Chapter 14#

The campus after the rain had a cool, hazy beauty—an indescribable kind of charm.

It should have been a serene and gentle scene, but suddenly a piercing scream rang out—

“Fatty! We’re screwed, totally screwed—! That old bastard is really going to flunk me this time!”

“Oh…”

Cheng Chen snatched the Little Women from my hands, gripped my shoulders tightly, and said with rare seriousness, “Fatty! Are you my bro or not? All I get is an ‘oh’! If the old man flunks me, we won’t be able to graduate together at the end of the year—”

“Fatty, can you bear it? How could you bear to leave me behind, you heartless bastard!”

I rubbed my temples. Luckily, I was the only one left in the classroom at this hour. I glanced at my watch, then bent down to pack up the books on my desk. Cheng Chen, apparently annoyed that I wasn’t responding, draped himself over my arm—his frame a full head taller than mine, yet he insisted on leaning against me.

“Hey, stop messing around, be good.” I chuckled wryly and pushed him.

Cheng Chen pouted, looking aggrieved. “Fatty, you’re so heartless. Look at you—you’ve slimmed down and gotten handsome, and now you’re about to abandon your old spouse, aren’t you?” Then he added, “And here I was, back when I left you, unable to eat or sleep properly, couldn’t have fun or rest. And now this is how you treat me? I’ve seen through you!”

The last line was delivered with such tragic indignation that I had the vague illusion of being a reincarnated Chen Shimei. Sighing inwardly, I patted his shoulder and said, “Alright, tell me—how can I help? But first, get off me. You’re really heavy.”

Cheng Chen grinned slyly, straightened my collar, and said with a sycophantic look, “It’s easy, easy. The old man said as long as I agree to tutoring, he’ll let me pass this semester. But…”

“But you’re afraid your dad, Uncle Cheng, will find out, so you want to tell him that all those late nights were spent studying at my place?”

I raised an eyebrow. Seeing him wink at me ingratiatingly, I couldn’t help but shake my head and snatched back the book he had taken from me.

After a moment of silence, Cheng Chen touched my fingers. “Fatty, are you mad?”

I took off my glasses and rubbed my eyes. “No.”

“Sorry, sorry. I won’t do it again, I promise. This time it was because of the club competition—I didn’t have enough attendance, so I got failed.”

I looked at Cheng Chen. He was looking down, lips pressed together, and seemed to be genuinely reflecting on his actions.

Ah, this kid…

“Cheng Chen, I know you don’t like studying, but Uncle Cheng promised you that once you graduate, he won’t restrict you anymore. He’s an old man, and you’re his only son. Listen to him more, don’t make him worry, okay?”

Cheng Chen looked away and gave a light snort. I smiled and said, “I’ll help you this time. Our exams are coming up soon, so maybe you can cut back on club activities a little—”

“Really—?” Cheng Chen turned back, his smile dazzling. For a moment, it stung my eyes.

He pressed closer again, practically hanging on me like a koala. “Fatty, you’re such a good guy!”

Ah.

A goody-goody, huh?

I rolled my eyes, but I couldn’t help patting his head. Whether he was older or I was slightly older was hard to say anymore.

I hadn’t realized how quickly these few years had passed.

When I first enrolled, I had to repeat the second half of eighth grade. Based on the knowledge from my previous life, I could have gone straight to college, but well…

In any case, I started a plain academic life with my new classmates, who were half a year younger than me. Strangely enough, this time I was still a boarder, only required to return to the main residence for one week each month. Wang Zheng had initially opposed it fiercely—he rarely spoke harshly to Uncle Jing, but Uncle Jing only said it was a rule set by Third Young Master.

At that, Wang Zheng backed off.

But within a month, Wang Zheng had also applied for boarding. Fortunately, the dormitory was top-notch, so we didn’t have to share a room—not that I was flattering myself; I never thought Wang Zheng would want to share a room with me. I was just being cautious, avoiding… accidents.

But it wasn’t much better. The door number of Wang Zheng’s room was exactly the same as the one right across from mine.

