Chapter 11

Chapter 11

At noon, Chen Mo went to the dorm supervisor to get his key.

The dorm supervisor on duty today was an aunt in her forties. As she handed over the key, she glanced at him and said, "Room 613, mixed dorm. Don't get lost."

"Okay." Chen Mo took the key and turned to leave.

"Wait a moment." The dorm supervisor called him back.

Chen Mo turned around and saw her lean out of the window, frowning as she said, "If there's anything unpleasant in the dorm, try not to get into conflicts with others. Just come tell us supervisors."

Chen Mo raised an eyebrow. Generally, high school dorm management is relatively strict—no private electrical appliances, no untidy beds, etc. So this 'try not to' seemed rather peculiar.

Until Chen Mo pushed open the dorm door.

The sounds of game battles mixed with various curses hit him. At least ten people were crammed into the six-person dorm, some sitting, some standing. A Coke bottle rolled towards Chen Mo's feet as he opened the door, and two meters away, the trash bin had tipped over, spilling garbage all over the floor. Each metal bunk bed was hung with things—plastic bags, dirty sports clothes, and even what looked like underwear.

Especially when Chen Mo saw Li Rui playing games by the table, he instantly understood why Room 613 stood out among so many dorms—it was because there was someone who lived outside the school rules.

Living in a place dominated by the school bully, it was no surprise that it was like this.

Having many people in the dorm didn't mean they all lived there.

Near the door, someone noticed Chen Mo and asked curiously, "Who are you looking for?"

"Not looking for anyone." As Chen Mo replied, he pushed the door open and walked in.

Most of the guys who had cornered him in the internet cafe last Friday were present. When they realized it was him, they tensed up instantly.

The atmosphere was tense.

Everyone thought he had come to settle scores.

Until he found an empty bed near the balcony, opened his suitcase, and started unpacking.

Clothes, bedding, toiletries, and something resembling stomach-soothing tea...

Soon, a foot stepped on the edge of the open suitcase, the sound of plastic cracking making everyone nervous.

Li Rui's eyes were filled with hostility. "I haven't come for you yet, but you've delivered yourself here. Who gave you permission to stay here?"

Last Friday, he had been clouded by anger and easily threatened by Chen Mo's few words. In reality, whether it was his family's issues or Chen Mo guessing his orientation, he could easily dispel rumors by dating a girl.

Moreover, Chen Mo was known to be unloved in the Yang family, a fact whispered among influential families in Sui City. Would the Yang family really support him?

"Move your foot." Chen Mo looked down at the foot.

Li Rui sneered and pressed harder. "Either kneel down and apologize, or get out. I can pretend nothing happened last week."

Chen Mo lifted his gaze. "I said, move your foot."

"Move your mother!"

Li Rui kicked the suitcase, breaking it completely.

At the same time, Chen Mo slammed the suitcase shut. The other half, which seemed to contain books, closed with a thud, causing Li Rui to cry out in pain, "Fuck your ancestors!"

"Fine, I'll get you another bed." As Chen Mo spoke, he thrust his knee upward, ready to face the inevitable conflict in a state of madness.

...

Meanwhile, at the basketball court, it was halftime.

Students surrounded the court in layers, boys discussing the intense first half, girls recovering from their excitement and whispering about who looked the most handsome.

Sun Xiaoya, the class representative of the experimental class, with her ponytail, was handing out water to the boys who had just finished playing.

A boy from another class, wiping his sweat, joked, "Sister Ya, this isn't a formal match. Why did you bother coming today?"

Sun Xiaoya nodded towards someone drinking water, saying, "Well, you see, if I don't sacrifice myself, some guy might get torn apart by the girls in our school. What can I do, being childhood friends with him?"

The boys playing laughed.

"That's why we always call Brother Yan to play. Hearing the girls scream makes everyone feel like they're incredibly handsome, running faster than dogs on the court."

"Go to hell, only you are a dog."

