BTO CH32

A new week.

Traffic flowed endlessly at the school gates. Students, carrying backpacks, streamed into the school in groups. The stationery stores were packed as usual; the shopkeepers often sold merchandise and stationery featuring popular idol stars, causing a scramble with every new arrival. Although Linjiang Sixth High didn’t mandate that students couldn’t go home on weekends, boarders returning home roughly once a month had gradually become an unwritten rule.

At the side gate.

King of Hell Gu had just caught several students violating school rules and discipline, pulling them aside and lining them up: “You, where is your uniform? And you—having a weekend off, are you trying to start a rebellion? Did you think that by dyeing a tiny patch of hair underneath, no one would notice?!”

To chase trends, some students only dared dye the hair underneath, letting the top layers cover it. Unless the wind blew it messy, it wasn’t easily discovered.

King of Hell Gu casually pulled a pair of folding scissors from his pocket: “Cut off that patch of hair before you go in.”

Having scolded them one by one, King of Hell Gu walked toward the back of the line. He spotted a patch of black clothing; the teenager had a lean figure, standing out glaringly in the crowd.

Holding his breakfast, Xu Sheng stood at the end of the line: “Good morning, Director Gu.”

King of Hell Gu was originally quite calm, but seeing Xu Sheng triggered a conditioned reflex. A surge of anger instantly rushed from his chest straight to his head: “Xu Sheng, what are you doing here? Did I catch you?”

“No,” Xu Sheng had joined the line voluntarily. “Just came to say hi to you. Haven’t seen you all weekend, missed you a bit.”

“Please, you should spend more time missing our Sixth High rules! Staying out of my sight is the greatest care you can show me—not wearing your uniform again, and that ear piercing, how many times have I told you!” King of Hell Gu’s head began to throb. “Get lost, immediately! Scram as far as you can!”

Xu Sheng had intentionally sought out this scolding.

He had never missed King of Hell Gu’s booming voice this much.

When he was Shao Zhan, King of Hell Gu’s gentle tone made his scalp tingle. Being subjected to “you are truly my little pride” attacks for a whole month had left Xu Sheng feeling constantly uncomfortable. Now, genuinely getting a scolding from King of Hell Gu actually felt much better. The previous sense of upside-down dislocation vanished, and things were finally back in place.

Following orders, Xu Sheng scrammed: “Goodbye, Director Gu.”

Xu Sheng always arrived late to class, either tardy or absent. But after a month, his campus life had unknowingly changed: he woke up precisely at six, arrived at the classroom twenty minutes early, and didn’t feel anything was amiss.

Not many people had arrived in Sophomore Class 7. Aside from the students on duty, only a few others were present.

Then, he noticed his desk mate’s campus life had also unknowingly changed:

Hou Jun, Gao Zhibo, Tan Kai, and a few others were surrounding Shao Zhan, calling him “Zhan-ge.”

“Zhan-ge, could your humble little brother borrow your homework to pay his respects?” Hou Jun said. “I promise, it’s genuinely just for reference, not copying.”

Tan Kai: “Zhan-ge, although I can’t guarantee anything, I will try my best to control myself.”

Gao Zhibo: “Zhan-ge, I’ve been independently thinking about this problem for a long time, but I still have no clue. Should I continue to independently think about it?”

From the moment Shao Zhan entered the classroom, the voices in his ears hadn’t stopped, as if ten Xu Shengs were talking beside him. But unexpectedly, he didn’t seem to find it too annoying.

Entering through the back door, Xu Sheng broke the encirclement. Hou Jun first saw a hand reach over, two fingers hooked through a plastic bag, and then saw the school tyrant’s signature T-shirt. Xu Sheng placed the breakfast he was carrying onto Shao Zhan’s desk, pulled out his chair, and sat down: “Didn’t know what you liked to eat, so I just bought whatever.”

Shao Zhan reached out, pulled his homework out, and tossed it directly to Hou Jun and the others, then asked: “What is this.”

Xu Sheng: “Breakfast.”

Everyone instantly extracted the key information:

The school tyrant bought breakfast for the Study God.

Carefully reaching out, Hou Jun caught the homework notebook Shao Zhan had thrown. With a complex heart, he thought: Why do these two constantly do things that let people’s imaginations run wild every single day?!

