BTO CH41

Xu Sheng’s thought from this morning—”Isn’t it just military training? It doesn’t matter if we swap, as long as there are no exams; it’s a minor scene”—felt like a loud slap landing squarely on his face.

How was this a minor scene?

The five or six guys opposite him all looked like street delinquents. If they took off their military training uniforms and walked out of the Lüzhou Base, they could stand on the main road and go straight to collecting protection money.

Their aura was completely different from those younger, self-proclaimed gangster kids with dyed yellow hair at the internet cafe last time.

There was an unmistakable hostility between their brows… These guys were true delinquents.

Although Xu Sheng didn’t often get physical with people, his title as Linjiang Sixth High’s “school tyrant” originated from rumors—besides skipping class and scaling walls to go to the internet cafe with Zhang Feng, he spent the rest of his time soaked in an abandoned warehouse facing an easel and a stack of drawings. The first time he was rumored to have gotten into a fight off-campus and was called to the homeroom teacher’s office, he didn’t explain.

“A classmate said they saw you leave the school without permission. Did you get into a fight or not?”

“Didn’t.”

“Didn’t fight? You say you didn’t fight, and I’m supposed to just believe you? Then tell me where you were last night?”

Xu Sheng fell silent.

He couldn’t mention that he was out painting last night. If that reached Xu Yaping’s ears, it would cause another endless uproar.

Xu Sheng simply said he didn’t fight but refused to say where he went or what he was doing last night. In the end, he just lowered his eyes with a “say whatever you want” attitude, which in the teacher’s eyes was basically an admission of guilt. Thus, the rumors of him constantly scaling the wall to go fight grew more solid. Hindered by not catching him in the act, the teacher could only give a verbal warning.

Although Xu Sheng’s title as the school tyrant was somewhat exaggerated…

…that didn’t mean he wasn’t good at these things.

Young and reckless, just because he didn’t like fighting didn’t mean he wouldn’t throw a punch back when one was swung into his face.

Moving around from rental to rental with Xu Yaping, Xu Sheng had seen all kinds of people. The living conditions in the early years were poor, and there were many things he was unwilling to tell Xu Yaping, knowing she was busy and exhausted just trying to survive: “What happened to your hand?”

Xu Sheng looked down, didn’t say it was from hitting someone, and casually said: “Fell.”

Xu Yaping frowned: “How can a fall look like this?” She didn’t think much further and said exhaustedly, “Bring the first-aid kit over. Don’t touch water for the next few days.”

Later, after he went to the art studio, there was also a gang of troublemakers at Kang Kai’s school. That neighborhood was already far from peaceful. For a while, Kang Kai always returned to the studio with injuries, blue and purple bruises hidden beneath his sleeves, which Xu Sheng only accidentally spotted while correcting his drawing.

“Don’t bullshit me about falling,” Xu Sheng said. “That excuse is leftover trash I used up long ago. If you can fall like this, go outside and fall like that again for me to see. Who did you fight?”

“The order is reversed; I was the one getting beaten,” Kang Kai said with a gloomy face. “Don’t tell my mom… it’s our school’s tyrant; he’s been collecting protection money everywhere lately.”

Kang Kai’s hands were great for drawing, but his fighting skills were zero.

Kang Kai was just venting casually. After all, Xu Sheng didn’t look like he could fight either; when he wasn’t drawing, he’d just find a spot to slump over and sleep. Yet Kang Kai truly didn’t expect that the next day after school, when the school tyrant grabbed his backpack and dragged him toward an alley, a figure walked out near the school gate.

“I’m only saying this once,” Xu Sheng said, backlit by the sun. “Let go.”

Kang Kai, who had assumed art students only knew how to hold paintbrushes, had his worldview shattered once again that day.

The speed at which those “school tyrants” were knocked down by Xu Sheng was breathtaking.

Even long after, Kang Kai still couldn’t forget that day. In his heart, Xu Sheng had thoroughly become “Daddy.”

The several guys from Honghai Fourth High stepped forward, completely surrounding Xu Sheng.

The one who had called Shao Zhan’s name earlier was clearly the leader. The others consciously parted a path for him. Getting closer, Xu Sheng could clearly smell the tobacco on him: “I saw you when you were speaking on stage earlier. I originally wanted to look for you, but I didn’t expect it to be such a coincidence…” He smiled as he said this. “Fate, huh.”

Xu Sheng’s mind whirred rapidly: They know each other?

What relationship? Friends or enemies?

Xu Sheng thought to himself that there probably wasn’t any major connection, likely just old classmates who knew each other before. However, on second thought, recalling the tattoo on Shao Zhan’s shoulder blade and his appearance after a fight, including that chat log he caught a fleeting glimpse of last time, he immediately overturned his previous conclusion: It’s not impossible.

Thinking of this, Xu Sheng chose an opening line that couldn’t go wrong: “Something wrong?”

