The Foolish Bookworm of the Aristocratic Boys’ School chapter 31

Chapter 31: Shi Ye’s Heartbreak

That was Leon.

Shi Ye didn’t even need to guess.

Leon and Wen Rong were standing extremely close, their breath seemingly spreading against each other’s faces.

A few seconds later, Wen Rong turned his face to the side and took off his glasses.

Leon raised his hand to support the back of Wen Rong’s head. His palm was broad, clearly imprinted in the messy black hair, carrying an undeniable force that compelled Wen Rong to tilt his neck up.

It was precisely this action that made Shi Ye let out a breath of relief.

It was just a matter of perspective; their lips weren’t touching.

However, in the next second, most of Leon’s face was buried in Wen Rong’s silhouette.

Shi Ye’s dynamic vision, trained on the tennis court, easily captured the movement of Leon’s nose tip—top to bottom, as if intimately nuzzling Wen Rong’s brow.

Wen Rong didn’t struggle. He tilted his head, seemingly rubbing his nose tip against Leon’s face as well.

Shi Ye spun around violently to hide behind the wall. It felt as if everything below his neck was buried in water. Breathing became difficult, his brain almost suffocating from lack of oxygen.

—Wen Rong’s boyfriend isn’t Zhou Xie at all. It’s Leon.

Shi Ye came to this conclusion calmly, yet he found it hard to believe.

How could it be… How could Leon be with Wen Rong?

He had known Leon since childhood and knew that Leon was extremely indifferent when it came to romance. Apart from his habit of tinkering with machines at home, Leon had never shown interest in anything else.

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Why couldn’t it be… Since the start of school, Leon had always looked after Wen Rong. Even if it was just “responsibility,” it was far too enthusiastic.

The presence of his heartbeat grew stronger, thump thump thump, pounding against his eardrums. Shi Ye looked down at his heaving chest and rubbed his hair vigorously.

No, Wen Rong clearly said he didn’t like men. How could he like Leon? Is Leon not a man?

Once the voice of denial emerged, Shi Ye’s entire body, down to every cell, began to relax.

I must have seen it wrong. There are so many people here, and they are all school leaders. Leon wouldn’t draw attention to himself in a place like this.

Shi Ye couldn’t help but poke his head out from behind the wall again.

Over there, Leon had straightened up, revealing most of his face. Wen Rong was also standing straight. The two seemed to be simply communicating normally.

Shi Ye let out a breath, confirming his thought again: I definitely saw it wrong just now.

Before fresh oxygen could even enter his nasal cavity, Wen Rong stood on tiptoes and leaned in close to Leon.

The faint sunlight in the room reflected the triumphant smile curling at the corner of Leon’s lips. His hand grazed Wen Rong’s waist, and he shut the door to the private box.

If Leon had looked up, he would have seen Shi Ye standing at the end of the corridor. But Leon never moved his eyes from Wen Rong’s face. His azure depths held a smile, and something that appeared on most people’s faces—fascination.

People came up from downstairs. The dazed Shi Ye only heard steady footsteps.

“Do you have a hand in today’s matter too?”

It sounded like Zhou Xie’s voice. Shi Ye had no strength to turn his head and responded vaguely, “Mm.”

“I knew it. He’s just a Special Recruit; he doesn’t have the ability to scheme such things.”

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He does.

Wen Rong did these things himself.

Even if he seemed to be kissing Leon just now, Shi Ye had an inexplicable feeling that Wen Rong had planned this whole thing from start to finish.

He really wasn’t anything like the stupid cat at his own house.

Shi Ye pressed the back of his head against the wall, breathing nervously.

Something in his heart landed heavily.

Whatever about Zhou Xie. He definitely won’t fight Leon for someone. Otherwise, what would that make him?

“Is it done?”

Warm air blew across his eyelids. Wen Rong blinked uncomfortably, tears flowing from the corner of his eye to his ear.

“Seem not yet.”

“Something got in your eye, why didn’t you say so earlier? You held it in for so long, your eyelid is swollen.”

“I was in a hurry to give feedback to the leaders just now, so I didn’t pay much attention…”

“Don’t move.”

Feeling Senior Leon’s hand holding his head, Wen Rong obediently stayed still.

“Little Fool, you’re a bit short.”

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Wen Rong: “…”

Wen Rong: “?”

Wen Rong retorted quietly, “Senior, I’m 1.76 meters. I’m still growing.”

