17

Jiang Yan really felt like his luck had run out.

As a notorious school bully, known throughout the school, he found himself writing self-criticisms three times a week since the new term started.

And the reasons for the criticisms? Never the same twice.

He hadn't finished the 3,000-word self-criticism for disrupting class order last time, and now he had another 3,000 words for playing on his phone during class. That's a total of 6,000 words of self-criticism.

Great. Just great.

But he had no choice but to write them. With Mr. Yu's nagging, if he didn't turn in the self-criticisms on time, he'd probably be subjected to another round of "education" from Mr. Yu.

Jiang Yan felt incredibly frustrated about being a school bully.

During the break, he stayed at his desk writing his self-criticism.

His accomplice, Lin Tiao, had vanished right after class, perhaps out of guilt or shame.

Hu Hanghang, Song Yuan, and Xu Yichuan squeezed together at the back, all staring at Jiang Yan writing his self-criticism.

Xu Yichuan leaned his head over from the back, looked at the sprawling handwriting on the paper, and couldn't help but laugh. "Bro, can you practice your handwriting a bit? With your writing, nobody would recognize it as a self-criticism. People would think you're drawing some kind of symbols."

Jiang Yan was already fuming.

Xu Yichuan was poking the bear and didn't even realize it, continuing to chatter, "Bro, your handwriting reflects your personality. You shouldn't waste your face like this. If—"

Before he could finish, Jiang Yan threw down his pen, grabbed Xu Yichuan's head, and shoved it down. "Xu Yichuan, I'm starting to think you've got a death wish."

Caught off guard by the sudden move, Xu Yichuan was pressed down, his head hanging, and he felt a rush of blood to his head.

He quickly begged, "Bro, bro, bro, let go! Brother Yan! Big Brother! Daddy! You're my daddy!"

It was pretty pathetic.

Jiang Yan laughed despite his anger and loosened his grip.

Seeing the opportunity, Xu Yichuan pulled his head back, rubbing it. "Damn, Fatty! Fatty! Check if my face is still handsome. I make a living off this face!"

"Not handsome, not at all," Hu Hanghang said, slapping Xu Yichuan's face. "Xu Yichuan, you're really shameless. If you could live off your face, I'd be ruling the world with my muscles."

"How can't I live off my face?" Xu Yichuan said, rolling up his sleeves.

"You can't live off anything," Hu Hanghang said, standing up as well.

Song Yuan, enjoying the show, took a couple of sheets of paper from the desk and placed them on the floor. "Alright, bets are open. Put your bets on Hu Hanghang winning on the right side, and Xu Yichuan winning on the left."

Despite the offer, no one in the class dared to take sides.

Though the three of them didn't have the intimidating reputation of Jiang Yan, they were still part of his circle, making them minor figures in their own right.

Anyone who wanted to risk it could place their bets.

As the crowd was still deciding, Du Wenbo, who had been immersed in his e-books at the back of the classroom, walked in through the back door. He scanned the room and casually tossed a coin onto the paper on the left.

"…"

This action seemed to trigger something in the class. The onlookers, who had been merely observing, now crowded around.

"I bet on Hu Hanghang!"

"I bet on Xu Yichuan!"

"I'll bet on both… is that allowed?"

"Forget it!"

At this moment, Lin Tiao returned to the classroom through the front door. Jiang Yan had his back to her, leaning against his desk with his arms crossed, watching the commotion.

The classroom erupted into chaos.

Boys and girls jostled together.

In the noisy, sunlit classroom, the boys stood straight and lean. Jiang Yan occasionally lowered his head, seemingly laughing, his whole body vibrating with the energy of the moment.

Just as he lowered his head, a breeze blew in from the window, lifting his fine black hair slightly.

Lin Tiao suddenly thought of a word.

Gentle.

Jiang Yan found Hu Hanghang to be quite the gem, unmatched in his antics.

At that moment, he was without any pretense, draped over Xu Yichuan's back. His legs were tightly wrapped around Xu Yichuan, his arms hooked around his neck, and he was chanting, "Who's your granddaddy? Your Fatty Grandpa is your granddaddy."

"Fatty Grandpa is here to teach you a lesson."

When Fatty Grandpa made his move, you'd know whether he was serious or not!

Jiang Yan couldn't stop laughing as he looked down, but his peripheral vision caught sight of his ungrateful desk mate, Lin Tiao, cautiously making her way over to him.

The moment he looked up, he immediately wiped the smile off his face and stared at her with an impassive expression.

Lin Tiao paused in her tracks, offering a flattering smile. "Jiang Yan."

Jiang Yan stayed silent, watching the ongoing battle between Hu Hanghang and Xu Yichuan while thinking, "Let's see what nonsense you come up with today."

"I think I owe you an apology," Lin Tiao said, walking up beside him with her head bowed, striking a proper apologetic pose.

Meanwhile, Xu Yichuan had Hu Hanghang's head trapped under his arm, squishing Hu Hanghang's chubby face into an unrecognizable shape.

