Back to my parents when I was seventeen

When Xu Chu Ning returned to the classroom from the bathroom, he was shocked.

Deng Xitong had been holding it in all the way, but when she sat down, she finally couldn't help laughing out loud.

Chen Mengyao at the table in front heard the laughter and turned to look at her, "What are you laughing at? Did you see a joke?"

Deng Xitong laughed to herself for a long time before wiping away the tears of laughter. She glanced at Xu Chuning, then looked back at Shen Sinian who was chatting with He Jianzhang, and then answered Chen Mengyao's question, "...I heard something funnier than a joke."

Chen Mengyao was curious, "What?"

Deng Xitong waved her hand, "I can't tell you."

Chen Mengyao: “…”

She rolled her eyes at her unhappily and snorted, "Okay, then I won't tell you any gossip next time."

Deng Xitong: “No.”

She quickly explained to Chen Mengyao, "What I just heard is really ridiculous and outrageous."

"What could be more outrageous than what I heard?" Chen Mengyao was surprised.

Deng Xitong was stunned, and asked with wide eyes, "What did you hear?"

Chen Mengyao raised her eyes slightly and motioned Deng Xitong to turn back.

Deng Xitong turned around and happened to meet Shen Sinian's eyes.

Their eyes met for a few seconds, and Deng Xitong turned away, "It's okay, I'm doing a vision test."

Shen Sinian: “?”

He said "oh" in confusion and didn't ask any more questions.

Deng Xitong looked back at Chen Mengyao and asked in a low voice, "...The gossip you are talking about is not about Shen Sinian, right?"

Chen Mengyao: “Yes.”

Deng Xitong looked at her indifferent expression, pursed her lips nervously, and asked speculatively, "...Is it related to Shen Yubai?"

Chen Mengyao's eyes lit up and she guessed, "What you heard, wasn't it from them as well?"

Deng Xitong: "...You are so smart."

Chen Mengyao coughed and said calmly, "This is gossip that cannot be told."

She muttered, "Someone in school has already spread the news."

Xu Chu Ning, who was listening to the conversation at the side, said at the right time, "When did it start spreading?"

"After the cafeteria incident last time, people started spreading rumors." Chen Mengyao looked at her, "But at first, the rumors were relatively normal, just saying that the two people were brothers. Later, it became a little outrageous."

Xu Chu Ning didn't often hang out on campus forums, nor did she join any gossip groups. Even if she did, she didn't have the time to follow them, so it was normal that she didn't know about them.

Hearing Chen Mengyao say this, Xu Chu Ning frowned, "Does anyone believe this?"

Chen Mengyao whispered, "Yes, some people spread it so convincingly that it's hard not to believe it."

Deng Xitong looked up, "You probably didn't believe it, did you?"

Chen Mengyao rolled her eyes at her and said, "I'm not stupid."

At this point, she asked her, "Where did you two hear that?"

"Bathroom." Deng Xitong said.

Chen Mengyao nodded. The bathroom was indeed a good place to spread gossip.

“That’s all you heard?” she asked.

Deng Xitong glanced at Xu Chuning and said hesitantly, "And what about Shen Yubai going to the art building with a girl?"

Chen Mengyao was surprised, "What? When did this happen? How come I don't know about it?"

"It was said to be at noon." Deng Xitong said, "But it's false."

Chen Mengyao: "How do you know?"

Deng Xitong: "Because we had lunch together at noon."

Chen Mengyao didn’t eat in the cafeteria at noon, so she didn’t know.

Hearing what Deng Xitong said, she sighed with disappointment, "Well, I thought there was some really explosive gossip."

Deng Xitong: “…”

The class bell rang again.

Chen Mengyao turned around and sat down.

Deng Xitong tilted her head and raised her hand to poke Xu Chuning's arm. "Don't be nervous. The rumor that Shen Yubai went to the art building with a girl will definitely be broken after school."

Xu Chu Ning hummed and said helplessly: "I'm not nervous at all."

Even if other students knew that it was she who went to the art building with Shen Yubai, it didn't matter. The two of them hadn't done anything shameful, nor were they in a premature relationship. Even if rumors were spreading, Xu Chuning was confident that she could prove her innocence.

However, self-provenness takes time and will delay many things.

And even if you prove yourself, not everyone will necessarily believe you.

So Xu Chu Ning thought, if this rumor can be nipped in the bud, then try to nip it in the bud.

As for what happened to Shen Yubai and Shen Sinian, it was pure nonsense. She believed that even if some classmates told the teacher about it, the teacher would not believe it at all.

Thinking of this, Xu Chu Ning felt a little relieved.

Similarly, she also felt deeply that she could no longer walk alone with Shen Yubai in the future. The few times she met him, she was seen by her classmates and then spread the news.

For a moment, she didn't know whether she was unlucky or Shen Yubai was too conspicuous.

A few days later, Xu Chuning and Shen Yubai met, but when they stood together, there was either Shen Sinian or Ban Shu between them.

At the beginning, Shen Yubai didn't realize that Xu Chuning was avoiding him. By the time he realized this, there was only half a month left before the final exam.

Xu Chu Ning must study hard to get the scholarship, so Shen Yubai couldn't stop her and ask her why she was avoiding him. Was it because his piano playing was not good enough, or had he offended her again?

Shen Yubai thought about it and decided somewhat unhappily that he would definitely find Xu Chuning to have a good talk after the final exam.

And Xu Chu Ning had no idea that Shen Yubai, a grown man, could be so sensitive.

She distanced herself from him simply because she didn't want to be distracted by the rumors before the final exam. She just wanted to focus on reviewing.

That day, the six of them had breakfast together and walked to school.

At some point, Yu Gaoyi, Ban Shu, and Cheng Mingyin, who lived near the school, joined the three of them for breakfast. They had breakfast with them in the shop and then walked to school.

As he walked, Xu Chu Ning found that the person next to him turned into Shen Yubai.

Realizing this, she subconsciously looked around for Cheng Mingyin.

It was a bit unfortunate that Cheng Mingyin was chatting with Yu Gaoyi.

Watching this, Xu Chu Ning silently slowed down his pace and decided to distance himself from Shen Yubai without making a sound.

But what she didn't expect was that even though she took small steps, Shen Yubai was still beside her.

Xu Chuning frowned and turned to look at the boy next to her. Shen Yubai had his head down and was looking at his phone, as if he didn't notice her little thoughts at all.

Thinking of this, Xu Chu Ning took another big step and quickened his pace a little bit as he moved forward.

Two minutes later, Shen Yubai was still standing side by side with her.

"..."

Xu Chuning is not a fool. If she can't find the problem, then she won't be able to rank first in the grade every year.

"Shen Yubai." She pursed her lips and couldn't help but speak.

Shen Yubai raised his eyes slightly, and turned his fair and handsome face towards her, "What's wrong?"

Xu Chu Ning looked at his calm expression and couldn't help wondering if she was overthinking. She was silent for a moment, and finally set her eyes on his phone, "What are you looking at?"

Shen Yubai calmly put away his phone and said without any emotion, "Nothing."

Xu Chu Ning: “…Oh.”

Shen Yubai glanced sideways, paused, and asked, "Are you not hiding anymore?"