The Foolish Bookworm of the Aristocratic Boys’ School chapter 20

Chapter 20

“Pleasing others will make you cheap.”

The faint light floated entirely on Wen Rong’s glasses, preventing Leon from seeing his eyes clearly.

After a while, a hesitant voice sounded in the silence. “Senior, shouldn’t one be polite to others?”

“When your attitude needs to be tough, you have to be tough. Like that day when you punched Zhao Zeryang, I thought it was very cool.”

Wen Rong craned his neck forward, leaning toward Leon. “C-Cool?”

“Yes, very cool. Haven’t you noticed? Ever since you punched Zhao Zeryang, everyone’s attitude toward you is different.” Although the main reason had nothing to do with punching Zhao Zeryang, Leon felt this little lie was worthwhile and effective.

“Cool…”

Sure enough, after mumbling, Wen Rong stood in front of the car tilting his head in thought, as if completely immersed in it.

Leon was satisfied with his reaction. He took out his phone to check the time: 9:45.

Driving over would take about ten minutes, getting back by 10:30, just right for sleep.

“Get in the car.”

“…”

“Hm?”

“No.”

The two cold, resolute words didn’t sound like they came from Wen Rong’s throat, but there was no third person here.

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Leon’s azure pupils contracted suddenly, his phone nearly falling onto his lap.

Leon turned his head to look out the window. Wen Rong was backlit; in the gray night, he was just a silhouette that couldn’t be wiped away.

This was the first time Wen Rong had rejected him.

Leon finally realized he had overlooked a problem. Calling Wen Rong out suddenly at 9:30 PM and telling him to get in the car—he hadn’t asked if Wen Rong was willing at all, or if doing so disrupted his original plans.

Because his temper was too soft, Leon unconsciously manipulated Wen Rong, completely failing to notice that he was actually a person with subjective consciousness.

—He was no different from the boy who accosted Wen Rong at the dorm entrance just now.

“Wen Rong…” Leon’s heartbeat was unsteady. “Do you have other things to do tonight?”

A car passed on the road. White headlights approached from afar, illuminating a coldness on Wen Rong’s face that had never appeared before.

Leon’s Adam’s apple rolled. Just as he wanted to ask again, lively laughter came through the air. “Is the rejection Senior talked about like this? Is it cool?”

“…”

“Senior?”

“Cool.” Leon nodded slowly.

The white light moved away. Wen Rong walked around the car and carefully opened the passenger door. “Senior, is this your car? It’s so beautiful. I’ve never seen such a beautiful car, like a prop in a movie.”

Leon couldn’t hear these compliments. His heart was in turmoil—or rather, apprehensive.

Was Wen Rong actually willing to get in the car? Or was he too obedient to refuse?

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He stopped shifting gears. “Wen Rong, do you think it’s very strange that I called you out at night?”

Wen Rong shook his head. “I’m very happy because Senior is like a friend. It’s my first time making a friend.”

Thump, thump.

Leon heard his own heartbeat.

What kind of friends are Wen Rong and I? Helping a few times counts as friends? Then wouldn’t anyone be able to be his friend?

“Wen Rong, friends aren’t made like this.”

Wen Rong froze while pulling the seatbelt, looking a bit terrified. “Did I offend you?”

“I am very willing to be friends with you, but friendship isn’t something that happens just because I show goodwill toward you. A friend is someone you find through your own hobbies, someone with the same interests, and compatible values—that’s how you become friends. Friends gained by simple gestures of goodwill require you to spend a lot of energy and time to maintain; those are things that drain you.”

An uncontrollable emotion spewed from Leon’s chest. “Why did you reject the person who asked you to dinner just now?”

“Because… he was wearing the Tennis Club’s sportswear.”

“Then if someone not wearing the Tennis Club’s sportswear asks you tomorrow, you won’t reject them?”

Wen Rong: “I…”

“No matter who shows goodwill to you, don’t casually treat them as a friend, because they might covet your a—” Leon bit his tongue and corrected himself, “I mean, they have ulterior motives.”

“What is there on me to covet?”

