BGPOTC CHAPTER 5

“…Huh?”

Bo Xinghang felt like he’d been in a daze for days.

He stood dumbfounded in the office for a couple of minutes, while the homeroom teacher, with his kind expression, looked at him and sighed after a moment.

“This matter isn’t urgent. We’ll deal with it after the exams. Go on and take your test now.”

Bo Xinghang left the office, still feeling dizzy.

The Provincial Experimental School, as a key institution, strictly divided the examination rooms by grade. Top students were placed in the first exam room, and so on, with the weaker students in the last exam rooms.

As soon as Bo Xinghang entered the classroom, his classmates fell silent again. Only Xu Yi, who had worked the night shift at the bar and knew nothing about it, raised his hand foolishly and called out, “Hang-ge! Come over here!”

Bo Xinghang walked over and sat behind Xu Yi in the last seat—the worst student in the worst class.

Xu Yi whispered, thinking he was lowering his voice, “Hang-ge, where did you go yesterday?”

The surrounding classmates perked up, eager to eavesdrop and enjoy some gossip.

Bo Xinghang unlocked his phone, tapping aimlessly, and lazily lifted his eyelids when he heard this. “You didn’t check the forum?”

Xu Yi instantly put on a sad face. “How would I have time to check the forum? Last night you just said you were leaving. Do you know—” He looked around, leaned closer to Bo Xinghang, and whispered, “There were so many people at the bar yesterday! I was almost tortured to death! And you just up and left! My God, you heartless guy.”

Heartless?

Wasn’t it Doctor Ji who was meddling in other people’s business and dragged him to the hospital? And in the end, it was all for nothing.

But he couldn’t say that.

Bo Xinghang smiled and apologized, “Sorry about that, ge.”

“Oh-ho,” Xu Yi was flattered and waved his hands quickly. “No need, you’re my elder brother, Hang-ge. I’m just your little brother Xu.”

Bo Xinghang couldn’t help but laugh. “Alright, good to meet you, little brother Xu.”

Xu Yi laughed along. “Alright then, I’ll forgive you for yesterday, since you’re my big brother.”

Strictly speaking, Xu Yi was a year older than him. Due to health reasons, Xu Yi had unfortunately spent his third year of high school in the hospital. Once he recovered, he wanted to work and pay back the money borrowed for his treatment, but his parents disagreed, insisting he repeat the year. Xu Yi couldn’t win against them and had to agree on the surface, but deep down, he still wanted to repay the money as soon as possible.

In this regard, he and Bo Xinghang shared the same mindset. So, upon accidentally learning about this, Bo Xinghang decided to help him out and introduced Xu Yi to the bar so they could work together.

This was something Xu Yi never forgot and was very grateful for. That’s when he started calling him “Hang-ge.”

Xu Yi asked, “So, what’s up with the forum? Is there something new going on?” He picked up the phone from his desk and muttered, “But the forum isn’t very reliable. It’s just a fun app to pass the time.”

Bo Xinghang wholeheartedly agreed.

It was the first time he felt Xu Yi’s IQ had improved.

Xu Yi opened the forum, and just like Bo Xinghang, he immediately saw a bold headline with a trending tag as soon as he entered the homepage.

“…What the heck?” Xu Yi scrolled down, growing more shocked with each line he read, and ended up being more confused than the person involved.

He widened his eyes at Bo Xinghang and asked, “Did you actually get into a fight with a doctor last night?! And then you even—”

He stopped halfway, glancing around to make sure no one was paying attention before lowering his voice to continue, “And then you even went to the hospital. Did you win or did he? Are you okay?”

Bo Xinghang rolled his eyes and decided not to respond.

He took back what he had just said.

This guy’s IQ hadn’t improved at all; it might have even dropped further.

Xu Yi kept babbling, “Hang-ge, say something.”

“…”

“Hey, why do you look so grumpy? You didn’t lose, right?”

Bo Xinghang’s brow furrowed. “Shut up.”

“Why—”

The exam preparation bell interrupted him, and Xu Yi wisely closed his mouth.

Before turning around, Xu Yi quickly said, “Let’s talk after class.”

Ha.

No one’s talking to you after class.

Bo Xinghang conscientiously put his phone into his pocket and sat up straight. He even looked like he was taking things seriously.

Click, click—

The supervisor entered, heels clicking, with a stack of papers under her arm, ready to distribute the exam papers and start the morning test. But the sound of those high heels was strangely familiar.

Bo Xinghang frowned and looked up.

“…” Shit.

The English teacher, wearing her high heels, entered the room and immediately scanned the classroom with an irritated look. When she saw Bo Xinghang at the back, she turned her head with a frown.

Out of sight, out of mind.

“…” Bo Xinghang’s mood instantly plummeted.

Not wanting to cause more trouble, Bo Xinghang was unusually obedient during the two exams and didn’t make any disturbances.

After all, having caused so much trouble for no reason, Bo Xinghang had no time to deal with the blame being thrown his way. He was solely focused on making money.

The two exams ended quickly. Without writing anything on the exam papers, Bo Xinghang placed them at the front, slung his black backpack over his shoulder, and prepared to go home.

“Stop right there!”

Bo Xinghang halted and looked back.

The English teacher stood there with her arms crossed, frowning at him. Her voice was still sharp and unpleasant. “Stop looking around, Bo Xinghang, I’m talking to you.”

