Scoundrels

At first light, Liu Chang'an woke right on time. He switched on the bedside lamp, washed his face and brushed his teeth, then headed out for a run in his shorts and T-shirt.

As usual, he avoided Baolong Center. With Zhu Juntang's temperament, she would never give up easily. Throughout history, there had been plenty of ambitious women like her. Most were foolish and eager to control powerful men, using them as a source of confidence.

By comparison, Zhu Juntang was especially beautiful. Liu Chang'an had seen plenty of stunning beauties renowned throughout history, but most of them paled beside Zhu Juntang.

Thanks to nutrition, skincare, cosmetics, and natural evolution, most modern women surpassed women of the past in complexion, height, and figure.

A girl like Qin Yanan would have been a once-in-a-millennium beauty in ancient times. But with the exception of a few dynasties, the scholars who set the standards for beauty probably wouldn't have appreciated her ample bust. Besides, she was far taller than those frail scholars.

For the elite in a patriarchal society, if they wanted to take women as playthings, this was probably the best era. All kinds of stunning, bewitching women were blooming in a thousand different forms.

Liu Chang'an wasn't so aggressively chauvinistic that he rejected Zhu Juntang's offer on principle. He didn't care whether he worked for a man or a woman. But there was no doubt that Zhu Juntang's temperament couldn't support her ambition... Simply trying to recruit Liu Chang'an would have made the long-dead people who had left behind illustrious reputations grin coldly from their graves.

He ran the planned route at his usual high speed, then bought some noodles at the market. Today, he was having noodles tossed with lard again. He'd fried up some pork fat with ginger and garlic; a sprinkling of chopped scallions made it smell irresistible.

The refrigerator really was a great invention. In the past, a lard sauce like the one Liu Chang'an made would only keep for about twenty days in summer before its flavor changed and its fragrance faded. These days, it could stay fragrant for up to ninety days.

As for the leftover dog meat and sauce from yesterday, he packed them in a food container to take to school for lunch.

Zhou Dongdong came by with some soy milk and left the sealed bag by the door.

"Brother Chang'an, you're not killing a dog today?" Zhou Dongdong asked, watching Liu Chang'an come out. She had the soy milk bag between her teeth.

"I'm killing a chicken today."

As he spoke, Liu Chang'an went to the carriage and opened the door to peer inside. Then he casually lifted Zhou Dongdong down as she quickly climbed the ladder, trying to get in.

The carriage was silent. As a child, Zhou Dongdong still had the sharp sixth sense she'd been born with; it hadn't completely faded yet. After Liu Chang'an pulled her down, she didn't insist on climbing back up. Instead, she ran far away, stood on a brick, and peered in on tiptoe.

Liu Chang'an found the little hen in the corner of the carriage. It was stiff all over. There wasn't a hint of life in his hands—not even as much as there had been in yesterday's dog head. At least that had shown it was once part of a living creature... The hen, on the other hand, seemed as if it had never been alive at all, without a trace of vitality or warmth.

Liu Chang'an carried the little hen out of the carriage and looked up at the parasol tree. Sure enough, none of the leaves still clinging to its branches had fallen.

It didn't have much of an appetite. He ought to be able to afford to keep it... Liu Chang'an took a shovel and dug a hole in a faraway corner. He buried the little hen and covered it loosely with soil. There was no way he could eat it now. With no vitality or warmth left in it, no matter how he stewed it, it would have neither nutrition nor flavor.

Zhou Dongdong watched Liu Chang'an with wide eyes. When he was nearly done burying the hen, she went and hid under the stairs, peeking out from there.

"If you bury the little hen in the ground, centipedes will crawl inside its body. Aren't you scared?" Liu Chang'an teased her.

Zhou Dongdong had been planning to wait until Liu Chang'an left and then dig up the hen. As soon as she heard him, she shouted, "I'm not scared of stinky centipedes!" and hurried home.

Kids were such a nuisance. Liu Chang'an put away the shovel and headed to class, riding the bicycle he'd brought home the previous evening.

As Liu Chang'an parked, Zhao Wuqiang rode up on his own bicycle and stopped beside him, smiling.

"Funny how things turn out. Everyone figured you and Bai Hui had fallen out, but somehow you ended up sharing a desk with her," Zhao Wuqiang said with a sigh.

"Yeah. Sitting beside Bai Hui made me realize she's really cute, and she has a great figure too. She's like a girl from an anime," Liu Chang'an said cheerfully.

Zhao Wuqiang froze for a moment, then smiled. "Aren't you into An Nuan?"

Liu Chang'an nodded, patted Zhao Wuqiang on the shoulder, and leisurely made his way into the school.

"Liu Chang'an!"

Liu Chang'an turned around and saw Bai Hui standing behind him. He and Zhao Wuqiang had been standing behind the bus stop's rain shelter, and Bai Hui had come from the other side.

"What a coincidence." Zhao Wuqiang shrugged, acting as if nothing had happened, and went on ahead.

"So you heard that?" Liu Chang'an stopped and looked at Bai Hui, whose cheeks were slightly flushed.

"You knew I was here and said that on purpose, didn't you?" Bai Hui looked at Liu Chang'an, doing her best not to show any expression.

