BGPOTC CHAPTER 4

“…”

Bo Xinghang never expected Doctor Ji to say something like that.

Study my ass, how am I supposed to study? He hated it more than anything when people told him to study.

Furious but unable to express his anger, Bo Xinghang could only force a smile at Doctor Ji’s composed demeanor.

Sigh.

Bo Xinghang sighed. Despite having had a rough night, he knew he still had another exam the next day, even if he didn’t care much about it.

When he returned home that night, he opened the door to find the lights off and the main room empty, with no sign of anyone having been there.

His mom hadn’t come home again. She’d been gone for about a week now, including today.

Without changing his expression, he went to his room, closed the door, and went to sleep.

He had a dreamless night.

Since the second mock exam followed the schedule of the college entrance exam, he didn’t need to wake up too early. The school wasn’t strict about arrival times, so students only needed to get there before nine o’clock.

Bo Xinghang casually put on his school jacket, made himself a simple breakfast, and ate it slowly. He didn’t leave for school until eight o’clock, riding his bike there leisurely.

As soon as he entered the classroom, he was greeted by the buzz of his classmates’ voices.

“Wait a sec! …That multiple-choice question we talked about yesterday? I asked the teacher, and I got it right.”

A howl followed, “Ah? No way—I got only a few right. How am I supposed to take the exam today?”

“Hey, don’t worry! Isn’t science your strong suit?”

“What strong suit? I messed up the first mock exam, and now I flinch just thinking about science.”

“Don’t say that; you’re making me nervous too.”

“Ah—”

“What should we do—”

The whole class was in chaos. The current state of the high school seniors: encouraging each other, yet simultaneously feeling despair.

Bo Xinghang felt a headache coming on.

He stepped into the classroom with his hands in his pockets, casually walking toward his seat.

The girls in the front row, who were reviewing together, caught sight of him out of the corner of their eyes. They immediately went silent as if they had seen the dean, and quickly turned around, elbowing the boys to alert them.

The boys followed suit, closing their mouths as well.

After this series of actions, the classroom instantly seemed to be muted.

No one spoke a word.

“?”

Bo Xinghang glanced around suspiciously. The girl who met his gaze was startled and quickly turned away as if she hadn’t seen him.

He looked at the boys, who didn’t avoid his gaze like the girls but instead gave him a friendly smile.

…An extremely awkward friendly smile.

“…”

What the hell? Weird.

He sat down.

As usual, he lowered his head and started playing with his phone.

The girl in front of him, who wore glasses, turned around and gently tapped his desk. She bit her lip, looking nervous, and her voice trembled. “Um… Bo Xinghang, the teacher said she wanted to see you in the office when you arrived.”

“Now?” Bo Xinghang looked up, frowning slightly.

“…!”

The girl with glasses was so frightened that she froze.

“?”

Am I really that scary?

After a moment of staring, Bo Xinghang decided to cut the girl, whose name he couldn’t remember, some slack and sighed helplessly. “…Continue with your review.”

“…Okay, thank you!” The girl took a deep breath and immediately turned back around to resume studying, clearly relieved.

…Why hadn’t he noticed before how scared of him she was?

Bo Xinghang sighed again.

He placed his hand on the back of his head, lightly scratching it. While maintaining that position, he stretched out his arm and lazily stretched his back.

After finishing the stretch, he stood up, casually tossed his phone into the desk drawer, and headed toward the door.

As soon as he stepped out of the classroom, he closed the door behind him.

Then, he heard… the classroom return to its usual noise.

What the hell?? What’s wrong with me??

.

In the office.

He knocked on the door, and upon hearing the familiar “Come in,” he pushed the door open and saw the familiar faces of the homeroom teacher… and the English teacher.

He had a hunch about what was coming.

Sure enough, the English teacher, upon seeing him, stomped her high heels angrily and complained to the homeroom teacher in a sharp tone, “Yesterday! I specifically checked his test paper, and he didn’t write a single word! My goodness, I don’t even know how to address this. You need to talk to him.”

“Alright, alright, calm down.” The homeroom teacher nodded and waved at Bo Xinghang. “Come over here. Don’t just stand there.”

Bo Xinghang lazily walked over.

“I know what happened yesterday, and I’ll definitely have a good talk with him. Didn’t you say you have other things to do? You go ahead, and I’ll make sure to talk to him properly.”

“Well, since you put it that way, I won’t get in the way of your lecture.” The English teacher stopped tapping her high heels and let them rest. “I’ll go get busy now.”

“Alright, alright.”

Click, click, click—

The English teacher walked away, her high heels echoing as she left.

The homeroom teacher’s gaze turned.

Bo Xinghang thought he would be lectured again about studying hard, even if he didn’t understand, he still had to write it down. He expected to hear about having the right attitude towards learning and how only with the right attitude could one achieve results.

The homeroom teacher adjusted his clothes, still wearing a friendly smile. “So, tell me, what happened last night?”

Bo Xinghang skillfully admitted his mistakes, lowering his head obediently. “I shouldn’t have left the paper blank, and I shouldn’t have slept during the exam. I should have a proper attitude toward learning. As the saying goes, with the right attitude comes good results.”

The homeroom teacher sighed helplessly. “I know that already, but that’s not what I want to talk about.”

“Huh?” Bo Xinghang looked up, momentarily stunned. “Then… what else is there?”

The homeroom teacher reminded him, “I’m talking about last night.”

