Standing Next To You-Chapter 305: Regretting

The exam result shocked everyone at school. The school forum, the group chats, and even the faculties were abuzz with discussions about the huge changes that swept through everyone.

All their attention turned to the three who made such shocking changes. However, no one could find them.

Bei Sangyun was cooped up in the President’s office throughout the whole day, while Lin Sanju, after his brief meeting with Lin Sunji, decided to leave school early and put the mess behind him. Meanwhile, Fei Chuan didn’t even show up at school.

Thus, the day passed with the students left wondering.

...

Lin Sunji arrived home, crestfallen. The conversation with Lin Sanju had drained all her energy and liveliness.

"Where’s your brother? He didn’t come with you?" Li Mei looked behind Lin Sunji but didn’t find Lin Sanju.

"I heard the news from school. Your brother ranked second in the entire grade!" Li Mei was so overwhelmed with the news that her face was glowing with pride.

"Your brother has been very smart since he was young. I thought he had lost all his will to compete and progress. But I can see that he is changing. This should be celebrated." Li Mei was so excited that she failed to recognize Lin Sunji’s darkened face.

Lin Sunji bit her lips, feeling aggrieved. "I ranked second for almost two years, but you never once celebrated. You said achieving second is irrelevant because no one will remember the second ranker. Only first place matters. But you are celebrating because that lazy bastard got second place? Or is it just because I wasn’t as good as him?"

The smile on Li Mei’s face froze. She only now realized how harsh her happiness must have looked to Lin Sunji. "Sunji, I didn’t mean it like that."

Lin Sunji bypassed her mother, not wanting to listen to her. She went upstairs and locked the door. Then she cried miserably on her bed.

Li Mei sighed helplessly. How could she explain her behavior back then?

It was true that she had said those words to Lin Sunji. Being defeated and ranked behind the illegitimate daughter who had been picked up in the countryside was something shameful. So she had never let Lin Sunji celebrate. But she still gave her anything she wanted when she asked for it.

Li Mei went back to the kitchen and wondered if her methods of teaching her children were flawed.

****

Another day passed, yet the tyrant, the top placer, and the second placer did not show up at school. Still, even without their presence, the news that the rankings had undergone a huge change was still the topic of discussion.

However, unlike the others, Zhong Cheng knew exactly where his Boss was.

He sneakingly went to the clinic, locked the door, and opened one of the curtains of the patient’s bed. There, Bei Sangyun was lying on the bed while looking at her tablet.

Bei Sangyun put down the tablet and looked at Zhong Cheng. "Did he come?"

Zhong Cheng shook his head, "Neither Brother-in-law nor Brother Sanju came to school." Zhong Cheng was equally disappointed. He wanted to befriend Lin Sanju today, but he was not here again today.

Bei Sangyun raised her brow at Zhong Cheng. She could guess what was on the latter’s mind. But she did not comment on it and sighed boredly.

"Why is he not coming to school?"

Just when she had already made up her mind to forgive Fei Chuan and let bygones be bygones, the man was nowhere to be seen.

"Why don’t you try to call him, Boss?" Zhong Cheng suggested.

Bei Sangyun glanced at her phone. She hesitated, then shook her head. "He might not answer it. Why don’t you try?"

"Boss, if he did not even answer your calls, why would he answer mine? He might even block my number if I called him twice."

Bei Sangyun: "...." That’s true....

As she wondered if she should make Zhong Cheng visit Fei Chuan at the Fei villa, her phone rang.

Bei Sangyun did not look at the phone’s number and answered it absent-mindedly.

But despite answering, no one spoke on the other line.

Bei Sangyun frowned and was about to check the caller’s ID when the other side finally spoke.

"....Bei Sangyun?"

The familiar deep, low voice that was quite textured and smooth made Bei Sangyun’s heart skip a beat. She sat up straight. There was no need to look at the caller’s ID. She knew who it was.

"...Fei Chuan?"

"...Yeah, it’s me."

The man whom she had been looking for the whole day was now speaking next to her ears. For a moment, she did not know what to say.

This wasn’t their first phone call. But compared to last time, Bei Sangyun felt a bit awkward and careful, as if it were her first time. Her heart was beating non-stop, and her chest felt tight. She was nervous for some reason.

Fei Chuan wasn’t even standing before her, so why was she getting nervous all of a sudden?

During their first phone call, she hadn’t felt like this.

Bei Sangyun took a deep breath to calm her nerves. The man on the other line took a long time to speak, which made her even more nervous.

"Why did you call?" Bei Sangyun took the initiative to ask.

"...I...I have something to say."

Bei Sangyun waited for him to speak the next words. But Fei Chuan was taking his sweet time.

After a long time, Fei Chuan asked instead, "You saw the rankings, right?"

"I did."

There was a moment of silence again. Bei Sangyun bit her lips and added, "Congrats."

"Mhm."

Zhong Cheng, who stood by the bed, watched Bei Sangyun strangely.

His Boss was domineering and had an aura that could match a king, yet she looked like a behaved awkward child while holding the phone. She was so careful and cautious as she spoke.

"Is Brother-in-law angry?" He couldn’t help but ask.

Fei Chuan heard Zhong Cheng’s voice on the other line and recognized it.

"Are you at school?"

Bei Sangyun glared at Zhong Cheng and motioned for him to get out. Zhong Cheng left the room hurriedly with an awkward face.

Bei Sangyun leaned back against the headboard. "Yeah, I’m at the school clinic."

"Are you alright?" His deep tone slightly increased in pitch. His worries were evident in his voice.

Bei Sangyun’s heart warmed up, and she couldn’t help but tease him.

"I’m not fine. The rankings shocked everyone at school, and the students will surely bother me about my own ranking. And you’re not here. Everything is boring. I have the crowd to worry about, and the person I want to be by my side is nowhere to be seen. So I’m not fine."

Fei Chuan was silent for a few seconds.

Bei Sangyun’s smile turned stiff. Had she joked too much again? She was about to laugh it off as a joke when Fei Chuan spoke.

"....I thought you wouldn’t want to see me. So I didn’t attend yesterday and today. And I have to gather my thoughts."

Bei Sangyun bit her lip. He must be talking about how she acted like a child—throwing a tantrum, keeping a cold and angry face in front of him. Bei Sangyun slapped her own forehead. She was really immature and petty at that time.

"....Sorry. I just went overboard at that time. Will you forget it?" Bei Sangyun asked.

Bei Sangyun thought Fei Chuan would easily agree. Since she was offering to forget what happened on the trip including the kiss and her petty attitude.

But she did not hear his response.

The other line was silent.

The dead air was killing Bei Sangyun.

Her heart was thumping nervously, and she felt that all her limbs were turning soft with this uneasiness. She thought she wouldn’t be easily nervous after experiencing two lifetimes, but talking with Fei Chuan on the phone made it feel like her heart was hanging on a pedestal.

"No," came the crisp answer.

Bei Sangyun’s whole body froze.

No?

Before Bei Sangyun could misunderstand, Fei Chuan spoke again. "I don’t want to forget it. I should not have said that to you on that day. I... should have faced it like a man."

Bei Sangyun wondered if something was wrong with her ears. Or why else was she hearing the great stubborn prideful Fei Chuan regretting what he said back then?

Did he change his mind?

"I’d rather say this personally. Can you meet me? I’ll fetch you at school."

Bei Sangyun sprang up from the bed.

He really did change his mind!

"Don’t come to school! I’ll come to you instead!"