Shen Heng never returned after leaving.
There weren’t many things on his desk—just the book ‘How the Steel Was Tempered’ kept in the drawer, an inkless fountain pen, and an unopened bottle of mineral water. At a glance, it didn’t seem like he was here to study.
Zhai Yao, who had been sleeping deeply, woke up feeling muddle-headed. By now, it was the last class of the morning, and the classroom was still bustling; almost no one was paying attention.
The teacher at the podium seemed indifferent, turning a blind eye to the inattentive class, mechanically reciting whatever teaching material needed to be taught. After finishing, she pulled a chair over and sat down, waiting for the class to end alongside the students.
Zhai Yao propped up his head and sat up, feeling even more fricking uncomfortable than before. He felt a splitting headache when he had his eyes opened, and when he closed his eyes, giddiness washed over him as though his head was spinning. Especially the throat where Shen Heng had grabbed him, hurting as if scorched.
He glanced at the bottle of mineral water but resisted the urge to drink.
Others in the class had also noticed that Zhai Yao had awakened, observing him either overtly or covertly.
Zhai Yao, being put in a bad mood under the scrutinizing gazes that made him feel as if he were being inspected like a naked monkey, stood up and walked towards the outside of the classroom.
“Hey, you…” The teacher sitting at the podium, fidgeting with her hands, attempted to stop Zhai Yao. Startled by Zhai Yao’s impatient look when he turned around, she immediately passed the buck, saying, “Director Liu is inspecting classes today. Anyone caught skipping or leaving early will be asked to withdraw from school.”
Zhai Yao let out a “Mm” and paused, asking, “Teacher, where can I buy water?”
The subject teacher was momentarily caught off guard by being called “teacher” like that. After all, in 9th High School, they were more accustomed to hearing their own nicknames. Even colleagues would playfully use those nicknames to tease each other in private.
She answered instinctively, “There’s only a water boiler room in the school. But there’s a convenience shop at the school gate.”
Zhai Yao nodded. “Thanks, teacher,” and then turned and left the classroom.
It took a moment for the subject teacher to react. She turned to the class monitor in the front row and asked, “Who’s that? How come I haven’t seen him before?”
The class monitor took his eyes off the book. He was considered the most studious person in the class, but he was always snacking during classes. Even now, he still had half of a spicy strip in his mouth. “Oh, he just transferred today.” The class monitor swallowed the spicy strip and continued, “He got into a fight with Boss the moment he arrived.”
“?!” The subject teacher was also shocked. “You mean he fought with Shen Heng?”
“Mm.” The class monitor pushed his glasses. “Based on the information I’ve gathered so far, this guy was infamous for being a troublemaker at 8th High School. You‘d better not provoke him.”
The moment the subject teacher heard about the situation, she felt extremely grateful that she was just a subject teacher instead of a homeroom teacher. She sighed sympathetically. “Your class’s Hou-ge is probably having a massive headache right now.”
“Hou-ge will be fine. He’s used to it; he’s been leading our class for the morning self-study sessions for a long time, after all.” The class monitor pulled a pack of spicy strips from the drawer, tore it open, and handed it to the subject teacher, saying, “Want some? It’s a new flavour.”
…
*
That night, at Flying Dragon Skating Rink.
Zhai Yao, with a Want-Want ice pop in his mouth, sat on a chair in front of the counter, watching several non-mainstream individuals with colourful dyed hair holding hands, circling in front of him repeatedly.
In the current era, both non-mainstream culture and roller skating rinks had become equally rare, barely surviving only in the weathered heart of old city districts.
“Here, Rong Ji’s three-delicacy wontons. Don’t say this bro didn’t think of you.” Xie Ziming waved the takeout box in front of Zhai Yao.
We’re sorry for MTLers or people who like using reading mode, but our translations keep getting stolen by aggregators so we’re going to bring back the copy protection. If you need to MTL please retype the gibberish parts.
Zhai Yao poured the crushed ice into his mouth, uncovered the takeout box, and was greeted by the familiar aroma rising along with the steam. Yet, he slightly furrowed his brows, feeling a bit nauseous.
“What’s wrong? Isn’t this your favourite?” Xie Ziming, seeing Zhai Yao not touching his chopsticks for a while, leaned over to smell the wontons. “They’re not spoilt, though.”
“I’ve got a cold,” Zhai Yao replied, eyeing the slick layer of oil on top. Still unable to stomach it, he took out three coins from his pocket. “Go to the vending machine and grab me a bottle of cola.”
Xie Ziming clicked his tongue. “You’re paying for things even though they’re owned by your own family’s shop?”
“My sister checks the accounts daily; if she finds out the cola sales and the cash don’t match, she’ll skin me alive.”
Xie Ziming took the coins and turned to purchase cola for Zhai Yao. When he returned and handed it over, his gaze suddenly focused on Zhai Yao’s neck. “What the heck, what happened to your neck?”
“Sore throat. Scratched it myself.” Zhai Yao twisted open the cola and took a sip.
“More like you have a tendency to harm yourself. Just look at how bruised your neck is!” Xie Ziming said as he attempted to poke with his hand. Zhai Yao swiftly slapped it away. “Get lost, don’t touch me.”
