After what happened that morning, when Xie Xishu walked into the classroom, he not only missed morning self-study but also nearly the entire first period.
As soon as he entered the classroom, Xie Xishu saw Qi Wu sitting in his usual spot.
At the school gate, the always bustling group of little followers had, for some reason, all been dismissed. At this moment, the entire back row of the classroom was quiet, with only Qi Wu sitting there alone.
However, without his followers surrounding him, the dangerous and fierce aura around the boy became even more apparent.
Xie Xishu knew that he should pretend nothing had happened, act as if he was unaware of anything, and safely return to his seat. But he couldn’t help himself from glancing at Qi Wu.
Just like before, Qi Wu was staring straight at him.
The only difference was that this time, when their eyes met, Qi Wu didn’t look away—in fact, his gaze was more direct and greedy than ever before. For a moment, Xie Xishu even felt that he would be devoured by those dark and crazed eyes.
Xie Xishu’s breath caught, as if an invisible hand was gripping his throat.
Qi Wu seemed completely unaware of how pale Xie Xishu had become.
After a brief pause, Qi Wu tilted his head slightly and curled his lips, seemingly smiling at Xie Xishu. But clearly, he wasn’t someone used to smiling—the expression on his face looked more like a large predator intimidating its prey before devouring it.
Xie Xishu’s breathing grew even more labored.
Amid the panic-induced pounding of his heart, he quickly averted his gaze, lowered his head, and briskly walked to his seat. His movements were rough as he pulled out the chair, causing its legs to scrape loudly against the classroom floor.
Cheng An, who had been absorbed in his game, looked up when he heard the noise and sized Xie Xishu up.
“Damn, Scholar, you’re really unlucky this time. I heard that crazy lady caught you this morning?”
The boy raised his eyebrows, smiling as he asked.
“Mm.”
“They say Teacher Li even stopped Qi Wu?”
“Mm.”
“Never would’ve thought, huh? Wasn’t that woman pretty normal before? How did she suddenly go nuts like this? Could it really be that she had a mental breakdown from the stress? I heard she was so sick she couldn’t even get out of bed a few days ago, but still made it to class to supervise morning study. It was only because the principal was afraid she’d die on the podium and there’d be lawsuits that he told her to take care of attendance. And yet she really went and managed to do that? Crazy…”
Listening to Cheng An’s chatter, Xie Xishu methodically took out his exercise book and reference materials from his bag, responding to Cheng An rather coldly.
But Cheng An knew that Xie Xishu was always like this, so he didn’t seem to mind much. Seeing that Xie Xishu was about to dive back into his books and tackle those problems that looked like hieroglyphics to others, Cheng An shrugged and returned his focus to his phone.
After being desk mates for so long, Cheng An had pretty much figured out his partner’s temperament. There was a reason everyone called Xie Xishu “Scholar”—once he immersed himself in the sea of studying, he wouldn’t be distracted by anything else. His focus was almost scary.
Of course, if Xie Xishu hadn’t developed such an ability to tune out the outside world, he wouldn’t have been able to survive this hellhole of Nanming Third High.
However, it was already regular class time by now, and the classroom remained a chaotic mess.
A group of students slouched in various positions over their haphazardly arranged desks, some playing on their phones, others gaming, while a few in the back rows laughed as they played cards. The scene was practically a disaster. Yet the teacher was unbothered, clearly accustomed to this tragic teaching environment. As usual, he sat at the podium with a thermos, lazily staring at his lesson plan and mumbling through the class like he was chanting scriptures.
But Xie Xishu had never really paid attention to what the teacher was saying. When the teacher droned on like that, he would usually just study on his own, working through borrowed practice tests and exercises. That’s how he had spent the past three years.
However, today, he found that his usual routine had become extraordinarily difficult.
“Phew…”
Xie Xishu bit his lip, his already pale face becoming even more colorless.
He stared at the test paper in front of him, his gaze unfocused.
More than ten minutes had passed, and he had filled in less than a third of the answers. As for the notes he had borrowed earlier, he hadn’t absorbed a single word. Xie Xishu was very dissatisfied with his current state, but there was nothing he could do about it.
The fever was one thing; the farce at the school gate that morning was another.
