Shen Yue was very annoyed.
Ever since Ye Yin and Fourth Brother had a brief yet extremely thrilling match in the class group chat, the rest of the originally barely normal classmates had all gone crazy.
Every time Shen Yue walked into the classroom, people would start lining up to confess to her. Some would even chase her all the way to her big brother's car when he came to pick her up, confessing to her right in front of her brother.
The reason was what Shen Yichen had said in the class group chat - that if anyone wanted to pursue Shen Yue, they would need to defeat one of Shen Yue's brothers in some competition.
And so, in order to defeat Shen Yue's brothers, everyone started confessing their love to Shen Yue.
Both boys and girls participated.
Shen Yue had to listen to more than a dozen people confess to her every day. Her ears were going numb from it all.
"Shen Yue! I really really like you! I will defeat your brother for you!"
Hearing the familiar words, Shen Yue didn't even turn her head. This was the thirtieth time Qing Xiaoyu had said the exact same thing to her, word for word.
For the past month, Qing Xiaoyu had confessed to her once a day, using the exact same script every time, seemingly tireless in her persistence.
Shen Yue certainly couldn't comprehend the enjoyment in this kind of repetition. She only felt tired.
"Shen Yue, let me say it again. You are my Shen Yue. Don't say again that your daily confession quota is full. Don't make me hear those six words again. I'm telling you again, my feelings for you are genuine. You are my Shen Yue, you are my one and only love!!"
Shen Yue heaved a long sigh. "Gao Qin, you already used this confession on the 14th."
Shen Yue felt that Gao Qin would be better off just repeating the same thing every day like Qing Xiaoyu, rather than looking for new confession scripts like this.
That way Shen Yue wouldn't have to remind her when she repeated herself.
But Gao Qin felt good about herself. In her own words, confessions like hers had meaning because she could bring surprise and joy to both herself and others each day.
Shen Yue felt that the only things she got out of it were shock and exhaustion. There was not much joy, plus she was forced to remember all kinds of bizarre confession lines, not knowing when she would ever use them.
Whenever Gao Qin boasted about herself, she would also badmouth Qing Xiaoyu, saying things like Qing Xiaoyu was doing meaningless, repetitive work and wasting her life.
"Shen Yue! Qing Xiaoyu is just perfunctory with you. Only I truly care about you, understand?"
While Gao Qin chattered on ceaselessly, Shen Yue pecked away at her phone and soon received a reply.
Looking up at Gao Qin, she said, "My big brother said he has a dinner appointment tonight and won't be home."
Gao Qin's enthusiastic confession immediately halted. She stared bitterly at Shen Yue, as if unable to believe it. "Your big brother isn't home tonight? It's just Fourth Brother?"
Shen Yue nodded.
That nod simultaneously drained the spirit out of Gao Qin, Qing Xiaoyu and the other girls.
With big brother not home, it felt like their bodies had been hollowed out.
Qing Xiaoyu immediately turned and shouted at the group of boys behind her who were still discussing the reasons for yesterday's failed challenge, "Big brother isn't home tonight! Only Fourth Brother is around!"
"Ah?! Fourth Brother, hurry, Fourth Brother is here!"
Strangely enough, although Shen Yichen and Shen Jize would agree to compete with Shen Yue's classmates whenever they had time, this past month had seen repeated defeats for Shen Yue's classmates, yet they kept on fighting. Moreover, they had gradually split into two camps.
The big brother camp mostly had girls. The Fourth Brother camp was mostly boys.
Those who liked to compete with the big brother especially enjoyed challenging Shen Jize in mental math, so they could experience the feeling of having their dimensions crushed, using it to motivate themselves to work harder.
Now, upon hearing that Fourth Brother was free tonight, they immediately abandoned what they were doing and rushed to line up in front of Shen Yue.
So the people confessing to Shen Yue changed again.
Mi Qian took the lead, holding up his phone as he confessed according to the script on it. "I turned off the lights, yet the room was still bright. I looked everywhere for the source of light, only to find that the light was coming from the left side of my chest. It wasn't the brightness of my heart, but because my heart had you, Shen Yue! You are my light, you are my sun!"
Shen Yue nodded and started to critique. "Gao Qin already used that script. Remember that for next time."
Upon hearing this, Mi Qian immediately marked this sentence and turned to find Gao Qin.
"Gao Qin! How could you give me something you already used?! Give me back my practice workbook!"
"Whoops! My bad, I haven't finished studying your workbook yet. I'll give it back once I'm done. Definitely won't happen again next time."
While listening intently, Shen Yue recorded down the names of today's confessers.
Eight in total. If the competitions went quickly, she should be able to finish before dinner.
Tonight's dinner was boiled fish. Mustn't be late.
That night, although Shen Yichen had said he was going to a dinner appointment, he still came to pick up Shen Yue at the usual time.
As always, Shen Yichen asked, "How was it today?"
Shen Yue understood what Shen Yichen meant and reported the number she had calculated. "Eight people total today."
"Okay. Your Fourth Brother can handle it alone."
Shen Yue nodded. She also thought Fourth Brother would be fine. This past month, she had witnessed her fourth brother's prowess firsthand. If she had a brain like his...she still wouldn't use it.
After Shen Yichen dropped Shen Yue off at home, she opened the door to see Fourth Brother sitting in his usual, familiar spot looking towards the entrance.
The moment Shen Yue's eyes met Shen Jize's, his originally dim eyes immediately lit up. "Younger Sister, you're home!"
Saying so, he leapt up from the sofa, wanting to take Shen Yue's schoolbag for her.
Shen Yue firmly and definitely refused Shen Jize's assistance, afraid that he might accidentally hurt himself somewhere and start crying again.
"Fourth Brother, there are eight people today."
After hearing this, Shen Jize nodded, his eyes following Shen Yue as she put down her schoolbag and sat down before he softly said, "Your classmates...they must really hate me..."
Shen Yue was baffled by the sudden question and looked oddly at her Fourth Brother who seemed about to cry again. She naturally handed him some tissues. "Why would they hate you? They really like you."
Shen Jize looked incredulous as he clutched the tissues and whispered, "That's impossible. They haven't beaten me even once..."
Shen Yue uttered an "oh," realizing what her Fourth Brother meant. "Don't worry, Fourth Brother. They're all very strong, so they'll like people who are even stronger than them."
Shen Jize stared at Shen Yue's face, convinced she wasn't lying to him. He breathed a sigh of relief.
"Your classmates are so nice."
"I think they're pretty nice too." They'd be even better if they toned down the confessional literature a bit.
In the two minutes before the competitions began, Shen Jize suddenly asked Shen Yue, "Should I...take it easy on them and let them win a match...it's best out of three anyway..."
Shen Yue shook her head solemnly. "Fourth Brother, the strong admire those stronger than themselves. The quicker you finish, the more they'll like you."
Shen Jize seemed enlightened and believed her.
And so that day, Shen Yue did indeed get to eat her beloved boiled fish on time. When it was brought to the table, that sizzling sound as the hot oil was poured on made her mouth water.
In contrast to Shen Yue's happiness was the mood of the eight lucky audience members that night.
How did the competitions feel today? Over in a flash before their eyes without leaving a trace?!
What was that feeling of having the competition zoom by without being able to grasp it at all?!!
Ah, another beautiful, peaceful day.
