The class bell rang.
His deskmate, Zhou Shaojie, who sat on the outside, quickly returned to his seat.
Just as the Chinese teacher reached the podium, Zhou Shaojie spoke at lightning speed, "Yuan, guess what I saw when I went to the bathroom just now?"
"What, did your dick fall off?"
"Screw you!"
Zhou Shaojie gave Shen Yuan a light smack, then leaned in conspiratorially. "I saw your girl, Tong Churou, laughing it up with the sports rep from her class."
The moment Zhou Shaojie finished speaking, a "DING" sounded in Shen Yuan's mind.
[Although there weren't many common topics between you and Li Zhi during your first online chat after reuniting, thankfully, your youthful memories were enough to sustain an awkward conversation. Just then, Li Zhi suddenly brought up the girl you chased during your high school days.]
[Explain to Li Zhi that you have no connection to Tong Churou. Reward: 300 yuan.]
Seeing Shen Yuan in a daze, Zhou Shaojie nudged him with his elbow.
The next second, Shen Yuan jabbed him right back with a sharp elbow strike.
Just like that, the two of them started a contest of strength, elbows locked, pushing back and forth.
And then, the Chinese teacher's gaze fell upon the two of them.
Class 15's Chinese teacher was named Zhou Ruolan. She was twenty-five years old and had been teaching Class 15 for two years; this was her third.
Everyone in Class 15 called her Sister Lan.
Sister Lan's glasses were a standard feature, and she usually liked to wear skirts.
Although she was a young teacher, her teaching ability was more than strong enough; otherwise, she wouldn't have been assigned to an advanced class.
Of course, the most important thing was her strong sense of responsibility.
In other words, she hadn't yet been beaten down by society.
But compared to a societal beatdown, Sister Lan felt that this bunch of idiot kids was an even bigger headache.
Most high school boys, when faced with the choice between maturity and immaturity, chose to be idiots.
Take, for example, the two currently locking horns.
"Zhou Shaojie, Shen Yuan, stand up and translate yesterday's classical Chinese text."
The moment Sister Lan finished speaking, Shen Yuan and Zhou Shaojie froze.
'We're screwed.'
'We didn't do yesterday's homework.'
Two minutes later, two more people were standing at the back of the classroom, holding test papers.
Li Zhi looked at the empty seat beside her, comfortably propped her legs up on Shen Yuan's chair, and stretched lazily.
After doing all this, Li Zhi's gaze fell on Shen Yuan, and she shook her head.
She looked thoroughly disappointed, as if scolding a hopeless case.
Shen Yuan glared back.
'Your KFC is gone.'
Too bad Li Zhi had already turned her head away.
She didn't see it; his attack was ineffective.
Standing at the back of the class, Shen Yuan shot Zhou Shaojie a resentful look. "Why the hell did you have to bring up Tong Churou?"
"Doesn't everyone say you chased after her? I was just showing some concern for your past as a simp."
The moment Zhou Shaojie finished speaking, Shen Yuan took a step to the side, clearly not wanting to talk about the subject.
But Zhou Shaojie clearly wasn't about to let Shen Yuan's dark past go, and he took a step to follow him.
"Come on, tell me."
Shen Yuan took another step to the side.
Zhou Shaojie, not giving up, followed him again. "Oh, come on, baby, just tell me!"
The words had barely left his mouth when Zhou Shaojie heard a loud voice tattling right next to his ear.
"Sister Lan! Zhou Shaojie won't stop talking to me!"
"You little—!"
Zhou Ruolan looked at the two of them with resignation. "Stand further apart."
Shen Yuan continued to tattle, "I'm almost standing at the door, and he keeps following me."
Sister Lan pointed at Zhou Shaojie, then at the podium. "Zhou Shaojie, come up and stand on the podium."
Zhou Shaojie muttered a curse at Shen Yuan under his breath and, under the gaze of the entire class, walked up to the podium.
"Stand up straight!"
"Sister Lan, Zhou Shaojie is wiggling his butt!"
Zhou Ruolan raised a hand to quiet them. "Everyone be quiet. Let him wiggle."
The class immediately erupted in laughter.
...
After Chinese class was lunchtime.
Fighting for food with those brats from the first and second years was a required course for every third-year student, but today, Shen Yuan wasn't planning on storming the cafeteria.
'Time to go out and eat something good.'
