High school life was tedious and dull, so when people had nothing to do, they would pass around rumors between classes.

This week, Chu Xingning was on duty, and it was his turn to clean the blackboard.

Chalk dust stubbornly clung to the board, and a simple eraser wasn’t enough; he had to wipe it down with a damp cloth to get it clean.

With his sleeves rolled up, he covered his mouth, squinting slightly as he watched the fine powder disperse into the air.

Suddenly, he felt someone tug at his sleeve.

Chu Xingning stopped what he was doing and turned to look. “Xi Xun?”

Xi Xun was his seatmate in the Omega class, a thoroughly delicate Omega. Last time Chu Xingning had a fever, it was Xi Xun who helped by going to Class 3 to find Chu Tao.

Xi Xun shyly curled his fingertips, naturally taking Chu Xingning’s arm and leaning close to him, whispering, “Xingning, I just went to the bathroom and overheard something.”

Chu Xingning frowned slightly.

He wasn’t very comfortable with Xi Xun’s “best friend” approach to interaction.

Although he was physically an Omega, he had the spirit of someone who liked to be in control.

Xi Xun always leaned on him without any reservations, which made him feel quite uncomfortable.

He quietly withdrew his arm from Xi Xun’s hold, continued wiping the chalk dust, and asked calmly, “What did you hear?”

Xi Xun didn’t seem to mind. He moved a little closer to Chu Xingning’s ear, his breath soft as he whispered, “Apparently, your younger brother got into a conflict with Jiang She. The word going around from the alphas is that Jiang She didn’t hold back at all, and your brother nearly coughed up blood.”

Chu Xingning’s handsome face tightened.

“My brother? With Jiang She?”

He recalled the pants that Chu Tao had quietly washed the night before.

Chu Tao had always been stubborn, but he was gentle by nature, not prone to holding grudges or causing conflict, even if he had to suffer a little.

Since he’d even tolerated washing Jiang She’s pants, how could he have possibly ended up fighting with Jiang She at school?

Chu Xingning felt a bit worried.

But just as he turned to step off the platform, the warning bell rang.

The bell signaled the start of class, and by rule, they weren’t allowed to go outside once it rang.

Xi Xun softly reassured him, “It might just be a rumor. Don’t worry, if something really happened, his teacher would intervene.”

Chu Xingning nodded, still concerned.

A passing Omega muttered, “Oh, please, it’s just that his brother angered Jiang She and got taught a lesson. No one dares interfere with Jiang She at school; this isn’t the first time he’s been in a fight.”

Xi Xun tried to defend Chu Xingning but spoke uncertainly, “You… you shouldn’t say that.”

That Omega was a bit envious of Chu Xingning, with their pride wounded, so they scoffed disdainfully and walked away.

Chu Xingning gripped the cloth tightly, his lips pressing into a pale line.

At that moment, Chu Tao was completely unaware, busy memorizing English vocabulary.

For Class 3, the warning bell was essentially just decoration. These people didn’t even care about the class bell—as long as the teacher hadn’t arrived, whoever went quiet first was “a dog.”

Chu Tao was slowly getting used to studying in this chaotic environment.

In a way, it was nice; with the noise, he couldn’t hear any one voice clearly, so he wasn’t easily distracted.

Suddenly, there was an unusually quiet few seconds in the classroom.

Chu Tao paused, his pen still, and raised his eyes sensitively to look forward.

Pang Cai had returned.

This guy, who had gone home to rest for a day and a half just because he’d gotten a nosebleed in a fight, was finally back.

When Pang Cai entered the classroom, most of the marks from the fight on his face had faded.

Though Chu Tao had thrown many punches, they weren’t hard—mostly surface-level, not enough to cause any real harm.

After all, he was used to sparring with equipment during his taekwondo training and had never hit a person directly, so he had held back a lot when fighting Pang Cai.

Pang Cai glanced at Chu Tao, then made a taunting throat-slashing gesture at him, rolled his eyes, and swaggered back to his seat.

Chu Tao’s eyes followed him back to his seat, then he let out a cold chuckle, lowered his gaze, and returned to his work.

Since Yang Liu had told him to let it go, he didn’t intend to hold onto it.

Even if Pang Cai was provoking him, he pretended not to see.

A few friends of Pang Cai’s went over to check on him.

