GT - 4

The moment Cheng Mi stepped into the classroom, she sensed something was off.

A woman’s intuition is usually accurate. She looked up and met a gaze from the second row of the third group.

Behind the desk was a girl with an oval face, a clear forehead, delicate brows, and cool eyes. But this coolness wasn’t unfriendly; it was simply linked to her aloof demeanor.

The girl’s scrutiny was met, but she showed no embarrassment. After two more seconds of eye contact, her gaze calmly returned to the test paper beneath her pen, and her pen tip continued to write.

Cheng Mi didn’t mind either, walking back to her seat.

After one biology class, the classroom instantly became like wild horses unleashed the moment class ended. Only one self-study period remained, and Zheng Hongkai’s group of boys were discussing skipping class to go to an internet cafe to play CF.

Amidst the noise, someone stopped in front of Cheng Mi’s desk.

A shadow fell from a textbook. She stopped writing and looked up.

Her eyes met the oval face she had seen before class. The girl’s school uniform was neat and clean, her long hair tied back, and her name tag read Chu Xinhe.

Cheng Mi remembered that name, having heard it frequently since arriving in Class 4. She was the class monitor of Class 4.

Due to her aloof temperament, Chu Xinhe’s face looked somewhat elegant and proud, but her words and actions weren’t arrogant. Though not easygoing, she wasn’t haughty either, just right.

“Teacher Wei asked me to arrange your duty group. The group responsible for cleaning common areas this afternoon happens to be short one person. From now on, you’ll be on duty with them every Monday afternoon.”

“Where is it?”

“I’ll have them take you there this afternoon.”

Cheng Mi carried an air of detached composure unbefitting her age. She nodded, smiling at Chu Xinhe: “Alright, thank you.”

To describe her face as merely “beautiful” was too simplistic; the allure in her curved brows and lips attracted even other women.

Chu Xinhe was startled for a moment, then nodded in response and left.

After she left, a few boys’ snickers came from behind Cheng Mi. It was Zheng Hongkai teasing his deskmate: “Don’t you like the class monitor? Why didn’t you say anything when she came? You scored last in class this time; hurry up and ask the class monitor, who’s first in the grade, for advice. If she transfers back to Class 1 next semester, you won’t even have a chance to talk to her.”

“Screw you, get lost.”

A burst of laughter.

Before skipping self-study class, Zheng Hongkai didn’t forget to ask Cheng Mi if she wanted to come along. Cheng Mi didn’t go, staying until school ended.

After school, Cheng Mi went on duty with three other classmates. Class 4 of Senior 3 was responsible for the school path, which hadn’t been cleaned for two days over the weekend, and combined with yesterday’s heavy rain, a lot of grayish-green mixed with fallen leaves had accumulated on the ground.

After finishing the cleaning and returning to the classroom, there were only a few figures left in the corridor.

But the whispers were quite loud; two out of every three or four people passing by would turn their heads to look down the corridor.

Cheng Mi initially didn’t know what was happening until she followed their gaze and saw the front. The girl’s dark school uniform pants were stained with an even deeper color, but the person herself was completely unaware.

Her back looked familiar: short stature, student haircut. Cheng Mi recognized her deskmate, Meng Yin. She passed their classroom without entering and walked towards Meng Yin.

She was taller than Meng Yin and quickly caught up to her shoulder. She lightly tapped her shoulder from behind.

Meng Yin, carrying her school bag, turned around and was somewhat surprised to see Cheng Mi, her large eyes wide and round. Cheng Mi’s deskmate was a shy person; the two had been deskmates for over a week, and their conversations hadn’t exceeded ten sentences. She was quiet and well-behaved.

Before she could speak, Cheng Mi handed her the school uniform jacket in her hand.

Meng Yin didn’t understand, saying softly: “What’s wrong?”

Cheng Mi’s position happened to block her from behind, but many people were still looking over. Her tone was comforting: “Cover it up.”

