Spending the entire weekend indoors turned out to be incredibly comfortable for Jiang Chen. He slept in until he woke up naturally in the mornings, practiced his piano in the afternoons, and enjoyed afternoon tea while watching movies with Gu Xin. Halfway through one movie, he drifted off to sleep right on Gu Xin’s bed, missing the entire ending. It didn’t matter, though…sleeping comfortably was all that counted.
Cozy moments always fly by. In the blink of an eye, Sunday evening arrived, and he suddenly realized he had several subjects’ worth of homework left untouched.
Under Gu Xin’s strict supervision, the frantic race to finish his assignments began!
Sprawled over Gu Xin’s desk, Jiang Chen pouted and accused him, “You’re heartless! You didn’t remind me to do my homework once over the last two days!”
Sitting on a beanbag chair, Gu Xin found himself completely defenseless. “Every time I wanted to remind you, you were fast asleep.”
It wasn’t that Jiang Chen didn’t know how to do the work; he actually paid attention in class. He just couldn’t fight his body’s natural urge to sleep, occasionally nodding off.
Fixing a faint, intense gaze on Gu Xin, Jiang Chen said, “You could have woken me up.”
Gu Xin remained silent. Could he really tell him that he was practically impossible to wake up? Truth be told, he hadn’t really wanted to disturb his sleep either. “If there’s anything you don’t understand, I’ll teach you.”
Jiang Chen immediately tried to take the easy way out. “How about you just write it for me?”
Gu Xin held firm to his principles. “No, write it yourself. You need to build a solid foundation in your first year of high school so your second and third years won’t be so brutal.” He was willing to help with almost anything else, but when it came to studying, he drew the line. You only truly own the knowledge if you master it yourself.
“Xin-bao, you’re so cold, so ruthless,” Jiang Chen began to grumble. “I’ve kept you company for two whole days. Even if there’s no glory in that, there’s at least hard work!”
Gu Xin proceeded to list every single assignment and review task clearly, leaving Jiang Chen no room to conveniently “forget” anything.
When it came to academics, Gu Xin operated like an unfeeling machine. He didn’t argue back, simply stating, “Instead of wasting time talking, you should start writing. Don’t slack off.”
Jiang Chen glanced at the list of assignments and review sheets. “Why do I still have to memorize Chinese texts?”
Gu Xin replied, “The teacher is doing a random check tomorrow. Memorize it after you finish the rest of your homework.”
Powerless to resist, Jiang Chen did exactly as he was told.
By the time he finished writing, two hours had slipped away. The clock on his phone screen shifted from seven to nine, and drowsiness began to creep over him again.
It was torturous. He hadn’t even started on his English and Chinese memorization yet. “Why do we have to learn so many subjects anyway?”
Setting down a copy of A Brief History of Time, Gu Xin comforted him, “It will get easier once we split into specific academic tracks in the second semester.”
Jiang Chen hung over the edge of the desk like a limp noodle. “I can’t do this anymore. I honestly don’t think I’ll survive next semester. This is already taking years off my life. My health bar is completely empty.”
It felt exactly like the second semester of his final year in middle school—living in a perpetual blur, drowning in endless practice problems and memorization. Back then, Gu Xin would ruthlessly bring mock exam papers from his own school every weekend for Jiang Chen to grind through, even video-calling him every night to supervise. It was pure cruelty.
Gu Xin remained as immovable as a rock, completely unfazed. “Are you finished writing? Time to memorize vocabulary.”
Jiang Chen looked at him, completely defeated. “Are you a demon? School just started and you’re already driving me this hard!”
When it came to studying, Gu Xin never cut Jiang Chen any slack. “Think what you want. Come on, memorize this section. It’s on the review list for tomorrow…”
Jiang Chen pretended not to hear. Stretching his arms, he whined, “Xin-bao, I want some fruit.”
Gu Xin: “Memorize first.”
Jiang Chen: “I want a drink of water.”
Gu Xin: “Memorize first.”
Jiang Chen: “I need to use the bathroom.”
Gu Xin: “Memorize first.”
Jiang Chen: “…”
In the end, Jiang Chen succumbed to Gu Xin’s relentless persistence. He swore to himself that he would absolutely not spend next weekend with Gu Xin…it was just too much torture.
That night, he chose to return to his own house to sleep instead of staying over at the Gu residence.
When he walked through the door, his older sister and younger brother were each holding half a watermelon, scooping out the bright red flesh with spoons. His sister was eating with wild abandonment, while his brother meticulously scraped small bites out, looking delicate…or rather, completely theatrical, even holding his spoon with a raised pinky finger.
