16 Rebellion

“Zhang Yuanzhou, why is it you again?” The head teacher’s face darkened. “I’ve caught you several times this year already. And you’re supposed to be in the honors class! Always neglecting your studies!”

Zhang Yuanzhou opened his mouth to protest but didn’t get the chance before the head teacher angrily raised his hand again.

He pointed to the chubby boy standing next to Zhang.

“And you! Which class are you in? What are you doing here hugging and cuddling after school?”

Zhang Yuanzhou was dumbfounded and felt humiliated. He hurriedly said, “Teacher, you can say I play games and that I’m bad, that I’m worthless, but you can’t slander my innocence.”

Was he crazy? Wasn’t everything he said supposed to be fine?

The chubby boy scratched his head awkwardly and said, “I’m from Thirteen Middle School next door.”

Huai Jing No. 1 Middle School and Thirteen Middle School were close—just separated by a street. Students from Thirteen Middle School often came over to this side to hang out because there were many bubble tea shops around.

Hearing this, Zhang Yuanzhou nearly exploded. “What are you from Thirteen Middle School doing here causing trouble? It’s not like your teachers are the ones catching people!”

“I’m scared, okay?” The chubby boy looked wronged. “The internet café is so shady; who knows if our teachers are around.”

A vein throbbed on the head teacher’s forehead. He was so angry his heart felt unsettled. He shouted, “Everyone shut up!”

Zhang Yuanzhou and the boy immediately lowered their heads, silent as mice, afraid to say another word.

The head teacher whipped his head around and pointed at Cen Wu and Xie Guilan. “And you two? Explain yourselves!”

He was puzzled about how Cen Wu and Xie Guilan ended up together. As for Xie Guilan, he was the top student in the grade, often featured in school promotions, and the head teacher had always kept an eye on him.

Cen Wu came from a very prestigious family and was quite flashy at school, surrounded by a gang of underlings who did his bidding. The head teacher steered clear of students like him but also kept watch to prevent him from causing any big trouble.

So, of course, he knew Cen Wu.

Wasn’t this guy supposed to dislike Xie Guilan?

Lu Wang looked dazed. He poked Cen Wu and whispered, “Are you guys dating?”

Cen Wu was so not considering him a friend that he didn’t even tell him about dating. No wonder Cen Wu had been buying breakfast for Xie Guilan lately—he never bought any for Lu Wang.

What was going on?

Cen Wu’s entire face flushed a rosy pink, his ears burning bright red until it looked like they might bleed. His head was buzzing, and he nearly fainted. His lips trembled, but no words came out.

“…Pfft.”

Several boys nearby couldn’t hold back their laughter. The head teacher had caught over a dozen people tonight. Cen Wu and the others were good at hiding and were the last to be caught, thus becoming the center of attention.

Cen Wu: “…”
He wished he could just disappear.

Was it still possible to buy a one-way ticket off this planet?

“It’s a misunderstanding, Head Teacher! This must be a misunderstanding,” Meng Liangping stepped forward anxiously, worried Xie Guilan would be implicated. He turned to Xie Guilan and asked, “Xiao Xie, what were you doing at the internet café?”

Xie Guilan’s voice was indifferent. “Doing exercises.”

That sounded absurd coming from anyone else, but hearing it from Xie Guilan made the head teacher skeptical yet somewhat convinced.

He walked over to Xie Guilan’s computer and glanced at the screen. Xie Guilan had a game running idly, but the screen also clearly showed competition problems he was organizing. He didn’t seem to be lying.

“You all,” the head teacher pointed at everyone except Xie Guilan, “each write a 3,000-character self-criticism and submit it to my office by tomorrow morning. Got it?!”

“Yes… yes, sir.”

The head teacher still had to rush to another internet café and didn’t have time to lecture them further. No one dared to stay there; they all grabbed their bags and left.

Xie Guilan also picked up his bag and left. Just as he was about to reach the back gate of No. 1 Middle School, he received a message from Ji Changyu.

[Ji Changyu: Old Xie, where are you? I heard from the net manager that your head teacher came by earlier? Everything okay?]

