Chapter 18: What Are You Laughing At

Li Wei was clearly picking a fight by insisting on taking him away—nothing good would come of it. He didn’t particularly care what it was about, but if he agreed to leave with Li Wei after school, he could just tell Xu Yannuo about it later.

Outside the school, not inside—what would Xu Yannuo’s reaction be? Would it be the same as that night?

Chen Ciyi chuckled, not knowing what Li Wei was blabbering about with his mouth agape and that annoying expression. He cut him off directly, “Alright, let’s go together.”

During the last self-study period, Chen Ciyi finished the planned exercises from the “Five-Three” workbook for the day. Closing the practice book, he rested his chin on his hand and turned his head to look at Xu Yannuo. Xu Yannuo was diligently working on the test papers assigned by the teacher, still appearing obedient and delicate—yet indifferent, as if Chen Ciyi didn’t exist.

The classroom was quiet—some students were sleeping, others were engrossed in magazines, and those who were studying seemed to have fully immersed themselves in their homework. The silence was almost palpable. Chen Ciyi picked up a gel pen and poked Xu Yannuo’s arm. Xu Yannuo impatiently pulled his arm away, shot him a glare, and then went back to focusing on his test papers.

Chen Ci clicked his tongue, rummaged through his desk drawer, pulled out a notebook, tore off a sheet of paper, scribbled a few words on it, and then slid it over to Xu Yannuo’s desk.

Seeing Xu Yannuo ignore the note, Chen Ciyi picked it up again and placed it on the exam paper Xu Yannuo was working on. Then he waited for Xu Yannuo’s response.

[“Deskmate, pay attention to me.”]

This time, Xu Yannuo had no choice but to look at it. After glancing at it, she tore the note into pieces right under Chen Ciyi’s gaze and continued with her test.

Damn it!

Watching Xu Yannuo’s series of actions, Chen Ciyi’s mind was instantly flooded with countless “WTF” pop-ups, now practically stacking up to cover the entire screen.

Chen Ciyi leaned back in his chair and raised his hand, “Teacher, Xu Yannuo needs to go to the bathroom.”

In the quiet classroom, the sudden outburst was so jarring that not only did the teacher look up from the lesson plan, but the entire class also lifted their heads, with many curious students turning around to see what was happening.

Now it was Xu Yannuo who wanted to curse, “What the hell.”

She glared at Chen Ciyi and mouthed silently, “Are you out of your damn mind?” Then she turned to the teacher, intending to explain that she didn’t need to go and that Chen Ciyi was just making things up.

But as soon as his gaze met the teacher’s, the teacher nodded and said, “Go ahead!” Then, the teacher lowered their head again to review the lesson plan.

Xu Yannuo had no choice but to stand up and leave the classroom. As he got up, he didn’t forget to tug at Chen Ciyi’s school uniform sleeve, mouthing the words: “Come out!”

The two left the classroom one after the other. Once in the hallway, Xu Yannuo glanced around—no one was there, and all the classroom doors were closed with lights on inside. He looked up at Chen Ciyi and said, “What exactly do you want? No, whatever it is you want, why do you keep dragging me into it? Didn’t I make it clear before? You’re you, I’m me—we’re strangers.”

Chen Ciyi laughed. “How are we strangers? I’m your desk mate.”

Xu Yannuo glared at him and suddenly didn’t want to argue anymore. It had been days, and no matter how much they argued, it never got anywhere. “If there’s nothing else, I’m going back. If you’re bored, take a walk in the hallway and get some fresh air yourself.”

Xu Yannuo was about to leave when Chen Ci grabbed him by the arm, “I have something to tell you.”

Xu Yannuo shook him off, “Speak quickly if you have something to say.”

“Well…” Chen Ci instantly put on a pitiful expression, thinking to himself how great his acting was—why hadn’t Oscar mailed him a little golden statue? “Li Wei told me to go with him after school. I mean, I’m just a weak guy, how scared I am.” He tugged at Xu Yannuo’s sleeve and blinked, “So you help strangers. Shouldn’t you help your deskmate even more?”

Xu Yannuo gave him a look as if he were an idiot, shook off his hand with a “Get lost!”, and then headed straight back to the classroom.

Damn it, Chen Ci felt his school uniform pocket and suddenly wanted to light a cigarette, but then remembered he didn’t smoke and had already returned the cigarettes to Zhang Zhao. He paced around the hallway to cool off before heading back to class.

Although Xu Yannuo had clearly stated he wouldn’t go, when Li Wei came looking for him after school, he still followed Li Wei—because he saw panic in Li Wei’s eyes.

He was quite interested in going to see what was going on.

Chen Ciyi still didn’t carry his backpack as he followed Li Wei out of the school gate, taking an unfamiliar route with countless twists and turns that led them somewhere unknown. The only thing clear was that the streetlights grew increasingly sparse.

Was he trying to find a deserted spot to pick a fight?

Glancing at Li Wei striding ahead, Chen Ciyi curled his lips in a mocking sneer. He didn’t have what it took.

Li Wei walked hurriedly along the way, seemingly preoccupied. Chen Chenyi called out to him once midway, but he didn’t hear it. After that, Chen Chenyi stopped bothering him and simply followed leisurely behind.

After walking a bit further, when they reached an old residential area, Li Wei suddenly stopped and said, “Chen Ciyi, don’t blame me later—blame your Apple headphones if you must.”

Fuck, Chen Ci laughed, what the hell is this situation, what the hell is this idiot talking about?

Took his headphones and still blame him?

After speaking, Li Wei didn’t offer any further explanation—perhaps fearing that Chen Ciyi might back out if he knew too much, which would ruin everything. Then, he led Chen Ciyi through a large iron gate into a residential area and walked inward for some distance. As they neared the entrance at the very end, Chen Ciyi spotted four people standing ahead.

Look at that tacky and pretentious outfit—definitely not a decent person.

Watching Li Wei’s somewhat shaky steps, Chen Ci instantly understood—it was exactly as he had thought, this coward!

Li Wei led him in front of those few people and stammered nervously, “H-here he is. C-can I go now?”

Chen Ci glanced at him, recalling how he had swaggered around and acted tough when picking a fight in class earlier, and couldn’t help but laugh again.

Hah! You really can’t tell who’s in charge here, can you?

The buzz-cut guy across from him clearly didn’t appreciate Chen Ciyi’s laughter and pointed at him, “What are you laughing at?”

Chen Ci glanced at Li Wei beside him, “It’s nothing, I laugh when I’m nervous.”

Li Wei anxiously asked to confirm if he was safe now, “Uh, big bro, can I, can I go now?”

The crew-cut guy waved his hand, signaling that he could leave. Seeing this, Li Wei immediately turned around and ran off without looking back.

Now only Chen Ciyi and the four vocational school boys remained in the doorway. The buzz-cut guy stepped forward, facing Chen Ciyi directly. “Those Apple earbuds—yours?” Without waiting for a response, he continued, “Pretty loaded, huh? Then hand ’em over so we can all enjoy ’em?”