Of course, Xu Yunchong wasn’t about to tell Ji Chenai the real reason he was here.

Standing beside Ji Chenai, he struck up a casual conversation, as if just making small talk. But in reality, he was carefully observing the young man in front of him.

Compared to a few months ago, Ji Chenai looked much healthier, thanks to Wang Zhixiu’s care. Despite leaning on a crutch, his complexion had improved significantly.

Ji Chenai wasn’t just passably good-looking—his delicate yet sharp features carried a refined elegance without appearing overly soft. In fact, he could easily rival the most popular young actors of the moment. If not for the crutch, one might assume he had a bright and promising future ahead of him.

Xu Yunchong sighed inwardly—a pity, indeed. But his smile only deepened. “My younger brother also studies at this school.”

If Ji Chenai had been just an ordinary, naïve teenager, he might have found it difficult to dislike someone as poised and charismatic as Xu Yunchong. But Ji Chenai knew everything. So, while his expression remained warm and gentle, deep down, that warmth was more akin to someone eyeing a jackpot of positive energy points just waiting to be collected.

Xu Yunchong had no idea what Ji Chenai truly thought of him. All he saw was a young man who was polite and composed—nothing like the difficult, unapproachable figure described in the reports. Of course, it was possible Ji Chenai was simply putting on an act, but Xu Yunchong didn’t particularly care.

They exchanged a few more words of idle chatter until the bus arrived. Xu Yunchong watched as Ji Chenai slowly boarded.

Only after Ji Chenai was gone did Xu Yunchong pull out his phone. In a calm, almost indifferent tone, he said, “I’m here. I met him.”

Whatever the person on the other end said, Xu Yunchong responded with a faint chuckle. “Relax, I won’t go too far.” Then, without another word, he ended the call and turned to walk in the opposite direction.

Ji Chenai, however, was still trying to figure out why Xu Yunchong—who should have been miles away—had suddenly appeared in this city. More importantly, he was clearly already suspicious; otherwise, he wouldn’t have used the excuse of asking about the school just to strike up a conversation.

Xiao Qi muttered, “That guy’s got some nerve, showing up so brazenly like this.”

Ji Chenai stepped off the bus and walked home at a leisurely pace. Hearing Xiao Qi’s comment, he simply responded with a quiet “Mm.”

Xiao Qi continued, “Is he trying to mess with you again? Or maybe he’s planning to kidnap you this time…”

Ji Chenai had no idea what Xu Yunchong was up to, but whatever came his way, he would deal with it. Just like a soldier fending off attacks or a dam holding back the flood, any problem that arose would eventually be resolved. Besides, at this point, Xu Yunchong was nothing more than a walking experience bar to him.

After arriving home, Ji Chenai had dinner, did some homework, and then resumed posting online. His life had been fairly routine lately, with little to no variation in his daily schedule. But Xu Yunchong’s sudden appearance was like a faint signal—trouble was on its way.

Xiao Qi had always been dismissive of Ji Chenai’s dedication to studying. As a rather blunt and straightforward cheat code, Xiao Qi firmly believed that studying was a complete waste of Ji Chenai’s time. After all, their exams only covered textbook material, and most of what was in those books would be useless to him in the future.

In Xiao Qi’s opinion, as long as Ji Chenai made it through middle school, he was as good as “graduated.” Whether he went to high school or not was entirely irrelevant.

On this matter, Ji Chenai and Xiao Qi disagreed. It wasn’t that Ji Chenai deliberately wanted to make life harder for himself, but as someone who had never had the chance to attend university, he carried a lingering sense of regret. To him, school had taken on a somewhat sacred significance.

On this matter, Lu Yuyu and Ji Chenai were in complete agreement. After more than a month of effort, Lu Yuyu’s academic performance had improved significantly. Her initial admiration for Ji Chenai had now transformed into blind devotion—whatever he said, she believed to be right; whatever he explained, she thought was brilliant.

