On Tuesday, the evening self-study and Q&A session took place as usual.

After finishing his dinner in the cafeteria, Chu Tao gathered up the calligraphy assignments everyone had submitted and planned to bring them to Teacher Yang Liu.

Before heading out, he instinctively glanced around the classroom.

The atmosphere seemed a bit strange.

There were only a few scattered students present, but everyone’s bags were still there, so no one had snuck off home early.

Maybe they were all playing basketball on the court again.

Lowering his gaze, Chu Tao gathered the notebooks and headed for the homeroom teacher’s office.

The smell of cigarette smoke filled the air.

Several male homeroom teachers were huddled by the window, puffing away and casually chatting about the recent mock exam results for the senior year students.

“How’d this mock exam compare with the Provincial Experimental School?”

“Not great, I heard. The grade level director’s practically losing his hair over it. A few of the top students didn’t perform as expected. Normally, our school sends around 20 or 30 kids to the top two universities, but judging by this mock exam, maybe ten will make it, if that.”

“Why did it turn out so badly?”

“Everyone’s getting too restless. Over a hundred sports bonus points got audited, and only one student’s points were legit. The rest got canceled.”

“Wow, that money went down the drain. And with exams just around the corner, the parents and students must be freaking out.”

“Definitely. But for our year, it’s easier. The bonus points are gone; it’s all about actual performance now.”

“True, we’ve got a good batch this time, thanks to the grade director’s brilliance in funneling all the troublemakers into Class Three.”

“Ha! One bad apple spoils the bunch.”

The two teachers laughed heartily, taking advantage of Yang Liu’s absence to mock the students in Class Three with abandon.

Trash, society’s riff-raff, illiterates.

Chu Tao frowned. He’d entered the office quietly, so they hadn’t noticed him.

Even if they had noticed, they wouldn’t have known which class he was from.

Bang!

Chu Tao slammed a stack of calligraphy notebooks onto the wooden desk. Since the desk’s underpart was hollow, the impact echoed loudly.

The two male teachers jumped, and the ash from their cigarettes scattered onto their pants. The still-hot ashes glowed faintly and left black smudges when they brushed them off their jeans.

“Who’s there! No manners at all!”

“Keep it down in the office!”

Chu Tao glanced at them coldly, his tone hard. “The trash from Class Three doesn’t have manners to begin with. Please tolerate it, teachers.”

An awkward expression flashed across the teachers’ faces, but they quickly assumed an authoritative posture.

“Oh, throwing down books to blow off steam, huh?”

“You think I’m wrong? Every single one of you in that class—what do you do besides cause trouble for the school?”

Chu Tao’s lips twisted in a slight smirk. “And as teachers, speaking about students like this behind their backs—is that your idea of ‘manners’?”

The two teachers’ faces immediately darkened.

“You’ve got some nerve! Who do you think you’re sneering at?”

“Not enough commotion for you tonight? Planning to keep it going here in the office?”

Chu Tao raised an eyebrow, his gaze laced with confusion.

Tonight?

They’d simply finished their classes, eaten, and were waiting for evening self-study.

What “commotion” were they talking about?

One of the teachers gave a mocking laugh. “You don’t know? Didn’t Jiang She take your whole class along?”

Chu Tao pressed his lips together, saying nothing, but kept his gaze steady, waiting for an explanation.

“Jiang She took a bunch of students to pick a fight with the neighboring vocational school. Your homeroom teacher’s gone to sort it out.”

“He does this a few times a year, stirs up chaos, and then has his father clean up after him.”

“What are you staring at me for? Look at what they’re up to—can you call this the behavior of decent kids?”

“Starting fights, acting high and mighty—so childish.”

Chu Tao clenched his fists, his teeth biting into his lower lip. Without a word, he turned and strode back to the classroom.

The room was still mostly empty, with at least half the students missing.

Jiang She wasn’t there, nor were Fang Sheng, Xu Yuan, Dai Wenjian, Xu Bo Xue, or any of those who typically hung around Jiang She.

In the corner of the back row, Pang Cai was clutching a risqué comic book, sniffing as he read.

Chu Tao’s gaze settled on him.

Pang Cai was staring at the big-chested illustration, chuckling to himself now and then. He was thoroughly enjoying it when he sensed an odd tension around him.

He paused, covered his comic with a textbook, and looked up.

Chu Tao was walking straight toward him, looking anything but friendly. His fists were clenched so tightly his knuckles were white.

Pang Cai: “…What the…?”

What had he done to provoke this menace again?

Pang Cai tensed up, feeling nervous but trying to keep his composure. He tossed the comic aside and stood up, pushing his desk back.

“That’s it! What’s your problem? Did I mess with you? You really think I’m afraid of you? Bring it on!”

Gritting his teeth, Pang Cai geared himself up to pounce on Chu Tao.

Chu Tao raised a hand and blocked his punch with his palm. “Where’s Jiang She?”

