Chapter 011: The Age When You Start Liking Bad Men

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She had basked in triumph during English class that morning, and by physics that afternoon, retribution had arrived. Faced with Brother Gang’s question, Lin Shu was sweating bullets, and in the end she still got it wrong. She had meant to pass the baton to Zhou Ya, but Zhou Ya was sleepy as an old man, desperately signaling with her eyes that she absolutely could not do it.

Lin Shu considered picking some random classmate.

Everyone lowered their heads and cosplayed quails.

With the atmosphere like this, calling on someone she was not close to would definitely make an enemy of them.

Lin Shu swept her gaze around the room, feeling the pressure mount.

Brother Gang asked with a smile whether she had decided who to call on.

Lin Shu gathered her courage and declared, with the solemn air of sacrificing a loved one for justice, “It’s you, Ji Xingshen!”

…

Before she called his name, everyone had been silent as mice.

Once they had safely escaped, the classroom erupted like a marketplace.

“See? You should never offend a woman. Look at that—retribution came right away!”

“Holy crap, that was thrilling. Seriously thrilling.”

“What’s so thrilling? He’s the god of academics. Of course he’ll solve it.”

“Hmm… Even Ji Xingshen might not be able to do this one. Gangzi dug up some competition problem from who knows where. He clearly wants to torture us to death.”

Everyone chattered over one another.

Brother Gang swept his eyes over them darkly, and the classroom fell silent.

Ji Xingshen stood up. After thinking for several minutes, he went to the blackboard and began writing his answer. Young as he was, Gangzi wore an old-man-style administrative jacket, folding his arms as he watched. No one could read anything from his expression. When Ji Xingshen finished writing, no one knew how to solve the problem, much less whether the answer was correct. It was not until Gangzi unfolded his arms and began clapping loudly that everyone relaxed—though a hint of despair crept in as well.

Sometimes the gap between human beings was greater than the gap between humans and monkeys.

Was this guy even human?

Someone secretly searched for the original problem on their phone and discovered that it really was an old problem from the APhO.

Lin Shu returned to her seat.

She knew Ji Xingshen could solve it. He had been chosen for the scholarship established by Lin Shu’s parents because he had won first prize in the National Middle School Physics Competition in his ninth-grade year.

His family could not exactly be called poor. They had a house, and his father had a job. It was just that his grandmother had fallen ill, and all their money was going toward her medical treatment.

The students cheered enthusiastically for him.

Huang Pingting watched him without blinking…

Ji Xingshen returned to his seat with a modest air, saying that he had solved it only because he had encountered the problem before.

Brother Gang went back to the podium, adjusted the microphone, and began breaking down the problem with animated enthusiasm.

Lin Shu propped her chin on one hand and took notes.

By the time school let out that afternoon, Zhou Ya had recovered her spirits. She came over and asked Lin Shu how she had dared to throw the ball to Ji Xingshen.

Lin Shu twirled her pen. “Why wouldn’t I dare? Let the capable do more.”

After all, her parents were the ones paying for his competition classes. She had only helped him out of a tight spot.

Zhou Ya said she had changed.

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Lin Shu asked how.

Zhou Ya thought about it. “I can’t quite put my finger on it. You just feel different. Not as spineless as before.”

Lin Shu glared at her.

Zhou Ya burst out laughing and came over to knead her cheeks.

After school, they had less than an hour for dinner. Both girls lived far away and did not go home, so they rushed to the cafeteria, picked up disposable lunch boxes, and joined the long, winding lines.

There were only two genuinely good meat dishes, and they would be gone if you arrived late.

The girls each joined one of the popular lines.

Just as Lin Shu was about to reach the front, a commotion broke out in Zhou Ya’s line. Lin Shu, clutching her box of plain rice, hurried over.

“Xiaoya, what happened?”

“They only had one person in line, and then seven or eight more suddenly appeared, claiming they were with that person. Who queues like that?!”

They were seniors.

At this point, seniors were treated like protected animals, and it had made some of them rather arrogant.

Zhou Ya wanted to argue.

Seeing how many of them there were, Lin Shu feared Zhou Ya would come off worse. She said quietly, “Forget the line. At worst, we’ll eat somewhere outside. Why waste our time arguing with people who have no manners?”

A boy from the other side asked Lin Shu whom she was talking about.

Lin Shu fell silent.

Zhou Ya was furious.