Meng Yin didn’t react at first, but when she saw the gazes of passersby, her face flushed instantly, and she hurriedly wrapped the jacket around her waist.

Cheng Mi leaned against the corridor, watching her repeatedly fail to tie it due to haste.

After another failure, Cheng Mi stood up and took a step forward, taking the long sleeve of the school uniform from her hand and helping her tie it.

Meng Yin’s face remained red up to her ears. She thanked her very gratefully.

“You can go wait in the restroom first. I’m going to the convenience store.”

After buying sanitary pads at the convenience store, Cheng Mi also borrowed a pair of school pants from a girl who lived in the dorms, then took them to the women’s restroom for Meng Yin.

Meng Yin opened the stall door to take them: “Thank you.”

Cheng Mi didn’t leave, but leaned by the window. The window was rusted from sun and rain, and the restroom was so quiet that only the dripping sound of the faucet and the rustling of Meng Yin changing clothes in the stall could be heard.

Outside the window was a small grove of trees. Her gaze inadvertently fell outside.

It was initially just a fleeting glance, but halfway through, it seemed to be drawn by something and stopped.

Cheng Mi’s eyes fixed on that spot. As she watched, she grew interested and simply didn’t move her gaze, leaning against the windowsill with one hand propping up her chin.

When Meng Yin came out, she saw Cheng Mi holding her phone, seemingly taking pictures of something. After what had just happened, the distance between her and Cheng Mi had narrowed, and her shyness naturally lessened a lot.

She was curious about what Cheng Mi was doing and walked over: “Are you taking pictures of the scenery?”

The moment she got closer and saw what was in Cheng Mi’s viewfinder, she instantly fell silent, instinctively covering her mouth.

The wind blew the tall trees, and figures below were faintly discernible, but it wasn’t hard to recognize who they were.

Their class monitor, Chu Xinhe, was being aggressively kissed by a boy who was tightly grabbing her.

And that boy was Cheng Mi’s boyfriend.

Li Zhiyu.

Meng Yin instinctively looked at Cheng Mi, but found Cheng Mi to be remarkably calm, even seeming to be in a very good mood. Anger and annoyance didn’t seem to touch her at all.

After taking several photos, she even had the leisure to appreciate them: “The composition is pretty good.”

Meng Yin hadn’t recovered from her shock when Cheng Mi had already put away her phone, turned, and started to walk out. Halfway, she realized the person behind her hadn’t followed and turned back: “Not coming?”

“Ah, coming.” Meng Yin hugged her school bag tightly and quickly followed.

________________________________________

After that day, Cheng Mi and Li Zhiyu were still seen together at school.

There were no expected storms or huge waves; the school forum remained calm, like a stagnant pool.

That day, the weather was unexpectedly hot and humid, with intense sweating like in the scorching summer, but it still didn’t wilt the boys’ enthusiasm for physical education class. Before heading to the sports field, a group of boys bounced basketballs loudly throughout the classroom, shouting about crushing Class 15 in the upcoming game.

Class 15 was Li Zhiyu and Hong Mao’s class. Presumably, these guys had arranged to play basketball long ago. Hong Mao and his friends came to Class 4 for a war of words right after class, and also brought Cheng Mi some milk tea.

Cheng Mi sat by the window, watching Hong Mao lean half his body in through the window to place two cups of milk tea on her desk: “Li Zhiyu bought these for you.” He then hastily turned to resume his verbal sparring with Zheng Hongkai.

Li Zhiyu came up a step slower, leisurely leaning against the window: “I bought one too many. You can find someone to share it with. This stuff is too sweet; we guys don’t like it.”

A boy next to him happened to strike up a conversation, and Li Zhiyu turned to chat and laugh with him, no longer paying attention to this side.

Cheng Mi didn’t ask further. She took out one cup from the bag and placed it on the corner of Meng Yin’s desk.