The corners of Xie Ziming’s mouth twitched. He tactfully leaned back against the counter and tried to strike up a conversation. “Hey, speaking of which, how’s it going at 9th High School?”
Zhai Yao didn’t respond.
Xie Ziming sighed to himself. “I have to say, your brother-in-law is such an idiot. Why did he send you to 9th High School of all places? It’s like throwing you into a fire pit.”
Zhai Yao thought for a moment and felt that it didn’t really matter. At most, he was just moving from Warm Fragrance Pavilion to Pleasant Red Courtyard; neither were particularly virtuous places.
“But lousy 8th and crappy 9th are pretty much the same anyway…” Xie Ziming clicked his tongue. “So, what exactly was your brother-in-law scheming after?”
“Probably received money from another parent, forbidding me from seeing their son in the future.”
“?? What did you do to their son?”
“I told him that I’ll beat him up every time I see him from now on.”
“……” No wonder.
Xie Ziming suddenly remembered something. “Oh right, what class are you in?”
Zhai Yao narrowed his eyes, the reflection of the class signboard shining in his mind.
“Class 10.”
“Good heavens!” Xie Ziming’s eyes suddenly widened. “Brother, you’re in the same class as the 9th High School’s boss! Shen Heng, have you met him yet?!”
Zhai Yao’s hand that was twisting the bottle cap halted for a moment.
“Don’t tell me you don’t know him!” Xie Ziming, seeing Zhai Yao’s ‘currently offline’ look, raised a finger and explained in deadly earnest, “You must’ve heard of the ‘Naked Buttocks Tragedy’ at the vocational high school, right? He’s the one who did it!”
Zhai Yao was well aware of this incident. Rumour had it that a group of hooligans from the vocational high school had been stripped down to their bare butt, left stark naked, and tied to a tree behind their school gate for an entire night.
“How insane. The head honcho of 9th High School meets the former boss from 8th High School—it’s too damn exciting!” Xie Ziming appeared extremely thrilled, his face almost glued to Zhai Yao’s body, “Have you guys crossed paths yet? What’s Boss Shen like?”
“.”
“?”
Xie Ziming belatedly realized something was off after seeing Zhai Yao’s expression. “Yao-ah… what’s going on? Don’t tell me you two just met and already got into an argument.”
Zhai Yao pursed his lips. “It’s not an argument.”
“Haa, that’s good then!” Xie Ziming patted his chest.
“We just exchanged some blows.”
“!”
…
*
The skating rink closed its doors at 10:30 PM. After repeatedly urging the non-mainstream crowd to leave and chasing away Xie Ziming, Zhai Yao swiftly pulled down the roller shutter gate with a “swish.”
Approaching midnight, the old city lay in silence with a hint of eeriness, and the air carried a whiff of rubbish smell. Intermittent street lights emitted sizzling electrical sounds due to poor contact, and from time to time, some noise could be heard from nearby rubbish bins—whether it was stray cats or rats, one couldn’t tell.
Zhai Yao made a detour to the health centre near the skating rink to get a butt injection for his cold, snagging two boxes of cold medicine on his way out. Then, he set off in the direction of home.
His apartment was located at the end of a road named Dragonfly Alley.
Midway through, he received a call from Zhai Bing, asking him to pick up a pack of noodles when passing by the convenience shop.
“Your brother-in-law is back and says he’s hungry.” Zhai Bing’s tone carried a hint of frustration and helplessness. “He’s drunk again, turning the whole house into a stench-filled mess.
As her words faded, the phone line echoed with the unmistakable sound of something shattering on the other end. Zhai Yao furrowed his brows, a trace of annoyance crossing in his eyes.
“Can’t you just not be concerned about him and his demands?”
Zhai Bing sighed and in the end said, “Forget it, I’ll go buy it myself.”
Zhai Yao ended the call directly after, reaching into his pants pocket for a pack of cigarettes. Plucking one from the box, he pressed it between his lips and ignited it with a quick flick. Squatting down, his features were concealed in the intertwining darkness and smoke, rendering his expression inscrutable.
“As the story goes, Wu Song walked another half a mile and found a large stone by the side of the road. Ah, it’s still early, let’s have a rest before continuing! Wu Song placed his bundle on the stone and propped the cudgel against a small tree. But just as he lay down to rest, unexpectedly, a fierce tiger, the king among wild beasts, leapt out from within the woods…”
Old Master Shan Tianfang's voice travelled from afar, weaving through the narrow alleyways and towards Zhai Yao.
Lifting his eyelids, Zhai Yao caught sight of an elderly man in a white undershirt and black cloth slip-on shoes. In the old man’s hands, a vintage radio emitted a nostalgic charm. With his head nodding and body swaying rhythmically, he approached Zhai Yao.
At first, Zhai Yao paid him no mind, intending to extinguish the cigarette butt on the ground. However, the cloth shoes unexpectedly came to a halt right in front of him. Before Zhai Yao could even lift his head, a slap landed squarely on his head.
Caught off guard, Zhai Yao instinctively covered his head and stood up with a “whoosh.” Before he could react, the old man had already started talking.
