Chapter 10: Operation: Fake Boyfriend?!

"This is a terrible idea," Shen Yu muttered under his breath.

The plan was simple: when the girl from Class B confessed, Shen Yu would swoop in and pretend to be Lu Zhixuan's boyfriend. That way, the girl would give up, and Lu Zhixuan wouldn't have to deal with rejecting her directly.

Simple in theory. A disaster waiting to happen in practice.

They stood near the school's courtyard, where the confession was about to take place. Lu Zhixuan was leaning casually against a tree, looking utterly unbothered, while Shen Yu was pacing anxiously.

"Relax," Lu Zhixuan said lazily. "You'll give us away if you look so nervous."

"I am nervous!" Shen Yu hissed. "Why do I have to be the fake boyfriend? Couldn't you just say you're not interested?"

Lu Zhixuan smirked. "Where's the fun in that?"

Before Shen Yu could argue, the girl arrived, clutching a letter with trembling hands. "Lu Zhixuan, I—I really like you! Please accept my feelings!"

Shen Yu took a deep breath, stepped forward, and—before his brain could stop him—grabbed Lu Zhixuan's hand.

"Sorry," Shen Yu blurted, squeezing tighter than necessary. "But Lu Zhixuan is already taken!"

The girl gasped. "W-What?"

Lu Zhixuan, to Shen Yu's horror, actually played along.

He turned to Shen Yu, his expression unreadable—until the corners of his lips lifted in a slow, amused smile. "That's right."

Then, in the most infuriating move possible, he pulled Shen Yu closer, their shoulders brushing, and said smoothly, "I already have someone I like."

Shen Yu's heart nearly exploded out of his chest.

The girl's face fell. "Oh... I see."

After an awkward pause, she bowed and hurried away.

As soon as she was out of sight, Shen Yu practically jumped away from Lu Zhixuan. "ARE YOU INSANE?!"

Lu Zhixuan chuckled. "What? You did well."

Shen Yu's face was burning. "You—you didn't have to get so close! And what was that 'someone I like' nonsense?!"

Lu Zhixuan just smiled, eyes glinting with something unreadable. "Who knows? Maybe I was telling the truth."

Shen Yu forgot how to breathe.