Chapter 28: Chapter 28 I hope you can trust me

Xie Xiao's heart only wanted to give the little girl a round of applause, but of course, I'd be happier if the person holding your hand wasn't our homeroom teacher.

Xie Xiao sighed inwardly.

But with a serious face, he said, "Not at all, little sister. Big brother and big sister haven't even graduated from high school yet. Early romance is not allowed, your dad would punish us!"

The last sentence was deliberately spoken in a hushed tone.

Then he looked at Teacher Lin and said normally, "I just ran into the school senior at the entrance. We had only exchanged a few words when you called me, Teacher Lin."

Xie Xiao had the face of a good student, and his grades were indeed excellent.

So, generally, whatever he said was rarely doubted by the teachers.

Teacher Lin glanced at Luo Yanran, who stood by with an embarrassed expression on her face.

He believed Xie Xiao's words because usually, the brat didn't have any other girls around him.

So he told the little girl, "Don't talk nonsense. Look how embarrassed your sister is, now apologize to the brother and sister."

The little girl's big, round eyes still circled around the two of them, clearly still doubtful.

Luo Yanran also spoke up, "It's okay, she's just a child. Children say the darndest things. Teacher, did you come to buy books?"

"No, I'm taking her out to the mall across the street. Are you all here to buy books as well?" Teacher Lin said to Luo Yanran with a smile on his face, for although he had never taught the girl, he knew her performance was exceptional.

He remembered how Mr. Li from his office was upset for a long time when she decided to repeat a year. It wasn't exactly upset; it was more a sense of regret.

No teacher dislikes a good student, especially one who is good-looking, excels academically, and is polite.

At that moment, Luo Yanran nodded, "I didn't do well in the last mock exam either, so I came to look for a workbook. I won't disturb you any further, Teacher. I'll go inside now."

Teacher Lin said with a smile, "Go ahead. It's rare to have time off, and you're still so dedicated to studying. You should take a page out of her book, Xie Xiao!"

His tone was slightly exasperated as he addressed Xie Xiao last.

Xie Xiao: ...Aren't I standing at the entrance of the bookstore? How am I not being earnest?

In the end, he didn't dare to speak up and could only watch helplessly as Luo Yanran entered the bookstore first.

Teacher Lin clearly wasn't ready to let him off the hook and kept nagging him about the importance of studying and taking mock exams seriously...

Finally, the little girl grew impatient and began to throw a fit, causing Teacher Lin to stop his lecture and wave him off, "Alright, go and buy your books."

Xie Xiao breathed a sigh of relief, "I almost thought you were going to teach me a lesson right here."

His mischievous demeanor almost made Teacher Lin want to nag at him again.

Xie Xiao quickly bent down and tousled the little girl's hair, "Bye-bye, pretty girl."

The little girl also smiled and said, "Bye-bye, big brother. You're very handsome too!"

Then, in a whisper, she said, "The sister just now was very pretty. Go and chase after her, and if dad scolds you, I'll back you up!"

She even made a cheering gesture.

Xie Xiao was somewhat amused. How come kids these days are so precocious?

Teacher Lin patted his daughter's head with a helpless tone, "I heard that!"

Xie Xiao waved to the two of them, "I'm off!"

Then he quickly ran into the library, genuinely afraid that Teacher Lin would keep on with his monologue.

Watching his figure dash away as if being chased, Teacher Lin couldn't help but curse, "Little rascal."

Yet his voice was tinted with amusement.

Not sure if it was his imagination, but he felt like Xie Xiao had changed a lot recently, seeming much more cheerful than before. S~eaʀᴄh the nôvel_Fire.ηet website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.

That's good, as long as his grades don't drop.

At that thought, Teacher Lin sighed.

In the end, he went to the mall with his impatient daughter.

After entering the door, Xie Xiao sent a message to Luo Yanran, asking where she was.

She responded with one word: third floor.

The third floor was mainly where workbooks were sold.

Upon arriving, Xie Xiao realized there were quite a few people, including a couple of familiar faces, two from his own grade, and three from other schools whom he'd met during competitions.

The place was very quiet, and they all nodded to each other as a way of greeting.

It took Xie Xiao a while to find Luo Yanran, who was squatting on the ground searching for a workbook.

He walked over and silently squatted beside her.

Probably knowing that he would come to look for her, Luo Yanran didn't have much of a reaction.

She just asked very softly, "Has the teacher left?"

Xie Xiao also spoke in a hushed tone, "No, it was me who ran off."

A look of surprise appeared on Luo Yanran's face.

Before Xie Xiao had come in, her emotions had almost calmed down.

Moreover, the atmosphere here also made it easy for people to relax.

However, since they were both speaking in hushed tones, they were very close to each other.

This proximity made Luo Yanran's heart, which had finally settled, become slightly restless again.

She averted her gaze and placed the workbook she was holding into his hands, "This one is good."

Then she stood up.

Xie Xiao looked up at her, and from this angle, her legs seemed even longer.

He let out a breath and stood up as well.

Then he began to follow her.

Luo Yanran had repeated a year, so she actually knew which problems to review to be more effective.

Previously, when Xie Xiao said he didn't perform well, Luo Yanran thought he was just comforting her.

It was only after she saw the rankings that she fell silent. How was that doing poorly? Out of a grade with just over 400 students, he ranked in the two hundreds.

This was a far cry from Xie Xiao's usual level.

Luo Yanran inevitably wondered, like others, whether it was because of Zhou Mianmian.

Now everyone knew that he and Zhou Mianmian had apparently had a falling out.

Luo Yanran's eyelashes drooped as a contemplative flash crossed her eyes.

Then she stopped walking, just as Xie Xiao extended his hand to flip through a workbook.

He then heard Luo Yanran ask tentatively and uncertainly, "Your performance on this test was so much worse than before."

This examination was like a baseline test at the beginning of the school term; after all, they had just returned from vacation, and it was quite normal for grades to fluctuate a bit.

But for someone like Xie Xiao, such a drastic drop was obviously not normal.

When Xie Xiao heard her question, he was touched and looked up at her with a smile in his eyes, "Are you also wondering if it has anything to do with Zhou Mianmian?"

Unexpectedly, he directly countered with that question, and Luo Yanran felt a little embarrassed but did not look away.

That was an implicit admission.

Xie Xiao was quite pleased inside; at least she was willing to tentatively inquire about Zhou Mianmian.

If she hadn't asked anything, he would have been a bit anxious.

Did this mean she was beginning to confront his behavior over this period?

"It has nothing much to do with her, I can't say there's no relation at all, but it's not significant. I purely didn't look at a single book over the holiday, and I didn't review before the exam. But this was much worse than I expected; I wouldn't dare try it again," he said with a tone of helplessness.

"So many people have been asking me about this recently; I really don't dare anymore," Xie Xiao continued.

Luo Yanran didn't expect him to be so candid; it still had something to do with Zhou Mianmian, but not much.

The answer sounded too real.

Luo Yanran almost immediately believed him.

Just as she was about to apologize for prying too much,

she heard Xie Xiao say, "Although I've told many people many times, I still want to tell you, I am not dating Zhou Mianmian. It doesn't matter whether others believe it or not, I hope you can trust me."

After he spoke, he looked at Luo Yanran earnestly, watching the pretty face that slowly revealed a faint smile because of his words.