Chapter 28: A Modest, Demure Lady, A Fitting Match for a Gentleman

After everyone had finished paying their fees and collecting their textbooks, Sun Manning asked Li Heng, "There’s still over an hour until lunchtime. Where are you going?"

Li Heng already had a plan. "My hair is getting a bit long; I need to get a haircut. How about you guys?"

Liu Li yawned twice. "I didn't sleep well last night. I'm exhausted. I’m going back to the dorm to catch up on some sleep."

Before Zhang Zhiyong could speak, Sun Manning chimed in, "I'll go to the barbershop with you. My hair is getting a bit too thick, too; I need to get it thinned out. You give your books to Zhang Zhiyong and let him take them."

As she spoke, she turned to Zhang Zhiyong and asked, "You don't mind, do you?"

Zhang Zhiyong shrugged, feeling slightly put out. "I don't mind. Since you've already arranged it, how could I have an opinion?"

Once Liu Li and Zhang Zhiyong were out of earshot, Sun Manning spoke up again. "Which barbershop? Off-campus or on-campus?"

Li Heng patted his pocket and veered onto a small path to the right. "I can't be bothered to go outside. Let's just go to the one on campus. They cut it carefully, and it's twenty cents cheaper."

It wasn't that he was being stingy. The on-campus barbershop was located next to the faculty cafeteria and was run by the wife of one of the vice principals. She wasn't short on money; she had opened the shop just to keep herself occupied, but it had become incredibly popular, and everyone loved going there.

Of course, besides her excellent technique, the safety of being on campus was a major factor that couldn't be ignored—especially for girls who were somewhat attractive, as they generally avoided barbershops outside school due to the prevalence of local troublemakers. Some of the shop owners themselves were even part of that crowd.

Once they were away from the crowded areas, Li Heng suddenly asked, "Alright, out with it. You sent those two away—are you looking for me because you have something on your mind?"

"Smart. I knew I couldn't hide it from you."

Sun Manning stopped, looked around, and finally hopped onto a horizontal bar. Li Heng followed suit and sat on the adjacent one.

"Did you break up with Chen Zijin?" Sun Manning asked.

Li Heng didn't immediately grasp the girl's intentions. He remained silent, looking at her with a puzzled expression.

Sun Manning raised her right hand, mimicking the gesture of holding a phone. "On the fifth day of the Lunar New Year, I was bored, so I went to Song Yu's place. I happened to overhear Chen Zijin calling her."

If one were to ask who Chen Zijin was closest to in middle school, it would undoubtedly be Yang Yingwen and Xiao Han. By high school, having learned from her experience with Xiao Han in middle school—and fearing that if they were separated, someone else might swoop in—she had followed Li Heng into the liberal arts track. Since Yang Yingwen and Xiao Han were studying science in a different building, Song Yu and Sun Manning had become her closest confidantes. The three girls were inseparable: they ate, slept, went to the restroom, and even took post-meal walks together. They were very close.

Li Heng thought for a moment and asked, "What did you overhear?"

Sun Manning pursed her lips. "Hey, don't use a harsh word like 'eavesdropping.' I just caught a few snippets."

Li Heng offered an apologetic look and gestured for her to continue.

"On the phone, Chen Zijin was asking Song Yu about how you were doing last semester, and she even reminded her to keep an eye on you..."

Li Heng was listening intently, but the story cut off abruptly. He stared blankly. "And then?"

"There is no 'and then,'" Sun Manning said. "Song Yu spotted me, and Chen Zijin stopped talking about you."

At this point, she returned to her previous question: "There’s trouble in your relationship with Chen Zijin, isn't there? Otherwise, given how much she cares about you, why wouldn't she call you directly? Why would she try to find out how you're doing through Song Yu?"

The girl was quick-witted; she had hit the mark instantly. Li Heng didn't respond to the question, offering only a sincere "thank you."

