Sheng Renxing kept writing until the end of third period.
He dragged things out long enough to finish the essay too.
Xing Ye still had not woken when the teacher arrived first.
Teacher Yu froze when she saw Xing Ye sitting beside Sheng Renxing.
She seemed surprised that the two were sitting so close—or perhaps simply puzzled by why eight chairs had been arranged between them like some kind of formation.
But she only looked once before withdrawing her gaze.
Her attitude suggested she knew Xing Ye and was used to finding him here.
“Finished?” she asked.
As though there were not an entire extra living person in the room.
Xing Ye was a light sleeper and opened his eyes.
But he did not move.
He showed no intention of greeting the teacher.
“Mm.” Sheng Renxing nodded.
“Then go back to class.” Teacher Yu stepped forward and collected his papers.
Then she waited there to go downstairs with him.
While packing his bag, Sheng Renxing noticed it:
This teacher did not seem to like Xing Ye very much.
He had meant to say goodbye to Xing Ye, but Xing Ye kept his face buried down, making it impossible to tell whether he was awake or asleep.
After Sheng Renxing left,
perhaps because he had slept too long, Xing Ye stayed lying there for a while but could not fall back asleep.
He simply got up and returned every chair to its original place one by one.
Then he slowly wandered downstairs.
In the classroom, the teacher was lecturing at the front.
One or two rows of students in front craned their necks like clueless geese thirsting for knowledge.
From the third row backward, however, entertainment options multiplied.
The most common were whispering and playing on phones.
The recreational activities available during class were rich and colorful.
Xing Ye glanced around and entered through the back door.
At the rear, Yellow Hair and the others were playing Fight the Landlord.
Several strips of paper were stuck to their faces.
Yellow Hair was enjoying himself when he saw Xing Ye and called, “Hey, you’re awake?”
He failed to control his volume.
Half the students turned to look.
That finally disturbed the teacher at the front, who had been pretending not to see.
The teacher tapped the blackboard. “Where did you go? Why are you only coming back now?”
“Bathroom.”
Xing Ye gave Yellow Hair a flat look.
Yellow Hair’s neck immediately shrank.
Then Xing Ye pushed aside several desks and chairs that had been moved into positions like roadblocks and returned to his seat.
He thought that next time they changed seats, he was choosing one by the door.
He had not chosen it last time because the rubbish bin was beside the door.
But having to pass through obstacle courses every time he wanted to take a piss was too much trouble.
He would rather keep the rubbish bin company.
At the front, the teacher inhaled, smoothed her hair, and said, “Fine. Sit down. Let’s continue.”
Xing Ye sat at his seat and stared blankly at his perfectly clean desktop.
Cui Xiaoxiao and another girl sat in front of him, whispering.
Their topic shifted from the teacher’s perfume to the boy who was currently flirting ambiguously with Cui Xiaoxiao.
“Did he give you a love letter today?”
“Not yet. Didn’t he get into a fight today? Probably didn’t have time to write one.”
Her desk mate sighed. “He’s so brave. He actually dared fight Wan Guanxi and those guys. You didn’t try to stop him?”
“I told you already, how could I have stopped that kind of situation?”
Cui Xiaoxiao curled her lip, sounding disdainful yet faintly proud.
In the eyes of hot-blooded high-school students, fighting and writing self-criticisms were things worth feeling proud about.
Especially this kind of story: a young schoolboy stepping up for his brother against older street kids.
Yellow Hair’s group were not quite that, but close enough.
It was the kind of story they could still brag about when they were seventy or eighty.
“Just watch. Someone’s definitely going to pass him a note after this.”
By “passing a note,” she meant confessing.
Cui Xiaoxiao snorted. “Let them. Anyone who dares, I’ll chop off her paws.”
Her desk mate giggled with her, then changed topics.
“But that transfer student is brave too. He fought on his first day here. And Wan Guanxi’s group said he didn’t even get punished?”
“I think they said he’s related to school administration? Didn’t the forum say he’s some rich second-generation kid? That building on the west side was donated by his family.”
Cui Xiaoxiao thought back.
But she did not think he was related to the administrators.
Last time outside the spicy dry-pot restaurant, she had seen Wei Huan with Sheng Renxing.
So she guessed the second explanation was more likely.
“He’s that rich?” her desk mate exclaimed. “No wonder everyone’s talking about him.”
Cui Xiaoxiao thought. “Mostly because he’s handsome.”
After all, no one had a clear idea how rich Sheng Renxing really was.
But everyone could see he was handsome.
The moment someone posted his photo on the school forum, the whole forum exploded.
Her desk mate sighed too. “Tall, rich, and handsome.”
Then she added, lowering her voice, “I also saw a post discussing…”
She dropped her voice even further.
“Whether he or Xing Ye is more handsome.”
The girls thought they were whispering.
