Chu Ci took the initiative to talk to him, skillfully finding the right words to please him, showing more courtesy than anyone else. Now the whole class could see that Chu Ci had feelings for him.
This was the first time Lin Nuo encountered a girl who actively pursued him. However, he didn't want to have a deeper connection with Chu Ci. For now, he could only accept her as his desk partner.
Despite his hesitations, he was genuinely pleased with the gift that Chuci had chosen; Lu Xing did enjoy that kind of stuff.
"How much is it?" Lin Nuo asked Chuci. He intended to buy it from her. Lin Nuo didn't want to play with girls' feelings; he disliked being ambiguous to take advantage of them.
He had previously asked Chu Ci to buy water and snacks, but he only wanted to test her. It was unlikely that he would allow a girl to buy him something truly valuable. Chu Ci was not the type of person who had a lot of money. It was clear that she was living a frugal life, and the items on the table likely took her a long time to acquire.
"For you." Chu Ci didn't care about the cost; she simply wanted to give it as a gift. No matter how indifferent she tried to appear, Lin Nuo understood that this gift was incredibly valuable to her.
Lin Nuo didn't press the matter further. He took out a stack of hundred-yuan bills from his wallet and placed them in front of Chu Ci. The amount wasn't much, less than twenty or thirty bills.
"I'll give you this for now, and I'll make up the rest later," Lin Nuo said, knowing that the gift was worth more than two to three thousand yuan. Unfortunately, he only had so much cash on him.
"No." Chu Ci immediately shoved the money back towards Lin Nuo. She remained calm and aloof.
"Don't be stubborn," Lin Nuo replied seriously. "Don't put yourself in an embarrassing situation over something that doesn't truly matter."
Lin Nuo placed the money directly into Chu Ci's schoolbag and then got up with the items Chu Ci gave him. It seemed he was going to find Lu Xing.
Members of the school basketball team were training in the gymnasium. A few teammates surrounded Chu Han, expressing their envy over his collection of badges.
"Xiaohan, how did you manage to collect all those difficult badges? Did it cost you a lot of money?" one teammate asked.
"Xiao Han, you need to let me befriend you! I had no idea you were so wealthy and capable. I'll definitely rely on you in the future!" another boy chimed in.
The boys took turns expressing their desire to become close friends with Chu Han.
"My sister bought these for me! The real support is my sister, not me! If you're going to be jealous of someone, be jealous of my sister, who loves me," Chu Han replied with a smug expression.
"Your sister? But aren't you an only child?" another teammate questioned.
"That's..." Chu Han was taken aback.
In the past, he would have answered without hesitation; his cousin had grown up with him, almost like a sister. But now, the phrase "only child" brought other thoughts to mind.
"I... I'm referring to my cousin, my aunt's daughter, who was raised alongside me," Chu Han explained.
"This cousin is really wonderful. It's not that I think my sister is inferior, but I wish I had a cousin who would be willing to spend a lot of money to buy me the things I like."
The boys on the basketball team still envied Chu Han. At that moment, Lin Nuo arrived, and everyone immediately fell silent. He was known for being ruthless; anyone who offended him would face serious consequences. Only their captain dared to associate with him at school.
Just then, Lu Xing came out after changing into his sportswear. When he saw Lin Nuo, he smiled and asked, "What brings you here?"