Dazzling

Huang Mao rushed straight through the front door as soon as he saw Qing Ye, his face full of anxiety. But just as he reached her, Xing Wu suddenly slammed his phone onto the desk and said to him, "Get out."

Huang Mao froze, clenching his fists and glaring at Xing Wu with defiance. "She—"

"I won't say it a third time. Get out."

The atmosphere around them instantly grew tense. Qing Ye kept her head down, sitting in her seat, unusually quiet. Huang Mao gritted his teeth, his face a mask of frustration, but when he met Xing Wu's icy gaze, he faltered.

In the end, Huang Mao tightened his fists, shot Qing Ye a worried glance, and turned to leave Class Two.

Shi Min immediately let out a sigh of relief, patting her chest as she caught her breath. "That scared me to death."

Then, pulling Qing Ye closer, she whispered, "Everyone calls him Huang Mao, but he doesn’t dare mess with Xing Wu from our class. I forgot to tell you—the guy behind you is even more untouchable. Most of us don’t even dare talk to him."

Qing Ye shot her a sidelong glance, wanting to tell her that she’d already managed to provoke them all.

The first class in the afternoon was English, but Qing Ye barely paid attention the entire lesson. Her right elbow hurt whenever she bent it, making it hard to even write, and the pain brought a light sweat to the tip of her nose.

To make matters worse, their English teacher, Miss Yu, was a woman around forty. Her teaching skills aside, the moment she opened her mouth, she pronounced "yours" as "yao si," leaving Qing Ye stunned and wondering who was about to die.

By the end of the class, Qing Ye couldn’t help but think that Miss Yu’s accent sounded like she’d learned it from some obscure rural farmer in America. She seemed to deliberately swallow her tongue, rolling it with exaggerated effort. The broken, rustic accent sent shivers down Qing Ye’s spine.

When the bell rang, Qing Ye stood up and told Shi Min she was going to wash her face. Shi Min timidly reminded her, "Um, Qing Ye, the faucet outside our classroom is for drinking water. If you need to wash your hands next time, you can go to the restroom."

"..." Qing Ye finally understood why everyone in Class One had stared at her like she was a freak that day.

She quickly left the classroom and headed toward the restroom. It wasn’t too crowded right after class, and she didn’t want to run into anyone else. After washing her face in a hurry, she made her way back. Along the way, many people pointed and whispered about her. Annoyed, Qing Ye avoided the crowd and took a detour through the music classroom to return to her class.

But as she turned into the hallway, a dark figure suddenly loomed in front of her, startling her. When she looked up and met Xing Wu’s stern gaze, her surprise instantly turned to anger. She tried to step around him, but Xing Wu leisurely stretched out a long leg to block her path. He raised his hands, took the loose tie at her collar, and with lowered, thick eyelashes, deftly retied her necktie.

Sunlight filtered through the hallway, casting shifting shadows across his sharp, handsome profile. His voice was rough and magnetic, like sandpaper. "Does it hurt?"

Qing Ye’s throat tightened slightly. She turned her gaze away, her tone icy. "What does it matter to you if it hurts or not?"

A faint smile tugged at the corner of Xing Wu’s lips, his dark eyes fixed on her. Catching his amused expression from the corner of her eye, Qing Ye felt a surge of anger rush to her head, her face flushing red as she glared back at him.

Xing Wu tilted his head slightly, the smile fading from his lips as he said casually, "Feeling wronged?"Qing Ye suddenly felt a sting in her nose, but the next second, someone grabbed her left wrist. Before she could react, Xing Wu was already pulling her along. She shouted from behind, "Hey, where are you taking me? Class is about to start, Xing Wu, you jerk!"

"Shut up, you're so noisy."

Qing Ye was so angry she stomped her feet, but Xing Wu dragged her into the elevator reserved for teachers. She suddenly stopped yelling and instead asked nervously, "Are you a teacher?"

