I Am More Paranoid Than The Villainess

The Boundary Line

Tan Kai sent Lin Shu to the teaching building.

Lin Shu got out of the car carrying both Shen Man’s schoolbag and her own, and waved to both of them with a smile.

“Why is Lin Shu strange today?” Tan Kai asked in a low voice.

“Is she?” Shen Man smiled softly.

Tan Kai hurriedly shook his head and turned the car around.

After Tan Kai’s car disappeared from sight, the smile on Lin Shu’s face faded. She put down the bag and slumped her shoulders, stretching her arms. Bang! Shen Man’s schoolbag quickly slipped off her shoulder and fell onto the hard ground.

Lin Shu raised her foot and was ready to stomp on it to blow off steam. After some hesitation, she decided to endure this anger.

She straightened up and carried her own bag, then pulled out her phone to make a call, “Yan Jie, I’ve arrived. Where are you?”

“Almost here, I can see you.” Yan Jie replied as she waved her hand.

Lin Shu hung up and proceeded to kick the bag on the floor towards Yan Jie, smiling, “You carry it.”

Yan Jie lifted it and frowned, “Why is her school bag so heavy?”

“She packed some food.” 

Lin Shu then said with excitement, “Don’t worry about this, let’s hurry up and throw it in the bathroom.”

“Okay.” Yan Jie laughed.

When the two arrive at the bathroom, Yan Jie opens Shen Man’s bag and pours out the fruits and snacks inside. Surprised, she said, “No wonder it’s so heavy. She put so many fruits inside.”

“Sister Lin Shu, she must have stolen these fruits from your house in order to please her classmates. She has such a wicked heart.”

Lin Shu responded with a hmph and urged, “It’s just a few fruits, I don’t care. Hurry up, it’ll be bad if someone sees us.”

Yan Jie hurriedly moved the fruits and snacks into her own school bag before placing Shen Man’s bag under the sink faucet.

Watching the water pour into the bag and filling it, Yan Jie laughed in delight. When it was almost full, she closed the bag and said excitedly, “Her bag is waterproof, so it won’t leak even when it’s full. This is perfect, her books will be destroyed.”

“Okay, we should quickly leave now.” Lin Shu smiled in satisfaction.

The two left sneakily, leaving Shen Man’s school bag on the sink counter.

*

When Shen Man came into the classroom, she saw Lin Shu sitting in the last row, happily chatting with the classmates around her with a bright smile. When the two made eye contact, Lin Shu quickly averted her gaze.

Shen Man walked over with a smile, asking, “Shushu, where’s my bag?”

“Ah?” Lin Shu stood up in surprise, then she fidgeted with the hair behind her ear. She blinked hard, as if she had suddenly remembered, and said loudly, “I think I… I forgot it in the bathroom.”

“Let me get it for you.” Her tone weakened as guilt appeared in her eyes.

Shen Man was amused by her amateur acting skills. She shook her head and said with a smile, “It’s fine, I’ll get it myself.”

“Let me go with you. It’s my fault for being so careless.” Lin Shu replied, hurriedly following in Shen Man’s footsteps.

When she arrived at the bathroom, Shen Man saw her schoolbag at first glance. It was weirdly slumping over, and there were pools of water on the counter around it. Shen Man assumed it was wet on the inside too.

She walked over and as soon as she zipped open her bag, water overflowed from inside.

Shen Man had been on guard the entire time, she naturally avoided the sudden attack. Turning her head back to Lin Shu, her eyes turned cold, “Shushu, why is my bag full of water?” What happened to the the fruits and snacks in it?

Lin Shu was afraid. She turned her head towards the window and looked outside, pretending this had nothing to do with her. “How would I know? I just accidentally left it here, so how can I know who did it?”

As she spoke, her voice gradually became firmer.

Shen Man smiled and slowly approached Lin Shu, her eyes deep and full of warning. Lin Shu unconsciously stepped back in terror, but on the surface, she still acted calm. She glared at Shen Man and shouted, “What are you doing?”

