Lin Tiao felt that this person was really too much.
Clearly, he hadn’t done anything at all. Just by lowering his eyes and speaking casually in a hushed tone, her long-dormant girlhood heart started pounding rapidly.
Lin Tiao blinked, looking at the boy's soft hair. After hesitating for three seconds, she slowly raised her hand and gently patted it twice.
The sensation in her palm felt somewhat unreal. She didn’t dare linger, quickly withdrawing her hand and softly saying, “It’s just a birthday; it doesn’t matter.”
“Aren’t there still Children’s Day, Mid-Autumn Festival, Dragon Boat Festival, National Day, and Mother’s Day…” Lin Tiao paused, propping her chin on the desk and laughing, “But Mother’s Day doesn’t seem particularly suitable for you.”
The classroom was still noisy. Jiang Yan tilted his head and looked at the slightly awkward smile on the girl’s face, and the discomfort in his heart gradually faded away.
He lowered his head, his eyes full of amusement. “You really know how to coax people.”
Lin Tiao lay on the desk, one arm propping her head. Hearing his words, she instinctively retorted, “No, I usually use this method to coax dogs.”
“…”
“The golden retriever at my neighbor’s house doesn’t eat sometimes, and I coax it like this.” Lin Tiao wasn’t lying; every time she saw her neighbor’s golden retriever, she would go over and pat its head a couple of times.
“…” Jiang Yan laughed, looking down at the snacks spread across the table. His lips moved as he murmured, “I really have no way to deal with you.”
The school bell rang.
The long and torturous Monday finally ended. Students rushed out of the classroom, and soon half of it was empty.
The duty students for the day were walking back and forth in the classroom with brooms and mops.
Lin Tiao finished packing her things but noticed that Jiang Yan was still sitting in his seat, not moving. She held her almost empty backpack with one hand and looked at him. “Hu Hanghang and the others have all left. Why aren’t you going?”
He had slept through one class during evening self-study, and his voice was still a bit hoarse. “I’ll leave in a bit. How are you getting back?”
“Taking the bus.” There was a bus at the school gate that went straight to her neighborhood.
“Oh.” Jiang Yan smiled, looking somewhat dazed. “I remember now; you can’t ride a bike.”
“Get lost.” Lin Tiao didn’t bother to deal with him and picked up her backpack to leave.
Jiang Yan watched her angry back, amusement glimmering in his eyes.
Before long, the classroom was empty.
The last duty student, Wu Wang, stood at the back of the classroom. After waiting for a long time, he saw that Jiang Yan still hadn’t left and hesitantly spoke up, “Um, uh, that…”
Hearing the noise, Jiang Yan turned to look at the boy and, for once, spoke, “Who are you looking for? There’s no one else in the classroom besides me.”
Wu Wang “…”
The boy tightly gripped the strap of his backpack. “I’m not looking for anyone; we’re in the same class.”
Jiang Yan responded with a “Hmm,” clearly without any impression, and said indifferently, “What’s up?”
Wu Wang swallowed hard, no longer trembling. “Um, the last person to leave the classroom has to turn off the lights and lock the door.”
Jiang Yan said nothing.
Wu Wang’s heart raced. “I’m fine; I can wait until you leave to go. I’ll turn off the lights, and I’ll lock the door myself. You take your time; I’m not in a hurry.”
Mentioning Jiang Yan, besides the rumor that he had once single-handedly challenged a boy from the neighboring ninth-grade and returned unscathed, there was also a piece of gossip that had circulated from his middle school, known only to a few boys.
At first, Jiang Yan wasn’t a student at Xicheng Middle School; he transferred there in the first semester of the first year.
Not long after he transferred, there was a monthly exam, and he directly landed the top spot in the grade, becoming the most talked-about scholar and heartthrob at Xicheng Middle School.
However, less than a month after the monthly exam, someone suddenly posted a thread in the Xicheng Middle School forum, with a very shocking title.
“Does anyone know? The one who got first place in the first year, Jiang Yan, used to injure someone with a knife.”
The content of the post suggested that Jiang Yan had stabbed a classmate at his previous middle school, leaving the classmate in a vegetative state, but since Jiang Yan’s family was wealthy and influential, the matter was covered up.
However, this incident caused quite a stir at school, and Jiang Yan had to transfer to Xicheng because he couldn’t stay at his original school.
When the post was first made, everyone was skeptical, especially since Jiang Yan was very kind to everyone at school and didn’t act high and mighty. He patiently answered any questions anyone had.
Many people were replying in the comments.
“Empty words without proof! If you’re capable, show some evidence. Anyone can talk trash.”
“Yeah, it looks like the original poster is just jealous that he’s smart and good-looking.”
“Nowadays, people just hide behind their screens to slander others. If you’re capable, come out and say it to their face!”
There were many replies like this.
Before long, the original poster, who had gone silent, posted two images in the thread.
One was of Jiang Yan in a motorcycle jacket squatting down on the ground, with a boy in school uniform lying in front of him, a knife plunged into his abdomen. Jiang Yan’s hand was gripping the knife.
The other was a photo of Jiang Yan in detention clothes with a buzz cut.
Once this photo came out, it stirred up a huge commotion.
Several users who had initially defended Jiang Yan quickly deleted their replies.
The post's popularity drew the school’s attention.
The moderators deleted the post immediately upon seeing it and banned the accounts of several users who had replied the most. School leaders pressured the teachers not to let any students spread this matter.
