Lu Yan looked at the note Xia Fei handed over, raised an eyebrow, then crumpled it up in his hand and tossed it into the nearby trash can. 

Xia Fei watched his smooth series of actions and wondered—did he agree or not? After hesitating for a second, Xia Fei spoke up directly: “Hey, what’s that supposed to mean?” 

Lu Yan lazily glanced up at him. “What do you think?” 

Xia Fei felt like he and Lu Yan couldn’t communicate at all, as if they were from different dimensions. He felt utterly looked down upon, and clenched his fists. Today, he was determined to show Lu Yan what it meant to mess with the wrong guy. 

Lu Yan heard the sound of fists clenching beside him and couldn’t help but curl his lips in a smirk. 

Fan Shujuan noticed Xia Ruan frowning and staring at the two people in front, and curiously nudged her arm. “Xia Ruan, what are you looking at?” 

“Keeping an eye on my brother so he doesn’t cause trouble,” Xia Ruan replied seriously. 

“Pfft,” Fan Shujuan laughed. Before getting to know them better, she had thought both siblings were just a handful. Now that she’d spent time with them, she realized they were actually quite entertaining. 

As soon as class ended, before Xia Ruan could say anything, Xia Fei grinned and said, “Ruan Ruan, wait and see. After school, I’m going to teach Lu Yan a lesson.” 

Xia Ruan looked at him with a trace of pity in her eyes. Fine, she decided not to discourage him just yet. He would understand soon enough that arrogance always ends badly. This was for his own good—growth always comes at a price. 

Completely oblivious to the emotion in Xia Ruan’s eyes, Xia Fei continued confidently, “Actually, if you still like him…” 

Before he could finish, Xia Ruan interrupted, “No, I don’t. I’m not. I really don’t like him.” 

“Right,” Xia Fei said, “That guy’s only good at studying, and other than that, he doesn’t have any good qualities. Lu Yanzhi is better than him.” 

“Didn’t you say you hated Lu Yanzhi?” Xia Ruan asked, giving him a pointed look. 

“I do, but facts are facts,” Xia Fei replied, putting on a face that screamed, I’m just an honest guy. 

Xia Ruan: Heh. She couldn’t wait for Lu Yan to teach him a lesson. 

Just thinking about the one-on-one fight with Lu Yan made Xia Fei’s blood boil. Ever since Ruan Ruan came back from the hospital, he hadn’t been in a fight. He felt like his bones were rusting. Finally, he had a legitimate opportunity to fight. He couldn’t help but get excited. 

Xia Ruan glanced at his eager expression and shook her head. She just hoped he wouldn’t get beaten too badly. 

For the first time, Xia Fei felt time was crawling. He kept glancing at the person beside him, who remained calm and focused on the lesson and answering questions. Xia Fei sneered internally—keep acting, just keep acting. 

Finally, the dismissal bell rang. Xia Fei quickly packed up his bag and immediately looked toward his deskmate, afraid he might sneak off. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw Xia Ruan packing up too, and quickly said, “Ruan Ruan, give me your backpack. Wait for me in the car for twenty minutes—I’ll be there soon.” 

Xia Ruan looked at his outstretched hand and slowly shook her head. “Brother, how about you give me your backpack? I’ll wait for you in the car.” 

“How can I let you carry two bags?” Xia Fei objected. 

“It’s fine.” Xia Ruan reached out and grabbed his bag from the desk, thinking, What’s two bags? I’ll probably have to help carry him in a bit. 

Hearing the siblings’ conversation, Lu Yan glanced over at Xia Ruan. His long curled lashes blinked, casting a shadow over his eyelids. His lips pressed lightly together—was that concern? Then he thought he was probably overthinking. She likely didn’t know what was about to happen. He slung his bag over his shoulder, looked at the smug Xia Fei, and said, “Let’s go.” 

Xia Fei waved to Xia Ruan. “Ruan Ruan, I’ll be back real soon.” 

❖❖❖ 

Xia Fei lay on the ground, staring at Lu Yan in disbelief. Damn, this guy had been hiding his strength all along. No—“hiding his strength” was putting it nicely. He was a downright snake! Always playing the role of the good student, yet clearly a skilled fighter. And he, Xia Fei, just got beaten up like that? How could he maintain his image as the school tough guy? Gritting his teeth, he got up from the ground and looked at Lu Yan. Through clenched teeth, he said, “Round two?” 

Lu Yan curled his lips. “You sure?” 

Xia Fei spat, “What, you think this is some kind of game?” 

As soon as he finished speaking, Lu Yan flipped him over with a shoulder throw. Xia Fei landed on his butt with a loud thud and winced in pain. 

“Lu Yan, you sneaky bastard!” he shouted. 

Lu Yan looked at him innocently. “Didn’t you ask for this?” 

Xia Fei glared at him. “That’s not the point. Judging by your moves, this isn’t your first fight. Pretending to be a weakling all the time—is that fun for you?” 

Lu Yan spread his hands toward him, feigning innocence: “I never said I was weak.” 

“Then last time—” Xia Fei had originally wanted to say that last time Lu Yan had even been knocked out by his drug, but thinking about it carefully, it was probably just his own good luck. Lu Yan probably hadn’t expected to be drugged. 

Seeing Xia Fei stop mid-sentence, Lu Yan curled his lips: “Why aren’t you finishing your thought?” 