He didn’t have time to argue with Pang Cai.

Given how much Pang Cai sucked up to Jiang She, if Jiang She had actually wanted to start trouble, Pang Cai would definitely want to tag along.

But clearly, Jiang She hadn’t wanted him there.

Pang Cai froze, blinking twice, realizing that Chu Tao’s target wasn’t him.

All that tension for nothing.

“Don’t try to get close to me! I don’t even know you!” Pang Cai muttered, sitting back down.

Chu Tao took a deep breath. “I’m not here to chitchat. Where did Jiang She go?”

Pang Cai puffed his chest, putting on a righteous face. “Like I’d rat out my buddy Jiang!”

Chu Tao gripped Pang Cai’s shoulder, pressing down firmly on a sensitive point. “I’ll ask one more time. Where did Jiang She go to fight?”

“Ouch! Take it easy!” Pang Cai’s arm went numb from the pressure, pain contorting his face.

But Chu Tao wasn’t loosening his grip at all, and Pang Cai realized Chu Tao was dead serious.

He couldn’t take on Chu Tao, and there was no one else around to back him up.

Pang Cai finally caved. “I really don’t know where he went to fight. He didn’t take me with him! It’s those jerks from the vocational school—they insulted our school’s Omega students, and Jiang went to teach them a lesson!”

Chu Tao narrowed his eyes, the usual gentleness in his gaze replaced by a sharp edge.

He let go of Pang Cai and strode out of the classroom.

Jiang She, that fool, always causing trouble.

No wonder the teachers from other classes looked down on them. Playing the hero might feel good for a moment, but it left countless others to clean up the mess afterward.

And he’d heard that the vocational school crowd was wild; they weren’t afraid to bring knives into fights, risking everything.

The thought of Jiang She getting stabbed by someone in the heat of the moment was terrifying.

Chu Tao bolted out of the academic building.

The night wind whistled, rustling the treetops. A light rain had fallen yesterday, leaving the sky exceptionally clear tonight, without a hint of cloud.

The moon and stars seemed almost close enough to touch, and the fresh scent of magnolias drifted across every corner of campus.

Tonight was supposed to be a peaceful evening.

At the school gate, he ran into Yang Liu, who looked as anxious as an ant on a hot stove.

Chu Tao rushed over and called, “Teacher.”

Seeing him, Yang Liu’s eyes lit up.

She wiped the sweat from her forehead and forced a smile. “Chu Tao, do you know where Jiang She is?”

Chu Tao shook his head. “I’m looking for him too.”

Yang Liu sighed. “Alright, we’ll split up to search. You go check the road that leads to the city gym, and I’ll look between our school and the vocational school. If you find them, let me know immediately. We absolutely can’t let them start a fight!”

Chu Tao nodded, and Yang Liu handed him a phone number before quickly rushing off to search.

Chu Tao, on the other hand, was like a headless fly.

Fighting in groups was something that could never happen in his life.

He was far from that world, so far that he didn’t even know where such fights should take place, what the rules were, or how many people should be involved.

He could only search aimlessly.

After walking two street corners, it suddenly occurred to him that the first time he met Jiang She, Jiang She had been teaching someone a lesson in a small alley.

The alley where he had parked his bike.

Chu Tao’s mind jolted, and with a sliver of hope, he ran toward the alley entrance.

There were few vehicles in front of the school, and few streetlights. It was still during evening study hours, so only a few school buses were scattered in the parking lot.

He quickly passed the school gate, not taking the time to enjoy the busy street vendors or the smell of fried pork strips.

When he reached the alley entrance, he faintly heard some noise coming from inside.

Chu Tao stopped in his tracks.

He heard Jiang She’s casual voice, laced with mocking laughter.

“You gonna repeat what you said online?”

The more relaxed and cheerful Jiang She sounded, the closer he was to snapping.

“I said, what’s wrong? All the Omegas at your fancy high school are trash—five hundred a night, cheap and slutty. I said, Jiang She, you’re not Omega, right? I’m not talking about you.”

Jiang She snorted lightly and lazily responded, “All you vocational school alphas are wild breeds. I’m talking about you. What are you gonna do about it?”

The big shot from the vocational school cracked his knuckles.

“Are you serious, Jiang She? I wasn’t looking for a fight, you’re the one who’s asking for it.”

Though the vocational school students usually bullied others and was used to fighting, they still didn’t want to mess with Jiang She.

The title of the top dog at Huainan’s twelve schools was not just for show.

Each of the twelve schools in the Huainan area had had a run-in with Jiang She, and in the end, they had all been taught a lesson by him.

One time, a hot-headed idiot had come at him with a knife, trying to sneak up on him.

The blade was just a few centimeters from Jiang She’s head when he dodged it by twisting his body. With one swift move, he grabbed the knife and twisted it out of the attacker’s hand, then kicked him, breaking two of his ribs.

Since then, Jiang She’s reputation spread.

