Chapter Ninety-Six [Disgusting Hobby]

The scandal had only just begun to calm down when it exploded into an even greater uproar, and Luo Chen once again became the academy’s center of attention.

The reason was that Zhuo Yuqing had publicly declared that she liked Luo Chen, at least a little.

Even if it was only "a little," those words coming from the academy’s top beauty, a girl who scarcely spared the boys a glance, made it no ordinary matter. Nearly all the male students were consumed with envy, and Luo Chen was pushed once more into the eye of the storm.

The boys had all kinds of reactions to this: envy, jealousy, disdain. As for the girls who had never seen Luo Chen before, quite a few of them specially went to First Year Class Three to see for themselves what kind of man, infamous as he was, could actually win Zhuo Yuqing’s favor. They had all come with hope, only to leave disappointed, because Luo Chen was simply too ordinary: not handsome, not cool, dressed plainly. If one were to casually throw a brick, one could probably hit a dozen similar students at Whiston Academy.

Luo Chen also noticed that the hostility from the boys in First Year Class One was especially obvious. The hateful looks they gave him on sight were impossible to miss, even for the blind. Those elite-class boys were deeply indignant. How could their class beauty be picked by someone like Luo Chen, a total loser in both character and martial skill? If anyone were qualified, it should have been them. No matter how you looked at it, it should never have been Luo Chen.

Zhuo Yuqing seemed to think that what she had done in the dining hall was not enough. When chatting with a few girls, she once again, intentionally or not, showed that she had some feelings for Luo Chen. Those gossip-loving girls then spread the matter everywhere like a loudspeaker, and this time Luo Chen truly became the target of everyone’s attention.

"Hey, Luo Chen, I heard our Zhuo Yuqing said she’s interested in you. What’s going on?" The speaker was Joanna. After the Fire Rose had heard the rumor too, she had very gossipy dragged Lily along and hauled Luo Chen out to interrogate him about the inside story. In truth, it had little to do with her, but Miss Joanna was simply very curious.

As the person involved, Luo Chen was not at all pleased by Zhuo Yuqing’s words. On the contrary, he frowned and said, "I don’t know either. Stop talking about it. I’m already annoyed enough as it is."

Joanna snorted. "You? Annoyed? Zhuo Yuqing is our academy’s number one beauty. After hearing her confession, I bet you’d be smiling even in your sleep!"

"How could I possibly smile?" Luo Chen said gloomily. "You’ve seen it too. Because of just one thing she said, I’ve nearly become the enemy of every boy in the academy. Especially the boys from your class, they look at me as if I’ve dug up their ancestors’ graves!"

Lily added, "Luo Chen, when did you and Zhuo Yuqing meet? We never even heard about it."

"It was last Sunday. I was in the Forest of Fear, preparing to ambush a beast, when she suddenly appeared. She didn’t follow the hunters’ rules at all, shot the beast dead, and stole its crystal core. Her attitude that day was very forceful, who knew that later, in the dining hall, she would suddenly lower herself, apologize to me, and even give me the money from selling the core!"

Luo Chen honestly described the general course of their two meetings. Lily was quite puzzled. "If it was really as you said, then that is strange indeed. More than that, Zhuo Yuqing doesn’t seem like the sort of person who would lower herself and speak so softly."

Joanna immediately agreed. "Exactly. She gets along pretty well with us girls, but she has never even bothered to pay attention to the boys in her class. Tsk, Luo Chen, you really do have quite the charm!" She looked Luo Chen up and down several times. "Why can’t I see it?"

Luo Chen laughed at himself. "Come on, classmate Joanna, don’t mock me. I know perfectly well that even dogs won’t touch me."

"Even dogs won’t touch you?" Lily covered her mouth and laughed. "Luo Chen, you’re being far too hard on yourself."

"Anyway, you came at just the right time. Classmate Lily, classmate Joanna, I happen to have something I’d like to ask you to help me with."

"What is it?"

"It’s like this..." Luo Chen coughed lightly. "I’d like you to find a chance to talk about me with Zhuo Yuqing."

Joanna snorted. "Aha, so there it is. You were just saying you weren’t happy about it, and now you want to use us to help you chase a girl!"

"No, no, no, listen to me first," Luo Chen hurriedly said. "I want you to find a chance, while speaking in front of her, to mention me and say that I’m a very awful person, with quite a few bad habits. I usually don’t brush my teeth in the morning, only change my underwear once a week, and often don’t even flush after using the toilet..."

Luo Chen listed a long string of things, then gritted his teeth and threw caution to the wind. "And when I sleep, I even like to wear a girl’s underwear on my head..."

As soon as he finished speaking, Joanna pointed at Luo Chen and said in horror, "Luo Chen, y-you, you pervert! You actually have such disgusting tastes. I never imagined you were this kind of person. I’m done with you, Lily, let’s go!"

Lily quickly held Joanna back. "Those are all things Luo Chen made up himself. What he means is that he wants to make Zhuo Yuqing disgusted with him this way, and then Luo Chen won’t be targeted anymore."

"So that’s what it is," Joanna muttered. "I thought he was a pervert."

Luo Chen was quite puzzled. Joanna’s IQ should be very high, but her EQ really was not much to speak of. Such a simple idea, and she still could not understand it.

Lily smiled. "Still, Luo Chen, we can help you, but we can’t guarantee that what we say won’t be overheard by others and spread around. By then, you really might become the academy’s pervert..."

Luo Chen wiped away cold sweat. "Forget it. Let’s leave out that last bit. The earlier parts should be enough." Being seen as a sloppy layabout, Luo Chen could still accept. But as for a pervert, that was going too far.

Lily nodded. "All right. We’ll find a chance to say something to Zhuo Yuqing."

"Make sure it’s as soon as possible," Luo Chen added. "And also, make it sound like you’re just mentioning me casually."

Joanna said impatiently, "Relax. Do we look that stupid?"

Luo Chen thought to himself that his words had actually been meant to remind her. Joanna’s EQ was so low that if he did not nudge her, she might well mess it up later. Seeing that she had understood, he did not waste any more words. "Then I’ll wait for good news."

The two girls were very efficient. The very next day, Joanna dragged Luo Chen out again. "We handled your matter for you!"

Luo Chen perked up. "And the reaction?"

"The reaction was excellent," Lily said. "After hearing it, Zhuo Yuqing praised you for being unrestrained in what you do, for not fussing over small details. She said a man should be like you, Luo Chen, truly a real man..."

Luo Chen nearly fainted. "Classmate Lily, that’s what you call an excellent reaction?"

"It is excellent," Lily said with a smile. "Classmate Luo Chen, you’ve become a real man."

Luo Chen wiped his brow. "Could you please stop teasing me?"

Joanna then said, "I really can’t imagine what Zhuo Yuqing is thinking. If a boy were pursuing me, just the fact that he didn’t flush after using the toilet would be enough for me to have him roll a hundred thousand miles away!"

Luo Chen sighed. "If everyone could think the way classmate Joanna does, that would be great. Forget it, let her think whatever she wants."

At that moment, he still did not know that, because of Zhuo Yuqing’s words, an innocent disaster was slowly drawing near.