Liao Tingyan had a boyfriend, Sima Jiao from Class 1 of the second year of high school, but this romance remained unknown to others—it was a secret underground relationship.

Her boyfriend Sima Jiao was a boss who reigned supreme over numerous school bullies. He had been legendary since middle school, and his reputation remained formidable in high school. To call him a school bully wouldn’t be quite right—he wasn’t like those boys from Class 9 who smoked, drank, and caused trouble, becoming regular fixtures on the disciplinary list. Yet he was even more feared than those so-called bullies, making everyone keep their distance.

Liao Tingyan was in Class 5 of the second year, and her classroom wasn’t in the same building as Class 1. The U-shaped teaching building had Class 1 on the left side and Class 5 on the right, separated by the administration office, facing each other from afar.

Liao Tingyan couldn’t often see her secret boyfriend at school, but she saw him more during holidays at home. She would typically spend entire days at Sima Jiao’s place, having all three meals there except for sleeping at night—she went under the pretext of studying, and the food at her boyfriend’s place was simply too good to resist.

Whether due to the excellent meals she’d been enjoying for nearly a year or Sima Jiao’s forceful cramming teaching method working, Liao Tingyan’s grades improved significantly after entering her second year of high school. Her teacher spoke with her about transferring her to Class 1.

Given how rare such arrangements were, Liao Tingyan felt this was very likely Sima Jiao’s doing.

The big boss came from a wealthy, powerful, and influential family, making such matters simple—it just required choosing the right timing and reason. Liao Tingyan thought he must have gone to a lot of trouble.

Unlike Sima Jiao, Liao Tingyan came from an ordinary family. Before dating the big boss, her grades were average, she had ordinary social connections and was a middle-of-the-road student in her class. She was the type of classmate who, after graduation, would likely have her name forgotten at class reunions—quite unremarkable.

When she suddenly had to transfer to Class 1, besides her deskmate and those sitting in front and behind who felt some reluctance to see her go, most classmates were merely curious about how her grades had improved so quickly.

Liao Tingyan: …because of love.

Class 1 was an advanced class with top-performing students. Perhaps for this reason, the classroom often seemed very quiet, with everyone speaking in hushed tones. Liao Tingyan had only passed by Class 1 a few times, each time just glancing in, and noticed that even during breaks, it was much quieter than other classes.

However, once she entered Class 1, she realized something was off. The students of Class 1 seemed lifeless, different from the relaxed atmosphere of Class 5 or the carefree spirit of Class 9.

First came the seating arrangement. When the head teacher asked who would volunteer to be her deskmate, the classroom fell into a prolonged silence. No one made a sound. Students continued reading or writing, completely ignoring the question.

Liao Tingyan: “…” Wow, are elite students really this aloof?

Liao Tingyan noticed that by the window with the best lighting, her boyfriend appeared to be sleeping with his head down. The seat beside him was empty, so she found an easy way out: “Teacher, there’s an empty seat over there. I’ll sit there.”

As soon as she said this, almost all the students couldn’t help but look up at her with complex, strange expressions, so peculiar that Liao Tingyan wondered if they somehow knew about her relationship with the big boss.

“Teacher, let her sit next to me,” a female student suddenly spoke up.

Liao Tingyan glanced once more at her seemingly sound-asleep boyfriend. “Okay then.”

She sat down next to a girl named Xiao Yu, who lowered her voice to warn her: “You need to be careful in our class. Don’t provoke him, and don’t disturb him when he’s sleeping.”

Liao Tingyan: “Him?” Surely she’s not talking about my boyfriend.

Xiao Yu: “You were from Class 5 before, don’t you know him?” She quickly wrote three characters on a piece of paper.

Liao Tingyan looked at it—”Sima Jiao”—indeed her boyfriend’s name.

The girl sitting in front of them also leaned over, twisting her mouth: “You’re bold, wanting to sit next to that one. When he wakes up and sees you, he’ll probably throw you out. If you provoke him, you can forget about staying in Class 1.”

Xiao Yu: “If you want to stay in Class 1 for long, the most important thing is to be quiet. Don’t make noise when he’s sleeping, or there will be trouble.”

They spoke so gravely that Liao Tingyan momentarily felt uneasy. Wait, are they talking about her boyfriend? Honestly, she had been dating the big boss for half a year and always found him to be good-tempered, not at all like a school bully. She hadn’t realized that the students in Class 1 were so afraid of him.

She cooperatively asked in a low voice: “What’s wrong with him?”

