Chapter 127

Mo Yin was stunned for a long time, maybe just a few seconds, as Li Xiu’s words circled twice in his mind.

The first time, Mo Yin replayed the words in his head, and the second time, he began to understand what Li Xiu was saying.

Mo Yin stared at Li Xiu intently, and Li Xiu smiled back at him.

During his summer job at the bar, Mo Yin earned some quick money and realized that some men were interested in boys like him and wanted to have a relationship. He quickly understood the meaning of those lustful gazes and expressions, but he hadn’t received such signals from Li Xiu.

“Like me?” Mo Yin frowned, scrutinizing Li Xiu. “You like me?”

Because Mo Yin looked confused and serious, the smile on Li Xiu’s face softened, “A little.”

Mo Yin bluntly asked, “Do you like guys?”

Li Xiu laughed again, “I don’t know.”

Mo Yin looked at Li Xiu, suspecting he was joking, but this kind of joke didn’t amuse him at all. Li Xiu’s intelligence surely wasn’t that low, right?

“Don’t know?” Mo Yin found it a bit amusing, “You don’t know, but you say you like me?”

“Really don’t know,” Li Xiu said, “I’ve never liked anyone,” and he added casually, “What about you?”

The atmosphere of the conversation was a bit strange, neither sweet nor hostile, yet both of them continued smoothly.

Mo Yin refused to answer Li Xiu’s question and also rejected him, “I don’t like you. I hate you.”

“I know.”

Li Xiu stood up and handed Mo Yin a bottle of water, “Drink some water. Your lips are chapped.”

Mo Yin took the water, opened it, and looked up at Li Xiu, “So you approached me because you like me?”

Li Xiu shook his head.

Mo Yin lowered his head and slowly drank a couple of sips of water. His stomach, having been emptied, felt a bit of a burning sensation, and the room-temperature water provided some relief. Mo Yin licked his lips, stood up, and looked at Li Xiu again, realizing that Li Xiu’s gaze lacked the lecherous intent of those other men. It was focused, but without any hint of courting.

This exceeded his usual understanding of relationships, so Mo Yin said nothing more and walked out of Li Xiu’s dormitory with the water bottle.

*

The school took the fighting incident very seriously and set up a special team to investigate.

The involved students were called to talk with the dean and vice principal one after another.

The situation was serious, and Mo Yufan was very anxious. He begged the teachers not to notify his parents, but given the gravity of the situation, the homeroom teacher immediately called his parents.

Mo Yufan’s parents were furious and couldn’t believe their son had been in a fight.

Mo Yufan and his parents were questioned by the school staff.

Meanwhile, in the adjacent room, the vice principal, a kind-looking balding man, asked Mo Yin why he fought with his classmate.

Mo Yin kept his head down and didn’t speak. No matter how the vice principal asked, he remained silent.

The PE teacher brought in a few girls from Class 2. The girls said that Mo Yufan had bumped into Mo Yin, causing Mo Yin to bump into them. Then, the two boys stopped, and Mo Yufan seemed to say something cheeky to Mo Yin, who then started the fight.

Starting a fight just because of an accidental bump while running was obviously unreasonable.

The homeroom teacher confessed to the vice principal that there had already been conflicts in their dormitory and showed him a video sent by the homeroom teacher of Class 3.

In the video, the camera focused on Mo Yin, with Mo Yufan angrily accusing him off-screen, while Mo Yin emotionlessly recited aloud, showing a passive resistance that somehow evoked sympathy. Sometimes, silence is the best answer.

The vice principal returned the phone to the homeroom teacher, “Anything else?”

The homeroom teacher said, “I haven’t specifically looked into it yet.”

“Then go investigate now.” The vice principal gestured toward the meeting room door.

The vice principal then tried to talk to Mo Yin again, this time joined by a school counselor. They both spoke kindly, trying to persuade him, but Mo Yin kept his lips tightly shut, unmoved, like a mute.

