Thirteenth Middle School actively responded to the government’s call, implementing the principle of educational equity—there were no so-called regular classes or advanced classes.
In other words, two hundred-odd days from now, everyone sitting in these classrooms would walk toward completely different futures.
Zhou Zhi sat in the last row. After a week, she had all the school gossip memorized.
Not that she wanted to hear it.
The people sitting in the back were all students who didn’t study and didn’t treat the college entrance exam as a stepping stone.
Ji Xuanxu remained the protagonist of most of the gossip.
Skipping class, fighting, brawls, and…
Love letters that had been thrown away.
From her classmates’ words, she pieced together a picture of a boy completely different from the one in her memory.
“What a strange thing… Brother Ji actually had perfect attendance this week.”
“Didn’t skip a single class!”
Song Jun spoke quietly to the people around him, his tone brimming with excitement.
It was the last period on Friday, and a two-day holiday was about to begin.
It was what they deserved after a whole month of continuous classes.
Everyone looked unusually excited and restless.
“Gu Wan, did Brother Ji have a change of heart? Is he planning to actually study?” Song Jun leaned forward to ask Gu Wan, who sat in the row ahead.
No response came.
Song Jun chuckled twice, not embarrassed at all.
“Man, starting to study now… it’s too late…”
Take the English test paper they were currently going over—besides “a, b, c, d,” which he could read, when they were put together, he didn’t recognize a single word.
Knowledge couldn’t enter his brain in such a short time.
The English teacher’s step-by-step questioning continued down the rows, but that had nothing to do with the last two rows.
Zhou Zhi quietly looked at the blackboard, her eyes vacant.
She stood out from the back rows where little notes were flying around.
She knew Ji Xuanxu was in the class next door.
But aside from that chance encounter last time, she hadn’t run into Ji Xuanxu at all this week.
Even though… Ji Xuanxu hadn’t skipped a single day of class this week.
What bad luck.
Zhou Zhi twirled the pen in her hand, but her gaze remained fixed on the blackboard, a hint of dimness in her eyes.
When the bell rang, the entire classroom—
No, the entire lifeless school came alive.
Standing in the hallway, she could see a few scattered figures sprinting toward the school gate in the distance, their bouncing backpacks showcasing the most vibrant moment of life.
Zhou Zhi stood in the hallway, waiting for the crowd to disperse.
Amid the noisy chatter, she could still clearly hear Gu Wan and Wu Ya’s voices.
“Is Sister Wan going home with Ji Xuanxu?”
“Yeah, waiting for him outside.”
Only when the crowd gradually thinned did Zhou Zhi leave the school, walking toward the other road where her car was waiting.
Every holiday afternoon, the school gate was as crowded as tangled cotton, slow to disperse.
As she passed through the alley, Zhou Zhi heard sounds coming from around the corner.
“Ah! I… I was wrong!”
“Stop hitting him, Brother Ji… if you don’t stop soon, you’ll beat him to death!”
“Brother Ji, calm down! Calm down!”
The commotion was accompanied by pained grunts and the sound of fists striking flesh.
Zhou Zhi stopped. She turned to leave.
But from the chaotic noise, she vaguely caught the name Ji Xuanxu.
On this side of the alley, Ji Xuanxu had his knee pressed against the man’s chest, his fist falling with tremendous force.
As if he had lost his mind, every punch connected with flesh.
A murderous aura surfaced on the young man’s face—his expressionless features were enough to instill fear.
“Brother Ji… Brother Ji, don’t pull the knife!!”
Xu Yao wanted to step in and break it up, but he could never find the right moment.
This was clearly the posture of someone beating another person to death.
A dozen or so of them stood there, yet not a single one dared to step forward.
Only when the pained cries grew weaker and weaker did Xu Yao’s face turn pale as he clutched his phone, ready to call Ji Xuanxu’s father.
A little scuffle here and there was no big deal.
But if someone ended up dead, what then?!
“Ji Xuanxu!”
The clear, bright voice rang out in the alley like a thunderclap, echoing off the walls.
