Chapter 14

Chapter 14

"Are you here to pay me back?" Zhang Yu stared blankly at the person in front of him, his eyes still glistening with unshed tears.

He Xu’s mouth twitched. "…What else?"

Hadn't this kid been yelling at him the other day, reminding him not to forget to return the money?

Zhang Yu fell silent for a moment, then muttered under his breath, "Then why did you look so fierce? I thought you were going to hit me."

He Xu: "Huh?"

Wasn’t it just because this kid was too timid? And now he was blaming him for it??

"Never mind, it was my misunderstanding." Zhang Yu patted his backside and stood up, counting his money only to realize he didn’t have enough change. "You gave me too much, but I don’t have any small bills to give back. Let me buy something after school tonight, and I’ll return the rest tomorrow."

He Xu glanced at him. "Keep it. Consider the extra payment for taking me to the hospital."

Zhang Yu’s eyes instantly lit up. "Really? You’re such a good person!"

He Xu: "..." This was the first time someone had called him a good person—especially when it came from someone he had beaten up not long ago.

He looked speechlessly at the curly-haired boy, who was beaming with joy.

Bribed with pocket change. Pathetic.

Zhang Yu happily stashed the cash and picked up his bag. "Come on, let’s go to class!"

Who’s this "we" you’re talking about? He Xu snapped irritably, "Go by yourself. Don’t bother me."

Zhang Yu paused mid-step and turned his head. "You’re skipping class again?"

"None of your business." He Xu rolled his eyes, jammed his hands into his pockets, and stalked off coolly in another direction.

Zhang Yu watched his retreating figure and sighed enviously.

But after patting the money in his pocket, he quickly cheered up again, his curls bouncing cheerfully.

Two hundred yuan—twenty grilled calamari skewers! No, no, better make it five grilled calamari skewers and spend the rest on fried chicken legs, soda, potato chips, grilled sausages...

Excited at the thought of eating delicious food after school, he bounced happily to class and took his seat.

When the class bell rang, He Xu—who everyone had assumed would skip again—actually showed up. Zhang Yu was about to greet him, but He Xu walked straight past him without a glance and sat down in the last row.

Before Zhang Yu could turn around, the teacher entered, made some announcements, and told everyone to study on their own.

Zhang Yu barely listened. He slouched a little, reaching into his bag for something, when he suddenly felt the coolness on his face and remembered he hadn’t wiped away his tears yet. He raised his hand to rub his eyes, wiping away the moisture, and sniffed.

Beside him, Xiang Yiming’s pen froze mid-equation.

The noise was faint, and amid the classroom chatter, it was mostly drowned out. But because they were sitting close, he still caught it.

Recalling what he’d seen from afar at the school gate earlier, he tilted his head slightly and glanced sideways, only to see the curly-haired boy lowering his hand from his eyes, their corners slightly red, as if he’d just been crying.

Xiang Yiming withdrew his gaze, his pen hovering over the half-written answer for a long moment before he lowered his eyes, pressed his lips together, and silently continued writing.

Apart from him, one other person had noticed Zhang Yu wiping his tears.

From the last row of the classroom, separated only by a single desk, He Xu witnessed the entire scene.

Leaning back in his chair, his brows arched in disbelief.

How could someone be this fragile? He’d just spoken a little louder and with a slightly harsher tone, and the kid had started crying? What kind of guy cries over that?

He Xu irritably averted his gaze, staring out the window instead.

After a while, he shifted positions, his eyes flicking back to the slight trembling of the shoulders in front of him.

Still crying?

He crossed his arms, his foot jiggling impatiently against the floor.

Another moment passed, and he glanced again—the shoulders were still trembling slightly, the head now lowered, a hand raised to the face as if wiping away tears.

Still crying? Was this never going to end???

For the entire class, He Xu’s gaze darted back and forth countless times, and every time he looked, the curly-haired boy was either wiping his tears or trembling slightly.

They always said women were made of water, but this little curly-haired guy cried more than any girl. Was he made of a waterfall or something? Even Yu Ling was tougher than him!

He Xu, who had always believed in shedding blood rather than tears and had never cried voluntarily, was completely thrown.

When the bell rang for the end of class, He Xu watched as the boy lowered his head again to wipe his eyes. Under the desk, he stretched out his leg, about to nudge the chair—but hesitated at the last moment and pulled back.

After dawdling for a while, he suddenly snapped out of it, abruptly stood up, shoved his chair back, and marched out in a huff.

If this little curly-haired brat wanted to cry, let him cry! What did it have to do with him? Ridiculous!

Meanwhile, Zhang Yu, who had been sneaking chocolate beans the entire class: ...?

He stared blankly at the guy storming off in a foul mood before lowering his head and stuffing the remaining chocolate beans into his mouth, smacking his lips contentedly.

So good~

On the other side of the classroom, another group had also witnessed the scene.

"Brother Ran, what do you think Boss meant by that?" a lackey wondered, putting on a thoughtful expression.

