The Foolish Bookworm of the Aristocratic Boys’ School chapter 117 Side story 1.1

Chapter 117: Shi Ye’s Side Story part 1

For the first seventeen years of Shi Ye’s life, it could be said that everything was nothing but smooth sailing.

He had a top-tier birthright, staggering talent, and exceptionally open-minded parents.

It was as if he had used up a lifetime’s worth of luck in advance, because from the age of seventeen until now, his life had been anything but easy.

He had to accept the fact that his father had always hoped he would die in some race; he had to accept that he had a half-brother; he was even forced to accept that his mother had died because of a mistress.

What could be worse than all that?

Perhaps the fact that after this trip to the Outer District, he was about to lose even Wen Rong.

The ambulance sped through the night, its flashing red and blue lights cutting two long streaks into the darkness.

Inside the vehicle, loaded with emergency equipment, the machines were silent.

Wen Rong had fallen into a state of prolonged cardiac arrest. The doctor said Wen Rong was dead.

Shi Ye didn’t believe it. Clearly, Wen Rong’s hand still had warmth, just like a living person… just like his mother’s when she died.

“He’s still breathing,” Shi Ye insisted, his words feeling like knives scraping his throat.

“Young Master Shi, I am so sorry.”

In an instant, the interior of the ambulance fell into a dead silence.

The flashing lights and the blaring siren felt far, far away.

Wen Rong’s blood was splattered all over him and the doctor.

If a person lost this much blood, they really would die, wouldn’t they?

Shi Ye remembered Wen Rong once asking him questions about death. Because Wen Rong’s heart had been full of concern for those members of the Journalism Club, Shi Ye had even been upset for a short while.

How had he answered back then?

“Hey, Wen Rong.”

Shi Ye slid from his seat to the floor, kneeling. He straightened his back just enough to lean into Wen Rong’s ear. “I told you, I don’t want to forget you. If you die, I’m going with you.”

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“Do you hear me?”

“…”

“Wake up.”

Life is long, and he would surely find a reason to keep living in the future, but at this very moment, he didn’t want to live anymore.

Wen Rong was the best person he had ever met.

He would make Shi Ye angry, and he would make Shi Ye happy by annoying Zhou Xie; he would criticize Shi Ye for being emotional, yet look after those same emotions when Shi Ye was conflicted. Moreover, Wen Rong was so good at coaxing him.

No one could ever replace Wen Rong.

Shi Ye reached out, wanting to poke Wen Rong’s cheek. The moment his finger touched that deathly pale skin, the scene froze.

The red and blue blurred shadows on the road turned into two points of light in the night. The doctor remained in a hunched position. Shi Ye’s fingertip was just a fraction of a millimeter away from touching Wen Rong’s skin.

Like an illustration in a manga quietly shifting, invisible data dissipated, and new data began to grow.

“Young Master Shi, please accept my condol— Holy sh*t!”

With a beep, the sudden sound of the machine interrupted the doctor.

Shi Ye’s vision was blurred. He rubbed his eyes against Wen Rong’s shoulder, only then realizing he was crying.

He rubbed them again and lifted his head, locking eyes with the person inches away.

“Wen… Wen Rong.” Shi Ye couldn’t believe it, grabbing Wen Rong’s arm in excitement.

He blinked, looked at the monitor, and then at the doctor, wanting to confirm if this was all just a hallucination.

Then, his palm was brushed. Wen Rong’s arm was moving.

“I told you he was alive,” Shi Ye said.

The doctor added, “He seems to have something to say.”

Shi Ye guessed Wen Rong was worried about the situation back there. He told him, “Don’t worry, Leon is handling the aftermath with his people. You just focus on getting treated at the hospital.”

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Wen Rong shook his head slightly, his mouth opening. His warm breath clouded the oxygen mask with a layer of mist.

“Can I take it off?” Shi Ye asked the doctor cautiously.

“Yes, yes, go ahead.”

Shi Ye helped Wen Rong remove the mask and leaned in close. “What do you want to ask?”

“…Xie.”

Whether it was telepathy or just intuition, Shi Ye understood that Wen Rong wanted to speak with Zhou Xie.

