After the second Chinese language class this morning, the sky became dark and gloomy. Clouds engulfed the entire city, the misty vapor grew thicker, dense thunder followed in succession, bringing down a torrential downpour.
Many students from Class 4(1) ran to the windows to watch the rain, while others gathered around Jiang Yubai—they had heard that Jiang Yubai was drawing the “Exploring the Universe” comic series and were all asking to participate in the storyline.
Jiang Yubai’s status in the class was at its peak.
He seemed to have suddenly become a famous Hollywood director.
Facing a group of classmates begging to be included, Jiang Yubai mediated: “Stop arguing, there needs to be order.”
Jiang Yubai first arranged for his and Lin Zhixia’s appearances. In the universe he constructed, Lin Zhixia would explore the mysteries of the universe, while Jiang Yubai would go gold mining in Orion.
“Just like the nineteenth-century American gold rush,” Jiang Yubai explained to everyone.
Lin Zhixia leaned on the desk, watching him: “Is there gold in Orion?”
“If Jiang Yubai says there is, then there is!” Dong Sunqi loudly supported.
Lin Zhixia compromised: “Alright. So, Jiang Yubai and I are Earth people looking for gold, and there’s a group of Orion people led by Dong Sunqi in Orion! They have mysterious powers to control magnetic fields.”
At once, the classmates began dividing into factions.
“I want to be an Earth person!”
“I want to be an Orion person!”
Such noisy arguments were endless.
Ding Yan angrily accused: “So many people have betrayed Earth!”
Dong Sunqi retorted: “You Earth people invaded our Orion first! And you want to steal our gold!”
Jiang Yubai realized the seriousness of the situation.
To resolve the dispute between the Earth people and the Orion people, Jiang Yubai contributed a brand new notebook. As he narrated, he described: “In 2004, the war between Earth people and Orion people began. Jiang Yubai was familiar with Orion’s terrain. He led the Earth legion to attack Orion…”
“Not attack!” Dong Sunqi corrected him, “Invade! Invade!”
Jiang Yubai let out a cold laugh: “Dong Sunqi wanted to detonate the cloud nucleus through magnetic fields and spiral galaxies to occupy the entire Milky Way…”
Dong Sunqi remembered his villain role and diligently corrected: “Not occupy, destroy! Destroy!”
He put his arms around two boys beside him and loudly declared: “We of Orion must destroy the Milky Way!”
One of the boys he embraced also said: “Defeat the Earth people! Stupid Earth people! Greedy Earth people!” They had forgotten their origins and were completely immersed in Orion’s passionate atmosphere.
Dong Sunqi even grabbed Ding Yan and asked: “You Earth people, why did you come to distant Orion?”
Ding Yan stammered: “Uh? Because it’s fun?”
“What the hell?” Dong Sunqi said to his companions, “Listen, everyone, Earth people think Orion is fun, so they come to Orion and take our territory!”
The Orion classmates automatically stood behind Dong Sunqi, consciously distancing themselves from the Earth people.
The opposing Earth people also gathered together.
At this moment, Lin Zhixia grabbed a fountain pen and began to supplement the plot: “The Dong Sunqi legion’s wish is to destroy the Milky Way. While we Earth people stand on Orion’s soil for freedom and dignity! All life, civilization, and environment on Earth are the reasons for our bloody struggle. Brave warriors, think of your relatives, friends, and pet dogs! This is not a StarCraft match, this is a rebellion against the arrangement of fate, against the invasion of thugs! It’s so that when we look up at the sky, we can always see the eternal glory of the Milky Way…”
The Earth people were all stunned.
Two seconds later, the classmates erupted in thunderous applause.
Dong Sunqi lamented: “Can’t argue with Lin Zhixia, she’s so good at speaking. If Lin Zhixia ran for class monitor, I would have stepped down long ago…”
Before Dong Sunqi finished speaking, a “thud” sound came from the doorway of Class 4(1)—it was the sound of a crutch hitting the ground. A tall, thin boy supported by a crutch walked into the classroom accompanied by his mother.
This boy had very fair skin and quite handsome features. Several classmates walked toward him. But no one dared to speak to him; they just stood nearby whispering or extending their hands, wanting to help him.
He slapped away the offered hand.
His mother reprimanded: “Liu Xingjian!”
His name was Liu Xingjian.
