Please, I'm Trying to Study, Your Highness! - chapter 41

The storage room was cramped.

The smell of dust particles and the mustiness of old paper was unpleasant.

Normally, this kind of place was a “forbidden zone” that Shen Ruanruan would never set foot in.

But now, she stood in front of the bookshelf.

Her fingers lightly brushed over the exercise books labeled with years, while beside her came the dull thud of Lin Hui pounding on the iron door.

Every “bang” seemed to remind her…

This enclosed space was trapping the two of them inside.

It was madness.

Completely unlike something she would ever do.

But she did it anyway.

If you asked her why…

Shen Ruanruan lowered her eyes, the dim environment serving well to conceal the surging emotions within her.

At the root of all these abnormalities, it all boiled down to one word: “feelings.”

Feelings…

Heh…

She sighed inwardly.

Something so vaguely defined.

Like a wisp of fog-impossible to grasp, impossible to see clearly.

Jealousy, unwillingness, loss, possessiveness… Any state that disturbed the mind could be lumped under this category.

In Shen Ruanruan’s view, these were distant terms from textbooks, all irrelevant to herself.

Ever since she could remember-

An affluent family, outstanding looks, impeccable manners.

Together, they constructed the perfect existence known as “Shen Ruanruan.”

And it was precisely this perfection that meant she rarely experienced so-called “intense emotions.”

As the only daughter of the Shen Group, the principle she had always followed was-even a maggot has its irreplaceable role.

Therefore, she treated everyone with gentleness, listened patiently, and was free of prejudice.

The reason was simple: purely to allow the maggots to maximize their value in their respective places.

This was her understanding of how the world worked.

Feelings?

To her, they were the least necessary and the most worthless things.

But why…

After meeting Lin Hui, the self-control she prided herself on had gradually begun to slip out of her grasp…

The atmosphere in the math seminar room was utterly quiet.

She pretended to be engrossed in a foreign book, putting on an act of serious reading.

Only Shen Ruanruan herself knew.

What kind of darkness lurked beneath this shell that always wore a gentle smile and was praised by everyone as a “goddess.”

‘It’s alright.’

‘It’s alright…’

‘As long as I can have him, it’ll be fine.’

A whisper echoed from a corner deep within her heart.

If she could turn him into her own possession, then this self-control on the verge of collapse would, in a way, return to her command.

Wouldn’t it?

Her gaze drifted over the top edge of the page.

Obscurely, greedily, silently… it clung to the figure at the other end of the classroom.

The boy’s posture was anything but proper.

He slouched lazily, his shoulders drooping at an unhealthy angle, elbows propped on the desk, chin resting in his palm.

His perpetually half-open, half-closed dead-fish eyes were now shrouded in a mist that no amount of sleep could dispel.

So unremarkable.

Such an ordinary “background character” in a plain school uniform should not have attracted any attention beyond basic social courtesy.

Yet it was precisely this person that Shen Ruanruan could not tear her eyes away from.

Whenever she looked at the boy, all sorts of strange thoughts and emotions would bubble up densely from within.

They became uncontrollable, damp weeds, growing wildly in the carefully manicured garden of her mind.

Just like… right now.

Her gaze slid from his messy black hair to the tired brows and eyes behind his glasses-

And finally… settled on his lips.

His lips were beautiful.

The cupid’s bow of his upper lip formed an M-shaped curve.

The lower lip was fuller and rounder.

The color was a healthy, natural light red, appearing especially clean against his cool, pale skin.

The most fatal thing was that mole.

A small brown mole, dotted at the left edge of his lower lip.

Like an accidental drop of ink on a snowy white canvas.

Jarring, yet carrying a deadly allure.

It broke the pristine perfection, but in doing so, gave those lips a unique sensuality.

Shen Ruanruan stared at that mole, then at those lips that occasionally revealed a glimpse of white teeth as they parted and closed.
An indescribable heat rose from somewhere within her body.

Her throat felt parched.

Instinctively, she licked her lips, which were often coated with pale lipstick.

She wanted… to kiss him.

She wanted… she wanted…

She wanted to reach out her tongue and trace the boy’s lip line, then repeatedly lick that tiny mole.

She even began to imagine the sensation of those lips-

What would it taste like, if she kissed him…

“Ding-ling-ling-”

Shen Ruanruan stared at the boy, utterly captivated.

Until the shrill sound of the dismissal bell rang, pulling her back from those dangerously sinking thoughts.

Lin Hui began packing his bag almost the instant the bell sounded.

His movements were crisp and efficient, not the slightest bit sluggish-clearly eager to leave.

The bell didn’t just mark the end of the day.

It also meant that the “object” of her gaze and secret longing was about to leave her sight, returning to a world she could not reach.

-We’re about to part ways.

This realization was like cold water dropped into a pot of boiling oil,

exploding in her heart with a fierce panic called reluctance.

No.

She couldn’t let Lin Hui leave just like that.

She had to do something to prolong their time together.

Even if… it was only a minute, a second.

Out of the corner of her eye, she glimpsed the storage cabinet at the back of the classroom.

A seamless, foolproof plan that wouldn’t arouse the boy’s suspicion formed in an instant.

So.

Shen Ruanruan stood up, no longer looking at him, tiptoed to the back, and took out the cleaning tools.

She began to clean the spacious classroom all by herself.

When Lin Hui finished packing and noticed her “unusual” behavior,

just as she expected,

he put down his bag, silently took cleaning tools from the storage cabinet, and joined her in the task.

His movements were unhurried, his head lowered in concentration as he swept up dust and scraps of paper.

He didn’t ask why.

He simply expressed his stance through his actions.

Shen Ruanruan’s grip on the broom tightened slightly.

Again…

Silent help…

The boy always seemed to touch the softest part of her heart with uncanny precision.

Even though he himself was unaware.

When the cleaning was done, Shen Ruanruan walked over to the mountain of workbooks.

To be honest,

the half-human-high stack of books was nothing to her.

Calling it as light as a feather wouldn’t be an exaggeration.

Her core strength and arm power were naturally dozens of times greater than most adult men.

She was truly born with extraordinary strength.

But she had to pretend it was a struggle.

She bent down, awkwardly hugging the pile of workbooks.

Her arms trembled violently under the “weight”.

Her breathing grew rapid and shallow.

Her body swayed from side to side, unable to find a proper leverage point.

A “flush” appeared on her face, the kind that comes from “overexertion”.

She looked messy, strained, yet stubborn.

Her act was, as always, flawless.

Lin Hui came over, wordlessly took more than half the workbooks from her arms.

His tired, ordinary face reappeared in her view.

The pressure vanished instantly, allowing her to “breathe a sigh of relief”.

“Where to?” the boy asked, his voice mild and lukewarm, like a glass of water gone cold.

Still that quiet thoughtfulness.

No hesitation.

No questions, no expectations for anything in return.

Her heart was once again warmed and tingled by his natural kindness.

Shen Ruanruan softly told him the location of the storage room and led the way.

She deliberately slowed her steps, wanting to prolong this moment alone together.

The voice-activated lights flickered on and off, Lin Hui’s footsteps steady and heavy.

Like an invisible anchor, they steadied her heart, which had grown restless at his nearness.

Feelings… were no longer useless or worthless.

Every thump in her chest told her this truth.

Though it spoke of the uncontrollable, of trouble, she truly… found it hard to resist.