[Ji Changyu: I asked you to run the errands for me, then hang up for a bit to finish a dungeon. Why haven’t you done it yet? Is that dinner you bought on the table? If you’re not eating it, I will.]

[Ji Changyu: Hei Zi, speak up!]

[Xie Guilan: .]

Ji Changyu was also from Thirteen Middle School. After his parents divorced, he lived with his father, who barely cared for him. Besides going to Blue Night, he spent most of his time at the internet café. Xie Guilan sometimes borrowed his computer.

Xie Guilan lowered his eyes, replied briefly, then put away his phone.

Cen Wu trailed behind Xie Guilan, dejected. He’d thought Xie Guilan had come to play games and that he’d brought him along to avoid the head teacher’s scolding, but it turned into a total social nightmare.

“I’m hungry,” Zhang Yuanzhou rubbed his stomach. “Let’s grab a meal before heading home. How about the barbecue stand?”

There was a barbecue stall near No. 1 Middle School, quite popular and frequented by students. It was already past eight o’clock, so Cen Wu decided to join them for dinner.

Unexpectedly, Xie Guilan also headed toward the barbecue stall.

That reminded Cen Wu that Blue Night operated on shifts; Xie Guilan didn’t work every night. On nights off, he worked part-time at a shop near the school.

The night was clear with a bright moon and sparse stars. They found a spot in a corner to sit. Cen Wu slowly set down his bag and squeezed into the farthest corner, sitting next to Lu Wang, which made him feel more comfortable.

Lu Wang had a kind of dull, animal-like innocence that made Cen Wu less socially anxious around him.

Zhang Yuanzhou raised his hand. “Xie Ge! Let’s start with a few sodas!”

The barbecue stall was brightly lit, but the warm glow didn’t soften Xie Guilan’s appearance. His almond-shaped eyes remained dark and icy cold.

He grabbed a few bottles of soda, placed them on the table, then stared at Cen Wu and handed him the menu.

Cen Wu eagerly took it, picking a bottle of lychee soda. The cold bottle neck made his fingertips curl slightly.

He leaned over to look at the menu with Lu Wang, wanting this and that—everything looked delicious.

Zhang Yuanzhou was quite tall, over six feet, with a big appetite. The boys ordered a large platter of assorted skewers.

“Xie Ge, you work nights?” Zhang Yuanzhou whispered after Xie Guilan left to help.

Cen Wu remained silent. Aside from the homeroom teacher, few knew about Xie Guilan’s poor family background and his seriously ill mother whom he needed to care for. Cen Wu didn’t want others to hurt Xie Guilan’s pride.

Lu Wang was rather envious. He rested his chin on his hand and said, “That’s amazing. I want to work too.”

He knew he was a bit slow. His family never expected much from him; neither did teachers—just that he stay out of trouble at school.

Tonight, the head teacher had scolded everyone but left him untouched.

He wasn’t close to Xie Guilan but always felt that Xie Guilan was very free, though he didn’t know what price that freedom cost.

“Never mind, whatever,” Zhang Yuanzhou clinked bottles with them. “Who hasn’t been punished with a self-criticism once or twice?”

Cen Wu’s embarrassment faded, and his mood calmed. He took a gulp of his soda.

Xie Guilan was in charge of serving food and clearing tables. The boy wore black sweatpants. On the hot summer night, sweat trickled down his cold white neck, along his collarbone, disappearing beneath his shirt. His slender yet upright figure carried a chill that never melted away.

Cen Wu’s eyes followed Xie Guilan, fixating on the damp black tips of his hair. When Xie Guilan turned his head, Cen Wu quickly looked away, pretending to listen to Zhang Yuanzhou and Lu Wang talking.

After finishing the barbecue, they headed home. Lu Wang’s family sent a driver to pick him up. A black Cayenne parked by the barbecue stall, the driver dressed in a full suit for the late hour, opening the door for Lu Wang.

Even knowing Lu’s family was wealthy—the largest commercial center in Huai Jing belonged to them—Zhang Yuanzhou’s mouth dropped at the sight of the car. What kind of rich kid was this?

