He said he wanted to chat, but Jiang Zhihuo had no idea what to say to Ding Jianhui.
Zong Bei had jokingly asked him before whether Old Ding was trying to make him feel guilty in order to force him to ‘turn over a new leaf.’.
Jiang Zhihuo indeed felt quite guilty; Ding Jianhui was genuinely trying to help him find a future path.
“Although I’m only saying this now, it should still be in time.” Ding Jianhui said earnestly, “You’re good-looking, tall, and have an outgoing personality. The entrance exam for art school is from April to July next year. If you start studying now, you can definitely make it.”
Ding Jianhui softened his tone. “I will never be biased against a student because of their grades. Everyone is different, with their own strengths. Your grades are average, but I don’t see that as a bad thing. There are many paths you can take. The scores for the art entrance exam can be significantly lower. I happen to know some students who are also preparing for the exam, and I can ask them for advice. Think about it and get some information first, alright?”
Ding Jianhui took out a stack of papers from the drawer, mostly about the art entrance exam and the past scores. Jiang Zhihuo took the stack of papers, remained silent for a long time, and finally said, “I’m sorry, teacher, but…I don’t have that intention for the time being.”
“It’s fine.” Ding Jianhui wasn’t in a hurry. Preparing for the art entrance exam also required time and effort, and he would need to communicate with his parents as well. He decided to give Jiang Zhihuo some time to think. He took a sip of goji berry tea and then asked, “When I asked you to write an essay, did you have any thoughts?”
Ding Jianhui’s tone was calm; he wasn’t trying to lecture Jiang Zhihuo but sincerely wanted to know his thoughts. Feeling a bit embarrassed to stall any longer, Jiang Zhihuo answered seriously, “Teacher, honestly, just choose any university for me—Q University or B University, I really can get in.”
“Hahahaha.” Ding Jianhui was instead amused by Jiang Zhihuo’s serious expression while saying nonsense. After sharing a few more words of encouragement, he finally waved his hand, sending Jiang Zhihuo back to class.
“Does this explanation make sense, Zong Bei?”
Ding Jianhui’s seat was next to a math teacher from Class 2. During the lesson, Zong Bei didn’t understand two steps. After class, he went to the office to ask about it and happened to overhear the conversations between Jiang Zhihuo and Ding Jianhui.
“I understand now; thank you, teacher!”
Zong Bei put away his test paper and caught up with Jiang Zhihuo.
“Huo!” Zong Bei called out to him, getting straight to the point. “I heard everything you talked about with Teacher Ding! Teacher Ding is right; you can’t keep going on like this!”
“Me?” Jiang Zhihuo pointed to himself.
Zong Bei nodded.
Jiang Zhihuo: “What’s wrong with me?”
Zong Bei said righteously, “Fighting, skipping class, chasing a girl—you can’t keep being a school bully. You’re in your senior year now; you should focus on studying!”
Jiang Zhihuo: “I haven’t been in any fights, have I?”
Zong Bei: “In any case, you should focus on your studies now!”
Jiang Zhihuo thought to himself that Zong Bei had probably heard the conversation in the office. Zong Bei had always been a responsible person, not only for himself but also for his friends. Jiang Zhihuo felt warmth in his heart, draped his arms around Zong Bei’s shoulder, and said softly, “You don’t need to worry about me. I really have no problem with either Q University or B University.”
Zong Bei: “…….”
Jiang Zhihuo: “Actually, what you see isn’t the real me. I’m very capable; I’ve had to hide my abilities for certain reasons.”
“……” Zong Bei pushed Jiang Zhihuo’s hand away and said sternly, “Huo, starting today, I’ll help you with makeup lessons!”
Jiang Zhihuo: “……”
One of Jiang Zhihuo’s greatest regrets in this life was agreeing to the one-on-one tutoring plan with the homeroom teacher in the third year of junior high school. The scenes of those makeup lessons were still vivid in his memory.
Jiang Zhihuo flatly refused, “I’m not going to do makeup lessons!”
Zong Bei: “No way!! You’re in your senior year now; I can’t just stand by and watch you like this.”