Xing Ye, sitting behind them, heard every word clearly.
He briefly pictured Sheng Renxing’s face.
He had no opinion on who was more handsome.
He only thought these girls were a little bored.
Cui Xiaoxiao considered it.
She was more familiar with the boys, so she simply turned around and asked:
“Yellow Hair, who do you think is more handsome, the guy you fought today or Brother Xing?”
Her desk mate widened her eyes, looking as though she wanted to cover Cui Xiaoxiao’s mouth but was too embarrassed.
She secretly glanced at Xing Ye.
Xing Ye had propped an exercise book on his desk as a prop and was looking down, fiddling with his phone.
He did not raise his head, as though he had heard nothing.
Yellow Hair slapped his cards facedown and thought.
“I’m more handsome.”
Cui Xiaoxiao rolled her eyes. “Where did you get that confidence?”
Yellow Hair ignored her.
Across from him, Jiang Jing had sharp eyes. “Don’t take the opportunity to hide your cards!”
Then he gloated.
“Aren’t you stabbing him right in the sore spot? It’s bad enough he’s not as handsome as the guy—he couldn’t even beat him in a fight. Pair of aces.”
“Fuck off. Don’t want them.” Yellow Hair sorted his cards. “I just wasn’t ready. That kid fights dirty. My stomach still hurts. Fuck.”
“If it weren’t for me, he nearly threw you out of the second floor. I’d have had to pick you up from the bushes below.”
Jiang Jing sneered.
Something in the sentence seemed to catch Xing Ye’s attention.
The girl who had been secretly watching him saw Xing Ye lift his head toward Yellow Hair and the others, then close his phone.
“Fuck!” Yellow Hair cursed.
Taking the chance, he peeled a strip of white paper off his face.
“Next time…”
Halfway through, his voice disappeared.
He threw down cards instead.
“Three tens with a pair of eights.”
“Pass.” Jiang Jing laughed like water bubbling in a kettle.
Cui Xiaoxiao found it interesting and teased him too.
“Next time what? Every time you lose a fight, don’t you shout that you’ll find a chance to beat them back? What happened this time, Brother Wan? Quietly turned over a new leaf?”
Yellow Hair grumbled and glanced at Xing Ye.
“I’ve got real business. Who has time all day to play elementary-school fighting games?”
As though he had not been the one fighting furiously that morning.
Jiang Jing snickered.
“He got baptized by capitalism at lunch. He’s secretly delighted right now.”
Cui Xiaoxiao went, “Huh? You ate at a restaurant?”
Jiang Jing gave her a thumbs-up. “Fushoulu.”
His thumb pointed at Xing Ye.
“It was Brother Xing’s turn to treat.”
When they ate together, they took turns paying.
Today happened to be Xing Ye’s turn.
Fushoulu was a little more expensive than the places they usually ate, but…
“Brother Xing didn’t go. Cheap deal for this damned Yellow Hair.”
Yellow Hair rolled his eyes. “Brother Xing pitied me because my hand hurts.”
One of the brothers beside him laughed. “Where’s your dignity?”
“Dignity isn’t as important as money.”
Yellow Hair looked toward Xing Ye.
“Right, Dad?”
Xing Ye had been quietly listening to them fool around while looking at his phone.
Hearing Yellow Hair call him, he turned his head, swept them a glance, and smiled with pressed lips.
Then he pulled his chair a little closer and sat behind and to the side of Jiang Jing, watching them play cards.
Jiang Jing showed him his hand and grinned. “You play next round?”
Xing Ye shook his head.
When the group played cards together, Xing Ye normally only watched.
He rarely joined.
“Dad, why don’t you watch me play?” Yellow Hair complained.
Jiang Jing drawled, “Your dad likes watching people win. Are you qualified?”
“Just wait! I’m winning this round!”
As soon as Yellow Hair spoke, the third player laughed and threw down his final card.
“Seven. I win. Tear paper.”
Then he looked at Yellow Hair.
“Stop calling him your Dad Xing. Tonight it’s your Dad Lu’s turn to treat.”
For a moment, the atmosphere became extremely cheerful.
Judging by Xing Ye’s expression, he seemed perfectly happy to let his cheap son recognize another father.
“At most you’ll buy us eight-yuan bowls at 205, and you won’t even let us add extras. What kind of poor bastard are you? Get lost.”
The boy cursed. “Fuck you. Don’t expect me to wingman for you tonight.”
“With Brother Xing there, you could carry an airplane for us and it still wouldn’t help. Save your effort,” Jiang Jing said.
“Carrying the sedan” was what they called helping someone out when he went to chat up girls.
Whenever they went somewhere with Xing Ye, the others could almost forget about picking up girls.
The key problem was that Xing Ye always wore an expression saying, Stay away from me.
The other three boys all thought of this at once.
They lost the energy even to argue and looked at Xing Ye resentfully.