"Zhao Wuqiang thought so too. He probably even called me a schemer or something," Liu Chang'an said regretfully. "What a misunderstanding. I was speaking from the heart."

"Who would believe you?" Bai Hui lifted her chin and walked past him. Her hair swept by, wafting the fresh scent of her shampoo across the tip of Liu Chang'an's nose.

No need to praise the splendor of peach and plum blossoms;

They've already stolen half the spring breeze.

Liu Chang'an didn't believe himself either, so he continued on his leisurely way to school. He didn't go straight to the classroom, but instead sat in the gymnasium. As soon as he sat down, he saw An Nuan and the other volleyball team members come out of the changing room in their uniforms. The team had practically gathered all the Affiliated High School's long, athletic legs in one place.

The first- and second-year students practiced before morning self-study and after school. An Nuan could arrange her own schedule. Aside from the Junsha City High School Volleyball League in June, she no longer took part in the other minor competitions.

"Warmie, Liu Chang'an's getting bolder and bolder. He doesn't even go to morning self-study anymore."

"He's here to look at you guys. He's a lecher who loves watching little girls like you."

"Bah! If he were a lecher, you'd have been defiled ages ago!"

"Hehe, do you guys think An Nuan's still a little girl like the rest of you?"

"Ah! Ah! I'm going to... Beat you up!"

After fooling around for a bit, the girls began to warm up. Just then, the gym's side door swung open. A huge figure stepped into the light, casting a shadow across the floor. He crooked a finger at Liu Chang'an.

Liu Chang'an followed him outside. When An Nuan noticed, she hurried after him. The only person at school that tall and burly was Chen Changxiu!

When An Nuan ran over, she was stunned to find Liu Chang'an sitting leisurely on the steps behind the gym, while Chen Changxiu lay on the ground, bruised and swollen, rolling around.

"Ah... Are you all right?" An Nuan looked Liu Chang'an over. Fortunately, he didn't look hurt at all.

At the sound of An Nuan's voice, Chen Changxiu stopped rolling around. It was embarrassing, after all. He gritted his teeth and got to his feet, looking at Liu Chang'an with a hint of fear.

"I'm fine. Chen just took a fall."

"You..." Chen Changxiu started to protest, but if he told anyone what had happened—that Liu Chang'an had beaten him up—it wouldn't exactly save face.

"They were just saying how bold you've gotten. Be careful, okay? Don't get into trouble before the college entrance exams," An Nuan said with concern. At least Chen Changxiu had been the one who got beaten. If Liu Chang'an got beaten up before the exams, it could affect his results.

"I can't help it. I'm just getting used to it in advance. Volleyball beauties were already turning heads in high school. What will it be like in college? You have to understand, college boys have even less to do. A lot of them spend all their time staring at the new beauties on campus. I'll have to deal with them one by one. Chen Changxiu was just the beginning." Liu Chang'an looked at his fist with satisfaction. "Good thing I've got hard fists."

"Your fists are hard? You're proud of fighting, too?" An Nuan's cheeks flushed with anger. There were too many things Liu Chang'an had said that made her want to scold him, like how she'd be turning heads, and how he planned to keep fighting in college. So she picked one thing and took him to task.

An Nuan thumped Liu Chang'an's fist. He shouldn't be acting so smug about fighting.

Liu Chang'an staggered, his expression changing. He did a backflip off the steps, clutched his chest, and said, "Your fists are harder, miss!"

An Nuan was both amused and exasperated. She ran over, made a fist, and pounded his shoulder, stamping her feet as she scolded him playfully.

"Hit here!" Liu Chang'an pointed at his chest. "When girls swing their little fists around, they usually punch a guy in the chest."

"You're so annoying!" An Nuan obliged and punched him once in the chest.

"You... shameless couple!" Chen Changxiu shouted furiously. Clutching his head, he ran off. He hadn't expected not only to get beaten up by Liu Chang'an, but also to have to watch such a shameless scene. He'd gotten goosebumps. So the rumors that An Nuan liked getting handsy with Liu Chang'an were true after all.

"Did you go easy on him just now?" An Nuan gave an indignant huff.

"No!"

"Good." Her eyes flickered as she lowered her gaze to her own long legs. Too bad Liu Chang'an still preferred Bai Hui's big breasts. After all, long legs weren't as important as a big chest. She quickly brought her thoughts back to the conversation. "You... you meant that things will be the same when we're in college?"

"Of course."

Sunlight fell across the side of his face. His eyes were warm, and he still gave off the familiar feeling An Nuan knew so well. That forest-like scent seemed to wrap around her. She rose onto her toes, and suddenly her heart felt like a fawn at full gallop, halted by a hunter's bullet. Just a little... just a little more, and she really would have gone crazy. How could a girl feel such a powerful urge to do that in an instant?

"You were just about to kiss me?"

"Bah, I wasn't! Dream on!"

"If I had that kind of dream, you wouldn't hit me?"

"If you don't tell me, how would I hit you?"

"What's the point if I don't tell you? Didn't I say you were cuter when you got mad?"

"I'm cute all the time! You're picking on me again!"

The sunlight was gentle, and the Dragon Boat Festival was drawing near.