“Thank you, Zhan-ge.” Hou Jun knocked Tan Kai and Gao Zhibo on the head respectively, leading a tactical retreat with the two of them. “Words cannot express our gratitude, we won’t disturb you two.”

Shao Zhan thought the breakfast offer was just a casual remark. He said coldly: “No need.”

Xu Sheng: “I’m the kind of person who does what I say.”

Shao Zhan was silent for two seconds. Then he closed the error-correction notebook on his desk, leaned back, his features sharp and cold, yet a subtle, thought-provoking depth hidden in his eyes. He uttered a sentence that carried a hint of pressure and a touch of ambiguity: “So you’ll do whatever I want?”

“…” Xu Sheng said, “You saw it?”

Fuck.

If there were a hole in the ground right now, he’d jump in immediately.

Fortunately, the intense aura around Shao Zhan quickly dissipated. It was almost time for class. He picked up the breakfast bag, hooked it on the side of his desk, and said: “I don’t have any other demands for you. Keep your mouth shut in class, talk less, and be quiet.”

“…”

Actually, Xu Sheng hadn’t dared to say the most important sentence: Eat more. A full stomach is good for the road ahead.

Hou Jun referenced the homework very quickly. He found the mistaken step, realized his function graph was drawn incorrectly, corrected it, and returned Shao Zhan’s notebook. He also brought some firsthand information to the two of them: “I went to Old Meng’s office this morning. They’ve already finished grading the test papers. They were calculating the scores this morning; I’m guessing the scores will be out before class.”

Both Xu Sheng and Shao Zhan’s breathing caught.

Hou Jun sighed heavily: “Zhan-ge, I really envy you. Sigh, I’m going to die of nervousness.”

Xu Sheng thought to himself: No, you have no idea how nervous we are.

In fact, Xu Sheng hadn’t slept well last night, and Shao Zhan hadn’t fared much better.

Xu Sheng probed: “When you went there this morning, was the atmosphere in the office normal?”

Hou Jun didn’t know what Xu Sheng meant by this. He thought for a moment and said: “It was quite… peaceful.”

Xu Sheng asked again: “What about Old Meng’s mental state? Was it also normal? Maybe not just his mental state—for instance, did he show any physical issues like a spiked blood pressure or an irregular heartbeat, or even more serious… did any ambulances enter or leave the school today?”

Hou Jun: “Ah?”

Meng Guowei’s mental state had been normal ten minutes ago. That was until he turned to the next test paper. Meng Guowei took one look and mechanically typed into the computer: Candidate Name: Shao Zhan, Exam Number: 1, Chinese Score…

Having handled too many test papers recently, it wasn’t until Meng Guowei finished typing that the string of characters truly registered in his brain. A second later, he reacted.

He abruptly stopped typing, his eyes wide. He scrolled the page up and read it again.

Chinese Score…

Meng Guowei’s pupils gradually dilated. The hand holding the mouse trembled slightly. His entire body froze in his seat. When teachers of other subjects next to him called out to him, he didn’t respond: “Teacher Meng, Teacher Meng!”

—65 points.

Meng Guowei looked down at the test paper. The handwriting on the paper was wild and uninhibited, rampaging like a wild bull galloping recklessly across the prairie—completely unlike Shao Zhan’s usual handwriting.

It felt as long as half a century before he faintly heard the calls of other teachers in his ears: “Teacher Meng…”

Meng Guowei responded absentmindedly: “Ah?”

Zhou Yuan, with trembling hands, stood up. He almost lost his balance, having to grip the desk to barely support his body. Strikingly, Teacher Zhou Yuan was also holding a test paper!

Zhou Yuan’s voice stuttered: “Shao Zhan… Shao Zhan’s math score is out. 5… 59 points.”

Meng Guowei: “……………”

One piece of bad news arrived after another. In the end, four test papers were laid out on Meng Guowei’s desk, and the candidate name on all of them was two crookedly written characters: Shao Zhan.

It wasn’t just Meng Guowei; the hearts of all the teachers shattered into pieces.

“Study God,” morning self-study hadn’t started yet, and Hou Jun had just finished sharing his grapevine news. A head popped in at the door of Class 7—a student from another class: “The teacher wants you in the office.”

Xu Sheng, who had been curled up in the corner ready to play a game, had just started a round but immediately quit.

He sat up straight, thinking to himself that what must come, cannot be avoided.