The school bullies from the twelve schools didn’t dare to provoke him easily.

Jiang She shrugged, his hands in his pockets, taking a few steps forward while curling his lips into a smile. “I’ve been so bored lately, and I just happen to want to teach a few loudmouths a lesson. You’re the one who walked into the line of fire.”

The big shot from the vocational school also cared about his reputation. If Jiang She could scare him off with just a few words, he’d have no place left to stand.

The big shot gritted his teeth, sneering, “Looks like someone’s gonna be carried out on a stretcher today.”

Just after Chu Tao sent a message to Yang Liu, he saw the situation was about to escalate and couldn’t wait any longer. He gritted his teeth and rushed out.

“Jiang She, wait!”

Both groups of students, who were ready to fight, froze at the sound of Chu Tao’s voice.

The tense atmosphere loosened a bit.

Everyone turned to look, and they saw only one person coming from the alley.

A very slender student, dressed neatly and cleanly, looking like he didn’t belong to their world.

Fang Sheng was shocked. “Damn, why’s the class president here!”

Xu Yuan was also irritated. They had only invited trusted friends to this fight, so there was no way anyone would have informed the class president.

To him, the class president represented the teachers and the school—definitely not on their side.

Jiang She furrowed his brows.

He absolutely didn’t want to see Chu Tao here.

Chu Tao was too clean, too innocent, and didn’t belong in this dark world that could only hide in alleyways.

Jiang She’s hand slowly relaxed.

No matter what, Chu Tao couldn’t get involved, and he couldn’t get hurt.

After all, once the fighting started and there were too many people, Jiang She couldn’t keep an eye on Chu Tao all the time.

“What are you doing here? Go back!” Jiang She said in a low voice.

Chu Tao glared at him coldly. “Teacher Yang sent me to find you guys. No fighting allowed.”

He clearly intended to stay until Jiang She agreed to stop.

Jiang She gritted his teeth, feeling helpless toward Chu Tao.

Chu Tao, the model student, couldn’t understand the necessity of fighting.

To Chu Tao, fighting was wrong, just like how students shouldn’t fall in love too early, skip class to go to arcades, or rent rooms off-campus.

The vocational school big shot chuckled. “Hey Jiang She, you brought help? We agreed on twenty people per side, and now you’ve got twenty-one, what’s that about?”

Jiang She coldly responded, “He doesn’t count. He’s not here to fight.”

The big shot from the vocational school looked at Chu Tao with disdain. “It’s fine, I’ll let it slide. Adding this weak alpha to your team, whatever.”

Chu Tao was good-looking and slim, wrapped in a loose school uniform, so he didn’t seem imposing at all.

His demeanor was relatively gentle and restrained, and his tone with Jiang She was like that of a typical class president or student leader.

Hearing himself being called weak, Chu Tao didn’t care to argue.

He only wanted to fulfill Yang Liu’s request and take Jiang She and the others back.

He couldn’t let Class 3 get caught up in a fight like this.

It wasn’t worth it, not for a bunch of people from the vocational school who spoke so crudely.

Chu Tao took a few more steps forward and said softly, “Jiang She, don’t fight. You can’t take such a big risk with so many people.”

If someone from Huainan No.1 High got seriously hurt or hospitalized, the situation would escalate quickly.

Xu Yuan urged, “Don’t listen to the class president’s nonsense. He definitely told the school! Let’s just act fast and end this!”

Jiang She didn’t speak.

Xu Yuan was confused. “A She? What the hell are you waiting for?”

Jiang She took a deep breath and said to Chu Tao, “You need to step aside. I know what I’m doing.”

His tone was controlled, even gentle, completely lacking the strong aura he had when talking to the big shot from the vocational school.

Xu Yuan: “What the hell?”

He didn’t understand what was going on.

The obedient class president was reasoning with the two big shots who were about to start fighting, telling Jiang She not to make a move.

Instead of having someone throw the class president out, Jiang She was soft-spoken and actually explaining himself.

Xu Yuan slapped Fang Sheng on the shoulder. “Get someone to throw the class president out, he’s so annoying.”

Fang Sheng: “Stop giving random suggestions, who do you think you are to throw him out?”

Xu Yuan: “Have you lost your morals for Chu Xingning?”

Xu Yuan felt that Fang Sheng’s obedience to the class president was a bit too much.

And Jiang She was even worse.

Even though he was Chu Xingning’s brother, they hadn’t even established that yet, so why was Jiang She acting like he was his real brother already?

When Chu Xingning’s name came up, the big shot from the vocational school smiled lewdly.

“Oh, you mean Chu Xingning from your school? I heard he’s quite good-looking. He can sell for a thousand a night. Have all of you tried him out?”

Chu Tao, who was originally heading towards Jiang She, paused when he heard this.

He turned around, looked up, and his pitch-black pupils shrank slightly.

“What did you say?”

His voice was cold and low, blending with the chilly night wind, echoing in the narrow space of the alley.