"The last period this afternoon is PE. Why don't we ask for leave and go to the music building to practice our piece?"
Early the next morning, Li Menglai found Lin Murun and Jiang Yuxi.
"Then I'll go get my violin at noon," Lin Murun agreed.
Li Menglai paused, startled. "Oh, I forgot! You're a boarder."
"I can go home and get mine; my house is quite close to the school," Jiang Yuxi said, then suggested to Lin Murun, "You have to eat during the lunch break, so there probably won't be enough time to go home and back. How about Menglai and I practice first, and you go back tonight instead?"
"It's fine," Lin Murun said, glancing at him. "There's enough time."
Jiang Yuxi was taken aback for a moment, then smiled. "That's good, then."
"I'm sorry," Li Menglai said, looking at Lin Murun with an apologetic smile. "I should have told you earlier."
"It's okay," Lin Murun replied.
Nearby, Yu Qianyi happened to overhear their conversation and hurried over to ask, "Are you guys rehearsing this afternoon? Take me with you! I want to listen too."
"But the PE teacher takes attendance every class," Li Menglai noted.
"It's fine! I'll just ask for sick leave," Yu Qianyi said excitedly. "I haven't heard you guys play together yet! Li Xi said Lin Murun plays the violin exceptionally well! Right?" She reached out and tugged at Li Xi, who was standing beside her.
"I haven't heard him either," Li Xi answered. "But the owner of the music store couldn't stop praising him."
"Hee hee!" Yu Qianyi looked at Jiang Yuxi and joked, "Maybe Lin Murun plays the violin even better than you do."
"That's hard to say." Jiang Yuxi shrugged. "We'll find out this afternoon. The geography teacher just asked me to go to the office, so I'll head out first."
Once he had left the classroom, Huang Hao glanced at Yu Qianyi and said flatly, "You should talk a bit less."
Yu Qianyi thought about it and realized that what she had just said was indeed a bit unpleasant. Feeling guilty, she rubbed the bridge of her nose and pulled out her English book to prepare for morning reading.
The morning passed quickly. As usual, Shen Hao secretly finished his homework during the breaks, Li Xi was criticized by Teacher Li again for her math grades, and Zhou Xuan looked like he might fall into a deep sleep at any moment—yet every time he was called on to answer a question, he could accurately provide the correct answer.
Everything was the same as usual, except for the absence of Si Bin.
In the past, during breaks, Si Bin always liked to stand in the corridor listening to music. Occasionally, when passing classmates greeted him, he would take off his headphones and respond politely.
The autumn sunlight would slide down from his slightly long bangs, casting faint shadows across the bridge of his nose and his eye sockets.
He always stood there quietly, never loudly asserting his presence. Every time Lin Murun looked up, he could see Si Bin's back. Over time, he seemed to have grown accustomed to his presence.
Lin Murun took out his phone and saw that his chat history with Si Bin still ended at yesterday. He looked out the window, thought for a moment, and sent Si Bin a WeChat message: "Good afternoon."
Si Bin didn't reply for a long time.
In early October, the temperature gradually began to drop. The pleasant weather and quiet environment made people feel drowsy.
During the lunch break, most of the students in Class 2 were napping at their desks. Lin Murun took his student ID and phone and headed out.
"Going home to get your violin?" At the school gate, he ran into Jiang Yuxi, who was returning with his violin case.
"Yeah," Lin Murun replied.
"I heard you live near No. 16 Middle School?" Jiang Yuxi checked the time and said, "No. 16 is a bit far from No. 1. You should have headed home earlier."
Lin Murun nodded. "I'm leaving now."
"Wait!" Jiang Yuxi called out to him. He fished a pink envelope out of his bag and said mysteriously, "Are you and Si Bin on good terms?"
"?" Lin Murun took the envelope, looking puzzled. "For Si Bin?"
"A friend of mine wrote it," Jiang Yuxi explained. "The girl doesn't dare give it to Si Bin herself; she's afraid of losing face if she gets rejected."
"But I've barely spoken to Si Bin, so it would be a bit awkward for me to just give it to him out of the blue, so..." He paused, not finishing the sentence, but Lin Murun already understood his meaning.
"You want me to pass it to Si Bin?" Lin Murun asked.
"Please!" Jiang Yuxi smiled. "I originally wanted to give her Si Bin's WeChat, but the girl refused. She said a handwritten love letter is the only way to show sincerity."