Having been tormented by homework all evening, Jiang Chen stared at them with a rigid, thoroughly displeased expression. He suddenly felt that his sister and brother desperately needed a top-tier student as a friend too.
“Sis, put your hoof down,” Jiang Chen said, pointing at her long legs stretched out onto the opposite chair.
“Xiao Zheng, just eat. Stop filming short videos,” Jiang Chen sighed, pinching the bridge of his nose as he snatched his brother’s phone away. “Is your homework done? Have you memorized your English vocabulary? What about your poetry?”
Jiang Zheng was so startled he dropped his raised pinky. “Bro, what set you off?” When his older brother wasn’t smiling, he could look pretty intimidating. “I didn’t do anything to cross you!”
Jiang Xin pulled her legs back and grabbed a tissue to wipes her mouth casually. “Did some bastard bully you? Tell me, I’ll go beat him up for you!”
“Beat up who? I can handle my own fights,” Jiang Chen sat down next to his sister. “Which Omega have you been flirting with lately? Who gave you this bracelet? It looks expensive. Don’t just accept random gifts from people.”
While Jiang Xin and Jiang Zheng weren’t particularly afraid of their parents, they genuinely feared Jiang Chen.
Jiang Xin immediately slid the bracelet off. “Got it, got it. I’ll return it tomorrow.”
“There’s more watermelon in the fridge, want me to grab you some?” Jiang Xin offered with an instantly compliant smile. Jiang Chen was the future pillar of the Jiang family…after all, he had the best grades among them, and his timely interventions had saved her from a lot of trouble in the past.
Being too handsome and too popular could truly lead to its own set of complications.
“I’m not eating, I’m going to sleep,” Jiang Chen said after lecturing his siblings, letting out a sharp yawn.
Jiang Zheng watched him head toward his room with the confiscated phone. “Wait, bro, my phone!”
Jiang Chen shut the door behind him. “Sis, find him an alarm clock. I’m keeping his phone for the night.”
Jiang Zheng put his hands on his hips, furious but powerless. “By what right?!”
Jiang Xin burst into a delighted, mocking laugh. “By the right that he’s smarter than you. Last time, you idiot almost got lured away by some top-tier livestream gifter. If he hadn’t stepped in and figured out the guy was an old creep, you’d be making front-page news by now.”
Jiang Zheng plopped back down, completely abandoning his refined posture as he shot back, “Oh, shut up, you idiot. What’s the point of being attractive anyway? Don’t think I don’t know you got dumped by your school beauty last semester!”
Jiang Xin slammed the table in a rage. “Jiang Xiao Zheng, you’re asking for it!”
Jiang Zheng planted one foot onto a chair. “Like I’m scared of you!”
No matter how fiercely the two bickered outside, it couldn’t affect Jiang Chen now. After an entire evening of heavy studying, his brain felt weighed down like lead. The moment his head hit the pillow, he drifted off. Right before falling into a deep sleep, he faintly recalled that there was still one thing he had left undone… but whatever, sleep came first!
Every Monday brought the mandatory flag-raising ceremony, which required everyone to be properly dressed in their school uniforms.
The morning air had grown noticeably cooler, so Jiang Chen brought along a long-sleeved uniform jacket. He looked completely drained of life early in the morning.
Gu Xin was already waiting for him downstairs by the bicycle garage, entirely accustomed to Jiang Chen’s perpetual state of exhaustion.
“Did you eat breakfast?”
“Yeah, my mom made plain, watery noodles.” It was a truly depressing meal.
“Want to buy something else on the way?” Gu Xin offered.
“No need. It didn’t taste like much, but I forced it all down anyway.” He was actually quite full; the Jiang family never tolerated wasting food, unless someone wanted to get smacked by their mother.
The two set off together on their bikes. At this hour, the roads weren’t yet crowded with rushing commuters, making their ride incredibly smooth and peaceful.
As they neared the school, they ran into Wei Meng at a street corner, and the three of them rolled into the campus together.
The moment Wei Meng saw Jiang Chen, he started chattering away without a pause.
“Chen-er, did you see the notice in the group chat?”
“No, what notice?”
“Teacher Tang wants us to hand in a one-thousand-word reflection essay before the first period starts.”
Jiang Chen finally remembered the reflection essay. No wonder he felt like he had forgotten something crucial last night…it was exactly this.
He instinctively looked over at Gu Xin. “Did you write yours?”
