Chapter 3

The family's circumstances had changed dramatically because of his younger brother's good fortune. Lu Chi was proud of his brother, but he also felt a little melancholy over being such a useless older brother. Yet before those feelings could fully brew, they were scared out of existence after the first episode of Exchange Lives aired—his brother, his gentle-tempered brother who had never fought or competed with anyone since childhood, who never held grudges even when bullied, had actually faced more than ten criminals armed with knives and guns while empty-handed, and had even been threatened at gunpoint—

What if that homemade gun had gone off? The thought that his brother might have been hurt or... made Lu Chi's hands and feet turn cold with fear. He wished he could reach into the television, drag that little brat Lu Heng out, and stuff him into his pocket. Why was he so damn reckless?!

"You idiot!" Lu Chi sat back down at his desk, tapping the grinning, goofy-looking little head of Lu Heng in the family photo with his long index finger. Then he pulled a thick stack of textbooks and exercise books from his schoolbag.

At nine-thirty that evening, just as bustling Yanjing began its nightlife, Lu Chi began his own tutoring plan. The moment he saw Exchange Lives, Lu Chi understood that his transfer to the best high school in China had been bought with his brother's life on the line. He had no right to waste time, nor did he have the energy to concern himself with trivial matters around him.

All he could do was study, study desperately. Only by making something of himself through learning could he avoid letting down his brother's efforts and his parents' expectations.

However, things in this world rarely went as one wished!

On Monday morning, after seeing his younger sister off, Lu Chi ran into the classroom just as the morning self-study bell rang, only to discover in astonishment that the entire class was staring at him.

Completely baffled, Lu Chi returned to his seat. His deskmate, Pan Tianbo, was grinning slyly and wiggling his eyebrows at him. "You've got skills, huh? You've only been here a few days, and you've already won over the school beauty."

What? Lu Chi looked utterly lost.

"Stop pretending!" Pan Tianbo nudged Lu Chi with his elbow. "The school beauty confessed to you on the school bulletin board!"

Lu Chi: "...(ー_ー)??"

Chapter 3

Pan Tianbo cautiously glanced around, then pulled a crumpled A4 sheet from his uniform pocket. It had been folded over and over, with traces of double-sided tape along the edges. He hunched over the desk furtively, using it as cover, and swiftly slipped the paper into Lu Chi's hand with the movements of an underground operative making a covert handoff. Then, with the swagger of someone who had uncovered an imperial decree, he bragged, "I tore this off the school bulletin board while no one was looking. See for yourself."

Lu Chi: "..."

Suspiciously, he unfolded the wrinkled A4 sheet. The first thing he saw was a sketch. The boy in the portrait had handsome features, a high nose bridge, and thin lips that were habitually pressed together, giving him an air of quiet determination. Though the outline was somewhat blurry, anyone who had seen Lu Chi would recognize him at a glance—it was enough to prove the artist's considerable skill.

Below the portrait was a line of small writing—

"Please meet me at the pavilion beside the artificial lake at twelve noon. I will wait for you."

It was signed by Qiao Shiyu of Class One, Grade Two.

"Tell me, what exactly is going on? You've only transferred here a few days ago. How did you hook up with the school beauty already? Do you know the boys in our class are practically dying of envy?" Pan Tianbo practically draped half his body over Lu Chi as he asked curiously.

"It's nothing. I don't know her. This isn't a confession." Lu Chi's response was brief and to the point. He returned the A4 paper to Pan Tianbo, opened his schoolbag, and pulled out his English textbook. Today's morning class was Chinese. The Chinese class representative was leading the class in reciting the ancient poems and prose required by the exam syllabus, occasionally sneaking glances in their direction. Under the class representative's gaze, Pan Tianbo awkwardly rubbed his nose and immediately began reciting along with everyone else. But Lu Chi could not study step by step like the others—he was too far behind and had to hurry through all the key material from the second semester of Grade Two and all of Grade Three on his own.

Pan Tianbo watched Lu Chi bury his head in memorizing vocabulary, and the gossiping spirit within him blazed fiercely.

There were probably many other classmates just as bored as Pan Tianbo. By the time they went out for exercises after the second period, Lu Chi helplessly noticed that more and more people were "passing by" the field to stare at him. From time to time, he could hear whispers of, "That's him," and, "He's Lu Chi."

Lu Chi stood expressionlessly at the back of his class's formation, suddenly understanding how a monkey in a zoo felt when surrounded by onlookers.

Pan Tianbo, standing beside him, held his head high and puffed out his chest as though he shared in the glory. He leaned over with a grin and wiggled his eyebrows. "See that? You've become a campus celebrity—"

Before he could finish, an angry voice cut him off!

"You're that Road Idiot?"

"Can't you read? His name is Lu Chi, not Road Idiot. Show some respect—" Pan Tianbo raised an eyebrow. He had already been annoyed at being interrupted and was about to crack a joke, but the moment he saw who had come, his expression changed. He darted to Lu Chi's side and said nervously, "Oh no. Trouble's here."

Hearing that, Lu Chi followed Pan Tianbo's gaze—and saw three tall, lean boys approaching aggressively. They wore orange basketball uniforms beneath the school uniforms of Yanda Affiliated High School.

The boy in front did not stop until he was right in front of Lu Chi. He was a head taller than Lu Chi, with long limbs and a well-proportioned frame. He held a basketball in one hand, and the muscles in his arm formed smooth lines with every movement, making him look like an attack-ready cheetah. He lacked none of the lanky thinness typical of boys his age.

Perhaps because he had just finished a game, sweat covered the boy's head and face, with droplets even running down from the tips of his hair. He blinked, then simply lifted the hem of his shirt to wipe his face. The unruly movement revealed the faint outline of eight-pack abs and a handsome V-line. The girls standing nearby immediately let out squeals they tried, but failed, to suppress. The boy paid them no attention. His clear, dark eyes fixed on Lu Chi, who had retreated more than half a step. He raised his thick, sharply defined brows, stepped forward again to close the distance, and a ferocity and sternness far beyond his age appeared on his handsome face. "I don't care whether you're Road Idiot or Lu Chi. Either way, you're not allowed to be with Qiao Shiyu!"