Zhang Xiao, on the other hand, had witnessed Lu Yuyu’s progress firsthand. Since her own grades had always been much better, she couldn’t help but feel a sense of superiority. But now, watching Lu Yuyu steadily improve, she couldn’t deny the small pang of displeasure growing in her heart.

In their class, seating arrangements were determined by academic performance—the top scorers got to choose their seats first, while those with lower scores had to settle for whatever was left.

Zhang Xiao had always ranked among the top ten in the class. However, after the most recent monthly exam, she approached the homeroom teacher with a request—she wanted to sit next to Ji Chenai.

When the teacher asked for a reason, she explained, “I think Zhou Yaoqin and I can complement each other academically. He’s good at math, and I’m strong in Chinese.”

The teacher considered her request but decided to check with Ji Chenai first.

Ji Chenai hadn’t expected Zhang Xiao to go to such lengths. Without hesitation, he replied, “Teacher, I’d prefer to continue sitting with Lu Yuyu. She’s been a great help to me.”

The teacher wasn’t unreasonable and, after hearing Ji Chenai’s response, ultimately respected his choice.

Zhang Xiao privately approached Ji Chenai, asking why he didn’t want to be desk mates with her. Ji Chenai simply replied that he was already familiar with Lu Yuyu, and she often helped him with his studies.

After hearing his explanation, Zhang Xiao never spoke to him again. When the next seat rotation came around, she deliberately chose a spot far away from him.

When the homeroom teacher accepted Ji Chenai into the class, they had originally arranged with the academic office that his grades wouldn’t be included in the class’s average score. However, when the monthly exam results came out, the teacher was stunned—Ji Chenai had scored an impressive 147 in math. While his other subjects were just barely passing, math was a major hurdle for humanities students, and his score had single-handedly pulled up the class average.

The math teacher was overjoyed, but the other subject teachers weren’t nearly as pleased.

Because of this, the homeroom teacher had a one-on-one talk with Ji Chenai. She asked him which university he aimed to attend, and his answer left her surprised. After a brief silence, she patted his shoulder and said, “I think your goal is great. You still have a long way to go, but if you don’t work hard, how will you ever know what’s possible?”

Ji Chenai was taken aback—he had expected skepticism, not encouragement. After all, the university he mentioned was ranked second in the country, and only a dozen or so students from their school made it in each year.

If it had been before, he might have put in the effort to chase that goal. But with Xiao Qi by his side, his acceptance was practically guaranteed. With that assurance, his days had become leisurely. Each afternoon, he tutored Lu Yuyu to earn some energy points, kept an eye on Zhou Yaoyun when needed, and overall, life was becoming increasingly comfortable.

In the blink of an eye, two months had passed, and the students were now facing their final exams for the second semester of their sophomore year. The exams spanned three days, following the same schedule as the college entrance exams.

Ji Chenai took his time finishing the last subject, then returned to the classroom to pack his bag and head home. As he tidied up, he casually asked, “Lu Yuyu, how are you planning to spend your break?”

Lu Yuyu was hunched over, focused on something, and hesitated for a moment before replying, “My mom signed me up for a prep class…”

Ji Chenai’s hand paused mid-action. It dawned on him that this was what a normal sophomore’s life looked like. Meanwhile, he was already making plans for where to travel during the break. If not for Xiao Qi… he probably would have never made it to university in the first place.

Perhaps because of the stress from exams, Lu Yuyu had been in low spirits for the past few days and barely spoke to Ji Chenai. As soon as school was over, she left in a hurry.

When Ji Chenai asked what was wrong, she simply brushed it off, saying she was tired. Seeing her reluctance to talk, he didn’t press further.

Most days, Ji Chenai would leave school around six o’clock, but today, he had spent extra time sorting through his books, delaying his departure.

As he finally slung his backpack over his shoulder and strolled out of the school gates, he happened to see Lu Yuyu standing with a group of people outside. They seemed to be getting ready to go somewhere.

