Chapter 44
The first exam of the afternoon was about to start, and Chi Aibei still hadn’t returned.
He had been acting secretive ever since the English exam finished in the morning. During lunch, he and Jiang Yu kept exchanging significant glances and texting each other right in front of Lin Xiu. They didn’t even mute their phones; the entire meal was accompanied by the incessant ding-dong of notifications.
Lin Xiu had always thought Chi Aibei wasn’t particularly bright, but now it seemed Jiang Yu wasn’t much better.
Lin Xiu asked, “Where did Chi Aibei go?”
Chi Aibei had only asked him to cover for him; he hadn’t expected Lin Xiu to actually ask directly. Jiang Yu turned his head back. “You… you’re asking me?”
Seeing Jiang Yu’s reaction, Lin Xiu became even more certain that he and Chi Aibei were hiding something.
Jiang Yu stammered, “He went to the bathroom, probably.”
Aside from feeling guilty, Jiang Yu was also a bit worried about Chi Aibei. Jiang Wenyu had suffered losses at the hands of the Little Fool twice now. Asking Chi Aibei to meet outside the school definitely meant he wanted to do more than just talk. Logically, Jiang Yu shouldn’t help the Little Fool hide this from Lin Xiu, but even if Lin Xiu knew, what could he do? It would just be one more person missing the exam.
Jiang Yu comforted himself with the thought that Chi Aibei wouldn’t lose out. Didn’t he take the basketball team with him? Those guys were huge; surely they wouldn’t let him get beaten up.
Jiang Yu turned back around awkwardly. Still feeling uneasy, he texted Chi Aibei to ask about the situation. Chi Aibei didn’t reply for a long time. Just as Jiang Yu was about to send another message, Lin Xiu’s voice, laced with suppressed anger, suddenly sounded from behind and above him…
“Did he go to fight?”
Jiang Yu snapped his head around to see Lin Xiu standing behind him, hands braced on the desk, leaning down and glaring at him in a posture that made it obvious he had been peeking at his phone.
Jiang Yu: “…” Let’s be real, if you’re going to snoop, could you be a little less obvious about it?
The exam was about to start any minute. Seeing Lin Xiu walk out with a dark expression, Jiang Yu froze for two seconds before shouting, “Lin Xiu, where are you going?”
Lin Xiu didn’t look back.
Although Jiang Yu couldn’t see his face, he could hear the “Chi Aibei is doomed” vibe in his tone. Lin Xiu said in a low voice, “To bring him back for the exam!”
He Chenjiang walked in from outside and ran into Lin Xiu at the doorway.
The usually well-behaved top student currently wore a gloomy expression so intense that even He Chenjiang couldn’t ignore it. Lin Xiu sidestepped him. For some inexplicable reason, He Chenjiang asked, “Where are you going?”
It was expected that Lin Xiu ignored him. He Chenjiang subconsciously looked toward Chi Aibei’s seat. Sure enough, it was empty.
He Chenjiang walked over. “Where’s Chi Aibei?”
Jiang Yu felt mentally exhausted. Was he Chi Aibei’s babysitter? Why was everyone asking him?
But then he thought about it—wasn’t He Chenjiang the school bully? No one in school had a worse reputation than him. Instead of letting Lin Xiu get involved, it might be more appropriate to let He Chenjiang handle the trouble.
Jiang Yu said, “The alley behind the school. He went for a scheduled fight.”
He Chenjiang paused, thinking he had heard wrong. “What?”
Jiang Yu glanced at him. “Jiang Wenyu asked him to meet. That’s all I know.”
He Chenjiang: “…” A scheduled fight? The Little Fool? He really has a death wish!
Chi Aibei had called out the entire basketball team. Even if they lost the fight, they wouldn’t lose their spirit—even He Dali, who was on crutches, had come along to boost the numbers.
The group marched mightily toward the back of the school. Wang Xu rolled up his sleeves. “The team forbids fighting. If things actually get physical later, do we fight or not?”
