Su Lian's expression suddenly turned sour, feeling his fists clench involuntarily.
"What poison?" Gu Anjiu in the front row turned around, staring at Chi Wang with a terrified look, murmuring, "Wang, you're foaming at the mouth... No way, what deep grudge could possibly warrant this?"
Seeing his pained expression, Lin Yan's face also grew serious: "Are you alright? Do you need to go to the infirmary?"
When Chi Wang wasn't smiling, his features looked quite sharp, exuding an aura of aggression.
He kept a cold face without speaking, only wiping away the foam under his lips, nearly grimacing again from the nauseating taste.
Their voices weren't quiet, successfully attracting everyone's attention in the silent classroom. Whispers began coming from all directions.
Two seemingly intimidating figures becoming desk mates was already shocking enough, but for chaos to erupt within five minutes of sitting down set everyone's gossip instincts ablaze.
Rumors always spread quickly and silently in school. In less than ten seconds, the entire Class 6 knew about Su Lian's infamous history of brutality.
"I can already sense the clashing auras between these two. By my calculations, blood will be spilled any second now."
"To be fair, hasn't it been a while since Chi Wang got into a fight? Is he about to break his streak?"
"What on earth is in that thermos? Chi Wang's face looks as bitter as if he's attending a funeral."
"This transfer student is ruthless. Eighth high school is pretty good, why transfer to Third high school anyway?"
...
Chi Wang furrowed his brow: "I asked you a question."
Su Lian pulled out a textbook from his backpack and calmly placed it on the desk: "It's for health. It won't kill you, drink it without worry."
"Health?" Chi Wang pursed his lips, looking at the thermos in disbelief, "Don't take me for a fool. This stuff looks like mud."
Lin Yan: "It's all excuses."
Gu Anjiu: "There must be a conspiracy."
The two fanned the flames recklessly, risking their lives.
They couldn't wait to use this opportunity to stir up hatred, hoping their boss Wang would finish off this ruthless transfer student. Otherwise, with his cold and quiet personality, the two of them probably wouldn't survive the night.
"Believe it or not." Su Lian's good intentions were met with ingratitude, putting him in a foul mood.
He had made this for Chi Wang many times before. Each time he drank it all, praising and showing affection. But now...
Huh, ungrateful bastard.
Chi Wang put the lid back on the thermos, forcefully pulled out his chair and walked towards the back door. When he returned, the bangs on his forehead were damp, and a few drops of water that hadn't been wiped away clung to his chin.
He leaned back in his chair, balancing on two legs.
He turned his head to look at Su Lian, asking with forced patience: "Seriously, I didn't offend you, did I? I kindly took you in, celebrated your birthday, and this is how you treat me?"
Treat your ass.
If you can't talk properly, just beat him up. He felt his methods towards Chi Wang had been too gentle after all.
In his previous years as a doctor, Su Lian was often secretly reported by patients for being too cold and not gentle enough.
His explanations to the director were always the same: I tried my best, this is already the result of extremely controlling my temper.
Now it seemed that his long period of self-cultivation was about to break.
Su Lian suppressed his anger, reached out to grab the thermos, unscrewed the cap, and stared at him expressionlessly as he drank it all.
Was it unpalatable? He thought it was fine.
Seeing the other's stunned look, he also casually took out his phone from his pocket, searched for the recipe for the health drink, and tossed the page over: "Look at the recipe yourself, this is how it turns out."
"W-Wang, t-teacher..." The stutterer next to them tried to warn, but before he could squeeze out half his sentence, another hand reached between the two and picked up the phone.
The ever-present Li Guoqing tapped the phone in his palm a couple times, saying mercilessly: "Whose phone is this? Confiscated."
Su Lian cursed inwardly, reluctantly admitting: "It's mine."
"Considering it's your first offense, reflect on it well. I hope you won't be like your desk mate Chi Wang, already writing self-criticisms at the start of the semester."
Li Guoqing glanced at the two of them, then looked away, quite exasperated with these two.
He frowned, nagging endlessly: "I've been watching you two for a long time. You're not even quiet during evening self-study. Tomorrow is the baseline test. If you don't want to review, go stand at the back."
Chi Wang, caught in the crossfire unfairly: "What does this have to do with me?"
Li Guoqing reasoned: "Without your involvement, could he be talking to thin air?"
Chi Wang laughed sarcastically: "Then may I ask, teacher, should I stand as punishment, review, or write a self-criticism?"
Li Guoqing actually thought seriously for two seconds: "Write a self-criticism."
