The Infatuated Cannon Fodder Quits Chapter 76

How did this happen!

With a bump on his forehead, Xie Ruan wished he could disappear on the spot.

They hadn’t made any noise last night! In the heat of the moment, Bo Jin had even pulled up his shirt for him to bite down on to keep quiet.

How did these people even know? And it was spreading everywhere!

For the first time, Xie Ruan realized the bittersweet price of dating someone famous in school.

Feeling lightheaded, he walked stiffly to his classroom, his mind looping thoughts like “I can’t show my face anymore,” “Please end me now,” and “Is it too late to get plastic surgery and change my name?”

His phone buzzed twice. Not wanting to deal with any more shocks, he left it alone.

But the annoying device kept vibrating, catching the attention of nearby students who glanced at him curiously.

With no choice, Xie Ruan took a deep breath, steeled himself, and unlocked his phone.

[Rank-Up Little Song]: Smooth, bro! Way to go!

[Rank-Up Little Song]: So, did God Bo sleep well?

Xie Ruan: “…”

His face burned red as he nearly threw his phone across the room.

So, does the entire school know he slept in Bo Jin’s dorm?! If it had really happened, he’d own up to it. But they hadn’t even done anything!

Who spread this ridiculous rumor?

Gritting his teeth, he typed a reply, his fingers pressing hard on each key as if trying to pierce the screen.

[Your Bro Xie]: ?? Don’t know what you’re talking about.

[Rank-Up Little Song]: Oh, don’t play dumb. I already know.

[Rank-Up Little Song]: You really have your ways.

Everyone knows!

Xie Ruan almost fainted.

Luckily, Song Xinghe’s next message was a relief.

[Rank-Up Little Song]: Right, I forgot you don’t read the forums.

[Rank-Up Little Song]: [Link shared]

[Rank-Up Little Song]: The most popular post since school started. You’re making waves, bro!

Ignoring everything else, Xie Ruan clicked on the link and read the post from top to bottom. He breathed a huge sigh of relief.

Thank goodness, they meant “sleep” as in “stayed over,” not anything else. Clearly, he’d been hanging around Bo Jin too long—his own thoughts were starting to turn impure!

Instead of heading straight into class, he crouched at the hallway’s corner and replied to Song Xinghe.

[Your Bro Xie]: Stop with the nonsense.

[Your Bro Xie]: I stayed there for you last night.

[Rank-Up Little Song]: ??? Why does your story suddenly involve me? Don’t shift the blame.

Xie Ruan kept a straight face and fibbed with confidence.

[Your Bro Xie]: It was late after finishing my assignments.

[Your Bro Xie]: I didn’t want to disturb you, so I stayed there.

Fortunately, Song Xinghe bought it without hesitation—Xie Ruan’s good behavior must’ve convinced him.

[Rank-Up Little Song]: Ah, no worries! I sleep like a log; even thunder won’t wake me. Just come back next time.

Feeling guilty, Xie Ruan replied with a simple “Okay.”

But then Song Xinghe circled back to the original topic.

[Rank-Up Little Song]: We’ll see how effective it is after the exams.

[Rank-Up Little Song]: And if it works… mind if I join you in God Bo’s dorm next time?

Xie Ruan: “???”

[Your Bro Xie]: Get lost!

It wasn’t that he’d mind, but with Bo Jin’s personality, there’s no way he’d let anyone else stay over in his dorm. Xie Ruan was just helping him save face, nothing more!

[Rank-Up Little Song]: Young man, no need to be so possessive. I’m here to join, not to break you two up.

Xie Ruan: “…”

Not wanting to waste time arguing, Xie Ruan put his phone away and was just about to stand up when someone tugged on his hair. He looked up, face expressionless, and Bo Jin’s face appeared right before him.

“What are you doing crouched here, pretending to be a mushroom?”

At the sight of him, Xie Ruan felt his irritation spike; none of these rumors would have spread if it weren’t for Bo Jin. He stretched out a hand with authority. “Pull me up.”

Bo Jin looked thoughtful. There would be such a good thing? 

It seemed the old saying was right—sharing a bed really could bring people closer. He’d learned something new!

He took Xie Ruan’s hand, easily helping him up, then, noticing Xie’s annoyed face, chuckled, “What’s up? Who’s bothering you?”

Xie Ruan thought, “Isn’t it you, always flirting wherever we are, you jerk?” But he didn’t dare say it, fearing Bo Jin would take advantage of the chance to continue teasing. So he lied, “Nothing, just nervous about the upcoming exams.”

“Still not over that, huh?” As a straight-A student who had never missed first place, Bo Jin couldn’t quite understand his boyfriend’s test anxiety. He glanced around to make sure no one was nearby, then tilted Xie Ruan’s chin up. “My bad for not giving you enough study god energy last night. No worries, we can continue tonight—”

Xie Ruan, mortified, covered Bo Jin’s mouth and gave him a light smack on the shoulder with his forehead. “Shut up.”

Bo Jin laughed and rubbed his shoulder. He reached over to smooth his boyfriend’s ruffled hair. “Back to class?”

Xie Ruan rubbed his face. “Yes!”

Now that he knew the forum post was just a harmless joke, Xie Ruan relaxed around Bo Jin. The two of them spent more time together publicly, giving the forum plenty of new gossip, and the thread grew so popular even the teachers had noticed.

After the last exam, the science teachers of Class One, feeling the weight of the exams lifted, relaxed in the staff room with tea.

The English teacher, a lively one, closed her laptop and turned to Sun Fuan, saying, “Hey, Brother Sun, did you see the latest post about Xie Ruan on the forum?”

Sun Fuan poured hot water into his tea and didn’t even look up. “Another post about his grades?”