"Right, I won't admit it either."

"Clearly, you're just envious of Xi Siyan's skills, talking nonsense."

Xi Siyan sat on the stone steps, not joining in the jokes. His white jersey made his skin look flawless, even though his hair and neck were damp with sweat. It didn't make him look disheveled but added a touch of rugged wildness.

Another boy laughed and asked, "Isn't Yang Shule also a childhood friend from the experimental class? I heard he's back at school. He usually never misses these sessions. Why isn't he here today?"

Sun Xiaoya glanced at Xi Siyan before answering, "Not everyone can be called a childhood friend. Anyway, I'm not close to him."

"There she goes again." Qi Lin plopped down next to Xi Siyan, shaking his collar, saying, "She really can't stand Yang Shule. Every time she mentions him, she looks annoyed."

In truth, if you count it up,

He, Xi Siyan, Sun Xiaoya, and Liao Tingting from No. 3 High School, and Zeng Yu from Class 8 grew up together.

Their backgrounds might not match the Xis, but they weren't bad either, living nearby and having family connections during holidays.

Strictly speaking, Yang Shule was only closer to Xi Siyan. The relationship between the Xi and Yang families dates back to their grandfathers, but it became less intimate by the time it reached their fathers.

Qi Lin wasn’t particularly interested in the affairs among these adults, but he knew that the new head of the Yang family was mediocre. Especially with the melodramatic issue of real and fake blood relations in the family, which had been handled terribly.

Sun Xiaoya didn’t dislike Yang Shule because he wasn’t a blood relative of the Yang family.

Speaking of this, Qi Lin still found it amusing. He put his arm around Xi Siyan’s shoulder and asked with a smile, "When the high school entrance exam ended, Liao Tingting confessed to you, right? You really don’t like her? I heard it was Yang Shule who secretly rejected her on your behalf, causing our Sister Ya's best friend to transfer to No. 3 High School. Naturally, she doesn’t have a good impression of him. If you feel regretful, we can all get together sometime?"

Xi Siyan screwed the cap back on the bottle and glanced at him, "You’re bored, aren’t you?"

"Not bored, I’m busy."

"Then shut up." Xi Siyan placed the water bottle on the step behind him.

Just as the whistle blew for the second half to begin.

A panting boy stood among the group of experimental class boys and asked, "Is Chen Mo from your class?"

Gou Yiyang happened to be there and replied with a smile, "Yeah, didn’t he move to another dorm? I offered to help, but he didn’t let me."

"A fight broke out."

"What?"

"Chen Mo got into a fight. A dozen or so against one, it’s terrifying."

"Damn!" Gou Yiyang jumped up, "I’ll go check it out!"

Xi Siyan listened and frowned as he stood up. Qi Lin added, "We should probably inform Lao Xiang about this. Should I go?"

"Go ahead." Xi Siyan grabbed the jacket hanging on the basketball net and instructed, "Check if anyone else is in the office. Try to resolve this quietly if possible."

As the boys from the experimental classes reached the sixth floor, Xi Siyan led the way.

The corridor was eerily quiet.

Contrary to the expected brutal scene of a group fight, only a few students from neighboring dorms were peeking out, but no one stepped out of their rooms.

Room 613 was closed.

There was no sound coming from inside.

Gou Yiyang grew anxious, "Damn! Did someone get killed?"

Xi Siyan frowned deeply, switching the jacket from his right hand to his left, and knocked on the door, "Open up."

Still, there was no response.

At this moment, Gou Yiyang rushed to the neighboring dorm and grabbed a boy, asking, "What’s going on? Who’s fighting?"

"It’s... it’s Li Rui and his gang," the bespectacled boy whispered.

Gou Yiyang kicked the wall in frustration.

He walked back, his tone serious, "It’s Li Rui and his gang. They cornered Chen Mo last week at the 'Blue Spider' internet cafe."

