Chapter 7

The next day, Yu Fan overslept again, as expected.

He figured he might as well go all in, so he strolled toward the school gate, mentally planning how to negotiate with the old security guard to skip the pointless wall-climbing routine—

"It's only been a few days since school started, huh?" Fat Tiger's voice carried all the way to the nearby convenience store. "Late on the first day back! Are you planning to just skip class altogether from now on?"

A row of boys stood at the school gate, all familiar faces at a glance.

They were all slouching, heads down, looking lazy and cocky, each with their own unique stance, and none of them looked happy—they probably hadn't expected Fat Tiger to personally catch latecomers at the gate on the second day of school.

This group looked like troublemakers, which made the person standing at the far right stand out immediately.

Hu Pang was tired of yelling. He walked over with his hands behind his back, his tone suddenly softening by seventy percent. "Jingshen, what's going on this time? Overslept?"

Seeing that upright figure, Yu Fan remembered that unlucky letter again. He made a decision on the spot, tightened his face, and was about to turn around and head to the back gate.

But Chen Jingshen seemed to sense something. He lifted his gaze and looked straight at him.

Their eyes met. Yu Fan felt something was off and instinctively quickened his pace—

"Yu Fan." Chen Jingshen called out.

The others, who had been signaling with their eyes for their buddy to run, were like: "?"

Hu Pang turned around nimbly: "?"

Yu Fan: "..."

Are you fucking doing this on purpose?

Half a minute later, Yu Fan joined them with a look of bad luck. He didn't even glance at Chen Jingshen and went straight to the far left of the line.

"Line up from shortest to tallest, how many times do I have to say it?" Hu Pang pointed next to Chen Jingshen. "You stand over there."

Yu Fan: "..."

When are you going to get rid of your damn OCD?

Yu Fan moved over extremely reluctantly.

"You were trying to run just now, weren't you?" Once he was in position, Hu Pang continued. "Late yesterday, late today, and you even lied to a teacher! Tell me, do you act like a student at all?"

Yu Fan asked, "What did I lie about?"

"I asked your Teacher Zhuang. She said your parents are just working away from home. What did you tell me yesterday?"

"..."

"You even said something so heartless. I think you're really beyond saving," Hu Pang said. "Only your Teacher Zhuang is still willing to deal with you. I'm tired of saying even one more word to a student like you!"

Yu Fan was about to say something, but the guys next to him immediately started frantically making faces to hint—Don't say anything, bro, or we'll be standing here all morning.

Yu Fan clicked his tongue inwardly, looked away, and shut up.

After talking for so long, Hu Pang was a bit out of breath. He unscrewed his thermos, took a sip, and glanced at his watch.

"Stand properly! Straighten up! Stop being so sloppy. Show some youthful spirit!"

After saying that, Hu Pang turned to the person next to him. "Jingshen, you go back to the classroom first, or you'll miss the first period. Next time, watch the time, don't be late again, okay."

"Hey, Director Hu, I have a problem with that. We're all late, so why does he get to leave while we have to stand?" The guy with the permed hair in the middle spoke up. "That's not fair."

That guy was Zuo Kuan, from Class Eight next door. In Hu Pang's eyes, he was an even bigger headache than Yu Fan.

Yu Fan was also a troublemaker, but he usually didn't start trouble. If you ignored the small stuff like skipping class and sleeping, he was still relatively easy to handle.

But not Zuo Kuan. He often led fights with seniors or students from other schools, causing a big stir. And he had some connections at home—rumored to be a distant relative of the principal—so he always got off with just a major demerit.

After saying that, Zuo Kuan instinctively looked for an ally. "Right, Yu Fan?"

Yu Fan blurted out, "I don't have a problem with it."

If he could, he'd want Chen Jingshen to run away.

Zuo Kuan: "..."

Hu Pang was about to lose it when he heard Chen Jingshen say calmly, "No need, Director. I'm willing to accept the punishment."

"Look, all of you, look at him." Hu Pang looked satisfied. He walked up to Zuo Kuan. "Fair? The total of your scores in several subjects isn't even as high as his score in one subject, and you dare talk to me about fairness..."

Hu Pang shifted his target and scolded Zuo Kuan for a long time. Yu Fan was getting sleepy listening.

Hu Pang wasn't looking this way, so Yu Fan leaned back against the wall, yawning lazily.

An annoying scent suddenly leaned toward him—

"Did you read my love letter?" Chen Jingshen's voice was a little hoarse when he spoke low.

"..."

You have the nerve to bring that up?

And right at the school gate, in front of the dean??

Yu Fan didn't even lift his head, his tone harsh. "Tore it up."

"Mm," Chen Jingshen reached into his pocket. "I wrote a new one last night."

"?"

Yu Fan straightened up abruptly and, before Chen Jingshen could pull anything out, grabbed his wrist quickly, stopping his movement.

Yu Fan's palm was a bit cold. Chen Jingshen glanced at him and stopped moving.

"Don't you understand human language?" Yu Fan ground his teeth. "I told you I don't like guys..."

"Yu Fan! What are you doing?"

Hearing the commotion, Hu Pang hurried over, shocked. "Why are you grabbing his hand? Let go!"

There was no way Yu Fan was letting go. What if he let go and Chen Jingshen pulled out another pink envelope? Who would take responsibility?

"I—" Yu Fan held on tightly, struggling for a moment. "My hands are cold."

Hu Pang looked confused. "If your hands are cold, put them in your pockets. Don't disturb other students."

"..."