Xia Fei glared at him fiercely: “Just you wait.” 

Lu Yan nodded and picked up his schoolbag from the ground: “Mm, I’ll wait.” 

Xia Ruan had been sitting in the car playing on her phone. When Xia Fei limped into the car, she didn’t ask anything, just shifted to the side to make room. 

As the car drove off, Xia Fei couldn’t hold back any longer and spoke up: “Ruan Ruan, don’t you have anything you want to ask me?” 

Xia Ruan looked up and glanced at him: “I told you many times before not to mess with Lu Yan. Now you finally get it?” 

“A gentleman’s revenge is never too late—even after ten years. When we get back, I’ll have Grandpa find me a Sanda coach,” Xia Fei said furiously. 

Xia Ruan put down her phone and gave him a helpless look, her tone full of heartfelt concern: “Brother, can’t you just put all that energy into studying? Think about it—wouldn’t it be better if you could surpass Lu Yan academically?” 

Xia Fei looked at her awkwardly: “Well, Ruan Ruan, I mean… it’s good to have goals, but your brother here still has some self-awareness. Saying I could surpass Lu Yan in studies is like saying it’s going to rain red in the sky.” 

Xia Ruan couldn’t help but chuckle. True, it wasn’t easy to snatch the male protagonist’s spot. She glanced at Xia Fei who was rubbing his leg and asked with concern: “Do you need some medicine?” 

Xia Fei shook his head: “The smell of herbal medicine is too strong. If Mom smells it, she’ll find out.” 

“Can you handle it?” Xia Ruan asked hesitantly. 

“It’s nothing serious. Lu Yan didn’t go all out—he probably just wanted to teach me a lesson. It hurts, but nothing vital was injured. A hot bath should help.” Although Xia Fei was surprised by Lu Yan’s hidden strength, he didn’t badmouth him in front of Xia Ruan. 

Xia Ruan was genuinely surprised. The male protagonist, known for bearing grudges, didn’t take the chance to get revenge? They got lucky this time, but what about next time? She looked at Xia Fei seriously: “Brother, you believe me now, right? So can you please stop provoking Lu Yan?” 

Xia Fei saw her serious face and promised, “Okay, I won’t mess with him anymore.” Seeing her sigh in relief, he added silently in his heart: At least, not until I can beat him. 

Xia Ruan finally felt like her motherly heart could rest at ease. As long as Xia Fei didn’t seek trouble with Lu Yan, their bright future was still ahead. 

❖❖❖ 

“I heard you beat up Xia Fei just now?” As soon as Lu Yan reached the school gate, Lu Jizhou came over with a mischievous grin. 

Lu Yan pushed his face away and replied calmly, “Where did you hear that from again?” 

Lu Jizhou grinned: “Wasn’t it my turn for cleaning duty today? I was taking out the trash when I heard two girls from the neighboring class talking. One of them even confessed to you before—I think her name was Li Tingting?” Then he added, “Oh right, I think they even took pictures.” 

Lu Yan stopped walking and frowned: “You sure?” 

Lu Jizhou recalled the scene—two girls holding a phone and swooning, saying, “Oh my god, even when Lu Yan fights, he looks so handsome.” They repeated it three times. He nodded: “Yep, I’m sure.” Seeing Lu Yan frown even more, he was surprised: “So you really did hit him?” 

“It was a one-on-one match, okay?” Lu Yan shot him a calm glance. 

“Come on, Lu Yan, have some shame. With your skills, that was a one-sided beatdown.” Lu Jizhou felt Lu Yan was as black-hearted as ever. 

Lu Yan shrugged. “He came to me a few times, I gave him a chance.” 

“Looks like you’re not interested in dating soft, cute girls anymore.” Lu Jizhou looked at him with a regretful expression. 

Lu Yan had intended to say “I never wanted to,” but instead, he instinctively replied: “I was just fulfilling Xia Fei’s request.” 

“Is that how you ‘fulfill requests’? That’s your future brother-in-law, and you just hit him?” Lu Jizhou looked heartbroken for him. 

Lu Yan returned to calm: “What future brother-in-law? You’re overthinking it. Or are you trying to play matchmaker now?” 

“Damn it, Lu Yan, don’t you realize I’m doing this for you?” Lu Jizhou stood there glaring at Lu Yan’s back. 

By the time Xia Ruan and Xia Fei arrived at their tutoring center, Xia Fei was doing much better, though he still winced a bit while walking. Xia Ruan looked at him with concern: “Brother, are you sure you’re okay?” 

Xia Fei waved her off: “This is nothing. Back in the day, I—” 

Not wanting to hear about his “glorious past,” Xia Ruan cut him off. “Alright, we’re going to be late. Let’s go inside.” 

As soon as Xia Ruan entered the classroom, she spotted Fang Yinan. The female protagonist halo was truly strong—people always noticed her at first glance. She had her hair in a princess-style ponytail and wore a white dress with a pink coat, looking just like a little fairy. 

Xia Ruan noticed her, and of course, so did Xia Fei. Thinking of how boring it would be to accompany Ruan Ruan at tutoring for so long, he figured he needed something to occupy himself. Leaning close to Xia Ruan, he whispered: “Ruan Ruan, what do you think about me chasing after her?” 

Author’s Note: 
The Lu Yanzhi I mentioned isn’t the second male protagonist from the original book~