"I didn't realize it was in the room until I lay down on the bed, and I couldn't contact anyone, so I didn't dare to get out of bed."

Zhu Qingyue looked as if she had lingering fears.

"I thought I was really going to be killed, and the best result would be to be abducted. But in the end, that guy stayed under the bed all night, and didn't leave until dawn, so I couldn't sleep well..."

"Wait, wait, wait a minute!"

Sunny Xu couldn't help but press his aching forehead and raised his hand to stop her from continuing.

The information contained in her words was too much.

He had speculated before, thinking that the possessor's attack on the campus was aimed at Zhu Qingyue, but later, because of the reappearance of the haunted house old man, he put this speculation aside. But judging from the follow-up of the incident as described by Zhu Qingyue, was that possessor really originally targeting the class president?

And, that monster actually stayed under Zhu's bed all night, without doing anything. Could it be just for surveillance? This is a bit too eerie...

No, something's not right. The matter of the monster can even be put aside. The most confusing question for him at the moment is—

"You didn't mention this to me the next day, did you?"

"No."

Zhu Qingyue nodded slightly.

"You didn't mention it to Starry either?"

Both girls nodded at the same time.

"So, on the second night..."

Sunny Xu was a little incredulous and asked tentatively, and the girl quickly gave an affirmative answer.

"Yes, that person ran under my bed again at night and stayed there all night. Just like the first day, it seems like it's just a monitor."

At this point, she sighed deeply.

"I even called the security to check the situation, and later I realized that ordinary people couldn't possibly find traces of a monster invasion..."

"—Then why didn't you say anything when you met us at school?!"

Sunny Xu finally couldn't help but ask the most crucial question.

Starry Lin, who was beside him, shook her head vigorously, also wearing an incredulous expression.

At this moment, Sunny Xu suddenly remembered that during those days, including the time at the cram school, Zhu Qingyue's mental state seemed really bad, with dark circles under her bright and clean face, and it took her a few days to recover.

He thought it was because Zhu Qingyue was worried about the intruder... No, it's impossible not to worry when sleeping with a monster under the bed all night, but the difference in degree is too far, isn't it?!

"You could have told us about that night, and we would definitely have found a way to help you. It's not guaranteed to be resolved, but it's better than..." Sunny Xu tapped his temple, saying with a headache, "...better than going home honestly the next night and sleeping with the monster again."

Or rather, is this something an ordinary person can do?

The monster hiding under the bed, and the classmate who knew this would happen but still lay on the bed with the monster—

Sunny Xu couldn't understand which side was scarier for a while.

"I did consider asking for your help, but then I felt a little embarrassed, so I gave up. After all, you've already saved me once."

In Sunny Xu's memory, Zhu Qingyue did show a difficult emotion at the time, but at that time, he could never have imagined that it was because of the reason "embarrassed to speak out."

"Anyway," Zhu Qingyue seemed indifferent to the surprise of the two, and continued, "the situation at that time was different from now."

"What's different?" Sunny Xu asked with a bit of amusement, "Because now you're not afraid of the monster anymore?"

"Because back then, we weren't friends yet," she said, "Fighting monsters is undoubtedly a dangerous thing, and I had no reason to let people of the same age who were just classmates risk their lives to save me."

It sounds reasonable. But...

"Just because of this?"

Sunny Xu's attitude was very serious as he looked directly into Zhu Qingyue's clear and bright eyes.

This is very unreasonable.

The threat of the monster and the fear of death are real, and it can easily control a person's mind.

For someone who has survived a disaster, a strong desire to survive will drive them to act. It can't be said that they will definitely become unscrupulous, but they will definitely try to grab any straw to save their lives...

"Yes."

Zhu Qingyue's answer was decisive.

"—I think you're just joking with your own life."

Starry Lin, who had been silent, finally spoke, her delicate eyebrows almost knitted together.

"...Hearing this kind of reason, no one would feel happy, or think that you are understanding. At least I don't feel that way at all." The girl's tone was quite cold, "I just think you're very abnormal."

Sunny Xu nodded in agreement.

Zhu Qingyue looked at his face, and then at Starry Lin's face.

"In fact, I didn't intend to tell you about this. But you two have helped me time and time again. And I, who said I wanted to be friends, still don't know how to take a step forward and haven't made any contribution... So I feel that, apart from the necessary secrets, I need to be honest with you both."

At this point, she smiled a little shyly.

"In fact, no one at school knows, I'm just such a difficult and troublesome person."

Zhu Qingyue's expression at the moment seemed to be saying: Do you regret it?

A quick look at "paw𝑟ead.com" will leave you more fulfilled.

Do you two regret promising to be my friends that day?

...

Sunny Xu and Starry Lin looked at each other.

"...No, as long as you don't keep things from us like this in the future, I don't mind." Sunny Xu coughed, "I can handle even the most troublesome people... Uh!"Starry Lin timely gave his abdomen a light elbow strike, then turned his head and answered expressionlessly:

"You've said so much, of course I won't have any objections. It's all your decision, and no one else can interfere."

She then asked:

"And then? Seigetsu Zhu, did you call me over just for this?"

"Of course not."

The class leader shook his head.

"I just said, since becoming friends, it seems like I've never done anything for you two, and you've always been helping me. I was thinking, there must be something I can do to help."

"Ah~ I see, you want to help."

Starry Lin squinted her eyes, suddenly thought of something, and laughed, a smile that was both cute and cunning, like a fox that had stolen rice.

"Perfect, I do have something I want to tell you."

"What is it?"

Seigetsu Zhu looked curious.

