Because it rained on Monday, the flag-raising ceremony was moved to Tuesday.

After the second class ended, everyone lined up to go to the playground for the flag-raising ceremony.

Class 3’s homeroom teacher, Cai Yucai, was a nice guy who taught Chinese literature. He would constantly educate them with “Standards for Students” in class. He had a good temper, and even when he got angry, few students in the class were afraid of him.

Class 3’s formation was in the middle, their lines loose and crooked.

Jiang Ling and Shi Niannian stood at the front of the line.

Cheng Qi and her group were at the back, already sitting on the grass, chatting.

The school director Wang Jianping stood on the stage, delivering the same speech given every week.

The sun burned on the back of their necks. Shi Niannian squinted her eyes. Jiang Ling stood behind her, fingers hooked around her hands clasped behind her back, head lowered as she spoke softly to her.

Wang Jianping first praised the latest exam results of the seniors, then encouraged the freshmen and juniors to study hard.

“Niannian, which university do you want to go to in the future?” Jiang Ling asked, her forehead pressed against her back.

She answered without hesitation: “B University.”

Jiang Ling let out a “wow.” B University was the best university, but with Shi Niannian’s grades, getting into B University shouldn’t be a problem. Jiang Ling’s grades were always average, so she was a bit amazed at the mention of this university.

“Have you thought about what major you want to study?”

Shi Niannian shook her head.

As the flag-raising ceremony was about to end, everyone was already drowsy from listening.

Wang Jianping said, “There’s one more matter. The school is building a new laboratory in the south plaza. Everyone should stay away from the construction site.”

He paused, then said, “This building is funded and donated by our school board director Jiang Chen, who is the father of our student Jiang Wang. Jiang Wang just returned to school this week. Teachers hope you can change for the better from now on, study hard, and bring glory to the school!”

He took a breath, about to continue with a long speech.

Jiang Ling cursed under her breath, “Fuck, this is so awkward.”

“No one is a sage who can be without fault…”

Before Wang Jianping finished speaking, Cheng Qi, sitting at the back of Class 1’s line, lazily raised her hand.

“Teacher!”

Wang Jianping paused and looked over.

Cheng Qi wasn’t even wearing her school uniform. Just as he was about to get angry, he heard her mocking voice.

“The board director’s son is skipping class. He didn’t even come to school today.”

After a second of stunned silence, the crowd erupted in overwhelming laughter.

Wang Jianping looked uncomfortable, frowning as he turned to Cai Yucai: “Teacher Cai, what’s going on? Two classes have already ended, and Jiang Wang hasn’t come yet?”

Cai Yucai was sweating profusely: “I’ve already called him, but no one answered. I’ll try calling again when I get back.”

The laughter below hadn’t stopped, and everyone was discussing loudly, as if a bomb had been thrown into the drowsy formation.

Wang Jianping scolded a few words through the microphone.

The dull flag-raising ceremony finally ended in a burst of laughter and noise.

Shi Niannian and Jiang Ling walked arm in arm with the crowd toward the classroom. After a few steps, Jiang Ling suddenly pinched her arm hard while dramatically gasping.

“What, what happened?”

“Shh!”

Jiang Ling put her finger to her lips, then bent down and pulled Shi Niannian onto a small path paved with pebbles nearby.

They hid behind a tree, leaves covering their faces.

“Did you see that person? That handsome guy!” Jiang Ling pointed a finger through the gap in the leaves.

Shi Niannian followed her gaze.

She saw a male student… no, a man?

Wasn’t that the new math intern teacher at the school? Sometimes he would come to their class to observe, sitting at the back of the classroom.

Jiang Ling’s eyes sparkled as she cupped her face: “I told you about him before, Xu Zhilin, my future boyfriend!”

Shi Niannian was a bit dumbfounded, blinking her eyes: “…Huh?”

Jiang Ling glanced at her: “I’m not joking. I need to create opportunities now to make him like me. We’re in the same school anyway, so I’ll eventually get him.”

As she spoke, she made a grabbing motion in the air with her right hand.

Shi Niannian was too shocked to speak.

That person was a teacher…

Jiang Ling tapped her on the head with her knuckles: “What else is in that brain of yours besides studying? Teacher-student relationships are very popular now, understand? And many people in our class are dating.”

Jiang Ling tossed her hair and said solemnly, “It’s adolescence, very normal.”

Shi Niannian felt as if they weren’t in the same class.

“…Really?”

Jiang Ling counted on her fingers, telling her who in their class liked whom, and that person didn’t like them but liked someone else instead.

The relationships were as complex as a web.

Shi Niannian listened to her talk as they walked back to the classroom.

Then she shook her head.

She was certain that Jiang Ling must be making up gossip to trick her again.

Jiang Wang didn’t go to school all day.

He slept the entire day, only getting up in the afternoon. His silenced phone had dozens of missed calls from Cai Yucai.

