11: So Damn Exciting!
After icing his face, Zheng Zhepeng was instantly revived to full HP. He kept sneaking glances at the driver standing beside the car like a door guardian.
The driver was a powerfully built Alpha. Zheng Zhepeng felt that just those bulging muscles alone were enough to pick him up and beat him senseless. This was the person Qian Kun had deliberately left outside to stand guard before leaving.
His sense of security shot straight through the roof.
Careful, decisive, and carrying an indescribable kind of consideration, who could possibly withstand that?
People at school said Qian Kun had always been someone untouchable. Now it seemed that rumor hadn’t come from nowhere.
Zheng Zhepeng sighed with emotion. “Someone like Kun-ge… it’s better to admire him from afar.”
Shen Jin, who was currently fretting over having forgotten to lock his bike, paused. “Hm?”
“He’s like one of those luxury items displayed behind glass,” Zheng Zhepeng continued. “Looks approachable, makes everyone want him, but no one can actually get him.”
Shen Jin thought for two seconds before saying, “Zheng Zhepeng, your Chinese grades must be pretty good.”
Zheng Zhepeng perked up. “Jin-ge, how did you know? Your memory’s amazing!”
Not really. Just a guess.
“Hey, Jin-ge, don’t doubt it,” Zheng Zhepeng went on. “This crown prince has fans surrounding all of Nanhu. Our school’s Omega group has already argued with them several times. Ever since this great Buddha arrived, everyone’s been sighing that maybe big shots are tired of gourmet delicacies and want plain porridge instead. If an Omega were here right now, it’d probably turn into a ‘saving grace repaid with one’s body’ situation!”
Shen Jin’s tone cooled instantly. “Repaid with what? Study hard and make progress every day.”
Zheng Zhepeng suddenly remembered that whenever early romance came up at school, nine times out of ten Shen Jin was the one dragged onstage to give a speech. As if he were the perfect spokesperson.
Could it be that their Jin-ge had truly been poisoned by the school’s monk-like ideology?
Shen Jin looked out the window, actually checking whether that group had followed them. He didn’t want to drag innocent people into this.
Before long, he saw someone strolling over leisurely. A petite girl chased after him, dressed in convenience store staff uniform, holding something that looked like a redeemed prize slip.
Whatever Qian Kun said, the girl flushed bright red, bowed repeatedly, and left while glancing back every few steps.
Shen Jin withdrew his gaze. Qian Kun soon got back into the car, fished out an orange-flavored candy from a bag, and tossed one to Shen Jin.
Zheng Zhepeng waited for more, but none came. It looked like Qian Kun didn’t even remember him.
With abrasions still on his elbow from being shoved earlier, he hesitated before asking, “Kun-ge… what about the iodine?”
“Forgot,” Qian Kun replied.
Ah. Of course.
Zheng Zhepeng felt a bit disappointed, but helping this much was already more than enough. Asking for more would’ve been excessive.
Then something flew toward him. He instinctively caught it and froze.
Iodine. Cotton swabs.
For a moment, he felt both surprised and deeply touched.
With the earlier buildup plus just that brief response, Zheng Zhepeng, who’d been somewhat intimidated before, suddenly felt much closer to him.
Shen Jin realized that Qian Kun was hard to read. It was as if he were naturally skilled at controlling people’s hearts.
It wasn’t even calculated. It was instinctive.
Shen Jin had studied interpersonal skills for years and still struggled, while Qian Kun could gain what others painstakingly cultivated within minutes.
Qian Kun suddenly remembered something and got out again. He returned pushing Shen Jin’s bicycle, had the driver open the trunk, and loaded it inside.
He teased, “Didn’t expect this, class rep. Pretty girly taste.”
The soft pink color really didn’t match Shen Jin at all.
Yet paired with his ice-cold face, it somehow became bizarrely cute.
Shen Jin had been an Omega for over a decade. His parents had prepared pink bikes for both him and Shen Xie’an. In their fixed mindset, pink was simply an Omega color.
Shen Jin swallowed his original thanks without difficulty. He felt that when dealing with Qian Kun, one should be ruthless like an autumn wind sweeping fallen leaves.
“If you want,” he said coolly, “you can redecorate your car too.”
Qian Kun’s vehicle was an off-road model, famous for its ferocity and top-tier performance. If it were sprayed pink, it’d definitely become a striking sight on the road.
The driver nearly slammed the brakes in shock. That absolutely would not work. Imagine dyeing a jungle panther pink. Would that still count as a fierce beast? More like a house cat.