Mo Yufan sat between his parents, repeatedly emphasizing to the discipline director, “He started it first.”

“I just accidentally bumped into him. The running line was close, and he was running slowly. I accidentally bumped into him, and I apologized immediately!”

Mo Yufan’s face flushed, “I didn’t expect him to hit me. When he hit me, I was stunned and reacted instinctively…”

The discipline director nodded while taking notes, giving Mo Yufan a reassuring look.

Both of Mo Yufan’s hands were held by his parents, one on each side. Feeling supported, he sensed that reason seemed to be on his side. Mo Yin’s situation might not be that serious, so he slowly straightened his back, “I didn’t do it on purpose.”

His family lightly touched the edge of the wound on his arm, causing Mo Yufan to hiss in pain and turn his head. His mother’s eyes reddened, “What’s wrong with that kid, hitting so hard and even biting Yufan’s arm.”

“Even if your classmate hits you first, you shouldn’t fight back,” his father scolded, frowning, “Pain on your body, we can’t help you bear it.”

Mo Yufan’s eyes reddened as well, feeling suddenly aggrieved. Tears began to fall again, and his father, though critical, showed a tone of concern, saying, “As a man, why are you crying over such a small matter?”

Just then, the meeting room door was knocked. The vice principal stood at the door, smiling, “How is the discussion going? Can I have a word with the parents outside?”

Mo Yufan quickly wiped his tears with his arm, “Dad, Mom…”

“It’s okay,” his mother comforted him, “We’ll be right back.”

The discussion moved to the vice principal’s office.

“We’ve already investigated the situation.”

“The child applied to live in the dormitory this year,” the vice principal explained, “After he moved in, some conflicts arose.”

“Mainly due to differences in living and study habits.”

The vice principal continued, “The school has tried to mediate these conflicts. The homeroom teacher was going to help mediate again today, but unfortunately, this incident occurred.”

“Having conflicts in daily life doesn’t justify hitting someone,” Mo Yufan’s father said angrily, “Where are his parents? The child might not understand, but we can talk to the adults.”

“The family’s situation is a bit special.”

The vice principal’s expression remained gentle, “He comes from a single-parent family. His mother passed away a couple of years ago, and his father has a mental illness, so his guardian can’t be here.”

Mo Yufan’s parents were momentarily stunned.

“I’ve spoken with several students and conducted a thorough investigation. It turns out that although the fight on the sports field was initiated by the other child, it was Mo Yufan who deliberately bumped into him first. Do you understand? And in the dormitory conflicts, it was Mo Yufan who led the others in targeting him. It’s understandable that children might not want an extra person in their dormitory, but they ganged up on him. Every night after study hall, he didn’t rest in the dormitory but studied in the hallway because the other boys made so much noise that he couldn’t study or rest there. His negative emotions accumulated, and he finally snapped during PE when Mo Yufan bumped into him…”

As the vice principal spoke, Mo Yufan’s parents’ faces turned from furious disbelief to shock and disbelief.

The vice principal pressed his hands onto the table, “I’m not assigning blame or deciding who’s right or wrong. Clearly, both sides made mistakes, don’t you agree?”

Mo Yufan’s parents remained silent, their earlier extreme anger shifting to unease.

“Fighting is certainly wrong. Our school firmly opposes any form of violence. Both sides will be reprimanded. Since this is their first offense, and given how crucial the senior year is, we’ll focus on education over punishment. A verbal warning and an apology between the two students should suffice, don’t you think?”

Mo Yufan’s parents’ faces darkened, but they still said nothing.

“Regarding the medical expenses, considering the special family situation of this child, the school will cover the costs beyond what your child’s insurance can cover. Is that acceptable? As for this child, he has a rather stubborn temperament and refuses to go to the hospital, even though his face and body are quite badly injured. He even vomited on the playground.”

The vice-principal took out his phone and placed it on the table, swiping his finger across the screen. Two photos of the injured child flashed before their eyes, showing a boy’s gloomy face with a thin body, causing both parents to turn their heads away.

