“My eldest uncle was afraid you wouldn’t be willing to go back, so he specifically sent me to pick you up.”
Zheng Chenwen slung an arm over Shen Changfeng’s shoulder.
Shen Changfeng frowned slightly, a trace of disdain flashing across his face.
“It’s only been three years since we last met, but I feel like you’ve completely changed.”
Shen Changfeng gazed out the train window at the passing scenery.
“Have I?”
“You don’t think so?”
“So what have I changed into?”
“You’ve become… more human. Back in the old days, if something like this happened, you probably would’ve pretended not to see it.”
“That’s nonsense. I’m not the type to stand by and watch someone die.”
“Sure, you’d tell me to save them—but you definitely wouldn’t have done it yourself.”
Zheng Chenwen knew all too well just how severe Shen Changfeng’s obsession with cleanliness was.
He immediately launched into another round of chatter, recounting story after story about Shen Changfeng’s childhood germophobia, his habits, and all sorts of incidents from back then, as though determined to repeat every last one.
“You’re too noisy.”
The implication was obvious.
Shut up.
Meanwhile, Zhou Yulan and Zhou Yuwei returned to their seats.
“Sis, are you alright?”
Zhou Yulan nodded.
“I’m fine.”
“Mhm. Next time, let’s see if we can ship the goods as freight instead.”
These weren’t food items. Even if freight took longer, it wouldn’t matter—they wouldn’t spoil.
While Zhou Yuwei and her sister were on their way back—
She had become famous at school despite not even being there.
“How’s that even possible? Zhou Yuwei’s grades used to be terrible. How could she improve so much all of a sudden?”
A crowd had gathered around the notice board displaying the top sixty students in the grade, all discussing the rankings.
“Do you think she copied Jiang Chao’s answers? He came in fourth this time, and he was sitting right in front of her. Besides, hasn’t Jiang Chao always had a thing for Zhou Yuwei?”
“Has he?”
One of the girls asked in a strangely sarcastic tone.
“I guess so.”
She happened to like Jiang Chao herself.
He excelled academically, was fairly handsome, and although his family wasn’t well-off, he treated everyone kindly.
It was no surprise that so many girls liked him.
He was completely different from Cao Bingkun, the student ranked first.
Cao Bingkun was nothing but a bookworm.
Most days, he barely said a word, and there weren’t many people at school who could hold a conversation with him.
Jiang Chao, on the other hand, could chat with just about anyone.
“I say Zhou Yuwei definitely cheated. With grades like hers, if she really managed to come in sixth, then from now on I’ll call her Great-Aunt every time I see her.”
The speaker was Wu Di—the same person Zhou Yuwei had beaten up before.
Although Zhou Yuwei hadn’t actually hit him herself, she’d beaten the people he’d called over.
More importantly, without her interference, he would’ve taught that annoying Liu Changyun a lesson that day.
Worst of all, the boys who followed him still blamed him for what had happened.
Some of them had even left his group and stopped listening to him.
If he didn’t get revenge, how could he continue to hold his head high in that hutong?
The best outcome would be for the school leadership to question Zhou Yuwei’s character because of this incident and throw her out of school.
That would save her from further tarnishing the school’s reputation.
Of course, when he said all this, he conveniently forgot how many outrageous things he himself had done at school.
“Hey, you little punk! What kind of crap are you talking about?”
Liu Changyun immediately exploded.
“If you’ve got a problem, come at me. Picking on a girl—what kind of man does that make you? Looks to me like you’re asking for a beating.”
“You’re obviously just looking for trouble. Fine! Come on then! I’m right here, and I’m not afraid of you!”
“Liu Changyun, don’t tell me you’ve got something going on with Zhou Yuwei too.”
Wu Di sneered.
“That would explain why you two have been so close lately—always together wherever you go. A girl like Zhou Yuwei…”
Before he could finish—
Liu Changyun punched him square in the face.
Blood trickled from the corner of Wu Di’s mouth.
He wiped it away with the back of his hand.
“Wu Di, you deserved that. If you keep talking nonsense, I’ll hit you too.”
Xu Zitao stepped up beside Liu Changyun.
“Liu Changyun, you threw the first punch, so don’t blame me for turning against you.”