Some people died of drought.
Others drowned.
Xing Ye lifted a hand and pointed at one of Jiang Jing’s cards.
Amid cries of, “Hey! How can you bring in outside help?” he withdrew his hand.
“I’m not going tonight.”
“Huh?” Yellow Hair looked at him. “You’re not going again? You’ve missed several times already.”
Xing Ye looked at him. “Altogether it’s only been a week.”
They simply met up too often.
They had nothing better to do every day.
“Something tonight?” Jiang Jing turned his head, inquiry in his eyes.
Xing Ye nodded. “Fifth Brother arranged something.”
He did not elaborate, but Jiang Jing understood.
He frowned. “You’re not healed yet, are you?”
His gaze swept around Xing Ye’s waist.
“I’m just helping watch the place.”
Xing Ye rested one leg on the horizontal bar beneath Jiang Jing’s chair and lazily leaned back while watching them play.
He answered casually.
This posture reduced the pain.
“You won’t fight?”
“If it isn’t necessary.”
Jiang Jing smiled. “Hope nobody’s unlucky tonight.”
Xing Ye lifted the corner of his mouth without speaking.
Yellow Hair and the others were still chatting.
Cui Xiaoxiao and the other girl had already moved to sit behind them.
When Yellow Hair lost another round, Cui Xiaoxiao said to Xing Ye,
“Brother Xing lost out. You treat them to something that good and not only do they waste food—”
She pointed at Yellow Hair.
“—you only gain this kind of thing as a son.”
Yellow Hair slapped her hand away. “Don’t destroy the bond between father and son.”
Xing Ye rarely joined their childish and idiotic nonsense.
He only smiled from the side.
Yellow Hair turned to look at him.
Then he discovered Xing Ye was not looking at him at all.
He had lowered his head and was pressing buttons on his phone.
Like he was chatting with someone.
Cui Xiaoxiao seized the opportunity to laugh. “As if I need to destroy it.”
After they fooled around for a while, Cui Xiaoxiao still felt uneasy.
“You’re sure you’re not going to retaliate? Like dragging someone into a dark alley tonight or something?”
She had been there during the fight.
Yellow Hair really had taken some heavy hits.
Especially at the beginning, when the window slammed onto his arm with a tooth-aching crack.
At the time she had thought his arm would fracture on the spot.
Remembering it made her shiver.
She had never expected Sheng Renxing to fight so viciously.
The first time they met, he had stood beside Wei Huan looking cool and arrogant.
He did not seem very interested in talking to people.
At the time, she had been too busy looking at the handsome guy.
With that filter, she merely thought he might have a bad temper.
Who could have guessed it was much more than that?
He was practically a firecracker.
And Yellow Hair—
Yellow Hair had suffered a serious loss.
Normally, there was no way things would stay this calm.
Jiang Jing spoke.
“Stop asking, little sister. Brother Yellow started it and still lost. Is he really going to go looking for another fight now?”
He gave Cui Xiaoxiao a meaningful glance.
“Your Brother Yellow’s been roaming the martial world for years. He still needs some dignity.”
“So stop worrying. Your little boyfriend is perfectly safe.”
Yellow Hair seemed to agree.
“We’ve got business tonight anyway. Who has time to catch your little boyfriend?”
Cui Xiaoxiao’s train of thought was derailed.
She followed their words automatically.
“He’s not my boyfriend, okay.”
Then she asked, “What business?”
Their round ended.
They began dealing again.
Yellow Hair answered casually, “Wang Dahai.”
Cui Xiaoxiao stared. “You’re really going to beat up Wang Dahai?!”
That was a teacher.
Wouldn’t they get expelled?
Yellow Hair looked at her. “What are you thinking?”
He had been about to say they would not beat him.
Then his brain turned once and he decided that might not be guaranteed.
He scratched his hair.
“Don’t know. Depends on my dad.”
“Huh?” Cui Xiaoxiao looked at Xing Ye, eyes full of curiosity.
Xing Ye glanced at her and said flatly, “None of your business.”
Meaning: stop asking.
Cui Xiaoxiao widened her eyes.
But once Xing Ye said that, she did not dare continue.
She turned back to Yellow Hair.
Yellow Hair was thoroughly annoyed.
“If that bastard still refuses to come teach, what the hell are we supposed to do in English?”
Cui Xiaoxiao was shocked.
“But what does that have to do with you? Do you even listen in English class? Are you kidding me?”
“I’m fuck, thank you, and you? I still listen, okay?”
Yellow Hair was utterly righteous.
“And I’ve hated that bastard for ages. Learns a couple foreign words and thinks he’s amazing, always putting on that weird act.”
Jiang Jing warned him with a look. “We are not going to hit him.”
“Oh, right.”
Yellow Hair corrected himself without the slightest sincerity.
“We are not going to hit him.”
