Chapter 3

Suave.

Before Jiang Chi could react, Song Zhiyan punched him in the face. Jiang Chi stumbled back two steps, his gaze turning vicious.

Shen Zhao noticed none of it. He grabbed Song Zhiyan. "Yan Gouzi, beat him up!"

Song Zhiyan pushed Shen Zhao away, pulled his uniform zipper all the way down, and stripped off his jacket, tossing it straight onto Gu Wang's head. "Wangwang, hold this for me."

Gu Wang: "..."

Gu Wang tugged Song Zhiyan's jacket off his head. How come he hadn't been this hotheaded in high school? They had barely exchanged two sentences, and the boys in front of him had already turned into fighting roosters, just waiting for the order to start pecking.

He caught Song Zhiyan's T-shirt and pulled him back, then stood up, shielding Shen Zhao and Song Zhiyan behind him. He flashed Jiang Chi a toothy smile. "Jiang Chi, what do you want?"

Song Zhiyan gaped at him, utterly baffled. "Wangwang, what do you mean by this? Why talk when you can settle it with a fight?"

Shen Zhao chimed in repeatedly. "Yeah, exactly!"

Gu Wang: "..." He wasn't a combative person. Back in high school, he had been one of the popular kids, too. His smooth-sailing life had seen almost no upheaval or conflict. Even the school's notorious troublemakers had called him their brother.

As for this male lead from the book... strictly speaking, he was only three years younger than Gu Wang, putting them more or less in the same age group. Becoming buddies like Shen Zhao and Song Zhiyan might be difficult, but putting aside their hatred and making peace shouldn't be much of a problem, Gu Wang thought.

"I don't like fighting."

The moment Gu Wang finished speaking, an iron fist came flying straight at his face.

Jiang Chi was an athlete. He looked slim in clothes, but underneath, he was all muscle. That punch nearly took Gu Wang, the pampered young master, half a lifetime to recover from.

Caught completely off guard, Gu Wang took the hit squarely. He bent over, clutching his face, and heard Jiang Chi's arrogant voice ring out beside his ear. "I don't want anything. Today's just a warning. Keep pestering him, and it won't be as simple as one punch."

That "him" referred to He Qinghuan.

Jiang Chi hadn't expected Gu Wang to be so easy to deal with today. He had always been this weak, but he was a fucking nightmare to shake off, resorting to every shameless, dirty trick imaginable: pulling hair, biting, grabbing dicks. This was the first time he had just stood there and taken a beating.

Jiang Chi looked at the boy clutching his face, scoffed, and turned to leave.

As Gu Wang recovered, much of his vision was blurred. He saw that his hand was covered in blood! Jiang Chi had actually given him a nosebleed with one punch!

That was the last straw!

He would hit him back first!

He grabbed Song Zhiyan's uniform jacket and wiped his face, smearing blood over half of it. With his face full of menace, he looked like a vicious thug. Once he finished wiping, he picked up the basketball from the floor and hurled it at Jiang Chi, who was about to leave the classroom.

Jiang Chi's back stiffened. He slowly turned around, his face icy.

"You motherfucker!" Gu Wang charged at Jiang Chi at a fifty-meter sprint. Jiang Chi lost his balance and fell onto his back. Gu Wang seized his collar, his fists raining down in a rapid barrage.

Everyone in the classroom was stunned by the scene.

Shen Zhao and Song Zhiyan froze where they stood, too. Shen Zhao turned to Song Zhiyan and stammered, "Didn't Wangwang just say he didn't like fighting?"

Song Zhiyan scoffed. "When have you ever seen him run into Jiang Chi without fighting?"

Author's note: Gu Wang: Studies and fighting, I've got both covered.

Chapter 5

The teachers' office.

Wearing glasses, Li Shuya was marking homework. Without looking up, she said, "Gu Wang, do you know how many times this has happened this week?"

Gu Wang didn't know. Those were the Original Host's sins.

When Li Shuya heard no reply, she put down her pen and turned her chair toward Gu Wang. He had washed his face before coming to the office. His wet hair lay across his forehead, and his eyelashes were damp, clumped into little strands by the water. He actually looked rather pitiful.

But that was all appearances. She didn't know whether anyone else deserved pity, but Gu Wang certainly didn't. He was a little tyrant who ran wild at school.