In an instant, everyone turned to look at the girl standing at the mouth of the alley.
Her school uniform was immaculate, without a single wrinkle.
Her long hair hung down over her chest.
She was utterly out of place in this filthy little alley.
At a single glance, she was a sight to behold.
Song Jun scratched his head.
Wasn’t that Zhou Zhi?
How did she end up here?
This alley saw no shortage of fights and brawls on a regular basis.
“Ji Xuanxu.”
Zhou Zhi took two steps forward and spoke again.
No extra words—just those three syllables.
The boy who had been throwing himself in without a care miraculously stopped. His clenched fist loosened, and he let out a sudden scoff.
Xu Yao was stunned, exchanging bewildered looks with the remaining boys.
But Ji Xuanxu whirled around and strode toward Zhou Zhi in long, heavy steps.
The ferocity in his eyes hadn’t diminished in the slightest—if anything, there was now a hint of added fury.
In a few strides, he backed her up against the wall.
When there was nowhere left to retreat, Ji Xuanxu stopped.
He lowered his head, staring hard into Zhou Zhi’s eyes, the veins at his temples still not fully receded.
His loosened fist clenched tightly once more.
His pale forearm was slightly flushed, yet the bulging veins were still visible.
As if he were at the peak of rage, the corners of his eyes were tinged with a striking, vivid red.
“Brother Ji, calm down… calm down…”
The turn of events once again caught Xu Yao off guard.
This… the anger couldn’t spill over onto an innocent girl, right? Hitting a girl would be terrible…
The two stood extremely close, and Zhou Zhi could feel Ji Xuanxu’s heavy, ragged breathing.
When her gaze landed on his heaving chest, she lowered her eyes and looked away.
Suddenly, the boy reached out and grabbed the name tag on her school uniform jacket.
“Zhou.”
“Zhi.”
A slightly hoarse voice exploded by her ear, each syllable drawn out.
The two words were squeezed out through gritted teeth.
Zhou Zhi looked up and met the boy’s bloodshot eyes. Beneath the shadowed gloom in his gaze lurked something akin to disgust and hatred.
“Zhou Zhi.”
Ji Xuanxu held her gaze and called the name again.
Zhou Zhi felt a little dazed. She said nothing, only gave a slight nod before hurriedly averting her eyes.
The boy let go, stepped back two paces, and let out two short laughs.
A cold smile tugged at the corner of his mouth as he said in a low voice, “Don’t follow me.”
“Don’t follow me, Zhou Zhi.”
Zhou Zhi lowered her eyes, staring blankly at the potholed ground beneath her feet, lost in thought.
Ji Xuanxu’s gaze had been too sharp, too oppressive.
Did he…
loathe her?
After a long moment, Zhou Zhi looked up. Ji Xuanxu was already gone.
The alley that had been crowded moments ago was now empty, leaving only her and the person covered in blood, struggling to his feet from the ground.
Zhou Zhi recognized him.
A classmate.
His name was Liang Muye, she thought.
Liang Muye got up from the ground and naturally spotted Zhou Zhi standing nearby.
After a strange moment of mutual staring, Zhou Zhi walked over on her own initiative and held up her phone. “Let’s add each other on WeChat.”
Liang Muye spat out a mouthful of blood, then took out his phone to scan the code.
“Never thought I’d run into classmate Zhou Zhi here.”
To have a new classmate see him in such a sorry state.
And the new classmate was so well-behaved and pretty, too.
This was hardly a good thing.
As if trying to save face, Liang Muye covered his face and spoke up: “That lunatic Ji Xuanxu, he’s just relying on his family’s money.”
“What’s wrong with me just not liking the sight of him?!”
Everyone at school lets him have his way every day, and that sour face of his just makes you want to stomp on it.
“Lunatic, an absolute lunatic.”
“I just cursed him for having a mother who gave birth to him but never raised him, and he wanted my life!”
Zhou Zhi’s fingers, resting on her phone, stiffened slightly.