Cai Yucai had taught him for two years before, and Jiang Wang quite liked him.

He sat on the edge of the bed, supporting his head with one hand, his thumb and middle finger pressing on his temples.

After a moment, he reached up and tore off the bandage on his chin.

The bedroom was simply furnished, with almost no furniture except for a bed. It was empty and spacious, with the curtains tightly drawn, completely blocking out the light.

Everything was dim.

He sat alone for a while before picking up his phone and calling Cai Yucai back.

By the time he left the administrative office, the sun was setting. The bell for the end of class rang for a while, and students went to the cafeteria for dinner in small groups. There weren’t many people in the teaching building.

Wang Jianping hadn’t scolded him. Jiang Chen had just donated a laboratory building, so he didn’t dare scold him, only giving a few words of advice before ending the conversation.

Jiang Chen had the public image of a gentle and elegant successful entrepreneur who was passionate about education and charity, receiving widespread praise. The outside world didn’t know his true nature behind closed doors.

Violent tendencies, domestic abuse.

Jiang Wang’s fighting skills were trained by Jiang Chen since childhood.

He turned into the bathroom, splashed cold water on his face. Water droplets condensed and slid down his face. He wiped them away with the back of his hand, his eyes not quite clear.

Not planning to stay for evening self-study, he went back to the classroom to get the cigarettes he’d left yesterday, then turned and walked out of the teaching building.

The evening glow spread across the sky, a dreamlike expanse of pink.

He stood in front of the wall, stepped back three paces, then accelerated suddenly, kicked off the wall with his foot, and flipped over to the top.

The wind blew, muffling the noise outside the school wall.

Jiang Wang narrowed his eyes slightly.

Outside the school wall was a dead-end alley. A girl was cornered by several other girls. She stood straight, fists clenched, sleeves rolled up to her elbows, revealing slender, fair forearms.

She was slightly hunched, like a small animal preparing to pounce.

Jiang Wang swung one long leg over the wall.

With an unlit cigarette in his mouth, arms crossed, he watched the drama unfold as if it had nothing to do with him.

Cheng Qi stood in the middle, her posture relaxed, a smirk on her red lips: “You stutterer, didn’t I warn you before to stay away from Fang Cheng? You’re so cheap, daring to touch my ex-boyfriend, and even hitting Lu Ming? I think if I don’t teach you a lesson, you won’t know who runs this school!”

Cheng Qi was arrogant, though only sixteen or seventeen, her malice was direct and unrestrained.

Shi Niannian’s silence further angered Cheng Qi.

She grabbed her arm and yanked hard. Shi Niannian stumbled, almost tripping.

The next moment, her jaw was firmly gripped and lifted. Cheng Qi’s grip tightened, and Shi Niannian felt as if her bones were being crushed.

Shi Niannian tried to pry her fingers off, struggling backward, but couldn’t break free. Finally, she stopped struggling and just stared back coldly.

Cheng Qi’s smile gradually faded, her eyes turning icy.

“Glaring at me? You dare to glare at me!?”

She raised her hand, and just as she was about to slap her, Shi Niannian suddenly grabbed her school uniform and lunged forward.

Cheng Qi hadn’t expected her to fight back. She lost her balance and fell backward onto the ground.

Looking completely disheveled.

The girl looked down at her with lowered brows, the jaw that had been gripped now red, her breathing ragged and hurried.

But that slight upward curve at the corner of her eye was sharp and slender.

Revealing her true nature.

Jiang Wang realized that his desk mate wasn’t some docile, timid little rabbit. She was a kitten, still baby-faced but with sharp claws that could scratch.

The warm evening sun stretched across the sky, burning with a brilliant array of colors.

Jiang Wang held a cigarette in his mouth, his gaze falling on her raised chin and the smooth line of her neck, then quickly moving away. He lowered his eyes, rarely curling his lips.

Suddenly, he felt a tingle across his scalp.

When he jumped down from the wall, he stepped on a pile of dead leaves, making a rustling sound.

Shi Niannian’s resistance had undoubtedly added fuel to the fire. The five or six girls immediately stopped their spectator attitudes and stood up aggressively, looking like they were about to teach her a lesson.

Cheng Qi sat directly on the ground and lit a cigarette.

Shi Niannian had her arms held down by the group, forced to bend toward her.

“Do you believe,” Cheng Qi stretched the cigarette toward her, “that I’ll burn a pattern on your face with this?”

Everyone around laughed obligingly.

Cheng Qi spoke again: “Maybe when you feel the pain, your stutter will be cured. Shouldn’t you be thanking me?”

“Why don’t I thank her for you?”

A hand with distinct knuckles reached from behind and took the cigarette from between Cheng Qi’s fingers.

As he pulled it back, whether his hand shook or for some other reason, the cigarette slipped from his hand, and the ember fell on the back of Cheng Qi’s hand, burning her and making her quickly withdraw her hand.