Although Chi Aibei hadn’t been on the team long, he got along well with the guys. Especially after the last game, they had completely accepted Chi Aibei and Lin Xiu as their own.
Since Chi Aibei asked for help, they naturally didn’t hesitate. However, the team had rules; if the teachers found out, their team might be disbanded.
Qi Yuan hadn’t been in a fight since becoming captain. Aside from He Chenjiang, there was currently no one else in school worth fighting. Knowing it was Jiang Wenyu causing trouble, Qi Yuan didn’t take it seriously. “That wimp? Even if you lent him some guts, he wouldn’t dare throw a punch.”
Chi Aibei didn’t think so. Even a rabbit bites when cornered. Jiang Wenyu had been tricked by him twice. When he cornered him in the bathroom today, he looked like he genuinely wanted revenge. Chi Aibei only blamed his mouth for being faster than his brain—blurting out “I’ll go” before he could think. By the time he realized it, it was too late to regret.
However, what Chi Aibei hadn’t expected was that Jiang Wenyu had also called for backup.
A curse word got stuck in Chi Aibei’s throat…
Was this necessary? Calling people just to deal with him? And the people he called weren’t even from the school!
Chi Aibei looked at the guys standing next to Jiang Wenyu. They looked massive, one bigger than the last. Although they weren’t as tall as Qi Yuan and his crew, they looked like bad news. Judging by their appearance, they weren’t students.
This wasn’t revenge; this was clearly an attempt to kill him!
What kind of high schooler is this vicious?
Qi Yuan also realized something was wrong. Leaving aside whether they could win, the fact that Jiang Wenyu brought outsiders was different from what Chi Aibei had described.
He asked Chi Aibei, “How exactly did you provoke him?”
Chi Aibei was debating whether to call the police now or run if things looked bad. Hearing Qi Yuan, he shook his head. “I don’t know.”
It wasn’t that he didn’t want to say, but it was a long story that couldn’t be explained in a few words. He decided not to bother since the situation was already like this.
Qi Yuan looked at Jiang Wenyu. He felt that no matter what Chi Aibei did, Jiang Wenyu bringing outsiders to corner him was crossing the line. “Jiang Wenyu, what’s the meaning of this? Mobilizing so many people just to deal with Chi Aibei?”
Jiang Wenyu had thought Chi Aibei might flake, but he never expected him to bring a crew. This kid really didn’t know the meaning of death. “This is between him and me. It has nothing to do with you.”
Qi Yuan didn’t like the sound of that. “How does it have nothing to do with me? He’s on our basketball team. If you touch him, you touch me.”
Jiang Wenyu was determined to teach Chi Aibei a lesson today. It didn’t matter what anyone said.
Because of Chi Aibei, Jiang Wenyu had been beaten by his father twice. The first time his head was busted open; the second time his father nearly broke his legs. If he had actually done something wrong, he would have accepted it. But he hadn’t done anything, yet he had to suffer beatings because of Chi Aibei’s lies.
Jiang Wenyu’s eyes were red with rage. “If you insist on interfering, I can’t help that. It’s not that I’m not giving you face, but this fool screwed me over twice. I have to get even today.”
Chi Aibei suddenly felt a little sympathy for Jiang Wenyu. He really was extraordinarily stupid. Did he not remember why he got beaten the first time? And he was talking about getting even? Getting even for what? To get beaten again?
The leader of the group Jiang Wenyu brought was named Chen Fei. They indeed weren’t students; Chen Fei was twenty-seven and had graduated years ago. Looking at the group opposite them, Chen Fei had to study them for a while to figure out which one they were supposed to be handling.
Looking at the shortest boy in the opposing crowd—the one who looked the most well-behaved, wearing a school uniform with a dazed and innocent expression—Chen Fei couldn’t help but ask, “Which one are we supposed to teach a lesson?”
Jiang Wenyu pointed at Chi Aibei. “The smallest one.”
Zhou Yu, standing next to Chen Fei, swore. “…F*ck, you called me out here to beat up a kid?”