Another benefit of having a young teacher was that she didn't drag out the class.
The moment the bell rang, Sister Lan would bolt even faster than they did.
Watching his classmates chaotically rush out of the room, Shen Yuan stood at the back door, craning his neck and looking at the crowd with disdain.
"Run! Run for a little bit of food, you dregs!"
"GO, GO, GO!!!"
"Auntie!! I'm coming!!"
After the boys rushed out of the classroom in a hurry, the girls also set off, hand in hand.
Everyone had their own meal buddy, whether for eating together or going to the bathroom in pairs.
"Li Zhi, where are you going for lunch today?"
The girl in front of Li Zhi was named He Zhiyu. When she smiled, she revealed two small canine teeth, making her look adorable.
Li Zhi turned her head and pointed at Shen Yuan, who had just sat down. "The boss is treating us to KFC today."
"Wow!" He Zhiyu looked at Shen Yuan.
'He must be so loaded, he eats KFC without even checking what day it is.'
Shen Yuan stood up and gestured with his head toward Li Zhi. "Let's go. The sooner we eat, the sooner we can get back."
Li Zhi stood up and waved to He Zhiyu. "Come on. He's treating me, and I'm treating you."
Shen Yuan spun around and pointed at her like an accusatory husky. "So you're using my 50 yuan to treat someone else, huh!"
"What's wrong with that? You already gave it to me!"
Li Zhi tilted her chin up defiantly.
The girl looked at the boy smugly.
"You can treat me next time."
Shen Yuan knew that Li Zhi's allowance was actually quite generous.
Old Li was quite willing to spend money on his daughter.
Li Zhi agreed readily. "Fine. I'll treat you to an ice cream cone next time there's a buy-one-get-one-free deal."
Shen Yuan silently raised his middle finger.
There were quite a few places to find food around Jiyang Middle School.
Nearby was the old shopping mall, and further away was a commercial street built in recent years.
The KFC was in the shopping mall right next to the school, only a five-minute walk away.
Walking down the street, Shen Yuan looked at Li Zhi beside him, his mind on his mission.
'This is a little embarrassing.'
Even though Shen Yuan was often a jackass, he still knew enough to kick some dirt over his embarrassing past.
With that thought, Shen Yuan started squirming.
"Did a cockroach crawl into your brain?"
"No," Shen Yuan took the opportunity to get closer to Li Zhi and whisper, "Do you know what Zhou Shaojie said to me during class?"
"About your old flame?"
Apparently, Li Zhi had overheard.
Shen Yuan looked at Li Zhi earnestly. "Baby, aren't you my old flame?"
Li Zhi pointed at him like an accusatory husky. "Don't you bring up my dark past."
"Is being my childhood sweetheart your dark past?"
"I said don't bring up my dark past, you asshole!"
Shen Yuan clutched his chest and spoke in a sexy, breathy voice, "Baby, even though you despise me, you have to know that my heart has always been yours!"
The girl raised her hand to hit him, but Shen Yuan dodged nimbly.
Just then, a "DING" sounded in Shen Yuan's mind.
[Mission Complete!]
[Explain to Li Zhi that you have no connection to Tong Churou. Reward: 300 yuan. (Completed)]
Shen Yuan paused, stunned.
'I didn't even mention Tong Churou. How did the mission get completed?'
'Whatever. As long as I get the money.'
'Hell yeah, time to get paid, bros.'
Just then, a loud "WHACK!" sounded from behind Shen Yuan.
Shen Yuan let out a yelp and contorted.
"Li Zhi, you actually hit me for real!"
...
After crossing the overpass, the three of them quickly arrived at KFC.
As soon as Shen Yuan sat down, still fuming, he said, "You order for He Zhiyu. Don't even think about taking advantage of your daddy."
Li Zhi snorted disdainfully. "I'll order it myself. Call me 'Mommy,' and I'll order yours, too."
"Mommy!" Shen Yuan replied with zero-frame startup.
Li Zhi reached out and patted Shen Yuan's head. "Ayy! Good boy. We're not eating KFC."
"Mommy, I want to eat..."
Before Shen Yuan could get the last word out, Li Zhi forcibly muted him and began chanting the 24-Character True Words.
"Prosperity, democracy, civility, harmony..."
He Zhiyu watched the two of them, laughing awkwardly.
She couldn't quite keep up with their train of thought.