Be Decent, Be Loyal

Before the two major publishing houses began fighting to publish Li Ye's novel, rumors about Li Ye had already been roaring through Retake Class One, threatening to spread across the entire school.

But after Dong Yuejin arrived, those rumors became like spider silk scorched by fire—vanishing with a sizzle.

Things like "Li Ye writes love letters instead of studying in class" and "Li Ye dates girls instead of studying in class" seemed laughable in retrospect.

Was he writing love letters? He was creating literature, all right?

Was he dating girls? He was making money, understand?

As for Li Ye failing to promptly volunteer to explain problems to his classmates, he had been immersed in literary creation, striving to bring honor to the teachers and students of County Second High School. It was understandable, and entirely forgivable.

So, many of those who had once been labeled "ungrateful wretches" by Li Dayong and the others, who had stood with Xia Yue's little clique, now took the initiative to approach Li Ye and make small talk, hoping to mend their relationship.

"Li Ye, I knew you were busy with important things back then. Go ahead, keep busy. There's no rush with my problems. Just explain them to me once you're done."

"I won't be done today, tomorrow, or the day after tomorrow."

"What about the day after that?"

"Do I have to say I don't want to deal with you before you'll be satisfied?"

"."

"Li Ye, we're classmates in the same class. A little misunderstanding in the past doesn't mean anything. I don't hold it against you, and you wouldn't be so petty as to hold it against me either, right?"

"No, I hold grudges. Especially serious ones."

"."

Li Ye only needed half a day to argue every last ungrateful wretch into silence.

Then, naturally, curses erupted everywhere.

I knew he was no good. Xia Yue was absolutely right—he was Huang Shiren. So what if he earned a little manuscript money? Now he looked down on people?

Calling him Huang Shiren was letting him off easy. I thought he was Mount Carving Eagle, cutting himself off from the people and from the masses.

Li Ye had always been the type to wear Warrior shoes and smoke Da Qianmen cigarettes. Now he had suddenly made several thousand yuan in manuscript fees. It was impossible for others not to feel jealous when they looked at him.

That was human nature. Just because they were all innocent young people did not mean they could escape humanity's instinct to worry not about scarcity, but about unfairness.

Of course, if Li Ye had been forgiving at that point, getting along peacefully with everyone and even spreading little favors around like dew and rain falling evenly, then everyone would have been magnanimous enough to forgive him.

But not only did Li Ye refuse to give face to everyone's "friendly overtures," he was also too stingy to know how to mingle with the masses. Wasn't that cutting himself off from this and that?

Thus, the war of words in Retake Class One began anew. Li Ye's loyal little brother Li Dayong, along with newly recruited lackey Fu Yingjie and the others, traded barbs with Xia Yue's group.

While teachers were teaching, both sides behaved themselves and did not dare act up. But once it was self-study period, they made enough noise to leave no one in peace, until even the teachers were alerted.

Teacher Luo stood on the podium with a dark face, his sharp gaze sweeping over the forty-nine quails in the classroom, plus one Li Ye and one Little Mute.

Li Dayong and the others might have argued fiercely in ordinary times, but when they truly met a teacher's eyes, not one of them dared raise a thorn.

"The whole school can hear you shouting. What, have you all eaten your fill and got strength with nowhere to spend it? Want me to loosen you up?"

"Loosen you up" was local Qingshui County slang. It meant "loosening your bones."

But this was not the comfortable kind of Thai bone-loosening. A teacher would not press, knead, crack, tap, stomp, or massage you.

A round of heavy slaps and vicious kicks could knock tears and snot right out of you.

No one spoke. Teacher Luo looked at Hu Man. "Class monitor, what's going on?"

Class monitor Hu Man stood up with a grim face. "Reporting to the teacher, Xia Yue and the others gave Li Ye nicknames and insulted him. We couldn't stand it, so we argued with them."

Xia Yue immediately said, "Teacher, Hu Man is lying. We weren't arguing because of nicknames.

"Li Ye harmed class unity, and he refused to accept our correction. Hu Man deliberately covered for him."

Hu Man panicked inside and argued, "Teacher, Li Ye did not harm the class's unity. He was only too busy to have time to explain problems to everyone."

"That's not true. Hu Man is lying. We spoke nicely to Li Ye, but he treated us harshly."

"That's right, Teacher Luo. Li Ye and Li Dayong formed a little clique and deliberately split the class into two camps. When Xia Yue was class monitor before, we were never like this."

The situation in the classroom showed signs of spinning out of control.

