Brother Xing Couldn't Cut It Today

Today, as soon as Lu Xing arrived, he sensed that something was a little off in Class 16.

Wu Hao, who usually came trotting over whenever he saw him, called out, "Brother Xing," then dashed off to the school store. Five minutes later, he came back with a can of Coke.

Satisfied, Lu Xing was just about to reach out and take it.

Without so much as glancing at him, Wu Hao put the Coke on the desk beside Zhao Feifei.

Lu Xing kept his hand outstretched.

His face went red with embarrassment.

The others were the same, acting as if they hadn't seen him.

What? He'd gone off to play games and skipped a few days of class, and now they didn't recognize him anymore?

Lu Xing frowned. A man's dignity wouldn't let him lower himself to fuss over such a small matter, so he simply lay down on his desk and went to sleep.

In a daze, Lu Xing didn't know how much time had passed before he vaguely heard Wang Hao's loud voice.

"Boss, why are you wearing so little? It's so windy outside. Wait, I'll give you my school uniform."

"Boss, this is a new milk tea flavor from a shop outside school. See if you like it."

"Boss, another round later?"

The noisy shouting irritated Lu Xing.

"Will you shut up?"

He slapped the desk. "Wu Hao, shut the hell up! When have I ever drunk something as girly as milk tea?"

Lu Xing's roar brought the previously noisy classroom to a sudden hush.

Wu Hao froze for a moment. "Oh, no, Brother Xing, I wasn't talking to you. Go back to sleep."

Just then, Ji Chuxing took a sip of milk tea and smacked her lips. "It's good."

The girl's mild voice chased away every trace of Lu Xing's sleepiness.

As if moving in slow motion, Lu Xing turned his head and saw Wu Hao and several others gathered beside Zhao Feifei's seat.

A pretty girl held a large cup of milk tea in her hand. She took a big, satisfied gulp, narrowed her eyes, and said to Wu Hao, "How much was it? I'll pay you."

She pulled a crumpled ten-yuan note from her schoolbag.

Wu Hao grinned like a fawning lackey. "Boss, you don't have to pay me. Can you play a round with me?"

Ji Chuxing considered it seriously. "For the milk tea, sure."

The people around them immediately followed suit. "Boss, boss, what flavor do you want? I'll buy it for you later!"

"God Ji, I know a shop with a great reputation. I'll buy you some later!"

Lu Xing: "?"

Wait, what was going on? Was he still asleep, or was Class 16 still asleep?

Expressionless, Lu Xing stood up, walked over, and lifted his chin at Ji Chuxing. "Hey, who are you?"

Clutching her milk tea, Ji Chuxing lifted her eyelids and glanced at him.

Zhao Feifei shot to her feet. "Lu Xing, what's wrong with you?! You scared God Ji!"

"God Ji?" Lu Xing stared at Zhao Feifei in confusion, then looked at Ji Chuxing, who was drinking milk tea. She was thin and small, so frail that a gust of wind could knock her over.

"You call her God Ji?" Lu Xing sneered in disbelief. "Zhao Feifei, what's wrong with you?"

"God Ji is God Ji! What, you got a problem with that?"

Seeing that the two were about to go at each other, Wu Hao hurriedly stepped in to smooth things over. "No, Brother Xing, God Ji just got here. You didn't know, and we haven't introduced you two yet."

"God Ji, this is Brother Xing. He'll look after you too from now on!"

Feeling that his position had been snatched away, Lu Xing sneered and looked down at Ji Chuxing. "God Ji, huh? Who called her that? Did I agree to it?"

Wu Hao, who usually followed his lead in everything, looked up at the ceiling and didn't dare make a sound.

Lu Xing was so angry he laughed. Only Zhao Feifei dared defy him. "What do you mean? God Ji is God Ji. Why does she need your approval? Can you beat her?"

Looking at Zhao Feifei's chin-up, asking-for-a-beating expression, Lu Xing clenched his molars and said to Ji Chuxing, "Fine. If you want me to look after you, beat me first."

The atmosphere instantly grew tense, like drawn bows and unsheathed swords.

Wu Hao was nearly in tears.

"Brother Xing, isn't that a little unfriendly?"

Boss might be great at games, but how could she possibly beat Brother Xing in a fight?

