After paying, the two returned to school with their arms slung over each other’s shoulders. He Baiqiu was sitting at his desk, studying intently. The moment he saw them come in, he sprang to his feet.
In his alarm, he accidentally shoved his desk forward. It bumped into the back of the student in front of him, and one corner scraped across the floor with a shrill squeal.
The student in front had a short temper and had been asleep. Startled awake, he immediately cursed, “What the fuck?” Then he turned and grabbed He Baiqiu by the collar. “You trying to die? Didn’t you see I was sleeping?”
He Baiqiu was timid and had no backing, just good grades. These rich kids had been spoiled rotten and were vicious. They couldn’t tolerate the slightest slight from anyone they considered beneath them.
“Li Xiu, it’s lunch break!”
Gu Qi stood up and scolded him.
Jiang Nanli’s eyes darted. He saw the wronged little white flower lift his gaze toward Gu Qi, and strode over, stepping in front of He Baiqiu.
Once he was sure He Baiqiu could see only him, Jiang Nanli planted a foot on the chair in front of him. With a swagger, he pulled a cigarette from his pocket and lit it in full view of everyone. Then he took a deep drag and blew the smoke into Li Xiu’s face.
“Hey, we’re all classmates. Why make such a scene in front of the whole class?”
With the cigarette dangling from his lips, he turned casually to Li Xiu.
Li Xiu froze the instant he saw Jiang Nanli.
Jiang Nanli’s presence was overwhelming, and it was obvious he had come straight for him.
“Th-this, Brother Jiang, didn’t you say, didn’t you say…” Hadn’t he said they could bully him however they liked?
Li Xiu still didn’t dare finish the sentence. Jiang Nanli’s expression was just too fierce!
“What did I say?”
Jiang Nanli flicked back the front of his leather jacket and turned to face Li Xiu as he spoke.
Li Xiu trembled even harder.
Never mind how powerful Jiang Nanli’s family was. Just the vicious way he fought was enough to scare him.
And now, after not seeing him for a few hours, Brother Jiang was somehow even scarier!
“N-nothing, Brother. You didn’t say anything.”
Li Xiu knew how to read the room. Of course he wasn’t about to pick a fight with Jiang Nanli.
Jiang Nanli adjusted his collar. “All right, let go of him. We’re in class. If you’ve got a problem, deal with it after school.”
“Y-yes, Brother Jiang!”
Li Xiu promptly let go.
Seeing everyone around them still staring, Jiang Nanli lowered his long leg from the chair and leaned back against the desk. “What are you all looking at? Get back to studying. You didn’t come to school just to waste your time, did you?”
As soon as he finished speaking, applause rang out from the doorway. The homeroom teacher stood there in a fitted pink outfit, clapping toward the classroom.
When she saw Jiang Nanli look over, she said, visibly moved, “I never thought Classmate Jiang would be encouraging his classmates to study now. You should all learn from him and take the initiative! This is a crucial time for you, so don’t slack off even during lunch break. Come on, get out your math papers.”
“Classmate Jiang, go ahead and sit down. You did very well today.”
Her fondness for Jiang Nanli had clearly gone up another notch.
Jiang Nanli said, “…All right.”
“Class monitor, make sure you encourage everyone to study during their free time from now on.”
Turning to Gu Qi, the homeroom teacher’s delight faded a little. She had heard the commotion in the classroom. She hadn’t expected Jiang Nanli, a student who looked like he never studied, to be the one who finally stepped in to keep order. It was a bit of a disappointment.
At the news that they’d be having class, the others looked at Jiang Nanli with miserable faces, but none dared complain. Jiang Nanli looked ferocious and was never friendly to anyone.
Only Gu Qi quietly picked up the book beside his desk, answered the teacher, then turned to look at He Baiqiu with concern.
But He Baiqiu seemed dazed and didn’t notice the look.
He Youyu was awkwardly crouched on the classroom floor.
He’d meant to wait until his Ah Nan had finished showing off before talking to him, but who could’ve guessed the teacher would show up?
Now he was caught between a rock and a hard place. He couldn’t leave, but he couldn’t stay there either.
Fortunately, Jiang Nanli wasn’t quite that heartless. He glanced down, saw He Youyu crouched pitifully by his feet, and remembered his buddy was still there.
He lowered his head and motioned for him to come closer. “Why don’t you sit between me and He Baiqiu?”
For some reason, there was always a chair in that space. Maybe it was there for him to put his feet on.
“You want me to sit with He Baiqiu?!”
He Youyu couldn’t believe it.
“What else can you do? Walk out of here in front of everyone?”
“No way. I’d be standing in the office like a monkey.”
He Youyu rejected that idea without hesitation.
Jiang Nanli clapped his hands. “Then get in here. He Baiqiu’s not going to make you uncomfortable, is he? You’re the legitimate young master of the He family. He’s just an illegitimate son. Why should you give way to him?”
Jiang Nanli leaned close to He Youyu’s ear and whispered the last part, especially quietly, so He Baiqiu wouldn’t hear.
He Youyu thought it over. Right, he’d been born to the official wife, and Baiqiu had been born to a mistress! Why should he give up his seat just because Baiqiu was there? He was sitting down!
So he quietly stepped over Jiang Nanli’s leg. His seat was at the back, and the two of them made so little noise that the teacher didn’t notice.
In the blink of an eye, He Youyu was sitting between Jiang Nanli and He Baiqiu.
He Baiqiu’s lowered lashes fluttered. He sneaked a glance at He Youyu.
He Youyu raised a fist at him with a fierce look. “What are you looking at? Want to get hit?”
He Baiqiu quickly shook his head and didn’t dare look his way again.
He just turned the pages of his test paper without thinking, his grip on the black pen tightening and loosening, tightening and loosening.
“Move over, you’re touching me.”
He Youyu might have been willing to sit there, but that was only because he didn’t want to give up his seat for He Baiqiu. It didn’t mean he wanted He Baiqiu touching him.
He Baiqiu blinked his innocent, wide eyes and glanced at the bit of exposed skin his sleeve had touched. Then he silently drew his arm back and moved his test paper over, curling himself into a small corner as he corrected his mistakes.
Even Jiang Nanli felt a little sorry for him.
“Hey, pay attention in class.”
He gave He Youyu’s arm a tug.
He Youyu usually listened when Jiang Nanli spoke. This time, he only rolled his eyes at He Baiqiu, but at least he stopped picking on him.
At last, class ended. He Youyu jumped over the desk in a huff and went back to his own classroom without even acknowledging Jiang Nanli. Before long, Jiang Nanli received a WeChat message from him.
“Why are you always taking He Baiqiu’s side?”
Jiang Nanli looked at He Baiqiu, who sat beside him obediently helping him copy out the problems he’d gotten wrong. “I’m not. I just didn’t want them taking my spot for sleeping. And I told you to study because it’s good for you. How are you going to get into college if you don’t study?”
Sure, with their family backgrounds, all they had to do was go abroad and get a foreign degree to their names. But Jiang Nanli still wanted to go to college in China. Aside from anything else, he’d never be able to communicate properly overseas. Back when he took his exams, English was the only subject he’d done terribly in! Especially speaking. There were words he knew how to write but didn’t know how to pronounce, so he was definitely staying in China.
After hearing the explanation, He Youyu accepted it, more or less, and the two happily arranged to play a round of Honor of Kings.
They played through class, completely absorbed in the game.