Chapter 49

Seeing so many people watching the movie together, it was obvious how unpleasant Sang Wei felt. But she held back, not wanting to leave a bad impression on Ruan Miao, though she cursed the group in her heart a thousand times over.

Two and a half hours later, when they finally left the cinema, Ruan Miao was still immersed in the movie's plot and special effects, thinking about the exciting scenes.

At first, he felt a bit embarrassed seeing Xi You and the others, as if being spied on. But the movie was too good, and he quickly got engrossed, forgetting about everything else. Moreover, with Jian Fangyu beside him, occasionally handing him water or peeling an orange, he had no time to worry about others.

Xi You and He Shanglu, feeling embarrassed after the movie, found excuses to leave. Without the third wheels, Sang Wei felt much better and was about to invite Ruan Miao to dinner when Jian Fangyu spoke first. "We have a tutoring session. We'll leave now."

Sang Wei stared straight at Jian Fangyu, feeling he was challenging her. But Jian Fangyu didn't care about others' opinions, unceremoniously dragging Ruan Miao away, not leaving her any face.

"Is it alright?" Ruan Miao hesitated, looking back. Sang Wei stood there angrily. "She seems mad."

"Don't worry about her," Jian Fangyu replied. "Let's go. I'll take you to class."

They found a place to eat, then Jian Fangyu drove Ruan Miao to the tutoring session. This time, he didn't leave immediately but chose to accompany Ruan Miao upstairs. Ruan Miao kept glancing back at him, puzzled. "Are you attending class too?"

"No, I'm looking for Yu Wenyan," Jian Fangyu answered. "It won't disturb your class."

Remembering the relationship between them, Ruan Miao followed him upstairs. Opening the classroom door, they found Yu Wenyan already there, playing a game on his phone. Hearing the door, he didn't look up, just said, "Sit down and take out the homework from yesterday. Also, finish this set on-site."

"Okay." Ruan Miao obediently sat down, taking out his completed homework.

Jian Fangyu also sat silently beside him without greeting Yu Wenyan. When Yu Wenyan finally looked up, he was surprised to see him and quickly smiled. "What brings you here?"

"My third sister wants to see you," Jian Fangyu replied simply. "It's your business to handle."

Yu Wenyan chuckled softly. "Please, I fear your third sister the most. Just tell her you didn't see me."

Jian Fangyu didn't bother with their matters, crossing his arms and focusing on watching Ruan Miao work on his test. Ruan Miao didn't pay much attention to their conversation either, but he remembered the original novel's description of Yu Wenyan's feelings for Jian Fangyu. Every time Jian Fangyu got hurt by Yan Yang, it was Yu Wenyan who stayed by his side, comforting him. He played the role of the perfect second male lead, and Ruan Miao had always regretted that they weren't the endgame.

Moreover, it seemed like Yan Yang, the main character, hadn't appeared for a long time, even at school. Had the storyline completely derailed?

"You made a mistake here," Jian Fangyu pointed out a major error on Ruan Miao's test. "Are you distracted?"

Ruan Miao looked closely and realized he had copied 3 as 8. He quickly corrected it and began recalculating. Jian Fangyu propped his chin with one hand, enjoying the quiet moments of watching Ruan Miao. It brought him a sense of peace, making him feel like he could truly appreciate the calmness of life.

Yu Wenyan glanced at both of them, his eyes showing a clear understanding. He pretended to be correcting Ruan Miao's homework while thinking that if Ruan Miao was the one with Jian Fangyu, maybe Fangxing wouldn't have to worry about A-Yu's future. Ruan Miao was certainly a better match than Yan Yang.

With the help of these two "gods," Ruan Miao's grades soared like a rocket. In the first small test after two weeks of the new term, he improved by ten places, firmly entering the mid-tier, with his overall ranking also significantly improved.

"A regular college is a sure thing," Xi You said with satisfaction, looking at his answer sheet. "You really did it. If you keep it up, a top university is within reach."

"I knew Miao Miao wouldn't disappoint me."

Ruan Miao wrote down his total score and individual subject scores, comparing them to previous results to summarize his experiences. Hearing Xi You's praise, he smiled. "Didn't you say I was just a bookworm before?"

"Even bookworms can create miracles." Xi You laughed. "You're getting more and more excellent."

Looking at his error logbook, which was heavy and filled with his hard work over the past few months, Ruan Miao felt proud of himself. If his parents in the other world knew, they would certainly praise him too.

