happened last week?"

The three girls uniformly stiffened and looked at him. Surprisingly, they started off with praise.

"We saw," Xiao Heqing said softly. "Lin Zhengran, you looked so handsome doing that heroic deed."

"It was quite impressive," Jiang Xueli agreed. "You pinned him down all by yourself. Even I thought you looked really handsome when I saw the video."

Han Wenwen smiled. "It seems Lin Zhengran has gained quite a few more fangirls at school." Whether the Little Fox meant this as a compliment was anyone’s guess.

After speaking, however, all three instantly fell silent, waiting for him to explain.

Lin Zhengran didn’t beat around the bush and kept it brief. "Last week, I was just helping her out. She took care of my mom, so I was returning the favor. We aren’t in the kind of relationship the rumors claim. Don’t you three believe me?"

"Took care of your mom?" Han Wenwen repeated.

"Returning her favor?" Jiang Xueli echoed.

"That’s a lot of information," He Qing added. "Does she know your parents? Has she even been to your house?"

Lin Zhengran was speechless. It seemed this matter really couldn’t be explained clearly in just a sentence or two.

Han Wenwen smiled with profound meaning, while Jiang Xueli haughtily turned her head and huffed. Only Xiao Heqing spoke up timidly and pitifully.

"Okay, I believe that you two aren’t together. I trust you with everything else, but for this... I can only believe you a little bit. Because, Lin Zhengran, you wouldn’t spend time alone with a girl you dislike, right?

"And your playboy tendencies aren’t a new development either. You’ve been like this since we were little—you love playing with pretty girls and stealing their hearts."

Lin Zhengran found those words incredibly strange. When was he ever a playboy as a kid? How come he didn’t remember that?

Jiang Xueli huffed arrogantly, "I also think that the moment we take our eyes off you, you start hitting on pretty girls. Are you really that addicted? You playboy!" She added the second half of her sentence inwardly, thinking that two girls clearly weren’t enough to satisfy him.

Han Wenwen followed up immediately, "Anyway, Lin Zhengran, a scandal like this can’t just be brushed off with a sentence or two. Besides, you just revealed way too much information in one breath. It’s not easy to explain it properly in front of Lili and Qingqing. It’d be better to explain it individually so you can make things clearer."

Jiang Xueli and He Qing nodded upon hearing this. They also thought that an individual explanation would be better. For one, they all wanted to spend time alone with Lin Zhengran. For another, they both felt that this kind of issue couldn’t just be resolved with words—there had to be some kissing and hugging involved to smooth things over, right?

"See? Everyone thinks so," Han Wenwen smiled.

Her suggestion was actually out of consideration for Lin Zhengran, taking the initiative to temporarily help him dodge the immediate crisis. But that simple sentence of his... had a bit too much to unpack. So, once they were alone, the Little Fox fully intended to interrogate him and get to the bottom of everything that had happened between Fang Meng and Zhengran.

Han Wenwen believed him when Zhengran said he wasn’t her boyfriend. However, she had just felt a very strong premonition—a premonition that Fang Meng had likely already started falling for him...

Seeing that everyone was in agreement, Lin Zhengran nodded in compliance. "Alright then. We can talk about this in detail when I’m alone with each of you?"

The three girls nodded.

Jiang Xueli suggested, "Let’s do it this afternoon. Both of our classes happen to have PE this afternoon anyway. He Qing, you and I can split up then and talk to Zhengran individually. How about that?"

Xiao Heqing nodded. "Okay."

Both Jiang Xueli and Xiao Heqing had their own ideas brewing in their minds. And so did Han Wenwen.