Xiao Yu looked at her without speaking, then wrote her a note. Liao Tingyan read: “They say someone once argued in front of him, and he grabbed them by the neck and threw them from the third floor, breaking their legs.”

Liao Tingyan: These school legends are usually not credible, right? Probably.

After she finished reading, Xiao Yu took the note back, tore it up, and put it in a garbage bag.

Liao Tingyan: Isn’t this all a bit exaggerated? Is Sima Jiao some sleeping dragon that needs to be treated with such caution?

“Why do you think we’re all so quiet, hardly speaking? It’s because he’s here. If we disturb him and he loses his temper, it’s terrifying.”

Liao Tingyan realized that her new classmates weren’t excluding her or holding anything against her; they had simply been frightened into this state by the sleeping dragon in the room. She finally understood why Class 1 was always so quiet whenever she passed by—it wasn’t the stubbornness of top students but rather a survival strategy.

Who would have thought that the students of Class 1, appearing so bright and polished, lived in such a terrible environment? As the dragon’s family member, she even felt a bit ashamed.

After quietly sitting through two classes, Liao Tingyan was getting along well with her new deskmates, including the girl in front who spoke with a touch of sarcasm, and the chubby boy with glasses behind her. Especially her deskmate, who was exceptional at math and gave her detailed and patient explanations when Liao Tingyan asked for help with a problem.

Remembering how Sima Jiao taught her, roaring like an angry dragon, she thought this sweet girl was truly amazing!

During the break after the second class, the great boss Sima lifted his head from the desk. Almost the instant he silently raised his head, the classroom became unusually quiet. Liao Tingyan had just turned to look when her deskmate pulled her urgently, whispering: “Don’t look!”

Startled by this, Liao Tingyan instinctively lowered her head to look at her textbook like everyone else, quiet as a mouse.

Liao Tingyan: “…” But wait, why should I be afraid? At my boyfriend’s home, I dare to throw pillows at him, pull his hair, and even sleep on his back!

Sima Jiao looked as if he hadn’t slept well, exuding irritation despite his expressionless face. He walked out of the dead-silent classroom. One minute after he left, the entire room erupted in noise, with everyone finally returning to normal speaking volumes.

Liao Tingyan was startled by this dramatic change, but her deskmate was used to it: “You’ll get used to it. This is normal for our class.”

That must be tough for you all, truly.

Sima Jiao didn’t return for the third class. Before the fourth class began, he walked into the classroom and headed straight toward Liao Tingyan. She was working on math problems and noticed the sudden silence around her. Looking up, she saw her boyfriend’s expressionless pretty face.

Sima Jiao: “Why are you here?”

Liao Tingyan: “I’ve already been here for three classes.” Are you pretending? Weren’t you the one who arranged my transfer to Class 1?

Sima Jiao frowned. He probably hadn’t slept well last night; there were bloodshot lines in his eyes. He often had trouble sleeping, which made his expression frequently appear impatient.

Sima Jiao just rubbed his forehead and began collecting the books from her desk.

Liao Tingyan heard her deskmate and those sitting around her inhale sharply. The student behind even moved his desk in fear, making a noise.

Sima Jiao ignored all this, took her books, and walked toward his seat, dropping them on the empty desk next to his. Liao Tingyan wasn’t surprised by this at all and followed with her pencil case, the only thing remaining on her desk. Before leaving, she gave her dumbfounded deskmate an awkward smile.

Trouble—it looked like their relationship was about to be exposed.

The space around Sima Jiao’s desk was quite spacious. Those sitting in front and behind had consciously left him the maximum amount of space.

Liao Tingyan felt the gazes of Class 1 students subtly lingering on her. Feeling uncomfortable, she rubbed her eraser, creating a pile of debris. Three minutes later, Sima Jiao looked up and surveyed the room. “What are you looking at?”

Everyone quickly lowered their heads.

Liao Tingyan tossed aside her eraser and squeezed his hand hard under the desk! Big boss! You’re acting like a bully who oppresses others!

…

The students of Class 1, Year 2 discovered a secret: their big boss seemed to be dating his new deskmate.

For this reason, they specifically created a group chat with all thirty-eight remaining classmates, excluding Sima Jiao and Liao Tingyan.

“I saw the big boss take out a bottle of milk from his desk, insert a straw, and put it on Liao Tingyan’s desk!! And she just picked it up and drank it naturally!!!”

“Since when has the big boss ever kept milk on his desk? I’ve always suspected his desk contained dangerous items like knives or guns?!”