“My school bag has become like this and you have half the responsibility.” Shen Man answered, as she placed her hand on the door to prevent Lin Shu from leaving.

Lin Shu looked into her cold eyes in shock, but she craned her neck and refused to bow her head, “Why should I be responsible?”

Shen Man came closer until the tip of their noses almost touched.

Both pairs of eyes looked into each other and their breaths intertwine.

Lin Shu’s heartbeat accelerated uncontrollably and thumped in her ears, as if it was blowing up in her head.

Her whole body began to steam over, her small pale face bright red. Her long eyelashes trembled in uneasiness.

“Shushu, my textbooks can no longer be used. We will share books later.” Shen Man said with a deep voice and a smile. Hearing this, Lin Shu wanted to refuse but as soon as she looked up, she saw Shen Man’s beautiful face in close range. So, she lowered her head and kept silent.

Shen Man hooked her lips in satisfaction and released Lin Shu. She chuckled, “Then it’s decided. You go back first, but remember to bring your bag and sit in the first row.”

When the pressure around her body disappeared, Lin Shu breathed a sigh of relief and fled from the scene.

Shen Man walked to the sink and looked at her soaked books with a light smirk. They were just magazines, all of which belonged to Lin Shu and were casually placed in the living room. They’re easily recognizable if you just looked a bit more closely.

Shen Man smiled as she poured out the water in her bag and put the magazines back.

Suddenly, footsteps came from behind her.

Shen Man turned around to see that it was a girl from her class.

“Class monitor, is there someone bullying you?” she carefully asked as her eyes fell on the wet schoolbag, “Should I inform the head teacher for you?”

“It’s okay. I accidentally got it wet when I washed my hands.” Shen Man refused with a soft smile.

The expression on her face made her seem simple and harmless.

The girl didn’t believe her and said in a hushed voice, “I just saw Lin Shu leave and the expression on her face was suspicious. Could it be her…”

“Don’t think too much.” Shen Man shook her head and interrupted. She then smiled and added, “I’ll go first. Don’t talk nonsense about this matter.”

The girl suddenly felt a trace of threat from her smile and nodded obediently.

Shen Man carried her schoolbag and walked slowly in the corridor.

Walking to the door of the classroom, she met Tan Kai who came from outside.

Tan Kai glanced at the dripping schoolbag, frowned, and said loudly, “Shen Man, who did this to your bag? I’ll teach them a lesson.”

Shen Man shook her head and looked towards the classroom, spotting Lin Shu in the first row.

Lin Shu bowed her head over her open textbooks on the desk, seemingly reading.

Tan Kai walked over immediately and placed a hand on Lin Shu’s open book, with a face full of anger. He lowered his head and said “Lin Shu, you’re usually with Shen Man, do you know who wet her bag?”

“How would I know?” Lin Shu’s eyes widen as she responds loudly. She slapped Tan Kai’s arm hard, and said in dissatisfaction, “Go away, I’m trying to read.”

Tan Kai stepped aside, looked at Shen Man with concern, “Are you all right? Did your books get wet?”

“Thank you for your concern, but Shushu has already promised share her book with me.” Shen Man said with a smile, looking at Lin Shu.

Tan Kai also looked over.

Under the pressure of the two gazes, Lin Shu nodded and glared at Tan Kai with anger, “Why’re you making such a big deal of this? Even Shen Man said it’s alright.”

“I’m just concerned.” Tan Kai said with a smile on his face, “Lin Shu, you’re acting so suspicious today.”

After that, he was afraid that Lin Shu would hit him, so he ran away.

Lin Shu continued to read her book. With a pen in her hand, and drew a mark on the page.

Shen Man sat down and placed her school bag on the ground besides her. She glanced at Lin Shu’s work and gasped, “Shushu, that’s so impressive! You can actually read upside down!”

“Shut up!” Lin Shu’s face turned red as she quickly slammed her book shut with her left hand.

She moved so fast that she forgot her right hand, which was still holding a pen, was still resting on the page. As a result, she slammed the cover onto her pen, which in turn hit her hand.

“Hsss…” Lin Shu frowned, her small face twisted in pain.