Xing Wu had already released her hand and glanced at her indifferently. "Have you ever seen a teacher like me?"

"Then why are you using this elevator?"

"Because I'm the maintenance and repair consultant for this elevator."

"..." Qing Ye stared at him in surprise. He's just fixing the elevator, but he gave himself such a fancy title.

Then the elevator stopped on the first floor. The class bell rang, and there were no students outside anymore. Xing Wu took Qing Ye directly to a room at the corner of the first floor. As he took out his keys to unlock the door, Qing Ye looked up and saw the words "Infirmary" written in large letters.

Before she could figure out why Xing Wu had the keys to the infirmary, he pulled her inside.

After Xing Wu closed the door, Qing Ye looked around. The infirmary was small but tidy, with a faint smell of alcohol, and no one was there.

She turned to Xing Wu and asked, "How do you even have the keys to this place?"

Xing Wu pulled out two small medicine bottles and glanced back at her. "Guess who the school doctor here is."

"How would I know?"

Xing Wu turned around, pressed Qing Ye onto a stool, and said, "Wang Ping."

"Wang... You mean that Wang Ping who often plays mahjong with your mom? She's a doctor? Then why isn't she here?"

Xing Wu gave her a sidelong glance. "What do you think?"

Qing Ye was utterly speechless. That middle-aged woman who often wears torn flesh-colored stockings is actually Anzhong's school doctor? She must be blind with her titanium alloy eyes. Is Wang Ping off playing mahjong at Dazzle Island again?

Xing Wu grabbed her arm and ripped off the bandage. The pain made Qing Ye lift her knee and hit him hard. The force was considerable, striking Xing Wu's leg squarely. He didn't dodge, letting her vent her anger. He glanced up at her flushed, angry face, then lowered his head and applied a milky ointment to the wound. Qing Ye stared at his hands. She had noticed several times before—Xing Wu's hands were quite good-looking. They were broad-palmed, with distinct knuckles and slender fingers. Even his nails were full and clean. She even thought that if he really became a professional gamer, his hands flying across the keyboard in battle would look incredibly cool, though she knew she shouldn't be thinking such irrelevant thoughts at a time like this.

Xing Wu asked, "Do you have the number for the administration office?"

Qing Ye turned her head away and replied irritably, "Did you see the dean coming?"

She really didn't have the administration office's number. In that situation earlier, she had only picked up the phone to scare those people.

Xing Wu lowered his gaze and said to her, "Even if there's a next time, don't call. The students here are different from where you're from. Reporting issues to higher-ups is a big taboo. Sure, you might solve the immediate problem by involving a teacher, but others will distance themselves because of your actions, and that will lead to bigger problems. Once you're outside the school gates, many things are beyond the school's control. Don't go looking for trouble."Qing Ye suddenly smiled, tilting her head as she fixed him with a sidelong gaze. "Then teach me, how was I supposed to get out of that situation just now?"

Xing Wu twisted the cap back on the ointment, his expression half-amused. "Aren't you the smart one? Then use your brain more."

After saying this, he put the ointment away and told her, "Don't use band-aids in this heat. You should head back first. I'm going to have a smoke."

Qing Ye looked around in confusion. "Here?"

Xing Wu sat by the window expressionlessly, opened it, and pulled out a cigarette. Qing Ye was utterly speechless. She turned and walked toward the door, but just then, Xing Wu's voice came from behind her: "Those girls from Class Four aren't completely fearless. There's a girl in our class who has a grudge with them. You can guess who."

Qing Ye turned back in surprise, staring at Xing Wu. He lowered his head to light the cigarette, took a drag, and turned his face slightly. The smoke drifted hazily before his cheeks, lending him an elusive, hard-to-read quality.

Qing Ye withdrew her gaze, opened the door, and suddenly turned back to ask him, "Did you just get back from out of town?"

Xing Wu crossed his legs and said nothing. Qing Ye closed the door and went straight back to class.

