Pretty Useless

As soon as Jimo came out of the exam room, Jiang Wangshu waved excitedly at him and ran over. "Gege, over here!"

"How was it? Was it hard?"

Jimo shook his head. "It was okay."

Jiang Wangshu looked at him, his eyes shining. "Does that mean I can go to and from class with you after this, Gege?"

Jimo paused. Jiang Wangshu had been so busy that he had been nowhere to be seen for a while, but after the banquet, he had been especially eager to seek Jimo out. They had spent the past two days together, with Jiang Wangshu helping him study for his exams the whole time.

Jimo asked, "You're not busy anymore? Have you finished all your exams?"

"Mm." Jiang Wangshu nodded. "Our school finished classes earlier, so quite a few people have already gone home."

At that, Jiang Wangshu's voice grew subdued. "Gege, when does your vacation start? Are you going home?"

Jimo glanced at him. "Not just yet. I still have one class that hasn't finished... Aren't you going home?"

Jiang Wangshu kicked a pebble by the roadside without answering.

Jimo paused, then invited him, "If you'd like, you can come home with me for a visit."

"Really?" Jiang Wangshu's eyes lit up.

"Mm." Jimo added, "Xiao Shu, do you need to ask your parents?"

Jiang Wangshu lowered his eyes. "It's fine."

As long as he lied and said he was going out to make money, his father wouldn't care what he did.

"Oh, right." Jimo remembered something else. "After we left the banquet that night, did that person come looking for you again?"

"No." Jiang Wangshu shook his head. "Maybe he really did mistake me for someone else."

[Host, Song Wenxi of F4 has been detected heading this way. In the original story, this was where the male lead first met Song Wenxi after the birthday banquet. Song Wenxi asked the male lead for directions, and the male lead was very helpful and showed him the way. The two got along exceptionally well and exchanged contact information this time.]

Jimo said, [Okay.]

What a coincidence. Everyone was showing up now.

Floss silk trees lined both sides of the academy road. Every winter, their branches filled with pink blossoms, making a striking sight.

Jimo stared at the trunk of a floss silk tree and narrowed his eyes. "If anything happens, you have to tell me. Xiao Shu, head back first. I still have something to take care of."

"Huh?" Jiang Wangshu was puzzled. "What is it? I wanted to eat with you, Gege."

Jimo felt a little helpless. "Be good."

Only then did Jiang Wangshu reluctantly leave.

Once Jiang Wangshu was far away, Jimo looked in one direction and said coldly, "Come out. Aren't you tired of following me for so long?"

The bushes rustled, and the people inside quickly emerged. There were four of them, all tall and heavily built.

The man in front had a swollen face. He had already been fat, and now his features were so blurred that Jimo couldn't tell who he was.

The man growled, "Fuck, I finally caught you alone. You hit me at the banquet that day and embarrassed me in front of all those people. Do you know who I am?"

The banquet? This was the pervert who had groped Jiang Wangshu that day. After getting beaten up, he had brought people over to settle the score.

Jimo had been so focused on hitting him back then that he hadn't noticed what he looked like.

He said calmly, "Didn't you deserve it?"

"After all this, you still dare to be so arrogant? Whatever you did to me that day, I'll pay you back tenfold today!"

From the moment they appeared, Jimo had been sizing up their fighting ability based on their appearance.

The man up front, who kept jumping around and making threats, could be ignored. Judging by the steady stances of the three behind him, they were probably professional fighters.

Jimo frowned. It would be a bit of a stretch, but it wasn't as if he couldn't fight them.

He put down his books, fixed his eyes on his targets, and flexed his fingers. Just then, someone nearby exclaimed in surprise, drawing everyone's attention.

Song Wenxi had arrived. He walked over slowly, his eyes smiling. "What are you doing?"

Seeing Jimo staring at him, Song Wenxi smiled and greeted him of his own accord. "Student Bao, we meet again."

Jimo nodded. "Hello. You can call me Jimo."

Understanding dawned on Song Wenxi. "Student Jimo."

Seeing that they had actually started chatting, the groper angrily interrupted them. "Are you kidding me? You have time to chat?"

Shouldn't they be scared shitless by now?

Song Wenxi asked him, "Don't you know me?"

The groper turned to his companions and sneered. "This guy's really funny. Is he famous or something? Another one who's seriously sick in the head. Cut the crap and avenge me first."

Song Wenxi had only recently returned to the academy, so it was normal for this year's freshmen not to recognize him. At the banquet that day, Jimo had knocked this man unconscious before Song Wenxi appeared, so he hadn't even seen him.

Jimo had originally thought that now Song Wenxi was here, he wouldn't need to lift a finger.

As soon as the man finished speaking, the three fighters behind him charged at them, swinging their limbs.

A punch came straight at Jimo, and he dodged to the side. His opponent's moves lacked technique; he simply kept attacking with brute force.

Jimo dodged back and forth until he finally found a chance to slip behind him. He raised his hand and chopped down at the man's neck.

The man's body lost its strength, and he crumpled onto the lawn.

After taking one down, Jimo turned and saw Song Wenxi being forced steadily backward, nearly falling into a ditch.

Apparently, these men had taken Song Wenxi for his accomplice.

Jimo was just about to help him when another man rushed over and blocked his path.

With no other choice, he could only focus on dealing with the man in front of him first. By the time Jimo knocked him down and looked up, Song Wenxi was already lying on the lawn.

"..."

He really was pretty useless.

After knocking all three men down, Jimo panted lightly and fixed his gaze on the groper.

It had still been a bit too much for him, and his heart was pounding. But he had been exercising according to his plan these past few days, and his body was slowly starting to adapt.

The groper hadn't expected that even three burly men couldn't take Jimo down. His face pale, he slowly backed away and helped his men up. As he left, he still didn't forget to threaten him. "Just you wait!"

Jimo ignored him. Faced with the choice of picking up his books or helping Song Wenxi up, he chose the latter.

"Here."

Jimo held out a hand and pulled him up with a little effort. "Are you okay?"

"Mm."

Song Wenxi got to his feet, not seeming to think there was anything embarrassing about being beaten to the ground.

He licked the bruise at the corner of his mouth, took off his glasses and wiped them, then said good-naturedly, "They really hit hard. How did you get on their bad side?"

Jimo couldn't be bothered to explain. "I forgot."

"You seem pretty impressive." After putting his glasses back on, Song Wenxi could see much more clearly. He looked at Jimo and said gently, "You took on three of them by yourself."

Jimo smiled, picked up his books without answering, and started to leave.

"Wait." Song Wenxi called out to him. "Student Jimo, do you know where the academic affairs office is? It's been so long since I came back for class that I've forgotten the way."

"Sorry for the trouble, but could you show me the way?"

In the original story, Song Wenxi was one of the F4 members Jimo found more agreeable. Of course, his first impression of him now wasn't bad either. Song Wenxi had also helped them out of a difficult situation at the birthday banquet last time, and it was on Jimo's way, so he agreed at once.

"Sure."

The academic affairs office wasn't far from there. Jimo and Song Wenxi walked side by side, and passersby turned to look at them from time to time.

After all, Song Wenxi had attended for a semester, and photos of him were all over the forum. Not everyone was as clueless as the groper.