It wasn’t that he was unfazed; he’d just seen too many such posts last semester to be surprised anymore.

The English teacher held back laughter. “Yes and no.”

Sun Fuan, puzzled, looked up. “What do you mean?”

Even though they could be informal, the English teacher didn’t feel it was appropriate to mention such things in the office. They took out their phone, found the post, and handed it to him. “See for yourself.”

“What’s all this secrecy about?” Sun Fuan adjusted his fogged-up glasses and took the phone.

Sun Fuan’s expression gradually turned into that of a startled grandfather on the subway reading a phone. “What kind of nonsense is this?”

The English teacher laughed, “I think it’s pretty funny.”

“It’s only you young people who find it amusing,” Sun Fuan shook his head. “If they spent this energy studying, maybe they’d get somewhere.”

He didn’t know what to say to that.

The English teacher, still young, hated being lectured and quietly backed off from the conversation.

Since it was only a midterm and not part of the district exams, the grades came out quickly. By the end of the first day, all the scores were compiled.

Seeing Xie Ruan’s total score of 578, Sun Fuan nodded in satisfaction and took the grade sheet to the classroom.

Looked like this student hadn’t slacked off at all over the break. Just the way a student should be!

Class One was quiet as usual. Students were either studying or quietly chatting about the exam.

Sun Fuan opened the door, rapped on the desk, and announced, “Everyone, quiet down. I’m here to go over the exam results.”

At once, the room fell silent as everyone turned to the front, eyes eager and fixed.

Sun Fuan: “?”

He couldn’t help feeling their attention was a little… odd.

Clearing his throat, he held up the results sheet, “I’ll just summarize. You can check the specific scores after class.”

“While we still have the highest overall scores, I’m not satisfied. Why? Too many of you made mistakes on questions you should’ve gotten right. Do you think you can just fool around and slack off because of the break? Even Bo Jin wouldn’t say that!”

Below, Sun Haoxiang muttered, “Yeah, right.”

Sun Fuan shot him a fierce glare until he shrank back. “Now, some of you might’ve slacked off, but others made great use of their time. I’d like to recognize one of you—”

“Xie Ruan, with a total score of 578. I don’t have to tell you all what he scored when he first came to our class and where he is now…”

Sun Fuan continued praising, looking at Xie Ruan with all the pride of a parent, practically treating him like a son. Yet hardly anyone in class seemed to be listening.

Everyone was either thrilled or excited, all whispering about the same topic.

“578! That’s Xie Ruan’s all-time best! It worked!”

“Guess it’s true; sleeping near God Bo really does help!”

“For the next exam, I think I’ll…”

“No, don’t even think about it. God Bo would kill you.”

…….

All this over a simple grade announcement? This wasn’t the first time he’d made one. Why were these students acting so excited?

Sun Fuan was puzzled and raised his brows at one of the more enthusiastic students, “Sun Haoxiang, care to share what you’re all talking about down there?”

Caught off guard, Sun Haoxiang blurted out without thinking, “Borrowing a pen didn’t help; the only way is to spend the night with Brother Bo!”

The room fell silent for a moment, then exploded with laughter so loud it nearly raised the ceiling.

Sun Fuan: “…”

With a face like thunder, Sun Fuan pointed towards the door. “Get out and stand in the hallway!”

Sun Haoxiang wished he could seal his mouth shut, slinking out of the room under Xie Ruan’s death glare.

Xie Ruan kicked the leg of He Mingjie’s desk in the back row, who had been laughing the loudest, his face slowly growing fierce. “Is it funny?”

“Cough, not funny, not funny at all.” He Mingjie cleared his throat, struggling to hold in his laughter to avoid the wrath of Xie Ruan’s fist.

Xie Ruan stared him down for a few seconds, making him visibly nervous, then finally looked away.

Glancing at Bo Jin beside him, completely unaffected, he gritted his teeth. “Are you not embarrassed?”

“Why would I be?” Bo Jin looked at him, totally calm. “With so many people helping us go public, I’m thrilled.”

Xie Ruan: “…”

Confirmed. This man has no shame!

Feeling embarrassed to his very core, Xie Ruan’s hands fumbled before instinctively pulling out his phone. Bo Jin was about to comfort him, but when he accidentally caught sight of his screen, his expression subtly changed.

[There’s a volunteer event at Sunshine Orphanage this Sunday. Want to join?]

Why would Xie Ruan want to volunteer at Sunshine Orphanage? Was he just interested in volunteering, or… had he figured something out?

For the first time in his life, Bo Jin felt genuinely unsettled.

Though no one at school knew, quite a few people at the orphanage knew about his hyperthymesia — the director, Aunt Feng… even many long-term employees. It was practically an open secret.

If anyone accidentally let it slip in front of Xie Ruan…

Bo Jin didn’t even want to imagine the possibility.

Taking a deep breath, his gaze turned complex and dark.

Even the director who raised him couldn’t fully accept his condition. So what about Xie Ruan?

He trusted Xie Ruan, but he wasn’t willing to gamble on it. Even if he had a 99.9% chance, he wouldn’t risk it.

What if Xie Ruan got scared? What if he couldn’t handle it…

Unaware that Bo Jin had seen his phone, Xie Ruan quietly shifted his body to turn away, intending to ask if the event was in the morning or afternoon. He had classes in the morning but could go in the afternoon. Suddenly, Bo Jin grabbed his hand, pressing down with surprising strength, as if he were using all his energy to stop him. Startled, Xie Ruan looked up and met Bo Jin’s intense, brooding gaze.

After being together this long, Xie Ruan had seen many sides of Bo Jin — playful, affectionate, serious — but never like this, as if he were a volcano on the verge of eruption.

Even though the lava was held back, he could feel the intense emotions boiling underneath.

“What’s wrong with you?”