The second period was math. Old Zhu had already launched into his irritable teaching mode, randomly calling on students to solve problems. Probably thinking everyone's foundations were too weak and hardly anyone was paying attention, he intended to jolt these "pig manure" students awake with sudden quizzes.

The second period in the afternoon was the easiest to doze off in, but many students were forcibly roused by Old Zhu and made to stand as punishment. By the time Qing Ye returned to class, a whole row of students was already standing at the back. The others, struggling with drowsiness, forced themselves to stay alert—after all, no one wanted to stand for dozens of minutes in the sweltering heat.

Old Zhu taught while calling on students based on his mood. Anyone he picked who couldn't answer was sent to the back.

When it was Fang Lei's turn, she stood up, head bowed, nervously rolling the corner of her book as she prepared to head to the back. Suddenly, a paper ball flew onto her desk. Startled, Fang Lei glanced quickly at Old Zhu, then opened the paper ball. Neat, clearly written formulas were on the paper. She pressed the note under her book and read the contents aloud.

Old Zhu suddenly slammed the lectern, making Fang Lei jump. She looked up sharply, only to see Old Zhu break into an approving smile as he praised, "Excellent! Very good! All you manure buckets standing at the back, take a look at Fang Lei. You're all in your final year of high school, yet you laze around waiting to die. Are you all planning to graduate straight into unemployment?"

Old Zhu waved Fang Lei back to her seat. She breathed a sigh of relief and sat down guiltily, glancing back to see Qing Ye, calm and composed, giving her a knowing smile.

Fang Lei suddenly clenched the paper ball in her hand, her heart in turmoil, wondering why this transfer student had suddenly helped her.

Xing Wu didn't saunter in through the back door until halfway through the class. The moment he entered, Old Zhu called him out: "Xing Wu, back from your tour of the playground? You're back early—any later and class would've been over. Go stand at the back, no sitting."

Qing Ye lowered her head, a slight smile tugging at her lips. Xing Wu didn't even bother entering the classroom properly and lazily pulled out his phone to play games.

Old Zhu continued teaching. Qing Ye glanced back at Xing Wu. His tall frame leaned against the back door, long legs casually crossed. A few strands of sunlight fell on him, giving him a languid, almost lazy aura, his eyes cool and untamed.Qing Ye withdrew her gaze and saw several girls from Class Four slipping out through the back door through the window.

She nudged Shi Min beside her and asked, "Aren't those people attending class?"

Shi Min glanced out the window and whispered, "They're probably going to the playground, that..."

Shi Min gestured with a pen in her hand, and Qing Ye immediately understood—they were going to smoke.

Right after the second class ended, Old Zhu shouted, "Today's homework is the test paper I handed out this morning. Those who fail tomorrow will continue standing in the back."

With that, he picked up his book and left. The classroom became noisy again, as the next period was physical education—their time to let loose. Pang Hu and the others jumped over the benches, hooked an arm around Xing Wu, and headed straight for the playground.

Fang Lei hesitated for a long time before finally clutching a note and walking over to Qing Ye. Shi Min looked up timidly at Fang Lei but didn't dare make a sound.

Qing Ye sensed the person in front of her and slowly raised her eyes, meeting Fang Lei's gaze calmly. Fang Lei tossed the crumpled note onto Qing Ye's desk and asked directly, "What's the meaning of this?"

Qing Ye glanced at the note, curled her lip, and pulled out the freshly completed test paper from beside her, placing it in front of Fang Lei. She slowly lifted her eyelids and said, "It's so hot today. Standing in the back means you won't get any breeze from the fan."

Fang Lei bit her lip, hesitated for a moment, then picked up Qing Ye's test paper, turned around, and stuffed it into her own desk drawer.

Qing Ye stood up, stretched her neck, and looked at the stunned Shi Min. "Aren't you going to PE class?"

Shi Min snapped out of it. "Let's go."