Ji Xingshen had finished getting his meal and was sitting with Huang Pingting and several other girls. Hearing the commotion, he looked over. His palm unconsciously clenched into a fist as he sized up the seniors who had clashed with Lin Shu.

Huang Pingting complained softly, “Why show off? With all this noise, how is anyone supposed to eat…”

“Exactly. Who hasn’t had someone cut in front of them? They’re making way too much of it,” another girl chimed in.

Ji Xingshen frowned slightly. He did not approve of what Lin Shu and Zhou Ya had done either, but seeing that group surrounding Lin Shu…

…

“What are you guys doing?”

A languid voice drifted over.

Xie Buchen and the others arrived late after finishing their rounds of the athletic field. He lifted the plastic curtain and seemingly glanced casually at the crowd gathered ahead. But anyone with sense knew that no decent person started calling out before even entering the room.

Lin Shu tugged at Zhou Ya. The moment she caught sight of Xie Buchen, her eyes lit up.

Xie Buchen’s lips curled faintly. He clicked his tongue.

“What are you arguing about? Are you eating or not?”

The seniors naturally knew who Xie Buchen was. They glanced at Lin Shu and Zhou Ya in bewilderment, seemingly unable to understand how two girls who looked like model students had become acquainted with someone like him.

Xie Buchen brought his group over and joined the line.

Seeing this formation, the seniors did not dare force their way in. After all, they were no longer cutting in front of one short-haired junior girl; they were cutting in front of a whole group of terrifyingly brilliant second-year students.

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The seniors obediently moved to the back of the line.

They could not have been more obedient if their own parents had come to supervise them.

Lin Shu wanted to return to her original place in line, but she was afraid the others might not acknowledge it. She glanced over twice, then walked toward the back. The female student who had previously been standing behind her immediately stepped aside and called out, “Here. You were in front of me before.”

A warm current welled up in Lin Shu’s heart. She smiled. “Thank you, classmate.”

“If everyone acted like you two, who would dare cut in line? You’re awesome!”

The others in line did not express themselves so directly, but their eyes were silently giving their approval.

Lin Shu’s face grew slightly hot.

She did not like drawing attention to herself. Normally, she would simply swallow a minor loss. But when Zhou Ya was involved, she had no choice but to stand up for her.

People could bully her if they wanted.

But they could not bully her friends.

Ji Xingshen glanced over in their direction.

Following his gaze, Huang Pingting saw Lin Shu, and her heart gave a sudden lurch.

When Lin Shu reached the front, she happened to get the last serving of the cafeteria’s popular stir-fried pork with garlic shoots. Zhou Ya also managed to get the honey-glazed chicken wings and meatballs she had wanted. They each added a vegetable dish, then sat together, trading morsels from their boxes.

Xie Buchen and the others had arrived late, but they still managed to get excellent food.

Lin Shu secretly peeked over with her face turned sideways.

The cafeteria auntie was grinning so broadly at Xie Buchen that she could barely close her mouth. She had served them food from the heated compartments reserved for staff meals…

Seriously, was being handsome really that useful for a man?

No, wait. Ji Xingshen did not receive this kind of treatment from the cafeteria auntie. In her previous life, Lin Shu often waited for him so they could get their meals together. Even when they arrived late, Ji Xingshen still got cold soup and cold dishes. His looks had never earned him any special treatment.

Lin Shu pondered this for a long while before saying, “He’s a heartthrob demon.”

Zhou Ya was bent over her food, but she raised her head from the lunch box long enough to ask what Lin Shu was muttering about.

“Xiaoya, have you noticed? Apart from us students, every older cafeteria auntie seems to adore Xie Buchen.”

“Obviously. Otherwise, why do you think I said he should become a model?”

To students who lived within the ivory tower, Xie Buchen’s physique and face were almost too much. But to women who had seen more of the world, a boy with such an explosively masculine build, a slightly bad personality, and an intense face and temperament was simply top-tier. It was not that they actually intended anything; merely looking at him seemed to make their whole bodies feel a little more refreshed.

Lin Shu froze.

Zhou Ya asked whether she was going to eat the meatballs. If not, she would.

“You eat them,” Lin Shu said.

Oh no!

Her soul had become that of an auntie too. No wonder she had always instinctively avoided the delinquents from the neighboring class in her previous life, afraid of getting mixed up in anything. Yet in this life, she could naturally talk to Xie Buchen, order him around, and occasionally find herself sizing him up without even realizing it…

Somebody save her!!!

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