But the main reason he couldn’t focus at all was because all his senses were inexplicably drawn to the back of his neck.
The goosebumps that had risen the moment he stepped into the classroom had never settled, and the hair on the back of his neck stood on end. Even though there was nothing there, Xie Xishu still felt as if something was lightly brushing against him from behind.
And Xie Xishu knew… at this very moment, Qi Wu was undoubtedly staring at him.
“Clatter.”
At some point, his hand had become sweaty. Xie Xishu unconsciously applied too much force, and the pen slipped from his fingers, rolling off the desk and onto the floor.
The soft plastic sound was barely noticeable in the noisy classroom, but it made Xie Xishu, like a startled rabbit, almost jump out of his seat.
It took him several seconds to press his lips together and bend down to pick up the pen.
When he finally picked up the pen, Xie Xishu couldn’t help but glance quickly toward the back of the classroom, pretending it was unintentional.
As expected, he locked eyes with Qi Wu.
Qi Wu’s eyes were naturally narrow, with a very light iris and small, pitch-black pupils. They were the kind of eyes that made people think of reptiles. Even without knowing Qi Wu’s background, just looking at his eyes would make anyone sense the viciousness and cruelty in his nature.
At that moment, those eyes were focused intently on Xie Xishu, as if trying to carve a piece of flesh off him with their gaze.
Xie Xishu instinctively shuddered, his fingers trembling, and he almost dropped the pen again.
He quickly sat back down in his seat, his body unconsciously hunching forward, as if doing so would somehow make him smaller, less exposed to Qi Wu’s stare.
Of course, Xie Xishu knew this was just self-deception, because the intensity of the gaze from behind him remained as strong as ever.
So strong that he felt like he was sitting on pins and needles.
Xie Xishu couldn’t figure out what he had done to make Qi Wu stare at him like that, nor could he understand why Qi Wu had spoken to him the way he did that morning.
With his eyes downcast, Xie Xishu stared at the familiar course notes in front of him that refused to sink into his brain, his mind in complete disarray.
The back of his hand, which had been touched by Qi Wu earlier that morning, felt like it was burning, as if allergic.
So strange, so strange, so disgusting…
“Scholar? Are you okay? You don’t look so good.”
Just then, Xie Xishu heard Cheng An’s somewhat hesitant question.
Cheng An had been completely absorbed in his game, but when he happened to glance up, he was startled by the deathly pale face of his usually quiet and studious classmate.
Xie Xishu blinked, taking a moment longer than usual to respond with a low murmur.
“…I’m fine.”
*
He stared at the test paper, regretting countless times why he had come to school today.
He longed for the bell to ring.
Because when class ended, he could rush out of the classroom and briefly escape from Qi Wu’s eerie gaze.
He simply couldn’t stand being watched by that person anymore.
Under the pressure, Xie Xishu didn’t even notice that he had resumed an old childhood habit—biting his nails.
It wasn’t until he felt a faint sting that he realized, in shock, that he had bitten his fingernail down to the nub—blood was seeping from the edge of his nail.
He was bleeding.
The sight of the blood brought Xie Xishu back to his senses. He furrowed his brow and casually grabbed a tissue to wipe it off.
“Bang—”
The next second, he heard a loud crash from the back of the classroom.
Qi Wu had suddenly flipped over his desk without any warning.
Everyone in the classroom was startled by the boy’s sudden outburst, and in that brief moment of shock, Qi Wu had already stormed out of the classroom like a whirlwind, leaving behind a mess of overturned desks and chairs.
It took over ten seconds for the classroom, which had fallen into a dead silence out of fear, to come back to life.
“Damn, who pissed off Qi Wu—”
“Someone’s definitely in trouble now. I’ve never seen Brother Qi like that before.”
“Holy crap, that scared me to death. Did you see Qi Wu’s expression? He looked like he was about to kill someone!”
“Who knows what happened?”
…
Almost everyone in the classroom started enthusiastically discussing Qi Wu’s sudden outburst.
Even Xie Xishu had completely given up on his textbooks, his face pale as he stared blankly in the direction Qi Wu had left.
The murmured discussions of his classmates gradually became muffled and indistinct, transforming into a buzzing sound in Xie Xishu’s mind. He felt dizzy, his body trembling uncontrollably.
