Chapter 3: 03

Chapter 3

Lu Zhe returned after filling up the water, only to find that the rabbit that had been on the desk had somehow jumped to the floor.

He picked up the small bunny that looked like a snowball.

Su Ci let out a sigh of relief as she fell into the boy's ice-cold palms. She was exhausted.

When the class bell rang, students gradually returned to the classroom. After a period of physical education, everyone was in high spirits, creating a lively atmosphere with their chatter and playful banter.

Lu Zhe, quietly reading his book, appeared particularly isolated amidst the commotion.

Li Dongliang walked in bouncing a basketball, his body covered in sweat, with both his hair and back soaked through. He returned to his seat, twisted open his drink, and took several big gulps before leaning back in his chair. He glanced at Lu Zhe beside him - while all the other boys had gone to play basketball, Lu Zhe could only sit alone in the classroom. Tsk, quite pitiful.

Jia Mingyang, sitting in the front row, was searching for his watch.

"It's gone," Jia Mingyang said with furrowed brows as he rummaged through his drawer.

His deskmate exclaimed in surprise, "How could it just disappear? Could you have left it somewhere?"

He remembered that Jia Mingyang's watch was bought at the beginning of this month, reportedly brought back by his father from abroad. It cost five figures, and when he had shown it off to everyone, it had sparked quite a bit of envy.

"I put my watch in the drawer before PE class. It couldn't be anywhere else," Jia Mingyang said with certainty.

"Could it have been stolen?" his deskmate asked in shock.

"My watch doesn't have legs. It must have been stolen."

Jia Mingyang walked straight to the last row and slammed Lu Zhe's desk, demanding, "Did you steal my watch?"

In the drawer, Su Ci heard the boy's accusation against Lu Zhe. She perked up her rabbit ears, ready to witness the drama.

Lu Zhe raised his eyes to look at him.

"My watch is missing, and you were the only one in the classroom. Did you steal it?" Jia Mingyang's voice was loud, drawing the attention of surrounding classmates. Zhao Youyou, who had just returned to the classroom, was stunned upon hearing his words.

Meeting Lu Zhe's cold gaze, Jia Mingyang remained undaunted. "Give me back my watch."

Lu Zhe replied, "I don't have your watch."

"I put my watch in the drawer, and you were the only one in the classroom. If it wasn't you, who else could it be?" Jia Mingyang's confident tone sparked discussions among the onlookers.

Lu Zhe scoffed coldly, "You're making baseless accusations."

Jia Mingyang lifted his chin, "Whether I'm making baseless accusations or not, we'll know once we search your bag."

Li Dongliang, who didn't get along with Jia Mingyang, lazily interjected, "You have no evidence. What right do you have to search someone's belongings? If you suspect your watch was stolen, just check the security cameras."

"Hah, the cameras have been broken for two days," Jia Mingyang said with hidden satisfaction in his eyes. He looked at Lu Zhe, "If you won't let me search, I'll get a teacher to do it."

In the drawer, Su Ci snorted. This boy was so shameless.

"Wait," Zhao Youyou came over, "We're all classmates. There's no need to make this a bigger issue."

She remembered that in her previous life, a similar incident had occurred. Lu Zhe had refused to let his bag be searched, and Jia Mingyang had reported it to the teacher. In the end, the teacher had found the watch in Lu Zhe's bag. Even though Lu Zhe denied it, the evidence was there, and he received a demerit from the school.

She couldn't let this happen again.

Zhao Youyou gave Lu Zhe a complicated look, then asked Jia Mingyang softly, "If he lets you search his bag, will you not involve the teachers?"

Jia Mingyang, facing the suddenly beautiful Zhao Youyou, maintained a decent attitude, "Yes, but Lu Zhe really did steal my watch. He needs to apologize and run ten laps around the track."

Hearing this, the surrounding students clicked their tongues.

Running ten laps around the track might just be tiring for others, but for Lu Zhe, who couldn't even attend PE class, it was like asking for half his life. This punishment was cruel.

"Brother, let him search. Running ten laps is better than making this a bigger issue," Zhao Youyou said gently, trying to persuade Lu Zhe.