“Hey man, you okay?”

“Why were you out for a day? Did you go to the hospital?”

“Isn’t your mom the head of the first-year department? What did she say?”

“Are your parents really just letting this go? Tsk, that’s pretty generous of them.”

Pang Cai’s voice wasn’t quiet as he bragged, loudly mocking Chu Tao.

“Hospital, my ass. I was playing at an internet cafe all day. My mom told me not to stoop to an idiot’s level. She didn’t want to get involved—might look bad, you know?”

He made sure his voice was loud enough for the whole class to hear, clearly intending for Chu Tao to hear it.

Chu Tao took a deep breath, clenched his fists.

Just as he was about to respond, he heard a distinctly annoyed voice from behind—

“Who’s making all that noise while I’m trying to sleep?”

Jiang She lazily lifted his eyelids, straightened up, and cast a cold glance in Pang Cai’s direction.

He had indeed been woken up by Pang Cai, so his face looked dark, and his temper was almost boiling over.

Pang Cai shrank back, too afraid to speak.

Fang Sheng muttered disdainfully, “Trash.”

Five minutes after the class bell rang, Yang Liu finally rushed into the classroom.

She didn’t come in to start teaching right away; instead, she went straight to Chu Tao’s seat.

Yang Liu looked serious, and it didn’t seem like she was there to share good news.

She leaned down by Chu Tao and whispered close to his ear, “Chu Tao, Pang Cai’s mom wants to see you and have a talk. Don’t worry; the matter is mostly resolved, and they won’t be calling your parents. But she’s quite upset… Just go, and I’ll be there with you.”

Chu Tao’s pupils contracted slightly, and he accidentally bit the inside of his cheek.

The metallic taste of blood seeped out, the broken skin stinging sharply.

He swallowed the blood, straightened his clothes, and stood up in silence.

The other party was definitely coming to vent her anger, and Yang Liu was obviously trying to protect him.

But from what people said in class, Pang Cai’s mom was the head of the first-year department, while Yang Liu was just a young teacher. No matter how much she tried to shield him, she couldn’t fully protect him.

Pang Cai had bled, his mom was upset, and she didn’t want the situation to blow up, so she was definitely going to settle this privately.

Chu Tao didn’t know if he was fully prepared, but as long as it didn’t involve his parents, it wasn’t the worst-case scenario—he could endure it.

With his head slightly lowered, he instinctively reached out to steady the yogurt container on his desk and was just about to follow Yang Liu out.

“Chu Tao.”

Jiang She suddenly called out to him.

Chu Tao looked back, his eyes clear and bright, with a faint crease at the outer corner.

His breathing was slightly uneven, and he wasn’t feeling completely calm.

Jiang She stared at his lightly flushed lips and smiled lazily. “Let’s play a game.”

Chu Tao pressed his lips together.

At this moment, he really didn’t feel like playing any game with Jiang She.

Yang Liu, already tense, whispered a warning, “Jiang She, don’t mess around right now. Wait until I start the lesson.”

Jiang She ignored Yang Liu, his gaze fixed on Chu Tao.

His smile was charming, carrying an air of nonchalance mixed with a touch of sincerity.

Jiang She was twirling a pen between his fingers at high speed, the silver tip leaving sharp streaks of light.

Half-serious, he said, “The game is: for the next hour, do whatever you want. Even if you blow up the school, I’ll cover for you.”

“Think I can pull it off?”

Pang Cai’s expression changed instantly, his earlier arrogance extinguished as if doused with cold water.

The words sounded both outrageous and arrogant, but the tension in Chu Tao’s body gradually eased.

He gave a barely noticeable smile, the subtle curve beneath his eyes brightening, as if his emotions had cleared after a storm, reaching Jiang She through his gaze.

Calmly, he replied, “Don’t worry, blowing up the school isn’t my thing.”

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Author’s Note: Tao Tao, go ahead and blow it up—your hubby can cover the costs!

Thank you to the sweethearts who voted for me or gave nutrient fluids from 2020-03-13 20:48:35 to 2020-03-14 23:57:09~

Special thanks to the nutrient-fluid angels: 1128yuan (5 bottles); Xiang Ji, One Serving of Spicy Snails, starrs (1 bottle each).

Thank you so much for your support! I’ll keep working hard!