In an emergency like this, who cared who Wen Rong was looking for? The fact that he was awake was the greatest blessing! He quickly fumbled for his phone and dialed Zhou Xie’s number.

Even when he was later forcibly taken away by the military, his mood remained unaffected.

However, the leap from Wen Rong to Shi Changyuan was a bit much. Shi Ye couldn’t control his temper and ended up denting two tables with his fists.

The interrogating soldiers were startled and scrambled to calm him down before slowly asking why the Commander of the military post had died.

Shi Ye didn’t make it difficult for them and told the truth.

While driving to the military post, he had encountered the bodyguard Zhou Xie had assigned to Wen Rong. The bodyguard explained that he had been intercepted by the military on his way to the orphanage that night and taken back to the post. He had thought he could save Shi Ye and Wen Rong, but who knew that the people at the military post were in league with the townspeople from the Outer District? Instead, they had imprisoned the bodyguard.

When the Commander discovered this, he intended to release the bodyguard and lead a team to rescue Shi Ye. However, Shi Changyuan had issued an order. The secretary by the Commander’s side couldn’t resist the threats and bribes and personally murdered the Commander.

The Commander was already dead by the time Shi Ye entered the post, which the autopsy would prove.

After hearing this, both interrogating soldiers found it hard to believe.

Shi Ye, however, knew the reason. When someone has covered the sky with one hand for too long, they stop considering basic logic in their actions.

According to Shi Changyuan’s plan, they should have skipped the interrogation and evidence-gathering phase entirely. Unfortunately, man proposes, but God disposes. Wen Rong had dug up evidence of Wang Sichen’s organ trafficking, dragging him directly into trouble. Shi Changyuan no longer had the luxury to orchestrate this trap.

Regardless of the cause, escaping from the transport vehicle was a serious violation of regulations. He had to spend a few days in the Inspection Department as a formality.

During that anxious wait, his uncle came to visit. He specifically warned Shi Ye that Shi Changyuan planned to groom Shi Jing, and that Shi Ye had better start acting like the heir to the Shi family.

The implication was for him to transfer to the Military Academy to stabilize the military’s morale.

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Shi Ye didn’t agree immediately.

Because going to the Military Academy meant leaving Wen Rong.

By the time he was released from the Military Inspection Department, Wen Rong was also about ready to return to school from the hospital.

The commotion of the helicopter disturbed the entire Floriman Academy. Everyone looked up to watch the aircraft land.

Shi Ye ran to the rooftop and saw Zhou Xie stepping off the helicopter with a sour face, with Wen Rong following behind looking guilty.

He knew something must have happened between them.

Wen Rong had never looked that guilty in front of Zhou Xie before.

Shi Ye was dying of curiosity, but he couldn’t ask, because that was Wen Rong’s privacy.

If Wen Rong wanted to tell him, he would. If not, that was normal too.

But there was something he could do.

Right in front of Zhou Xie, Shi Ye scooped Wen Rong up into his arms and kissed his face clingily.

That night on the broken tricycle had invisibly bridged the distance between them.

This was something neither Zhou Xie nor Leon had.

In the following days, as long as there were no classes, Shi Ye followed Wen Rong almost everywhere. Because of this, the Black Pigeon Forum began debating whether he would truly be promoted to the “Main Palace.”

Occasionally, there were some unpleasant comments, claiming that since so many people in the Outer District sold their bodies, and Wen Rong looked the way he did, he might have been raised doing the same.

One look at the usernames showed they were relatives of the officials arrested in the Wang Sichen case.

Before anyone else could fire back on the forum, Shi Ye sought them out for a physical “PK” (player kill/fight) offline.

This incident was gossiped about on Black Pigeon as “The Main Palace Slaughters the Bitter Haters.”

When Wen Rong found out, he was somewhat surprised and told him not to do such things in the future. Shi Ye agreed verbally, but in reality, he just moved these “PKs” to places where no one would find out.

The Wang Sichen case involved too many people, and many students at the school had relatives implicated, leading to a lot of hostility toward Wen Rong.

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And Shi Ye’s time was running out.

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