Jiang Zhihuo: “Have you forgotten that we suffered together back then?”
Zong Bei: “As your friend, I can’t just ignore your situation!”
Jiang Zhihuo: “You can put your sense of responsibility in more appropriate places!”
Zong Bei was as stubborn as an ox. Once he made up his mind, there was no talking him out of it. Seeing that Zong Bei had no intention of backing down, Jiang Zhihuo didn’t dwell any longer and fled in a flash.
The hallway was already noisy after class. After a long period of boring class, many boys were outside the classroom talking loudly to wake themselves up. With people coming and going, Zong Bei couldn’t catch up at all.
Feng Zhi came up the stairs.
Director Feng often came to the school building to check on discipline. The students deeply respected the gentle and refined Director Feng. He didn’t need to say a word; the hallway chatter naturally quieted down upon seeing him.
In Class 3, an omega walked out of the classroom holding two books. Not paying attention, a pen that was on the book cover fell off. Just as the omega was about to pick it up, Feng Zhi had already bent down and picked it up for him.
“Thank you, Director Feng,” the omega boy said, offering a smile.
“It’s nothing,” Feng Zhi said with his usual gentleness, giving the omega a light squeeze on the shoulder.
Zong Bei caught Jiang Zhihuo by the window of Class 2 and said, “Huo, I’m serious. You can’t run away now.”
“I’m not trying to run,” Jiang Zhihuo said, leaning out of the window to look inside. “What happened to Yujun?”
In the sweltering heat of August, the classroom was especially stuffy. Bai Yujun was actually wearing a long-sleeved school uniform, appearing completely listless and pale as she leaned against her seat.
“What else could it be?” Zong Bei said it without much thought. “She must be feeling unwell. What else could a girl be uncomfortable about?”
Jiang Zhihuo remembered the bruise that Bai Yujun accidentally revealed yesterday and pondered, “Is that so?”
“Yes, yes.” Seeing Jiang Zhihuo’s expression suddenly darken, Zong Bei thought that concerns led to confusion and patted his back. “Don’t girls have a few days like that every month? If you’re worried, you can buy a pack of brown sugar during the break and bring it to her. For now, let’s talk about the makeup lessons…”
“That’s right!” Jiang Zhihuo seemed to have just remembered. He clenched his fist and smashed the palm of his other hand. “We can talk about everything else later. I’m going to buy a pack of brown sugar!”
After Jiang Zhihuo finished speaking, he rushed downstairs, running away swiftly. By the time Zong Bei realized that Jiang Zhihuo was avoiding the conversation, the other party was already nowhere within sight.
The long break at No. 1 High School lasted for forty minutes, and every Monday was for the flag-raising ceremony. In this hot weather, the blazing sunlight poured down from above. Just standing on the sports field for a short while would make one break out in a sweat, feeling dizzy and light-headed.
As soon as the word ‘dismissed’ was announced, the students on the field quickly retreated to the school building. It was hot in the classroom too, but at least they didn’t have to be in the sun.
A male student from Class 4 in his third year of senior high school was thinking about using the remaining ten minutes to solve two more problems, so he ran hurriedly. The moment he reached the classroom, he saw Jiang Zhihuo leaning against the door of Class 4 with a fierce expression.
School bully Jiang had never shown such an expression before.
The boy, about to step forward, hesitated and pulled back his foot. The other students behind him, who also wanted to return to the classroom, were stopped by him.
“What’s the matter?” someone asked.
“Shh,” the boy gestured for them not to speak and pointed toward the classroom.
The boys behind him craned their necks to look.
They saw Jiang Zhihuo with his brows furrowed, exuding a prickly hostility. He was gripping Yan Mu’s wrist tightly. Without a word, the two exchanged intense looks before Jiang Zhihuo pulled Yan Mu toward the other end of the corridor.
The students in Class 4 looked at each other.
Back in their seats, the group chat they had created in private went crazy.
[Boy 1]: God Yan has been taken away by Huo-ge again?!
[Boy 2]: What’s going on between them?!