"Wait." Qing Ye suddenly paused, casually picked up Xing Wu's brand-new math textbook from his desk, and left the classroom.

As they walked toward the playground, Shi Min asked curiously, "Why are you bringing the math book?"

Qing Ye smiled and said, "To study, of course. What else would I do with it?"

Shi Min noticed that Qing Ye was in a pretty good mood. And indeed, Qing Ye was feeling quite cheerful. She hadn't expected to have PE class at this school. Even her previous international school, though not as strict as public schools, had basically phased out PE classes by the second half of the eleventh grade. Whether you could have one depended on luck, and whether you wanted to attend was voluntary. Aside from mandatory weekly exercises, most people chose to skip, especially in this scorching heat.

Qing Ye had been worried about wearing a skirt. If she had known there would be PE class, she would have worn pants instead. But her worries turned out to be unnecessary. More than half of the twenty-plus girls in the class claimed to be on their period and were either sitting or leaning in the shade by the playground, chatting.

The boys were mostly free to do as they pleased—some playing basketball, others bragging. Even the PE teacher had been temporarily recruited to act as a referee. There was no semblance of discipline whatsoever.

Qing Ye spotted Xing Wu sitting under the sports equipment shed on the other side with a group of guys, each with a cigarette in their mouth, completely unsupervised. Not all of them were from Class Two, but they shared one common trait: they all looked like troublemakers. Even Huang Mao was among them.

About twenty minutes later, several girls from Class Four came down. Qing Ye immediately recognized the girl with dyed hair who had pushed her earlier. Clearly, they had also noticed Qing Ye, who stood out conspicuously leaning against the horizontal bar, holding a math book.Qing Ye merely glanced at them before lowering her head to continue reading the book in her hands. The group of girls strode directly toward her, shouting before they even reached her, "Where's the dean? I've been waiting for two class periods."

The girls from Class Two who had been huddled together also looked over. Qing Ye acted as if she hadn't heard, her gaze still fixed on the math textbook.

Suddenly, with a sharp "smack," the math book was knocked from her hands.

"Reading a math book during P.E. class? Who are you trying to impress?"

The dyed-hair girl who had pushed her earlier stepped closer, bent down to pick up the book, and tore it to pieces right in front of Qing Ye.

Throughout the entire process, Qing Ye didn't utter a word. Leaning against the horizontal bar, she stared at the girl with a disdainful expression.

The girls from Class Four were instantly furious. They had expected tearing up the studious girl's book would provoke her like stepping on her tail, making her fly into a rage. Instead, she remained completely calm, her face unruffled.

Fang Lei, standing nearby, saw the cover of the math book and thought of the math test paper she had just taken from Qing Ye. Unable to hold back, she stood up. Li Wenhui tugged at her sleeve, "What are you doing?"

Fang Lei pulled Li Wenhui up as well, "Let's go see what's happening."

Fang Lei strode over to Qing Ye and addressed the girls from Class Four, "Cao Fan, tearing someone's book at the start of the school year isn't a good idea, is it?"

The dyed-hair girl named Cao Fan turned around and, seeing it was Fang Lei, replied with a sour expression, "Are you planning to help her?"

Fang Lei shrugged, "I'm addressing the issue, not the person. If you want to cause trouble, do it after class. Our class is still in session. Are you treating everyone in Class Two as cannon fodder by barging in like this?"

Meanwhile, Huang Mao stomped out his cigarette butt and stood up, cursing under his breath, "Damn Cao Fan, messing with Qing Ye again."

He swung his arms and was about to head toward the playground when Xing Wu said calmly, "Come back."

Huang Mao had been agitated ever since he heard that Qing Ye was being harassed by the girls from their class. He had rushed upstairs in a fury, intending to teach them a lesson, but Xing Wu had directly told him not to meddle.

Now, with the confrontation happening right in front of them, Xing Wu remained completely unmoved. Huang Mao turned back with a displeased expression and glared at Xing Wu, "What's going on, Wu? Are you just going to stand by and watch Qing Ye get bullied?"