Teacher Luo did not stop them immediately. Ever since Xia Yue had been replaced as class monitor, Class One had never known peace. He watched coldly from the sidelines, wanting to see just how serious the class's conflicts had become.

And the heart of that conflict was undoubtedly Li Ye and Xia Yue.

Xia Yue, seated in the front row, lowered her head as if deeply grieved. But if someone could have looked up from beneath her desk, they would have seen her smug smile.

Hmph, you have no idea how powerful the masses are!

Li Ye, standing at the center of the storm, looked at the impassioned classmates with the cold stillness of a statue.

"Teacher, when we argued with Li Ye's group, he and Li Dayong even wanted to hit us. He's Mount Carving Eagle, with the habits of a bandit."

Crash—

Li Ye suddenly stood up. In three swift strides, he reached Zhou Chenggong in the front row and grabbed that blind fool by the collar.

"What are you doing? Let go—"

Zhou Chenggong had been speaking with great enthusiasm when Li Ye suddenly seized his padded jacket and dragged him out of his seat. Startled out of his wits, he flailed his arms and legs.

"Li Ye, what are you doing? No violence!"

Committee Member Jin Shengli stood up and shouted at Li Ye.

But if anyone looked closely at his palm, they could clearly see his fingers trembling.

Throughout the past few days of arguments, Li Ye had remained silent. Only Li Dayong, his "henchman," had taken the lead in confronting Xia Yue, Jin Shengli, and the others. Everyone had thought that Li Ye, now a great writer, had changed his temperament and become refined.

But when Li Ye suddenly turned domineering, they realized just how frightening he could be when his ferocity surfaced.

Zhou Shengli was even more frightened.

How dared he? How dared he do this with the teacher present?

He had never had any grudge against Li Ye before. He had only developed resentment after he tried to copy one of Wen Leyu's papers that day and Li Ye glared him away.

Later, Xia Yue said Li Ye was not united with the class, and Zhou Shengli thought she was right. Without realizing it, his character had gradually twisted.

But Zhou Shengli had never truly wanted to oppose Li Ye!

Now that Li Ye had suddenly grabbed him, he was so terrified he was nearly crying.

So many people cursed you. Why did you have to grab only me? Catch the thief, catch the king first!

But no matter how wronged Zhou Shengli felt or how he struggled, he could not break free from Li Ye's grip.

Li Ye dragged him along like a piglet, knocking other students' desks crooked and sending papers and pens scattering across the floor.

Only then did Teacher Luo on the podium react.

But Li Ye remained unmoved. He dragged him all the way to the front of the podium, utterly unafraid even under Teacher Luo's stern gaze.

"Come on. Explain to Teacher Luo why you called me Mount Carving Eagle. And why you called me Huang Shiren. Who taught you that?"

"I... I didn't... waaah—"

Zhou Chenggong was actually an honest, simple child. It was only after Xia Yue provoked and encouraged him that he had dared curse Li Ye as "Mount Carving Eagle." Now, under the combined mental pressure of Teacher Luo and Li Ye, how could he possibly remain calm?

Seeing Teacher Luo's dark face and thinking of Li Ye's hard fists, Zhou Shengli burst into tears on the spot.

Teacher Luo was so furious his teeth nearly shattered from gritting them. He did not need to guess to know that those two nicknames had something to do with Xia Yue.

But Xia Yue had already written a self-criticism once. If he pursued the matter again and the Academic Affairs Office became ruthless enough to put a demerit on her record, it would ruin the girl.

In these times, for a girl to make it to high school and still rank among the best was truly not easy.

When Li Ye saw that Teacher Luo said nothing, he guessed his intentions.

So he said calmly, "Teacher Luo, I truly don't understand why I have been targeted ever since my first day in Class One."

"They gave me nicknames, and I endured it. I have never taken the initiative to cause trouble for anyone. It has always been others who came looking for trouble with me."

"But what did my tolerance bring me?"

"Now they're actually trying to pin the charge of harming unity on my head. Teacher Luo, surely you know how vicious the labels Huang Shiren and harming unity are?"

"What are they trying to do? Are they using the same tricks from several years ago to force me to transfer schools?"

"."

Li Ye's voice was not loud, nor was his tone impassioned, but everyone who heard him felt a chilling, sinister undercurrent.

Teacher Luo's eyes suddenly widened, his face turning grave.

Transfer schools. Li Ye had actually brought up transferring schools.

This was an outcome Teacher Luo had never anticipated, and one he absolutely could not bear.