Xi Siyan’s eyes narrowed, "Why didn’t you mention this earlier?"

"What could we say?" Gou Yiyang was speechless, "Nothing happened after last week. Li Rui’s gang retreated for some reason, which is why Chen Mo fell into their hands today."

Xi Siyan said nothing more, took two steps back, and kicked the door hard.

With a loud bang, the door slammed against the wall and then bounced back, causing dust to fall from the ceiling.

When the boys saw the scene inside, they were momentarily speechless.

There weren’t many people in the dorm.

Three or four, including the one sitting backwards on a chair with a cigarette between his fingers.

Chen Mo’s elbow rested on the chair back. When he looked towards the door through the smoke, his eyes flickered coldly, indifferent to the several people tied up on the floor with sheets over their heads.

He regarded the newcomers as strangers.

The moment Xi Siyan pushed open the door and entered the dorm, it felt like breaking into a different world. He stepped over the overturned chairs and scattered items, walking up to the person sitting there.

Without saying anything, he tilted Chen Mo’s chin to see the abrasion on his cheekbone and the dark blood at the corner of his mouth.

"Are there any other injuries?"

Chen Mo lifted his head to avoid the touch: "No."

His voice was hoarse.

Xi Siyan released his chin, his gaze dropping to Chen Mo’s seemingly exhausted arm, stating, "Not only did you fight, but you also smoked. You’re quite bold."

Chen Mo took another drag and exhaled, "Then report me."

For some reason, Xi Siyan didn’t intervene further.

Chen Mo looked at Gou Yiyang and the other boys, some of whom he hadn’t even spoken to, and asked, "Why are you here?"

"Of course we had to come."

"We couldn’t just watch them bully someone from our experimental class."

The others finally seemed to react, with Gou Yiyang even rolling up his sleeves, ready to teach the troublemakers a lesson. But when they got a clear view of the state of the people on the ground, they immediately lost their nerve.

Too... gruesome.

Some were bleeding from both nostrils, others had blackened eyes.

Especially Li Rui, who usually strutted around school like a big gorilla, now had half his face swollen, possibly from broken teeth. Combined with the injury on his head from last week, he looked truly horrific.

No wonder the notorious school bully was reluctant to answer the door earlier.

Everyone except Gou Yiyang was genuinely impressed.

In their minds, Chen Mo was still the one recently sent by the Yang family, barely noticed, known only as a studious heir from a wealthy family. He looked quite thin, yet he could fight so well.

His current posture, leaning on a cigarette to suppress the violent impulses in his blood, made him seem composed and intimidating to the others.

"Chen Mo," Li Rui spat, undeterred, "showing us up isn't impressive. There's someone even tougher than you. You're finished!"

Chen Mo glanced at him, biting the cigarette, and got up from the chair, casually picking up a small fruit knife clearly left on the table intentionally.

But before he could take two steps, he was grabbed.

Xi Siyan held his wrist, took the knife away, and looked at him with a hostile gaze, "Hiding a knife? Do you want more trouble?"

"I didn't hide it," Chen Mo pointed at the people on the ground, "I confiscated it from there."

Xi Siyan's eyes turned cold, and he threw the knife back onto the table.

He picked up the chair Chen Mo had just sat in, walked to Li Rui, and trapped his legs under the chair before sitting down.

Li Rui was stunned, "Xi Siyan. What business is this of yours?"

"Business?" Xi Siyan said, "Everyone in the experimental class is my responsibility, including him. Don't you agree?"

"Hah." Li Rui struggled, gritting his teeth, "You're just bullying people because of your family background. Without the Xi family, you're nothing!"

As soon as he finished speaking, his face contorted in pain, and he screamed.

One of the chair legs that Xi Siyan was sitting on had somehow landed on Li Rui's leg.

The sharp edge dug deep, but Xi Siyan seemed oblivious, sitting casually and asking with a smile, "Shall I teach you what real bullying looks like?"