Under Sunny Xu's strange gaze, she reached out and put her arm on Seigetsu Zhu's shoulder, adopting a rather affectionate attitude and said:

"Recently, I've been a little tight on money."

She said with a smile, making a standard finger-rubbing gesture.

"I wonder if you can sponsor a little~"

This is exactly the dialogue of a small-time thug extorting money!

"I understand."

Seigetsu Zhu nodded calmly and took out a cute wallet embroidered with a small dog pattern from her pocket.

"May I ask, how much money do you need?"

She asked as she unzipped the wallet.

"Let me see."

Starry Lin coughed lightly, put her hands in her pockets, and leaned in directly to look.

"Okay, help yourself."

Seigetsu Zhu generously opened her wallet for her to see.

"Not too much, just a little... Wow, there's so much money in there! Are you planning to pay ten years of school fees in advance!"

Sunny Xu couldn't help but hold his head in his hands and sighed deeply.

If there were others present at this time, they would definitely think that what they were seeing was a scene of a good girl paying tribute to a bad girl...

Starry Lin swallowed, her eyes almost showing money signs, and she asked carefully:

"Um, can I just take one out at random..."

"No, no, definitely not!"

Sunny Xu quickly stopped this sinful transaction.

By the way, he happened to (really not on purpose) glance at the wallet in Seigetsu Zhu's hand, and saw a large stack of red hundred-dollar bills...

Even in Jinjiang City, a relatively economically stagnant coastal city nationwide, the average annual income of residents in the urban area is just over ten thousand yuan; for students from ordinary families, there are not many who can get pocket money from their parents, and what Seigetsu Zhu had in her little wallet was almost the salary of an ordinary worker for several months, which made Sunny Xu secretly amazed.

To be honest, he had only seen this scene in TV dramas before, even those gangster characters wearing gold chains, arrogantly opening a black briefcase to reveal stacks of red bills; but he never thought that a similar scene would appear in the little dog wallet carried by a high school girl...

Truly worthy of someone who can live in a high-end residential area like Jinjiang Garden, she really is a little rich woman.

Starry Lin "tsk"ed, saying, "What? It's just a joke, I'm not taking it to heart," and obediently withdrew her hand.

"Let me make it clear, Seigetsu Zhu."

The girl with long hair put her hand back to her mouth, coughed lightly, and tried not to let her gaze drift to the cute little dog wallet.

"I think my life is good enough now, I don't lack anything, so you don't need to try to please me."

"This isn't about pleasing, it's about helping each other."

Seigetsu Zhu smiled and put away her little wallet.

"But, compared to money, I do have 'better things' to share, which are more suitable for you, Starry."

"...What?"

"It's said that 'giving a man a fish is not as good as teaching a man to fish', only by studying hard, getting into a good school in the future, and finding a good job, can one have a bright future..."

"What do you mean by that?"

Starry Lin smelled something fishy in this familiar-sounding speech, her beautiful eyes widened, staring at the other person with great vigilance.

"Do I need to explain? I believe that during this time, Sunny Xu has mentioned this to you more than once."

Seigetsu Zhu said with a smile.

"—We have the monthly exam this Thursday, we need to make a final push. It would be best if you could improve your study level in these two days."

"..."

Starry Lin stood still, her dumbfounded expression seemed to say, "How did this matter get dragged onto me?"

"Don't worry, I will help you in this process, this is the best way I can think of to help a friend."

"No, I don't—"

"Great!" Sunny Xu interrupted her with a pleasantly surprised expression, "Seigetsu Zhu, are you ready?"

"Of course." Seigetsu Zhu ignored Starry Lin's resistance and replied, "I've actually considered it a long time ago. Didn't you say you wanted to help check the situation that day? In fact, after that, I tried to tailor a study plan for Starry Lin."

"You actually did it."

Sunny Xu was very pleased.

"Great, let me see it when we get back, and if it's okay, you can use it directly, anyway, according to the teacher, these two days are self-study classes."

"I told you, I don't agree—!"

Starry Lin shouted discontentedly from the side.

...That being said, in the end, the conclusion was reached by a fair vote of two to one, and Starry Lin could only accept the fact that she would be tutored by Seigetsu Zhu, feeling dejected.

"W-wait a minute," the girl with long hair suddenly thought of something and turned to Sunny Xu, "Since last week, didn't you already arrange a study plan for me? So, should I listen to you or to her?"

Translation:

If one day, as a student with poor grades, you have the opportunity to be taught by the top two students in your grade, and they are both your friends, and they both promise to teach you wholeheartedly, which one would you choose?

The answer is undoubtedly, of course—

"I will definitely go for both."

Sunny Xu answered very seriously.

Just now, he had already considered this question, and the more he thought about it, the more perfect it seemed.

If the two of them stayed together in the classroom, it would easily attract the attention of students and teachers, and it would be difficult to study well under the gaze of others, especially with the recent crackdown on puppy love at school... Although they were both clear in their conscience, it was still better to be cautious.

So, during the day, it would be Seigetsu Zhu's responsibility;

And at night, when Seigetsu Zhu was not around, it would be a great opportunity for Sunny Xu to shine.

"What, what did you say..."

Starry Lin's expression completely darkened this time.

"It's okay, even if it's hard, it's just a few hard days, and it will pass."

Sunny Xu comforted in the tone of a teacher.

"You will soon shine in the next exam, aren't you happy about it?"

"I don't feel happy at all..." the girl complained weakly, "Just following the study plan for these two days is already very hard, I feel like you've already drained me dry..."