In the international class, Lu Li leaned on his desk, absentmindedly tossing a small pill bottle in his hand. His light blue eyes stared blankly ahead, as though lost in thought.

Qin Lan, lounging in his chair, noticed Lu Li’s rare dazed expression and asked, “What’s on your mind?”

Lu Li didn’t answer immediately. His expression was odd. After a long pause, he turned to Qin Lan and asked, “Do your teeth ever itch?”

Qin Lan was confused. “Huh? What are you talking about?”

Lu Li pondered for a moment and tried to explain it differently. “Do you ever feel the urge to bite something?”

Qin Lan shook his head honestly. “Nope, but my dog does.”

Lu Li: “…”

“Get lost,” Lu Li said coldly. Qin Lan just laughed, not taking offense. “What’s got you so riled up? What kind of medicine are you taking?”

Lu Li tossed the pill bottle over, leaning back in his chair with his long legs sprawled out under the desk, clearly feeling confined.

Qin Lan caught the bottle and figured it was some kind of calcium supplement. After all, Lu Li was nearly six feet tall, broad-shouldered, and lean, standing out among a group of junior high students who were either shorter or as thin as sticks.

“Zinc supplements?” Qin Lan said, surprised as he read the label. “Why are you taking these?”

Lu Li’s face looked conflicted. He couldn’t exactly admit it was because he had a lifelong habit of biting Jiang Yi and now needed zinc to stop. So he just stayed silent.

Qin Lan, not pressing further, shrugged. “Whatever, if you’re taking it, it’s probably good. Everyone’s envious of how tall you are. I’m going to ask my mom to get me some of these too.”

Lu Li shot him an odd glance and muttered, “It doesn’t help.”

Because it really didn’t.

He had been taking the supplements for almost a week now, and every night, while hugging Jiang Yi, he still had the urge to bite. In fact, it seemed to be getting worse.

In the past, he could bite Jiang Yi anywhere—sometimes when Jiang Yi was too engrossed in his homework to pay attention, Lu Li would gnaw on his hand. Other times, while playing around, he’d nip at Jiang Yi’s chin. But it was always playful, a way to get Jiang Yi’s attention, and he would be satisfied after a quick bite.

But now it was different.

There were specific places Lu Li wanted to bite—like the nape of Jiang Yi’s neck, hidden under his messy black hair, or his Adam’s apple, or his earlobes. He wanted to keep biting those spots, but he knew he wouldn’t bite too hard.

Unfortunately, Jiang Yi didn’t allow it anymore.

Lu Li licked his lips, a little regretful that grown-up Jiang Yi was harder to coax than he used to be.

“Coach said there’s a practice game with the eighth-graders tonight. You coming?” Qin Lan asked as he rocked his chair back and forth. “If you don’t go, Zhong Mao and I won’t go either.”

The mention of the eighth-graders made Lu Li’s expression harden. “No.”

The eighth-graders played dirty, and they were arrogant to boot—sore losers who used their seniority to bully others. Lu Li had clashed with them more than once, earning himself a reputation as a troublemaker on the basketball team.

He didn’t care what people thought, and since Jiang Yi, always wrapped up in his own world, wouldn’t find out about the fights anyway, it didn’t bother him.

As he tossed the pill bottle again, Lu Li thought about how his desire to bite Jiang Yi had only intensified recently. Maybe he needed to up the dosage.

After a few minutes of contemplation, he decided. Yes, he’d take more.

---

By the school’s water fountain, a few boys were gathered, complaining under their breath.

“Lu Li’s skipping practice again tonight?”

“Yeah, and his groupies from the international class aren’t coming either.”

“A bunch of lapdogs. They only show up when he does.”

Leaning against the railing, a few older boys looked irritated, their voices tinged with frustration. “What a stuck-up jerk. Acting like he’s better than everyone else.”

One boy sneered. “He’s the Lu family’s precious heir. Of course, he’s full of himself.”

Jiang Yi, holding his water bottle, hesitated for a moment, overhearing their complaints. As he walked away, one boy spat bitterly, “Stupid half-breed, thinks he’s so great just because he’s good at basketball…”

“Let him keep skipping practice. Sooner or later, he’ll give us a reason to kick him off the team.”

Jiang Yi stopped in his tracks, glancing back at the boys before silently returning to his classroom.

Back at his desk, Jiang Yi calmly buckled the disciplinary armband over his sleeve, its red fabric signifying his role in the school’s disciplinary committee.

Cai Fang, adjusting his glasses, looked puzzled. “Is there a meeting for the disciplinary committee?”

The red armband was usually reserved for patrol duty or official committee meetings. Jiang Yi rarely wore it otherwise.

Jiang Yi didn’t reply. He grabbed his notebook for writing citations and headed out.

The boys by the water fountain hadn’t moved. They were still leaning against the railing, grumbling, when they spotted Jiang Yi approaching—this time with his armband on.

Without saying a word, Jiang Yi silently wrote four violation slips and laid them neatly on the fountain’s ledge.

“…”

After setting them down, Jiang Yi explained the citations in a matter-of-fact tone before turning on his heel to leave.

The violation? Not wearing their school uniforms.

Each of the boys had three points docked for improper attire.

One of them opened his mouth to protest but fell silent as Jiang Yi walked away without looking back.

There was no point arguing with someone who didn’t even engage in name-calling like they had.

Back in the classroom, Cai Fang was full of curiosity. “Did you have to issue a lot of violations?”

Jiang Yi, removing his armband and putting his citation notebook away, responded calmly, “Just four.”

Cai Fang was awestruck. Whatever they had done must’ve been serious for Jiang Yi to take action like that.

Jiang Yi simply thought back to the insults the boys had hurled earlier, his expression turning serious. “Yeah, it was pretty bad.”

Cai Fang, impressed, kept his questions to himself, feeling even more admiration for Jiang Yi’s strong sense of justice.

---

At 6:30 PM, on the way back to Lu Li’s house, Lu Li lazily nudged Jiang Yi’s knee with his own, engaging in a childish back-and-forth game of knee-bumping.

Jiang Yi was absorbed in his phone, scrolling through search results for bus routes between their school and Lu Li’s house. But each option seemed more inconvenient than the last, with most requiring multiple transfers. Only one bus offered a direct route, but it ran infrequently, and the next one wasn’t until 7 PM.

Still searching for alternatives, Jiang Yi glanced at dormitory requirements when Lu Li interrupted, grabbing his phone.

“When is this competition of yours going to be over?” Lu Li asked, a hint of impatience in his voice.

Jiang Yi hesitated, staring at his confiscated phone. If Lu Li glanced at the screen, he’d see everything.

After a pause, Jiang Yi mumbled, “Soon, I think.”

Lu Li didn’t look satisfied. “What’s so important about this competition anyway?”

In elementary school, Jiang Yi had participated in competitions, but he hadn’t been this intense about it.

Jiang Yi thought for a moment, then replied earnestly, “It’s important to me.”

He took Lu Li’s hand, his tone sincere. “If I win, I’ll be really happy.”

Lu Li blinked, startled by how seriously Jiang Yi was speaking. Before he could respond, Jiang Yi leaned in, his dark eyes filled with hope. Holding Lu Li’s hand tightly, he continued, “But to do well in this competition, I might need to make a small sacrifice.”

“Would you be okay with that?”

It had been a while since Jiang Yi had asked him for something so nicely, just like when they were kids and Jiang Yi wanted a puzzle or a toy. Lu Li, feeling a bit light-headed, readily agreed. “Of course…”

Thinking Jiang Yi was asking for more study time or something similar, he added, “It’s a competition—of course, you can make a little sacrifice for that.”