As Lu Yuyu and the group passed by Ji Chenai, she caught sight of him—but instead of acknowledging him, she turned her head away, acting as if she didn’t know him at all.

Ji Chenai had been about to greet her, but seeing her reaction, he swallowed his words.

Just as they were about to walk past him, the boy standing to Lu Yuyu’s right suddenly spoke up. “Lu Yuyu, isn’t this your deskmate?”

Lu Yuyu’s body stiffened, and a flicker of panic crossed her face. “N-no, I don’t really know him,” she stammered.

The boy let out a mocking laugh. “Not familiar? But didn’t Zhang Xiao say you and your deskmate were pretty close?”

Then, turning to Ji Chenai, he sneered, “Hey, cripple, do you even know Lu Yuyu?”

Hearing this, Ji Chenai silently thought to himself: Yet another immature brat going through his rebellious phase. However, instead of reacting aggressively, he remained calm and simply asked, “Something you need?”

Before the boy could respond, a girl beside him—sporting three or four earrings—smirked and chimed in, “Lu Yuyu, didn’t you say you were out of money? Why not invite your deskmate along? I mean, if his grades are this bad and he’s still attending this school, he’s gotta be loaded, right?”

Lu Yuyu’s face turned crimson. “Stop it! I really don’t know him that well,” she insisted, her voice flustered.

The boy ignored Lu Yuyu’s protests and walked straight up to Ji Chenai. “Hey, come hang out with us. You in?”

At first, Ji Chenai had assumed Lu Yuyu was ignoring him out of embarrassment, but now, seeing her reaction, he realized she was actually worried about dragging him into trouble.

Looking at the boy’s face, Ji Chenai suddenly smiled. “Sure.”

Lu Yuyu grew anxious, frantically shooting him warning glances, but Ji Chenai acted as if he didn’t see them. Instead, he lazily asked, “Where are you guys headed? I know a great place.”

The boy, pleased with Ji Chenai’s cooperation, slung an arm over his shoulder and grinned. “Oh? And where’s that? We’re planning to go drink.”

Ji Chenai narrowed his eyes slightly. “I guarantee you’ll like it.”

With the destination decided, the group hailed a taxi by the roadside and headed off. Seemingly wary that Ji Chenai might try to slip away, the boy made a point of sitting in the same cab as him.

The place they were going was “Yi Se”, a well-known non-membership KTV in the city. Ji Chenai had never been there before, but back when he was still the Ji Chenai, he had been intimately familiar with how these kinds of entertainment venues operated.

After arriving at Yi Se, the group booked a large private room, ordered several cases of beer and a variety of snacks, and soon, the seven or eight of them were partying wildly.

Xiao Qi, who had been silently observing all along, finally spoke up: “So much experience…”

Ji Chenai: “…” Are you treating these people like mobs in a game?

Lu Yuyu had been unusually quiet ever since they stepped inside. It wasn’t until the others got carried away with their games that she hesitantly approached Ji Chenai and whispered, “Zhou Yaoqin, I’m sorry… I dragged you into this.”

Ji Chenai shook his head, indicating it wasn’t a big deal.

Lu Yuyu bit her lip. “This place is expensive. The allowance my dad gave me definitely won’t be enough. Wait here—I’ll go make a call and ask for more.”

Ji Chenai had been lounging on the sofa the whole time. At her words, he spoke in a low voice, “Lu Yuyu, do you know why I chose this place?”

She blinked. “Why?”

Ji Chenai’s lips curved into a smile. “Because here, you pay after you’ve consumed.”

Lu Yuyu wasn’t dumb. The moment she heard that, her eyes widened in realization. “You’re planning to skip out on the bill? But if you do, won’t they come looking for you at school?”

Ji Chenai remained unfazed. “Don’t worry about that. When the time comes, just make sure you leave first.”

Lu Yuyu shook her head firmly. “I can’t just leave you here alone.”

