Wei Xiaochi woke up at 7:10 AM. Outside, the sun was already shining brightly, but the hotel room remained unaffected, with the light blocked by three layers of curtains.

Wei Xiaochi had been sleeping peacefully just a moment ago, but suddenly, as if summoned by some invisible force, he sprang up from the bed.

He grabbed his phone from the side and squinted at the screen.

Good grief!

Wei Xiaochi fumbled around, trying to find clothes to put on. His movements were so hurried that he pulled at an injury, causing him to wince in pain, twisting his face in discomfort.

On the other bed, the blanket was bulging as someone still slept soundly, showing no signs of waking up.

Wei Xiaochi quickly put on his clothes, but as soon as he got out of bed, he tripped over the bed’s footrest.

The footrest was supposed to be on the blanket for decorative purposes. Last night, Wei Xiaochi had been annoyed by how it restricted his movement, so he had rolled it up and placed it by the bed. He didn’t know how it ended up on the floor.

He picked up the pile of fabric, tossed it back onto the bed, and went to wake Jiang Zhan.

Jiang Zhan had his head buried under the covers, his limbs completely hidden, and Wei Xiaochi had no idea where to begin.

“Wake up, we’re almost late.”

“It’s already 7:10. If you don’t wake up now, you’ll miss the first class.”

Wei Xiaochi called out twice, but Jiang Zhan didn’t stir.

Feeling the pressure, Wei Xiaochi began to get anxious. He’d never been late for school in all his years, but the school’s alpha god simply refused to wake up.

“Jiang Zhan.” Wei Xiaochi gently pushed him through the blanket.

There was no movement, no response.

“Wake up, we’re really going to be late.” Wei Xiaochi bravely gave him a harder shove.

Finally, the blanket shifted. A gap opened, revealing a head of messy hair and dark, angry eyes, as though someone owed him hundreds of thousands.

“Hey.” Wei Xiaochi stiffly pulled at the corner of his mouth, trying to force a smile. “Get up.”

Jiang Zhan, in a foul mood, gave him a look that could kill, then buried himself back into the covers to keep sleeping.

At this point, Wei Xiaochi couldn’t bother with him anymore. The first class started at 8 AM, and if they didn’t hurry, they’d be late.

Wei Xiaochi rushed into the bathroom to wash his face, brush his teeth, and also took a quick bathroom break.

After a whole night’s rest, his left cheek wasn’t as swollen, but the ugly bruise was still there. His stomach didn’t hurt too much when walking normally, but any faster movement made him uncomfortable.

Wei Xiaochi was a flurry of activity in the bathroom, and by the time he managed to get himself ready, Jiang Zhan had finally gotten up.

Sitting on the bed, Jiang Zhan stared at the dull gray curtains in a daze. His eyes were unfocused, his expression vacant, as if someone handed him a string of prayer beads and he could instantly sever all worries and retreat into seclusion.

He had that classic expression of “Who am I? Where am I? What am I supposed to do?”

When Wei Xiaochi walked out and saw this, he didn’t know how to react.

Out of the corner of his eye, he saw Jiang Zhan’s expression shift slightly when he noticed him by the bathroom door. Jiang Zhan turned his head and asked, “What time is it?”

His voice was hoarse, his right cheek still marked by the edge of the blanket, making him look silly but handsome at the same time.

Wei Xiaochi hurriedly glanced at his phone and answered honestly, “7:18.”

“7:18?” Jiang Zhan repeated, sounding confused and a little dazed.

Once it sank in, he grabbed a handful of his messy hair and cursed under his breath, “Damn.”

He threw the blanket off and began getting dressed, all while scolding Wei Xiaochi, “Why didn’t you wake me up earlier? We’re gonna be late!”

Wei Xiaochi didn’t dare to say a word.

This was typical Jiang Zhan—regret after the fact. At times like this, he wasn’t exactly reasonable.

Jiang Zhan moved with military precision. Dressing, washing his face, and brushing his teeth took him six minutes, one less than Wei Xiaochi.

The only part that took longer was his hair, which looked like the mane of a lion. It was far from complying with No. 2 High School’s dress code. Just a few days ago, Wei Minzhen had punished Jiang Zhan by making him stand by the wall for his unruly hair.

Now his hair was really ‘unruly,’ no matter how much he tried to comb it.

There was no time for Jiang Zhan to take a shower or fix his hair like an idol; his face was dark with frustration, as if he could squeeze water out of it.

Last night, after taking a shower, he found Wei Xiaochi already asleep, so he didn’t blow dry his hair, which led to today’s disaster.

Jiang Zhan, feeling helpless, tied up his bangs at the top of his head, but his hair had a mind of its own. No matter how he tried to twist the messy pieces, it stubbornly remained a sunflower-like clump on top of his head.

Jiang Zhan nearly threw the basin out of frustration. “Damn it.”

As they were running out of time, Wei Xiaochi had no choice but to risk upsetting the tiger.

He turned on the tap, cupped some water, and splashed it on Jiang Zhan’s hair to force the rebellious strands into place.

“Is it good now?” Wei Xiaochi looked at Jiang Zhan expectantly. “Let’s go, or we’ll be late.”

Jiang Zhan kicked the bathtub, his face still dark, then turned and walked out of the bathroom. Wei Xiaochi quickly followed.

Despite rushing, Wei Xiaochi made it to the classroom just in time before the bell rang for the first class.

He’d rushed a little too much, and now his side hurt even more. His stomach had already been aching, and now it was worse. He slouched in his seat for most of the class to recover.

Although Wei Xiaochi sat in the second row, he still couldn’t see the blackboard clearly. He squinted all morning, and by the last class, his eyes felt sore and dry.

