Chapter 5

Zheng Xingyan was once again given a major demerit. This time, with Lin Jin applying pressure, the punishment could not be undone; it was written in black and white in his file.

He returned to school with a bruised and battered face, clearly having been severely beaten by his father.

He had come back to pack his things. Lin Jin pressured the school to transfer him to another class to prevent him from hurting the young master of the Zhu family again.

The school had previously indulged Zheng Xingyan out of respect for the Zheng family. But now that he had bullied the young master of the Zhu family, naturally, the side with greater influence prevailed without question, and Zheng Xingyan was immediately switched to a different class.

Lin Jin had initially planned to transfer Xi Yan along with him or even transfer Zhu Shiyan to another school altogether, but Zhu Shiyan persuaded him otherwise. He argued that since Xi Yan was not at fault and frequently changing schools was detrimental to high school students, he should remain in the class.

With the matter settled, when Zhu Shiyan returned to class, the noisy classroom fell silent instantly. Everyone had obviously heard of his exploits. Seeing him enter, they exchanged glances filled with surprise.

He took his seat, and the girl beside him kept glancing at him repeatedly. Zhu Shiyan sighed, closed his textbook, and tilted his head. “If you want to ask something, just ask. No need to hold back.”

Qiao Li had been bursting with curiosity for a while. Once given permission, she immediately fired off questions. “How did you get into a fight with Zheng Xingyan? Why did he hit you? What’s your relationship with the ‘little monster’? Why are you helping him?”

“...Ask one at a time.”

“Alright.” Qiao Li pouted. “Why did Zheng Xingyan hit you?”

“Because I lied to him. I said I’d fight alongside him, but I didn’t.”

“Then why are you helping the little monster?”

Hearing her call him “little monster” repeatedly gave Zhu Shiyan a headache. “He has a name. Don’t call him that.”

“Oh...” Qiao Li shrank her neck awkwardly. “Xi Yan, Xi Yan, I remember his name is Xi Yan.”

“I have no special relationship with him. I just can’t stand seeing someone bully a classmate.”

Qiao Li widened her eyes. “Aren’t you afraid of bad luck?”

Here it comes again.

Zhu Shiyan was speechless about this rumor. “He’s not some kind of monster. How could simply being near him bring bad luck? The class monitor’s incident was just a coincidence. Blaming him is too far-fetched.”

“That’s not true!” Qiao Li whispered back. “Not just the class monitor, many people have bad things happen to them after being near him. He never smiles, always gloomy. I just don’t like him.”

“Who says he has to smile?” Zhu Shiyan’s expression turned slightly cold. “You can dislike him, but that doesn’t give you the right to bully or insult him. He hasn’t done anything wrong.”

Qiao Li, seeing she couldn’t convince him, muttered under her breath, calling him a hopeless do-gooder.

Zhu Shiyan heard it but didn’t care.

Rumors during school days were the most dreadful. A baseless whisper could ignite unreasonable bullying, and verbal bullying was often more terrifying than physical. Being excluded, ignored, or isolated—even a small inadvertent action could cause immense psychological pressure.

Zhu Shiyan took out milk, bread, and a delicately prepared lunch box from his backpack, waiting quietly for the male lead’s arrival.

He had initially planned to bring some vitamins to help the male lead strengthen his bones, but after some thought, he prioritized full meals, so he asked the housekeeper to prepare this lunch box for him to bring to school.

The housekeeper thought it was for him and packed it full, so it still emitted a fragrant aroma.

Zhu Shiyan waited and waited, but by the end of the first class break, Xi Yan still hadn’t appeared.

This was unusual.

The system’s original text described the male lead as someone who knew that study was his only way out of his current situation, so he studied desperately, not even daring to take leave when he had a fever.

Worried, Zhu Shiyan was about to ask the homeroom teacher when Xi Yan limped into the classroom and took the last seat.

He immediately took the food to him and called out, “Xi Yan.”

Xi Yan slightly raised his head to look at him.

“Did you not eat this morning?” Zhu Shiyan pushed the food toward him. “Here, this is for you.”

Xi Yan didn’t take it, pushing the lunch box back with a finger. “I already ate.”

Zhu Shiyan ignored him and pushed it again. “Then eat this at noon. The housekeeper made too much at home, it would be a waste not to eat it.”

Xi Yan was silent for a few seconds, then didn’t refuse again.

With a few minutes left before class, Zhu Shiyan sat at the empty desk beside him and asked, “Is your leg injury feeling better?”

He chatted with the ease of talking to an ordinary classmate, his legs swinging slightly under the desk, his tone and expression natural.

