The figure looked vaguely familiar. He was holding a small handheld mirror that reflected a sharp burst of sunlight right into Tang Yu’s eyes as the boy ran.
Isn’t that the quiet kid I saw outside Teacher Liu’s office? Tong Lei, right?
What was he up to, sneaking around like that?
Maybe it was because of their similar family backgrounds…Tang Yu couldn’t help but recall Tong Lei saying, “I don’t have parents anymore”…but a wave of empathy washed over him. Without thinking twice, Tang Yu decided to follow him.
The quiet boy slipped away toward the back of the school’s science building. It was a secluded spot, home mostly to stray cats that scrambled for cover whenever anyone approached.
One little stray kitten was still wobbly on its legs. Clueless and curious, it ambled over to Tong Lei and began playfully batting at his shoelaces.
Tong Lei bent down, seemingly reaching out to touch it, when a sharp, frantic cat screech cut through the air. The mother cat darted out, baring her teeth in a protective threat.
Taking advantage of Tong Lei backing away, the mother cat snatched the kitten up by the scruff of its neck and bolted.
A moment later, a group of boys arrived. Tang Yu recognized them instantly…they were the usual group that hung around He Cheng.
Without missing a beat, they shoved Tong Lei against the wall. “Did you get the pictures?”
Tong Lei pulled his shoulders in, shrinking back. “I didn’t… I didn’t get a chance.”
“Useless! Can’t even snap a quick photo of Zhou Fangmin? What good are you?”
Zhou Fangmin? Hearing his homeroom teacher’s name made Tang Yu frown.
The boys pressed in closer, impatience growing. “Are you going to do it or not?”
With the boys cornering him and fists looking ready to fly, Tong Lei covered his head, his voice trembling. “I will! I can definitely get them!”
“By today.”
“I promise, I promise…”
Satisfied, the group turned to leave, only to be shoved backward by Tang Yu as soon as they rounded the corner.
The boy in front absorbed the full force of the push and stumbled hard, causing the ones behind him to tumble to the ground.
“Fuck! Tang Yu, what the hell is wrong with you?”
Tang Yu scoffed. “What’s wrong with you guys? I should be asking why you’re trying to take secret photos of my homeroom teacher!”
The boys exchanged looks, nobody daring to say a word.
They were all mentally calculating the risk of starting a fight with Tang Yu. He was famous at Shishi High for being a stubborn, tough nut to crack. Even though he used to just have the reputation of a school bully without much proof, everyone had heard about the alley fight a few days ago. He and Bai Yuenian had taken on a gang of thugs and come out completely unscathed.
Facing him three on one, they weren’t confident they could win.
Besides, given He Cheng’s attitude toward Tang Yu yesterday, getting into a brawl with him would mean endless trouble. Even if it was just to save face for He Cheng, they couldn’t afford to push things too far.
The boys scrambled up, brushing dust off their clothes, knowing when to cut their losses. “We’ll let it slide this time. Watch where you’re going next time!”
As they turned to walk away, Tang Yu blocked their path again. “I don’t care what kind of shady games you’re playing, but don’t mess with anyone in Class 1. That includes Tong Lei.”
Tang Yu didn’t even drop a dramatic threat, but his usually bright and smiling face looked terrifyingly cold and menacing.
Hiding in the shadows, Tong Lei lowered his arms from his head and looked at Tang Yu, his eyes filled with mixed emotions.
To him, Tang Yu had always seemed fierce, intimidating, and no different from the kids in the International Class. He never expected Tang Yu to protect him…let alone remember his name.
Realizing they had bumped into a wall, the International Class boys gave up. Throwing out a weak, “Who cares about those boring nerds in Class 1 anyway?”, they hurried off.
“Why do they want pictures of my homeroom teacher?” Tang Yu asked.
Seeing Tong Lei stay silent, Tang Yu let out a long sigh. “If you don’t answer me, I’m going to beat you up instead!”
Though his tone was cold, it sounded more like helpless frustration.
Tong Lei had seen his fair share of trouble, so he could tell whether someone actually meant to hit him or not.
Still, he confessed: “They were making a bet today.”
“A bet on what?”
