Jiang Shu had not said anything yet when his deskmate, Wang Han, quickly spoke up. As he did, he placed the books on his own desk in front of Jiang Shu again, as though that was only natural.
"Ah, I thought you were just under a lot of pressure and would come back after taking some time to adjust. Horse Stance seems pretty hard, too. Our school has Martial Arts Students, doesn't it? None of them have reached minor mastery yet, and they'll probably only get into a junior college in the future. Honestly, I think they'd be better off taking a shot at the college entrance exam. Maybe they could even make the cutoff for an undergraduate program."
"After all, becoming a martial artist looks incredibly difficult. A thousand catties of strength—that would make you a one-man army in ancient times. It's just too hard."
Xu Shuhui shook her head. She was the class's study committee member. In her mind, studying was the most important thing, the most fundamental thing. Even though Mr. Zheng had said so much at today's lecture, she still felt that martial artists changing their fate was just an exception, something that happened to a select few.
An isolated case couldn't represent the whole.
Practicing martial arts might not really change your fate.
But studying hard and getting into a good university really could.
"Pfft, Xu Shuhui, were you even listening to the lecture today? Didn't you hear that Mr. Zheng guy say that the martial arts path would be the real future? Jiang Shu took time off to study martial arts. His future's bright now. Why would he care about studying?"
Wang Han curled his lip. He seemed to be taking Jiang Shu's side and praising him.
In truth, the mockery in his tone was unmistakable.
Maybe practicing martial arts offered a bright future for some people. But what was Jiang Shu?
He went to the dorm alone and ate alone.
Senior year was almost over, and he still hadn't made friends with anyone in class. Wang Han had sent him several messages asking to use the desk, and Jiang Shu hadn't even replied.
A pig with a scallion stuck in its snout, pretending to be an elephant!
Always acting like he was special.
What use would someone like that be once he entered society?
Still, Jiang Shu could only act tough on Weixin.
Like now. Wang Han had put his books on the desk right in front of him.
And Jiang Shu still hadn't said a word!
Useless!
He was only cut out for junior college!
"There's no harm in studying more. It's double insurance. Even if you don't succeed at martial arts and end up at a junior college, you can still get into an undergraduate program through a top-up degree."
Xu Shuhui had grown up with a traditional family education, and her thinking was both conservative and idealistic. She looked at Jiang Shu and couldn't help offering her advice.
"Jiang Shu, what's the point of practicing martial arts? Did you hear that? Xu Shuhui's telling you to get a top-up degree. Hahaha!"
"And Xu Shuhui, you care about Jiang Shu so much. Don't tell me you've got a crush on him?"
Wang Han's voice grew louder and louder. He practically shouted the words "got a crush," as if he wanted everyone in the classroom to hear. He really hadn't expected Xu Shuhui to say the very thing he'd been wanting to say.
A top-up degree, hahaha.
That was hilarious.
Someone who could only get into an undergraduate program by topping up after junior college was still thinking about practicing martial arts?
They were classmates. What was he pretending to be?
Everyone knew exactly how much he was worth.
"Wang Han, what nonsense are you talking about?!"
Xu Shuhui's bright eyes flew wide open, a trace of anger flashing in them. She immediately turned her head toward him, but it was already too late.
With the pressure of senior year weighing so heavily on them, nothing grabbed the class's attention like news about their classmates.
At that moment, who knew how many eyes were fixed on their corner of the room?
Wang Han, however, didn't care in the least that Xu Shuhui was angry. He crossed his arms, looking utterly pleased with himself.
A simple remark could change someone's mood. It could set the whole class buzzing.
He reveled in all those eyes on him.
As if, at that moment, he were the star of the class.
His knack for words, far beyond anyone his age, was what gave him confidence about making his way in society!
Wang Han was sure that whether he went into government or business, he'd accomplish great things.
He didn't believe what Zheng Yanbo had said. If martial artists were really so powerful, why weren't other countries taking up martial arts?
Future martial artists would be nothing more than super soldiers in the military and super bodyguards for business conglomerates.
The ones who truly controlled this world—
were still—
power and money!
Amid Wang Han's boisterous laughter, every student in the class turned to look at Jiang Shu and Xu Shuhui.
At that moment, Jiang Shu and Xu Shuhui seemed to have become actors on a stage.