When school let out for lunch, Wei Xiaochi didn’t rush to the cafeteria. Instead, he went to the spot where Fang Zhi Xin usually hung out to look for his glasses.

The lenses were made of resin, so they wouldn’t easily break. If he could find them, he wouldn’t have to buy a new pair, saving money on a new frame.

He searched several times but didn’t find a single fragment, let alone the lenses.

Feeling disappointed, Wei Xiaochi rubbed his aching eyes and sighed.

At the cafeteria, Wei Xiaochi got a serving of rice and scrambled eggs with tomatoes. He quickly scanned the room for an empty table, not wanting to end up sitting with strangers if he was late.

He hadn’t eaten breakfast, so he was starving. His low blood sugar always made him dizzy when he didn’t eat.

He found an empty spot in the corner and rushed over to claim it, relieved to not have to share a table.

As he passed through the main area of the cafeteria, his eyes landed on a head that stood out among the crowd—Jiang Zhan’s hair had a small knot on top.

The cafeteria at No. 2 High School had large, inexpensive dishes and also pricier small dishes. The richer students tended to choose the latter.

Wei Xiaochi had seen Jiang Zhan’s picky eating habits the night before. The small dishes didn’t appeal to him, and he pushed his plate around disinterestedly.

Wei Xiaochi envied him a bit. Even though Jiang Zhan was so picky, he was still so tall. It was clear that good genes were at play.

He looked at Jiang Zhan for a moment before quickly looking away.

Wei Xiaochi knew he and Jiang Zhan were not on the same wavelength, and he had no intention of building any rapport with the school’s troublemaker. They had helped each other out once, and that was it.

He didn’t greet Jiang Zhan, but quickly walked past him to his seat in the corner, mixing his scrambled eggs with the rice.

He was ready to eat.

Before noon break ended, Wei Xiaochi returned to the classroom, finished his medicine, and noticed that Zhang Mingyang had been glancing at him all morning.

He tightened the lid of his thermos with a snap. “What are you staring at?”

Zhang Mingyang’s eyes flickered, but he didn’t back down. “Looking at the idiot who got beaten up.”

Wei Xiaochi’s anger flared. “You’re the idiot.”

“No, you’re the idiot.”

“You must be an idiot if you think everyone else is one.”

“That’s why you’re the idiot.”

They argued for a few minutes over who was the real idiot, until Xu Yang from the back row muttered, “Which idiot is whining?” Wei Xiaochi and Zhang Mingyang immediately stopped, lowering their heads in silence.

At the end of the day, Wei Xiaochi couldn’t wait to jump on his bike and head to the optical shop for a new pair of glasses.

The optometrist told him his prescription had increased by 100 degrees in each eye.

This pair of glasses was from when Wei Xiaochi was in his first year of high school, and in less than two years, his eyesight had worsened by 100 degrees.

He sighed, irritated, as he pushed the glasses up his nose.

The prices in A City were high. Even though he had chosen the cheapest pair of lenses, the optical shop still charged him 850 yuan.

His out-of-pocket cost was only 150 yuan, thanks to Jiang Zhan covering the medical expenses.

At least he earned something from the beating… Sigh.

Since his face was bruised, Wei Xiaochi didn’t dare go home too early. He called Fang Yuan to tell her he wouldn’t be coming back for dinner.

He bought two buns and sat at a KFC, chewing on his food while doing his homework.

He stayed there until 9 PM, then returned home. The living room lights were off, and Fang Yuan was in the twins’ room, putting them to sleep. She heard the door open and came out.

Wei Xiaochi quickly greeted her while changing his shoes, careful to hide his bruises. He finally relaxed when he got back to his room.

The bruises on his face wouldn’t disappear quickly, so he planned to keep hiding them for now. The next morning, before dawn, he left home under the cover of darkness and rushed to school.

He took a detour to buy breakfast from the same dumpling shop that had made Jiang Zhan sick the day before.

Wei Xiaochi, being prone to low blood sugar, always had to make sure he ate something in the morning. Without breakfast, he would feel dizzy and weak, and the two chocolates he had left the day before had saved him from fainting.

Last night, Xu Yang had given him half a box of chocolate as a reward for completing his homework, and Wei Xiaochi had sneakily eaten one while Zhang Mingyang wasn’t paying attention. After counting the chocolates, he realized there were fourteen small, coin-sized ones. It wasn’t much for the effort he’d put in, but at least Xu Yang wasn’t like some of his middle school classmates, who took advantage of him without any consideration.

The other two students in class who didn’t focus on their studies had started to take notice of Wei Xiaochi’s willingness to help Xu Yang with his homework. By noon, the two of them approached Wei Xiaochi.

One of them grabbed his arm and smiled, “Top student, do you have time for lunch? Let me treat you.”

Wei Xiaochi instinctively took a step back, wary.

The other one added, “Of course, we can talk business over lunch. Don’t worry, we won’t let you lose out.”

Business? Wei Xiaochi’s instincts kicked in, but he still kept his guard up.

“The small stir-fries from the third section of the cafeteria—order whatever you want, it’s on us,” they said, one of them hooking his arm around Wei Xiaochi’s neck, the other wrapping an arm around his, half-pushing and half-persuading him toward the cafeteria.

Along the way, the two continued to chat, and Wei Xiaochi finally realized they were trying to pay him for doing their homework. His wariness began to fade.

But the way they were holding on to him, especially the arm around his neck, made Wei Xiaochi, with his frail constitution, feel a little uncomfortable.

Just as they reached the entrance of the cafeteria, a large hand shot out from behind Wei Xiaochi, peeling the arm off his neck.

The person who had his arm around Wei Xiaochi’s neck instantly had a bruise appear on his wrist. He was about to curse when he turned and saw the face of the one who had intervened. His expression instantly turned pale.

“Jiang… Jiang Zhan?”