Although Meng Yin was doing exercises, she wasn’t deaf to their conversation. Seeing the milk tea Li Zhiyu bought placed on her desk, her pen unconsciously stopped, and she looked at Cheng Mi.

Her expression was clean and bewildered, showing no confusion, but a glance at the milk tea on the desk betrayed her thoughts.

She probably remembered what happened in the small grove that day and couldn’t understand why Cheng Mi was still with Li Zhiyu.

Cheng Mi instantly saw what she was thinking. She stirred her milk tea with the straw, a relaxed smile on her lips: “This cuckold’s hat looks pretty good. I can’t just take it off so easily, can I?”

Meng Yin was startled.

She wasn’t sure if the meaning of Cheng Mi’s words was what she understood, that the opposite of “easily” was “an eye for an eye.”

Not hysterically begging a man to return, but also not planning to be overly magnanimous.

Cheng Mi didn’t care if she understood or not, gesturing towards the milk tea in front of her: “It’s fine, he bought it. Drink it.”

Class 15 didn’t have PE this period. Their basketball game with Class 4 was scheduled just before dismissal. After the warning bell rang, most people had already left the classroom. Zheng Hongkai called Cheng Mi to go to the sports field with him.

Zheng Hongkai joked on the way: “Later, it’s definitely going to be a tough fight with Class 15. If things get rough, Cheng Mi, don’t forget you’re from Class 4, okay? I know Li Zhiyu is over there, but you can’t switch sides just because of your boyfriend.”

Cheng Mi said: “It depends. If you guys get totally crushed, wouldn’t I be very embarrassed?”

“No way! No one can be better than our class.”

Not many classes had PE this period; only three classes were on the sports field: two from Senior Two, one from Senior Three.

Cheng Mi knew which class one of the Senior Two classes was because she ran into an old acquaintance again.

“Si Tingyan actually came to PE class this period!”

“Yeah, doesn’t he usually stay in the classroom for PE?”

As the two girls brushed past, Cheng Mi’s gaze happened to retract from the subject of their discussion.

The PE teacher blew a whistle for assembly. Here, the Senior Three students slowly lined up, while opposite them, in front of the bulletin board, the Senior Two students were already being called for roll call.

“Chen Hui.”

“Here.”

“Liu Jiayang.”

The male teacher’s voice was loud enough to carry across the entire sports field.

“Li—, Qi Yunmiao, what’s going on? Is there something so interesting in the next class? Should I be considerate and transfer you to Teacher Zhang’s class? Is it Si Tingyan? Our Senior Two’s top student. Should I let you stand with Si Tingyan?”

A burst of laughter instantly erupted, even drawing the attention of the Senior Three students.

Before Cheng Mi even looked over, she heard a boy standing behind her ask Zheng Hongkai: “Hey Zheng Hongkai, isn’t that your goddess? Did you have any luck after getting her phone number last time?”

Cheng Mi suddenly remembered the previous teasing remark about Zheng Hongkai, that only he liked the Senior Two school beauty with the “small, squinty eyes.”

Today was the first time she saw her. The “small, squinty eyes” the boy mentioned were phoenix eyes, alluring with a hint of haughtiness.

At this moment, even though she was called out by the teacher in front of everyone, the girl still smiled sweetly, her spoiled exuberance and girlish charm coexisting harmoniously on her, making her a very beautiful girl.

Behind them, before Zheng Hongkai could reply, another boy chimed in: “Don’t you have any discernment? Didn’t you see that girl Qi Yunmiao is still chasing that pretty boy? See? If they weren’t in the same class, she’d be sticking to him by now.”

“Damn, that kid surnamed Si is that hard to get?”

“You think? Otherwise, how could the school beauty be so infatuated with him? It’s a waste of Qi Yunmiao’s face; any guy would want her, yet she’s fallen for someone so useless, constantly throwing herself at a cold shoulder.”