As for running into Cheng Chen—that was a miracle.

At least before I knew about Cheng Chen’s family background, in my heart, it was truly a great miracle. Not to mention how high No. 1 High School’s standards were for students—in my previous life, I had struggled and fought my way in just to be with Wang Zheng. Now, returning to my alma mater in this life, I felt an indescribable melancholy. Seeing familiar things did ease the vague sense of rejection I had felt earlier.

But life is full of surprises.

To avoid Wang Zheng as much as possible, I deliberately did worse on the entrance exam this time, barely scraping by. As a result, my class placement was affected. Coincidentally, No. 1 High School wasn’t a sanctuary only for the rich and noble. Every year, there were still some classes in a separate teaching building for students from ordinary families with outstanding grades.

This method of separating students from prominent families and ordinary students was originally meant to avoid unnecessary comparisons and bullying. Later, probably under pressure from higher-ups, the school was forced to accept some average students from first-class families and place them in the same teaching building as ordinary students—supposedly to prevent these rich kids from corrupting the nation’s future pillars and so on…

So I ended up in this class.

Wang Zheng had made a fuss about it a few times. I still remember the cold look in his eyes. Unusually, he didn’t lose his temper like before. Instead, he said coldly, “You did it on purpose, didn’t you?”

Wang Zheng’s temper grew more restrained, but his mindset never straightened out. Just like in my previous life, he always thought I was his dog, destined to follow him forever, wagging my tail for his favor. That’s why, later on, he always felt I owed him.

Ah, why bother?

Actually, studying with regular students felt pretty good. At least the curriculum didn’t include bizarre subjects like “Banquet Etiquette” or, ahem, “Criminal Psychology.” Besides, the extracurricular activities were more diverse. Come to think of it, in my previous life, I had no idea that the Taekwondo Club at No. 1 High School was one of the best in the city.

When some male classmates mentioned it, I quietly pinched my arm. Hmm, maybe I should get more exercise…

Holding the Taekwondo Club admission letter, listening to the shouts coming from the gymnasium, I felt a mix of excitement and confusion. I had kept this a secret from Wang Zheng. Wang Zheng was a permanent member of the student council. When he asked which club I’d chosen and I handed in the form, the look in his eyes…

It really made my heart race.

As I walked in, a row of boys and girls blocked my view. From the center of the court came sounds of fighting, but with all the noise and my short stature, I couldn’t see anything. A few boys behind me rushed forward excitedly, chattering away. Since my eyes had been injured, my ears had become more sensitive.

I think I heard it very clearly.

“Hurry, the captain is fighting that sissy!”

“Who would’ve thought those rich kids could fight so well? Who’s that sissy?”

“Him? He’s a big shot! The young master of the Wang family, all girly. Hey, he just became student council president. That nose-in-the-air sissy went crazy and came here looking for trouble, saying he wants to take over the Taekwondo Club. Our captain’s not easy to bully, so now he says if he beats the captain, the club will be directly under the student council.”

“Those nouveau riches are too much! Captain—! Don’t lose to that sissy—!!”

I was stunned. Suddenly, I heard a well-bred young lady scream and cover her eyes, followed by a wail—

“The president got hit in the face!”

What? What!

I snapped out of it. Without regard for decorum, I pushed through the crowd. “Excuse me, sorry, let me through…” I shoved my way forward, earning complaints from those around me. Embarrassed, I made it to the front. The not-so-large space had created a small circle in the middle. And standing in the center was—

“Hey! What’s wrong with you? Don’t you know the rules of first come, first served?!”

Someone behind me shoved me hard. I had barely managed to keep my balance, and with that forceful push, I stumbled forward, falling straight into the ring.

The fall slammed my nose.

I yelped. When I struggled to get up, I felt warmth on my hand as I touched my nose. When I came to my senses, my hand and clothes were covered in blood—a gruesome sight that even made the crowd quiet down.

“You—Qi Ri!”

I looked up and saw Wang Zheng’s beautiful, enlarged face. Tsk tsk tsk, his face really had been hit—swollen and red.

