Insane

Su Ming calmly turned his head to look over, only to see Chen Tong with both feet propped on the table and a mocking expression on his face.

Su Ming did not get angry, however. He merely replied calmly.

"Then you go!"

"Why should I? I'm not going."

Chen Tong answered with a cold laugh.

"If you're not going, then shut up. Minke, let's go!"

Su Ming could not be bothered to argue with Chen Tong. He simply stood up and walked toward Minke.

"Okay!"

Minke nodded.

However, just as Su Ming and Minke were about to leave through the doorway, Chen Tong suddenly stood up and shouted.

"Wait!"

"What?"

Su Ming turned his head toward Chen Tong.

Chen Tong sauntered over and said,

"I'm going too."

"Weren't you not going? Why do you want to go now?"

Su Ming looked Chen Tong up and down as he replied.

"That's none of your business. I feel like it."

Chen Tong answered with an arrogant, punchable expression.

Minke was worried that Su Ming and Chen Tong might start arguing, so he quickly said,

"Since you want to go, then let's go together. I'm sure Teacher Tang will be very happy to see us."

Su Ming did not say anything more, and the three of them left together.

An hour later.

The three of them appeared inside a residential building near the school. Minke stepped forward and knocked on the door in front of them.

Knock, knock~

The tightly closed door soon opened. A middle-aged woman with slightly graying hair, a face full of wrinkles, and a kind appearance looked curiously at the three of them.

"Who are you?"

"Auntie, is this Teacher Tang's home? We're Teacher Tang's students."

"Oh, yes. I'm his mother. Come in quickly."

Tang Yan's mother warmly invited the three of them inside.

Su Ming entered the house and looked around. The furniture inside was somewhat old-fashioned. The table and chairs were clearly aged, and the living room was also rather small. The entire apartment was probably only a little over eighty square meters.

"Why don't I see the teacher?"

Minke asked in confusion.

"He's in that room. Go on in."

Tang Yan's mother said with a smile.

After hearing this, the three of them walked to the entrance of Tang Yan's room.

The door was only ajar.

"Teacher, we've come to visit you."

Minke called out, but there was no response.

Su Ming and the other two exchanged a glance before pushing open the door and entering.

The cramped room was completely covered by drawn curtains, leaving it dim inside.

The alarm clock on the bedside table kept making a ticking sound.

Su Ming and the other two looked toward the bed. Tang Yan was curled up at the edge, his entire body wrapped in a blanket and his head buried between his knees, like an injured ostrich.

Minke stepped forward and asked worriedly,

"Teacher Tang, are you all right?"

"All right? How could I be all right? My life... my love..."

Tang Yan kept his head down and replied dejectedly.

Seeing Tang Yan in this state gave Su Ming a headache. Still, no matter how he looked at it, Tang Yan's condition seemed to have something to do with him. After thinking it over, he consoled him,

"Teacher Tang, you have to pull yourself together. Although your dreams may seem distant, what matters in life is striving. As long as there is even the slightest chance, we can't give up! When you succeed, everything you've suffered will be nothing more than a little wind and frost."

"You mean... I still have hope?"

Tang Yan slowly raised his head and looked at Su Ming, a trace of anticipation in his eyes.

"Of course you do. You're such a good person, Teacher. Surely good things will come to you."

Seeing that Tang Yan had regained a sliver of hope, Minke hurriedly encouraged him.

Su Ming also quickly pressed the advantage and comforted him.

"Teacher Tang, you have to work hard now. You're not fighting alone—you still have us! As long as you teach us well, won't you have a chance at that spot? Then you'll be able to pursue your dream."

"That's right. I still have hope. It's just..."

A faint flame of hope suddenly ignited in Tang Yan.

At this moment, Minke looked at Chen Tong, signaling with his eyes for him to say something too instead of standing there like a block of wood.

Chen Tong was somewhat unwilling, but he still opened his mouth.

"Teacher, although you're already so old, there's still hope in the end."

"Ah, am I already old? Sure enough, it's over. You're only comforting me. In reality, I don't have any hope left at all."

The faint flame of hope in Tang Yan's heart was completely extinguished as if someone had poured a basin of cold water over it. He immediately buried his head in his knees again.

Su Ming and Minke looked at Chen Tong at the same time. Their hard-won consolation had been completely ruined by him.

Chen Tong shrugged, looking as though he had not meant to do it.

Su Ming and Minke had no choice but to continue comforting Teacher Tang.

"Teacher, that's not what Chen Tong meant. You're not old at all. We have such long lifespans."

More than an hour later.

Under the night sky, the three of them listlessly left Teacher Tang's home and walked along the deserted, chilly street.

"Chen Tong, you said Su Ming didn't know how to talk, but you're no better!"

Minke was truly about to go insane. They had originally come to comfort Teacher Tang, but now the situation had become even worse.

"Tch, what could I do? He's the one who's too sensitive."

Chen Tong replied disdainfully, both hands in his pockets.

"You know Teacher Tang is fragile right now, yet you still speak without thinking. What are we supposed to do now? If Teacher Tang can't get himself together, we'll still have to study by ourselves tomorrow. There isn't a substitute teacher right now."

Minke replied angrily.

"What's it got to do with me? I don't care."

Chen Tong stubbornly insisted, refusing to back down.

Just then, Su Ming, who was walking ahead, suddenly stopped. Chen Tong and Minke, arguing behind him, nearly bumped into him because they failed to stop in time.

"Su Ming, why did you suddenly stop?"

Minke asked Su Ming in confusion.

Su Ming did not answer Minke. Instead, he slightly furrowed his brows and looked ahead.

Minke and Chen Tong immediately sensed that something was wrong and looked forward as well. Ten thugs with unfriendly expressions emerged from the alley ahead. They wore garish clothes and carried wooden sticks.

The leader was a muscular man with a full beard and orange hair, a cigarette dangling from his mouth.

They walked straight up to the three of them and blocked their path.

One of the underlings said excitedly,

"Brother Qiang, it's that fat bastard. We finally managed to corner him."

"As if I needed you to tell me."

Wang Qiang replied with a cold laugh.

Su Ming took a deep breath. Sure enough, they had come for him. He had truly been careless; he should not have left the school.

There was no point regretting it, though. What was meant to come would come eventually. Su Ming turned his head toward Minke and Chen Tong and said,

"They're here for me. This has nothing to do with you two. Leave."

"No. As the class monitor, how could I possibly abandon you?"

Minke said with an overwhelming sense of responsibility, even adopting a boxing stance.

Seeing that Minke was not leaving, Su Ming turned his head toward Chen Tong. When he saw Chen Tong standing there without moving, he asked curiously,

"Why aren't you leaving?"

"Hmph. You tell me to leave and I'm supposed to go? Don't I have any dignity? I'm not leaving today."

Chen Tong replied arrogantly.

"All right, then we'll go together."

Su Ming smiled wryly. Although Chen Tong was sharp-tongued and usually unbearably arrogant, he was genuinely loyal when it mattered.