He couldn’t shake the feeling that just before Qi Wu left, he had turned back and given him one last, deep look.
*
“Hey, Scholar, you…”
After a while, Xie Xishu’s arm was suddenly poked.
He turned his head to see Cheng An staring at him with a serious expression.
“You really didn’t provoke him, did you?”
The last time Cheng An had asked this question, it had been in a joking manner.
But this time, Cheng An’s expression was dead serious.
It was obvious now that the look Qi Wu had given Xie Xishu before leaving wasn’t just his imagination—Cheng An, sitting beside him, had also felt Qi Wu’s gaze and was creeped out by it.
“I… didn’t.”
Xie Xishu had bitten his lips to the point of nearly drawing blood. After a pause of at least ten seconds, he suddenly asked Cheng An a seemingly unrelated and strange question.
“Cheng An, do you think I have a smell?”
Cheng An stared at Xie Xishu, visibly dumbfounded.
“A smell? What smell?” He looked at Xie Xishu in confusion. “I don’t smell anything.”
A few seconds later, though, Cheng An added, “But you know I’ve had a cold for more than half a month, so I can’t smell anything at all. Wait—what does this have to do with Qi Wu…”
“It doesn’t matter. I was just asking.”
As soon as the words left his mouth, Xie Xishu snapped back to reality and immediately regretted asking.
This morning, when Teacher Li had inexplicably mentioned the word “perfume” to him, it was as if a string inside Xie Xishu had been violently tugged, instantly taut.
[What perfume are you wearing?]
In a daze, Xie Xishu seemed to hear Qi Wu’s hoarse, low voice once again.
He had been too panicked at the time to process it, but afterward, Xie Xishu couldn’t stop recalling how, when Qi Wu had grabbed him that day, the boy had flared his nostrils like an animal, desperately sniffing him.
Every time he thought of that scene, Xie Xishu couldn’t control the extreme tension and disgust that welled up inside him.
It had nothing to do with the bizarre rumors about Qi Wu or his terrible family background that made people avoid him—it was Qi Wu himself that Xie Xishu feared and guarded against.
It was as if a voice deep inside him was constantly screaming, warning him to stay away from Qi Wu.
Stay away from danger.
…
“Hey, wait a minute… What did you put on yourself? It actually smells pretty nice.”
The sudden mumbling from Cheng An jolted Xie Xishu back to reality.
At some point, Cheng An had leaned in close to Xie Xishu, so close that the boundary of personal space had been completely ignored. The boy wrinkled his nose and, uncontrollably, took a deep breath near his deskmate’s neck. Just moments ago, Cheng An had been seriously discussing Qi Wu with Xie Xishu, but now, his actions seemed to indicate he had completely forgotten about that topic.
“It really smells good.”
Cheng An murmured again, an unusual look of intoxication appearing on his face.
Xie Xishu abruptly backed away.
“What are you doing?!”
He asked in shock and anger.
After being pushed by Xie Xishu, Cheng An’s movements froze, and after a brief moment, he blinked awake and looked at Xie Xishu.
“Ah, I, I…”
He stammered while awkwardly settling back into his seat, his face turning alternately red and pale.
“Ahem, wasn’t it you who asked first? I was just helping you confirm the issue, okay? Wait, you still haven’t told me why you suddenly asked such a weird question. You don’t seriously think you have body odor and it offended Qi Wu, do you? You better come clean. If you’re the city gate, then I’m the fish in the moat—this concerns my safety too…”
Cheng An was evidently nervous and began rambling to cover it up, speaking in a disjointed, illogical way.
Xie Xishu ignored him.
The two of them usually only had a barely cordial relationship. Cheng An was laid-back but not noisy, and most of the time, Xie Xishu was silent and obedient. But this time, Xie Xishu didn’t show Cheng An any kindness at all.
After rambling on for a while, Cheng An noticed Xie Xishu’s obvious cold demeanor and, feeling both embarrassed and frustrated, forced a grin.
“Is it really that serious? I’m not even a girl, don’t act like I violated you or something…”
Cheng An finally quieted down.
It took a long time before Xie Xishu adjusted his posture and sat back in his seat. However, without realizing it, he slightly turned his body away from Cheng An.
