After Transmigrating into a Book, I Saved the Cheap Shou - Chapter 10

On the way back to class, Teacher Chen racked his brain trying to figure out how to comfort Su Chen. Being framed by a teacher was a heavy blow for any student. If Su Chen became too devastated and never recovered, he would never forgive himself for failing to protect his student.

“Teacher.”

“Hm? What is it?”

Su Chen stopped walking and looked at Teacher Chen with calm eyes. “Do you really think Teacher Zheng framed me simply because she disliked me, like she claimed?”

Teacher Chen frowned, recalling Zheng’s behavior and words in the office. Indeed, from what he knew of her, Zheng was a cautious person who had worked at the school for many years and was terrified of leaving any evidence that could affect her promotion. Yet her recent actions were far too abnormal — her clumsy acting and weak defense made her seem like an actor who had been pushed onto the stage at the last minute with no preparation.

“You mean… someone instructed her to do it?” Teacher Chen stroked his stubble and asked, “Do you have evidence?”

Su Chen couldn’t be certain it was Xu Tao or Pei Yuanqing, though given their usual behavior, they were highly likely the masterminds. However, he couldn’t say that right now. Mentioning Xu Tao might be somewhat believable, but Pei Yuanqing’s public image was too perfect. Teacher Chen might not believe his one-sided words and could even alert Pei Yuanqing, causing him to become wary.

He thought in silence for a moment before shaking his head. “I’m not sure.” Teacher Chen looked disapproving and was about to offer some comforting words when Su Chen continued.

“Teacher, you may not know this, but before I entered Class 1, I suffered severe school bullying in Teacher Zheng’s class. Yet she completely ignored what was happening to me. She only favors rich students and turns a blind eye to people like me who come from poor families.”

He paused, carefully observing Teacher Chen’s expression. He could sense the teacher’s guilt, so he couldn’t waste this good opportunity. Even planting a seed of doubt in Teacher Chen’s mind would be worth it.

After listening to Su Chen, Teacher Chen immediately realized something. If Su Chen had actually been found guilty of cheating, he would have been transferred to Class 15 — the class Teacher Zheng was in charge of — because his scores would be zeroed out. He said incredulously, “As far as I know, Teacher Zheng voluntarily applied to be the homeroom teacher of Class 15…”

Given Zheng’s strong desire for promotion, she should have been fighting to teach an elite class. Could she have done this specifically to target Su Chen?

Teacher Chen’s expression shifted rapidly. But what benefit would framing a student bring her?

“Teacher doesn’t doubt you, but without solid evidence, it’s hard to convince others. Empty words alone aren’t enough.”

“I understand, Teacher. I was only sharing my speculation. I don’t want to wrongly accuse anyone either. I’ve just been a bit sensitive lately. Sorry, please just pretend I never said anything.”

Seeing Su Chen’s mood suddenly drop, Teacher Chen panicked, unsure what to do. He was supposed to comfort the student, yet he had somehow made him even sadder.

As if regaining confidence from Teacher Chen’s words, Su Chen’s expression softened. However, his heart didn’t feel any lighter. How to obtain evidence against those people remained a heavy stone weighing on his mind.

When the two returned to class, Teacher Chen solemnly cleared Su Chen’s name regarding the cheating incident. Still, some students remained skeptical. An Zhixia immediately scolded them, “Everyone knows Su Chen got into Qingyang with the top entrance score. His ability is obvious — why would he need to cheat to raise his grades?”

One person muttered weakly, “Maybe he just didn’t study for this exam…”

“The comprehensive math test last monthly exam — only Su Chen solved it in the entire class. The physics question the teacher asked in class the time before that — only he could answer it. You call that ‘not studying’? If he actually studied hard, he could probably skip straight to university!”

The person shut up.

Under Teacher Chen’s soothing, An Zhixia huffed and sat down reluctantly.

It wasn’t until the police arrived at the school and took Teacher Zheng away that the gossiping students finally fell silent.

—

Gu Jingning, who was in the same class as Pei Yuanqing, secretly observed his expression after hearing the news. He saw the corner of Pei Yuanqing’s lips twitch as he silently mouthed two words: “Useless trash.”

—

That night, after resolving the major turning point from the original book, Gu Jingning was in a great mood all day.

Even though he had just lost a game bet in the dorm and had to sneak out to run errands, it didn’t ruin his good spirits.

He walked into the convenience store and came face-to-face with Su Chen, who was wearing a tank top and standing at the checkout counter. He froze for a second, then smiled and greeted him.