"Friendly, my ass. Tell me, what's our class rule?"

Wu Hao was a little conflicted. Though he regarded Ji Chuxing as his boss, Brother Xing was still his Brother Xing. Brother Xing was important to them too.

Wu Hao squeezed his eyes shut and shouted, "Brother Xing, I haven't forgotten! Let reality explode, let the spirit shatter! Justice is ours to decide!"

The corner of Ji Chuxing's mouth twitched, and she nearly choked on her milk tea.

Zhao Feifei covered her face, wishing she could disappear on the spot.

Sure enough, Lu Xing was satisfied. Good, he hadn't forgotten.

He looked smugly at Ji Chuxing. "Well? See that? I call the shots. If you beat me, Brother Xing will look after you from now on!"

Outside Class 16's classroom, a figure ran off at top speed, heading toward the Set Sail Class.

"I knew it. Everything went so smoothly for Ji Chuxing yesterday because Lu Xing wasn't there. Now that he's back today, can she still stay?"

"Exactly! A good-for-nothing like her made our Set Sail Class get punished and made Teacher Liu lose face. Who does she think she is?"

"If you ask me, now that Lu Xing's back, she won't just be unable to stay in Class 16-she won't be able to stay at Nanzhong at all."

The Set Sail Class was filled with righteous indignation, eager to see Ji Chuxing kicked out immediately.

Little did they know that the situation in Class 16 was completely different from what they were saying.

At that moment, Ji Chuxing and Lu Xing sat opposite each other at a desk, with Zhao Feifei, Wu Hao, and the others gathered around to watch.

Lu Xing's face was flushed red. "Again! I wasn't ready just now!"

Cracking sunflower seeds, Zhao Feifei gave a small roll of her eyes.

Ji Chuxing said, "Oh," took a sip of milk tea, and raised her hand.

Lu Xing gritted his teeth and gripped Ji Chuxing's hand, intending to pull it back while she wasn't paying attention. To his surprise, he couldn't budge it at all.

Lu Xing refused to believe it.

He strained again, nearly grinding his molars to pieces!

Ji Chuxing slowly sipped her pearl milk tea, her wrist not moving an inch.

Suddenly, her arm seemed to move ever so slightly. With a smack, the back of Lu Xing's hand was pinned to the desk again.

It hurt so much he nearly cried!

Wu Hao could hardly bear to watch.

He looked at Ji Chuxing with even greater admiration.

Boss was Boss, all right. Sure enough, Brother Xing couldn't cut it anymore.

The back of Lu Xing's hand had gone numb. He slumped in his chair like Ge You.

Ji Chuxing stood up and let out a little burp.

"Hey-" Lu Xing stood up and reached out to pat Ji Chuxing on the shoulder.

He was just about to ask how many years she'd trained.

The next second, with a thud, Ji Chuxing threw Lu Xing over her shoulder and onto the floor.

Wu Hao's mouth hung open wide enough to swallow an egg.

This was the first time they'd ever seen Brother Xing get the worst of it.

So... why were they a little excited?!

Every one of them looked at Ji Chuxing with shining eyes, just short of shouting, "Big Brother!"

Just then, Zhou Sixue returned from the infirmary and saw the scene.

Her expression changed. She ran quickly to Ji Chuxing and shielded her behind her, glaring fiercely at Lu Xing with reddened eyes. "You! You're not allowed to hit God Ji! Otherwise, I... I won't let you get away with it!"

Her words were fierce, but Zhou Sixue was a soft girl and not intimidating in the slightest.

She might not have realized that she was even trembling a little.

Lu Xing: "...No, I didn't, I'm not!"

Lu Xing immediately defended himself, and the people around them were stunned too.

Zhou Sixue was timid and usually didn't even dare look at Brother Xing. How... how had she ended up facing off against him?

More importantly, why was Brother Xing explaining himself, looking so helpless?

Lu Xing was in a little pain and looked a little disheveled.

Ji Chuxing rubbed her nose, a little embarrassed. "Well, sorry. I forgot you weren't very good, and I couldn't hold back my strength."

She walked over and crouched down. With a crack, she popped Lu Xing's dislocated arm back into place.

With a serious expression, she said, "Next time, don't touch my shoulder. Also, from now on, Master Xing will look after you."