Xu Shuhui's eyes had gone red. She clenched her teeth and stared at Wang Han, unable to say a word.
She had always focused only on her studies. This was the first time she'd encountered something like this, and she had no idea how to handle it.
She only knew that the more she tried to explain, the more outrageous the rumors would become.
All she could do was sit frozen in her seat. She wished she could bury her head in the dirt like an ostrich and shut out everything, care about nothing.
But just then, she saw Jiang Shu—the usually quiet boy in the classroom—stand up.
Under the scrutiny of dozens of eyes, he spoke, breaking the silence:
"Wang Han, has no one ever told you that you talk too much?"
They had been deskmates for more than a year, and there had already been plenty of friction between him and Wang Han.
After breaking free of the In-Utero Mystery, Jiang Shu had focused entirely on martial arts and stopped paying attention to the petty affairs of the class.
He'd thought their conflicts would fade with time.
He hadn't expected that ignoring them again and again would only make Wang Han go too far.
Fine.
Today, he'd settle every last grievance at once.
As he watched Xu Shuhui, now at a loss under the gaze of so many classmates, Jiang Shu spoke unhurriedly. "Wang Han, you used my desk without getting my permission, didn't you? I haven't even called you out for it, and now you're going around wagging your tongue."
"You spread a few rumors and think you've grasped the truth, think you've got people figured out. What, are you the only clear-eyed one in the whole class? If Xu Shuhui really had a crush on me, why was there nothing in sophomore year? Nothing in senior year? Why did you only notice after I took time off and came back to spend a few minutes in the classroom?"
"If you've really got that kind of eye for things, I don't think you should keep studying. Head out of school, go to the bus stop, take bus seven for three stops, and get off. There's a police station within a hundred meters. Go apply there and see if they're hiring police dogs."
"At least that'd be a government job. It'd be a lot more useful than going to junior college."
After more than ten years of roughing it in society in his previous life, Jiang Shu might not have made a great success of himself, but he'd learned how to read people.
Wang Han's behavior now was nothing more than that of a clown desperate for attention.
He wasn't any good at studying, so he wanted to prove how impressive he was in some other way.
When Jiang Shu didn't want to deal with him, he could simply ignore him.
But the moment Jiang Shu spoke—
what was Wang Han to him?
"One last thing: I only took time off. I didn't drop out. So the desk is still mine, and the books in it are still mine. Before you apply at the police station, you'd better bring my books back and put every single one of them back in the desk."
"Think of it as a chance to train your abilities. Police dogs must have exercises where they find things and bring them back."
"Jiang Shu!"
Wang Han had never imagined that Jiang Shu, who'd always seemed so easy to bully, would say something so vicious today.
Police station. Police dog.
Jiang Shu had actually dared to say that about him!
Who did he think he was?
So what if Wang Han had used the desk?
Jiang Shu had taken time off. Why couldn't Wang Han use it?
The angrier Wang Han got, the more the fury blazed inside him, shooting straight to his head.
He shot to his feet, pointed a finger at Jiang Shu's nose, and started cursing. "Jiang Shu, didn't I message you on Weixin to ask if I could use the desk? You were the one who didn't reply! What, you took time off, and now nobody's allowed to use your desk? You think the school's facilities belong to you? Disgusting!"
"I just tossed your books in a corner of the classroom. I didn't sell them as wastepaper or burn them to ashes. And you want me to bring them back? If you care so much about reading, take them home and read them yourself. Why are you pretending to be some model student now, acting like the books in the desk have to be yours?"
"The desks in this classroom don't belong to you. They belong to the school. If you're not using yours, all of us can!"
The more Wang Han spoke from his supposed moral high ground, the more self-righteous he sounded.
As soon as he finished, the boys who usually hung out with him chimed in from the other side. "Exactly. Jiang Shu, you're not even using the desk. What's wrong with Wang Han putting his books there? You've been deskmates for more than a year. You won't even let him put his books there?"
"I don't think it's a big deal either. If I took time off to switch to the martial arts track, I wouldn't just let you use my desk. You could even use my books as spares. I'm not planning to take the college entrance exam anyway."
"As for the crush thing, Wang Han was only joking! Why can't you take a joke? Of course we know Xu Shuhui wouldn't have a crush on you. She's the study committee member, and she's pretty. What could she possibly see in you? Take a look in the mirror!"
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