Qian Kun drawled, “I’m soft-hearted. Generally if someone begs me, I might consider it~”
Shen Jin sneered. “Dream on.”
Inside the enclosed space, Shen Jin felt a faint pressure stirring his pheromones restlessly.
As if there were something in this confined space that he absolutely couldn’t touch.
To ease the discomfort, Shen Jin simply fell silent.
Unsurprisingly, the atmosphere inside the car froze.
Zheng Zhepeng, trapped between them, looked at one, then the other, on the verge of tears.
Both terrifying. I’ll just pretend I don’t exist.
He couldn’t understand why Kun-ge always liked provoking Jin-ge.
In this strange tension, Zheng Zhepeng finally arrived home. He fled the car like he was escaping a battlefield between two fully powered bosses.
Qian Kun glanced at the rearview mirror. Shen Jin really seemed upset, the little ice cube practically turning into a human air conditioner.
He handed over the test papers Old Hu had asked him to deliver.
Shen Jin thanked him softly, retrieved his bike from the trunk, and noticed the basket of vegetables was still intact. His gaze relaxed. At least he wouldn’t have to buy them again.
Just as he was about to leave, something brushed against the corner of his clothes.
When Shen Jin turned his head, something grazed past his ear like a warm breeze.
“Gege, don’t be mad.”
In that instant, Shen Jin felt heat rush toward his glands.
Both itchy and tingling.
*
The monthly exam results were released on Friday and posted on the grade bulletin board by Monday.
This time, an extra row showed class rankings.
Every break, the area turned into a scenic attraction, packed with students coming and going. The most eye-catching change was that the bottom-ranked parallel Class 9 had jumped two places.
The ranking was based on class averages. Rising two spots was no small feat.
This meant Class 9 hadn’t swallowed sardines. They’d swallowed a pack of sharks gone feral.
Someone sighed emotionally:
“Thinking back to old Class 9, even with Jin-ge as a cheat code, last place was still last place.”
“Now it’s completely reborn. Please call it Niu Hulu · Class 9!”
“This proves how important a bet involving kneeling and calling someone ‘Dad’ really is. It directly boosted everyone’s scores!”
“Is that even a bet? That’s the secret code to high scores!”
“Am I the only one wondering if the young masters actually called him Dad?”
“I know someone in Class 9. Hold on, I’ll ask!”
“Poor Liu-ge. Dominated private schools for years, only to get completely subdued at Nanhu. Tragic, tragic indeed.”
No matter how noisy things were outside, after this class, Class 9 was eerily quiet.
Both sides pretended to focus on their textbooks, sneaking glances at each other.
Liu Qimai and his group were tense. The bet was their idea, and all that early arrogance was water spilled. Of course it was impossible to take back.
They were stuck in emotional whiplash and almost wanted Class 9 to just stab them cleanly and get it over with.
Meanwhile, Class 9’s students were buried in Group 2, fiercely debating what punishment to choose.
In the end, there were too many options and no consensus.
So Luo Ying proposed:
[As the decisive vote that sounded the horn of our victory, Jin-ge must say something!]
[That makes perfect sense. Impossible to refute!]
[I instantly hit like.]
[Like +1, keep formation.]
“…”
Shen Jin saw the messages, glanced at Qian Kun playing Switch with a relaxed face, then at Liu Qimai looking pitiful.
He tagged the eight people in the main group:
[One month of cleaning duty. The rest of the class supervises.]
This time, neither side objected.
Class 9 felt their Jin-ge had handled it beautifully. What a ruthless move.
These young masters and misses looked like their ten fingers had never touched spring water. Since birth, they’d probably never lifted a finger themselves. Cleaning duty, such a positive and progressive values-building activity, must definitely be arranged. We will absolutely supervise well!
As for Liu Qimai’s group, compared to kneeling or cross-dressing, cleaning duty was nothing.
Shen Jin wasn’t human. He was a Bodhisattva.
Although Shen Jin returned to class the latest, this conflict had started because of him. Pouring a bucket of water on the raging fire was necessary.
Just then, sports committee member Hou Ruixing rushed in.
“Fam, big news! Brother Aotian’s group got jumped yesterday by a bunch of Alphas. They were cornered in an alley and beaten badly. I heard their faces swelled into pig heads!”
Zheng Zhepeng was secretly eating breakfast, a bandage still on his face. He froze mid-bite, rice noodles dangling from his mouth.