You couldn’t blame Zhou Yu for the reaction. Chi Aibei standing amidst the towering basketball team members really did look like a middle schooler.
If the target were someone like Qi Yuan, that would be one thing. But mobilizing so many of them to deal with a tiny little thing? If word got out, they’d lose all their dignity!
He Chenjiang had jumped the wall to get out. He turned the corner from the other end of the alley and immediately stood on Jiang Wenyu’s side.
Jiang Wenyu was on good terms with Qin Wanpeng. Seeing He Chenjiang appear, he subconsciously looked behind him. Seeing that He Chenjiang came alone, Jiang Wenyu, confident as he was, didn’t assume He Chenjiang was there to help him.
He Chenjiang was no stranger to group fights; he had seen plenty since middle school. But seeing Jiang Wenyu bring so many people just to corner Chi Aibei, he couldn’t hide his surprise. “What are you doing with so many people?”
Jiang Wenyu: “Brother He, can you stay out of this?”
He Chenjiang: “What do you think?”
Jiang Wenyu knew it was unlikely he would stay out of it, given that he had protected the Little Fool for years. “He tricked me twice. I won’t feel right until I get revenge.”
He Chenjiang: “How do you plan to get revenge?”
How? Isn’t it obvious?
Chi Aibei didn’t know why He Chenjiang was here. He could tell He Chenjiang wasn’t here to help Jiang Wenyu, but if he was here to help him, that was even less necessary, okay?!
He didn’t want to owe him any favors. He’d rather get beaten up.
Qi Yuan asked Chi Aibei, “Did you call him?”
Chi Aibei: “Am I sick?”
Qi Yuan: “…True.”
Wang Xu was watching the drama when someone suddenly tapped his shoulder, startling him.
He turned around to see Lin Xiu standing behind him, appearing out of nowhere.
Although Lin Xiu’s face wasn’t contorted with rage, it was extremely serious. It made Wang Xu’s heart skip a beat; it was more terrifying than seeing the dean of discipline.
“Lin… Lin Xiu?”
Chi Aibei turned around and froze.
Compared to seeing He Chenjiang, seeing Lin Xiu surprised Chi Aibei even more. Didn’t he ask Jiang Yu to cover for him? How did he handle things?
Seeing Lin Xiu looking over, Chi Aibei turned awkwardly and took two steps toward him. “Brother, why are you here?”
Lin Xiu: “What are you doing?”
Scheduled fight.
Chi Aibei didn’t dare say it because he could clearly sense Lin Xiu was angry.
On the other side, Chen Fei, who didn’t know who this suddenly appearing He Chenjiang was, noticed another person had joined the opposing side. After a careful look, Chen Fei was dumbfounded. “…Brother Xiu?”
Hearing Chen Fei shout, Zhou Yu and the others quickly looked over.
Lin Xiu in a school uniform looked different from how they usually saw him. Even seeing that familiar face, they hesitated for a while before daring to recognize him. However, once they did, their faces instantly shared the exact same expression.
He’s… a high schooler?
Lin Xiu seemed not to notice their surprise. He looked at Chen Fei, his tone coldly chilling. “What are you doing here?”
Chen Fei’s heart sank. A feeling of impending doom made him open and close his mouth several times before he could stammer, “Brother… Brother Xiu, we… we’re just… we came to handle some business.”
Chen Fei glanced at the boy Lin Xiu was shielding behind him. He had been so surprised earlier that he hadn’t heard clearly. Did that kid just call Lin Xiu… Brother?
Lin Xiu interrupted Chen Fei’s thoughts. “Does Brother Cheng know you’re out?”
Chen Fei and the others were from the boxing gym. The gym had rules. If Shen Yicheng found out they were causing trouble outside, especially fighting students, they probably wouldn’t even get the chance to pack their bags before being kicked out.
Lin Xiu didn’t exchange any pleasantries with them from start to finish. “The school still has exams. I’m taking him.”
Lin Xiu’s notification was already giving them plenty of face. How would Chen Fei dare to stop him?