When he reached for his book, Xie Xishu took the opportunity to sniff his collar.
As before, the only scent he could detect was the faint fragrance of his own laundry detergent.
Xie Xishu frowned.
…
Xie Xishu had thought it would be at least a few more days before he saw Qi Wu again.
After all, this was Qi Wu—showing up at school was rare; skipping classes and hanging out elsewhere was his norm. Because of that, Xie Xishu had felt a slight sense of relief amidst his panic.
He didn’t know what was going on, but being able to escape Qi Wu’s strange attention, even for a little while, was a reprieve. But what Xie Xishu didn’t expect was that, not long after causing such a commotion, Qi Wu returned.
It was during the lunch break, and although most of the class was outside, the classroom seemed quieter than during class time. Xie Xishu had been struggling to sleep because of the stress he’d been under, but at that moment, he couldn’t hold out any longer and had dozed off on his desk.
The moment the tall, imposing boy stepped into the classroom, Xie Xishu subconsciously shivered and jolted awake from his short nap.
Once again, Qi Wu’s gaze swept over him.
Xie Xishu looked up in alarm, still groggy from just waking up, and forgot to avoid Qi Wu’s eyes… He shuddered.
Qi Wu’s face was unusually dark, and the muscles in his body were taut, making him appear even more menacing than usual. Before Xie Xishu could react, Qi Wu was already walking straight toward him.
Xie Xishu’s breath caught, and then he watched as Qi Wu, like a towering figure, came to a stop behind him.
“Hey, you—”
Qi Wu kicked the desk behind Xie Xishu, making both Xie Xishu’s chair and the desk tremble.
“Switch seats with me.”
Qi Wu lowered his eyes, staring coldly at the dazed student behind Xie Xishu, his voice chilling.
In that moment, Xie Xishu’s scalp prickled as if it was about to explode. He spun around in shock and fear, looking at Qi Wu. As for the unfortunate student sitting behind him, the mobile game on his phone was still running, but his fingers had stopped moving entirely. It was obvious that he, too, was startled by Qi Wu’s demand.
“Huh? Switch, switch seats? You want to sit here, Qi-ge?!”
The student stammered in response, but halfway through his sentence, he caught sight of Qi Wu’s expression and instantly sobered up.
“Uh, that’s great, Qi-ge. I’ll switch right now, I’ll get out of your way—”
As he spoke, he was already hurriedly standing up, fumbling to pack the scattered contents of his desk and drawer into his lightweight school bag. Efficiency was the name of the game, and there wasn’t a trace of hesitation in his actions.
Meanwhile, Cheng An finally snapped out of it, though he still looked hesitant. “Qi-ge? Why are you… sitting here?”
It wasn’t surprising that everyone was shocked.
Even though this was a poorly performing school, students were still divided into “good” and “bad” categories. The area where Xie Xishu sat could more or less be considered a “good student zone,” where kids whose families had at least some academic expectations for them sat.
So for someone like Qi Wu, who openly despised academics, to suddenly show up and demand a seat swap was nothing short of a major shock for everyone left in the classroom.
However, Qi Wu was clearly not the type to explain his motives.
“What, not happy to have me here?”
Under his thin single eyelids, his small, jet-black pupils shifted slightly. Even paired with the fake smile at the corner of his mouth, he didn’t look the least bit approachable.
Xie Xishu bit his lip and stayed silent.
Cheng An, who had spoken earlier, shrank his neck and nervously laughed like a quail. “Of course not—come on, Qi-ge, you gracing us with your presence, it’s such an honor, haha. What’s that saying again? Ah, yes—’our humble abode shines brightly in your presence’!”
Qi Wu snorted.
By this time, Xie Xishu’s former seatmate had already packed up his things and quickly slipped away. Qi Wu sat down, but his gaze remained fixed on Xie Xishu.
“Uh, Qi, Qi-ge?”
In this situation, someone as smooth as Cheng An naturally sensed that something was off. His eyes darted back and forth between Xie Xishu and Qi Wu several times.
“…Welcome.”
The hair on Xie Xishu’s body stood on end. He lowered his eyes and murmured a reply, his voice as soft as a mosquito’s.
Then he quickly turned around, not daring to look at Qi Wu again.
