ATIBESLM 12

Lin Chudong was extremely embarrassed. This situation made him feel like there was nowhere to hide his shame. He had been provoked by Ye Lingwei. Originally, he hadn’t planned on revealing that he knew Ye Lingwei in front of the class at all.

Fortunately, the classroom was noisy so hardly anyone heard what he had just said to Ye Lingwei. Lin Chudong was usually warm-hearted and kind, so seeing him talking to Ye Lingwei, everyone just assumed the monitor was showing concern for the new student.

Not too many people were paying attention.

Until Fei Lan caused that commotion.

Just because Fei Lan was low-key didn’t mean he was truly invisible in everyone’s eyes.

Lin Chudong’s face was flushed red. In Gao Linhao’s eyes, he practically slunk away with his tail between his legs. As he left, Gao Linhao, who had eavesdropped on the entire exchange, was momentarily torn between gossiping with Ye Lingwei first or asking Brother Lan if he was standing up for Ye Lingwei.

After hesitating for a moment, he felt that asking Brother Lan would most likely yield no answer. However, Ye Lingwei was different; Ye Lingwei was really fun.

“What’s up with the Monitor?” Gao Linhao leaned in close to Ye Lingwei’s ear with a mischievous look. “The way he’s acting, he’s just like those people who say one thing but mean another. When you like him, he acts disgusted, but when you stop liking him, he gets unhappy.”

Ye Lingwei lay slouched against the desk, his elbow propped up on a thick dictionary. He looked like a little peacock lazily preening its feathers. “How long until class starts?”

Gao Linhao glanced at a non-existent watch on his wrist. “It’s still early, there’s another ten minutes or so. Enough time for you and me to badmouth Lin Chudong a few hundred times more.”

“…”

“Yeah, it’s still early…” Ye Lingwei muttered repetitively, his gaze lingering, almost imperceptibly, on Fei Lan’s back.

Why, though?

Ye Lingwei didn’t quite understand. If the other person really wanted him dead, he should have been happy to witness such a scene. It was quite possible that without him even needing to lift a finger, Ye Lingwei would just die of anger caused by Lin Chudong.

Fei Lan, however, understood perfectly well. He had returned from smoking in the restroom and intended to stand in the corridor for a while to air out the smell. He hadn’t expected to glance through the window and see Lin Chudong standing right in front of Ye Lingwei.

The former looked self-righteous, acting as if he had suffered some massive grievance and was sacrificing himself for the sake of justice, while the latter was clearly absent-minded and listless.

Fei Lan knew about Ye Lingwei’s heart condition; he knew about it crystal clear. Ye Lingwei’s condition was something he brought with him from the womb. Jiang Hui, afraid that pregnancy would ruin her figure and cause her to lose Father Ye’s love, had secretly taken pills to maintain her physique as early as when she was pregnant with Ye Cen and Ye Xuan. Jiang Hui herself had been uncertain about the risks, but after Ye Cen and Ye Xuan were born, they were physically healthy and showed no difference compared to other children.

As a result, when she was pregnant with Ye Lingwei, Jiang Hui abandoned all restraint. Her appetite was enormous after getting pregnant so she would often take pills after binge eating. When Ye Lingwei was first born, there were no issues, but when he was around one year old, he already knew to clutch his chest and whimper. After a check-up at the hospital, it was diagnosed as delayed-onset congenital heart condition, caused by the mother taking certain medications during pregnancy.

Jiang Hui left the Ye family largely because Father Ye’s death meant she needed to seek out new love, and partly because her guilty conscience made it impossible for her to face Ye Lingwei.

As for Fei Lan’s attitude toward Ye Lingwei, even now, it was likely just a wait-and-see approach. Even though he had just helped Ye Lingwei, it was only because he didn’t quite want to see Ye Lingwei die at the hands of another.

He had to continue being beautiful and provoke him while full of life and energy—only that would be interesting.