"Fine, whatever you say." Chi Wang couldn't be bothered to argue with him, just agreeing to everything.
Li Guoqing made a round of the classroom, then strolled out with his hands behind his back.
Chi Wang licked his lower lip, a strange aftertaste still lingering in his mouth even after rinsing.
He analyzed calmly, reflecting on himself. Perhaps the other really had good intentions, even if the taste was peculiar, he couldn't blame him.
After all, the guy had drunk it all in one go without changing his expression.
He considered himself a tough guy, but for the first time, he felt that the person sitting next to him...
Was a real beast.
Chi Wang took the initiative to nudge Su Lian with his elbow, lowering his voice to ease the atmosphere: "I'll take half the blame. I'll help you get your phone back after the test. It's just that this stuff is really hard to drink."
Su Lian expressionlessly opened his practice book forcefully: "Next time I'll add honey, it'll be much better."
Chi Wang instantly felt nauseous: "There's a next time? No thanks, I can't afford to enjoy it."
Su Lian lowered his eyes, circling an answer on a multiple-choice question, thinking to himself that if it weren't for fear of Chi Wang dying young, who would bother taking care of him.
Hearing about tomorrow's baseline test, he twirled his pencil while looking at the brand new study guide, quickly recalling the key points from the first semester of high school.
Beside him, Chi Wang wrote in his notebook for a while, then pulled out a magazine from his drawer and lazily started flipping through it, leaning back in his chair.
Su Lian glanced over during a break, this guy was really idle, he was actually reading a personal interview with Ma Yun.
"Aren't you writing your self-criticism?"
"I'm looking for inspiration."
"... Is Ma Yun's interview about four ways to write self-criticisms?"
"No, I need to comprehend the wording from a high business perspective. Can't let down the face of us businessmen."
"..."
Su Lian's finger paused, the pencil lead broke.
What kind of middle school syndrome was this?
In just half an evening self-study period, the news of the Eighth high school bully transferring to Class 6 had spread like wildfire.
Although Class 6 couldn't compare to the neighboring top classes, they consistently ranked first among the parallel classes. Everyone lamented that this class with such potential and on an upward trajectory had somehow been cursed to attract two fierce characters.
During the ten-minute break between classes, many students from other classes came over on false pretenses. Half wanted to witness the two bigshots fighting, while the other half came to admire the former Eighth high school heartthrob's good looks. Boys and girls alike, the entrance to Class 6 had never been so lively.
However, the two were incredibly calm, without a hint of sparks flying.
One buried his head in a book, the other wrote furiously.
The onlookers were shocked and felt ashamed of themselves.
These days even tough guys who relied on their fists were so studious?
Gu Anjiu was wary of Su Lian's aura and quietly moved his chair forward a few inches, pretending to casually toss a paper ball behind him.
Not paying attention to the direction, it unfortunately landed right on Su Lian's hand with a soft pat.
He frowned as he opened it, finding a line of crooked writing:
Wang, he's already poisoned you. Should we make a comeback and teach that transfer student a lesson first?
Su Lian: "..."
He crumpled the paper back into a ball and tossed it to his neighbor: "This is for you."
Chi Wang didn't even look up, his pen moving rapidly: "Don't disturb my passionate creation."
"Read it or not, up to you." Su Lian relayed emotionlessly, "The classmate in front is asking if you want to teach me a lesson."
Gu Anjiu, who had been eavesdropping, suddenly shuddered, thinking this grudge had really escalated.
He calmed himself down, staring out the window with sorrow in his eyes, feeling that the road ahead was fraught with danger.
With ten minutes left until the end of evening self-study, the classroom was already becoming restless.
Li Guoqing pushed open the door and pasted a chart on the blackboard: "The seat numbers for tomorrow's baseline test are all here. Everyone remember clearly, don't go to the wrong place. I especially need to remind the students in the last few exam rooms, even if you can't do it, you're not allowed to hand in your papers early."
As he said this, his gaze swept almost imperceptibly towards the last two rows: "Those of you who have finished your self-criticisms, hand them over."
Chi Wang had just finished writing, tearing off two pages filled with words and folding them together to pass forward. Gu Anjiu and Lin Yan's self-criticisms were hidden underneath as they continued to be passed along.
The classmates who handled the papers in between caught glimpses of the beginning and could barely contain their laughter, shaking with suppressed giggles.
Li Guoqing, oblivious to the situation, said, "As you all should have seen, we have a new transfer student in our class. Su Lian, please come up and introduce yourself."