“You little rascal, not going home after school and slyly hiding here for a smoke! If I catch you again, I’ll break your damn legs!”
Zhai Yao felt a bit bewildered; it seemed like today was f*cking cursed with odd encounters, not a single normal person in sight.
As he scrutinized the old man, Zhai Yao confirmed he didn’t recognize him at all. A thought crossed his mind: Could this be another one of those recent trendy scams?
The old man, seeing the cigarette butt still between Zhai Yao’s fingers, reached out to snatch it away. Zhai Yao lifted his arm, avoiding the grab, and frowned. “Who you?”
“Who am I? Who do you think I am!” The old man retorted, poised for another swing. “You rascal!”
The two stood there in a stalemate, right until the cigarette burned down, scalding Zhai Yao’s hand. He hissed, the glowing cigarette butt dropped to the ground and extinguished. Bending over, Zhai Yao picked it up and tossed it into the rubbish bin.
“Come, go home with me.” The old man grabbed Zhai Yao’s arm and led him towards the alley entrance, talking as they walked, “I braised tea eggs, using your favourite Old Zhang Xing branded soy sauce!”
Zhai Yao let the other party drag him along, and he contemplated briefly between pulling away and following the old man. Ultimately, he opted for the latter. If this was a scam, so be it. However, if the old man was genuinely confused and got lost in this disordered old city district, leaving him alone wouldn’t be entirely safe.
Then, the sound of Wu Song fighting the tiger on the radio was getting louder and more irritating. Zhai Yao sighed. “Hey, can you turn off that radio first?”
Seeing that the old man acted as if he hadn’t heard, Zhai Yao stopped after a while and said, “Where do you live? Do you know your family members’ names and phone numbers?”
“I only have one grandson,” the old man said, “And no one else.”
Zhai Yao took out his phone. “Give me your grandson’s phone number.”
The old man stopped, looking at Zhai Yao as if he were a fool. “Aren’t you my grandson? Don’t you know your own phone number?”
Zhai Yao felt that he probably wouldn’t get any useful information from the old man’s mouth. Considering that there was a police station two streets away, he decided to take him there first.
*
In the inner side of the old man’s coat, the police indeed discovered a pocket sewn shut. Ripping it open, they revealed a note inscribed with a string of phone number.
Seated on a chair in the corridor, Zhai Yao leisurely scrolled through his phone. Numerous missed calls from Zhai Bing adorned the screen, yet he couldn’t be bothered to return the calls.
“The family should be here soon; you can head back first,” the police officer suggested, noticing Zhai Yao was still a student and not wanting to hinder his ability to attend class the following day.
Zhai Yao nodded, pocketed his phone, and stood up, but the old man quickly grabbed his wrist upon seeing he was about to leave.
Zhai Yao raised his eyebrows and cast a glance from the corner of his eyes at him, paused for a moment, and sat back down. “I’ll wait a bit longer.”
The old man finally seemed to breathe a sigh of relief. As the police officer left to fetch water, he approached Zhai Yao and nervously asked, “Grandson, why are we here? Did something happen?”
At this instance, Zhai Yao was exhausted, and his butt was still aching. Yearning for another smoke, but mindful of the fact that they were in a police station, he resorted to slipping his hand into his pocket, fingers rhythmically tracing the contours of the cigarette box.
After a moment, he said in a soft tone, “It’s nothing. We’re just here for a rest and have some water.”
“This kid! Why rest here of all places? You’re causing trouble for the police comrades!” the old man scolded and attempted to pull Zhai Yao away. At that precise moment, a slender and tall figure rushed in from the doorway, carrying the unique warmth and humidity typical of summer nights.
“Shen Ziyao!” The originally deep voice, now somewhat unsteady due to anxiety, finally relaxed upon spotting the old man sitting on the bench. His expression returned to the usual cold demeanour after regaining composure, and he walked towards them with measured steps.
Zhai Yao, noticing that the old man’s somewhat absent-minded family had arrived, was about to leave. However, as his gaze landed on the arriving person’s face, he suddenly froze, his expression instantly turning cold.
Those asking-for-a-beating facial features, who else could it be if not Shen Heng, that idiot?
…
It reminds me of SaYe a little ❤️ The ratings on Novelupdates are not so good, I wonder why 🤔 But I like it for now, it’s well written and the translation is smooth (Thx dear translator 🙏) There’s no comments so I’ll post one for each chapter 😺
Thank you so much for the comment~ I’m not sure about the rating too, but this novel is reaaally a good read imo 🥹 I hope you have a good time reading!! ❤️
For now I really have a good time, I can’t stop reading! And your translation is really good 👍 I wanted to know if you have a specific rate for the release ? I’m about to finish the 20 chapters soon 😣😁
I release 2 chapters per week on every Sunday!
Great! Thx 🙏☺️
That “who you?” Is suppose to be “who are you?”
Thanks for the chapter~~
Ahhh, I intentionally phrased it that way to convey the informal and colloquial tone of Zhai Yao when he said that~ But still, thank you for pointing that out ❤️
Ah I see… Okay then 😆
Asking-for-a-beating face 😂 loving the story so far!
Thank you for the chapter!