—

Lin Chudong’s life had been smooth sailing since childhood. He enjoyed helping others so he was popular, his grades were good, and his parents were both teachers. Even if no one ridiculed him to his face, he still felt that everyone was whispering about him behind his back. Just as Ye Lingwei had said, perhaps in the eyes of his classmates now, it was he who was clinging to and pestering Ye Lingwei.

Lin Chudong’s distracted state was noticed by his parents. At first, Li Lan thought he was just too tired from studying and carefully comforted him for a while. However, she then saw that when Lin Chudong was writing the name on the test paper, what he wrote wasn’t his own name, but:

Ye Lingwei.

Who is this?

There were so many students; she could only remember the batch of children with top-notch grades. Someone unheard of like this definitely didn’t even have a class ranking worth mentioning.

Li Lan’s heart sank instantly.

As a result, Li Lan used her connections to inquire about this student, Ye Lingwei. Not only were his grades poor, but his personality was also gloomy and eccentric, and he was quite unpopular.

She couldn’t accept her son engaging in puppy love¹This is a specific term in China referring to dating during middle or high school., and she certainly couldn’t accept that the person her son liked was someone like this. She paced around the living room for half the night. Several times she wanted to go to Lin Chudong and get a clear explanation, but fearing she might agitate him, she forcibly held herself back.

It would be better to just go find that Ye Lingwei.

Nowadays, the last thing Ye Lingwei did before leaving the house every morning was to check his name tag. He certainly didn’t want to be singled out and made to stand at the school gate again, enduring the scrutiny of the entire student body coming and going.

Coincidentally, the team leader inspecting at the school gate today was, once again, Lin Chudong.

Lin Chudong spotted Ye Lingwei from a mile away. Ye Lingwei always wore his uniform with perfect discipline and neatness; his shirt didn’t have a single crease. He had occasionally heard others mention just how wealthy the Ye family was. Although Ye Lingwei was unpopular, no amount of unpopularity could conceal the aura of someone who had been raised with pampered care.

Moreover, it was even more pronounced now.

Lin Chudong squinted his eyes to see if Ye Lingwei was wearing his chest badge. After spotting that square, golden block, Lin Chudong could hardly conceal a wave of disappointment in his heart.

Ye Lingwei didn’t even look at him, but he didn’t head toward the teaching building either. He turned a corner and headed straight for the side of the school gate, diving into that cluster of students labeled ‘improperly dressed.’

Fei Lan could be considered the neatest among them; it was just that his pants were the issue. He was wearing a pair of grey cuffed joggers and black-and-grey low-top sneakers.

Ye Lingwei thought about how the book described Fei Lan as low-key. Actually, the author must have been playing favorites with this character, because from what Ye Lingwei knew so far, there was absolutely nothing low-key about Fei Lan.

A family background even more illustrious than the original host’s. A whole nest of so-called school tyrants and grade-level bosses who fought against teachers practically wished they could put Fei Lan on an altar and worship him. Moreover, according to Gao Linhao, if Fei Lan wanted to, Lin Chudong’s number one ranking could be toppled instantly.

He was low-key simply because he didn’t show off.

Ye Lingwei looked at Fei Lan’s shoes. Limited edition, lottery draw only, priced according to shoe size. Popular sizes were already going for around a hundred thousand and this was considered low-key?

Well, the color was quite low-key.

Fei Lan gave Ye Lingwei a nudge. “What are you looking at?”

“You’ve been staring at Gege constantly these past two days. What are you looking at? Spill it.” Fei Lan leaned against the wall, a white canvas bag dangling from his hand. His hair was cut clean and sharp with choppy bangs hanging over his forehead, revealing his sword-like brows and starry eyes. When he wanted to make you feel like he was paying attention to you, you would feel like the center of the world, or even the entire universe.

Ye Lingwei took the sandwich the housekeeper had made him out of his schoolbag and gnawed on it slowly. Between bites, he asked, “Why aren’t you wearing your uniform?”