“Principal Sun…” Mo Yufan’s mother said, her voice trembling, “Is it true that our child-led this in the dormitory…” She didn’t finish her sentence, looking imploringly at the vice-principal.

The vice-principal swiped back on the phone and opened a recently recorded video.

In the video, the boy, with his head down, said, “Mo Yufan said he has a bad character and skips bus fares, so we shouldn’t associate with him and should find a way to get him out of our dormitory…”

Mo Yufan’s mother covered her mouth, and his father stood up, trembling, “I will personally go ask him—”

“Parents, please calm down.”

The vice-principal quickly restrained the middle-aged man.

Mo Yufan grew increasingly uneasy in the student affairs office. He felt his parents had been gone for a long time, and the director of the student affairs office had been trying to comfort him. Hearing a noise, Mo Yufan immediately turned his head to look out the window, just in time to see Mo Yin being patted on the arm by a teacher as they passed by the office. Mo Yin seemed to sense something as well; he turned his face and their gazes met. Mo Yin’s gaze was deep and indifferent, just as it had been when they were desk mates, lightly glancing over Mo Yufan’s face without care.

Mo Yufan’s heart tightened, and the anger, gradually replaced by regret, resurfaced. His sweaty hands clenched tightly.

After a while, Mo Yufan finally saw his parents return.

But their faces were very stern.

“Yufan,” his mother came up first. Mo Yufan stood up, and she took his hand, “Tell Mom honestly, did you bully your classmate first?”

Mo Yufan’s mind buzzed, and he nervously shook off his mother’s hand, shouting, “When did I ever bully him?!”

“Why are you shouting—”

His father pointed a finger at him, “I’m asking you, did you tell Ma Qiancheng and Huang Zihan to isolate him and try to drive him out of the dormitory?!”

Mo Yufan was stunned, and the guilty look on his face made his parents’ expressions turn to disappointment.

Realizing what had happened, Mo Yufan’s face also changed dramatically. Stuttering, he said, “N-no, it’s not like that, I-I have my reasons…” But his throat grew dry, and he couldn’t come up with a defense. Mo Yin’s cold gaze flashed through his mind.

The homeroom teacher accompanied Mo Yin to move his belongings from the dormitory, comforting him on the way, “I know you feel wronged, and it’s partly the teacher’s fault for not noticing your situation in time. Don’t be sad. The school won’t punish you, but fighting is still wrong. It hurts others and yourself, understand?”

Mo Yin nodded.

“And, I have already applied for you…” The homeroom teacher said gently, “The school has agreed to let you stay in a single dorm room.”

Mo Yin had very few belongings. The homeroom teacher helped him carry his books to the new dormitory, offering a few more words of comfort and reminding him to inform her if he felt unwell.

Mo Yin nodded and said, “Thank you, teacher.”

The homeroom teacher sighed lightly and left.

Mo Yin turned to look at the clean, bright dormitory with no traces of previous occupants, slowly smiling.

He was very happy, much happier than when he first moved into the dormitory. He walked over and touched the long desk and each chair, then gently drew the curtains closed.

Everything here belonged to him now.

Smiling broadly, he felt a dull pain in his abdomen, but this was nothing to him. Muscle pain would fade in a couple of days. Among all his injuries, bite wounds were the quickest and most efficient way he knew to make others suffer. Someone like Mo Yufan, lacking experience in this area, was bound to suffer.

Clutching his abdomen, Mo Yin looked back.

Opposite was Li Xiu’s dormitory.

Now they were the same.

Despite needing to endure a bit of pain, just like moving into a single dorm room, he would eventually find a way to catch up to him and defeat him.

Then he remembered Li Xiu saying he liked him.

And that question — “And you?”

Liked? Mo Yin reached up to touch the wounds on his face, his expression betraying a certain indifferent sense of inevitability. Apart from himself, he had never liked anyone.