…What for?

What did I do to you?

Bo Xinghang turned around, casually putting his hands in his pockets, sounding a bit impatient. “Teacher, even my homeroom teacher doesn’t care if I hand in a blank paper, so there’s nothing you can do about it either.”

“It’s not that he can’t do anything about you; he’s just given up on you!” The English teacher scoffed disdainfully and tossed her phone at him. “I knew you weren’t up to any good. You think you can hide the fact you got into a fight outside of school? I’ve already told the principal.”

On the phone, the English teacher had forwarded the hot forum post to the principal. Soon, the principal would come looking for him to question and interrogate him.

Deliberately causing trouble for him.

Bo Xinghang frowned, his lips pressed into a thin line. “Are you—” crazy?

“Hey! Bo Xinghang, I forgot to tell you earlier. I want you to come see me after class.”

The homeroom teacher, witnessing the standoff, hurried over with his short, chubby frame, waving as he ran. “Harmony brings wealth, harmony brings wealth! Let’s calm down! I’m almost there.”

Watching the teacher turn the corridor into a marathon, barely a few steps before gasping for air, Bo Xinghang felt a pang of sympathy.

Being a teacher seemed so exhausting—sitting and standing for long periods, and now, just a short run had left him winded. No wonder the English teacher always stomped around in her high heels; she was probably getting some exercise too.

Tsk, tsk, being a teacher really wasn’t easy.

As the homeroom teacher finally reached them, he bent over, took a few deep breaths, and managed to straighten up. He addressed the English teacher, “Did Bo Xinghang get into trouble again?”

What do you mean, he got into trouble again? He hadn’t caused any trouble from start to finish, okay?

Bo Xinghang glanced at the homeroom teacher, who shot him a warning look in return. Reluctantly, Bo Xinghang pursed his lips and said nothing.

“Today he didn’t do anything wrong,” the English teacher sneered. “But I heard about what happened last night. As a teacher, you can’t cover for the students. They need to be punished for their mistakes to learn from them.”

“Well, last night wasn’t a big deal. I already—”

“Fighting outside of school isn’t a big deal?!”

The English teacher’s voice grew sharper, and passing students barely dared to breathe, pressing themselves against the walls to avoid getting involved.

The homeroom teacher forced a laugh. “Don’t worry. I came to resolve this matter. I’ve already spoken to him this morning and have come up with a solution.”

“Ha, what kind of solution could you possibly have?” The English teacher continued, tapping her high heels. “I’ve already informed the principal. I think it’s best to let him handle this.”

“Hey, wait—” The homeroom teacher panicked.

“Wait for what? Are you planning to cover for him?!”

“No, I—”

“Well, there’s no point in arguing here. Let’s leave it for the principal to deal with.”

“…”

Do you think we want to argue?

The English teacher turned on her heel and walked away, not giving the homeroom teacher a chance to interject.

The homeroom teacher wanted to follow her but was stopped by Bo Xinghang’s hand.

“Forget it, teacher.” Bo Xinghang furrowed his brows, pressing his thumb lightly against his knuckles, creating a “crack” sound.

The homeroom teacher was startled. “Bo Xinghang, the college entrance exam is coming up. Don’t do anything stupid—”

Bo Xinghang gave a friendly smile. “Huh? What could I possibly do? I’m just going to apologize.”

“Oh, oh.” The homeroom teacher let out a sigh of relief. “That’s good. Go ahead, but be polite and don’t make the teacher angry.”

“Sure.”

Bo Xinghang walked down a familiar path, but this time he wasn’t heading to the teacher’s office; he was going to the principal’s office next door.

Through the walls, he could hear the English teacher’s sharp voice giving a report. The principal looked at her helplessly. When he heard a knock on the door, he quickly invited the person in.

Bo Xinghang stepped inside.

The principal adjusted his glasses and looked up. “Student, may I ask what brings you here?”

Bo Xinghang maintained a smile and stared at the English teacher. “Principal, my name is Bo Xinghang.”

The English teacher pointed at him fearlessly. “Principal, look at him! He’s a slacker who gets into fights outside of school!”

Yo, just perfect.

The principal discreetly wiped the sweat from his forehead and pretended to be serious. “Ahem, so are you here to explain yourself?”

Bo Xinghang continued to stare at the English teacher. “Yeah, I’m here to clarify the incident about the fight outside of school.”

“Oh? What do you have to say?” I read about it on the forum. I had no idea that a law-abiding school like our Provincial Experimental School would also have troublemakers.”

Hearing this, Bo Xinghang didn’t get angry. Instead, he withdrew his gaze and looked innocently at the principal, speaking in a pitiful tone. “Actually, Principal, there’s been a misunderstanding.”

The principal adjusted his glasses and asked sternly, “Oh? What have I misunderstood?”

“The man in the photo is actually my brother. His workplace had an event at the bar, and he took me along. I didn’t expect him to be allergic to alcohol, so he asked me to take him to the hospital.”

—“If you don’t believe me, Principal, I can have my brother come in tomorrow and testify.”

If it were a real fight, the other party wouldn’t testify for him. This plan should work.

The principal glanced at the English teacher. Seeing her expression soften slightly, he nodded.

“Alright, have your brother come in tomorrow to testify.”