Shen Man watched with a smile.

“What are you looking at?” Lin Shu was hurt and angry, she slowly pulled out her hand blew on her injury.

Shen Man retracted her gaze and leaned over.

Lin Shu subconsciously moved away and asked cautiously, “Why are you so close to me?”

“We’re sharing a book, so it’s more convenient to sit closer.” Shen Man replied with a smile, reaching for the book.

Lin Shu watched that slender hand pick up her book and was ready to scold her.

But meeting Shen Man’s smiling eyes, she swallowed all her words in an instant, and sneered, “Fine, you can use my book but you can’t cross this line.”

Lin Shu said, tracing a line on the table with her finger.

Shen Man smiled then pointed to her soaked bag with an expression of distressed, “Shushu, why don’t you use my book instead. You don’t take notes anyway, and it’s still readable.”

“I don’t need your book.” Lin Shu immediately refused. And like an irritated kitten, she forcefully pulled open her book with both hands, “Who said I don’t take notes?”

“Okay, you take notes and I’ll watch.” Shen Man replied.

Lin Shu choked, wanting take back her words. However, she didn’t want to lose face either, so she could only bite the bullet and pick up her pen.

The class bell rang, and the head teacher walked into the classroom.

Seeing Lin Shu sitting in the first row, she was a little surprised and praised, “Everyone learn from Lin Shu and listen to the lesson carefully.”

Lin Shu is notorious for hating school in class.

These words of praise sounded more like sarcasm in Lin Shu’s ears. Her face quickly turned red, and her eyes darted around in embarrassment.

Shen Man covered her lips with the back of her hand, letting out a suppressed laugh..

When Lin Shu heard it, she glared at her with pursed red lips and warned, “Stop laughing!”

Shen Man immediately restrained her smile. The expression on her face became serious, as if she was about to listen to a lesson.

Lin Shu was satisfied and pushed her book towards her.

The head teacher starts the lesson.

Lin Shu listened for a few minutes and only wrote a few words in her book.

She was bored and wanted to sleep. She tilted her head to meet Shen Man’s serious gaze. Shocked, she quickly continued to listen to the lesson.

But only five minutes later, her mind drifted to somewhere else, and the pen in her hand stopped writing.

Suddenly, her arm was pushed.

Lin Shu returned to her senses and glared at Shen Man in dissatisfaction.

“The teacher is teaching the key points right now, copy them down.” Shen Man reminded.

Lin Shu pouted unhappily and handed the pen over, “You write it.”

Shen Man raised her eyebrows and smiled, “I can’t go beyond the line, remember?”

Lin Shu choked and paused for a few seconds before saying, “You’re allowed to go over it in this class only.”

Only then did Shen Man take the pen and took notes seriously.

Lin Shu rested her head on one hand in a daze. She zoned out for half the lesson, and when she came back to her senses, she found that Shen Man’s arm was touching her’s.

The two were touching shoulder to shoulder.

Shen Man’s soft, black hair rested on her wrist, forming a strong visual contrast between her snow-white skin.

Lin Shu suddenly felt itchy on her wrist. The area the hair touched appeared as if it was burned and heated up rapidly.

She hurriedly moved aside and folded her hands together, discreetly scratching them.

Shen Man noticed her actions and curled her lips into a smile. In a low voice, she asked, “Shushu, what’s wrong?”

Lin Shu rolled her eyes and ignored her, scooting away.

Seeing this, Shen Man reminded, “If you move to the side again, you’ll fall.”

Lin Shu was startled. Her body was slightly stiff and she sat in this awkward posture until class was finally over.

Lin Shu quietly breathed a sigh of relief and stood up to leave.

After a while, she came with Tan Kai’s book and threw it in front of Shen Man, saying, “You can use Tan Kai’s book.”

“But I only want to use your book.” Shen Man said in an ambiguous, low voice as she hooked her lips in a mysterious arc.

An unnatural look flashed across Lin Shu’s face, and she quickly replied, “Whatever, I’ll sit somewhere else anyways.”

After speaking, she hurried away.

Shen Man’s smile did not fade