A while later, someone posted in the group: “Did Liao Tingyan just touch the big boss’s hair?”

“I think so, I saw it too.”

“This is bad, she woke the big boss by touching him.”

“The big boss looked at her.”

“And then nothing happened; the big boss lay back down and continued sleeping.”

“Nothing happened??? I thought the new student was going to get beaten!”

“I told you they must be dating. Even the big boss wouldn’t… uh, he wouldn’t hit his girlfriend, would he?”

“We don’t know if she’s his girlfriend yet; maybe she’s his sister!”

The thirty-eight classmates observed secretly. With any slight movement, the group chat exploded with prairie dog screams. Liao Tingyan’s small gestures, which she thought went unnoticed, were magnified under a microscope and exploded in the group chat.

During evening self-study, a group of Class 1 students appeared to be studying diligently on the surface, but secretly passed notes frequently, with people constantly flooding the group chat.

Generally, the big boss rarely attended evening self-study, but today he came, though he was still sleeping with his head down.

“She took out earphones to listen to music and put one earbud in the big boss’s ear.”

“Such courage… How can the big boss tolerate this? Doesn’t he get annoyed by the slightest sound?”

“Tell me, is this a fake big boss? Is someone impersonating him? In a year, I’ve never seen him be this good-tempered!”

The Class 1 Year 2 group chat exploded for several days before gradually returning to calm, though people still occasionally discussed the couple. From the day Liao Tingyan transferred to their class, it seemed to mark a new historical era. Their classroom, which had been silent for an entire year, suddenly showed signs of life.

It started with Liao Tingyan talking to people around her. She didn’t intentionally lower her voice, and following her lead, everyone gradually stopped speaking in hushed tones. Occasionally, when noise accidentally became too loud and disturbed the dragon boss, her deskmate would take responsibility for calming him down.

The first time they discovered her swinging the big boss’s hand under the desk to soothe him, everyone nearly went crazy.

“The big boss’s girlfriend can do whatever she wants.”

“I think she deserves a title—’Hero,’ like the hero who fights the dragon.”

“No, ‘Dragon Rider’ would be more fitting.”

“Damn, Fatty, your thoughts are too obscene!”

“I think both of your thoughts are pretty obscene.”

When the first monthly exam results came out, Liao Tingyan was unsurprisingly last in the class. She had anticipated this and lay dejectedly on her desk with the score sheet. Though her grades had been average before and her boyfriend had taught her for half a year, it was still difficult to suddenly rank near the top in a class of elite students.

“Why the long face? If you didn’t do well, it’s because I didn’t teach you properly. What does it have to do with you?” Sima Jiao grabbed the back of her neck, pulled her up, and stated matter-of-factly.

Liao Tingyan looked at the classmates around them and found they were all buried in their exercise books, seemingly not hearing her boyfriend’s words. She felt relieved, thinking that as expected of a group of top students, they were focused on studying rather than gossip. She leaned closer to Sima Jiao and whispered: “This weekend, should we study math or English at your place? I didn’t do well in either subject.”

The classmate sitting in front of them quickly took out their phone and, hidden behind a textbook, typed frantically to the group chat: “I just heard Liao Tingyan say she’s going to the big boss’s home this weekend!”

“Going straight to his home?! She can do whatever she wants! I’m out!”

“Hmm… Is the big boss always this blatant about dating in high school? He thinks the school is run by his… oh sorry, I forgot, it is.”

In the afternoon class, when reviewing the exam papers, the math teacher reported the scores and singled out students for criticism. Liao Tingyan’s lowest math score was first in line, bearing the brunt of the math teacher’s artillery.

This math teacher was relatively young, having graduated not long ago. Rumor had it that she was highly educated and a relative of the school leadership. She had taught Class 1 for a year, and her strict image was deeply ingrained. She particularly enjoyed berating students—nearly everyone in Class 1 except Sima Jiao had been harshly scolded by her. Lower scores than before, making mistakes on problems she had taught, speaking during class, or simply encountering her in a bad mood—even for no reason at all, she would cold-mock and ridicule students during class. A girl who had previously transferred out of Class 1 had done so crying, unable to endure her scolding.

Like Sima Jiao, she was one of the two major psychological shadows over Class 1 students.

“Do you know how much you’ve dragged down Class 1’s average score? How did you even get into Class 1 with these grades? Let me tell you, however, you got here, you’d better leave the same way. Look at what you’ve scored—with a brain like yours, why study math? Why not go back and repeat elementary school?”