The other party chewed on those two words in his mouth, saying, “Nothing much, just seeing that you’re doing pretty well for yourself at Linjiang Second High. Student representative, huh? Wonder if this group of classmates of yours…”

“Linjiang Sixth High,” Xu Sheng interrupted.

The other party paused: “…”

“Carry on,” Xu Sheng said.

Xu Sheng vaguely felt that the second half of the sentence must be related to the tattoo hidden on Shao Zhan’s body.

Interrupted out of nowhere by Xu Sheng, the originally tense atmosphere dissipated somewhat, but he still turned the tide back, his voice suddenly lowered deliberately, whispering, “Do these classmates of yours know about those past matters of yours?”

Xu Sheng confirmed it: This definitely isn’t a friend. This guy has a grudge against Shao Zhan.

“You’re just like your dad,” the man said in a drawn-out, malicious tone. “A rat’s son knows how to dig holes. What are you pretending to be a top student for—”

Shao Zhan’s dad?

Hearing people say these things while inside Shao Zhan’s body felt very strange.

Beyond the strangeness, rather than curiosity about what Shao Zhan had gone through in the past and what was up between Shao Zhan and his father, Xu Sheng’s strongest emotion was actually annoyance.

What kind of fucking hooligan hostage-taking speech is this?

Spouting complete bullshit.

What Xu Sheng wanted to say most was: Fuck, is my desk mate someone you get to talk about?

Unfortunately, he wasn’t in his own body right now, so he couldn’t say those words directly.

Xu Sheng had no patience to stand here dealing with these dumbasses. Reining in his nonchalant demeanor, when he looked back up, his eyes actually revealed a faint chill resembling Shao Zhan’s: “Are you done speaking?”

The other party was interrupted halfway through his tough talk.

“I don’t have time to listen to your bullshit,” Xu Sheng said. “Scram…”

The word scram was too brutal, unlike something Shao Zhan would say. In the end, Xu Sheng temporarily changed it to: “Get out of the way.”

His two unceremonious sentences pushed the already tense atmosphere to its peak. Someone opposite pulled the cigarette from his mouth and spat out a “Fuck.”

At the critical moment, Honghai’s homeroom teacher emerged along the tree-lined path looking for students. Spotting several problem students from the class gathered together from a distance, the teacher shouted: “—Yang Shiwei! What are you guys doing over there?”

Although this gang didn’t usually listen to teachers’ discipline, they still had to put on a show on the surface, immediately scattering upon hearing the voice.

The one called Yang Shiwei was the leader. He stared fixedly at Xu Sheng, backed up two steps, and finally left a sentence: “Just you wait.”

As if I’d be afraid of you.

Xu Sheng didn’t stop in his tracks, ignoring him, and returned to the dorm right at the five-minute mark.

Instructor Wang had just finished folding one quilt: “I’ll leave the remaining time to you. Put the duvet covers on properly, and fold the quilts neatly according to the requirements. I’ll come check in a while.”

Xu Sheng slept on the bottom bunk. Sitting on the edge of the bed, he started putting on his duvet cover along with them. Hou Jun slept above him and made a messy tangle of it, a long strip hanging down and smacking right onto Xu Sheng’s head: “…”

Hou Jun: “Sorry about that, my skills are rusty.”

Tan Kai, across from Hou Jun, had completely crawled inside the duvet cover. After wriggling inside for a while, he let out a howl: “Holy crap, the duvet cover zipper seems to be stuck! Someone save me!”

“…”

Xu Sheng sighed, discovering that the only person in the entire dorm who actually knew how to put on a duvet cover was Shao Zhan.

While they were in a state of chaos, Shao Zhan, separated from him by an arm’s width of narrow aisle, had already finished folding his quilt—square and neat, virtually identical to the instructor’s demonstration piece.

Do top students learn everything this fast?

After finishing, Shao Zhan glanced at Xu Sheng: “Do you know how?”

“Not really,” Xu Sheng hadn’t been listening earlier, so how could he know how? He scratched his hair and, in the end, simply played shameless, reaching out to tug at the hem of Shao Zhan’s shirt, saying: “Teacher, why don’t you teach me?”

Shao Zhan leaned against the iron bar of the bunk bed, looking down at Xu Sheng’s hand grabbing his shirt hem.

A long while later, he raised his eyes and spat out four words: “Sure. Beg me.”

These words sounded a bit like teasing.

Shao Zhan had only said it casually, not expecting Xu Sheng to be so flexible. To avoid doing it himself, he would say anything; now that they were familiar, he had zero burden whatsoever. Lowering his originally flamboyant tone, the teenager whispered: “…Beg you.”

For a rare moment, Shao Zhan wanted to curse out loud in his heart.

Who the hell was playing whom here?

Shao Zhan fell silent for two seconds, finally walking over to him: “Get up.”

Xu Sheng shifted to the side without standing up, sitting with bent legs watching Shao Zhan put on the duvet cover. The figures of those people who had come to stir up trouble earlier inexplicably surfaced in his mind again.

Should I tell him?

Xu Sheng hesitated.

