“Oh my goodness.”

During lunch break, a few girls finished eating and strolled to the shade of the trees near the playground, sitting and chatting leisurely. Shen Ziyi stared at her phone, showing a shocked expression. “Have you seen the trending news? A guy forced minors to film those kinds of videos and even shared them online to make money! Both guys and girls are involved. Darn it, this guy is even a college student!”

“I saw it! Online it said that he carved words on a victim’s body, something about being someone’s slave, then posted it online to sell to those who have a demand for it.”

Tao Chen, on the side, displayed a highly uncomfortable expression. “That’s just too twisted.”

“Yeah, it’s too disgusting… huh?” Shen Ziyi paused while scrolling through, staring at a piece of news. “The news says this college student usually works at a photography studio… wait, isn’t this the photography studio near our school?”

The other girls immediately gathered around. “Which one, where?”

“Twenty-six Wan, the photography studio on the adjacent street. The news also mentioned that one of the victims worked there, and people saw several staff members from the studio being taken away.”

The girls looked at each other, all of them getting goosebumps from this horrifying news. They were so scared that they no longer wanted to sit there and discuss it, and instead, they rushed back to the classroom, only to meet Lin Shiyu returning from outside.

Shen Ziyi hurried to Lin Shiyu, raising her phone. “Big Brother Shiyu, look at this news, it’s terrifying!”

Lin Shiyu was almost hit in the face by the phone screen. He distanced himself to read the news content. “You didn’t know about this? Didn’t your dad–”

Before the words finished, Zhong Qi, who was walking behind him, covered Lin Shiyu’s mouth with his hand, and very naturally pushed him into the classroom.

Shen Ziyi was a bit puzzled. “Me? What about me?”

With his mouth covered, Lin Shiyu was forcefully taken back to his seat. He angrily removed Zhong Qi’s hand from his mouth. “What are you doing?”

“He didn’t tell her so of course he had his own reasons. Do you need to butt in?” Zhong Qi casually opened a bag of cookies, speaking in an even tone. “Just leave it, she’s hopeless.”

Just as Lin Shiyu was about to argue, a cookie was shoved into his mouth. He instinctively bit into it—a lemon-filled biscuit that was surprisingly tasty.

Well, let’s not make a fuss about it.

It had been over two months since the incident with Zhao Bin, and the temperature had dropped. Zhong Qi was wearing a black windproof jacket today, still in his loose style. Lin Shiyu had also put on a thick coat, light pink with embroidered flowers and leaves on both elbows, looking very… demure.

Class 7 had almost gotten used to Lin Shiyu’s dressing style by now. It wasn’t clear whether it was due to his fiery temperament contrasting with his appearance or because of the natural attitudes displayed by the teachers of Class 7. Led by their class advisor, Li Zhong, as well as Zhong Qi, Mao Silu, and Tao Chen, and others in the class, currently Class 7 was more concerned about how to interrupt their target’s sleep or meal after early self-study every day without angering the representative of their biology homework, rather than any showing bias or exclusion towards Lin Shiyu.

“Lin Shiyu,” Zhong Qi picked up a test paper. “You scored 48 on this biology quiz.”

Lin Shiyu snatched his test paper back.

“What were you doing when I was explaining the questions earlier? Sleepwalking?”

“…”

“I went over this protein question with you the day before yesterday. It’s the same original question, and yet you made the exact same mistake.”

Several people beside them slapped the table, laughing. Lin Shiyu felt embarrassed and angry. Zhong Qi dragged him to the side. “I can’t teach you. Stand facing the wall.”

“Lin Shiyu, are you trying to drive me nuts?” Li Zhong shook Lin Shiyu’s biology test paper with 48 marks. “How come you scored worse than the mid-term?”

Even if Lin Shiyu was irritated, he didn’t dare to argue with Li Zhong over the test paper, so he could only sulk in front of him as punishment.