Li Ye had already officially signed a publishing contract with Blue Sea Publishing House. His name had already been reserved in County Second High School's report on this year's educational achievements, and that name could even be used for many years to come.

County Second High School only sent two or three students to university each year. The report was already difficult enough to write. If this achievement was taken away as well, Principal Chang would shut the door and curse Teacher Luo to death.

"Li Ye, don't be so sensitive, and don't be so agitated. Classmates joking around does not necessarily mean there is any malice.

"The class is a collective. Everyone should help one another. Look... if you took some time to explain problems to everyone, perhaps this misunderstanding about disunity would never have happened."

Teacher Luo still wanted to resolve the conflict within the class, so he patiently tried to persuade Li Ye.

But Li Ye gave a cold laugh. "Teacher Luo, if you think I'm already Huang Shiren, should I still be helping people and explaining problems to them?"

"."

Teacher Luo felt choked up. Li Ye's words were too suffocating.

Yet he had no way to refute him.

If this had happened to him, he would not have been able to endure it either.

It was like someone sitting on your head and making you unfasten his pants so he could take a dump.

Not chopping that bastard's dick off with a knife already counted as restraint.

"Li Ye, come out for a moment."

But as a teacher, Teacher Luo had many things he could not help. He could only pull Li Ye outside and patiently reason with him.

"Student Li Ye, I understand how you feel. You feel wronged and resentful, and neither is wrong.

"But everyone came here for the college entrance examination. If we cannot even maintain order in the class, how can anyone study?

"If I give Xia Yue and Zhou Shengli serious demerits, won't everyone's grudges only grow deeper?

"You are all classmates. Once you begin working in the future, you may still be able to help one another. Li Ye, be magnanimous just this once. Reconcile with them!"

Li Ye looked at the earnest Teacher Luo and shook his head slightly. "Teacher Luo, the nickname Huang Shiren did not appear only a day or two ago. I believe the teachers in this school could not possibly have been unaware of it, but the result is truly disappointing."

"You do not need to give Xia Yue and Zhou Shengli demerits, but it would not be difficult to summon their parents once, would it?"

"Not difficult," Teacher Luo immediately said. "Tomorrow, I'll have them call in their parents. They'll be properly criticized and educated. That hateful nickname will absolutely not be allowed to spread through the school again."

Li Ye nodded, then added, "Besides, we came here to study too. We also need a quiet environment for studying, but that seems difficult now, so..."

"So what?"

Teacher Luo's heart tightened. He was terribly afraid Li Ye would say the words "transfer schools."

"So, the few of us won't come to self-study periods anymore!"

"The few of you?" Teacher Luo asked in surprise. "Who else? What do you mean, you won't come to self-study periods?"

Li Ye said, "Teacher Luo, I have actually already told my family about the situation in class. So that I can study in peace and write quietly, they cleared out a warehouse for me at the Second Grain Store across from the school."

"Hu Man, Li Dayong, Fu Yingjie, and the others have already clashed with Xia Yue's group. Reconciliation is impossible in the short term."

"The Second Grain Store happens to have plenty of space, as well as a stove. There are no restrictions after lights-out either. If we squeeze in, it will be just right for seven or eight of us."

Teacher Luo sucked in a breath. "Wouldn't that be inappropriate?"

Li Ye said, "We'll still attend regular classes as usual. We simply won't come for self-study periods, and at night they'll still return to the school dormitory to sleep."

"Then I'll have to trouble you, Li Ye."

Teacher Luo agreed.

Many commuting students did not attend evening self-study to begin with. If Li Ye took Hu Man, Li Dayong, and these "troublemakers" away from Xia Yue, then at least they would no longer quarrel and disrupt everyone's studies. The class would return to its former peace.

Though this might be somewhat unfair to Li Ye, it was already the solution with the smallest impact.

"Heh. If I can't afford to provoke them, I can at least avoid them."

With Li Ye's current status and ability, it was impossible for him to expel Xia Yue or have her receive a serious demerit. If he used the old man to deal with a female student whose feathers had not even fully grown, the old man would look down on him too.

As for "avoiding them," that had long been Li Ye's plan.

The chaotic self-study environment had seriously affected both his writing and his studies. Continuing to waste energy on someone like Xia Yue, a "child," would only affect the grades of him and the few companions around him.

Li Ye was not a saint, but neither was he a heartless man.

Fu Yingjie, Hu Man, and the others were already like fire and water with Xia Yue. If he slipped away alone, their situation in the class would not be good.

A person had to be decent. When it came to friends, he had to be even more loyal.