Last night?

He thought about it for a moment.

Was it about skipping evening self-study?

Since starting high school, Bo Xinghang had requested not to attend evening self-study sessions. The homeroom teacher initially disagreed, believing it would hinder his studies, and talked to him several times.

Bo Xinghang was stubborn, and after a few inconclusive discussions, the homeroom teacher became so exasperated and disoriented that he threatened to call his parents.

To which Bo Xinghang responded, “I have no parents.”

That instantly shut the homeroom teacher up, leaving him with a cold sweat and mentally slapping himself. How could he forget this kid’s family situation!

And so, the matter was dropped.

He didn’t want to talk about his family’s messy situation. When faced with other people’s questions, he would at most say, “I have no parents,” which usually led to a sympathetic response and a swift end to the topic.

He didn’t need parents. He could support himself, so he was perfectly happy living his life.

But life was always full of surprises; his grandmother suddenly fainted, disrupting his entire plan. He had to take on a high-paying job without causing his grandmother to worry. After weighing his options, he chose to work in a bar where he could sell alcohol. Drinking a little wasn’t a big deal, as long as he could make money.

Bo Xinghang thought for a long time but couldn’t recall anything, so he asked the homeroom teacher, “Did something happen last night?”

“You brat, don’t pretend to be clueless!” The homeroom teacher picked up the phone from the desk, swiped the screen a few times, and opened an app. “See for yourself! The forum is blowing up.”

“Damn, homeroom teacher, you’re so trendy, even reading the forum?” Bo Xinghang took the phone without much thought and casually glanced at it, instantly freezing in place.

Fuck me…

So this is what they call turning the truth upside down. That’s exactly what this was.

There was a hot topic trending at the top of the forum, with a classic clickbait title:

[School Bully and Handsome Guy Get into a Big Fight at a Nightclub. What Is This About…]

“Fuck…” Bo Xinghang clicked into the post and scrolled down.

There were many active participants in this thread, including several students from the third year.

He thought: Is the exam pressure not enough, or is there not enough homework? They all look like they’re addicted to studying on the surface, but are they really this idle behind the scenes?

—Comment 1: Yesterday, the school bully skipped evening self-study as usual. I went home after just one session because I was sick. Who would’ve thought I’d see the school bully on my way past a certain bar!

The original poster not only used clickbait titles but also dragged it out for drama. Bo Xinghang’s lips pressed into a tight line.

—Comment 2: Ahhh, I’m coming, I’m coming! Tell us, OP!

—Comment 3: I didn’t go inside, but I’m sure the school bully fought with the handsome guy in the bar. When the school bully came out, his face was pale, and the handsome guy looked even worse. They both had to go to the hospital! [Image][Image][Image]

Bo Xinghang opened the photos.

In the pictures, Doctor Ji had a serious face, arms crossed, waiting for a car. Meanwhile, he stood behind Doctor Ji, looking extremely annoyed yet with no choice but to follow Doctor Ji and wait for the ride.

It sounded like a real story.

Bo Xinghang looked completely shocked.

The comments were piling up.

—Comment 4: OMG! The school bully skipped school to go fight?!

—Comment 5: I always thought he seemed particularly fierce, and now I find out it’s true.

—Comment 6: Replying to the above, I was in the same class as him before we split classes. He always had this cocky look on his face, like everyone owed him money.

—Comment 8: …Scary.

—Comment 11: Am I the only one who thinks they have a CP feel?

This comment was quickly buried by others and went unnoticed. The entire thread was trending toward “Bo Xinghang is so scary.”

—Comment 19: I’m a senior, and I was in the same exam room as BXH this morning. The supervisor scolded him a few times, and he definitely had a grudge. There’s a 90% chance this rumor is true.

—Comment 6: +1, we’re about to take the college entrance exams. We should be careful and try not to provoke him. If we get beaten up and end up in the hospital, it’ll affect our exams, and that’s not worth the risk.

—Comment 7: Yes, yes, I agree.

—Comment 8: Agree +1

—Comment 9: Agree +2

—Comment 135: Agree +10086

As Bo Xinghang scrolled further, he found that the comments were all uniformly “Agree +123456.”

He pressed the screen lightly with his fingertip, turned it off, and handed the phone back to the homeroom teacher, his mind still dazed.

“Got it?” The homeroom teacher put the phone back into his pocket and glanced up at him.

“Got it…” Bo Xinghang responded, “…my ass.”

“What did you say?” The latter part was too quiet, and the homeroom teacher didn’t catch it.

“I said…”

Halfway through his sentence, he stopped.

This is what it means to be unable to voice one’s grievances.

That’s what this was.

All he did was go to work, drink too much, and get dragged by Doctor Ji to the hospital?!

But how could he explain that…

The school had strict rules against working and underage drinking. And besides, getting dragged to the hospital by a strange man—how odd would that sound?!

Bo Xinghang let out a dry laugh, gritted his teeth, and forced himself to say, “Yes. What he said was right; I shouldn’t have gone to a bar to fight.”

The homeroom teacher nodded. “And then?”

He was stunned. “And then?”

What else was there?

“You have nothing else to say?” The homeroom teacher continued, “Alright, let me help you. Call him over when you have the chance, apologize to him in front of me, and let’s put this behind us.”

The homeroom teacher added, “As students of our prestigious Provincial Experimental School, you might not excel in your studies, but you must be polite!”

“Don’t you agree?”