24 Burning

After the dean of students handled the incident involving Zhou Ye and the others, Meng Liangping returned to the classroom. He beckoned to Xie Guilan from the back door, and Xie Guilan stood up and stepped outside.

"Xiao Xie, here is the situation," Meng Liangping said to him. "Our school has established a new scholarship. There is only one per grade, awarded to the student who finishes first in the final exams."

"You were first last semester, weren't you? There's a five-thousand-yuan prize, and it should be deposited into your account in the next few days."

"..." Xie Guilan looked up. "A scholarship?"

"That's right," Meng Liangping said, sounding sincere as he patted him on the shoulder encouragingly. "Keep up the hard work this semester, too."

Huaijing No. 1 High School offered numerous scholarships. Beyond those established by the school itself, there were various alumni-funded awards, some of which were even more generous than those at many universities. If Song Lingwei hadn't fallen ill, Xie Guilan would have lived more comfortably than the vast majority of high school students. But a scholarship that retroactively issued funds for the previous semester was something he had never heard of.

Xie Guilan didn't say anything more and returned to the classroom.

It was already September, and evening self-study sessions were set to begin next week. Perhaps due to the typhoons, it had been raining incessantly in Huaijing, and the sky outside was a dismal, hazy gray. The classroom was filled with groans. Ever since the semester began, it had rained every single day; the playground was constantly soaked, and they hadn't managed to have a single physical education class.

"I really want to go out and play," Lu Wang sighed, watching the rain start to fall outside.

Cen Wu, however, was quite satisfied with the rainy weather. Staying inside the classroom meant he wouldn't draw much attention to himself. He always felt uncomfortable when there were too many people on the playground; his limbs would turn weak and numb, and he couldn't walk properly. Lu Wang found him difficult to understand, thinking of Cen Wu like a cat afraid of getting its fur wet.

With the PE class turned into a self-study period, Cen Wu took out his tenth-grade mathematics textbook to review. His math scores had never been stellar—he had only scored 102 on the college entrance exam, the lowest among all his subjects. Moreover, he had forgotten almost everything by now. He had spent the last two weeks memorizing formulas, but he could barely scrape together sixty or seventy points, which wasn't even a passing grade.

He spent twenty minutes puzzling over a function problem, but his calculations were still wrong. He desperately wanted to ask Xie Guilan for help, but then his phone suddenly chimed.

Cen Wu hadn't intended to pay attention to it, but seeing the name Chu Zijian on the screen, he took a peek.

[Chu Zijian: Second Young Master, it's Wang Yue's birthday. He asked me to go to Blue Night for drinks tonight. Do you think I should go?]

Wang Yue wouldn't dare invite Cen Wu—that would be aiming too high. But Chu Zijian's family background was average among this circle of rich kids, so he interacted with Wang Yue quite often. However, since Cen Wu had just smashed Wang Yue’s head open, Chu Zijian had to consider his "boss’s" feelings and couldn't be seen betraying Cen Wu.

Cen Wu: "..."

Cen Wu had finally realized it: the original novel was designed this way, with the entire high school experience serving as Xie Guilan's lowest point. Anything he wanted to do, he could never accomplish. The provincial chemistry competition preliminary was the day after tomorrow, and this endless interference was likely intended to prevent Xie Guilan from participating.

Although the plot of the original novel could be changed—and he hadn't been controlled by it since the first night he transmigrated—the world itself harbored deep malice toward Xie Guilan. Even without the novel's interference, many events would still lead to the same outcome.

Isn't it just a chemistry competition? I refuse to believe Xie Guilan won't make it there.

Where couldn't Wang Yue celebrate his birthday? Although Blue Night had the highest concentration of handsome men and beautiful women in all of Huaijing, it wasn't the only place with company—there were plenty of clubs. Insisting on Blue Night was clearly an act of retaliation against Xie Guilan.

So what if he’s a piece of cotton? Even cotton gets angry. Tonight, he was going to let these people know that when cotton gets angry, it can spontaneously combust!

He sent a message to Chu Zijian.

[Cen Wu: Wait for me. I'm going too.]

[Chu Zijian: ???]

Chu Zijian thought to himself, *This is bad. This ancestor is definitely going to crash the party.* But regardless of whether Cen Wu was there to wreck the place or dig up Wang Yue’s ancestors, he had to stick with his boss.

Blue Night was packed with guests that night. Xie Guilan left half an hour earlier than usual. The last period of the evening was Hou Zhong's chemistry class. In Hou Zhong's eyes, there were only students from wealthy families and those who weren't. Cen Wu discovered with a sense of self-loathing that he had started to pick up bad habits; without even trying to be stealthy, he grabbed his schoolbag and walked straight out of the classroom. In any case, Hou Zhong wouldn't dare stop him.