Ji Chenai smiled. “Don’t worry about me. I’ll be fine. But speaking of which, why are you hanging out with this group?”

Just as Lu Yuyu was about to answer, the boy who had dragged Ji Chenai here interrupted her. His name was Jiao Zuoyuan—a refined name, but unfortunately, his personality didn’t match.

“Lu Yuyu, what are you whispering about over there with the little classmate? Come play dice with me!” Jiao Zuoyuan called out.

Lu Yuyu hesitated. “I’m not very good at it…”

Jiao Zuoyuan laughed heartily. “No problem, I’ll teach you.” As he spoke, he grabbed a bottle of liquor and a cup filled with dice, striding over.

As expected, Lu Yuyu wasn’t great at the game. She lost three rounds in a row and was forced to drink three glasses of alcohol. Her face was now flushed red, like a ripe peach.

Before Ji Chenai could say anything, Xiao Qi had already lost patience.

“Ai Ai! Do it! Wreck him!”

Ji Chenai sighed, “I’d love to, but I’m terrible at dice.” Not to mention, my alcohol tolerance is pretty bad too…

Xiao Qi scoffed, “What’s there to be afraid of? You’ve got me!”

Ever since getting access to the internet, Xiao Qi had been getting more and more unruly. Ji Chenai couldn’t deny—he kind of liked it.

With Xiao Qi’s assurance, Ji Chenai confidently stepped up to the challenge. The result? Jiao Zuoyuan got utterly destroyed.

After losing five rounds in a row, Jiao Zuoyuan slammed his cup down in frustration. “Kid, what the hell? Are you cheating?”

Ji Chenai blinked innocently. “Cheat? How? You’re the one rolling the dice.”

Jiao Zuoyuan eyed him suspiciously. Something felt off, but he couldn’t figure out what. They were just playing a simple high-low guessing game, and he was the one rolling. In theory, there was no way for Ji Chenai to manipulate the outcome… right?

Jiao Zuoyuan refused to back down and challenged Ji Chenai to a few more rounds. Out of five games, he lost four. Though still suspicious, he chalked it up to Ji Chenai’s ridiculous luck.

Sensing the timing was right, Ji Chenai casually said, “Lu Yuyu, come with me to the restroom?”

Lu Yuyu was just about to agree when Jiao Zuoyuan cut in, “Why do you need a girl to go with you? I’ll go instead.”

Clearly, he wasn’t stupid. He knew someone had to stay behind—otherwise, if Ji Chenai used the bathroom as an excuse to slip away, who’d be left to pay the bill?

Lu Yuyu’s face darkened, but seeing Jiao Zuoyuan’s persistence, she had no choice but to nod.

Ji Chenai, unfazed, leaned on his crutch as he headed to the restroom with Jiao Zuoyuan in tow.

Inside, Ji Chenai propped himself up with one hand, unzipping his pants with the other. Meanwhile, Jiao Zuoyuan lit a cigarette, exhaling a cloud of smoke before asking, “How’d your leg end up like that?”

Ji Chenai remained silent.

Jiao Zuoyuan, hot-tempered as ever, grew irritated at being ignored. He reached out and shoved Ji Chenai. “Hey, you deaf or something? I’m talking to you!”

The restroom floor was already slippery, and with Ji Chenai relying on a single crutch, he was at a disadvantage. Just as he zipped up his pants, Jiao Zuoyuan’s shove sent him crashing hard onto the ground.

If it were just the fall, Ji Chenai might have let it slide. But instead of helping him up, Jiao Zuoyuan burst into laughter, clutching his stomach as he sneered, “Hahaha! Too bad you didn’t fall face-first into the toilet!”

Ji Chenai remained silent on the floor, his expression unreadable. He stared at Jiao Zuoyuan’s grinning face before suddenly chuckling himself. “Jiao Zuoyuan, do you know why I use a crutch?”

Jiao Zuoyuan smirked. “Isn’t it because you’re a cripple?”

