After Transmigrating into a Book, I Saved the Cheap Shou - Chapter 8

Facing a whole classroom of students for the first time, even though most of the attention was focused on Pei Yuanqing, Gu Jingning still felt completely drained. He walked out of the classroom exhausted, ready to return to his own class. After walking some distance, he suddenly heard footsteps chasing after him and turned around in surprise.

“Senior, do you still remember me? Last time you helped me carry books in the hallway…”

Gu Jingning scratched his head, not understanding why the protagonist shou was chasing after him. He answered smoothly, “Of course I remember!”

“Well… I wanted to thank you for helping me last time, so I… baked some cookies. I hope Senior will try them.”

!!!

Cookies handmade by the protagonist shou! Of course he wanted to eat them! Omegas really were virtuous and capable.

The words of acceptance were about to leave his mouth when his outstretched hand suddenly paused. He suddenly remembered his original purpose — he was supposed to help the protagonist shou silently from the shadows. If he accepted this gift, he would need to return the favor, and one thing would lead to another. Wouldn’t that create even more intersections with Su Chen?

The best solution was: he should not accept!

He reluctantly refused, “There’s no need. It was just a small favor, no need to prepare a gift in return.” On the surface he looked serious, but his eyes kept drifting toward the golden, crispy cookies in Su Chen’s hands. Up close, he could even smell the rich milky fragrance. In the book, it was mentioned that because Su Chen had to help take care of his younger brother since childhood, he had excellent cooking skills. Later, when he reunited with the scumbag gong, his cooking even cured the gong’s chronic stomach problems caused by skipping meals.

Wuwu… I really want to try them so badly.

“Ah… I see. Is it because the things I made don’t look good?” Su Chen’s eyes reddened, tears threatening to fall. He looked like he was about to cry at any second — utterly pitiful.

!!!

As a Beta, he should protect fragile Omegas. This belief had been deeply ingrained in him since childhood. And now he had actually made an Omega cry — and not just any Omega, but the protagonist shou he had sworn to protect. He deserved death for this sin.

“No, no, no! They look extremely delicious. It’s my honor to be able to eat snacks made by such a beautiful Omega like you.”

So please don’t cry, he prayed silently in his heart.

When he took the cookies, Gu Jingning felt their fingers accidentally brush against each other. In that instant, it was as if a faint electric current ran across his skin. His fingertips felt scalding hot, the heat spreading all the way to his ears, turning them bright red.

Seeing his reaction, the corners of Su Chen’s lips curved slightly. “I’m so glad Senior is willing to accept them. Then I’ll take my leave now. See you next time!”

“Okay… see you next time.” Gu Jingning watched in a daze as Su Chen left with a smile. He touched his burning earlobes. Aaaah!!! Why am I blushing? So embarrassing.

—

Su Chen walked toward the classroom. After turning the corner, he immediately stopped. He stood there silently, wanting to see how Gu Jingning would handle the cookies.

Truthfully, he wasn’t confident at all.

He knew Senior Gu was the person who had carried him to the infirmary that day and had even cried for him. He wanted to approach this hard-to-come-by warmth. However, he also couldn’t fully trust this sudden kindness. Who would go so far for a complete stranger? So he could only use this underhanded method to test the other party.

Well then, Senior Gu, what will you do?

From his past experiences, there were only two possible outcomes for the things he gave away. The friendlier ones would smile and accept them, then turn around and give them to someone else. The crueler ones would mock him behind his back and mercilessly throw them into the trash.

But they definitely did not include… instantly eating them all?

When he quietly peeked out, the cookies in Gu Jingning’s hands had already disappeared. He saw the other person licking his lips with a look of satisfaction, muttering, “So delicious… wuwu, how did they disappear so fast?”

Only after Gu Jingning had walked far away did Su Chen retract his gaze. He leaned against the wall, covering his mouth, desperately trying to hold back his laughter.

Senior, you didn’t disappoint me.

He walked back with satisfied steps, already thinking about what he should make next time.

—

As soon as he returned to the classroom and sat down, he felt a strong gaze on him. He looked up and met a pair of bright eyes. A girl was staring intently at him.

The next second — slap!

