Chapter 37
Chen Jiang didn’t expect Chi Aibei to be the first to object. When Chi Aibei transferred to Class 1, Class 7’s homeroom teacher had said that if Chi Aibei caused trouble, they could contact He Chenjiang in Class 1, saying he listened to He Chenjiang.
If Chen Jiang had known Chi Aibei would be so resistant to He Chenjiang transferring to Class 1, he should have brought Chi Aibei along when the principal called him. Then the principal, not him, would have the headache.
To prevent He Chenjiang’s transfer, Chi Aibei tried to dissuade everyone. “Isn’t Class 1 for top students? Can someone who’s not good at studies transfer in? Aren’t you afraid he’ll hold the class back?”
Anyone else saying this might have provoked outrage, but coming from Chi Aibeiā¦ He Chenjiang’s grades were in the middle to lower range of the school, not at the very bottom.
Chen Jiang: “Lin Xiu, make him sit down.”
Chen Jiang didn’t know if Chi Aibei had listened to He Chenjiang before, only that Lin Xiu was the only one who could control him now.
Lin Xiu was also surprised by He Chenjiang’s transfer. In his past life, He Chenjiang hadn’t transferred to Class 1.
He looked at Chi Aibei, who was puffing out his cheeks, ready to fight evilā¦ Many things that hadn’t happened before seemed to have a chain reaction because of Chi Aibeiālike Chi Wendong, Lin Weimin, and perhaps He Chenjiang.
Seeing He Chenjiang silently watching Chi Aibei, Lin Xiu was even more certain he was after Chi Aibei.
It wasn’t surprising. The no-longer-foolish little fool was like an untapped treasure, and He Chenjiang’s investment vision was always sharp.
Lin Xiu: “Sit down. Don’t make a fuss.”
Chi Aibei ignored him, glaring at the person on the podium. Seeing He Chenjiang’s gaze shift to Lin Xiu, Chi Aibei was furious. Looking at what? Looking at you, scum! I’ll gouge your eyes out!
Lin Xiu held Chi Aibei’s clenched fist. “Be good.”
Chi Aibei couldn’t tell Lin Xiu that He Chenjiang was after him. “But heā”
Lin Xiu: “Don’t disrupt class.”
Under Lin Xiu’s calm gaze, Chi Aibei reluctantly sat down. So what if He Chenjiang came? Lin Xiu didn’t need money, Lin Weimin was arrested, Grandma was doing well in the nursing home; He Chenjiang had no chance to curry favor.
Chen Jiang was overwhelmed. He’d considered switching He Chenjiang and Lin Xiu’s seats, putting him next to Chi Aibei, but it wasn’t necessary anymore.
Chen Jiang seated He Chenjiang as far from Chi Aibei as possible.
Watching He Chenjiang sit down, Chi Aibei muttered, “Is Mr. Chen crazy?”
Lin Xiu subtly glanced at the last row by the back door. He had disliked the little fool, but now he transferred to Class 1 for him. Transferring to Class 1 with his grades wasn’t easy; he must have used his family connections. Such a big productionā¦
Lin Xiu looked at Chi Aibei.
Chi Aibei frowned. “Gege, don’t pay attention to him. Don’t listen to anything he says.”
This wasn’t the first time Chi Aibei warned him about He Chenjiang. Seeing Chi Aibei’s seriousness, Lin Xiu recalled his words to Jiang Yu about not kicking someone when they’re down, feeling like he knew something.
Lin Xiu said, “I don’t know him. Why would he look for me?”
Chi Aibei blurted out, “Haven’t you heard of ‘near water, close tower’?”
Lin Xiu: “Don’t misuse idioms.”
Chi Aibei knew “near water, close tower” was inappropriate, but it was the truth. Why else would He transfer to Class 1?
Just as Chi Aibei was trying to convince Lin Xiu to ignore He Chenjiang, he heard Lin Xiu say, “Who’s closer than you? He’s several rows away.”
Chi Aibei looked at the distance between He Chenjiang and them. It was quite far. “What if he asks you for help with his studies?”
Lin Xiu looked at him. “Do you think everyone is like you, coming up with such lousy ideas?”
Jiang Yu, who had experienced Chi Aibei’s lousy ideas: ā¦ Was he talking about me?
The bell rang, and Lin Yang, who had been holding back for a whole class period, finally turned around. Seeing Chi Aibei still fuming, Lin Yang asked, “Are you okay?”
Chi Aibei glared at the far back corner. “I’m not okay. I’m angry.”
Lin Yang saw his anger. “Weren’t you close to him before?”
Chi Aibei frowned and glared at Lin Yang. “What nonsense are you talking about?”