Fei Lan thought for a moment and said, “I only have one pair of pants so it can’t be helped. Every other day, I have to take a stroll over here.”

Ye Lingwei hummed a sound of acknowledgement. “You’re so poor.”

“Yeah, I’m very poor.” Fei Lan played along with Ye Lingwei. “So, are you going to give me some money to spend?”

Fei Lan held out his open palm toward Ye Lingwei.

It wasn’t even October yet, but the weather was already hot starting from the morning. The uniform top was a white short-sleeved shirt. Ye Lingwei looked up from Fei Lan’s slender fingers to his forearm.

On the arm beneath the sleeve, there was an inexplicable red mark. Only a tiny bit was exposed, but because the shirt was thin and white, it was very obvious.

That wasn’t something he should know.

Being new to this environment and unfamiliar with the people, Ye Lingwei allowed himself to crack a few jokes with Fei Lan, but he still knew where to draw the line. He knew that the one person he absolutely should not provoke or get curious about was Fei Lan. He quickly and hastily withdrew his gaze, but he was still caught by Fei Lan.

Fei Lan leaned back, his eyes slightly lowered, his gaze scraping inch by inch across Ye Lingwei’s neck. “Little kid, don’t be so curious…”

Fei Lan ran the tip of his tongue lightly over the surface of his molars, his tone low and cold. “Understand?”

Ye Lingwei still had a small piece of honey-buttered bread in his mouth. He swallowed it slowly and retreated a few steps. “I know.” The boy’s voice was low, sounding somewhat aggrieved for no reason.

Fei Lan just looked at the other with a faint expression. He knew from the very beginning that Ye Lingwei was nowhere near as pure and innocent as he appeared on the surface.

And as a matter of fact, he really wasn’t.

A guy with a seriously vindictive streak.

Ye Lingwei caught a glimpse out of the corner of his eye of Lao Di walking over with his hands clasped behind his back. He calculated the exact volume needed for him to hear, then suddenly shouted, “Teacher, Fei Lan says everything you’re saying is total dog fart²It’s a common vulgarity meaning “nonsense” or “bullshit.!”

He took to his heels the moment he finished speaking. Although he didn’t run fast, because it was currently the peak rush hour and everyone was wearing school uniforms, by the time Lao Di looked over, he had absolutely no clue who had shouted.

However, he heard the content clearly.

So Fei Lan said he was a dog fart.

He slowly sauntered over to Fei Lan and stood there for a moment. With a smile that didn’t reach his eyes, he dropped a sentence. “Go copy the word ‘dog fart’ eight hundred times and hand it in to my office this afternoon.”

Fei Lan: “…”

There was no way to refute it.

Ye Lingwei was panting heavily. Leaning on the fourth-floor balcony and looking down at the school gate, he saw Fei Lan with his head bowed and neck drooping, looking thin and frail.

He looked a bit pitiful.

Despite what Ye Yuan had said, the truth was that in all this time, Fei Lan hadn’t actually done anything to him. Most likely, as long as one didn’t provoke him, he wouldn’t do anything to you.

Ye Lingwei sighed. He shouldn’t have bullied Fei Lan like that.

After running for a bit, Ye Lingwei felt a little dizzy. He slowly squatted down, planning to catch his breath before heading into the classroom. He took his phone out of his schoolbag, and the moment he unlocked it, a notification popped up for a new WeChat message.

Upon seeing the contact name, Ye Lingwei’s first reaction was surprise that the original host actually had Fei Lan’s WeChat.

His second reaction was to check his Moments.

His Moments were set to ‘Visible for 3 Days,’ so there was nothing to see. Only then did Ye Lingwei check what Fei Lan had actually sent him. One look, and he was dumbfounded.

[Fei Lan: You looking for a death wish, little kid?]

• 1
  This is a specific term in China referring to dating during middle or high school.
• 2
  It’s a common vulgarity meaning “nonsense” or “bullshit.