Chu Zijian was waiting for him at the entrance of Blue Night. With someone there to accompany him, Cen Wu felt much less resistant toward the nightclub.

Wang Yue had booked a private suite on the top floor of Blue Night. The higher one went in Blue Night, the more exclusive it became, though the top floor wasn't actually the highest point—the underground gambling dens were even harder to access. Aside from Cen Wu, who had memorized the entire book, even Xie Shangjing might not have heard of them.

The corridor on the top floor of Blue Night was as dark and deep as the night, dotted with gold-chased wall lamps—a shadow of even deeper depravity beneath the glitz and glamour.

Without a word, Cen Wu pushed open the door to the suite. Dozens of people were already inside. Wang Yue sat in the center, surrounded by the crowd, with several beautiful girls in his arms. Everyone looked up at once.

There were several waiters in the room. Xie Guilan and Ji Changyu were there, along with a few other girls whose expressions were less than pleasant; it was unclear what had just happened. As soon as Ji Changyu saw Cen Wu, his heart sank. He knew how much Cen Wu loathed Xie Guilan and feared he might have another breakdown upon seeing him there.

He pulled Xie Guilan, trying to get him to stand beside him, but Xie Guilan didn't move. His eyes, veiled by the cold, dark blue light of the suite, looked toward Cen Wu.

Cen Wu didn't look at him, but as he passed by, he brushed against Xie Guilan's wrist.

"..."

Touching him again.

The skin on Xie Guilan's wrist felt an unbearable sensation, and a sense of inexplicable irritation rose in his heart.

As soon as Wang Yue met Cen Wu's gaze, a flash of malice crossed his eyes, though he masked it well. He forced a smile, intending to ask why Cen Wu had deigned to grace this place with his presence.

But Cen Wu had already picked up a glass. His beautiful, misty eyes crinkled, and he raised his glass: "Tonight, we are gathered here to celebrate Brother Yue’s birthday. I wish him a life that will... no, wait, that will shine and glow."

Cen Wu’s tolerance for alcohol was actually quite good. As a director, socializing was inevitable, and he rarely got drunk. This body also had a decent tolerance; Cen Wu downed the drink without his expression changing at all.

Wang Yue’s facial muscles twitched uncontrollably. He had just had three stitches removed from his head, and now Cen Wu was at it again. *What exactly does he want?!*

Wang Yue stared at Cen Wu with a dark face for a few seconds before suddenly clapping his hands and laughing. "I never expected the Second Young Master to honor me by drinking at my birthday party. My ancestral grave must be smoking with good fortune."

Cen Wu couldn't even be bothered to feign politeness. Wang Yue was steeped in the stench of banquet alcohol; it was nauseating. Cen Wu sat down on the sofa but kept his distance, choosing a spot far away from Wang Yue.

Wang Yue’s arm remained stiffly suspended in mid-air before he laughed and lowered it himself. Impatiently, he gestured to a girl beside him: "Go on, hurry up and pour a drink for the Second Young Master."

The girl scrambled to her feet.

Cen Wu raised his hand to cover the rim of his glass, giving him no face. But with so many people crowding around, his throat tightened again. "I... I'm not drinking anymore. Why are there so many people gathered here? Everyone get out."

He turned his head to stare at Xie Guilan.

Xie Guilan met his gaze through the crowd and pulled Ji Changyu to leave, but Wang Yue spoke up suddenly: "Wait."

Wang Yue had come specifically for Xie Guilan. He hadn't been able to teach Xie Guilan a lesson last time; instead, he had been beaten, humiliated, and made a fool of. He wanted to regain his ground. He hadn't expected Cen Wu to follow along.

Unable to swallow his resentment, Wang Yue narrowed his eyes and said to Xie Guilan: "Don't leave yet. It's been a tiring night; stay a while, have a drink, and play a game."

Wang Yue had someone bring over a spinning wheel and poured ten glasses of very strong whiskey.

"Since it's my birthday," Wang Yue said to Xie Guilan, his tone feigning negotiation, "do me a favor. I'll spin for you."

Without waiting for Xie Guilan to speak, Wang Yue reached out and spun the wheel. It was covered in various ways to play. The "clean" ones involved Truth or Dare, counting to seven, or simple physical penalties like squats. The "dirty" ones involved everything else.

The pointer on the wheel stopped quickly.

Wang Yue gave a theatrical shout: "Pass the card, clockwise... what a coincidence, the next player is the Second Young Master."

Xie Guilan didn't move.

"Pass the card," Wang Yue said with a mocking smile. "Haven't you played? The kind where you pass it mouth-to-mouth."