“They wanted to see Teacher Zhou’s…” Tong Lei couldn’t bring himself to say the words directly, so he rephrased it. “They heard that women who go to the bathroom a lot after giving birth might be wearing… that kind of adult diaper. So they made me go take a photo.”
Snap!
Tang Yu thought of the dress Zhou Fangmin was wearing today, along with the glare from that little mirror. He pressed his foot down hard, snapping a dry twig beneath his shoe. “And you actually tried to do it?! Now I really want to beat you up.”
Tong Lei shook his head frantically. “I didn’t take anything.”
Tang Yu grunted. “If you had, you would’ve shown them just now.”
Facing a kid who was like a silent wooden block, Tang Yu couldn’t even vent his anger properly.
“If you ever try something like this again, I won’t go easy on you,” Tang Yu snapped, walking away. But after a few paces, he paused and turned back. “If they try to force you into doing stuff like this again… come find me.”
By the time Tang Yu returned to Class 1’s bleachers, he was still fuming. There really are all kinds of idiots in this world.
He glanced over at Zhou Fangmin. She was chatting happily with the homeroom teacher from Class 2, completely unaware.
Xie Tianyi walked over to strike up a conversation. “I thought you went to your usual spot to smoke, but I couldn’t find you! Where’d you wander off to? Why do you look so pissed off?”
Tang Yu frowned. “Tell me, how could someone be so…” He caught himself mid-sentence and stopped. “Forget it, it’s nothing.”
“You missed it earlier!” Unaware of Tang Yu’s mood, Xie Tianyi chattered away lightheartedly. “Class 7 won the tug-of-war championship!”
“They were so sneaky! The first guy in line was wearing fishnet stockings under his shorts. Right when everyone started cheering, a girl pulled his shorts down. The opposing team burst out laughing and lost their grip! Hahaha…”
Tang Yu gave him a flat, forced smile.
Xie Tianyi turned to Bai Yue’nian instead. “Oh, right! Our basketball squad is grabbing dinner tonight, plus a few other classmates. Are you coming?”
Tang Yu muttered irritably, “Not sure.”
“Come on! You gotta go!” Xie Tianyi pushed.
“I said I’m not going.”
“You just said ‘not sure’! Why the sudden change? We’re just waiting on you!”
“Can you stop nagging?”
Seeing that Tang Yu couldn’t be persuaded, Xie Tianyi shifted targets. “God Yue, are you coming to the party?”
Even though Xie Tianyi asked the question, Bai Yue’nian didn’t even look at him.
Meeting Tang Yu’s gaze, Bai Yue’nian seemed almost expectant. “I want to go, but I don’t really know the place.”
Xie Tianyi assumed he meant the venue. “It’s near your house! How could you not know it?”
Bai Yue’nian looked at Tang Yu. “It’s my first time going to a party like this. I want to go with you.”
Tang Yu relented. “Fine, then.”
Looking at this nerd, he probably hasn’t been out much anyway. Might as well take him along.
Xie Tianyi stood there, bewildered. “Why do you need to go with him? Can’t find the spot? It’s literally that barbecue joint, Ranxing…”
As he spoke, he finally realized something was off. “Wait a minute, you two! What kind of secret code are you playing at?”
Also, Tang Yu, you fickle traitor! I invite you and you refuse, but the second Bai Yue’nian asks, you jump right on board!
Since it was the weekend, a lot of classmates showed up. They started out at a table outside, but eventually moved into a private room indoors.
The class president was thrilled, raising her glass of orange juice with excitement. “I really didn’t expect our class to place third overall this time! Ranked third from the top! A toast to everyone!”
Having spent the day getting scolded by Liu Ziyue and annoyed by the International Class, Tang Yu hadn’t been paying attention. “From the top?”
Someone answered for him, “Yeah! We got first in basketball, the sports committeeman got second in long jump, Qingjie got third in the women’s 100-meter, and God Yue…”
He paused to catch his breath.
Right, Bai Yuenian had finished the 3,000-meter run, too.
“…and God Yue took first place in the 3,000-meter!”
First place?!
Tang Yu whipped his head toward Bai Yuenian.
