ATIBESLM 13

Ye Lingwei expressionlessly turned off his phone, pretending he hadn’t seen it.

Before he could even stand up, a pair of black high-heeled leather shoes appeared in his line of sight. Ye Lingwei followed them looking upward; it was a completely unfamiliar face. He mentally dragged out every person the original host might have known and cross-referenced them, but he couldn’t find an identity that matched the person before him.

The woman was wearing black business attire: a black pencil skirt that went past her knees, a fitted black blazer, and an earth-toned chiffon blouse with a bow collar. Her hair was pinned up, giving the impression of being meticulous and strict.

However, she did not come with good intentions—that was Ye Lingwei’s intuition.

Li Lan looked down at Ye Lingwei from her high vantage point for a moment. Those peach blossom eyes of the latter, which looked extremely beautiful to everyone else, looked exactly like the eyes of a fox to her right now.

He knew how to seduce people, and he would ruin her son’s future.

“Come with me to the office.”

Ye Lingwei stood up slowly, looking at her retreating figure with a faint expression. After a long while, he unhurriedly followed. He originally didn’t intend to go, but after thinking about it, going might actually serve to disgust her a little. If he didn’t go, this person would have even more reason to make life difficult for him.

Li Lan sat in the office, her face serious and rigid. She deliberately made the atmosphere serious and tense, hoping to intimidate Ye Lingwei into backing off.

“You like Lin Chudong?” She asked this directly, sounding almost impatient.

Ye Lingwei let out an “ah,” looking a bit puzzled. “Isn’t it him who likes me? I don’t really know him…” After he finished speaking, he asked Li Lan cautiously, “Um, can I just ask, what business is it of yours?”

“…” Li Lan’s composure nearly cracked in an instant. She tried to find a flaw in Ye Lingwei’s acting within his expression, but being looked at with such eyes, she almost began to doubt her own perception.

Maybe what he said was the truth, that it was her son who was… Halfway through the thought, Li Lan suddenly snapped out of it. Impossible. How could her son possibly like such a poor student?

She looked away, pretentiously flipping through a book a few times, and said with feigned casualness, “The school does not allow dating. How about this—you go call your parents to see how we should handle this matter. Whether it involves expulsion or transferring schools, we need to discuss it together.”

Li Lan, of course, didn’t actually intend for Ye Lingwei to be expelled. Although she would have loved that, the situation clearly hadn’t reached that point yet. It was just that students were mostly young and mentally immature; usually, the moment they heard about calling parents or expulsion, they would panic and lose their wits. When that happened, whatever demands she made, Ye Lingwei would agree to them.

What right did a poor student have to negotiate with her?

Ye Lingwei almost laughed out loud when he heard Li Lan’s words. From the very first question she asked, he knew she was definitely Lin Chudong’s mother, coming to cause him trouble.

“Teacher, you are the head of second year. Don’t you want to discuss this with our third year head first?”

“Besides.” Ye Lingwei chuckled softly. “It is Lin Chudong who is flattering himself. Why should I be the scapegoat? The person who should be expelled is him, right?”

“Teacher, are you getting muddled?”

Ye Lingwei’s casual, understated remarks had practically trampled Lin Chudong into the dirt. For Li Lan, who had always taken such pride in her son, this was completely unacceptable.

Li Lan slammed her hand on the desk. “So what if I’m the head of the second year? Does that mean I have no authority to discipline you? You’re having puppy love, yet you act like you’re in the right?”

Ye Lingwei’s tone was faint, not giving an inch. “You keep throwing around the term ‘puppy love,’ but I certainly dare not admit to that. After all, I don’t even know what kind of thing a ‘Lin Chudong’ is.”

Ye Lingwei knew exactly what to say to stab someone right in the heart until it spasmed with pain. Li Lan even raised her hand, wanting to slap him across the face. Ye Lingwei took a timely step back and whispered, “Teacher, think carefully. If you hit me, even if you sell everything you own, you won’t be able to afford the price.”

Li Lan’s temples were throbbing. After inquiring about Ye Lingwei the previous night, she had learned from several descriptions that he was a weak, spineless underachiever. She had thought she could handle him with ease, but looking at it now, that was completely not the case.

At every turn, she was being suppressed and controlled by him.

Originally, she only wanted to warn Ye Lingwei to stay far away from Lin Chudong. Yet now, she had been provoked by him to the point where she almost raised her hand against him. Although she was furious, she knew what the consequences would be of hitting a student—and a student with heart condition at that.

Li Lan dismissed Ye Lingwei. However, when Ye Lingwei reached the doorway, she couldn’t hold back and called out to him, “No matter what, I will not allow you to pester Lin Chudong anymore. Otherwise, I will fight you with my life.”

For her, a teacher, to say such improper and irrational things was already an act of sheer desperation. Of all the students she had disciplined in the past, not a single one had been this thorny and difficult to handle.

Ye Lingwei, with his back turned to Li Lan, sighed. “Teacher Li, don’t be so presumptuous. To me, Lin Chudong truly is nothing.”

“Oh, please go back and tell him for me—stop pestering me. I find it really troubling.”

“Goodbye, Teacher Li.”

The office door clicked shut. Li Lan sat in her chair, her teeth chattering from rage. After a long moment, in a fit of fury, she swept all the documents and exercise books off her desk onto the floor.

—

He had been called away just as class was starting, and exactly one class period had passed. Lin Chudong had seen Ye Lingwei being summoned by his mother. His mind was a tangled mess. He was puzzled as to how his mother knew about Ye Lingwei and worried she was angry. Yet on the other hand, he was actually worried about Ye Lingwei getting scolded by her.