Jiang Yan almost burst out laughing. He cleared his throat and said with a serious tone, "No need, I really can't accept it."

"Yes, you can! You're the revered school bully! No one in this school deserves my apology more than you," Lin Tiao said, eyes closed as she fibbed.

It was just an apology!

Just bragging!

Just admitting fault!

Lin Tiao could handle it!

Jiang Yan wasn't really that angry; he just felt… he couldn't quite put his feelings into words at the moment.

Resignedly, he sighed and said with apparent difficulty, "I'm actually quite angry, but considering we'll be desk mates for the next two years, I'll accept your apology."

"Two years! We have to be desk mates for two years?!" Lin Tiao exclaimed in surprise.

"…"

Jiang Yan thought that since becoming desk mates with this classmate, his temper had improved a lot. If it had been before, she might have been paralyzed by now.

Lin Tiao also felt a bit awkward after saying that. Being desk mates with the school bully for two years—would she end up bald or die young?

Wuwuwuwu, she hadn't even been in a relationship yet.

Would she still get to experience the sweetness of young love while being desk mates with the school bully?

Lost in these thoughts, Lin Tiao unconsciously asked, "Do you have young love?"

"?" Jiang Yan thought that the question of young love was really serious. Sticking to his principle of not corrupting young minds, he solemnly replied—

"Young love?"

"Never gonna happen."

"Do I look like someone who would have young love, being a future socialist successor?"

Lin Tiao "…"

The conversation between Lin Tiao and Jiang Yan ended with the conclusion of the battle between Xu Yichuan and Hu Hanghang, and the two made up.

Meanwhile, Song Yuan made a little profit by managing the bets during class.

During class, he and Hu Hanghang counted the earnings, totaling nearly twenty bucks.

"Damn, this is quite profitable. Treat us to lunch," Hu Hanghang decided on his own and passed a note to Lin Tiao.

"Sis, we're going out for lunch, and Song Yuan's treating. He made some money, so order whatever you like. Also, ask Brother Yan."

Lin Tiao's hand was still in a cast, so she couldn't write. She handed the note to Jiang Yan, who saw the last line and was furious.

With a swift motion, he wrote a reply and passed the note back.

Hu Hanghang cautiously opened it.

"Hu Hanghang, am I just an afterthought? You've got some nerve!"

Hu Hanghang "..."

I'm really exhausted; I have to be thrifty and keep the kids happy.

He picked up his pen and wrote a new message before folding the note and passing it to Lin Tiao.

Lin Tiao opened it.

The original message had been crossed out with a black pen, and a new message was written at the bottom.

"Brother Yan! Daddy! Grandpa! Ancestor! Song Yuan's treating today. What would you like to eat?"

She smiled after reading it and passed the note back to Jiang Yan.

Jiang Yan opened it, glanced at it, wrote a message, and then passed it back to Hu Hanghang.

"Ask my desk mate."

Hu Hanghang "..."

He wanted to flip the table in frustration.

The English teacher noticed the small commotion and cleared her throat. "Students at the back, please pay attention. No whispering during class."

Lin Tiao, who had been enjoying herself, immediately fell silent, lowering her head to look at the textbook, not knowing where the lesson had reached.

Her ears were filled with the sounds of a neighboring class reading aloud and the teacher's precise British accent.

She glanced out the window and saw Jiang Yan turning his head to look at her.

Their eyes met, and both were momentarily taken aback.

After a few seconds, Jiang Yan's gaze fell on her arm. He parted his lips and asked, "When can you get that cast off?"

"Oh, probably in about half a month," Lin Tiao replied. Her arm wasn't too badly injured—just a minor fracture.

"How did you get hurt?" Jiang Yan asked again.

"Learning to ride a bike," Lin Tiao answered, now less resistant and speaking honestly. "I was learning to ride a bicycle over the summer and fell."

Jiang Yan was stunned for a moment before he started laughing.

Lin Tiao tapped his arm with the cast. "Jiang Yan, if you keep laughing like that, we might really end our friendship."

"Ah…" His voice was low and somewhat heavy, but he couldn't stop laughing. "Aren't you a top student? How can you not even ride a bike?"

Lin Tiao finally understood that his laughter wasn't out of amusement but mockery. Unable to help herself, she reached out with her left hand to pinch him.

Her left hand couldn't quite reach him after several attempts, and she didn't want to look down, so she fumbled blindly.

Jiang Yan didn't notice her movements and continued to lean on his desk, laughing.

Suddenly, he felt warmth on his thigh.

He looked down.

He saw a hand resting on his leg.

He was wearing ripped jeans today, and her hand was positioned exactly over one of the holes.

The warmth of her palm was directly touching his thigh.

Her fingers were slender and white, with neatly trimmed nails, each nail featuring a white crescent-shaped mark.

The back of her hand had visible veins, and her palm was warm and soft.

Jiang Yan looked down for a few seconds, cursing inwardly, "Damn…"

Then he subtly shifted his gaze away, raised his head to look at Lin Tiao, and said with a serious expression, "What's this, trying to be flirtatious?"