Almost missed the exam

At 7:40 in the morning, the narrow alley behind the teaching building was still shrouded in lingering morning mist. Cheng Xiaorui was the first to leave the dormitory. He clutched his pencil case tightly, traversing this well-trodden shortcut. Moss spread between the bricks, and the humid air was filled with the mixed smell of earth and rust.

Suddenly, three shadows flashed from the corner, blocking the narrow passage.

Cheng Xiaorui's expression changed, and memories suddenly flooded into his mind.

It was also in this narrow alley at dusk, on the third day of his freshman year. The three men had cornered him next to a rusted fire hydrant. The red-haired man twirled a utility knife between his fingers. "Do you have any money? Protection money."

He remembered the sharp pain when the back of his head hit the fire hydrant when he shook his head. What was most clear was the fat man squatting down and patting his bleeding face: "You poor guy, yet you pretend to be noble?" At that time, he could only curl up to protect his abdomen and let his school uniform be soaked by mud and water.

And now these guys had inexplicably reappeared. "Isn't this our top student?" The boy in the lead had a flamboyant red hair. His school uniform hung loosely from his shoulders, revealing a black T-shirt with a skull printed on it. He deliberately crushed the wet morning dew on the ground with his sneakers, making an unpleasant scraping sound.

Cheng Xiaorui was slightly startled. He forced himself to remain calm: "Who are you? Get out of the way."

"Why are you in such a hurry?" The buzz-cut boy on the left suddenly stepped forward and pushed Cheng Xiaorui's shoulder. "Doesn't the exam start in fifteen minutes?"

This push was the trigger. Cheng Xiaorui's fist swung out with astonishing speed, slamming into the crew cut's nose with a whistling sound. With a crisp "crack," the crew cut stumbled back, clutching his nose, blood immediately gushing from between his fingers.

"Damn it!" The fat man on the right roared and rushed over. Cheng Xiaorui nimbly dodged sideways and slammed his elbow into the other's soft stomach like a spring. The fat man groaned and curled up like a cooked shrimp.

Seeing this, the red-haired man's eyes flashed with a fierceness. He quietly circled behind Cheng Xiaorui and locked his strong arms around his throat like an iron clamp.

Cheng Xiaorui's back slammed into the brick wall, and stars suddenly flew before his eyes. He struggled desperately, his Adam's apple sliding hard under the opponent's palm, and breathing became increasingly difficult.

"That's enough... It's going to... It's going to kill someone..." The man with the crew cut covered his nose, his voice trembling with pain. The fat man also struggled to get up, his face full of panic.

But the red-haired man seemed to have lost his mind, and the force in his hands was increasing. Cheng Xiaorui's vision began to blur, and an ominous black hue appeared around the edges. At the moment of suffocation, the instinct for survival kicked in - he suddenly raised his head and slammed the back of his head into the man's chin.

"Bang!"

There was a muffled thud, and warm liquid splashed onto Cheng Xiaorui's eyelashes. The red-haired man, in pain, let go and stumbled back a few steps, his chin already dripping with blood. Cheng Xiaorui seized the opportunity to break free, dashing off into the morning mist like a fish from a net.

Elsewhere in the exam room, the bell pierced the silence. Lu Ziyi twirled a black fountain pen between his slender fingers, his gaze fixed on the empty seat in front of him to the right.

His brows furrowed unconsciously, and an inexplicable irritation spread in his chest.

At this moment, the classroom door was flung open. All the students looked up at once, then gasped.

Cheng Xiaorui stood at the door, his messy bangs a dark red bloodstain running from his forehead to his temples. His neck was covered in purple and black pinch marks.

"S-sorry, I'm late." He panted, "I fell...on the way..."

The invigilator, stunned, hurriedly handed over tissues, but the three layers of tissue were quickly soaked with blood. In the back of the classroom, Lu Ziyi's pupils suddenly contracted to the size of a pinpoint, and the pen in his hand scratched a long crack on the test paper.

Their eyes met in the air. The exam was over, the bell had just rung, and the corridor was still echoing with the noise of students when Lin Wanqing quickly rushed to the door of Cheng Xiaorui's class.

She wore her hair in twin ponytails today, looking as adorable as ever. Her hair danced across her shoulders as she hurried along, and the hem of her light blue school uniform swept past the doorframe, bringing with it a faint scent of jasmine.