Gu Wang hadn't originally intended to fight the male lead. He genuinely hadn't expected him to be so violent. He had never been hit growing up; he had been cherished all his life. When had anyone ever beaten him like that? Not even in a book was that acceptable.

He refused to believe he couldn't outmaneuver a high school student.

Besides, the conflict between him and the male lead wasn't over anything else. It mainly stemmed from He Qinghuan. As long as Gu Wang stopped pestering He Qinghuan, Jiang Chi wouldn't even deign to glance at him.

So Gu Wang wasn't at all worried that Jiang Chi would hold a grudge over the fight. He had analyzed all the implications before he threw a punch.

She sighed, pulled an A4 sheet from a stack of documents on her desk, and handed it to Gu Wang. "Take a look."

Gu Wang took it and discovered it was a report card.

He searched down the page for the name Gu Wang and successfully found himself in the very last row. Total score: 121.

How had the Original Host managed that?

Seeing the shock on Gu Wang's face, Li Shuya felt there was still hope for this child. At least he wasn't as indifferent as before. It seemed entering his final year of high school had given him a sense of urgency.

"For today's fight, I can let you off with a written self-criticism instead of calling your parents in. But..." Li Shuya paused, her expression serious. "Before the next monthly exam, you must raise your total score to 200."

Gu Wang: "..."

An extremely complicated expression crossed Gu Wang's face. Mostly, he had never expected that one day his target would actually be 200! And that was the total score!

Thinking he found it too difficult and beyond his reach, Li Shuya reassured him. "Don't think I'm being harsh. It's not that I'm asking too much of you. There's only a year left until the college entrance exams. You need to pick up the pace. You can't fall too far behind your classmates. How about this..."

She considered it for a moment, then said, "I'll have He Qinghuan tutor you."

When Gu Wang heard that Li Shuya wanted He Qinghuan to tutor him, he refused without a second thought. "There's no need, ma'am. I can manage on my own. I can score two hundred."

He could barely handle one Jiang Chi. Add an utterly unfathomable He Qinghuan, and Gu Wang would surely be heading for another dead end. His current plan was to stay as far away from those two as possible. Getting them together as a couple as soon as possible wasn't out of the question, either.

Li Shuya was thoroughly puzzled by his resistance. The entire school knew about Gu Wang's very public pursuit, so why was he now unwilling to let He Qinghuan tutor him?

Seeing Li Shuya's puzzled expression, Gu Wang lowered his head and explained, "Mostly, I'm afraid that if I'm with the class monitor, I'll have even less interest in studying..."

Li Shuya: "..."

With his head lowered, he didn't notice someone enter amid the office's constant flow of people. Almost everyone in the office turned to look as soon as that person came in.

Except Gu Wang, who was still putting on an act.

"Ma'am, here's the homework assigned in this afternoon's class." The newcomer's voice was low, yet in the sweltering air, hearing it actually brought a hint of crisp coolness.

Gu Wang, however, shuddered all over. He glanced toward He Qinghuan out of the corner of his eye.

He Qinghuan's uniform sleeves were rolled a third of the way up his forearms. His fingers had well-defined joints, his nails were neatly trimmed, his wrists were slim, and the lines of his muscles were smooth. Gu Wang recalled the book's description of He Qinghuan. This person had practically no flaws.

Nor was he merely the male lead's unattainable ideal. He was that ideal itself, loved by many.

They loved his lofty bearing, his coolness untouched by worldly dust.

As an outsider and observer, Gu Wang only found someone like He Qinghuan frightening.

Naturally, the other two knew nothing of Gu Wang's thoughts. Li Shuya took the homework from He Qinghuan and thanked him for his effort, her voice unbelievably gentle. Looking at him, she teased, "I was just saying you could tutor Gu Wang, but surprisingly, he wouldn't agree. He said he didn't want to hold you back."

Li Shuya had a way with words. Gu Wang had clearly meant he didn't want to hold himself back, not He Qinghuan.

After hearing Li Shuya's words, He Qinghuan's expression remained unchanged. He didn't even glance at Gu Wang, merely offering a perfunctory response. "Is that so?"

Li Shuya had no idea how little He Qinghuan cared. He was considerate in everything and got along well with anyone. Only Gu Wang could hear how full of mockery and disdain his answer was.

