After writing up the wager agreement, in case Deng Xianbing went back on his word, Zhang Chen hurried out of the office with Nan Xingwan.
For Zhang Chen, the suspension punishment lasting until after the citywide joint exam meant his goal had already been achieved.
He just did not want to see Nan Xingwan sad, that was all.
As for the exam, even if he were not a top student, so what if he failed?
Besides, it was impossible for him to fail.
With his college entrance exam top scorer level, taking on this little scrap of an exam was like a max-level god-geared character returning to the beginner village to clear out a few small mobs…
He could wipe them out in one shot. What was there to say?
So naturally, he was not worried at all about the citywide joint exam a week away.
But Nan Xingwan beside him did not think so. Ever since leaving the office, she had been following behind Zhang Chen with a worried look on her face.
Although Zhang Chen’s actions did mean he would not be suspended or forced out for the remaining week, what about after that week? What about the citywide joint exam?
With Zhang Chen’s personality, he would definitely still be expelled!
And now that the agreement was written, he would not even be able to renege on it later!
Nan Xingwan walked in silence behind Zhang Chen, wanting to say many things but unable to get the words out. Zhang Chen had always disliked her meddling.
It was not until they returned to the classroom that she watched Zhang Chen pack his bag.
The students in class all curiously glanced at Zhang Chen, then saw the familiar figure of Nan Xingwan outside the classroom.
Zhang Chen’s desk-mate, the fatty, asked curiously, “Brother Chen? Leaving again?”
No. 1 Middle School had two evening self-study sessions. The first ended at eight o’clock, and the second did not end until nine-thirty at night. At the moment, the first evening self-study had just ended, so there should still have been one more period to attend.
But since his “parent” had already been called in, the remaining period was naturally optional.
Zhang Chen glared at Duan Chenxu in annoyance. Although the book did not give much description to these walk-on characters, Zhang Chen could genuinely feel that these people truly existed.
This fatty, Duan Chenxu, had a die-hard buddy relationship with Zhang Chen… one willing to hit, the other willing to take it.
“If you’re leaving, what about Su Yu?” Duan Chenxu watched Zhang Chen pack his bag, which was one thing, but the guy was even taking books. “What are you taking books for?!”
Skinny Monkey Li Junhao also came over and asked in a low voice, “Brother Chen, what did Old Deng say?”
Zhang Chen glanced at Skinny Monkey and really could not hold back a laugh at his appearance, but then he remembered what he’d seen of himself in the bathroom mirror and suppressed the amusement in his heart after all.
His own head full of blond delinquent hair was not any better.
These flashy youths might look a little sloppy, but that did not mean they were necessarily bad people.
“It’s nothing.” Zhang Chen shook his head and said with a light chuckle.
“Did she snitch? I’m gonna fuck her up!” Li Junhao said coldly, his gaze turning fierce as he looked at Bai Xiruo in the front, who had only recently returned from the office.
“Tsk!” Hearing this, Zhang Chen clicked his tongue, only then realizing that if he did not give them a reminder, these guys might keep bullying her when evening self-study ended later.
“It has nothing to do with her. It was not her.” Zhang Chen said in a warning tone. “Don’t bully her. I’m telling you, my life is in her hands right now. If she gets bullied, I’m done for.”
“Keep a close eye on her for me, and don’t let anyone else bully her either!”
“Huh?” Li Junhao’s brain nearly stopped working. “W-what do you mean?”
When Zhang Chen had gathered everyone to bully Bai Xiruo before, he had not said anything like this. He had even said things like, if he got expelled, so be it, and once expelled, he’d be free…
How had it suddenly become a matter of his life being in Bai Xiruo’s hands? And now he wanted him to keep watch over her so no one else bullied her…
Wasn’t that just… protection?
Had she even paid protection money to get that kind of protection!?
“Why do you care so much? Just do as I say, got it!” Zhang Chen said seriously, without explaining further. “If I see a scratch on her tomorrow… or if I hear that anyone bullied her…”
“Got it, Brother Chen. Don’t worry.” Hearing this, Li Junhao saw how serious Zhang Chen looked and sensibly did not ask any more. He just nodded, then asked the same question as Duan Chenxu.