Still, he waited until the first period ended before hurriedly rushing down to the second year floor. Just as he turned the corner of the stairwell, he saw Ye Lingwei coming up.

Lin Chudong had just opened his mouth, but before he could even let out a sound, he was impatiently cut off by Ye Lingwei.

“Go back and tell your mother that I lost interest in her son a long time ago.” The youth possessed a face of breathtaking beauty, yet he could speak words that sent a frenzy of chill spreading through the depths of one’s heart. “I’ve grown tired of playing.”

Lin Chudong felt that even though he was clearly standing on the higher step, he felt as though he was the one being looked down upon. The person below was clearly dressed in a clean white shirt, possessing the most radiant of countenances but he was so heartless and cruel.

To stop liking someone just like that.

What did he take him for?

Lin Chudong felt his dignity being ruthlessly trampled underfoot.

His face flushed bright red. “I’m not going. You’re the one who likes me so that’s your business. Why should I be the one to go tell her?”

Ye Lingwei rolled his eyes at him and prepared to step around him to return to the classroom. He hadn’t told Lin Chudong these things to ask for permission; he was merely issuing a notification.

It was truly exasperating. The original host had only liked this person simply because of Lin Chudong’s indiscriminate, ‘central air conditioning¹This is a very popular Chinese slang term. It describes a person (usually a man) who is warm and nice to everyone indiscriminately, rather than just being nice to the person they like.’-like kindness. It had managed to move the original host’s heart that had never known what it felt like to be cared for.

This person was a top-tier narcissist, immersed in his own world. It was a kingdom of one, where he was both the subject and the king.

—

Back in the classroom, Gao Linhao leaned curiously over Ye Lingwei’s desk. “Where were you last period? The teacher asked about you. I said you were in the restroom, and he told me to tell you to make sure you don’t fall in and get stuck.”

Ye Lingwei: “…”

Ye Lingwei told Gao Linhao about Li Lan calling him in for a talk. As soon as Gao Linhao heard it, he sneered, revealing a mocking expression that seemed too mature for his age.

“That’s just how his mom is. She thinks her son is the best in the world and that everyone likes him. Before this whole thing with you, I thought her son was decent too, but I don’t think so anymore.”

“He and his mom are actually exactly the same.”

Lin Chudong walked in right on their heels and saw the scene of Ye Lingwei chatting with Gao Linhao. Gao Linhao was leaning over the latter’s desk, and the two were positioned extremely close to each other.

Lin Chudong suddenly felt a sense of being deceived.

“Excuse me.” Fei Lan’s fingers were still dripping water; he had just returned from the restroom. Lin Chudong was blocking the doorway while staring at Ye Lingwei in the back.

Is he really that good-looking?

Fei Lan stood by his desk, wiping his hands with a tissue. He asked Gao Linhao and Ye Lingwei, “What are you chatting about?”

Gao Linhao grinned mischievously. “We’re talking about what type of girls Lan-ge likes.”

Fei Lan glanced at Gao Linhao and chuckled softly. “You’re saying I like girls?”

Gao Linhao froze for a moment, then immediately hugged himself. “Then if Lan-ge likes boys, can you please not eat the grass around your own burrow²This comes from the idiom “A rabbit doesn’t eat the grass around its own burrow” (兔子不吃窝边草). It means one should not prey on, date, or harm the people in their immediate circle (friends, neighbors, classmates).?”

Fei Lan crumpled the paper ball and tossed it into the wastebasket by the desk. He casually said, “You’re too ugly. I don’t like ugly ones.”

“…” Gao Linhao dropped his hands, turned his head to look at Ye Lingwei, and complained indignantly, “Listen to Lan-ge, is that even a human speech? He actually called me ugly? This nose of mine, if put in a plastic surgery clinic, would be a template model!”

“If you don’t like my type, then do you like Ye Lingwei’s type?” Gao Linhao asked.

In Gao Linhao’s heart, Ye Lingwei was simply too good-looking. To him, Ye Lingwei was number one in looks; Brother Lan occasionally tied for first, but most of the time, he was already second.

Being good-looking and being handsome were not in the same category. Good-looking was a superlative adjective.

If you say he has soft hair and pale skin, well, some people don’t like soft hair or pale skin. However, if you simply say he is good-looking, the listener will immediately project their own standards of beauty onto him.

Fei Lan paused for a moment. He dragged his chair over to Ye Lingwei’s desk, and while Ye Lingwei wasn’t paying attention, reached out and pinched his chin. The skin was smooth to the touch. Fei Lan murmured, “He is quite good-looking.”

Ye Lingwei slapped Fei Lan’s hand away. “Annoying.”

Gao Linhao’s eyes lit up. He was just about to speak when he saw Fei Lan shake his head in disappointment. “But it won’t work.”

Gao Linhao asked, “Why?”

Ye Lingwei was speechless. He looked at the two of them going back and forth; was Gao Linhao planning to hand him over to Fei Lan? If he really fell into Fei Lan’s hands, the first thing the other guy would do would probably be to kill him, right?

Well, he chose to ignore them.

Fei Lan leaned back in his chair. He thought for a moment and said, “He keeps calling me Gege. If I made a move on him, wouldn’t that be messed up?”

• 1
  This is a very popular Chinese slang term. It describes a person (usually a man) who is warm and nice to everyone indiscriminately, rather than just being nice to the person they like.
• 2
  This comes from the idiom “A rabbit doesn’t eat the grass around its own burrow” (兔子不吃窝边草). It means one should not prey on, date, or harm the people in their immediate circle (friends, neighbors, classmates).