Where did this divine reinforcement come from?
The class instinctively looked at Liu Qimai.
This was the man who’d sent Zhao Haotian to the hospital right after transferring.
Liu Qimai waved innocently. “Not us this time. He’s got plenty of enemies. Call it justice from the heavens.”
Once they knew it wasn’t him, interest immediately shifted back to Zhao Haotian’s misfortune.
That bully usually relied on family money to do all sorts of inhuman things.
Everyone was delighted.
“What does swollen ‘pig head’ look like?”
“Never seen one. I want to broaden my horizons.”
“Does the specialty class have anyone visiting him? Get a photo for us to laugh at.”
“Who beat him? So cruel. Right at the face. Is he banned from seeing people now?”
“Why a group? Couldn’t it be just one person?”
“Wake up. Zhao Haotian’s an Alpha, with eight Alpha lackeys. No normal Alpha can one-versus-eight. That wouldn’t be human.”
“But I heard Brother Aotian’s connected to local gangs. Will that hero get revenge taken on them?”
Shen Jin paused his pen and looked toward his desk neighbor.
The neighbor noticed, put down the character munching coins on his console, and lazily raised his eyes.
“Classmate, if you look at me like that, I’ll get nervous.”
Shen Jin: “……”
I don’t see you nervous in either eye.
It shouldn’t be him.
Impossible.
Next came exam review sessions for each subject.
Shen Jin had been most looking forward to math.
For the final question, Qian Kun had used linear algebra, knowledge not covered in class.
Unfortunately, the teacher used a different method that stayed within the high school curriculum. The process was painfully complicated. The blackboard nearly ran out of space.
Shen Jin had solved it himself, but he still preferred Qian Kun’s simpler approach. When Shen Jin encountered difficult problems, he became stubborn. He had to understand them fully.
So the entire math class turned into a battle between him and himself.
While he was writing furiously, a paper ball landed on his densely written draft paper. Shen Jin had a sudden realization and glanced at his desk neighbor.
That person was still playing his console, fingers dancing rapidly over the buttons.
The math teacher was passionately lecturing onstage. Shen Jin had never done something this childish during class.
Without looking at the paper ball, he executed a perfect three-pointer straight into the trash can behind him. Accurate and precise.
That action seemed to trigger someone’s arrogant nerves. No one had ever rejected him with a full 360-degree dismissal before.
This directly escalated into kindergarten-level warfare. Every time the teacher turned to face the blackboard, another paper ball rained down.
This severely disrupted Shen Jin’s academic motivation.
The teacher didn’t notice, but in the back rows, white paper balls kept flying through the air.
The students were thrilled.
The bosses were fighting again.
Although both sides had temporarily stood down due to the punishment…
The war between big shots felt like it had just begun.
Someone immediately posted in Group 2:
[Last row. So damn thrilling!]
Because Shen Jin had started with a [three-pointer], Qian Kun followed with a [slam dunk], fast and ruthless, smashing it onto Shen Jin’s desk.
Shen Jin returned a [block].
To everyone watching, those weren’t paper balls.
They were weapons. This wasn’t throwing.
This was an exchange of techniques. They were showing off.
The momentum was intense. It looked like they wanted to assassinate each other.
Big shots were big shots.
Even paper balls could fly at vicious angles.
When there were no paper balls left, Shen Jin held in a breath and opened the last one.
[Scared?]
Heh.
Shen Jin wrote back two words: [Read.]
One word and no more.
Anything extra would be an insult to his intelligence.
Qian Kun replied with two words:
[Help you?]
[No need.]
[Don’t be polite.]
That rose to three words.
Shen Jin knew he was referring to the final math question.
A sense of being dimensionally crushed washed over him.
In response, he also used three words:
[No need to.]
He wasn’t being polite.
He never was with Qian Kun.
While Class 9 thought the two bosses were engaged in verbal warfare full of hidden blades…
They had no idea it was just two elementary kids pecking at each other. Until someone belatedly realized something was wrong.
Why had the teacher’s voice suddenly stopped?
Oh.
The math teacher was standing there, arms crossed, staring at the last row.
Shen Jin noticed too.
He was still holding a paper ball, ready to throw.
Witnesses. Evidence. All present.
From that moment on, he felt that his tall, upright image as a model student had drifted far away.
Author’s Note:
In our eyes, Jin-ge may not be tall or imposing, but—he’s beautiful!
Kun-kun: Mm.
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