Li Zhong lectured Lin Shiyu for a bit, then circled a few outrageously wrong areas in his paper with a red pen, marking them with the relevant subject points. He asked him to go back and correct the mistakes with his textbook and notes, then wait for his explanation in the next class.

“You and Ruan Zhikai are truly a troublesome pair. One scored 48, and the other scored 49,” Li Zhong laughed at himself. “It’s not working for you so, from now on, both of you will attend an extra hour of class with me every Wednesday after school.”

Lin Shiyu muttered, “I don’t want extra classes.”

Li Zhong waved the appalling test paper in front of him. “Lin Shiyu, you don’t have a say in this matter.”

With a frustrated look on his face, Lin Shiyu took the paper. Then, Li Zhong said, “Bring Ruan Zhikai here. I need to talk to him.”

Just as Lin Shiyu was about to turn away, he suddenly remembered something.

“He didn’t come to class this afternoon,” Lin Shiyu told Li Zhong. He saw Ruan Zhikai sitting in his seat in the morning, but after the lunch break, his seat next to Mao Silu was empty. Lin Shiyu thought Ruan Zhikai might have taken leave for some reason. However, judging by Li Zhong’s expression, it was clear that he had no idea.

“That kid, scores so poorly in biology but still skips class?” Li Zhong slammed the table angrily. “Get him back to school right now!”

Lin Shiyu who was needlessly roped into this mess and also got angry. After returning to the classroom, he headed straight for Mao Silu’s seat, and his intense approach almost scared Mao Silu, who was snacking. “Where’s Ruan Zhikai?”

“I-I don’t know.” Mao Silu choked and coughed, hurriedly patting his chest. “Cough, cough, he didn’t eat with me during lunch and left.”

“Mr. Li has something to tell him.” Lin Shiyu was irritated. “Tell him to go to the office before class tomorrow.”

As he was about to leave, Mao Silu hurriedly grabbed him. “Uh, uh, Shiyu, um, why don’t we go look for him together?”

Lin Shiyu wore an expression of ‘why should I help you find him?’ and Mao Silu pushed the snacks aside, running his hand through his hair in a somewhat awkward way, saying, “He’s been quite strange lately. He doesn’t play basketball with me anymore, and he’s always elusive. I tried several times to hang out with him, and every time, I found him in an internet cafe playing with a group of people I don’t know. I don’t like it, so I didn’t join them.”

It was clear that Mao Silu had been troubled by this matter for a while. “I asked him a few times if he was worried about something, and he always said he wasn’t. I can’t tell. Sometimes I thought about telling him not to hang out with that group in the internet cafe, but they all looked pretty fierce.”

Lin Shiyu frowned, waiting for his next words.

Mao Silu flashed a hesitant smile. “I’m a bit scared, haha.”

Lin Shiyu: “…”

After school, behind the door of Class 7, Mao Silu let out a long mournful cry.

“Shiyu, please come with me to look for him.” Mao Silu grasped onto Lin Shiyu, not letting go. “I’m really scared!”

Lin Shiyu was immobilized by his grip. “You’re six feet tall, what are you afraid of?”

“Why are you discriminating against tall people? I’m this tall and I’ve never been in a fight!”

The two of them were blocking the classroom door, disturbing the traffic. Zhong Qi went over to push Mao Silu outside the classroom, freeing Lin Shiyu. “What are you both doing?”

Then their group became three.

Zhong Qi was leisurely cycling, accompanied by Mao Silu cycling beside him, and Lin Shiyu had been dragged along, still in a state of confusion.

“Ruan Zhikai hasn’t been going to and from school with you lately?” Zhong Qi asked.

“No, he’s always by himself, doing who knows what. I feel he’s troubled but won’t say what about.”

“Are his parents arguing?”

“Nope, we live in the same community, and his parents seem fine.”

Seated in the back, Lin Shiyu was displeased, and said, “You guys have a lot of free time?”

Mao Silu asked: “Why would you say that?”

“Going through so much trouble to find someone.”