As it was nearly finished, Xu Sheng let out a “cough.” No matter how you looked at it, his two sentences earlier had added fuel to the fire; maybe it really would spark something: “When I went out earlier, I ran into those guys from Honghai.”

“The one who handed the paper note?”

“No,” Xu Sheng said. “A few guys, smoking. Seemed like your old classmates, spouting a bunch of random nonsense.”

Xu Sheng glossed over the specific details and added: “What was his name again… Yang Shiwei.”

The movement of Shao Zhan’s hands came to a halt.

Not many activities were scheduled for the first day. In the evening, a National Defense Education film was arranged in the screening hall.

“Company Seven, stand up!”

“Sit!”

Before the movie started, Instructor Wang led them in practicing several times, standing ramrod straight and shouting with full strength until their movements of standing up and sitting down were completely synchronized.

Instructor Wang: “Remove your hats. Keep quiet later and pay attention to discipline.”

After removing his hat, Shao Zhan instinctively wanted to unbutton his collar, but when he reached up, he realized Xu Sheng had already unbuttoned everything that could be unbuttoned.

At eight o’clock sharp, the movie started.

After the lights went out, the massive screening hall plunged into dimness. Shao Zhan’s vision went black until the giant screen in front slowly lit up, gradually projecting the title. Only then did the screening hall gain a bit of faint light. Speakers sat on both sides, the sound quality poor, producing obvious static whenever the volume spiked.

As for what words were on the giant screen, Shao Zhan didn’t look closely.

At this moment, the dim hall provided the perfect cover for hiding emotions. The name Yang Shiwei continuously echoed in his ears.

Hearing movement beside him, Xu Sheng shifted his gaze from the screen and turned his head to see Shao Zhan’s seat empty.

Hou Jun also noticed the sound, mainly because the movie was too boring, causing his attention to wander: “As expected of Sheng-ge, even bailing during a movie. I wanna bail too, but I don’t dare. This movie is seriously boring… how is this a movie? It’s an educational film!”

Right after Hou Jun finished speaking, he heard another sound.

Immediately after, he saw the embodiment of law-abiding discipline, the Study God Shao Zhan, also stand up. Bending low with practiced ease, he slipped out unnoticed along the side aisle: “…”

He felt like he had stumbled upon another huge secret.

Xu Sheng pushed open the door along the aisle and walked out. Outside the screening hall was the third-floor lobby. He didn’t know which direction Shao Zhan had gone, so he could only wander around aimlessly.

Nowhere could hide a person. In the end, Xu Sheng casually pushed open the door to an unfamiliar hallway. The lights in the hallway weren’t working well, very dim, but even so, he still saw the teenager sitting on the windowsill at the end of the corridor. A crack was open in the window behind Shao Zhan, a breeze blowing in from outside. The teenager’s palm rested on the edge of the windowsill; seeing someone push open the door, he raised his eyes and looked over.

Shao Zhan: “What did you come here for?”

Xu Sheng closed the door and casually said: “Even my Study God desk mate has learned to skip class, am I not allowed to come out for some fresh air?”

Leaning against the wall, Xu Sheng asked again: “Is it time now to talk about that thing on your body, and that Yang whatever-his-name-was guy… what’s the deal with that?”

Strictly speaking, the name Yang Shiwei held little significance, and the grievance between Shao Zhan and this person was quite shallow. Yet this name raised the past, piecing together memory fragments that had been thought of countless times only to be cut short.

The first fragment pieced together was a police car, a thunderstorm, and a report on the television news.

“…Police have successfully apprehended suspect Shao Ruiming.”

The background of the television broadcast was the ticket window at Nanping Bus Station. The female reporter on scene wore a raincoat, her voice flat and emotionless as she read from her script.

Nanping District was a small place.

Any family’s son or daughter-in-law getting into an argument would become common knowledge. In Shao Zhan’s memory, after Shao Ruiming was sentenced, rumors spread wildly. Gradually, the title people gave him became “the criminal’s son.”

Small places were always prone to breeding countless ignorant incidents.

For instance, some adults wouldn’t let their children get close to him, or wherever he walked, people would whisper and gossip about him.

Back then, Shao Zhan was young and hot-tempered. Because someone spoke far too harshly, he got into his first fight. And so they said: As expected of XXX’s son.

He really had run wild back then, with no one to discipline him.

Yet a certain clear-headed part of his consciousness continued to struggle ceaselessly.

Until a hundred-plus days before the high school entrance exam, a teacher at school who had never given up on him called him over: “It doesn’t matter what others say about you. What matters is, what kind of person do you want to become?”

That teacher gave him a pull, dragging him out of that place.

That year on the high school entrance exam, Shao Zhan scored first in the entire county.

Memories swirled in confusion. Finally, Shao Zhan looked at him and said: “Junior high classmate.”

Xu Sheng signaled him to continue.

Shao Zhan was succinct, summarizing his history with Yang Shiwei in just two words: “Fought before.”