Zhao Youyou analyzed that compared to Lu Zhe's previous life where he was known throughout the school as a thief and endured discrimination and abuse, simply apologizing and running laps to resolve this matter was clearly the better choice.

In the drawer, Su Ci gnawed her rabbit teeth in anger. Wasn't Zhao Youyou's implication basically admitting that Lu Zhe had taken the watch?

Was Zhao Youyou helping Lu Zhe or setting him up? As Lu Zhe's nominal sister, shouldn't she have at least some trust in him?

Watching the little rabbit's head gently nuzzling Lu Zhe's palm, soft and adorable, it was enough to make one's heart melt.

Li Dongliang immediately moved his desk closer to Lu Zhe's, leaning over to ask, "Lu Zhe, did you bring a rabbit to school?"

Lu Zhe's palm tickled from the rabbit's nuzzling, "Mm."

"Let me pet it."

Li Dongliang's eyes were glued to the little bunny, unable to look away. Such a tiny ball of fluff must be so soft to touch.

"No," Lu Zhe said while looking at the blackboard, his fingertips gently pinching the bunny's ear tips.

Su Ci's rabbit ears were very sensitive. Being teased by Lu Zhe's slender fingers made her so weak that she flopped down immediately.

Don't pinch her ears!

Li Dongliang wouldn't give up. He put on a humble face: quite the contrast from his usual role as the class bully: and said, "I stood up for you against Jia Mingyang earlier. Let me pet the little bunny."

Li Dongliang was tall and strong, but he had always loved pink things and fluffy animals. His backpack was hot pink, his shoes were pink, and his socks were pink too. If not for the school uniform requirement, he would wear pink every day. As for fluffy animals, his mother was allergic to animal fur, so they couldn't keep pets at home. Otherwise, he would have had ten pets by now.

Seeing the adorable little bunny now, he desperately wanted to pet it.

Lu Zhe called him out directly, "You were just watching the drama earlier."

Li Dongliang, thick-skinned as ever, made an offer, "I'll buy you breakfast for a month if you let me pet it."

Lu Zhe refused: "No."

"How about I give you a hundred yuan to borrow the bunny for an hour?" Li Dongliang knew that Lu Zhe had been kicked out of his foster family's home and needed money for medical treatment, so he probably didn't have much money.

Su Ci looked up at this obsessed fan. She didn't want to be petted by him at all. She hugged Lu Zhe's fingers with both paws and buried her head in his palm.

Lu Zhe felt the warmth of the little snowball nuzzling his palm. He smiled slightly, "No."

Li Dongliang wanted to say more but caught the math teacher's warning glance from the podium. He sheepishly closed his mouth and could only watch enviously as Lu Zhe petted the bunny.

The bunny's ears were pink and white, so cute.

The bunny's nose was light pink, so cute.

The bunny's little feet were fluffy and white, so cute.

Li Dongliang was becoming increasingly infatuated.

......

After school.

Su Ci sat properly in Lu Zhe's cold palm as he held her, watching Jia Mingyang running angrily on the track field under the scorching sun, sweating profusely.

Serves him right!

Thinking about how she had bitten that watch and dropped it by the garbage bin, and couldn't even wash her mouth afterward, Su Ci wished he would run a few more laps.

Watching Jia Mingyang complete his tenth lap, his pace getting slower and slower, Lu Zhe remained expressionless, showing no sympathy.

During their confrontation, Jia Mingyang must have had the watch in his backpack, but when it was searched, the watch wasn't there. Jia Mingyang's expression had been one of shock.

He was shocked that the watch wasn't in the backpack.

Lu Zhe's eyes darkened.

So, Jia Mingyang had put the watch in his backpack, but for some unknown reason, the watch ended up by the garbage bin.

He looked down at the bunny in his palm, remembering that when he returned from getting water, the bunny had been on the ground.

He lifted the bunny to eye level, their gazes meeting.

Su Ci blinked, her red eyes watery and bright.

She was someone who believed in returning favors. Quick, give her a kiss!