She turned around and met Jiang Wang’s fierce eyes.

“Jiang Wang!” Her voice was filled with anger.

Jiang Wang’s voice carried a hint of laughter, lazy and casual: “Sorry, my hand slipped.”

Cheng Qi’s group might bully others among students, but when facing someone like Jiang Wang, they didn’t dare to confront him directly. They all froze in place.

Jiang Wang tilted his head, yawned, and extinguished the cigarette on the ground.

He nodded at the two people holding Shi Niannian: “Let go.”

Shi Niannian was pushed roughly toward him, and Jiang Wang caught her arm.

Then he flicked his cigarette, the ash blown away by the wind, choking Cheng Qi and making her cough immediately.

He turned his head, glancing at her sideways: “Thanks.”

They walked one in front of the other.

Last night, Shi Niannian walked in front; today, Jiang Wang walked in front.

She just realized how tall he was, completely blocking the burning orange sunset glow. The hair on both sides of his head was cut extremely short, and his jeans revealed a section of thin ankles.

Jiang Wang brought her to a restaurant near the school.

He bit on his cigarette, his voice somewhat muffled, supporting his head with one hand, lazily asking: “What do you want to eat?”

He had reverted to his usual self, not as angry and fierce as last night.

His words always carried a hint of laughter, though it didn’t feel like laughter, casual yet arrogant and defiant.

Shi Niannian lowered her eyes to look at the menu.

These were stir-fried dishes meant to be shared by two people. She flipped to the last few pages and ordered tomato and egg rice.

Jiang Wang ordered an individual clay pot dish.

The food arrived shortly.

Shi Niannian ate attentively with her head down, her thick eyelashes casting fan-shaped shadows under her eyes.

Jiang Wang stared at her for a while.

Then asked: “Aren’t you going to evening self-study?”

“Yes.”

Her voice was soft, but without any discernible emotion, as if what had just happened didn’t exist.

She had originally planned to stay for evening self-study today, but was dragged out of school by Cheng Qi’s group. After finishing her meal, she would have to climb back over the wall.

The girl ate in small bites, focused and serious.

“Why did they beat you again?”

She shook her head: “They didn’t… beat me.”

Jiang Wang snorted, tapping his cigarette ash: “So it’s only beating if the slap lands, is that it?”

Shi Niannian didn’t respond.

“Not telling Xu Ningqing?”

“Even if I… tell her, it’s no… use. They’ll catch… me again,” she spoke with difficulty, not looking up. Jiang Wang listened patiently as she continued.

“…They’ll still… bully me.”

After all, Xu Ningqing had graduated, and Cheng Qi’s group was also rich kids. Even if she could threaten or warn them once or twice, Cheng Qi and Shi Niannian were in the same class, giving Cheng Qi plenty of opportunities to torment her.

If not openly, then secretly.

“And, I… I can run… fast.”

She added.

Jiang Wang didn’t know what to say.

They finished eating in silence. Jiang Wang got up to pay and walked out. Shi Niannian followed behind him, taking out a 10 yuan note and some coins from her small change purse.

She had memorized the price when looking at the menu earlier.

The street wasn’t crowded. She caught up to him and handed him the money.

Jiang Wang lowered his eyes, looking at the girl’s neatly trimmed, rounded nails, raising his eyebrow.

Suddenly feeling playful, he grabbed her entire hand along with the bill.

Jiang Wang’s hand was several sizes larger than hers, able to completely enclose her fist.

She froze for two seconds, and seeing that he had no intention of letting go, she looked up in disbelief. Her eyes were clear and pure, like a scoop of moonlight spilled across the ground.

She struggled twice but couldn’t break free.

His hand was very cool, but where he held her felt burning hot.

Shi Niannian’s face turned red. She had never had such contact with a boy before, and even with her slow reactions, she felt it was strange.

Too strange.

“Let… go.”

“I just saved you. How are you going to thank me?”

He held that hand without any effort, his narrow, squinting eyes revealing ill intentions.

“Thank you.” She said this sentence smoothly.

“Just like that? A single thank you is enough?”

Shi Niannian didn’t understand what else he wanted, looking up at him naively.

Jiang Wang bent down, his body heat overwhelming.

Shi Niannian felt the sharp scent of tobacco, warmed by body heat, gentle and lingering.

Jiang Wang leaned to her ear, the corner of his mouth curled, and whispered something.

The girl immediately stiffened, visibly tensing up. Her face grew redder, and a faint trace of annoyance appeared between her otherwise smooth brows.

After speaking, Jiang Wang straightened up again.

This hand was so thin, how could it feel so soft?

He couldn’t help it, his thumb gently rubbing her hand.

Shi Niannian was like a startled cat with its fur standing on end. She jerked her hand back forcefully, finally managing to pull it away.

“You’re… sick.”

She cursed angrily.

Her other hand rubbed the hand he had held, looking up at him once before turning and running toward the school.