Sun Ran popped his knuckles, smirking darkly. "What else could it mean? He obviously wants to beat him up! Didn’t you see Boss giving him the death stare the whole class?"

"Really?" Another underling, wearing glasses, rubbed his chin. "I kind of got the feeling Boss wasn’t thinking that?"

To him, Boss had seemed weirdly... nice?

The bespectacled underling grabbed Sun Ran's sleeve, who was about to march over. "Brother Ran, maybe we should wait and ask Boss first."

Sun Ran shook him off. "No way! Why bug the Boss with such a small thing? As his top lieutenant—even that brat Yu Ling comes second—I’ve gotta know how things work, got it? Stuff like this, we take care of it before Boss even has to say a word!"

The other lackeys: ...

But hadn’t Yu Ling always called him "Boss’s number one lackey"?

Meanwhile, Zhang Yu, having finished his chocolate beans, dumped the empty bag into the trash and headed out of the classroom to wash his sticky hands at the bathroom sink.

Sun Ran’s eyes lit up. "Quick, quick! He’s going out—let’s go intercept him!"

He grabbed one underling and barreled out. The bespectacled underling shared a look with the other lackeys, sighed, and followed.

In the bathroom, Zhang Yu rinsed the chocolate mess off his hands under the sink. As he dried them and turned to leave, several figures suddenly cut him off.

He leaned sideways, glancing left and right, only to find these guys blocking the door completely, leaving no space to slip past. He had no choice but to speak up: "Hey, mind moving? I need to leave."

"Leave?" Brother Ran sneered. "After messing with our boss, you still think you can just walk away?"

Zhang Yu: "?"

He said in confusion, "I didn’t provoke him."

"You think my eyes are blind? You say you didn’t, so you didn’t?" Brother Ran snapped. "Enough talk. Take your beating quietly, or else..."

The implied threat hung in the air.

Zhang Yu blinked. Oh, so that's what this is about—they were here to pick a fight.

By now, most of the break time had passed, and classes were about to resume. The bathroom was empty except for them. Located at the end of the hallway next to the stairwell, with the teachers' office at the other end, no one would pass by unless he screamed for help.

Realizing his predicament, Zhang Yu instantly switched gears, putting on his best scared-puppy look. "P-please don’t hit me..."

"No way! Messing with our boss? You're lucky if a beating's all you get!" Brother Ran popped his knuckles and stepped forward.

Zhang Yu retreated step by step, watching them. Suddenly, he thought it’d be pretty boring to just keep getting bullied like this. Maybe... he should make things interesting?

A glint of amusement flashed in his eyes as he continued backing away. His pant leg shifted almost unnoticeably, and a tentacle, perfectly camouflaged to blend into the surroundings, slithered out from his pant leg, creeping silently toward the group.

The tentacle, perfectly matching the floor's appearance, went unnoticed by everyone. Zhang Yu retreated until his back hit the wall, as if cornered, his eyes watery, trembling in despair. "D-don’t hit me..."

"Hahaha, just stand there and take it. No one’s coming to save you..." Brother Ran grinned viciously, stepping forward and swinging his fist—only for it to never land.

The tentacle on the floor swiftly rose the moment he lifted his foot, directly blocking his path. Brother Ran didn’t see it at all. The moment he stepped forward—

BAM!

He tripped hard, his body lurching forward from the momentum, eating floor right in front of Zhang Yu.

A dull *thud* echoed. Zhang Yu flinched, squeezing one eye shut and shrinking his neck as if he’d felt the pain himself.

He slowly opened his eyes and asked timidly, "A-are you okay?"

Brother Ran, still sprawled on the floor, clutched his nose, the pain rocketing through his skull. Tears nearly welled up. "Damn... what the hell tripped me?!"

His crew froze at the sudden fall. Before anyone could react, the bespectacled lackey was the first to move, stepping forward to help him up. "Brother Ran, are you alr—"

The tentacle shot out again, latching onto the back of his shoe and yanking hard!

BAM! The bespectacled lackey went down face-first!

The others finally shook off their shock and rushed forward.

"Brother Ran, you—BAM!"

"Lao Chang—BAM!"

"You guys—BAM!"

"I—BAM!"

After a series of heavy thumps, the once-threatening delinquents went from a group to a pile.

Brother Ran, the first to fall, had the worst luck. Everyone who fell afterward landed right on top of him, turning him into a human crash mat. Crushed under the weight, he could barely breathe, flapping helplessly on the ground. "Fuck... all of you... get off! I’m... suffocating!"

"Who mopped this floor?! It’s so damn slippery!" The lackey on top cursed, scrambling to get up. The moment he steadied himself—whoosh!—he slipped again, crashing back onto the pile.

Brother Ran at the bottom took another brutal hit, weakly raising a hand, seeing stars. "I... fuck..."

Zhang Yu watched the scene with eyes gleaming, thoroughly entertained.

Wow, they look like a stack of turtles!

The tentacle on the floor twitched excitedly, ready to take down the next guy who tried to stand—when a raspy voice suddenly sounded from the doorway.

"...What are you all doing?"