“Of course it’s your… Anyway, they have bad intentions, just like kidnappers wanting to abduct you.”

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Scared by this, Wen Rong hunched his shoulders and leaned against the seat back, not daring to speak.

The car started, and wind poured in from outside the window.

Leon calmed down a bit and asked, “Do you like Zhao Zeryang and Shi Ye?”

“Huh?”

“Not that kind of like. I mean normal like.”

Wen Rong didn’t understand what “that kind of like” and “normal like” represented respectively, or why they had to be spoken of separately. Wasn’t like just like?

Coincidentally, neither of these names fell into the “like” category. Wen Rong didn’t dwell on it and said directly, “I don’t like either of them.”

“Then who do you hate more?”

“Zhao Zeryang.”

Leon chuckled. “I thought it would be Shi Ye.”

“Shi Ye is just a little weird, but Zhao Zeryang hits me with balls, so Zhao Zeryang is more annoying than him.”

Leon’s eyes shifted, introducing the true purpose of this trip. “There’s something I need to tell you now.”

“Mhm.”

“Floriman Academy upholds Federal traditions. Most matters are decided by voting to reflect democracy and fairness.”

“An hour ago, the Student Council organized a vote on which of the New or Old Tennis Clubs to keep.”

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Wen Rong nodded at the air to show he was listening seriously.

“The on-site result was that Shi Ye won.”

“Mhm.”

“But actually, the freshmen all supported Zhao Zeryang. Zhou Xie tampered with the count, making everyone think Shi Ye got more votes.”

“…” Wen Rong’s brain stalled for a moment.

Meaning, Shi Ye’s victory was illegitimate, and the one who truly received the most support was Zhao Zeryang?

So strange. Shi Ye clearly brought way more people to watch me than the Tennis Club people.

“The ballot box is in the back seat; all the evidence is inside. Do you think we should give it to Zhao Zeryang?”

“We… we should, right?”

“You don’t hate Zhao Zeryang anymore?”

Wen Rong was categorical. “I hate him. If I were there, I definitely wouldn’t vote for him.”

“If you give it to him, his Tennis Club can continue to exist, and he will continue to lead the Tennis Club people to bully you in the future.”

“I’m not afraid of him anymore.” Wen Rong thought for a moment. “And I think this matter is wrong. Voting is to comply with everyone’s opinion. Creating a fake result is equivalent to deceiving everyone. It should be exposed.”

Leon tugged at the corner of his mouth, said “Naive,” and arrived at the destination, stopping the car.

“We’re here.”

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Wen Rong turned his head and saw Shi Ye’s big villa. Lights were on in all four stories, and the first floor was lively, with silhouettes filling the floor-to-ceiling windows.

“S-Senior?!”

Leon turned on the interior light and signaled Wen Rong. “Go to the back seat and open the ballot box yourself to take a look.”

Wen Rong was both afraid and confused, but thinking it was the Senior’s request, he obediently got out of the car and fished out the ballot stubs from the box in the back seat.

Shi Ye, Shi Ye, Shi Ye, Shi Ye, Shi Ye, Zhao Zeryang, Shi Ye, Shi Ye…

Wen Rong was confused. “Senior, these votes all seem to be for Shi Ye.”

Leon rested his hand next to the headrest, propping up his head with a faint smile. “I was just teasing you just now. Actually, the freshmen all support Shi Ye. Zhou Xie faked it to let Zhao Zeryang win.”

“Why tease me?”

Leon threw the blame for his mischief onto Zhou Xie. “Didn’t you want to join the Student Council? This is a question Zhou Xie set for you.”

Wen Rong finally remembered the idea he had bravely proposed but silently terminated a few days ago. “What question?”

Leon smiled. “The Tennis Club has existed since Floriman Academy was founded. It has been passed down by generations of seniors for at least a few hundred years. Zhao Zeryang is the current Tennis Club President.”

“But you should also know that Zhao Zeryang is a tyrant, definitely not a good leader.”

Wen Rong agreed. Zhao Zeryang was bad.

“Shi Ye can’t stand him and wants to build a new Tennis Club.”