[Boy 3]: What the heck? I missed it while I was at the canteen. What happened?
[Boy 4]: I got back earlier. As soon as I arrived, Huo-ge was already standing at the classroom door with a very fierce expression. He just grabbed God Yan’s wrist, and God Yan didn’t say anything; he followed him out!
[Girl 1]: Why is that?
[Girl 2]: I heard from a friend in Class 2 that the school bully brought brown sugar water for the school beauty.
[Girl 2]: Did they have the conflict because of the school beauty?
At that time, it was rumored that both of them had started pursuing Bai Yujun simultaneously. While the girls felt deeply regretful, they also thought it was normal. Bai Yujun was indeed exceptional—her temperature, looks, and figure were quite outstanding among the female high school students. Even the girls admired her face and her calm, elegant behavior. It was no wonder that even two handsome guys fell for her.
Usually, Jiang Zhihuo and Yan Mu don’t get along. They had little interaction in the first and second years of high school and didn’t show their disdain in front of others. However, once the issue with the school beauty came up, the two of them completely dropped their pretense and openly clashed. Within three days, Jiang Zhihuo actually came to find Yan Mu three times!
[Boy 2]: But I don’t think Huo-ge will do anything, right?
[Boy 5]: I’m still a bit worried about God Yan.
[Boy 5]: Huo-ge is a good person and stands up for others, but let’s not forget how he beat up the bully from the vocational school next door at the beginning of the school year, okay?
[Boy 5]: Although it was to avenge a classmate, he really went all out. I heard that two of them ended up in the hospital.
[Boy 5]: I have a classmate who was in the same junior high school as Huo-ge. I heard that back then, Huo-ge made someone so depressed that they wanted to jump from the rooftop. The person was almost doing it but was pulled back.
[Boy 5]: Anyway, anyone who’s made an enemy of him hasn’t had an easy time.
Every school bully had a mix of true and false legends surrounding them. This boy, having heard all these rumors from who knows where, shared them one after another. Class 4 suddenly fell silent, with everyone staring at the messages in the group chat, speechless.
After a long while, someone finally cautiously suggested, “How about we find someone to go check it out?”
One after another, the sound of chairs moving could be heard as they turned their gaze toward Xie Qiu.
They didn’t need to say anything. As soon as Xie Qiu learned that Yan-ge had been taken away by Jiang Zhihuo again, he had already stood up.
Yan Mu and Jiang Zhihuo were at odds, and Xie Qiu had seen it all. These two disliked each other so much that they wanted to say ‘disgusting’ even when passing by each other. They could start arguing over nothing, and it wouldn’t be surprising if they actually got into a fight.
Last Saturday, after Yan Mu was called away by Jiang Zhihuo, he never came back. No matter how much Xie Qiu asked, Yan Mu only responded, ‘It’s nothing.’.
How could it be nothing?! If it were nothing, why would he go with him?!
Could it be that there’s really a huge conflict?!
When Xie Qiu first learned about the matter, he quickly found Zong Bei. The two often ran to each other because of Jiang Zhihuo and Yan Mu, so they naturally added each other on WeChat. Sometimes, they would exchange information about their routes to avoid the two running into each other and starting an argument.
Zong Bei was also shocked when he heard that Jiang Zhihuo had gone looking for Yan Mu: Brother Huo went to find God Yan again?
Xie Qiu: Do you know what happened between them?
Zong Bei: I don’t know.
Zong Bei: No matter what happened, we should go check them out right away!
At the end of the third-floor hallway, there was an empty classroom. This place was remote, usually used to store unused desks and chairs, and no one came in.
The desks and chairs were stacked in the corner. Yan Mu was half-sitting on a desk while Jiang Zhihuo leaned over to the side of his neck, inhaling the alpha pheromones. The tension in his back finally began to ease little by little.
Kissing was currently the most acceptable method within their limits for suppressing symptoms, and it could last the longest. However, it wasn’t perfectly timed. During the long break, Class 4’s lesson extended, and Jiang Zhihuo was dragged to the sports field by a group of boys, leaving him no time to find Yan Mu. In the middle of the flag-raising ceremony, the heat symptoms appeared all of a sudden, and he almost collapsed on the sports field.