Liao Tingyan went up to get her test paper, enduring a barrage of cold ridicule from the teacher, who even threw the test paper at her feet.

As she bent down to pick it up, she heard a tremendous crash behind her—Sima Jiao had kicked over his desk.

What followed was arguably the most chaotic moment in Class 1’s history. This hot-tempered boss exploded, first walking up to the podium and kicking it over, then throwing all the test papers at the screaming math teacher, pointing at the door and telling her to get out.

The math teacher, feeling humiliated, shrieked with feigned courage: “Is this how you talk to a teacher?”

Sima Jiao couldn’t be bothered to argue and stepped forward to kick her, but Liao Tingyan grabbed his waist and pulled him back: “Calm down, calm down! We don’t hit people!”

He looked so frightening that not only did the students below not dare to intervene, but even the math teacher was scared pale. The only person who dared approach the big boss without being kicked away was Liao Tingyan, but she was alone and had to use all her strength to prevent Sima Jiao from taking action.

Yet Sima Jiao refused to let it go. Dragging her like a ball and chain, he forcefully kicked a desk again. “When I tell you to get out, you get out. You’re not going to be a teacher anymore. Go back and tell your uncle he doesn’t need to stay at this school either.”

The math teacher’s face changed dramatically. Looking at this notorious troublemaker and seeing that not a single student in the entire class stood up for her, she ran out crying. Under the gaze of her classmates, Liao Tingyan, with a headache, hugged Sima Jiao’s waist and half-dragged, half-pulled him out of the classroom and down the stairs.

The Class 1 classroom was quiet for a moment, the remaining students looking at each other in bewilderment.

“Uh, where did the big boss and the Dragon Rider go?”

“I think we shouldn’t call her Dragon Rider. Wasn’t that what they call ‘flying into a rage out of love’? Should we call them King Zhou and Yang Guifei instead?”

“Those two weren’t a couple! Shut up!”

“But seriously, where did they go?”

“Looks like the small grove of trees below.” The student leaning out the window reported, “I think I saw them kissing!”

“Where? Let me see too!”

“Wow, is she calming him down?”

“Dog food—I think I’ve eaten too much of it.”

The next day, the head teacher announced that their math teacher had been replaced with a veteran teacher with over twenty years of experience. The new teacher was meticulous in teaching and, although still somewhat strict, didn’t enjoy scolding students.

When the change of teachers was announced, all of Class 1 stood up and applauded. Liao Tingyan noticed everyone looking at her with gratitude evident on their faces.

Liao Tingyan: “…” I didn’t do anything.

Sima Jiao frowned and raised his head at the commotion, only to be immediately pushed back down by Liao Tingyan. “Sleep, just sleep.”

…

They ran every morning. For Liao Tingyan, this was even more headache-inducing than math class. She ran very slowly, gasping for a long time after just one lap. What made it worse was that they had to do calisthenics immediately after running. Liao Tingyan would be exhausted like a dead fish, not wanting to move at all.

Sima Jiao had never participated in class running before, but after Liao Tingyan came, he started coming too. He didn’t run in formation with everyone else but stayed beside Liao Tingyan. With his long legs, he simply walked while she ran, mocking his slow girlfriend: “You’re slower than that lazy turtle crawling.”

Liao Tingyan: “I won’t let you insult Guigui. Guigui is much faster than me.”

The surrounding classmates, who kept their eyes down and minds focused, later learned that Guigui was a pet snake the big boss kept, which Liao Tingyan talked about as if it were her son.

Although Sima Jiao would ruthlessly criticize her while she ran, Liao Tingyan never got angry with him. After running, when she was too tired, she would look around to see if everyone else had left, then immediately sit on the ground saying, “So tired.”

Perhaps it was a form of coquetry, but every time she did this, the big boss would pick her up—not in a romantic way but rather like carrying a child. The girls in Class 1 privately grumbled that the big boss was such a typical man—why not carry her like a princess?

Occasionally, the two would skip morning exercises. Previously, students who skipped would gather behind the small grove to hide, but after the big boss started taking Liao Tingyan there, it became their exclusive sanctuary for avoiding exercises. Passersby would see the big boss sitting against the wall scrolling on his phone, with Liao Tingyan holding his hand and resting in his arms, covered by the big boss’s school uniform jacket, the two of them quietly staying together.

“Did you know the big boss buys breakfast for his girlfriend?”

“No way? I feel like the big boss doesn’t even eat. Doesn’t he never go to the school store?”