Yu Fan still didn't move. He was gripping Chen Jingshen's wrist, his whole body stiff.

He was thinking about what to say when the person in his grip suddenly exerted force. Yu Fan couldn't hold him back. When Chen Jingshen pulled his hand free, Yu Fan's heart gave a violent lurch—

Luckily, he didn't pull anything out.

Yu Fan let go of his hand, feeling as exhausted as if he'd just been in a fight.

Hu Pang sensed something was off and frowned. "What were you just talking about? What guys? What books?"

What kind of demon hearing is that?

Yu Fan started making things up on the spot. "He was recommending study guides for men."

Chen Jingshen's eyelid twitched, but he didn't say anything.

"Nonsense. What study guide discriminates by gender? Besides, would you even read a study guide?" Hu Pang looked at him suspiciously. "What study guide did he recommend? Let me hear it."

Yu Fan: "Junior High Math Knowledge Points Summary, How a Rookie Learns Math, Slow Bird... Flies First 2017 Edition."

The guys next to him: "??"

Hu Pang hadn't expected it to actually be about study guides.

He was stunned for a moment, then nodded in agreement. "These books... they really are quite suitable for you. Not bad."

Yu Fan had a curse word on the tip of his tongue, but he held it back at the last second.

With Chen Jingshen there, Hu Pang didn't make them stand for too long. As soon as the bell for first period rang, he waved them off.

A bunch of problem students walking together made quite a scene. Boys at this age were still in the childish phase where getting punished together was a point of pride, so they deliberately raised their voices as they went upstairs, making students in the classrooms keep looking out.

Yu Fan was at the front. Annoyed by the noise, he quickened his pace.

Zuo Kuan caught up. "Yu Fan, why's that study nerd in your class walking so fast? In a hurry to get to class?"

Yu Fan ignored him.

Zuo Kuan glanced at his expression. "Damn, I was thinking of teaching him a lesson. He got me scolded by Fat Tiger for ages. Hey, don't you hate him too? How about we..."

The person in front suddenly stopped. Zuo Kuan instinctively stopped too.

He was about to say more when Yu Fan turned his head and gave him a cold look.

Yu Fan was already tall, and standing two steps higher, his downward gaze carried a hidden fierceness and threat, gone in an instant.

Zuo Kuan felt like he was nailed to the spot.

"I told you, didn't I?" After a long moment, Yu Fan spoke lazily.

Zuo Kuan: "What..."

"Don't touch anyone in my class."

The words served both as a reminder and a warning.

Yu Fan turned and walked away. Only when his figure disappeared did Zuo Kuan snap out of it and mutter, "Damn."

...

Yu Fan walked all the way to the fourth floor. When he saw the figure standing at the stairwell, he paused almost imperceptibly.

Chen Jingshen stood there, holding a very familiar piece of letter paper.

Is this never going to end?

Sure enough, as soon as Yu Fan stepped onto the floor, he heard that cold voice again: "Classmate Yu."

Yu Fan couldn't take it anymore. He turned around and grabbed his collar. "Do you think I won't hit you..."

Chen Jingshen let him grab him, and with one hand spread open the letter paper and held it in front of Yu Fan.

Yu Fan thought, Fuck, you can't guard against this—

"Learn Physics with Ease," "Must-Do Problems for Junior High," "An English Dictionary Even Elementary Students Can Memorize"...

Chen Jingshen said without changing expression, "These are the study guides I picked out again yesterday."

"..."

"They're all very suitable for someone like you," Chen Jingshen paused, as if searching for the right words, "with zero foundation."

"..."

"I hope they can be helpful to you."

"..."

-

The whole day, Yu Fan didn't glance at the front row of seats.

That someone was too tall; whenever he looked up, he could see that punchable back of the head.

"Aren't you tired of this crappy game?" Wang Luan'an leaned on the back of the chair with one hand. "You've been playing all day."

Yu Fan: "Mind your own business."

The bell for the last class rang, and Zhuang Fangqin walked in right on the heels of the physics teacher's exit.

Wang Luan'an immediately nudged him. "Stop playing, Fangqin's here!"

"Don't touch," Yu Fan said. "Critical moment."

"..."

Luckily, Zhuang Fangqin didn't notice them.

She went straight to the computer as soon as she entered the classroom and opened a file on her USB drive. "Before school lets out, let's change your seats first."

A new seating chart appeared on the projector screen.

"Holy shit, we're changing seats, Yu Fan. Our fate ended way too fast." Wang Luan'an squinted to find his name. "Damn, why am I sitting next to the discipline monitor! Is Fangqin doing this on purpose!"

"Let me see who you're sitting with—holy shit!"

"Holy shit! Yu Fan! Look at your new desk mate!"

Yu Fan paused the game and looked up impatiently. "Can you not..."

His words cut off when he saw the person in Group 3, Row 4 stand up.

The whole class was still craning their necks to find their new seats, but only one person picked up their books and walked toward the back of the classroom.

Wang Luan'an's desk was a mess, with only one corner clean. Chen Jingshen placed his books in that corner and silently looked at Wang Luan'an.

Wang Luan'an caught on immediately. "Senior, wait a moment, I'll clean up right away..."

Yu Fan reached out and pressed down on Wang Luan'an's crumpled textbook.

"What do you mean?" He frowned at Chen Jingshen.

Chen Jingshen: "Isn't that what you said?"

Wang Luan'an was caught in the middle, looking left and right, completely confused.

Yu Fan: "What did I say?"

"You said," Chen Jingshen said, "if you like looking, sit closer."