Cui Xiaoxiao looked at Xing Ye.
Xing Ye said nothing.
His attitude looked like tacit agreement.
It was obvious they did not consider hitting a teacher especially serious.
Never mind respect for teachers.
Standardized education had produced no effect on them whatsoever.
They were practically textbook failures.
And it was not only them.
Many children who grew up around Yanjiang Road were almost the same.
Cui Xiaoxiao remembered what adults said:
Among all the “low-lifes” on Xuancheng’s streets, nine out of ten came from Yanjiang Street.
The roots there were already rotten.
Anyone who went in would come out infected with every vice.
No matter how bad the act, they were capable of doing it.
Cui Xiaoxiao opened her mouth but could not find anything to say.
In the end, she only muttered, “Then… be careful.”
After thinking, loyalty still won.
“If there’s anything I can help with…”
Jiang Jing went, “Hey,” and waved a hand.
“Just pretend you don’t know about it.”
She nodded.
Then she could not help looking at Xing Ye again.
The first time she saw Xing Ye, he had been wearing a school uniform in a bar, confronting several adults.
He had looked so clean that he did not belong there.
Impossible not to notice.
Then, one second later, that same boy had grabbed a bottle, smashed it, and driven the jagged upper half into the adult man’s hand.
Blood poured everywhere.
At the time, Cui Xiaoxiao and her girlfriends had secretly gone to the bar behind their parents’ backs just to see something new.
They never expected to see something that new.
She had been so frightened she slept badly the entire night.
Every time she closed her eyes, she saw that man’s mangled hand and Xing Ye’s expressionless face.
Afterward, whenever Yellow Hair’s group fought, Xing Ye never joined.
People at school said Xing Ye was just an empty shell.
Every time Cui Xiaoxiao saw those comments, she scoffed.
With the perspective of someone who had seen the world, she looked upon those “frogs at the bottom of a well” with faint sympathy.
If Xing Ye was an empty shell, then you were nothing but air.
And “empty shell” Xing Ye was still looking down, chatting.
Since returning to the classroom today, he had barely put his phone away.
The screen was on QQ.
Scrolling upward, the first message was from Sheng Renxing.
X: [Heard you’re having the battle of the century tonight with No. 13 High’s top dog.]
Not Adding Friends: [?]
X: [/strong]
Not Adding Friends: [.]
X: [!]
Not Adding Friends: [,]
X: [·]
…
Eventually the two began sending meaningless punctuation back and forth, sinking into an infinite loop.
At first it was amusing.
Later, neither wanted to be the one who stopped.
Out of competitive stubbornness, they wanted to see exactly how bored the other person could be.
Until Xing Ye finally replied:
[No.]
He did not ask why Sheng Renxing was apparently this free during class either.
Although there were more than two hundred students in the science track of Senior Two who actually listened in class, Sheng Renxing did not look like one of them.
X: [The whole school knows about it. Won’t it be embarrassing if you don’t go?]
Not Adding Friends: [The person who issued the challenge is the one who should be embarrassed.]
X: [/strong]
X: [Then be careful they don’t block you after school.]
Not Adding Friends: [They won’t.]
Sheng Renxing seemed to be doing something and only replied much later:
[Climb the wall?]
Not Adding Friends: [Leave early.]
Again, after a long while:
X: [Afraid they’ll block you?]
Not Adding Friends: [Going to block someone else.]
X: [/strong. Busy schedule. Which unlucky bastard gets you to abandon No. 13’s top dog and keep his appointment instead?]
Xing Ye thought about it, exited QQ, and sent Sheng Renxing an MMS with a photo of Wang Dahai.
This time the reply came instantly.
X: […]
Xing Ye smiled and pressed a key.
[?]
The two entered another back-and-forth loop.
When the final period ended, Xing Ye and the others said, “Going to the bathroom,” put on their backpacks, and left together.
Obviously, no one believed they were actually going to the bathroom.
The teacher suppressed his anger and nodded.
The students, meanwhile, wore varying expressions as they remembered the “great battle” being discussed nonstop on the forum.
Some particularly nosy students’ eyes shone.
They wanted to follow them out.
The five boys did not bother hiding anything.
When they reached the second floor, they saw a boy standing near the turn in the corridor.
From above, they could not make out his face clearly.
But with that head of red hair, mistaking him was impossible.
Hearing people approach, Sheng Renxing lifted his head, put away his phone, and narrowed his eyes slightly at them.
As though he had been waiting.
Yellow Hair had been walking in front.
The moment he saw him, he unconsciously stopped, wary and confused.
He thought:
I’m not even planning to mess with this guy anymore.
He came looking for us?
Is he really that arrogant?
Sheng Renxing ignored him.
His gaze passed over Yellow Hair and moved to the people behind him.
The next second, a voice came from the rear.
“He’s coming with us.”