Gu Xin: “Yes.”
Jiang Chen: “So I’m the only one who didn’t.”
Gu Xin confirmed flatly, “Yes.”
Jiang Chen: “You didn’t remind me last night.”
Gu Xin kept pedaling smoothly. “You didn’t even want to memorize your texts; would you really have been thrilled to write a reflection?” Compared to a disciplinary essay, keeping Jiang Chen on track with his actual schoolwork was obviously the priority.
Jiang Chen knew every word was true. “Fine, it’s not a big deal anyway. I’ll just write something random later.”
Wei Meng chimed in, “Chen-er, you’re a legend.”
During Monday’s flag-raising ceremony, the students of Class 8 stood in neat rows.
Gu Xin had turned down the role of flag bearer today, choosing instead to stand down in the courtyard under the sun just like Jiang Chen.
After standing for a while, Jiang Chen’s drowsiness returned, and his posture began to slouch sideways.
Suddenly, the Director of the School Discipline Office stepped up to the podium. His signature throat-clearing style immediately made every student who usually slacked off freeze in place.
“The following is a public notice regarding a severe violation of school regulations that occurred last Friday afternoon. Every student whose name I call, please step up to the stage immediately.”
“Grade 11, Class 12: He XX, Zhang XX, Li XXX! Grade 10, Class 8: Gu Xin, Jiang Chen, Jiang Yibai, Wei Meng! Grade 10, Class 20… All thirteen students mentioned, come up right now!”
Standing at the back of Class 8, Teacher Tang’s face tightened instantly. If she hadn’t already known beforehand that Gu Xin was involved in the fight, she probably would have run up to the director to check if there had been a massive mistake.
Gu Xin walked up to the stage with a perfectly clear conscience. His upright posture made him look less like a student receiving disciplinary action and more like a top student stepping up to claim a grand prize.
Jiang Chen walked beside him, staying almost glued to his side. “Xin-bao, is this your first time standing on stage for fighting?”
Gu Xin lowered his voice. “Yeah. But standing up here with you is actually kind of interesting.”
Jiang Chen shot back, “Boring. Who wants to stand up here with you? You’re blocking my spotlight.”
He firmly believed that Gu Xin belonged on this stage only when receiving academic awards, but today was a unique exception. With Gu Xin beside him, he surprisingly didn’t find the public punishment embarrassing at all.
Down below, whispers rippled through the ranks of the various classes. The rumored number one student in the entire grade…an Alpha…had actually been in a street fight!
Were they disappointed? Did they suddenly dislike him? Not at all!
Instead, they thought the top student was incredibly cool!
Not only did he have flawless grades, but he could also throw a punch…that was immensely Alpha. If the top academic could fight like that, what hope did the other Alphas even have?
This was indeed the very first time Gu Xin had faced public discipline for fighting, but he felt an unexpected lack of shame, guilt, or regret.
The Director of the Discipline Office first directed one of the Grade 11 students to read their reflection essay aloud. The older boy mumbled through it with a faint, trembling voice. Once he finished, the director immediately singled out Jiang Chen, who was standing the least straight, looking thoroughly rebellious with his uniform jacket loosely draped.
“You, representing the Grade 10 students, read your reflection essay clearly! You need to deeply reflect on your actions!”
Jiang Chen glanced sideways at Gu Xin. Gu Xin subtly tried to slide his own prepared essay over to him, but the director possessed eyes like a hawk.
The director’s face darkened. “Are you trying to pass off someone else’s work? Fine, no need to coordinate your stories. The two of you can share the reflection essay and read it together—one sentence each.”
Resigned to their fate, Gu Xin and Jiang Chen stepped up to the microphone together.
The director pressed them, “If you two don’t finish reading, everyone else stays standing here with you.”
Left with no choice, Jiang Chen unfolded the paper Gu Xin had neatly creased, staring down at the very first sentence written there. In a lazy, drawn-out tone, he read aloud: “I, Gu Xin.”
Gu Xin immediately caught the cue, smoothly following up: “I, Jiang Chen.”
Jiang Chen: “A country has its laws.”
Gu Xin: “A family has its rules.”
Jiang Chen lifted his eyelids, a corner of his mouth twitching upward as he couldn’t hold back a smile: “And a school has its own set of regulations…”
Down below, the entire freshman class erupted into a roar of laughter!
If you knew the context, you knew they were reading a disciplinary reflection. If you didn’t, you would have thought the two of them were standing at an altar, swearing an oath of lifelong brotherhood!