If Lu Wang was like this, he couldn’t imagine how rich the Cen family must be. The twin towers of Cen Corporation had stood for decades in the most prosperous part of Huai Jing, untouchable and grand.

“Wu Wu, Zhang Yuanzhou,” Lu Wang waved at them, “I’m off now.”

Cen Wu waved back.

Zhang Yuanzhou lived far from school, but his parents rented a place nearby so he could attend school. They worked night shifts and only got off after ten, which was why Zhang Yuanzhou could sneak out to hang around for a while.

Only Cen Wu stayed behind. He bought another soda. As the barbecue stall grew emptier with many vacant seats, he found a spot without taking up space and pulled out his workbook to do homework.

After working on a few problems, his phone suddenly buzzed. He picked it up and saw Zhang Yuanzhou had created a group chat for them all.

He even added Xie Guilan.

Originally, Zhang Yuanzhou hadn’t planned to add Xie Guilan. After all, Xie Guilan didn’t have to write a self-criticism.

But excluding Xie Guilan felt like ostracizing him, so Zhang Yuanzhou included him.

[Zhang Yuanzhou: Damn, guys, I just remembered—we’ll probably have to read our self-criticisms tomorrow.]

Cen Wu’s hand trembled, and he quickly asked.

[Cen Wu: Why? Didn’t the head teacher say just submitting them to his office was enough?]

[Lu Wang: The head teacher’s like this: after collecting the self-criticisms, he scolds us again, and then on Monday’s flag-raising ceremony or before morning exercises, we have to read them on stage.]

[Cen Wu: Cat trembling.jpg]

[Zhang Yuanzhou: We’re doomed. So many caught this time, the head teacher’s definitely furious. No one will escape.]

[Cen Wu: Big cat trembling.jpg]

[Zhang Yuanzhou: Gotta go, haven’t finished my homework or the self-criticism. I’ll try to find someone on the school forum to write it for me. Not sure if Xie Ge is still taking orders. @Xie Guilan]

Xie Guilan was still clearing the tables, ignoring the message.

Zhang Yuanzhou was in the same class as Xie Guilan in first year. Once, when he was looking for someone to write his self-criticism on the forum, he went to the school, and Xie Guilan passed by with a cold face, placing the finished self-criticism on his desk.

That’s when he found out Xie Guilan actually took such commissions.

Cen Wu finished his homework around midnight, just as Xie Guilan was finishing work.

Xie Guilan’s face was indifferent. He took off his gloves, washed his hands, and was about to eat.

“Xie… Xie Guilan,” Cen Wu called out, his tone rough. “Can you help me write the self-criticism? I’ll pay you.”

“…” Xie Guilan was only now able to focus on his dinner. He had been helping at this shop since ninth grade. The owner knew him well and would cook noodles for him at night.

When Cen Wu spoke to Xie Guilan, the owner thought they knew each other and brought the noodles to Cen Wu’s table.

Xie Guilan hesitated, then sat down. His face showed no emotion. He picked up his chopsticks and asked, “How much?”

Cen Wu opened a bottle of soy milk for him, placed it beside him, and tentatively said, “Three… three thousand?”

Xie Guilan’s face turned cold. “Pay market price.”

Cen Wu was confused. He’d never been punished with a self-criticism and had no idea what the market price was.

“Thirty is fine,” Xie Guilan said, lowering his eyelashes.

Cen Wu thought he was being too harsh tonight and didn’t even call him “young master” anymore. Was this guy rebelling?

Besides, thirty yuan was too little. He wanted Xie Guilan to make money, not waste his time.

“No way! That’s too cheap. What if you don’t write it well?!” Cen Wu put on a tough face and said, “Are you trying to get me scolded? I’ll give you three hundred!”

He sounded arrogant but also a little scared, carefully looking up at Xie Guilan’s face.

His pale face still had a bit of dust smudged on it. He stammered uncontrollably, his eyes misted with tears.

Not very intimidating.

The barbecue stall’s light reflected brightly in his eyes, a warm little glimmer.

Xie Guilan looked up at him, and that glimmer flickered, jumping from Cen Wu’s eyes into his jet-black pupils.

“…”

Xie Guilan stiffened, then looked away. “Up to you.”