This was so damn painful!
There were still ten minutes before class started. Jiang Zhihuo decided to inhale some pheromones first to calm down for a while.
“An emotionless suppressant?” Jiang Zhihuo nudged Yan Mu’s shoulder with his chin. “Could you release a bit more pheromones?”
Yan Mu let out a cold snort, and a fresh scent, like the fragrance after a spring rain, gradually wafted out.
Jiang Zhihuo asked, “I’ve been curious for a while; what do your pheromones actually smell like?”
Yan Mu: “Rain.”
Hearing this answer, Jiang Zhihuo’s thoughts momentarily paused.
“Rain?”
“Mhm.” Yan Mu: “Never encountered it before?”
“No, I’ve never encountered it before.” Normally, with Yan Mu’s tone, Jiang Zhihuo would have directly retorted. This time, however, he was strangely calm and just said, “A long time ago, a friend of mine whom I haven’t seen for a long time mentioned this scent in the report. That friend left before undergoing the differentiation process, so I never had the chance to experience it directly.”
Jiang Zhihuo didn’t want to share too much about his own situation, so he asked, “What happened to your hand?”
He saw it on Saturday. Chang Luo mentioned it briefly this morning, and now, upon checking it again, the bruise has faded significantly since then.
Yan Mu: “It’s from a bump.”
“Oh.” Jiang Zhihuo tilted his head and said, “Yujun isn’t feeling well today.”
Yan Mu lowered his gaze and glanced at him.
Jiang Zhihuo: “Aren’t you going to bring something for her?”
Yan Mu: “I know.”
Jiang Zhihuo glanced at him a couple more times and didn’t say anything further. After a moment, Yan Mu lowered his head and asked, “Is this enough?”
He didn’t want to spend much more time in the empty classroom. Before Jiang Zhihuo could react, the positions were switched, and he was pressed against the edge of the desk. Yan Mu immediately placed his hand on the back of his head and kissed him.
“Wait, wait, wait!!!” Jiang Zhihuo: “Are you in such a hurry?”
“We have class,” Yan Mu said.
“Then don’t move; I’ll handle it.” Jiang Zhihuo, with his unwillingness to back down, thought that having control was important. Believing this, he pushed Yan Mu back to the corner and held his face, kissing him.
The pheromones and the hot breath still mingled between their lips.
During the kiss, there were involuntary reactions, like wanting to move forward and the desk shifting. Yan Mu’s leg happened to be caught on the edge of the desk. It wasn’t painful, but it was uncomfortable. Instinctively, he reached out to wrap his arms around Jiang Zhihuo’s waist. When Jiang Zhihuo felt the weight on his waist, he remembered a certain part where they had accidentally touched each other this morning. His back instantly broke out in goosebumps. He hurriedly parted his lips and forcefully slapped Yan Mu’s hand away.
“You’re not allowed to move!”
Zong Bei and Xie Qiu searched the entire floor, even knocking on every restroom stall, but they still couldn’t find Yan Mu and Jiang Zhihuo.
“Where can they go?” Xie Qiu asked.
“I don’t know,” Zong Bei said, panting slightly from running, his chest rising and falling.
Just as class was about to start, a noise of desks and chairs moving came from the empty classroom behind them.
Then came Jiang Zhihuo’s voice, slightly threatening.
“You’re not allowed to move!”
“Think about what you are right now. Shouldn’t you listen to me?”
“Don’t accidentally touch me again.”
Xie Qiu: “!”
Zong Bei: “!”
Immediately after, there was another sound of desks and chairs being knocked around.
The curtains in the empty classroom were all drawn, so it was impossible to see what exactly happened inside. Zong Bei gently pushed the door and said, “It’s locked!”
“Here, here!” Xie Qiu pointed to a window. “This one isn’t locked!”
The two took a deep breath, quickly opened the window, and jumped into the classroom, which had only two people inside, through the tightly closed curtains.
“Huo-ge, Yan-ge, please don’t fight!!!”