Before Shao Zhan stood up, he said in a low voice: “I’ll settle the score with you later.”

Xu Sheng shrank his neck.

Only Hou Jun cast an envious glance at Shao Zhan, letting out a sigh: “Zhan-ge, the scores must be out! Old Meng can’t wait to praise you!”

The atmosphere in the office was vastly different from usual.

Usually at this time, people would be coming and going, so loud it could be heard half a hallway away. Yet, as Shao Zhan walked there, it was unusually quiet.

He raised his hand and knocked: “Reporting.”

Meng Guowei popped two pills into his mouth—tranquilizers—swallowed them with water, and then adjusted his tone: “C-come in.”

“Teacher,” although he really didn’t want to face what was about to happen, Shao Zhan still took a deep breath, feigning calmness. “You asked for me.”

Meng Guowei looked with a complex expression at the student he had once been most proud of.

His genius boy, Shao Zhan.

The pride of Linjiang Sixth High.

…

Meng Guowei was about to speak when another voice came from the door: “Reporting.”

After knocking, before Meng Guowei could speak, Xu Sheng raised a textbook he had randomly grabbed from his desk. His gaze met Shao Zhan’s for a split second, then he began his serious nonsense: “Teacher, I have a few questions I don’t know how to do. I’d like to ask for your guidance.”

Meng Guowei had received enough shocks today. Coupled with “Xu Sheng coming to ask a question,” perhaps it was a case of extremes meeting; surprisingly, his mood remained completely unruffled.

Meng Guowei sighed, temporarily suspending his conversation with Shao Zhan, and said: “Come in.”

“What are you doing here.” While Meng Guowei was taking the book, Shao Zhan asked in a low voice.

“…Afraid you’d die in the office,” Xu Sheng whispered in his ear.

Xu Sheng had really grabbed this book at random without even looking. It wasn’t until Meng Guowei asked that he realized he had grabbed the wrong one: “This is a freshman textbook?”

Xu Sheng quickly said: “Ah, yes, my… foundation is weak.”

Meng Guowei: “…”

Meng Guowei really wasn’t in the mood. He closed the brand-new freshman textbook and said to Xu Sheng: “You go out first. Come back during the next break. Student Shao Zhan and I have some things to talk about.”

Xu Sheng’s reactions were naturally quick, especially after a month of tempering; he could handle any situation with ease. Holding the textbook, he said: “It’s fine. It just so happens I also want to ask Teacher Zhou a couple of math questions.”

Zhou Yuan’s desk was right next to them, very close.

Xu Sheng hadn’t prepared any questions. He casually spouted some nonsense like “I didn’t quite understand the concepts taught in last week’s class,” and then, with one ear listening to Zhou Yuan flip open the textbook to derive a formula, he used the other ear to listen to Meng Guowei and Shao Zhan’s conversation.

It took Meng Guowei a great deal of effort to finally say: “It’s like this, the monthly exam scores are out.”

Shao Zhan gave a sound of acknowledgement.

Meng Guowei: “You haven’t encountered any issues in your daily life lately, have you?”

Shao Zhan: “No.”

Meng Guowei: “Regarding the monthly exam scores… Teacher has a few questions I want to ask you. Don’t be nervous. If you have any thoughts, you can tell Teacher, and we’ll solve and overcome them together.”

Saying this, Meng Guowei pushed the test papers over.

Shao Zhan finally saw how Xu Sheng had answered the questions.

A row of bright red scores shocked everyone’s eyes.

Meng Guowei: “What’s going on with your handwriting?”

Shao Zhan couldn’t explain this handwriting of Xu Sheng’s.

Closing his eyes, Shao Zhan said: “I’ve been practicing wild cursive lately.”

“…”

Meng Guowei had too many questions he wanted to ask. He felt extremely confused by every single question on every single test paper. He even wanted to ask directly, “How could you score like this?”, but was afraid that before things were clear, it would hurt Shao Zhan.

Meng Guowei could only pick out a few representative questions. He pointed to the English composition section. The topic for this English composition was “Reading,” primarily asking candidates to discuss the benefits of maintaining a reading habit. He said with difficulty: “English composition, the first sentence you wrote, ‘Old people said, read huahuahua, write shuashuashua’… what does it mean?”

Shao Zhan: “…?”