Wen Rong nodded in approval.

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“It’s just that this kind of direct replacement is too reckless. Creating a new club to replace an old one just because of dislike—if everyone imitated this, the school’s management would fall into chaos. As the Student Council President, Zhou Xie did these little tricks to maintain stability.”

Wen Rong’s eyes were full of confusion; it seemed this kind of entanglement of various interests was beyond his comprehension.

Leon was satisfied with this expression and asked softly, “So, do you still want to give it to Shi Ye, like you supported giving it to Zhao Zeryang just now?”

Wen Rong didn’t hesitate. “Of course I want to.”

“If you tell Shi Ye, he will be angry and cause trouble.”

Wen Rong tried hard to think with his meager management knowledge, organizing his language to answer: “I think people supported by the majority are very amazing. Just like the Squad Leaders in my elementary school; their grades and popularity were both excellent, and I always envied them. Now that many people voted for Shi Ye, it shows everyone likes Shi Ye more and is more willing for him to be President. Doesn’t our school learn from the Federation to be democratic in everything? Why prioritize management issues? Continuing to let a bad person be President only makes the President happy; most members are unhappy. This will cause trouble and confusion sooner or later anyway.”

…

Silence reigned inside the villa.

Usually, everyone gathered in the living room to eat, drink, and play, but right now, no one dared to make a sound.

Thump, thump, thump.

The sandbag hanging from the ceiling was almost deformed, deeply concave in the middle.

The hand wraps were faintly stained red. The butler had to step forward to stop him. “Young Master, your hand is injured.”

Shi Ye struck the final punch heavily, leaving three blood spots on the sandbag.

“Young Master…”

Shi Ye exhaled a huge breath, turned to the side, grabbed water, and poured it into his mouth.

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The butler took the opportunity to squat down to untie the hand wraps. Shi Ye noticed and helped him up. “I’ll do it myself.”

He bit open the knot on his wrist and unwound the wrap loop by loop.

The butler’s solemn face finally relaxed. He waved his hand behind him, and the doctor carried the medical kit over to help Shi Ye treat the wound.

The skin was abraded, flesh exposed. If the doctor wasn’t careful, blood dripped onto the floor.

Shi Ye seemed not to feel the pain, allowing the butler to place a towel on his head and wipe his sweat.

After one hand was treated and they switched to the other, Shi Ye finally came back to his senses slightly. He sat on the sofa and took the towel from the butler to cover his face.

Everyone looked at each other, not knowing how long this deathly silence would last.

Finally, all eyes focused on Qi Yuan, who was closest to Shi Ye.

Think of something.

Everyone’s eyes said the same thing.

Qi Yuan looked troubled.

What solution could he have?

Young Master Shi had always had smooth sailing. Because of his exceptional talent, he had never failed on any path. He didn’t even dare to recall Shi Ye’s expression when the voting results came out.

Zhao Zeryang, having a death wish, even arrogantly bumped Shi Ye’s shoulder when walking out of the office. “Sigh, some people rely on their family’s power to act like tyrants, but actually, they aren’t worth a fart.”

Qi Yuan was afraid Shi Ye would beat someone up right then and there.

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“This is unfair to us! It was clearly agreed before that the number of freshmen applying to join would be the standard. Suddenly saying it had to be an anonymous vote is fundamentally biased toward Zhao Zeryang.”

Someone brave started it, and others began to get agitated.

“Right! The Student Council must be shielding Zhao Zeryang. We should sue the Student Council to the school administration.”

“And Zhao Zeryang, acting all high and mighty.”

“It’s all the Special Recruit’s fault. If he hadn’t caused the Tennis Club recruitment to be stopped, we wouldn’t have—”

Shi Ye kicked the chair away. The ear-piercing screech forced everyone to quiet down.

“Losing is losing; there’s nothing I dare not admit. Don’t pull that reporting, complaining, and blame-shifting crap. According to the rules, the New Tennis Club is now dissolved.”

Knock, knock, knock.

Before the crowd could redeem the situation, a soft knock on the door sounded at this moment.

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