Lin Yang thought Chi Aibei was going to hit him with his book, so he shrunk back, but he continued, “Everyone knows you used to follow him around. How is it nonsense?”
Chi Aibei was annoyed. “Stop listening to gossip!”
Chi Aibei had been observing He Chenjiang for a whole class. The guy kept looking at Lin Xiu. He told Lin Xiu, “Gege, let’s switch seats.”
Lin Xiu glanced at him. Are you afraid he can’t see you?
Lin Xiu was organizing his notes. Without looking up, he said, “No.”
Chi Aibei: “Why not?”
Chi Aibei’s seat was by the window, with Lin Xiu on the outside. Lin Xiu looked at him. “Sitting inside is inconvenient.”
Chi Aibei always needed Lin Xiu to move for him to get in and out. Sitting inside wasn’t as free as sitting outside.
Before Chi Aibei could figure out how to get Lin Xiu to switch, he saw a casual figure approaching from behind.
He Chenjiang: “Switch seats with me.”
Chi Aibei jumped up, shouting, “I’m not switching with you!”
Jiang Yu looked at He Chenjiang, then at Chi Aibei. He wasn’t talking to you, was he?
Lin Xiu’s pen paused. “No.”
Chi Aibei was startled and looked down at Lin Xiu.
Lin Xiu: “My eyesight is bad. I can’t see from the back.”
He Chenjiang: “What’s the difference between the third-to-last row and the last row?”
Lin Xiu finished writing, put down his pen, and looked at He Chenjiang. “There is. I can see from the third-to-last row, but not from the last row.”
Chi Aibei only then realized He Chenjiang wasn’t asking him to switch seats, but Lin Xiu.
He was only momentarily confused by He Chenjiang’s strange action, quickly “seeing through” his purpose. He covered Lin Xiu’s mouth. “Don’t talk to him, Gege. Don’t talk to him.”
He thought He Chenjiang was trying to get Lin Xiu’s attention, deliberately flirting!
Such a cunning guy, daring to use his name to gain attention. Shameless!
Lin Xiu mumbled, “Let go,” but Chi Aibei tightened his grip.
Jiang Yu didn’t expect this sudden action. Seeing Lin Xiu’s face turning red from lack of air, Jiang Yu couldn’t help but say, “You’re going to suffocate him.”
Chi Aibei created a small gap with his fingers, making sure Lin Xiu could breathe, then glared at He Chenjiang. “Forget it. Neither Gege nor I will switch with you.”
Seeing Chi Aibei’s outburst, He Chenjiang’s eye twitched. He looked at Lin Xiu, who not only didn’t push Chi Aibei away but let him cover his mouth. He Chenjiang was somewhat impressed. If it were him, he’d probably want to kill someone.
He Chenjiang did transfer to Class 1 because of Chi Aibei. He wanted to know if the fool was really not a fool anymore, whether he had been faking it all those years. But seeing Chi Aibei’s current outburst, He Chenjiang thought he was overthinking.
He Chenjiang looked at him for a while, then said, “I saw you and Jiang Wenyu at the storage room door that day.”
Chi Aibei froze, subconsciously recalling where someone could hide nearby.
Jiang Yu, hearing He Chenjiang mention Jiang Wenyu, knew he was referring to the day Jiang Wenyu was beaten. He looked at Chi Aibei.
Seeing Chi Aibei’s darting eyes, He Chenjiang saw his nervousness. “The cigarette pack fell from your pocket. When did you learn to smoke?”
Lin Xiu didn’t know what was happening, but he knew Chi Aibei had secretly taken his unfinished cigarettes. He thought Chi Aibei had thrown them away. Why were they used on Jiang Wenyu?
Lin Xiu gently patted Chi Aibei’s hand covering his mouth. Chi Aibei released his grip, and Lin Xiu said, “Those cigarettes were mine.”
Lin Xiu looked at He Chenjiang. “If you want to tell the teacher, go ahead. Don’t scare him here.”
He Chenjiang didn’t intend to tell anyone. If he wanted to, he would have already. Besides, the headmaster wouldn’t believe Chi Aibei smoked, let alone Lin Xiu.
But the fact that Lin Xiu smoked was shocking. The school’s model student, the top student, the bookworm in the eyes of bad studentsāhe smoked?
Jiang Yu was equally surprised. He even suspected Lin Xiu was covering for Chi Aibei, but then again, Chi Aibei was even less likely to smoke. Besides Lin Xiu, there was no one else who could help him hide cigarettes.
…
Chi Aibei was unusually quiet the rest of the morning. Lin Xiu found it familiar, feeling like he was about to cause trouble.
During the break after the first class in the afternoon, Chi Aibei said he was going to the restroom. He didn’t return for a long time.