Cheng Mi clearly heard Zheng Hongkai snort from behind.

The Senior Three students soon dispersed, while the Senior Two students couldn’t escape the clutches of running. The teacher made the whole class run 800 meters around the track as a warm-up.

Figures scattered, and the lively atmosphere instantly became empty.

The convenience store was next to the sports field. Cheng Mi went in to buy water; the milk tea Li Zhiyu bought was too sweet, making her throat feel tight.

A tall stack of cardboard boxes was piled next to the old-fashioned freezer. Cheng Mi pushed open the glass door, took out a bottle of mineral water, and after paying, stepped out of the convenience store and immediately noticed Si Tingyan walking on the sports field.

The other students in his class were all panting on the field, but he was an exception, looking out of place.

Cheng Mi didn’t pay much attention, unscrewing her mineral water and walking towards the boys who were waiting for her not far away.

Before she even got close, Zheng Hongkai’s contemptuous voice entered her ears: “So effeminate, can’t even run a step.”

She didn’t need a name; just that one sentence told Cheng Mi who he was talking about.

Another boy’s tone was clearly sarcastic: “That’s going too far, how can you demand that of him? Didn’t those girls say he’s not effeminate, but his body just can’t run? If he runs, his little life might be gone. How can someone so delicate compare to us?”

The group burst into laughter.

Zheng Hongkai added: “He has heart disease, so how could he not be weak?”

Cheng Mi’s steps paused slightly.

The mineral water bottle cap was still tightly closed. She looked at Si Tingyan, who was across more than half the sports field from them.

Ever since she arrived at his home, she knew Si Tingyan had a weak body, but she hadn’t realized it was heart disease.

“Don’t they say all medicine has side effects? He’s grown up steeped in medicine. Do you think he’ll be capable in ‘that’ aspect later?”

Zheng Hongkai’s words were harsh and mocking: “It’d be good if he could even live to twenty. Still want to mess with women?”

Clatter—

The sound of a plastic bottle hitting the ground, water splashing everywhere. The group of boys also jumped around.

“Damn it.”

“Cheng Mi, what are you doing?”

“Holy crap, we’re still playing ball, my shoes are wet.”

Cheng Mi was left with only the bottle cap in her hand. Her smile was soft: “Sorry about that, my hand slipped.”

Her tone didn’t sound like an apology at all, but rather as casual as asking what to eat for dinner.

Zheng Hongkai waved his hand: “It’s fine, it’s fine. The shoes will dry later today, what’s the big deal?”

“That’s good. Let’s go, aren’t you guys heading to the basketball court?”

________________________________________

Li Zhiyu and Hong Mao skipped half of their class. For the latter half, the teacher allowed self-study, and half of their class’s boys left as soon as the teacher was gone.

The boys played basketball with fiery passion the moment they got their hands on a ball. Many people watched the excitement, half of the girls among them having come to see Li Zhiyu.

A small accident happened midway; Hong Mao twisted his ankle from playing too intensely. After someone else replaced him, he limped over and sat on the ground next to Cheng Mi.

Cheng Mi teased him: “Before the game, didn’t you say you were Class 15’s pillar? Now that you’re out, is your class in trouble?”

Hong Mao used an iced mineral water bottle to cover his ankle: “Then you’re underestimating Li Zhiyu. He’s incredibly good at basketball. I’m Class 15’s pillar, but do you know what he is? The Ball God, our class’s Ball God. Zheng Hongkai has never beaten him. With him, our class will definitely win today. Haven’t you seen him play?”

“No.”

Just as she finished speaking, a swift and fierce shadow suddenly flashed across the air in front of her.

Cheng Mi watched with wide eyes as the basketball cut a fast and brutal arc through the air, and finally—

The moment the basketball hit Si Tingyan, a collective gasp of surprise went through the crowd, including Hong Mao beside Cheng Mi.

