The Foolish Bookworm of the Aristocratic Boys’ School chapter 76.2

Part 2

Shi Ye didn’t sleep all night.

There were many reasons.

The sensation of the hug was fleeting. No matter how hard he tried to recall it, he couldn’t remember any details.

Only the sentence “Do you need a hug?” remained in his brain.

Shi Ye tried hard to memorize this sentence. His memory had always been good, and he was focused enough. But for some reason, by the latter half of the night, the sentence changed to “I want to hug you.”

And later still, it turned into the image on his phone screen—Wen Rong’s photo.

A surging sensation arrived with a heavy intake of breath. Shi Ye grabbed his pillow and crushed it between his arms, but a strange emotion emerged: emptiness.

No.

That wasn’t right.

Wen Rong wasn’t this soft.

The person who looked thin and weak actually had hard bones. When he rested his chin on Wen Rong’s shoulder, it locked onto the collarbone, hurting his chin.

The night was deep. Outside the window was darkness, but a faint light seeped from under the bathroom door. The sound of water crashed; the frosted glass outlined a hunched back.

Huff, huff, huff.

Shi Ye braced himself against the wall, burying his head as he panted.

It wasn’t until dawn broke that Wang Xijie called, telling him to pack his bags.

This year’s Tennis Open was about to start, and he would be on the road for the next month.

Shi Ye gave a few unenthusiastic grunts.

“Do you have a cold?”

“Cough, cough, cough… No.”

“Watch your health before the match. I heard Wang Allen lost the use of his studio. If you lose this match—especially to Zhao Zeyang, who has intensified his training after being expelled and improved greatly in several practice matches—you might not be able to keep using the villa. You’ll have to find another place for your belongings.”

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Shi Ye continued to grunt casually, unfazed by this “crisis.”

He dried his body just as the call ended.

Wang Xijie finally stopped occupying his phone screen, and Wen Rong’s photo returned.

I hugged Wen Rong!

And right in front of Leon!

Shi Ye secretly gloated.

This was even better than the misunderstanding on the second floor of the cafeteria where he thought Wen Rong kissed Leon.

“From Wen Rong’s perspective, the more people who like him, the safer he is.”

“I’m very relieved that you like him.”

Fuck!

Why did I think of Leon?

Shi Ye’s hand trembled as he lit a cigarette, using nicotine to suppress the “agitation” Leon brought.

But the attempt failed. Shi Ye threw the cigarette on the ground and stomped it out.

What gives Leon the right to speak with the tone of the “main wife”?

Wen Rong doesn’t love him.

The more he thought, the angrier he got. Shi Ye punched the glass, and blood seeped from the tiny cuts again.

“Given your competitive nature, you can’t share with anyone. Coincidentally, neither do I. But you’re different from Shi Jing. I’m willing to compete fairly with you.”

How much confidence does one need to say the words “fair competition”?

In Shi Ye’s past life, 80% of his time was spent competing.

Every match, he would tell the runner-up “fair competition.” Even when setting up the new Tennis Club at the start of school, he dared to tell Zhao Zeyang “fair competition.”

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Because victory was already in hand.

So when Leon said those words, he must have been incredibly smug inside. He was the only one good to Wen Rong at the start of school; Wen Rong would definitely like him.

Shi Ye pressed his throbbing fist against the wall to force himself to sober up.

Fine.

This is fine.

Fair competition is better than falling out completely.

And Leon also said that the more people who liked Wen Rong, the safer Wen Rong would be.

He wanted to push Wen Rong into the teeth of the storm, and Wen Rong was already there. Just Zhou Xie alone made Wen Rong uncomfortable, and there would be more difficult people to come.

Wen Rong needed a lot of support.

Shi Ye narrowed his eyes, thinking silently. I wonder if the position of Student Council President can protect Wen Rong from further Red Cards.

Zhou Xie was graduating next year. Leon definitely wasn’t interested in the position, and he might even graduate early. As long as he dealt with Li Ao, the Student Council President seat would be his.

Bzzzt—

A vibration interrupted Shi Ye’s thoughts.