Xing Wu took a deep drag from his cigarette and retorted sharply, "How do you expect me to intervene? Let the whole school know Qing Ye is hanging out with us?"

Huang Mao froze. His anger had clouded his judgment, and he hadn't considered the implications. He only wanted to teach those troublemakers a lesson for Qing Ye's sake, but it hadn't occurred to him that if their group got involved, the situation would escalate.

Huang Mao suddenly furrowed his brows, took a few steps back, and stood in front of Xing Wu, blocking the light. Xing Wu glanced up at him, a cold smirk tugging at his lips, "Have you ever stopped to think about the kind of girls who hang around us?"

Huang Mao's expression darkened. The girls around them were the troublemaking type—smoking, cursing, fighting, dropping out of school, some even working part-time at nightclubs in the county town. Though Huang Mao himself looked down on such girls, most of those who associated with their group fell into that category.

At Anzhong High, delinquent students were also ranked. Cao Fan and her crew, though also troublemakers, were the type who only dared to bully the weak within school grounds. Outside the school gates, they wouldn't dare make a sound.As for Xing Wu and his crew, they were the most notorious bullies in school, but they didn't usually target students. Minor scuffles among students generally didn't concern them unless outside gang leaders got involved. Making such a big deal over a newly transferred female classmate would surely spread Qing Ye's name across all three major high schools in Anzi County within a day. How would people view her then?

Even if Qing Ye were as pure as a blank sheet of paper, just being associated with them would earn her a reputation for being "troublesome."

Huang Mao finally understood and calmed down a bit, sitting on the steps nearby. "I didn't think it through as much as you did."

Xing Wu took the last drag of his cigarette and tossed the butt away, his gaze profound. "From now on, when you see her at school, keep your mouth shut. She's only staying here for a year. With a good reputation, the school administrators might look out for her more. Don't leave any stains on her record—she's here to study, unlike most of us just scraping by for a diploma."

Pang Hu chimed in, "I-I think Brother Wu is right. Look at those celebrities who get famous—aren't they always getting exposed for having a bad reputation back in their hometown? Anyway, Qing Ye will leave our small town someday. M-maybe she'll become really remarkable." Pang Hu recalled how she'd been called up by Old Zhu to solve problems on the board—from that moment, he was convinced Qing Ye would surpass everyone at this school.

Huang Mao digested these words, feeling somewhat sour. He'd been dreaming of an epic romance with his "big cousin," but the cold water thrown by the other two drenched his hopes. He glanced at Xing Wu and suddenly remarked, "Brother Wu, I realize you actually think pretty far ahead. It's good Qing Ye has a relative like you."

Xing Wu gave a half-smile. "Right now, she probably wants to kill me."

Huang Mao sighed. "I just can't stand seeing Qing Ye get bullied."

No sooner had he spoken than Xing Wu lifted his chin with a slight smirk. "Bullied? It'd be pretty hard for anyone to bully her."

The moment Huang Mao turned his head, he saw chaos erupt—several girls from Class Four were brawling with a group from Class Two, pulling hair and tearing clothes, even the PE teacher had rushed over.

Yet Qing Ye remained completely unscathed, leaning against the parallel bars, leisurely putting on her earphones to memorize English vocabulary in the sunlight.

Even after the girls were summoned by the dean for a "talk," no one ever figured out how the fight had started.

When the class bell rang, Qing Ye turned with her earphones still on and returned to the classroom, her deeds unknown and her name uncredited.

Pang Hu, as class monitor, was called to superficially inquire about the situation.

When he returned, Huang Mao asked him, "I heard Qing Ye's math textbook got torn up?"

Pang Hu nodded. Huang Mao clicked his tongue. "Then Big Cousin's probably going to lose it."

Pang Hu looked strangely at Xing Wu. "P-probably not. The name on the book cover was... was Brother Wu's."

Xing Wu: ???