In high spirits, Ruan Miao packed up and headed home after evening self-study. But as he reached a stairway corner, someone suddenly covered his mouth and dragged him away into the darkness.

The light on the first-floor stairs had just broken, and the repair personnel wouldn't come until the next day. No one expected such an incident to happen at school.

Fang Zhi, walking down the stairs, tripped over something and fell. Rubbing his head, he sat up and turned on his phone's flashlight to see what he had tripped over. It was a familiar backpack.

"Miao Miao's?" He was stunned for a moment before instinctively looking around. The stairwell was pitch dark. He shone the flashlight around but didn't see Ruan Miao, only his backpack on the ground.

In an instant, his sixth sense told him something was wrong. Ruan Miao was cautious and timid; he wouldn't leave his backpack unattended for no reason. Thinking of the worst possibility, Fang Zhi's face turned pale. He grabbed Ruan Miao's backpack and ran downstairs. He remembered that He Shanglu's class was in the building opposite, and third-year students were released five minutes later than second-years, so he might just catch them.

Halfway down, he bumped into someone. Apologizing profusely, Fang Zhi didn't notice that Jian Fangyu, who didn't pay attention to anyone other than Ruan Miao, was the person he had bumped into. Realizing it was him, Fang Zhi instinctively grabbed his sleeve, anxiously saying, "Miao Miao is missing! This is his backpack!"

Jian Fangyu's head whipped around sharply.

Ruan Miao was being dragged upstairs by someone much taller and stronger than him. Struggling desperately, he regretted all those times he had slacked off during PE classes, leaving him powerless now. His shoes had come off, his socks torn and feet hurting from the gravel.

Eventually, the person dragging him stopped and violently threw him into a corner. Ruan Miao scrambled to his feet, recognizing Xu Hao under the moonlight.

"Remember me?" Xu Hao grinned, waving at him.

Ruan Miao was terrified. Glancing around for an escape route, he realized they were on the rooftop, with the only exit blocked by Xu Hao. They were alone, and if Xu Hao killed him, no one would find out.

"What do you want?" Ruan Miao's voice trembled as he tried to sound calm.

Xu Hao played with his lighter, the flame flickering and illuminating the coldness in his eyes. "Nothing much, just wanted to play."

"Remember the night you ruined my fun?"

Ruan Miao had suspected Xu Hao might seek revenge but had hoped he wouldn't go so far, considering Xu Hao hadn't faced serious consequences last time. Who would have thought he'd actually dare?

"My second brother will find me..." Ruan Miao tried to intimidate Xu Hao, instinctively thinking of He Shanglu. "He's great at fighting; you can't beat him."

"The third-year He Shanglu?" Xu Hao sneered. "Sure, I can't beat him, but it won't matter. You might be dead by the time he gets here."

Ruan Miao began shaking uncontrollably as Xu Hao pulled out a baseball bat, the same one that had haunted his nightmares. "I love the sound of skulls cracking."

"Ever heard it?"

Of course not. I'm not a psychopath.

Ruan Miao stayed silent, knowing that provoking Xu Hao would be dangerous. He quickly tried to appease him. "Don't get excited. Let's talk this out calmly. Acting on impulse will only cause trouble."

"What is there to talk about between us?" Xu Hao sneered. "Why don't you tell me what we should discuss?"

"Talk about... life goals?" Ruan Miao responded uncertainly.

Xu Hao: "..."

"Dreams and goals are for idiots who cling to unrealistic fantasies. Only lower-class people like you have such things."

"This world is filthy, and everyone in it is pathetic."

Xu Hao dismissed his words, launching into a grand speech about his worldview as if he stood on a pedestal of righteousness.

Ruan Miao endured his speech, feeling that Xu Hao was like a heavy-handed villain from a book, verbose at crucial moments. He hoped this verbosity would lead to the same downfall as in those novels.

He prayed that his second brother and the others would find him soon.

Meanwhile, Jian Fangyu, with a grim expression, manipulated his phone before heading upstairs. He met He Shanglu and He Shangzhi at the bottom of the stairs.

"He's upstairs," He Shanglu stated calmly, unusually not in his typical abrasive manner. He carried a baseball bat on his shoulder, raising an eyebrow in invitation. "Care to join?"

Jian Fangyu did not respond, walking ahead. He Shanglu followed with his bat, while He Shangzhi carried nothing.

The three of them, each with distinct personalities, momentarily formed an unlikely alliance.