Shi Ye hated these things blocking Wen Rong’s face. Just as he was about to log out of Black Pigeon, a message popped up in the Tennis Club group chat.

[Wang Allen went a bit too far, right? Why lock Wen Rong in the toilet?]

[Where’d you hear that?]

[The forum.]

Lin Qizheng: [It’s over. The Youngest has been locked in the toilet by Wang Allen.]

Black Pigeon Forum

Title: [Black Pigeon News Brief: This morning, the Special Recruit had a verbal altercation with Wang Allen in the cafeteria. In a fit of rage, Wang Allen locked the Special Recruit in the cafeteria toilet.]

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Poster: Wen Rong

Shi Ye stared at this post wordlessly for half a second, then clicked on it.

[Posted by the victim himself? Awesome.]
[News reported by the person involved should count as the most authoritative report, right?]
[What happened? Tell us quick.]
[I was there! I saw my wife arguing with Wang Allen in the cafeteria this morning.]
[Arguing again? Why this time?]
[What else? The plagiarism thing. Wang Allen denied plagiarizing, and my wife said Zhang Jincheng drew those designs right in front of him. Wang Allen went crazy.]
[Makes sense he’d go crazy. He lost his studio because of the plagiarism and apparently got warned by the Designers Association.]
[Probably lost a lot of orders too.]
[Can’t understand it at all. Wang Allen actually said my wife slept with Zhang Jincheng!]
[That’s too much. Daring to spread rumors that I’m being cuckolded.]
[Damn, really?]
[Nonsense. I was so angry I drank three bottles of soda on the spot.]
[Then how did my wife get locked in the toilet?]
[My wife, he’s stubborn. He ignored Wang Allen’s rumors completely and kept saying Wang Allen plagiarized. Wang Allen exploded and called a few guys to push him into the toilet, saying they were going to strip off his skirt.]
[Damn… I remember Wang Allen’s circle plays really dirty.]

Reading this, Shi Ye realized the screen was shaking. Actually, it was his hand trembling.

As it shook, a new message popped up.

Wen Rong: [According to the editor’s interview, the temperature inside the toilet is around 0°C.]

Not sure. Look again.

Wen Rong: [Wang Allen brought two male students to prevent the Special Recruit from leaving. The Special Recruit is in terrible condition and has begun to experience dizziness.]

Fuck!

…

The weather was cold, so cold that the smell of the toilet was undetectable. Wen Rong’s fingers were clumsy; he typed a segment and deleted a segment, taking twice as long to finish a string of words.

Bang! A loud crash sounded against the door. The lock shook, teetering on the edge of breaking.

Wang Allen: “Get the fuck out here! I’m definitely killing you today.”

Wen Rong continued posting: [Wang Allen states he will kill the concerned party today.]

Click send.

Bang!

At the same time, a terrifyingly loud noise came from outside the door.

Wen Rong quickly changed position, pressing his back hard against the door to prevent Wang Allen from breaking in.

The crashing continued. Suddenly, a cry of pain made Wen Rong realize—that wasn’t someone smashing the door; someone was being smashed against the door.

Shi Ye is here.

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Wen Rong guessed.

He had calculated that Shi Ye would come.

Shi Ye would come to solve the issue of “Wang Allen locking Wen Rong in the toilet.” He would align his story with Shi Ye, then “fall seriously ill.” From the public opinion on the forum, he could then gauge whose weight was heavier: his or Wang Allen’s.

Even if Wang Allen turned out to have more weight, it didn’t matter. Knowing the baseline would help him make new plans.

“Wen Rong, open the door.”

A gentle voice appeared abruptly in the air. Wen Rong’s thoughts paused, and he instinctively turned his head.

Through the dilapidated wooden door of the toilet, he seemed to see Senior Leon standing outside.

But the commotion just now…

“Open the door. I’ve locked the main entrance; they can’t get out.”

Hesitating, Wen Rong opened the door.

Senior Leon was wearing workman’s coveralls, looking like he had just run from the administration building. The buttons on his collar weren’t even fastened yet.

Because of last night’s “guilt,” Wen Rong felt a bit ashamed and didn’t dare look at him.

“Are you cold?”

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