Bai Yue’nian’s expression remained calm. “Just good luck. I happened to pull off a first.”
That’s some ridiculously good luck!
Bai Yuenian naturally placed a plate of barbecue skewers in front of Tang Yu…every piece of cilantro and chopped green onion carefully picked out.
Tang Yu froze, staring at him in confusion.
Bai Yuenian said softly, “The other day, I saw you picking them out. I figured you didn’t like them.”
Tang Yu: “…”
He remembered my food preferences after eating with me just once?
A warm feeling bubbled up inside Tang Yu’s chest, dissolving most of the day’s bad mood instantly.
Taking a bite of beef, he let out a quiet “Oh” and thanked Bai Yue’nian.
Watching their interaction, a classmate suddenly remembered something. “Hey, do you guys remember back in freshman year? During one monthly exam, God Yue actually scored a 40 on his math test!”
Class President Liu Shantong chimed in from across the table, “Of course I remember!”
Tang Yu was stunned.
Bai Yuenian scored a 40? Did he only complete the multiple-choice section? Was he sick? Or did he have an emergency and run off mid-exam?
Still, it wasn’t unprecedented.
Tang Yu suddenly recalled something from his real world…back in his freshman year, he had scored a perfect 150 on a math exam once! Wasn’t that even more shocking than Bai Yuenian getting a 40?
He was an academic slacker, after all!
When the scores came out, he surprisingly wasn’t at the very bottom of the grade. When his classmates told him, he didn’t pay much mind, assuming the teacher had misread the name and entered the grade wrong, expecting it to be corrected later.
He knew better than anyone how much he had answered…how could it possibly be a perfect score?
That test had been brutally difficult, making several students cry and worsening Class 13’s already dismal average score. Yet he had been the only one on the entire grade list with a score above 130…a full 150…and it belonged to Class 13! Even Teacher Cai couldn’t believe it.
Later, Xie Tianyi mentioned to him that an aloof, genius student in the top class had somehow scored a 40.
At the time, Tang Yu had brushed it off and forgotten about it completely.
Now, hearing people talk about Bai Yue’nian scoring a 40, Tang Yu suddenly connected the dots.
In the real world… was that person who got a 40… also Bai Yue’nian?
But isn’t he just the male lead in a novel?
What if… there was a Bai Yuenian in the real world too?
Tang Yu realized he had never even considered that possibility.
Across the table, the class president was recalling the details. “I remember the math teacher reading out the scores. When Tang Yu’s score was called, we were all stunned…a perfect score! The only 150 in the whole grade!”
“Only later did we find out that God Yue accidentally wrote Tang Yu’s name on his own exam.”
Someone teased, “God Yue never remembers anyone’s name! Not only did he remember Tang Yu’s, but he even wrote it by mistake! How much must he have been thinking about Tang Yu during the test to mess that up?”
“Isn’t it obvious? His mind was probably full of Tang Yu the entire time!”
Tang Yu’s eyebrows knitted together, turning to Bai Yuenian. “What was that about?”
Bai Yuenian had already prepared an excuse. “It was probably…”
Before he could finish, Tang Yu cut him off, “Back up a bit, don’t whisper in my ear.”
Bai Yuenian glanced at Tang Yu’s bright red earlobes and leaned back slightly. “It was probably because I had just helped you copy my homework, so my hand got used to writing your name.”
Tang Yu: “…”
It was that simple?
Still, writing the wrong name made sense. The multiple-choice portion was graded by a machine, so as long as the bubbles were filled, it would register 40 points. But the official record was based on the name on the sheet…whoever’s name was on it got the grade.
Then, Bai Yuenian lowered his eyes slightly. “I’m sorry for causing you trouble back then.”
Ah… no need to apologize for that! It was just a mistake, and it gave me a perfect score on my transcript for once. What’s there to apologize for?
Wait a minute! The original owner of this body used to make Bai Yuenian let him copy homework? That’s so awful! No wonder their relationship was terrible despite growing up together!
Following the topic of Bai Yuenian writing the wrong name, someone suggested looking at his WeChat contacts. Everyone was curious how someone with “name blindness” managed to match faces to names without ever getting them wrong.