“What about Sister Yu tonight?”
Zhang Chen froze for a moment, then looked toward Su Yu in the front row. At that moment, Su Yu was talking with her desk-mate, and from the corner of her eye she could still catch Zhang Chen’s position.
In the original novel, Zhang Chen and a few of his little followers had escorted Su Yu home every night without fail, rain or shine.
Even if he had something come up and could not do it himself, he’d have Li Junhao and the others make the trip for him, euphemistically calling it an “escort.”
It was just that this behavior was not only simp-like, it also annoyed Su Yu.
She was a high school girl… what did it look like to have a bunch of blond delinquent boys always trailing behind her!?
So…
The Zhang Chen of now was no longer the Zhang Chen of then.
“From now on, don’t escort her anymore,” Zhang Chen said seriously.
The moment those words fell, Li Junhao and Duan Chenxu both stared blankly, not even blinking.
The two looked at each other. “Huh? No more escorting? Really?”
Zhang Chen patted Li Junhao on the shoulder, picked up his bag, and did not want to keep Nan Xingwan waiting outside for too long. “I’m leaving. Do as I said.”
After saying that, he turned to look at Duan Chenxu. Whether it was some instinctive habit of the original body after transmigration or for some other reason, when he looked at Duan Chenxu, he only felt a voice urging him on.
Hit him…
So he raised his fist and slammed it hard into Duan Chenxu’s fat arm.
Duang~
Zhang Chen: “You fucking talk too much!”
“Ah… it’s broken…” Duan Chenxu clutched his left shoulder, wearing a pained expression…
Even a villain in a book would have die-hard friends like this in real life…
Amid the fat Duan Chenxu’s howls, Zhang Chen walked out of the classroom.
Su Yu, who had caught a glimpse of Zhang Chen leaving the classroom from the corner of her eye, finally turned her head and looked toward the back door. This time, Zhang Chen had actually not come over to say goodbye to her.
You had to know that whenever evening self-study was about to end, Zhang Chen would start writing her little notes, or come over to her desk and talk to her while she packed her bag.
Even if she was talking to her desk-mate and ignoring him, he would still do it.
This time she had still been chatting on and off with her desk-mate, waiting for him to come over and talk to her. Because of what had happened with Bai Xiruo, she was willing to talk to him.
She also wanted to know what he had said in the office.
But since Zhang Chen did not want this chance, then so be it. It was his own loss for missing the opportunity to get closer to her.
Thinking carefully, the homeroom teacher had not come looking for her, so Zhang Chen probably had not sold her out.
Su Yu turned back around and glanced at Bai Xiruo, who was seriously doing her homework, her eyes showing no emotion…
On the other side.
After leaving the school and walking along the street from earlier, Zhang Chen was breathing what could almost be called the air of freedom.
Honestly speaking, the air outside the campus really did feel fresher.
At this point, Nan Xingwan could no longer hold back and anxiously asked, “What are you going to do about next week’s citywide joint exam?”
Zhang Chen took a deep breath, shrugged, and met the eyes of Nan Xingwan, whose brow had not relaxed once since leaving the office.
Just like her name, her eyes were like stars in the night sky. Even when she was frowning and wearing an unhappy expression, her eyes were still bright and beautiful.
He really could not understand it. With such a beautiful childhood sweetheart, how could the original body have liked Su Yu?
If it were him, and he had someone like this… ahem…
Not knowing exactly what state he and Nan Xingwan were in now, or whether they had already reached the brink of a complete falling out, Zhang Chen did not directly answer her question. Instead, he looked at a barbershop by the roadside and turned to ask Nan Xingwan:
“How about I change my hairstyle?”
Nan Xingwan looked at him suspiciously.
The citywide joint exam was next week. With his current grades, if he did not meet the teacher’s requirements on the citywide joint exam, he’d really be expelled!
Why did he look so unconcerned at all?
Zhang Chen, seeing this, snorted with a laugh, rubbed his yellow mop of long hair, and pretended to be troubled:
“You have good taste. Help me pick one.”