"Cheng Xiaorui!"

Her voice pierced the noisy classroom air, drawing the attention of the surrounding students. Cheng Xiaorui, who was packing his pencil case, looked up at the sound. The bloodstain beneath his messy bangs was particularly glaring.

Lin Wanqing quickly walked to his desk and grabbed his wrist without saying anything. Cheng Xiaorui's wrist was very thin, and she could clearly feel the pulse beating under his skin, as well as the bruises that were new and old.

"Look at your wound!" Her brows furrowed, and her fingertips gently brushed the wound on his forehead. "I saw it when you passed by our class just now. The blood has flowed into the temples! You must go to the infirmary immediately!"

Cheng Xiaorui subconsciously wanted to pull his hand back, but he caught a glimpse of the slender figure at the back door of the classroom. Lu Zi was also standing there. His school uniform made his skin look cold and pale. At this moment, his eyes, which always contained sneers, were staring at their touched wrists, and his eyes were terrifyingly sinister.

"Wait..." Cheng Xiaorui's voice was a little tense, "I can go by myself, thank you!"

He tried to break free, but Lin Wanqing held on tighter: "How can this be! You——"

"Wanqing."

Lu Ziyi's voice suddenly interrupted him, like an ice knife slicing through the frozen air. He walked slowly, his leather shoes making a regular tapping sound on the floor, and each step made Cheng Xiaorui's back straighten.

"Brother Ziyi!" Lin Wanqing turned around, her eyes lighting up. "You're here too, so help me take Cheng Xiaorui to the infirmary!"

Without waiting for the two to react, she grabbed Cheng Xiaorui with one hand and Lu Ziyi with the other, dragging them towards the infirmary like two unwilling puppets.

In the infirmary, Lin Wanqing expertly pulled out the medicine box and gently placed a cotton swab dipped in iodine on the wound on Cheng Xiaorui's forehead. Her movements were gentle, and her breath brushed against Cheng Xiaorui's eyelashes, carrying the faint scent of mint candy.

"Does it hurt?" she asked quietly, carefully applying the Band-Aid to her fingertips.

Cheng Xiaorui shook his head, but his gaze unconsciously drifted to Lu Ziyi, who was standing beside him. He was staring at Lin Wanqing treating his wound, his jawline tense and his Adam's apple moving up and down several times, as if he was trying hard to suppress something.

"Why are you being bullied again?" Lin Wanqing sighed, her fingers unconsciously twisting a strand of her hair. "I told you last time, if anyone bullies you, tell Brother Ziyi."

“Cough cough cough——!”

Lu Ziyi suddenly started coughing violently, his fist pressed to his lips, his knuckles turning white.

Cheng Xiaorui smiled bitterly inwardly—Lin Wanqing seemed completely unaware of the twisted relationship between him and Lu Ziyi. This realization gave him a headache.

"Brother Ziyi," Lin Wanqing turned around, clasping her hands together in a pleading gesture, "Can you protect Cheng Xiaorui? Don't let anyone bully him anymore." Her voice softened. "Ever since I accidentally broke his cake last time and bought him a new one, I realized he's often bullied..."

Lu Ziyi's heart suddenly contracted.

cake?

His thoughts suddenly returned to the maliciously cropped photo. In the photo, Wan Qing's hair was indeed brushing against Cheng Xiaorui's cheek, but what if... what if that was when she was compensating him with the cake?

An unfamiliar stabbing pain spread through his chest. Had he misunderstood all along? Had all the subsequent bullying and deliberate harassment directed at Cheng Xiaorui been based on a misconception?

"Wanqing," his voice was a little hoarse, "You go back first, I'll take care of him here."

He reached out and rubbed Lin Wanqing's hair, his movements as gentle as if he were stroking some fragile treasure. Lin Wanqing looked at Cheng Xiaorui reluctantly for a few times, and finally nodded and left.

The moment the door closed, the air in the infirmary seemed to freeze. Cheng Xiaorui could hear his own heartbeat pounding in his eardrums.

Lu Ziyi stood there without moving. The sunlight filtering through the blinds cast alternating light and shadow on his face, making it impossible to see his expression.

Silence spread between the two of them, like an invisible gap.