Dong Sunqi told Jiang Yubai: “See, that’s Liu Xingjian’s. His mother is our school’s vice principal, and his father is also wealthy and powerful. During summer vacation, he was alone at home and fell down the villa stairs, breaking his leg, and missed a month of school.”
Dong Sunqi treated Jiang Yubai as a buddy. Out of this buddy loyalty, Dong Sunqi repeatedly warned: “Jiang Yubai, you must never provoke Liu Xingjian.”
Outside, the rain was pouring heavily, the wind surged like waves, blowing the outside of the corridor wet. Liu Xingjian’s clothes and pants were damp with rain. His mother left him a towel, spoke a few more words to him, and then left the classroom.
This class break was 30 minutes long, called the “big break” by the school. Normally, during the big break, fourth-grade students and above would go to the playground to run. However, today’s heavy rain was fierce, so the running activity was temporarily canceled.
Jiang Yubai put away his notebook, planning to go out for some fresh air.
The daylight grew dimmer, resembling dusk.
The teaching building stood firm, standing in the torrential rain.
Jiang Yubai looked up at the sky and suddenly heard the “bang bang” of a crutch hitting the ground. He turned his face slightly to see Liu Xingjian supporting himself with a crutch, walking alone toward the hot water room on the fourth floor.
Jiang Yubai looked away.
Liu Xingjian puts his crutch at the entrance of the hot water room. Like a one-legged grasshopper, tragically and decisively, hopping and jumping, facing the tricks of fate. He firmly gripped his water cup, hopping two steps into the hot water room.
The water temperature in the hot water room reached one hundred degrees.
Jiang Yubai thought for a moment, stepped forward, and stood outside the threshold to observe.
At this time, the rain was misty like smoke, making the corridor lights seem particularly bright. Jiang Yubai’s shadow descended like a ghost, reflected on the side of the water heater’s steel plate, giving Liu Xingjian a big scare.
Liu Xingjian couldn’t hold his cup steady. The cup fell onto the stainless steel counter. The boiling water, scalding hot, splashed violently, like an exploding bomb, causing Liu Xingjian to cry out in pain: “Hey! Did you do that on purpose?”
Jiang Yubai looked somewhat bewildered: “What?”
Liu Xingjian pulled his sleeve down hard—which made him look somewhat comical. He hid his scalded red hand inside his sleeve and said to Jiang Yubai with a gloomy expression: “You wait, you’ll pay for this.”
Liu Xingjian’s arrogance instantly triggered Jiang Yubai’s competitive spirit.
Jiang Yubai calmly threw down a harsh reply: “Wait until your leg heals before saying that.”
Liu Xingjian was so angry he took a deep breath: “You’d better apologize quickly.”
Jiang Yubai immediately apologized: “I’m sorry, I didn’t know your hand… couldn’t hold the cup steady.”
Liu Xingjian was burning with rage, raised his leg to hop, about to punch Jiang Yubai’s shoulder hard, but Jiang Yubai stepped back, effortlessly avoiding his attack.
Liu Xingjian held onto the door frame of the hot water room and furiously asked him: “Are you that transfer student from Singapore? What’s your name? You just wait! I won’t let you off!”
Jiang Yubai admitted: “My name is Jiang Yubai. The character ‘Yu’ in my name, you probably don’t know how to write it, and I don’t plan to teach you.”
Liu Xingjian looked quite lively, even able to jump up and hit people, not like someone who had been scalded by hot water. So, Jiang Yubai walked back to the classroom as if nothing had happened. He remembered Dong Sunqi’s warning—never provoke Liu Xingjian.
Although Jiang Yubai wasn’t clear on how things had developed, it now appeared that he had indeed angered Liu Xingjian.
So, what would be the consequences?
Jiang Yubai found Dong Sunqi and asked: “Class monitor, I have a question for you.”
Class Monitor Dong Sunqi’s seat area was always bustling.
The class monitor was the core of Class 4(1), the source of various information, and also the central force uniting all classmates. Today was no exception. Several classmates were borrowing books around him.
“Class monitor, lend me a ‘Tiger Team Adventure’ book!” classmates made such sincere requests.
Dong Sunqi never disappointed anyone. Dong Sunqi strictly planned the dates for each classmate to borrow and return books. He ensured timely supply, timely replenishment, and timely exchanges, ensuring his supply chain never broke.