Dreading the awkwardness of public introductions, Su Lian reluctantly stood up under the curious gazes of his classmates and walked to the podium. He picked up a piece of chalk and wrote his name.
His handwriting was in a practiced slender gold style, as attractive as the person himself.
But his introduction was shorter than a mosquito's leg: "I'm Su Lian."
"That's it?" Li Guoqing asked.
Su Lian shook his head. "That's it."
Li Guoqing clicked his tongue and mumbled, "Alright, go back to your seat."
He leaned against the podium, lowering his head to read the self-criticisms that had been passed to him. His face changed from red to green, gradually turning black.
Finally, unable to contain himself, he said, "Chi Wang, come up here and read what you've written to everyone."
Su Lian twirled his pen, thinking that for teenagers in their mid-teens, with their thinnest skin, reading a self-criticism in public was somewhat humiliating.
But then he heard Chi Wang respond cheerfully, "No problem."
He had thought too much. This guy had no shame, what was wrong with him?
"Ma Yun once said that successful people can only walk their own path. So on Friday night, after careful consideration, I not only skipped the evening self-study session but also sneaked out of the dormitory. For a student, this behavior is wrong and should be condemned. But looking at the long road of life, this was a great and correct decision, a positive response to my exploration of life planning. The opening of the Night Color Internet Cafe allowed me to usher in a new era of internet cafes..."
Su Lian closed his eyes. You're still thinking about advertising at a time like this? Truly impressive.
The whole class had erupted into laughter, each trying to control their twitching facial expressions, not daring to be too unrestrained.
Lin Yan covered his face and secretly gave a thumbs up to his idol who was speaking passionately at the podium.
"Wang-ye is awesome. Quoting famous people like that, Old Li looks like he's about to keel over."
"If you don't listen to the details, it sounds quite patriotic, haha!"
"To be honest, with a different shell, I think this could be a speech given under the national flag."
"So has anyone been to this internet cafe? Want to meet up for a game after the exams?"
Li Guoqing snatched the self-criticism paper, using too much force and tearing it in half. "Who told you to advertise an internet cafe?"
"Weren't you the one who asked me to read it?" Chi Wang looked at him calmly, waving the other half of the paper that had survived. "I've only read the beginning. Should I continue?"
If he listened any further, he might have a heart attack on the spot and need to call 120.
Luckily, the bell for the end of class rang. Li Guoqing waved his hand impatiently, "Get out of here. Those who need to go home, go home. Those who need to return to the dormitory, return to the dormitory."
The classroom instantly became noisy as everyone gathered in front of the blackboard to check their exam locations, crowding so tightly that not even water could seep through.
Su Lian lowered his head to pack his things, then turned to look at his deskmate who was as steady as a mountain, and asked, "Aren't you going to check your exam location?"
"Nothing to check, I'll be in the last one anyway," Chi Wang shrugged indifferently, then asked in return, "Aren't you going to look?"
Sure enough, the campus prince with excellent grades that Gu Anjiu had mentioned was all nonsense.
Having experienced too many contrasts in the past two days, Su Lian was already numb. He mimicked Chi Wang's way of speaking: "I just transferred here and don't have any grades, nothing to check, I'll be in the last one anyway."
Chi Wang gave him a thoughtful look and chuckled, "No need to emphasize that you just transferred."
This guy was being sarcastic, wasn't he just roundaboutly calling him a poor student?
Su Lian couldn't be bothered to deal with him. He zipped up his backpack, slung it over his shoulder, casually picked up the despised thermos, and left.
Back in the dormitory, he put down his backpack and went to the bathroom to clean the blender.
He had just turned on the water and it was running over the inner wall when he heard a familiar voice from the door.
Su Lian poked out half of his head and raised an eyebrow: "Roommate, what a coincidence?"
Gu Anjiu and Lin Yan, who were arm in arm, instantly froze in place. "No way, you're in the same dorm as us?"
"If you haven't come to the wrong place," Su Lian retracted his neck and lowered his head to carefully wipe the water droplets off the blender.
The doorway fell into silence, a long silence that lasted for quite some time.
These coincidences, one after another, were just too much, weren't they?
"What... what a... coincidence," the stuttering voice slowly came through.
Su Lian poked his head out again and found another person standing behind Lin Yan, the skinny boy with big eyes from next door.
Well, now all the roommates were here.
"What did I tell you? This was premeditated," Gu Anjiu lowered his voice and called out to Chi Wang, who was about to walk into the room opposite. "Wang-ye, I can't sleep in the same room as him. I just offended him and he intercepted my note. I feel like he might crawl onto my bed at night to assassinate me."