Bai Yuenian just smiled and didn’t say anything.
Driven by shameless curiosity, Xie Tianyi started scheming. “How about we play Truth or Dare?”
“Great idea!”
“Is God Yue playing?”
This time, Bai Yuenian agreed cleanly. “Sure.”
The top students instantly grew excited. They came up with various game formats, quickly ruling out anything involving math or memory. With Bai Yuenian’s insane problem-solving skills and god tier brain, nobody knew how many of them he could single-handedly crush.
Rock-paper-scissors was out too…hand movements involved probability theories.
After deliberating, the nerds decided on the simplest method: using a deck of playing cards. Whoever drew the Ace of Hearts would take the punishment.
Unfortunately, Bai Yuenian had incredible luck. After five or six rounds, everyone else had been forced to make animal sounds, chug a bottle of Cola, or even have their underwear color exposed, while Bai Yuenian remained completely untouched.
Refusing to accept defeat, Xie Tianyi shuffled the cards while muttering, “I don’t believe this.”
Tang Yu scoffed at him. “Move aside, idiot. Let me do it.”
Tang Yu took the deck and continued shuffling.
Bai Yuenian suddenly asked, “Do you want to see it too?”
Tang Yu paused. “Huh?”
Bai Yuenian clarified, “My contact list.”
Tang Yu smiled, dimples faintly appearing near the corners of his lips. “I am pretty curious, but mostly I just want to see you lose for once.”
“Alright, then this round should do it.” Bai Yuenian placed his phone on the table, seemingly resigning to defeat just because Tang Yu said he wanted to see it.
“Seriously?”
“Can he really predict it like that?”
“I don’t buy it.”
“Me neither.”
Tang Yu didn’t buy it either. He carefully dealt the cards and flipped his own over first…the Queen of Hearts.
Checking Xie Tianyi’s next to him, it was a black card.
At that moment, everyone’s eyes locked onto the face-down card in front of Bai Yue’nian.
Bai Yuenian placed two fingers on the back of the card and tapped it gently twice, but didn’t turn it over. Instead, he offered the opportunity to Tang Yu. “You flip it.”
“Me?” It wasn’t a big deal, but ever since Bai Yue’nian said this round should do it, Tang Yu had felt an unexplainable wave of nervousness.
With the card right in front of him, his heart pounded harder against his ribs.
Fuck! Why is this more intense than pulling off a comeback win in a video game?
He squeezed his eyes shut, not even daring to look, and swiftly flipped the card over. The next second, the room erupted into wild cheers.
Tang Yu opened his eyes in disbelief. The Ace of Hearts? For real?!
“Ahhhh! How is he so accurate?!”
“This is unscientific!”
“The moment God Yue speaks, even the cards obey!”
“Quick, let me see God Yue’s WeChat contacts!”
“God Yue, I’m taking your phone!”
Bai Yuenian nodded generously.
“Who is this contact named ‘CuSO4’? The avatar is a cat.”
The class president stepped closer to look. “That’s me! Copper sulfate…Liu Shantong! Hahaha… the pronunciation really sounds similar, how come I never noticed?”
Xie Tianyi shoved his way in. “Give it to me, give it to me! Let me find myself… ‘Like a Tiger’? What a silly nickname!”
“Wait, who is ‘Mr. Minus Two’?”
Mr. Minus Two?
Hearing the name, Tang Yu froze. It sounded familiar… Wasn’t that the user who had argued with him on the school forum a few days ago?
Tang Yu had clarified that Bai Yuenian slept on the couch, only for ‘Mr. Minus Two’ to reply: “Bai Yuenian slept with him on the couch!”
Damn it! My fists are clenching again! Who the hell is this?!
Completely unaware of the impending danger, Wu Jianqi raised his hand obediently. “That’s me! Wu Jianqi…Five minus Seven! Thus, Mr. Minus Two!”
CRACK!
Tang Yu snapped his chopsticks in half. He grabbed a bottle nearby and took a gulp, thinking to himself: You’re dead meat!
Xie Tianyi gasped. “Bro! That’s the fruit wine I just opened!”
“Huh?” Tang Yu’s eyes began to glaze over as the intoxication set in.