The book described He Qinghuan looking at Gu Wang as though he were trash. Who would treat trash with a pleasant attitude?

Li Shuya looked at the two students a few times and said, "Gu Wang, if there's anything you don't understand, ask He Qinghuan more often. His thinking is very clear. He'll definitely be a great help to your studies."

Jinyang High School wasn't excessively opposed to teenage dating. Attraction was human nature. As long as proper boundaries were maintained and teachers paid more attention, sometimes a good thing could also be a bad thing.

Li Shuya understood He Qinghuan. She understood her own student and knew he wasn't easily influenced by outside factors. That was why she felt comfortable entrusting Gu Wang to him. If He Qinghuan could give Gu Wang a hand, that would truly be wonderful.

But now, it seemed Gu Wang wasn't interested. She wasn't someone who liked forcing others, either. Since Gu Wang wasn't willing, she would let it go.

Gu Wang nodded and said he understood.

He couldn't refuse absolutely everything.

Satisfied with his answer, Li Shuya waved them both away.

Gu Wang and He Qinghuan left the teachers' office one after the other. Gu Wang caught up with He Qinghuan. "Wait."

The corridor was deserted. He Qinghuan still kept his emotions well under control, merely asking mildly, "Need something?" That was, if one ignored the flash of darkness in his eyes.

Gu Wang saw all of it. Facing He Qinghuan, he inexplicably felt a little weak in the knees.

He backed away two steps and said slowly, "Don't worry. I won't pester you anymore."

Even Gu Wang cringed at his own words. What kind of idol drama dialogue was that?

He Qinghuan was half a head taller than Gu Wang. Lowering his eyes slightly, he swept his gaze across Gu Wang's face. For the first time, he saw such a clear, candid look in Gu Wang's eyes.

"Is that so?" He Qinghuan withdrew his gaze, dropped those indifferent words, and turned to leave.

He's improved. He's learned to act.

Author's note: Everything our Wangwang does is wrong. Pat, pat.

Chapter 6

The written self-criticism had to be handed to Li Shuya before Sunday's day off. Gu Wang only started writing it on Saturday night.

Writing a self-criticism was actually the same as writing an essay: a beginning, middle, and end. The beginning explained what had happened, the middle admitted fault and flattered the school, and the ending declared one's attitude and looked toward a bright future. Before entering the book, Gu Wang had been a top student. Writing a self-criticism was child's play.

But this self-criticism took Gu Wang a full hour, because he also had to imitate the Original Host's handwriting, which was atrociously ugly. Gu Wang, however, had practiced calligraphy since childhood and had long since developed his own style. Even though he had done his best, a close look still revealed occasional traces of his own pen strokes.

When he finished, he blew on the paper, only then realizing Song Zhiyan had disappeared at some point. He sent Song Zhiyan a WeChat message asking where he was, then switched off his phone without waiting for a reply, planning to hand in his self-criticism first.

The deadline was before Sunday. He couldn't put it off any longer. In the book, the Original Host had never written self-criticisms. He was someone who paid no heed to school rules or discipline.

Let the changes begin with writing a self-criticism!

Even Gu Wang found it funny. Since when had writing a self-criticism counted as progress? Not to mention, Gu Wang himself had been the one fighting that day. It had nothing whatsoever to do with the Original Host.

He placed the self-criticism on the desk in front of Li Shuya. She stopped him, indicating that she had more to say.

Li Shuya picked up the self-criticism, gave it a cursory glance, and set it aside again. She folded her hands on her knees. She did feel somewhat heartened. Even if Gu Wang still didn't like studying, at least he was starting to recognize his mistakes and knew to write a self-criticism, wasn't he? She had nearly given up on this student.

Looking at Gu Wang, she said earnestly, "Gu Wang, you know, before you can become accomplished, you have to become a decent person. I'm not asking you to reach the top in one leap. Take your time, and I'll be here while you work on changing. All right?"

When Li Shuya saw Gu Wang hesitate before nodding, she smiled sincerely.

Looking at Li Shuya, Gu Wang couldn't help feeling moved. Any other teacher faced with a student like him would surely be utterly fed up, urging him to leave every few days so he wouldn't drag down the class average or the school's college admission rate.

But Li Shuya wholeheartedly wanted every student to do well.

Gu Wang left the teachers' office and ambled slowly down the corridor toward the classroom.