Jiang Wenyu hadn’t figured out the relationship between Lin Xiu and these guys. Seeing Lin Xiu about to take the person away, he called out, “Did I say you could go?”
Qi Yuan felt this guy was clueless. He hissed and was about to step forward when Lin Xiu blocked him. “You guys go back first.”
Qi Yuan still didn’t understand the situation. He only knew that the gang Jiang Wenyu brought seemed to know Lin Xiu and was actually afraid of him. If he heard correctly, that guy just called Lin Xiu “Brother Xiu.” But no matter how he looked at it, Lin Xiu shouldn’t be older than him.
Qi Yuan and the basketball team didn’t leave, mainly because the other side hadn’t left, so they didn’t dare leave either. At present, he couldn’t be sure if this group would help Lin Xiu or Jiang Wenyu. If a fight really broke out, they couldn’t let the top student do the fighting.
How would Chen Fei dare to help? Fighting outside the gym was a major taboo, and with Lin Xiu there, it wasn’t their place to fight anyway.
Qi Yuan looked at He Chenjiang, who hadn’t moved from the opposite side. “Surname He, did you hire this idiot?”
Just as Qi Yuan said, Jiang Wenyu was a wimp in both literary and martial arts—bad at studying, scared of fighting. Bringing a gang to pick a fight today was clearly not his style.
The more Qi Yuan looked, the more he felt Jiang Wenyu dared to cause trouble because of He Chenjiang. As for the reason, it must be because He Chenjiang didn’t get enough of the game yesterday and was using Jiang Wenyu’s name to trouble Chi Aibei today.
Qi Yuan narrowed his eyes. Is this guy trying to pull off a tacky “hero saving the beauty” cliché?
He Chenjiang thought Qi Yuan was insane. “Didn’t you hear me tell them to leave just now?”
Qi Yuan heard it, but they hadn’t left, had they? “Who knows if you’re directing and acting in this yourself? You stood on their side from the moment you arrived. Who would believe you aren’t with them?”
He Chenjiang glanced at his own position. Fck, I wanted to go over there too!* But the other side had Qi Yuan, who he didn’t get along with, and Chi Aibei, who glared at him on sight. Now with Lin Xiu, who didn’t take him seriously at all, he felt he might as well stand here!
The reason Chen Fei and his group didn’t leave was that they thought if a fight broke out, Lin Xiu might need them. But standing there made it look like they were ready to see the fight through to the end.
Lin Xiu glanced at them. “Still not leaving? Do you want me to call a car for you?”
Chen Fei froze. Just as he was about to say he was leaving, Jiang Wenyu spoke up beside him. “I hired them. Can they leave just because you say so?”
Chen Fei felt like crumbling. He glanced at Jiang Wenyu, thinking, You idiot, stop fcking talking. Do you want me to die?*
Another person who couldn’t control his mouth was Chi Aibei. Hearing Jiang Wenyu’s words, he let out a surprised “Ah.” “Hired with money? Your popularity is that bad? You can’t even find friends to help you fight, so you have to hire people? This is a classic case of ‘insufficient friends, money makes amends.’ It’s a good thing your family has money, otherwise what would you do?”
Lin Xiu looked at Chi Aibei with exhaustion. He roughly understood why Jiang Wenyu wanted to deal with him even if he had to hire people. This kid really had a beguiling mouth.
Seeing Chi Aibei still provoking trouble as if it wasn’t big enough, Lin Xiu grabbed his arm and dragged him in front of Jiang Wenyu. Chi Aibei was stunned, then heard Lin Xiu say, “If you insist on touching him today, I won’t stop you. But if I’m not mistaken, your father currently needs a favor from his brother. Your father has three sons, but his brother only has this one younger brother. Before you touch him, you’d better weigh whether your importance in your father’s heart matches his importance in his brother’s heart.”
Chi Aibei looked at Lin Xiu with lingering fear… Scared me to death. I thought Lin Xiu was going to let Jiang Wenyu beat me up.
Recommended Reads