The issue was quickly suppressed, but that night, many students were watching.
Even if they didn’t dare to speak openly, word spread in small circles, and everyone’s attitude toward Jiang Yan was ambiguous.
Some believed it, some didn’t, and some remained neutral.
After all, some people hadn’t seen the post and were just hearing rumors.
Wu Wang was among the first users to follow the thread. Initially, he was one of those defending Jiang Yan, but after the original poster posted the pictures, he deleted his comment and chose to remain neutral.
Over time, the students who had witnessed the incident graduated one after another, and the matter gradually faded.
When Wu Wang graduated from middle school, many students entered the high school, and the gossip began to spread again among the boys.
However, very few people knew the full story.
As one of the few who was in the know, Wu Wang kept the secret to himself after learning he was in the same class as Jiang Yan in his second year.
He didn’t dare gossip about it.
What if he ended up being the next one in trouble?
“…” Wu Wang snapped back to reality as he took a seat next to Jiang Yan.
Jiang Yan looked at him and maintained a calm expression. “You should head back.”
“…” Wu Wang was taken aback.
“Locking the door and turning off the lights, right?” Jiang Yan looked down at his phone. “Got it. You can go back now.”
“Well, see you later.”
Jiang Yan turned to glance at him. “Mm.”
Wu Wang picked up his backpack and ran out of the classroom. Once outside, he turned back to look at the ‘big shot.’
The empty classroom had Jiang Yan sitting alone, his head lowered, and his back looked desolate, exuding an aura of loneliness.
“…”
Wu Wang hurriedly dismissed his thoughts. What loneliness? The big shot wasn’t lonely at all. He was happily spending time with his deskmate, living a sweet life.
Who was lonely? They were the ones who were lonely.
—
Jiang Yan sat in the classroom for a while, and only after receiving a message on his phone did he stand up. Just as he was about to leave, he suddenly remembered a large bag of snacks stuffed in the desk, thought for a moment, and decided to take it with him.
After walking a few steps out the door, Jiang Yan turned back to glance at the brightly lit classroom, then went back to turn off the lights and lock the door.
By the time he reached the school gate, it had already been more than ten minutes.
Under the poplar tree at the school entrance stood a boy in a black baseball jacket, a mask hanging from one ear. His facial features were sharp, with clean and distinct features, and he was currently looking down at his phone.
As soon as Jiang Yan exited the school gate, he saw the boy talking to a few girls, who seemed to be asking for his contact information. He walked over.
As soon as the girls spotted him, they ran away faster than rabbits.
“Damn, couldn’t you have waited a bit before coming over?” Guan Che put away his phone, which hadn’t added any friends yet. “Your reputation as a big shot is truly well-deserved.”
“Thanks for the compliment,” Jiang Yan replied calmly.
“You really are thick-skinned.” Guan Che glanced at him, then leaned in to look at what Jiang Yan was holding. “What’s this?”
Jiang Yan shifted to the side to dodge him, not answering. “Let’s go.”
“What a character.”
The two of them walked side by side towards a nearby road, weaving through a bustling alley before entering a shop.
A sign stood at the entrance.
It read four big characters:
Cultivating One’s Character
Looking a bit closer, there were two inconspicuous smaller words beside it.
Internet Cafe
What a strange combination.
As soon as Jiang Yan and Guan Che entered, a boy sitting behind the bar put down his phone and smiled, “You two finally made it. The second half of the night is yours; I’m clocking out now.”
“Let’s go, let’s go.” Guan Che took off his jacket and stepped behind the bar.
The boy gathered his things and left with his bag.
Jiang Yan placed the bag in his usual spot and went inside to wash his hands.
When he came out, he saw Guan Che booting up the computer, a bag of chips in hand, munching happily with “crunch crunch” sounds.
He walked over and kicked Guan Che’s chair. “Who told you to eat my stuff?”
Guan Che, nearly losing his balance and falling off, exclaimed, “What’s wrong with me eating your stuff? Are we not close enough that I can’t have a bite?”
“Nope.” Jiang Yan walked past him and sat in the empty spot next to him, opened WeChat on his phone, and held it out in front of Guan Che. “Pay up.”
“Damn!” Guan Che looked at him with an expression that said, “I’m not joking,” and conceded, “Fine, I’ll transfer it. Is that okay?”
He took out his phone to scan the QR code.
WeChat automatically processed the payment, displaying the amount due.
“Damn it, Jiang Yan, are you even human? I just ate a bag of chips, and you charged me two hundred bucks! Are you out of your mind?”
Jiang Yan smiled and ignored him, putting on his headphones and starting the music.
Guan Che continued to grumble.
The glass door of the internet café was pushed open from the outside, and the automatic cat figurine at the entrance slowly chimed, “Welcome.”
Guan Che spotted two girls and immediately stopped talking, grinning. “Hey there, are you here for an overnight stay or just to surf the net?”
“Overnight stay.” The girl who spoke glanced around the internet café’s environment and asked proficiently, “Do you have private rooms?”
Guan Che looked at the nearby computers. “Yes, we do.”
As he spoke, he kicked Jiang Yan’s chair. “Hurry up, take them to the private room upstairs.”
Jiang Yan took off his headphones, reached for the magnetic card on the table, stood up, and saw the two girls standing by the bar.
“...”
Who the hell can tell him why these two look so much like his deskmate and his deskmate's best friend?
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