“What to do? Senior has been standing all morning and his back hurts. Stand on your tiptoes yourself so I can blow the thing out of your eye. Otherwise, if my old waist stays bent, it’ll be useless tomorrow.”

“Oh, oh.” Wen Rong stood on his tiptoes and leaned close to the Senior. “Is this okay?”

“Mm…”

Click—

The door behind them closed, and warm air blew against his face again.

The box became completely quiet. The noise outside couldn’t be heard, not even footsteps.

Wen Rong seemed to have finally arrived at a safe place. He let out an inexplicable laugh, then bit his lip, forcing himself to hold it back.

“Laugh if you want. There are no outsiders.”

Pfft—

His lips parted, and air burst from his mouth.

“Senior! I’m so happy. Zhao Zeryang was so frustrated and angry just now, but because the directors were there, he didn’t dare say a word.”

“Mm, he looked like he was about to faint from anger.”

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“Let him taste what it’s like to get beaten up and then expelled. The Principal even said he would reinvestigate the Special Recruit from three years ago! I hope the truth comes out and that boy’s name is cleared.”

“That was three years ago. Why did you suddenly want the principals to reinvestigate?”

“I feel like he’s even more pitiful than me. Because he probably didn’t know a good person like you, Senior. He was bullied with nowhere to vent, broke his leg, got expelled, and was saddled with a 1 billion debt.”

“…”

Leon couldn’t evaluate Wen Rong’s behavior of sympathizing with a stranger from three years ago while he himself was barely staying afloat. Growing up in a political family, he wasn’t this kind and naive, but the books he had read told him Wen Rong was right.

A healed femur is proof of the distinction between humans and animals. So, for children like them who entered social circles early, having the power to shelter others but choosing to harm them instead… just as Wen Rong said, they were beasts.

“Senior! I also found out the browser is amazing.” Wen Rong was immersed in the joy of victory and hadn’t noticed Leon’s expression yet, continuing excitedly, “I didn’t know what to do last night, then the Sys— I went to search on the browser. It taught me ‘if you can’t solve the problem, escalate the problem.’ It’s really super useful.”

“Is that why you didn’t say Zhao Zeryang bullied you, but instead said there was a problem with the school spirit?”

Wen Rong nodded vigorously. “Yesterday I went to find Shi Ye. He said my plan was clumsy, the directors wouldn’t stand on my side, and that I would be retaliated against. After I went back, I thought about it for a long time. I’m not afraid of retaliation; I decided to bear the consequences of whatever I do. So I only worried about how to get the directors on my side—”

Wen Rong took out his phone, found the photo gallery, and showed it to Leon. “I listed so many plans, then I realized my focus seemed wrong. I shouldn’t consider how to provoke Zhao Zeryang; I had to find a way to make the directors stand on my side, just like the jury last time!”

“Mm.”

“It just so happened that yesterday I read lots and lots of posts on the forum. One post mentioned that the directors were dissatisfied with our Principal and that he might be replaced.”

Leon thought, The forum really does love discussing these things. This group of people does no actual work but loves to criticize from their armchairs, form cliques, and eliminate dissidents.

“So I thought, expand the issue of Zhao Zeryang hitting me, and make the directors have an issue with the Principal.”

Leon was curious. “Did you ever consider that the one expelled might be you?”

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Wen Rong nodded. “I know that! When I was little at the welfare institute, I watched TV dramas where commoners were bullied by corrupt officials and bad guys, then they went to the capital to find a bigger official to uphold justice! The school homepage happened to display the leaders attending the opening ceremony. That Ernst von Löwenstein… the browser said he’s a super powerful High Judge, extremely impartial and selfless.”

Leon smiled. “What if he hadn’t come?”

“The forum talked about lots and lots of things happening at school, but no one ever mentioned a group brawl. I figured a group brawl would be a first, so he would probably find it fascinating too.”

Leon reached out and poked the excited head. “Are you really not afraid of Zhao Zeryang taking revenge on you? His family can truly control the entire Federation’s media.”

“Not afraid. In history books, incompetent emperors always get overthrown. If someone with Zhao Zeryang’s conduct can control all the media in the Federation, I believe I can handle it too.”

It was rare for Wen Rong to be this confident in the past. Perhaps because it was his first time doing something “bad” and everything went smoothly, or perhaps because he had solved the forum harassment, Zhao Zeryang, and the three-year-old expulsion case all at once. His dopamine was secreting excessively, and all fear and worry were thrown to the back of his mind.