With eyes burning like raging flames, the girl marched over and slammed both hands on his desk excitedly. “Hi! My name is An Zhixia!”

Su Chen organized the books in his hands and replied indifferently, “Hello.”

“Why so cold? We’re going to be classmates for a whole year, you know.”

He looked up coldly. “Is there something you want?”

“Since you asked…” An Zhixia plopped down on the chair in front of his desk, leaned forward slightly, and said in a gossipy tone, “Hey! What’s your relationship with those two seniors?”

Su Chen frowned slightly. “No relationship.”

“Liar! I saw everything. Tsk tsk, you’ve only been in school for a short time and already have two male gods fighting over you.”

Su Chen looked up in confusion. “Male gods?”

“You don’t know?!” An Zhixia was shocked that Su Chen hadn’t heard the campus gossip. “Pei Yuanqing — top-tier Alpha, student council president, never dropped from first place in the grade. And that face… tsk, it’s the kind of face that makes you unable to stay angry. His personality is great too…”

Su Chen interrupted her exaggerated praise. “I’m not interested in him. If you want to praise him, please leave.”

An Zhixia blinked, then suddenly changed direction. “Oh~ I was just about to talk about Senior Gu~”

Su Chen’s hand that was flipping through his book paused. His face remained cold, but An Zhixia somehow felt like his entire body was screaming “Hurry up and say it, stop teasing.”

Hahaha! She was dying of laughter! This guy really had no self-awareness, huh? She had guessed correctly — he liked Gu Jingning. As the campus gossip queen, how could she miss first-hand information like this? An Zhixia laughed wildly inside and decided to tease him more. “Hmm, if you don’t want to hear it, then forget it.” She pretended to stand up and return to her seat.

“Wait! What kind of person is Senior Gu?”

She secretly smiled and slowly sat back down. Narrowing her eyes teasingly, she said, “Weren’t you not interested?”

Su Chen stayed silent, his ears red as he glared at her.

An Zhixia clicked her tongue. Kind of cute. “Senior Gu… not many people know about him. It’s strange actually. The Gu family’s wealth and influence are on par with the Pei family, yet unlike Pei Yuanqing who’s so high-profile, he’s so low-key that you can barely find any information on him.”

“Eh, but he’s clearly so handsome too. If he were more high-profile, he might be even more popular than that Pei guy!”

Su Chen’s grip on his new textbook tightened, creasing the pages. Hearing these words gave him the uncomfortable feeling that something he treasured had been discovered.

Feeling a little stifled, his tone became impatient. “Are you very familiar with Senior Gu?”

An Zhixia flashed a bright smile, showing her neat white teeth. Though to Su Chen, her smile seemed a little bitter. She said, “Who could know him better than me? He’s my older brother.”

Su Chen was stunned.

She lowered her eyelashes and rested her cheek on one hand, speaking casually, “We haven’t seen each other in a long time. He probably doesn’t remember me anymore.” The lost look on her face lasted only a moment before she quickly regained her bright smile. “So, you have to help me. Help me get closer to my brother. In return, I’ll help you too.”

“What can you help me with?”

“Help you chase him, of course. Don’t you like him?”

“I don’t need help!”

“Plus, I can be your friend. You don’t have any friends, right?”

Su Chen opened his mouth, speechless. He had never met someone with such thick skin. Friends… he had stopped hoping for those a long time ago.

“I don’t need friends.”

An Zhixia shrugged and leaned against the desk with her arms crossed. “So stubborn. Are you scared my brother will reject you?”

Su Chen glared at her fiercely.

“Aiyo! With such a bad personality, how are you going to win my brother’s heart?” An Zhixia smiled slyly.

Su Chen rubbed his temples, took a deep breath, and tried hard to suppress the urge to chase her away. Luckily it was still break time and there weren’t many people in the classroom. Otherwise, with how loud their conversation had been, Pei Yuanqing would probably hear rumors about him liking Gu Jingning by tomorrow.

Suddenly, a thought flashed through his mind. He asked, “Then what about Xu Tao? What do you think of him?”

“Hm? Did he bully you?”

Su Chen didn’t deny it.

“I can go back and tell my dad to keep an eye on him. My dad is really capable.” Her tone carried confidence and arrogance — the natural pride that came from being part of the An family.