Su Chen didn’t seem embarrassed at all about being seen working. He nodded calmly in response.

It was already time for shift change. Su Chen went to the staff room to change into his own clothes. When he came out, he found someone waiting for him.

Even though autumn had arrived, the night air was still warm. Gu Jingning casually handed him an ice pop. The two of them ate their ice pops while walking down the street, chatting casually. When they reached the fork where they would separate, Gu Jingning thought it wasn’t safe for an Omega to walk alone at night and decided to walk Su Chen home.

Su Chen hesitated for a moment. Of course he wanted to spend more time with Gu Jingning, but the senior came from a good family. Walking him home would mean passing through dirty, messy alleys. He was afraid Gu Jingning would be repulsed and leave him like his previous “friends,” so he said, “It’s okay, Senior. It’s too late. You should go home and rest. I can go back by myself.”

“No way. Since I ran into you, I can’t let you walk home alone. Besides, you’re so beautiful. What if someone kidnaps you on a dark, windy night like this?”

Su Chen stared at him steadily.

“……” Shit. What did he just say? He accidentally called the protagonist shou beautiful? To his face? Aaaah! A wave of embarrassment instantly hit him, turning his face red.

He fanned his face as if it were nothing, but kept sneaking glances at Su Chen. Fortunately, Su Chen didn’t look disgusted.

After struggling internally for a moment, Su Chen agreed. If Gu Jingning ended up leaving him because of this, it would just mean returning to his previous life. Since the senior’s feelings for him weren’t too deep yet, it was better to feel the pain now than later.

They walked in silence the whole way. One was blushing from embarrassment, the other growing paler the closer they got to his home. Even so, Gu Jingning didn’t forget to remind Su Chen to watch his step.

They gradually arrived at an old building that hadn’t been renovated in decades. The walls were mottled, cement was peeling off, garbage was scattered everywhere, and the air smelled of burning plastic and gasoline. The neighbors were a mixed bag of all kinds of people.

Gu Jingning’s heart sank. Along the way, he had felt many lewd and frivolous gazes. Some people even openly whistled at them. It felt like if someone gave the order, a crowd would swarm them. He subconsciously stepped in front of Su Chen to block him.

Just walking this path once already felt so uncomfortable. He couldn’t imagine how Su Chen endured walking here every single day.

While walking, he made plans in his mind. After escorting Su Chen to the entrance of the building and turning to leave, he heard Su Chen call out to him.

“Senior.”

“Hm?”

Seeing that Gu Jingning’s expression remained normal — without the look of having stepped on something dirty like his previous “friends” — Su Chen felt emotional.

Having tasted the warmth and coldness of human relationships since childhood, Su Chen was extremely sensitive to people’s emotions. Gu Jingning only showed him heartache and no contempt. He had even shielded him from those nauseating stares.

He didn’t despise him. He didn’t despise him. He didn’t despise him.

Su Chen slowly opened his arms. His voice carried a faint, almost inaudible sob as he said with wet, stubborn eyes, his nerves stretched tight all day finally snapping:

“Hug me, Senior…”

The moment the words left his mouth, a warm body temperature enveloped him. Strong arms wrapped tightly around his thin frame. He buried his head in Gu Jingning’s neck, savoring this hard-earned warmth.

Gu Jingning patted Su Chen’s back with heartache. The child had gone through so much today — he must have been terrified. He had held it in all by himself until now. It was good that he was crying. He was just afraid Su Chen would end up like in the book — after being manipulated for so long, he would only blame himself.

Su Chen was the first to end the hug. He was afraid he wouldn’t want to let go. He knew clearly that the difference in their statuses was too great. Today the young master was in a good mood and showed him kindness on a whim. Tomorrow, he could take it all back in an instant.

Yet even after ending the hug, he still held Gu Jingning’s hands tightly.

In the dim stairwell, they could almost hear each other’s heartbeats.

At that moment, the motion-sensor light on the stairs turned on.

“Ah Chen?”

Both of them jumped at the sudden light and turned their heads. Su Chen looked at the newcomer in surprise, then called out, “Mom.”

Su Chen’s mother’s eyes swept over their still-joined hands. Gu Jingning immediately let go as if he had been burned.

He clearly hadn’t done anything wrong, yet Gu Jingning felt guilty like a punk who had just been caught red-handed trying to abduct an innocent, kind-hearted Omega by the boy’s parent.