The ball was thrown with considerable force; one could almost hear a dull thud. The basketball bounced and rolled a good distance away.

Si Tingyan’s clean school uniform sleeve instantly got a smudge of dirt.

The ball was deliberately thrown by Zheng Hongkai, who spoke with a smug attitude: “Sorry about that, didn’t see you passing by. The ball accidentally went off course—”

Before he could finish, a punch from Li Zhiyu, standing nearby, landed on his face.

Without any hesitation, the blow was heavy, carrying a viciousness that aimed to shatter Zheng Hongkai’s jaw. The suppressed fury almost burst through the human wall: “Are you f***ing blind?!”

The boys nearby reacted quickly. Before Li Zhiyu could land a kick to Zheng Hongkai’s lower abdomen, they immediately rushed to break up the fight.

Zheng Hongkai also wouldn’t back down: “Li Zhiyu, are you f***ing sick?!”

Hong Mao was only stunned for a moment, then he reacted. Forgetting his injured leg, he tried to stand up, but pain forced him back down. He yelled over there: “Quick, pull Li Zhiyu away! Don’t let him hit him! If he gets another major demerit, he’ll really be expelled!”

Then he swore: “Damn it, Zheng Hongkai is really f***ing sick! Of all people to provoke, he had to provoke the young master!”

Young master?

Cheng Mi was a little surprised. Last time, when Hong Mao told her, she thought Si Tingyan had a grudge against Li Zhiyu, but today’s scene didn’t seem to indicate that.

In fact, Cheng Mi was certain that nothing would make Li Zhiyu angrier than someone harming Si Tingyan.

In the midst of the chaos, she looked at Si Tingyan, whose presence was still strong even without saying a word.

He stood a few meters away, his eyes cold. It was strange; Cheng Mi had a gut feeling that he wouldn’t stop this loss of control, and moreover, he might just walk away.

But she seemed to have guessed slightly wrong.

Si Tingyan bent down and picked up Zheng Hongkai’s limited edition basketball from the ground.

The next second, he threw it into the school’s foul-smelling ditch, dug along the wall, without even blinking.

Splash! Like a sharp blade cutting through the air, the piercing sound instantly drew the attention from the chaos surrounding the basketball.

After realizing what had happened, Zheng Hongkai instantly went mad, cursing Si Tingyan’s ancestors for eighteen generations, and tried to break free from the crowd to go hit him.

Si Tingyan didn’t spare him a single glance, his face showing no ripple of emotion. He didn’t care if they would continue fighting and just walked away.

Cheng Mi suddenly asked Hong Mao: “What’s their relationship?”

“Who?”

Cheng Mi lifted her chin slightly in the direction Si Tingyan had left.

Hong Mao instantly understood: “I didn’t tell you? Si Tingyan is Li Zhiyu’s younger brother.”

“Li Zhiyu’s brother?”

Si Tingyan wasn’t Si Huiru’s biological son?

Hong Mao nodded: “Not just his brother, his biological brother. Would you believe me if I told you Li Zhiyu came to this crappy place, Fengxun, just for this person?”

Cheng Mi looked at him.

Hong Mao said: “His brother was lost when he was little. He’s had congenital heart disease since childhood, quite severe, almost... well. Li Zhiyu came here to find him, but Si Tingyan doesn’t seem to want to acknowledge him as his brother.”

Hearing this, Cheng Mi realized that Si Tingyan and Li Zhiyu indeed bore some resemblance.

Both had small canines.

Hong Mao waved his hand: “Anyway, just don’t provoke Si Tingyan, that’s all. He has a terrible temper, and if anything happens to him and you offend his brother, Li Zhiyu might let you off if you provoke him when he’s in a good mood, but if you provoke Si Tingyan, Li Zhiyu could kill you.”

Cheng Mi looked at Si Tingyan’s receding back, thoughtfully.

After a moment, her thin lips slightly curved: “Is that so?”