Chapter 13
Compared to Her
In the morning, as soon as Wen Yufeng stepped into Class Six through the back door, he was spotted by Li Xiang, who was sitting at the back.
“Congratulations, Yu-ge,” Li Xiang grinned, showing his white teeth. “You’ve made the blacklist again!”
“…”
Wen Yufeng’s lips curved slightly, giving Li Xiang a lazy glance before heading straight to his seat.
The “blacklist” was a term used specifically at Yishi High School, referring to one of two notice boards prominently displayed on the main thoroughfare.
One board was used to commend outstanding students, those who had achieved city-level or higher honors or provincial-level awards, and was humorously referred to by students as the “red list.” In contrast, the other board was for announcing disciplinary measures against students who had violated school rules, known as the “blacklist.”
For Wen Yufeng, being named on the blacklist was hardly a rare occurrence.
Li Xiang knew this well and had never paid much attention to it before, but this time was a bit different.
“Yu-ge,” he said, leaning in closer to Wen Yufeng with a mysterious expression, “I heard that this time, you got into a fight with two of the military training instructors over a first-year girl?”
Before Wen Yufeng could respond, Li Xiang lowered his voice further. “That girl they mentioned… could it be the ‘Qin Qing’ you had me look into earlier?”
Wen Yufeng, who had been about to lay down on the light gray cushion, paused. After a couple of seconds, he narrowed his eyes slightly and turned his gaze to Li Xiang’s face.
“What did you say outside?”
“Nothing, absolutely nothing!”
Li Xiang shook his head vigorously, like a rattle drum, under Wen Yufeng’s cold gaze—
“I swear, only I—no, only Zuo Zirui and I know. I haven’t told anyone else.”
“…”
Wen Yufeng studied Li Xiang’s face for a couple of seconds, and after confirming that he seemed to be telling the truth, he nodded slightly.
“…How is the rumor spreading at school? Did anyone mention her class or name?”
Li Xiang scratched his head. “Not yet, but I reckon if this keeps up, it won’t be long before someone starts asking around the first-year classes.”
Wen Yufeng frowned slightly.
After a few seconds, he spoke. “Pick the loudest one from the group and give them a little scare as a warning to the others.”
Li Xiang snapped his fingers, his eyes lighting up. “Got it, leave it to me.”
He was about to turn back when he paused midway.
“But, Yu-ge, what if ‘a little scare’ isn’t enough to stop some people from being stubborn?”
“…”
Wen Yufeng let out a lazy chuckle, raising his head, his dark eyes cold—
“Then ‘see them after school.'”
Hearing those last three words spoken so lightly, Li Xiang’s expression froze for a moment.
It took him two seconds to snap out of it, after which he returned to his seat.
As he sat down, Li Xiang’s expression was a mix of excitement and trepidation.
Zuo Zirui, sitting next to him, happened to glance over and was startled by Li Xiang’s expression. Realizing what was going on, he asked irritably, “What’s with that weird look?”
“…You wouldn’t understand how I feel right now. A bit excited, but also a bit scared,” Li Xiang replied in a low voice, turning his gaze toward Zuo Zirui. “Yu-ge just said that if anyone keeps spreading rumors despite the warning, it’ll be ‘see them after school.'”
Zuo Zirui raised an eyebrow at that.
“If I remember correctly, the last person Yu-ge ‘saw after school’ was you, right? What, still traumatized?”
“…”
Li Xiang’s expression twisted for a moment before he finally glared resentfully at Zhao Zirui. “Back then, I was young and reckless, spouting nonsense… let’s not bring up the past, and we can still be brothers.”
“Brothers? No thanks. I’d rather cut ties with you early to preserve my intelligence.”
Zhao Zirui sneered and shot Li Xiang a disdainful look.
Li Xiang gritted his teeth in frustration, but considering that he was indeed at fault back then, and although the “lesson” he received was a bit harsh, it wasn’t something deserving of sympathy. So he took a deep breath and decided to ignore Zhao Zirui’s sarcasm.
