Chen Meng and the other teachers listened, looking thoughtful.

Indeed, if Qin Jiao and Shen Yi really weren’t dating, and they rashly pulled the students in for a lecture, what if it affected their college entrance exams? What if it made the kids rebellious and they decided to start dating for real?

Taking a step back, even if the two were dating, it wasn’t currently affecting their studies. In fact, not only were they advancing side-by-side, but they were also motivating other students to work hard. Furthermore, as far as any of the teachers knew, the two had never behaved inappropriately at school. The most intimate they ever got was probably just studying for a test together.

So, just as Sun Guotao had said, they should place more trust in students who were so rational, smart, and mature.

Qin Jiao, who now had the trust of her teachers and the school administration, was working on a practice test. When she looked up and saw her deskmate, Shen Yi, return, she stood up to let him get to his seat.

After Shen Yi sat down, he glanced at Qin Jiao before turning away and starting on his own practice test in earnest.

Qin Jiao could tell he seemed to have something to say, but since he didn’t speak, she wasn’t going to ask.

For the past few months, she had worked hard to maintain a relationship with Shen Yi that looked close, yet never went beyond the safe distance of classmates and neighbors.

She wasn’t an idiot; she could sense that Shen Yi had a crush on her. He was also very measured in his actions, expressing his affection so subtly that it never made her uncomfortable.

Of course, he hadn’t made any impulsive confessions, either. If he had, they probably wouldn’t be able to happily grind through practice problems together anymore.

What was that saying again? Right—they were more than friends, but not quite lovers. 𝑓𝑟𝑒𝘦𝓌𝑒𝑏𝑛𝑜𝘷𝑒𝘭.𝒸𝘰𝑚

’And it’s impossible for them to ever be "quite." Not in this lifetime.’

’The college entrance exam is just around the corner. Their time for grinding through practice problems together will only get shorter and shorter.’

A little while later, Sun Guotao called several other top students from the class for a talk. Qin Jiao noticed that when Chen Feng returned, his expression was awful.

She didn’t really understand why Chen Feng had become like this.

Qin Jiao remembered the Chen Feng from her past life. His academic performance had been outstanding, and by the time the college entrance exam rolled around, he had been solidly ranked first in their grade.

But now? Forget first in the grade—he couldn’t even consistently stay in the top fifty of the entire school!

Although Lin Nian certainly had an influence on Chen Feng, it shouldn’t have been this significant. After all, look at Lin Nian herself. As dramatic as she could be, she still studied hard. For her, getting into a prestigious university was the stepping stone she needed to marry into the Shen Family.

That meant Chen Feng’s current state was probably due to the influence of his mother, Li Xiaomei.

After all, in his eyes, Li Xiaomei had once been the perfect mother: gentle, strong, and great.

But it turned out she was someone else’s mistress.

Perhaps, in his heart, Chen Feng was stubbornly thinking that he would rather be the son of that drunkard. That way, he could perfectly extricate himself from the affair.

After all, his very existence was the best proof that Li Xiaomei was a mistress.

Others didn’t know, but Chen Feng was well aware: although his ID card said he was over half a year older than Shen Yi, he was actually half a year younger...

Perhaps because Qin Jiao’s gaze lingered on Chen Feng a bit too long, Lin Nian, who was standing nearby, instantly grew displeased. In a passive-aggressive tone, she said, "Qin Jiao, why are you staring at Chen Feng? He might be handsome, but I’m warning you, you’re not allowed to like him!"

The fact that Qin Jiao, with her protagonist’s halo, had scored first in the grade was already enough to make Lin Nian fume.

If the male and female leads got together on top of that...

Lin Nian felt like she would go insane!