Lin Xiu looked at He Chenjiang, who was sitting in the back row, legs crossed. Seeing him still in the classroom, Lin Xiu felt slightly relieved.
After a while, Lin Yang ran breathlessly to the classroom door. “Top student! The little fool got hit by a basketball on the court and was sent to the infirmary.”
Lin Xiu: ā¦ He did cause trouble.
In the infirmary, Chi Aibei, knocked unconscious by the basketball, thought for a moment he was going back in time. His vision went black for an unknown amount of time. When he came to, he was being carried to the infirmary.
“Teacher Zhou, does he have a concussion?”
The boy who carried Chi Aibei to the infirmary was the basketball team captain. He was playing basketball and didn’t notice someone entering the court. By the time he saw him, the ball had already flown past.
The doctor in the infirmary was Zhou Lang. He lifted Chi Aibei’s eyelids and waved a finger in front of him. “What’s this?”
Chi Aibei: “Three.”
Zhou Lang retracted his hand. “…Send him to the hospital.”
Chi Aibei sat up, holding his forehead. “You held my eyelids and asked me what it was; how could I see clearly?”
Zhou Lang was about to give up, but hearing this, he looked at Chi Aibei again. “Wow, tough head. Seems like you’re fine.”
The boy who carried Chi Aibei was sweating from playing basketball. Seeing he was fine, a strange anger welled up. He shouted, “Why were you running onto the basketball court?”
Chi Aibei’s head was still dizzy. The shout made him feel like he was going to faint. “I was looking for someone.”
Looking for someone on the basketball court? The boy found it absurd. “Who?”
Chi Aibei looked at his jersey. “I’m looking for Qi Yuan, the basketball team captain. Do you know him?”
Qi Yuan was stunned.
Why would this fool look for him? He didn’t know him!
The basketball team members frequently got injured, making the infirmary their base. Zhou Lang naturally knew the boy who brought Chi Aibei in was the basketball captain.
He looked at Qi Yuan with an amused expression, drinking water and watching the show.
Qi Yuan asked Chi Aibei, “Why are you looking for him?”
Chi Aibei said, “I want Lin Xiu to join the basketball team.”
“Oof, cough.” Zhou Lang choked on his water, interrupting Chi Aibei. Seeing them look over, he said, “Continue. Don’t mind me.”
Qi Yuan, like Zhou Lang, was surprised to hear the name Lin Xiu. He even wondered if there was someone with the same name in the school. “The Lin Xiu you’re talking aboutā¦ isn’t he the top student?”
Chi Aibei nodded, his head swaying, and his vision went black again.
Zhou Lang pressed his head. “Don’t shake your head. You’ll shake your brains out.”
Qi Yuan thought he might have been hit silly. He’d seen the top student beforeāa bookworm. Why would he play basketball?
Footsteps sounded in the corridor, followed by Lin Xiu and Jiang Yu running in.
Jiang Yu looked at Chi Aibei sitting on the bed. “Are you alright?”
Before Chi Aibei could speak, a dark shadow darted in front of Jiang Yu, shouting, “Why were you running onto the basketball court?”
Chi Aibei, stunned or dizzy, looked at He Chenjiang before reacting to the scolding. “What’s it to you? What are you doing here?”
He Chenjiang didn’t know either. Hearing he’d been knocked unconscious, he subconsciously followed.
Zhou Lang watched them with an amused expression. “So many family members. Who are the immediate family?”
Lin Yang stepped back, silently indicating he was extended family.
Lin Xiu entered and asked Zhou Lang, “Is he alright?”
Zhou Lang looked him up and down. “He’s under your care?”
Lin Xiu didn’t understand the doctor’s strange behavior. “Yes.”
Zhou Lang: “I’ve seen you on the grade list. Second-year top student, right?”
Lin Xiu didn’t know what the teacher’s connection to Chi Aibei’s injury was. “Yes, so is he alright?”
Zhou Lang knew all the school gossip. From the day Chi Aibei started eating with Lin Xiu and Jiang Yu in the cafeteria, he’d been paying attention, but the progress was slow. Perhaps the students in Class 1 lacked a gossip spirit, and the main characters weren’t showy.
Zhou Lang sat in his chair, legs crossed, dusting off his white coat. “He’s fine. Just a mild concussion. Let him rest for two classes. Come pick him up after school.”
Jiang Yu was worried. “A concussion? Should we send him to the hospital?”
Zhou Lang looked at Jiang Yu as if watching a show. “You too, I know. Second in the grade.”
Jiang Yu frowned. He didn’t like people mentioning his rank.
Zhou Lang smiled. “I can see. You two are immediate family.”
Jiang Yu: ā¦ Is this doctor sick?
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