Looking at him, Leon couldn’t help but laugh.

Fool, how could a little kid like you with no parents possibly surpass the accumulation of Zhao Zeryang’s family over hundreds of years?

But the smile froze on his face.

This sentence felt familiar. Zhou Xie had once said the same thing.

He prided himself on neutrality, watching everything happen coldly. Without knowing when, he had become a person like Zhou Xie.

Leon suddenly envied Wen Rong.

Told from a young age that they were gifted, they looked down on anyone who worked hard.

Upon arriving at Floriman Academy and being defeated by people even more gifted, and because they weren’t stupid enough to miss the writing on the wall, they saw the future clearly. Knowing they could spend their whole lives only to reach the soles of a genius’s feet, they quickly chose to follow and rot, completely losing their ideals to become beasts manipulating interests.

If possible, Leon really wanted to be like Wen Rong—a fool who didn’t know where his finish line was.

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Knock, knock, knock.

A knock sounded at the door.

“Young Master, Mr. Ernst is looking for you.”

Leon withdrew his thoughts. “Going back to the dorm? I’ll have someone send you.”

Wen Rong shook his head, taking out his phone with a beaming smile. “No need, I’m going to Room 100. The seniors in the club want to celebrate for me.”

The brilliant smile reflected in the azure eyes, haloing into a patch of darkness.

“It seems they treat you very well.”

“Mm-hm! The seniors are super nice. Not only did they treat me to breakfast, they helped us out.”

“I probably won’t eat here either. Later you—”

Buzz. Wen Rong’s phone vibrated. “Senior, I’m leaving first. The seniors are rushing me to get back.”

“…Mm.”

“Goodbye, Senior.”

“……Mm.”

The moment the door closed, Leon suddenly realized a strange emotion had grown in his heart.

—The child who relied on him for everything seemed to have found other supports.

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Pop, pop, pop.

Confetti cannons fired, and colorful paper scraps drifted down slowly, like visiting the park to admire flowers as a child—when the wind blew, the sky was full of petals.

Wen Rong raised his hand and caught a couple of pieces. Red, yellow, glittering.

“The youngest is amazing!”

“The youngest is awesome!”

Click. The lights in the small hut turned off.

A cluster of flames lit up in the distance, and a strawberry cake was pushed in front of Wen Rong.

This was simply a scene from a TV drama. Wen Rong’s eyes went wide. “Why is there cake?”

Zhang Lin: “Got the cafeteria to make it, of course. Today our News Club pulled off a big one; we have to celebrate.”

Lin Qizheng: “Blow it out, blow it out! Once you blow it, I’ll turn on the lights and we’ll feast.”

“Do… Do I blow it?”

“Yes! You blow it.”

Wen Rong was flattered. “But it’s not my birthday today.”

“But you are definitely today’s main protagonist. Our News Club’s tradition is that whoever pulls off the big job blows the candles!”

Wen Rong hesitated no longer. He puffed up his cheeks and blew out the candles with a whoosh. The lights in the hut turned back on. Lin Qizheng lifted the cake onto the table, beaming. “Come, come, let’s divide the cake. Everyone grab some of the youngest’s good luck.”

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Zhang Lin: “The forum is closed, perfect for a vacation! President, let’s have a team-building trip tomorrow. Go play in the city.”

Zhang Jincheng revealed a rare smile. “Sure. I’ll reimburse it.”

“Yay! I want to eat the most expensive stuff. Dorm leader pays.”

Zhang Jincheng: “Mm.”

Lin Qizheng turned and pulled Wen Rong to sit at the table. “Quick, quick, cut the cake—”

Buzz.

Ding-dong.

Four phones rang simultaneously.

Lin Qizheng wondered aloud, “What great news is it now?”

Then he exclaimed in surprise, “Did Zhou Xie get removed from his post because of this?!”

Zhang Lin laughed. “Keep dreaming. You could get expelled and he still wouldn’t be removed.”

“What’s wrong with dreaming? Zhao Zeryang got expelled, didn’t he! I performed a meritorious ser—”

Lin Qizheng’s face changed drastically.

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Black Pigeon System Message: [First-year student Wen Rong violated school regulations by using violence. By unanimous decision of the School Directors, he is penalized with a Red Card.]

Black Pigeon System Message: [Third-year student Lin Qizheng has traces of entering the Black Pigeon System. Penalized with a Yellow Card.]

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