Chi Wang turned his head, dangling his key ring, and said jokingly, "Then why don't you apologize to him?"
"I... Wasn't I standing up for you? He even poisoned you, how come you're still not taking revenge?" Gu Anjiu stiffened his neck, his cheeks flushing red. "Anyway, a man can be killed but not humiliated. I can't bring myself to apologize, I can't lower my noble head."
Lin Yan reached out to poke his chin, mocking him mercilessly: "You can't lower it because there's too much meat, right?"
"How come you're attacking me personally at the drop of a hat? Don't think you can distance yourself from this. After he assassinates me, you'll be next," Gu Anjiu couldn't help but kick him.
"Don't... don't... don't kick Yan-ge," Little Monkey widened his eyes in defense, and someone ruffled his head.
Gu Anjiu drooped his face: "Little Monkey, don't rush to sympathize with your Yan-ge. Your Jiu-ge is about to meet his demise."
The whispers outside were incessant. Su Lian washed his hands and came out, leaning against the doorframe, calmly asking, "Have you decided how to deal with me?"
The directness of his tone was unexpected.
Gu Anjiu took a step forward, tilting his chin up and saying tremblingly, "Let's be straightforward. We'll have a fight. Either you beat me up to vent your anger, so I don't have to live in fear day and night. Or if I'm lucky enough to give you a good thrashing, you'll have to accept it, and we'll call it even for what happened before."
"Coward," Chi Wang laughed, patting the back of his head. "What do you call this? Saying the most cowardly things with the most arrogant expression."
Someone passed by the door, peering in as if watching a show.
Seeing the atmosphere gradually becoming tense, Lin Yan tried to smooth things over: "Brother, we're sorry. Little Jiu just talks without thinking, he doesn't mean any harm. Don't take it to heart."
Su Lian looked up, speaking slowly: "I've already taken it to heart. What now?"
He spoke slowly and deliberately, even his tone hardly fluctuating, but somehow emanating a cold aura.
"Then you tell us, whether you want to kill or flay, we'll submit to your wishes."
Gu Anjiu continued to tilt his neck in a show of bravado, but his voice got lower and lower, the fake aura gradually dissipating.
Su Lian rubbed his fingertips: "I know you've gathered some information about me. Fighting is so boring, I always feel like you're implying that I'm good at fighting, like you're trying to take advantage of me."
Gu Anjiu's eyes lit up, quickly seizing the opportunity to back down: "Brother Su is magnanimous. How about this, I'll treat you to a meal of skewers? Or three meals? Five meals?"
If not interrupted, this guy would probably count up to ninety-nine times eighty-one.
"Let's skip the meal," Su Lian's gaze swept to the side, silently setting a trap. "Chi Wang is your leader, right? Why don't we let him resolve our grudge alone?"
Chi Wang leaned against the door plate of room 404 across the hall, raising an eyebrow slightly: "Am I being dragged into this for no reason, or is this settling old scores? You tell me first, how do you want to resolve it?"
"Let's make a bet on the scores of this placement test."
At the mention of scores, Lin Yan couldn't help but laugh: "Among us, except for Little Monkey who's in a league of his own, the four of us have pretty much the same grades. Are you planning to draw a random double-color ball?"
"I... I can... join... the bet," Little Monkey poked out his head, volunteering.
But Su Lian's eyes were fixed straight on Chi Wang, his gaze quite challenging: "I'll just bet with him."
Gu Anjiu's eyes darted around, cleverly suggesting: "Then why don't you two compare Chinese scores? Wang-ye is pretty good at Chinese, he has a better chance of winning."
As soon as he finished speaking, he almost slapped himself. He had no filter, how could he blurt out the truth so quickly?
"Among Chinese, Math, and English, I'll take my lowest subject and compare it with Chi Wang's highest subject," Su Lian said lightly, appearing to have made a big concession.
Arrogant, very arrogant.
Gu Anjiu, having heard that Su Lian used to be at the bottom of his class, felt they had an advantage and righteously said: "This sounds good, I think it's fair."
"Alright, let's bet," Chi Wang, now interested in this clash of novices, folded his arms and said, "So, what's the wager?"
Su Lian blinked slowly, suppressing the urge to smile, his expression remaining calm.
"Whoever loses becomes the exercise leader for Class 6 for a month."
"The kind where you have to stand in the very front row, with perfectly standard posture."