#11 — Warning

The moment Ji Feng returned to his seat, a short-statured male classmate named Wang Tong turned around and whispered, "Ji Feng, are you dating Tong Lei?"

"Who said that? No way!" Ji Feng blinked in surprise before shaking his head with a laugh. "Wang Tong, where'd you hear that?"

Wang Tong lowered his voice further. "Just now I overheard Xu Mo and Chen Yang discussing you and Tong Lei."

"They were talking about me?" Ji Feng paused, then shrugged. "Let them talk. Who doesn't gossip behind others' backs?"

"You!" Wang Tong, who got along reasonably well with Ji Feng, pulled him aside to a corner of the classroom. "You'd better be careful. Xu Mo isn't someone to mess with!"

"I know that much." Ji Feng frowned. "But what does that have to do with me?"

Wang Tong made a face. "Come on, stop playing dumb with me!"

Seeing Ji Feng's genuine confusion, Wang Tong explained, "Don't tell me you didn't know Xu Mo's had a thing for our monitor this whole time? If he thinks you're chasing her, he might come after you!"

Understanding dawned on Ji Feng. Xu Mo's crush on Tong Lei was practically public knowledge across the entire senior grade. However, Tong Lei had never given Xu Mo the time of day, leaving his two-year pursuit fruitless.

This didn't particularly concern Ji Feng. He had no intention of pursuing Tong Lei—at least not until he'd proven himself worthy of her.

Noticing Ji Feng's nonchalant expression, Wang Tong pressed on, "Don't take this lightly. You know how petty and domineering Xu Mo can be. Plus, his father's Deputy County Chief Xu Fu. If he wants to make trouble for you, it'll be easy!"

Ji Feng nodded with a faint smile. "Relax, there's nothing between me and Tong Lei. What reason would he have to come after me?"

"You idiot!" Wang Tong groaned. "Since when does a bully like Xu Mo need reasons?"

"He wouldn't dare!"

A new voice cut in as Zhang Lei materialized beside them, his dyed blond hair catching the light. "If Xu Mo touches Fengzi, I'll be the first to break his legs!"

"Damn!"

Wang Tong rolled his eyes. "Leizi, don't blow smoke. Even if your family's loaded, nobody with money dares cross officials in this county, right?"

Zhang Lei responded with a cold smirk, his disdain unmistakable despite his silence.

Ji Feng punched his shoulder playfully. "What kind of student talks like a gangster?"

The three burst into laughter, drawing curious glances from classmates.

By the next class period, Ji Feng had completely put the matter out of his mind, focusing instead on his textbooks. Though he'd memorized current lesson content verbatim, true mastery required flexible application.

Leveraging his photographic memory, Ji枫 adopted a cramming approach—devouring entire new textbooks by brute-force memorization.

With two years of missed coursework to make up, he needed to master senior-year material quickly before circling back to fill freshman and sophomore gaps. Only then could he hope to test into a top university.

Zhang Lei watched Ji Feng's page-flipping reading speed with astonishment. "Fengzi, have you given up completely? Why've you been ignoring lectures to flip through books randomly these past two days?"

Ji Feng smiled faintly. "It's a unique self-study method beyond your comprehension."

This half-hearted explanation was all he could offer—revealing Intelligent Brain's existence would likely get him dissected in some lab.

Zhang Lei rolled his eyes. "Screw you then, do whatever."

Ji Feng chuckled and resumed studying.

"Ding~~~!" The bell signaled the end of morning classes.

Ji Feng had already plowed through half his textbooks when Zhang Lei groaned, "Finally! When will this torture end?"

Ji Feng glared. "Not everyone's a freak like you!"

Zhang Lei's most outrageous trait was his ability to ace exams while only studying during class—never cracking a book outside school hours.

With a grin, Zhang Lei stood. "Bathroom break. No more lectures from you."

Watching Zhang Lei leave, Ji Feng shook his head with a smile and returned to his book.

Suddenly, a hand clapped his shoulder. Looking up, he found Deputy Monitor Xu Mo standing beside him with a sinister smile.

"Ji Feng, come with me. We need to talk." Xu Mo's tone carried undisguised contempt.

After a brief hesitation, Ji Feng nodded.

Xu Mo slung an arm around Ji Feng's shoulders like they were old friends, steering him into the hallway before dropping all pretense.

"Stay away from Tong Lei. It'll be better for you."

Ji Feng maintained his composure. "I'm already quite distant from her."

"Don't play dumb." Xu Mo's voice turned icy. "A nobody like you chasing Tong Lei? A toad lusting after swan meat!"

"Tong Lei may be a swan, but the toad's identity remains debatable," Ji Feng retorted evenly.

Xu Mo's expression darkened. "Know your place, trash. If I see you near her again, you'll regret it!"

He shoved Ji Feng hard—only to recoil when Ji Feng stood firm like an immovable boulder, the rebound nearly toppling Xu Mo instead!

After shooting Ji Feng a venomous glare brimming with warning, Xu Mo stormed off with a cold snort.

Ji Feng murmured to himself, "'A nobody'... such impressive rhetoric."

Returning to class, Ji Feng dismissed the threat—just another spoiled brat throwing his weight around. Besides, there truly was nothing between him and Tong Lei.

As he reentered, he sensed someone's gaze. Looking up, he locked eyes with Tong Lei herself.

They exchanged silent nods, neither noticing Xu Mo's murderous glare from across the room.

"Ji Feng," Xu Mo seethed under his breath, face twisted with rage, "since you've chosen to ignore my warning, I'll make sure you regret it!"