Lin Murun looked at the pink envelope in his hand.
The envelope emitted a faint scent of rose perfume, carrying the hazy, beautiful feelings of a young girl.
Would Si Bin read her letter?
Lin Murun looked away as the thought crossed his mind.
He probably won't...
As soon as that thought surfaced, Lin Murun felt he was being somewhat inexplicable.
*Why would I think that?* He felt a sense of irritation.
Whether Si Bin read it or not was his own business.
"I'll be going then," Lin Murun said.
"See you this afternoon." Jiang Yuxi showed his student ID to the guard and walked into the school carrying his violin.
"Young man?" Lin Murun heard a familiar voice. He looked up and saw the young mother he had met at the convenience store last time.
Today, she was wearing a light-colored dress and a bit of makeup. She looked much more energetic.
"Hello, Senior," he greeted her politely.
"It's the middle of the day; what are you doing standing at the school gate?" The woman smiled and held her parasol over Lin Murun's head. Upon seeing the envelope in his hand, an expression of sudden realization dawned on her face.
"Waiting for your girlfriend?"
"It's not mine..." Lin Murun explained. "I'm just helping to deliver it."
The woman gave him a knowing look. "I've been through it; you don't have to be so shy."
Lin Murun shook his head. "It really isn't."
The woman looked at his expression, puzzled. "Really?"
Lin Murun: "Really."
The woman laughed awkwardly. "I'm sorry."
"It's okay," Lin Murun said. "Are you out shopping, Senior?"
Her eyes dimmed. "I'm waiting for someone." She pointed to the milk tea shop diagonally across the street. "We agreed to meet there, but it's already this late and he hasn't come yet."
"Is it a friend? You could call and ask," Lin Murun suggested.
"No..." She frowned. "It's my ex-husband."
As she spoke, a black sedan pulled up in front of the milk tea shop. The woman's eyes lit up when she saw the license plate. She said to Lin Murun, "He's here!"
A sophisticated-looking man pushed open the car door. He was tall, wore black-rimmed glasses, and radiated an aura that warned others to stay away.
The man looked at the milk tea shop with an indifferent expression before his gaze landed on the woman at the school gate.
"I'll head over now," the woman said, walking forward.
"Okay," Lin Murun nodded.
"I'm very busy. I'll give you ten minutes," the man said coldly, checking his watch.
"Let's go inside and sit for a bit. The milk tea here is very good," the woman suggested.
"Wu Chuchu, I've already made myself clear enough. Don't bother me unless it's something important." The man crossed his arms over his chest, showing a posture of complete resistance.
"I'm sorry," Wu Chuchu apologized repeatedly. "I just wanted you to go see the child. He's sick and misses you very much."
Only upon hearing that the child was sick did the man pull back his look of impatience.
"I told you long ago that the child should be left in my care," he complained. "I give so much child support every month, yet you can't take proper care of him."
"But the child is so small," Wu Chuchu said through tears. "He can't be away from his mother."
"He can be left in my mother's care. She has more experience in raising children than you do." The man checked his watch again and said in a tone that brooked no argument, "I have a video conference at one-thirty. I'll go see the child tomorrow night."
With that, he pulled open the car door, turned the steering wheel, and drove away without looking back.
Wu Chuchu stood where she was, her back trembling uncontrollably. She was likely weeping silently.
"Are you okay?" Lin Murun walked up and asked.
"Ah?" She hurriedly wiped away her tears and asked with an awkward smile, "You're still here?"
"I'm sorry you had to see that," she explained. "Actually, my ex-husband is a very good person. When I first met him, he was polite and gentle."
"Maybe I'm just very annoying." She wiped away a stray tear and lowered her eyes. "I don't have a job and rely entirely on him to support the family. I'm also very insecure and always bother him when he's busy."
Seeing that Lin Murun didn't speak, Wu Chuchu hurriedly said, "I'm sorry, you should go attend to your business. I shouldn't be telling you these things."
"It's okay," Lin Murun said. "You'll feel better if you talk about it."
Wu Chuchu shook her head and forced a smile. "Let's not talk about that. The juice and milk tea at this shop are quite good. What would you like to drink? My treat."
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Everyone in School No. 1 Knows My Boyfriend | Chapter 20 | A Pink Envelope | Novela.app | Novela.app
