Chapter 16

As soon as Cheng Xiaoyu entered the classroom, he looked to see if Chen Haoran had arrived. If someone were to study his eyes closely, they would surely notice the naked desire in them as he gazed at Chen Haoran sitting at his desk.

Chen Haoran had a slightly round, doll-like face with a light fringe, giving him a clean but somewhat gloomy appearance. While sitting at his desk, he was spinning a pen and reading a political reference book.

Taking advantage of the time before class started, Cheng Xiaoyu walked over. He was no longer the introverted otaku he used to be, and social interactions were no longer something he feared or avoided. As he approached Chen Haoran's desk, thinking about how to start the conversation, the expressionless Chen Haoran, without even looking up, preemptively refused him, "If you have questions, turn left at the door and go to the grade office. If you want to chat, I don't have the time."

Cheng Xiaoyu thought to himself, "Geniuses are indeed all weirdos," but such words were no longer a real hurt to him. He got straight to the point, "I heard you can play the drum kit (the drum kit is also called a drum set, which is actually a phonetic translation of JAZZ)."

Chen Haoran, still expressionless, replied, "Whether I can or not has nothing to do with you." His eyes never left the reference book, and the pen he was spinning fell to the desk.

Cheng Xiaoyu had anticipated that things might be difficult, but he hadn't expected this genius to be so devoid of human warmth. However, since he was the one asking for help, he had to lower his stance and said, "Alright, you keep reading. I'll find you to chat during the afternoon break. I'm not the type to give up easily." Chen Haoran ignored him, picked up the pen from the desk, and started spinning it again, as if not a ripple had stirred in his heart.

Cheng Xiaoyu returned to his seat, where Wang Ou was copying math homework. Cheng Xiaoyu pulled out his political textbook for the first class and turned to Wang Ou, "Hey, Dazhuang, do you know Chen Haoran?"

Wang Ou, busy copying, answered distractedly, "Oh, him? What do you want with him?"

"I heard he can play the drum kit. I want to ask him for help."

Wang Ou put away his finished math homework and handed the notebook back to Guo Hai in the front row. Frowning, he said, "He's a bit difficult to deal with. No one in the class has a good relationship with him. His personality is strange; he doesn't care about anyone except his studies. Oh, he's a bit like you used to be, except he's the top student and you're the last."

Cheng Xiaoyu cursed, "What can I do? Even if he's difficult, I have to try. If I don't, your points might be in danger."

Wang Ou flared up at the mention of points, "Damn, I must have been out of my mind to get on your broken ship. I should have practiced basketball back then."

Cheng Xiaoyu, unable to follow his跳跃性的思维 (leap in logic), turned and said, "What does that have to do with you practicing basketball?"

Wang Ou sighed and said gloomily, "If I had practiced basketball, with my talent, I would definitely be on the school basketball team. With my upright character, I would definitely be the best friend of the class president. With my loyal personality, I would definitely give him my points. If I gave him my points, he would be moved, and if he was moved, he would definitely introduce me to..."

Cheng Xiaoyu quickly interrupted him, "Alright, I'm afraid of you, brother. If I lose, I'll buy you lunch from now on, okay!"

Wang Ou huffed, "Do you really think I'm that kind of person? Someone who would sell out points for a few meals?" Cheng Xiaoyu pulled out his big move, "Two meat dishes, two vegetable dishes, and a bottle of cola every day."

Wang Ou straightened his school uniform and said, "Deal." Then he said in a very conflicted tone, "Should I pray for you to win or lose? I'm really torn..."

Cheng Xiaoyu immediately threw his mechanical pencil at Wang Ou. Wang Ou laughed foolishly and said, "Alright, I'll go gather some information after class. Chen Haoran used to be in Class 5. He was transferred to our class. A friend of mine in the sports department is in his class. I'll ask him."

Cheng Xiaoyu nodded and said, "Brother, I'm counting on you. As the saying goes, 'Know your enemy and know yourself, and you will never be defeated.' With you as my strategist, I'll be twice as effective."

Wang Ou's middle school syndrome immediately kicked in, and he sang, "I am a carefree man from the Wulong Ridge, able to control the world with my knowledge of yin and yang..." At that moment, the political teacher, Ma Guoli, entered the classroom and saw Wang Ou looking smug. He shouted, "Wang Ou, if you're not going to class, get out of the classroom. Don't affect the other students' learning." Wang Ou wilted like a frostbitten eggplant.

After class, Wang Ou, lively as ever, went to Class 5 to gather information. Xia Shamo, blushing, walked over to Cheng Xiaoyu and asked, "I've looked at the song carefully. It's really great. Who wrote it?"

Cheng Xiaoyu smiled, "Who wrote it doesn't matter. The key is whether you can sing it."

Xia Shamo paused and said, "It's quite difficult, but I want to try. I really like this song. But I don't understand the lyrics, so I can't grasp the emotion of the song."

Cheng Xiaoyu said, "That's a small matter. I'll write them down for you. When you can sing it completely, I'll tell you what to pay attention to and what kind of emotion I need you to express."

Xia Shamo nodded and returned to her seat. When the bell rang, Wang Ou, out of breath, returned to the classroom and, catching his breath, whispered to Cheng Xiaoyu, "The genius has a story. I'll tell you in the restroom after class."

After class, it was time for the break exercise. This week, the leader on the stage was Ji Yunyun from the neighboring class. Cheng Xiaoyu noticed that Ji Yunyun's features somewhat resembled Ji Xinyi, and he wondered if they were related. Ji Yunyun was a cultural officer in the student council and studied ethnic dance. Wang Ou still had a precious video on his phone of Ji Yunyun performing at the school anniversary. Ji Yunyun had a figure that was more mature than her age, but her face was as beautiful and pure as a painting, making her a top-tier girl with an angelic face and a devilish figure. If Su Yuxi was like a celestial being, unreachable, then Ji Yunyun was like a fallen fairy, endearing and easily evoking a man's protective instinct.