The next moment, Ji Chenai slowly rose to his feet, his movements deliberate and steady. He didn’t reach for his crutch. Instead, he took a step forward.

Jiao Zuoyuan, a good five or six centimeters taller, should have had no reason to fear someone as seemingly frail as Ji Chenai. But as Ji Chenai advanced, something about his gaze sent a chill down Jiao Zuoyuan’s spine.

Unconsciously, he stepped back.

Then again.

Until his back pressed against the cold, tiled wall.

Ji Chenai slowly leaned in close to Jiao Zuoyuan, his voice gentle yet chilling. “Because if I don’t use a crutch… I might accidentally kill someone.”

The moment his words fell, he lashed out with a powerful kick—straight between Jiao Zuoyuan’s legs.

Jiao Zuoyuan barely had time to react before a gust of wind swept past his thighs, followed by the sharp sound of shattering tiles behind him. Eyes wide with disbelief, he lowered his gaze, staring at the gaping hole Ji Chenai’s kick had left in the wall.

Ji Chenai reached out and casually smoothed down Jiao Zuoyuan’s slightly disheveled hair. “Careful now,” he said with a smile. “Next time, my aim might be a little higher.”

A cold shiver ran down Jiao Zuoyuan’s spine. His legs gave out, and he collapsed onto the floor.

Ji Chenai arched his brows, flashing him another harmless-looking smile.

But to Jiao Zuoyuan, that smile was anything but harmless. It was terrifying—unfathomable. What kind of person could shatter ceramic tiles with a single kick? That kind of thing only happened in martial arts movies!

Just then, Xiao Qi suddenly chimed in, “You didn’t go for the nutcracker special? Has the legendary Ball-Breaking Demon lost his former glory?”

Ji Chenai’s expression darkened. “Shut up.”

Of course, this was just a warning shot. What Ji Chenai truly came here for was yet to come.

He turned to Jiao Zuoyuan and said, “Call Lu Yuyu. Tell her to come outside.”

Jiao Zuoyuan looked at Ji Chenai as if he were staring at the devil himself. There was no way he would dare disobey. With trembling hands, he fumbled for his phone, failing to unlock it several times before finally dialing Lu Yuyu’s number.

Lu Yuyu was startled to receive a call from Jiao Zuoyuan. Worried that something had happened to Ji Chenai, she answered immediately and rushed outside—only to be met with the sight of a visibly terrified Jiao Zuoyuan and Ji Chenai, still calmly leaning on his crutch.

“Zhou Yaoqin, what’s going on?” she asked, puzzled.

Jiao Zuoyuan didn’t dare utter a word. He merely cast a fearful glance at Ji Chenai, silently pleading for mercy.

Ji Chenai remained unfazed. “Nothing,” he said casually. “Just wanted to let you know—you should leave now. I still have some business to take care of.”

Lu Yuyu frowned. “What are you talking about?” She hadn’t expected Ji Chenai to say something like this in front of Jiao Zuoyuan.

Ji Chenai remained unfazed. “I’m serious. Isn’t that right, Jiao Zuoyuan?”

Jiao Zuoyuan frantically nodded, his head bobbing up and down like a pecking chicken. From the look on his face, it was clear that if Ji Chenai told him to eat dirt, he would sprint to the nearest pile without hesitation.

Lu Yuyu stared at Ji Chenai in confusion. “Zhou Yaoqin, what… what exactly is going on?”

Ji Chenai wasn’t sure how to explain it to her, so he simply said, “Just go for now. I’ll explain everything to you later.”

She hesitated, clearly uncertain. But seeing how firm Ji Chenai was, she eventually relented with a quiet nod. After retrieving her bag from the room, she glanced back once more before finally leaving.

Once she was gone, Ji Chenai turned to Jiao Zuoyuan and said with a lazy smile, “Shall we go? The others are still waiting, aren’t they?”

=^_^=