Wu Di glared at him before turning toward Xu Zitao.
“And you? What the hell are you? An orphan your parents didn’t even want, living with your grandma. What are you acting so tough for?”
Liu Changyun charged at him.
“Fine! Let’s settle both our old and new grudges today. I’ve wanted to beat the hell out of you for ages!”
The two immediately grappled with each other.
Xu Zitao jumped into the fight as well.
“What are you all doing?!”
Liu Aihua stormed over, carrying a stick.
Bang!
The moment Liu Changyun and Xu Zitao heard Director Liu’s voice, they instinctively stopped fighting.
Wu Di, however, paid no attention.
Right now, all he wanted was to grind Liu Changyun into the ground.
He charged forward again.
Liu Changyun and Xu Zitao instinctively dodged.
As a result…
The scene became rather awkward.
“Dad! Are you alright?”
Liu Changyun stared at his own father, who had been knocked to the ground beneath Wu Di.
“How’s your back holding up?”
“Why aren’t you pulling him off me already?!”
Liu Aihua roared.
His lower back hurt like hell.
These little brats!
Xu Zitao hurried over to help Liu Aihua to his feet.
“All of you, get to my office!”
Once they reached the office—
“Director Liu, those kids acting up again? You should take it easy on yourself instead of always making an example of your own son.”
Teacher Zhang walked in carrying a stack of books and happened to witness the scene.
In her opinion, Changyun was actually a good kid.
He always greeted people enthusiastically at school.
Although he wasn’t particularly devoted to studying, there wasn’t anything wrong with his character.
“These little rascals got into a fight at school.”
Teacher Qi took one look at the miserable state the three boys were in.
Each of them was standing with a chair balanced on his head as punishment.
As their homeroom teacher, he naturally bore some responsibility for what had happened in his class.
“What happened?”
he asked, suppressing his anger.
The three boys lowered their heads.
“Speak.”
Teacher Qi rarely lost his temper.
But when he did, he was frightening.
His punishments usually involved copying texts or assigning mountains of extra homework until students cried and begged for mercy.
“Teacher Qi… Liu Changyun hit me first.”
Wu Di answered timidly, his neck shrinking into his shoulders.
“If you hadn’t been spouting nonsense, would I have hit you?”
Liu Changyun snorted.
“How was I talking nonsense? I was telling the truth.”
Smack!
Teacher Qi slammed the book onto the desk.
The two boys immediately fell silent.
“Why were you fighting?”
Neither Liu Changyun nor Xu Zitao answered.
“You.”
Teacher Qi looked at Xu Zitao.
“You explain.”
Before Xu Zitao could speak, Liu Changyun beat him to it.
“I’ll tell you. He was slandering Zhou Yuwei and us. He said we were having an improper relationship. Then he started insulting Zhou Yuwei, saying she cheated on this exam.”
Liu Changyun’s face was still flushed with anger.
Just mentioning it made him furious.
“How was I slandering anyone?”
Wu Di shot back.
“You two are together every single day. Isn’t that an improper relationship?”
“That’s going too far.”
Liu Changyun glared at him.
“Zhou Yuwei lives in the same residential courtyard compound as us. What’s wrong with going to and from school together?”
“Then why didn’t anyone see you together before?”
“Don’t you have anything better to do? Why are you sticking your nose into matters that happen within our courtyard compound?”
By then, the other teachers had returned to the office.
Hearing the argument, they all turned to look.
Even the principal came over after hearing there had been a fight.
After all, students openly brawling on campus at the No. 1 High School was no small matter.
“Enough!”
Teacher Qi barked.
“What is this? A marketplace?”
“Wu Di, if I hear you spreading rumors again, I’ll have your parents come to school and take you straight home.”
Seeing that the principal had arrived, Teacher Qi immediately put a stop to the argument.
“But Zhou Yuwei really did copy Jiang Chao’s answers!”
Wu Di insisted.
“Jiang Chao never denied it!”
“Where’s Zhou Yuwei?”
the principal asked.
“She’s taken leave.”
Teacher Qi answered.
“Taking leave at a time like this?”
The principal frowned.
“Then how is Zhou Yuwei as a student normally?”
Right now, what concerned him most was the accusation of cheating.
That kind of conduct was absolutely unacceptable.