“By the way, have you noticed that Yu-ge has been spending an unusually long amount of time at school these past couple of days?”
Li Xiang glanced at the clock hanging at the front of the classroom. “On a normal day, if he didn’t have anything else planned, Yu-ge wouldn’t show up in class until mid-afternoon, right?”
“…”
Zhao Zirui frowned as he looked at the back door of the classroom. “Yeah, his appearances have definitely increased— even Qi Lulu noticed.”
Li Xiang followed Zhao Zirui’s gaze and saw a tall girl with a slim waist and long legs, wearing a plaid skirt that seemed three centimeters shorter than everyone else’s. She was standing at the back door, peering inside.
“Qi Lulu? She still hasn’t given up?”
Zhao Zirui shot Li Xiang a glance and sneered, “And has your great school belle, Ling Yu, given up?”
“…”
Li Xiang was left speechless, glaring at Zhao Zirui with frustration.
While the two were talking, Qi Lulu had already entered the classroom through the back door.
It was currently the break after morning exercises, with plenty of time to relax, so the classroom was lively. Without making much of a scene, Qi Lulu walked over to Wen Yufeng’s desk.
Yishi High School still used old-fashioned double desks, and Wen Yufeng had completely taken over one of them. Aside from his cushion and a stack of magazines that Li Xiang had left there, the desk was otherwise empty.
When Qi Lulu approached, Wen Yufeng was lazily flipping through one of the magazines. His sharp side profile was perfect, but his expression was unreadable.
The magazine was filled with scantily clad female models, and after flipping through a few pages, Wen Yufeng put it down. He shot a blank stare at Li Xiang, who was sitting across the aisle.
The magazine lay there brazenly, with a fully nude model on the cover striking a provocative pose for the camera.
Li Xiang, who loved collecting magazines like Playboy, shamefully lowered his head.
…He was wrong. He shouldn’t have made Yu-ge take the fall.
Next time, at the very least, he’d learn to cover it with a book jacket that looked like a textbook.
Qi Lulu, standing in the aisle, also appeared slightly uncomfortable when she saw the magazine Wen Yufeng had tossed on the desk. But she quickly recovered, chuckling softly as she leaned forward, placing her slender hands on the edge of Wen Yufeng’s desk.
“I heard you like military and combat stuff. There’s a movie on that topic coming out this weekend. I’ve already bought tickets—the seats are great. Want to go see it together?”
Wen Yufeng didn’t even look up, his tone lazy. “No time.”
“…” Qi Lulu’s smile faltered slightly, but she quickly recovered, her voice turning soft and sweet. “Then tell me when you do have time, and I’ll buy new tickets.”
“I won’t have time before the movie’s out of theaters.”
Qi Lulu’s expression turned a bit resentful. “What have you been so busy with? Don’t tell me the rumors are true—that you’re seeing some first-year girl?”
“…”
Wen Yufeng was silent for a few seconds, then lifted his eyes, revealing a cold, dark gaze.
Even in the heat of summer, that look sent a chill down one’s spine.
Qi Lulu was almost intimidated into taking a step back by his stare.
But before she could, Wen Yufeng reined in his irritation, lowering his eyes as a faint smile tugged at his lips.
“I’m just reading magazines. No time.”
His long, bony fingers tapped the magazine’s cover, where the nude model posed provocatively. His expression was lazy, with not a hint of amusement in his eyes.
Hearing this clearly perfunctory answer, Qi Lulu’s expression softened considerably.
She bent down and laughed. “I knew it—how could it be that ‘Qin Qing’ girl? I heard she looks like an undeveloped little sprout—how could she possibly be better than me?”
“…”
As soon as she said that, Li Xiang’s expression changed, sensing trouble.
Just as he feared, Wen Yufeng’s fingers, resting on the magazine cover, gradually whitened as he clenched them.
The reasoning that had held him back, considering she was a girl, finally snapped.
He raised his eyes, his expression cold and stern, his thin lips moving slightly as he spoke in a voice both icy and irritable, “Compared to her… you think you’re worthy?”
—