“How did this happen?! Damn it!” Wang Zheng hadn’t even changed clothes. He was still in his uniform, not a trace of dishevelment. Speaking of which, the children of the Wang and Ren families had been trained in martial arts and physical fitness since childhood. But that was just for show. The only one in our generation who was actually good at it was, strictly speaking, Wang Zheng. Probably because everyone used to say he looked like a girl when he was little—it twisted his psyche so badly that he turned himself into a human weapon.

“Here, Qi Ri, press this.” Wang Zheng pulled out a handkerchief, roughly wiped my face, then turned to glare at the crowd.

“You—who pushed him? I’ll give you half a day. If you don’t turn yourself in at the student council by six today, I’ll submit the names of everyone here to the disciplinary office!”

A few boys and girls went pale. I quickly tugged at Wang Zheng’s sleeve, but he startled me with his next words: “If you plead for them, I’ll submit the list immediately!”

Ah… what’s wrong with this kid?

“Hey hey hey, I’m so scared, President Wang. What, you think just because your family has money you’re hot stuff? We’re in the middle of a fight—where do you think you’re going—!”

Wang Zheng ignored the voice behind him and urgently grabbed my hand. “Come on, Qi Ri, I’ll take you to the nurse’s office.”

Without giving me a chance to speak, he started pulling me out.

“Sissy! What do you think you’re doing—!”

The voice behind roared with rage. I heard rapid footsteps. Someone grabbed Wang Zheng’s shoulder, and he immediately threw a punch.

Still fighting?!

“Cheng Chen!!”

I blocked Wang Zheng’s incoming kick just in time, and Cheng Chen’s fist stopped inches from my face.

Cheng Chen’s hair was cut short, he had grown taller, and his face was handsome. His peach blossom eyes stared straight at me.

“You are—?”

“Fatty, what are you thinking about, so lost in thought?”

Cheng Chen suddenly hooked my arm. “Confess and get a lighter sentence—are you thinking about…” He grinned lewdly. “Thinking about girls—?”

I slapped his hand away and shook my head with a wry smile.

Cheng Chen yelped and followed me, starting to chatter about which girl from which class was pretty, which rich heiress had a bad temper but a cute face, and so on.

“Put more effort into your studies. If you get held back another year, Uncle Cheng really will break your legs.”

“Pfft, pfft, good luck, good luck—don’t say things like that.” Cheng Chen grinned and put his arm around my shoulder. “Sure, that old stubborn guy gave me a good beating, but at least I’ll be in the same grade as you, and we’ll graduate together. Worth it.”

Seeing Cheng Chen’s crooked smile, I felt a wave of emotion—back then, my decision not to join the Taekwondo Club had been the right and wise one.

Speaking of which, Cheng Chen had suddenly transferred schools because his father from the mainland had personally come to Singapore to discipline his son. Cheng Chen never talked about it before. I only found out in recent years that he was General Cheng’s son. General Cheng was a warlord from earlier years, quite old. Later, he went into business, mostly based in mainland China, with little overlap with the Ren family—different fields.

When Cheng Chen later told me, he just said, “The old stubborn’s son from his mainland wife died, so now he’s desperately tormenting me, the son of his concubine. Ah, my life…”

This kid had his share of hardships.

“I can go back to the dorm by myself. Don’t keep your driver waiting.” I patted him, but he clung to me even harder. “You’re kicking me out? Fatty, tell me—have you found someone else—”

“Hey… stop—”

Cheng Chen suddenly covered my mouth and made an exaggerated shushing gesture.

I stared at him blankly. He pointed toward a corner of the grove ahead and whispered in my ear, “Fatty, look over there…”

I followed his gaze. I could barely make out two figures. Though blurry, I could tell they were two boys.

Two boys standing together—no big deal. Two boys hugging each other… also no big deal. But if they’re standing together, hugging, and their mouths happen to be pressed together—well, still probably no big deal.

But if one of them is Wang Zheng…

Then it was a very big deal.