“But it’s not just someone; it’s a friend,” Mao Silu said with a smile. “If you suddenly felt upset, I would also come find you.”

Lin Shiyu was taken aback for a moment and forgot what he wanted to say next.

Mao Silu led them to the entrance of an internet cafe, reportedly a place Ruan Zhikai frequently visited. When Mao Silu couldn’t find Ruan Zhikai earlier, he would often find him at this internet cafe.

The internet cafe was busy and filled with people. Mao Silu went in and looked around, and Lin Shiyu followed suit. He had never been to an internet cafe before because he felt it was noisy and stuffy. It was chaotic, with people shouting and gaming everywhere.

“Kai Kai!” Mao Silu found Ruan Zhikai sitting in a corner. Ruan Zhikai looked up upon hearing the call, noticing Lin Shiyu and Zhong Qi behind Mao Silu, and appeared surprised.

“What are you doing?” Ruan Zhikai removed his headphones, pushed Mao Silu away, then looked at Lin Shiyu and Zhong Qi. “Why are you here?”

Before Mao Silu could speak, Lin Shiyu, with an expressionless face, said, “You scored 49 on your recent biology test. Old Li wants you to come back and make up the biology lesson with me.”

It wasn’t a loud statement, but it was enough to draw the attention of the people around Ruan Zhikai.

Only then did they notice the group. All of them were high school students, but a few looked older, wearing the uniform of a nearby lower-tier school. They didn’t look easy to mess with.

Mao Silu was still shocked. “You only scored 49? Can it be? Weren’t you always passing before?”

Ruan Zhikai was laid bare in front of his peers, almost blindsided. “Lower your voice!”

The people around laughed. “Brother Ki, the class committee is supervising your studies now?”

“They really found their way to the internet cafe. This class committee is quite responsible.”

“Are they here to fight or not? I’m going back to play.”

Ruan Zhikai turned back to his computer and, dismissively, said to Mao Silu. “You go home yourself, don’t bother me all the time.”

Seeing that Ruan Zhikai was back in a new game, Mao Silu had to squat down and say softly, “Why do you always play with them?”

“I called you; you didn’t come.”

“If you want to play games, we can do it together on the weekend with Gao Jie.”

“Get lost, let me play.”

Mao Silu couldn’t convince him, so he turned back helplessly to Lin Shiyu and Zhong Qi.

Lin Shiyu looked at the line of people next to Ruan Zhikai. He was familiar with these kinds of people, having seen many of them before. They were groups centered around someone, dominating within the school, and hanging out in various entertainment spots outside the school.

Lin Shiyu stood by Ruan Zhikai’s computer and said, “Ruan Zhikai, Old Li knows you skipped class. He wants you to come to the office before class tomorrow.”

As soon as he said this, the group next to them burst into loud laughter.

“What did he just say? Go to the teacher’s office?”

“Skipping class leads to punishment, don’t you know that? Haha!”

“It’s been a while since I’ve heard this kind of talk.”

“Kai bro, why are you still gaming with us? Go back and study hard!”

“Yeah, what if you fail your test!”

Ruan Zhikai was openly teased by them and immediately removed his headphones. “I told you all to get out if you have nothing better to do.”

The next moment, Lin Shiyu spoke coldly, “You find it funny?”

The laughter abruptly stopped.

Ruan Zhikai paused and looked at him.

Seeing Lin Shiyu’s anger brewing, Mao Silu instinctively shivered. “Shiyu, don’t get angry.”

Zhong Qi surveyed the surroundings, seriously calculating the maximum number of computers Lin Shiyu could break by lifting a chair and smashing them in any direction.

“Who’s this person?” A crew-cut student who looked like a senior high schooler took off his headphones, his eyes fixed on Lin Shiyu, and he sneered, “Hey, are you a guy or a girl?”

Laughter erupted around them. Mao Silu immediately looked displeased upon hearing this. He was about to speak, but Lin Shiyu said, “Ruan Zhikai, do you hang out with this kind of person every day?”