After the exercise, Wang Ou dragged Cheng Xiaoyu to the restroom and recounted what he had learned, "Chen Haoran's grades were average when he first entered school, but he suddenly burst out in the second half of his sophomore year. It's said that he used to be in a band outside of school. During the summer break of his sophomore year, he got into a fight and was taken to the police station. If it hadn't been during the summer, he might have been expelled."

"Why did he get into a fight?" Cheng Xiaoyu asked.

"My friend isn't sure, but I asked him to find out more. But he didn't have good relationships with his classmates either, and his personality was a bit isolated," Wang Ou added.

After leaving the restroom, the two went to the school store and each bought a bottle of cola. Ji Yunyun also came out of the store with a bread and a bottle of water. The two followed her, commenting on her graceful figure.

Cheng Xiaoyu asked Wang Ou, "Do you think Ji Yunyun is related to Teacher Ji?"

Wang Ou looked at Cheng Xiaoyu speechlessly, "Are you kidding? Everyone knows that Teacher Ji is Ji Yunyun's aunt."

Cheng Xiaoyu, realizing belatedly, said, "No wonder I thought they looked a bit alike!"

When Ji Yunyun entered the classroom, she vaguely heard someone discussing her. She was used to people talking about her behind her back and didn't look back. As she entered the classroom, she casually saw a fat boy and a tall boy passing by their classroom door. The fat boy seemed to be the internet celebrity fat boy her aunt had mentioned. Ji Yunyun thought her aunt was good but too kind and easily deceived. This fat boy didn't look like a good student at all.

Soon it was lunchtime, the most anticipated part of Wang Ou's day. Cheng Xiaoyu was quite serious in class and didn't use the time to think about the performance. Chen Haoran, sitting in the front row, quickly left the classroom, completely ignoring Cheng Xiaoyu's invitation to chat during the break.

Cheng Xiaoyu asked Wang Ou to follow Chen Haoran and then walked to Xia Shamo's desk, where the timid dandelion still had her lunch box. Without hesitation, Cheng Xiaoyu bent down and took Xia Shamo's hand, saying, "Come on, Brother SUMMER will take you to lunch." The pride he couldn't find in front of Su Yuxi was evident in front of Xia Shamo.

Xia Shamo was caught off guard. Being held by someone was like being struck by lightning for her. The last time she held hands with a boy was in kindergarten. Still in shock, she was unconsciously led out of the classroom by Cheng Xiaoyu. Realizing what was happening, she pulled her hand away, blushing and speaking in a barely audible voice, "I brought lunch."

Cheng Xiaoyu pretended not to care, "It's fine. Don't bring lunch before the New Year's performance. We'll have lunch together. We don't have much time, so we need to discuss the performance more." This seemingly reasonable reason left Xia Shamo at a loss for how to refuse. She wasn't good at refusing people and remained silent.

Cheng Xiaoyu rubbed his head and showed a slightly apologetic expression, "I'm the one who forced you to help me. Now that I'm taking up your time, it's the least I can do to buy you lunch. If you don't agree, I won't have the face to ask for your help again. Besides, a meal is nothing to a rich kid like me." Cheng Xiaoyu put on a "I'm rich, who's afraid" expression. Xia Shamo thought about the song that had moved her and hesitated before lightly nodding and following Cheng Xiaoyu to the cafeteria.

In the cafeteria, Cheng Xiaoyu, with the silent Xia Shamo, found Wang Ou, who was in line for food, standing behind Chen Haoran. Cheng Xiaoyu asked Xia Shamo what she wanted to eat, and she softly said, "Anything." Looking at her tall, slender figure, Cheng Xiaoyu ordered two identical sets of dishes: braised pork, stir-fried beef, Kung Pao chicken, and vermicelli with white teeth. Three meat dishes and one vegetable dish. Cheng Xiaoyu usually didn't order much meat to lose weight, but today, for Xia Shamo, he had to temporarily put his diet on hold.

After getting the food, Cheng Xiaoyu and Xia Shamo looked for Wang Ou in the cafeteria, not knowing where he had sat with Chen Haoran. Xia Shamo's 172 cm tall, slender figure was quite eye-catching, even with her black-rimmed glasses and messy, slightly curly, unattractive hairstyle. Her fair skin and delicate features were charming. Paired with Cheng Xiaoyu, the fat boy, it was like a flower stuck on cow dung. Cheng Xiaoyu ignored the disdainful looks and led Xia Shamo to where Wang Ou was waving.

Wang Ou, holding his tray, sat down with Chen Haoran and helped Cheng Xiaoyu and Xia Shamo find seats. He was curious how Cheng Xiaoyu had managed to get Xia Shamo to come down. They had been in the same class since freshman year, and although Xia Shamo wasn't the most noticeable girl in school, Wang Ou, with his sharp eyes, knew that her captivating beauty would eventually be discovered.

He clearly remembered a physical education class in sophomore year when Xia Shamo took off her glasses and tied her hair back, revealing her stunning beauty. Unfortunately, the class was separated by gender, and he only discovered this by chance when moving equipment. He never saw that real Xia Shamo again.

As they sat down, Wang Ou couldn't help but think about how Cheng Xiaoyu had managed to get Xia Shamo to come down. He had seen many boys pursue Xia Shamo in their freshman year, but no one had ever managed to take her out for a meal. Xia Shamo, though not the most noticeable girl in school, had a beauty that would eventually be recognized.