Xi Yan slowly straightened his back and answered earnestly, “Yes, much better.”

“Why were you late this morning? Did something happen?”

Xi Yan subtly pulled down his sleeve to cover a new bruise.

“No, I overslept.”

Zhu Shiyan didn’t believe him, but they weren’t close enough for him to pry into personal matters, so he wisely changed the topic.

They chatted on and off until the bell rang.

Zhu Shiyan jumped off his desk. “I’m going back. If you run out of medicine, tell me. I’ll ask Uncle Zhang to get more for you.”

Xi Yan silently watched his back without a word.

Over the next few days, Zhu Shiyan occasionally brought little snacks for Xi Yan, chatting with him during breaks.

Xi Yan usually refused the food, but in the end, Zhu Shiyan always managed to sneak it into his hands somehow.

It was Zhu Shiyan who led the conversations, as Xi Yan rarely brought up topics himself. But what comforted Zhu Shiyan was that Xi Yan no longer ignored him like before and talked more. The distance between them was slowly closing as he had hoped.

Because Zhu Shiyan was seen with Xi Yan, fewer people approached him recently, obviously afraid that too much contact would bring the so-called “bad luck.”

At this age, people tend to follow the crowd. They feared being branded as outcasts and losing their place in the group, so they went to great lengths to prove they stood on the side of justice, marginalizing and rendering those who seemed different invisible.

The gloomy, unsmiling Xi Yan was naturally labeled an outcast.

Likewise, Zhu Shiyan, who protected him and walked closely with him, was also deliberately grouped into the same camp.

But unlike Xi Yan, Zhu Shiyan was handsome, wealthy, and kind. Besides his closeness to Xi Yan, he had no other issues and, gradually, people noticed that despite his association with Xi Yan, nothing bad happened to him; instead, his grades improved.

So many still unconsciously sought him out for conversation. Even Qiao Li, though she said she wanted to keep her distance, couldn’t help but whisper to him during class and share some of her snacks with him.

His situation was far better than Xi Yan’s.

After school, a tall, handsome boy spun around and approached Zhu Shiyan’s desk, eyes shining brightly. “Xiao Yan, want to play basketball?”

Zhu Shiyan instinctively glanced toward the last row. The boy noticed and said grumpily, “Xi Yan already left. I’m just saying, why do you care so much about him? Zheng Xingyan’s been transferred; no one’s bullying him anymore.”

“I’m watching over his leg injury because it’s being treated by my family doctor.”

Chu Junyuan was speechless. “I really don’t get you. Come on, let’s go play basketball.”

Zhu Shiyan thought for a moment, packed his bag, and said, “Alright.”

The first critical plot point had passed. With nothing major happening recently, he didn’t need to constantly watch over the male lead and could enjoy campus life again.

Zheng Xingyan felt he was having a streak of bad luck.

He got a demerit at the internet cafe; after wiping it clean, he got another major demerit for fighting. Because of this, he offended the young master of the Zhu family and was severely beaten by his father.

Because of this, his followers were less attentive to him, teachers began to look down on him, and today, for simply sleeping in class, he was called out and made to stand as punishment—something that never happened before.

Zheng Xingyan hated all of this in his heart and blamed that little bastard. Once this storm passed, he swore he would find a chance to take revenge.

But this time, he didn’t plan to act himself. He attributed all his recent misfortunes to contact with Xi Yan and intended to hire someone outside the school to do the job.

Zheng’s father was not home today, so he sent the driver home first and then sneaked off alone to the arcade to vent his frustrations, humming a tune as the moon rose before returning.

The arcade was in the basement. To leave, one had to pass through a dim corridor. When he entered, he felt an inexplicable unease but didn’t think much of it, only quickening his pace slightly.

Just as he was about to walk onto the street, a tightly sealed black bag suddenly covered his head, and then someone kicked him hard in the abdomen.

A terrible pain shot through his stomach, causing Zheng Xingyan to scream out loud. His mouth was immediately covered, and his hands were quickly bound.

The attacker said nothing but struck him repeatedly with hard punches, hitting in ways that caused the most pain. Each blow made Zheng Xingyan break out in cold sweat, nearly collapsing to his knees, begging for mercy.

Ten minutes later, the person released him. Zheng Xingyan lay on the ground like a puddle of mud, his face smeared with tears and snot.

His hands were still tied, and darkness clouded his vision. A hoarse roar escaped his throat: “Who?! How dare you hit me?! Just wait! I will never let you off!”

The attacker paid no attention, leaving immediately after the beating with no hesitation or lingering.

He never uttered a single word. Zheng Xingyan didn’t even know how tall he was.