The crew-cut boy slammed his headphones on the table and stood up, causing a jarring sound as the chair dragged across the floor. The place became momentarily silent, everyone around them glared menacingly, their mice were even halted.

Then, a hand looped from behind and rested on Lin Shiyu’s shoulder, almost hugging him into the arms of the person behind him, while Lin Shiyu hardly reacted.

Zhong Qi leaned on Lin Shiyu’s shoulder, as if taming a wild beast about to go on a rampage. His approach was calm, his tall and broad figure and naturally aloof facial features seemed to add a subtle pressure.

“Relax, we’re not here to fight. We just came to see a friend.” Zhong Qi felt the person in his arms trying to struggle, and gently signaled him not to move recklessly. He kept his demeanor composed. “Zhikai, let’s go.”

Ruan Zhikai had no choice but to exit the game, shut down the computer, and walked out with his bag.

Zhong Qi had his arm over Lin Shiyu’s shoulder and was about to turn around when he suddenly remembered something. He politely told the crew-cut boy, “Just a reminder, when you see someone good-looking, describing them as neither male nor female isn’t the way to compliment their beauty.”

Then, amidst the bewildered gazes of the crowd, he turned and left.

At the entrance of the internet cafe, Lin Shiyu protested vehemently, “What nonsense are you saying!”

Then, Zhong Qi’s light voice floated in. “Don’t make a scene. You’re always getting into trouble.”

Outside the internet cafe, Mao Silu and Ruan Zhikai were standing face to face, seemingly in the middle of a conversation, and Ruan Zhikai looked very upset.

Zhong Qi released Lin Shiyu, and the two approached. Ruan Zhikai glanced at them, expressing his frustration. “What, now both of you are meddling?”

Mao Silu punched his shoulder. “What are you saying! I asked Zhong Qi and Shiyu to come.”

Lin Shiyu retorted, “Do you think I wanted to meddle in your business?”

Both Lin Shiyu and Ruan Zhikai weren’t exactly amiable personalities. Since the beginning of their schooling, though they hadn’t had any major conflicts, they had been indifferent towards each other. At this moment, both were in a bad mood, and a conflict was about to spark.

“Did I beg you to come? Can’t you walk by yourself?” Ruan Zhikai’s tone was confrontational. “Saying all these things about grades and tests in front of that group, do you have no sense of propriety? You were in a hurry to let others laugh at me, huh?”

“Kai Kai, stop it–”

A mocking smile crept on Lin Shiyu’s lips. “You want to save face in front of those hooligans, then your dignity comes cheap.”

Ruan Zhikai immediately pushed Lin Shiyu. “What did you say?”

Lin Shiyu stumbled back from the push, and Zhong Qi reached out to steady him. A rare ripple of emotion crossed Zhong Qi’s otherwise calm face, and when he looked at Ruan Zhikai, there was a subtle warning in his eyes. “Don’t lay a hand on him.”

Mao Silu stepped forward, grabbing Ruan Zhikai. “Kai Kai! Why are you losing your temper at Shiyu?”

However, Lin Shiyu pushed away Zhong Qi’s hand and continued. “Whether you attend school or not doesn’t concern me, but Mao Silu worries about you every day and wants to know what’s wrong. Instead, you hang out in places like this with these kinds of people. You’re concerned about losing face in front of them but pay no attention to Mao Silu, who came to find you. Who do you think considers you a friend? Who do you think you look embarrassed in front of?”

Lin Shiyu seldom spoke so many words in one go. He appeared very angry at the moment, yet he didn’t resort to violence and didn’t lose his temper, even though his tone was absolutely unkind. His gaze towards Ruan Zhikai was filled with unhidden contempt.

Still, he managed to control his impulses and chose another method of resolution for some reason.

With the parting word, “idiot,” he turned and walked away.

Mao Silu stared blankly at his departing figure. He turned to Zhong Qi, and they exchanged a puzzled look.

Ruan Zhikai was equally bewildered.

 

Edited by: Jaisland

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