“I saw it today. He bought breakfast and a bunch of snacks. He doesn’t eat these himself—they’re obviously for his girlfriend.”

Liao Tingyan was chewing a piece of gum when she noticed the person in front of her subtly eyeing her gum. She offered one: “Would you like some?”

The classmate in front tremblingly accepted a piece of gum and frantically messaged the group chat: “Ahhhhh! I got to eat a snack the big boss bought for his girlfriend!”

“Waaah, so jealous! I want some too! The big boss bought it—it should be kept as a collectible!”

“So unfair! Why am I not sitting next to the girlfriend?”

After a series of nicknames including Hero, Dragon Rider, and Yang Guifei, imperceptibly, everyone began silently referring to Liao Tingyan as “the girlfriend.”

Liao Tingyan noticed the gazes from all directions and thought, I really shouldn’t eat snacks in the classroom. The burning stares of these top students are too intense. She quietly put the snacks back on her desk. Well, I should exercise some self-control.

Looking at the exercise book in her hand, she puffed her cheeks and calculated for a long time without success, then silently pushed both paper and pen to the side. Sima Jiao, poked awake, took the paper and pen, quickly wrote out the solution, and tossed it back to her.

Liao Tingyan: “Should I just copy it?”

Sima Jiao: “Copy it. Copy mine during exams too.”

Liao Tingyan couldn’t tell if he was being sarcastic: “I’ll write it myself then.”

Sima Jiao: “I’m telling you to copy mine during exams.”

Liao Tingyan lowered her voice: “That would be too embarrassing… And don’t speak so loudly! Someone might hear us!”

Sima Jiao: “Tsk.”

The English exercise sheets were due that evening, and Liao Tingyan still had two pages unfinished.

Liao Tingyan: “Help! Save me!”

Sima Jiao: “Why hand it in? Just don’t submit it.”

Liao Tingyan: “I can’t finish! Jiao! Please please please!”

Exasperated by her pleas, Sima Jiao clicked his tongue, grabbed her remaining two English sheets, and took a pen to mark the answers. He worked quickly, glancing briefly before swiftly marking options, his attitude casual but forceful—he nearly tore through the test papers.

Liao Tingyan: “You can’t just randomly select answers!”

Sima Jiao: “You think I’m like you?”

Later, when the test papers were returned, sure enough, not a single answer was wrong.

The only person with a perfect score in the whole class was Liao Tingyan—Sima Jiao himself hadn’t even completed his paper.

Classmates who knew the inside story: “Damn, so envious!”

Gradually, the students of Class 1 grew accustomed to seeing the big boss being both amenable and yielding to his girlfriend. Compared to before, though he still resembled a tiger, previously he had been a real man-eating tiger; now he was a paper tiger. The contrast was strangely endearing.

“The big boss just spoke to me.”

“What? Did he initiate a conversation with you? What did he say?!”

“He took my hot water bottle.”

“Oh, I get it. Definitely for his girlfriend.”

Liao Tingyan had her period and was having stomach cramps, hugging a hot water bottle listlessly. She glanced at her boyfriend beside her and moved closer: “I want to eat red bean ice cream.”

Sima Jiao looked down at her: “Do you want to die?”

Liao Tingyan: “Listen, even though it’s cold, red beans help with blood…”

Sima Jiao stared at her.

Liao Tingyan: “Fine, I won’t eat it then.”

She looked quite pitiful. After about ten minutes of class, Sima Jiao noticed Liao Tingyan’s drooping eyes and heard her weak voice. He stood up and left. The weak, helpless, and pitiful music teacher who was often interrupted during class didn’t dare ask or say anything, pretending not to see. But soon after leaving, he returned with red bean ice cream.

In front of everyone, he let his deskmate take a bite.

Music Teacher: “…Alright, students, today we’ll appreciate ‘The Wedding March.'”

The students of Class 1 silently applauded the music teacher.

Later, at Sima Jiao and Liao Tingyan’s wedding, all the classmates from Class 1 were invited. As they listened to the wedding march, they couldn’t help but think back to that afternoon in high school with cicadas singing under the blue sky and white clouds.

“The big boss looks at his girlfriend so tenderly!” a girl in the front row whispered to her deskmate.

(Campus Story End)

Author’s Note: Well, this is the last bonus Offering Salted Fish to Master – Chapter for the online version~ The entire story ends here~

This fish has signed a publishing contract and will write another bonus Offering Salted Fish to Master – Chapter for the physical book, so what kind of bonus Offering Salted Fish to Master – Chapter would everyone like to see?