After lending out another “Tiger Team Adventure” book, he finally had time to answer Jiang Yubai’s question: “Richest Jiang, what’s up?”
This call of “Richest Jiang” made Jiang Yubai and Dong Sunqi seem like a colluding privileged class.
Jiang Yubai asked in a low voice: “Monitor Dong, you told me not to provoke Liu Xingjian, why?”
Dong Sunqi’s smile faded, his expression gradually becoming serious: “Did you provoke him?”
Jiang Yubai casually replied: “Nothing much, just a small misunderstanding.”
Dong Sunqi shook his head: “You can’t say that.”
Jiang Yubai asked: “How else can I put it?”
Dong Sunqi sighed heavily: “Richest Jiang, if you and Liu Xingjian start fighting, it’s like dogs fighting dogs… Ah, no, I mean, it’s like immortals fighting, even the homeroom teacher wouldn’t dare to intervene. Liu Xingjian… holds grudges especially hard. In first grade, Han Dawei stepped on Liu Xingjian’s foot, and Liu Xingjian stepped back ten times before he felt better.”
“So, do you and Liu Xingjian have a conflict?” the person asking was Lin Zhixia.
Jiang Yubai turned around, and Lin Zhixia was standing right behind him. She was holding a stack of Chinese language assignments, only ten centimeters away from him. She carefully observed Jiang Yubai’s expression, trying to glimpse his inner thoughts from subtle changes. But her gaze was too direct, like a lion on the African savanna targeting an antelope.
Jiang Yubai backed up until he hit a desk, then said to her: “Go distribute the assignments quickly.”
Lin Zhixia casually divided the notebooks into four piles and handed them to the four group leaders standing beside her. She asked again: “Did Liu Xingjian bully you? If he bullied you, just tell me.”
Dong Sunqi laughed loudly: “Lin Zhixia, you don’t need to worry! I’m the class monitor, I’ll uphold justice for Jiang Yubai, maintain righteousness!”
Jiang Yubai was somewhat confused about why he had become the character in need of protection. Even in the “Exploring the Universe” comic series, Jiang Yubai should be a passionate warrior leading the interstellar legion, bravely fighting against Orion.
The wind and rain howled outside the window as Jiang Yubai said to Lin Zhixia: “Come on, let’s go back to our seats.”
Jiang Yubai wasn’t the first transfer student in Class 4(1).
When Lin Zhixia was in second and third grade, some students transferred from other schools and other classes. Adults all believe that children are very pure. However, Lin Zhixia believed that school is a low-concentration microcosm of society, operating under a unique set of rules.
A transfer student, as an individual entity, would inevitably attract the attention of the entire class when entering a new class.
The high attention from the entire class had both positive and negative impacts. For example, a transfer student in the second semester of third grade, because he offended a core member of a small group in the class, was isolated by the entire class for a month—this kind of party dispute, similar to adult society, was also content that needed to be supplemented in Lin Zhixia’s “Human Observation Diary.”
In Lin Zhixia’s imagination, Jiang Yubai, as a transfer student, might be being bullied by Liu Xingjian.
But Jiang Yubai asked her: “Why do you think it’s Liu Xingjian who offended me, rather than me offending him?”
Lin Zhixia pondered: “Because you often seem silly, giving me the feeling that you’re easy to bully.”
The three words “seem silly” coming from Lin Zhixia’s mouth were particularly damaging, leaving Jiang Yubai completely defeated, a river of blood. He barely held himself together and told her: “No, I’m the one who annoyed Liu Xingjian.”
She tilted her head: “Huh?”
He glanced at her: “You just say ‘huh,’ what does that mean?”
“It means no need to worry,” Lin Zhixia answered, “Don’t worry, I’ll help you keep an eye on Liu Xingjian’s every move.”
Jiang Yubai immediately stopped her: “I don’t even pay attention to Liu Xingjian, why are you watching him? It’s a waste of time.”
Then, Jiang Yubai offered a sincere suggestion: “If you have time, wouldn’t it be better to write more of your ‘Human Observation Diary’?”
Lin Zhixia’s tone was very excited: “Really! I thought you might be a bit unhappy about me writing that diary! It seems you like me writing the ‘Human Observation Diary’!”
Jiang Yubai, going against his conscience, answered: “Yes!”