Seeing that he seemed somewhat downcast, Sun Manning tactfully didn't press the issue and moved on to her second question: "Honestly, do you secretly like Song Yu?"

He didn't usually discuss romantic matters with her, but they had always had a tacit understanding and a level of honesty that made their friendship deep enough that they rarely lied to each other.

"I do," Li Heng said frankly.

The answer didn't surprise her at all. Sun Manning clapped her hands and praised him, "Like a real man. That’s refreshing!"

Li Heng sighed. "I thought it would be incredibly difficult to admit this to an outsider, but I didn't hesitate or struggle at all. Sigh! Am I beyond saving?"

"Ha, give it a rest," Sun Manning chuckled. "Actually, whether you admitted it or not, we all knew. We just never called you out on it."

Li Heng arched an eyebrow, his interest piqued. "'We'? Who else does that include?"

Sun Manning held up three fingers, curling one for each name she mentioned: "Me! Song Yu! And, naturally, Chen Zijin!"

Li Heng froze as she listed the names, stunned into silence. After struggling to process this for a long moment, he finally asked, "How did you guess?"

"It wasn't a guess," Sun Manning replied. "It's just that your attempts to hide your feelings in the past were pathetic. You might be a 'fox' when dealing with others, but every time you look at Song Yu, your eyes betray your heart."

Li Heng didn't dispute this, slowly sinking into silence.

Forget the past; even now, having lived two lifetimes, seeing Song Yu again, he wasn't sure he could maintain a calm, indifferent exterior.

"Knowing that your heart has wandered," Sun Manning asked, "why hasn't Chen Zijin kicked up a fuss?"

Li Heng looked up. "Why?"

Sun Manning quoted a line from the *Classic of Poetry*: "A fair and graceful lady, a gentleman's good match."

Li Heng chewed on the words for a moment before the meaning dawned on him.

Sun Manning gripped the bar, swinging her legs. "I've read many novels, including Qiong Yao’s. I've read many classics, both domestic and foreign, including *Dream of the Red Chamber*. From elementary school through middle school, Mai Sui was always the person I admired most. But honestly, I have never seen a living, breathing woman in reality who truly lived up to those eight words—until I met Song Yu."

Li Heng looked up at the white clouds in the sky, as if seeing three faces there: Song Yu, Xiao Han, and Chen Zijin.

After holding his gaze for a long time, Sun Manning suddenly asked, "The seating chart is being redone tonight. This is your last chance in high school. Do you want to sit with Song Yu?"

Li Heng retracted his gaze and met her eyes. "In last semester's final exams, I was third in the class. I don't get to choose."

For the past few years, Song Yu and Mai Sui had consistently alternated occupying the top spot in the class, never letting it slip away. Their homeroom teacher, Wang Qi, had even compiled the data: since the arts and science tracks were divided in the second year of high school, across all exams—monthly, standardized, and routine—Song Yu had taken first place in the class 14 times and first in the liberal arts track for the whole school 8 times. Mai Sui had taken first in the class 16 times and first in the school 6 times.

Li Heng was the eternal third, immovable as a mountain—except for that one time he scored 61 on his English exam. The two girls were evenly matched, chess players meeting their equal, trading the top spot back and forth. Perhaps it was a special bond formed through their rivalry, but Song Yu and Mai Sui had always been desk-mates. Whenever it came time to choose seats, they always chose each other, never leaving the opportunity for a prime spot to anyone else.

Sun Manning said confidently, "Don't worry about that. I'll go and take care of Mai Sui for you."

If this were before his rebirth, even if Li Heng had been incredibly tempted, he wouldn't have dared to do such a thing openly. But now, he didn't care about the opinions of others, nor did he feel any psychological burden—his only concern was how Chen Zijin might feel.

"Why help me?" Li Heng asked.

Sun Manning didn't answer; she hopped off the bar and walked away, seemingly having forgotten all about going to the barbershop.