The rest of the group had probably never seen such an amazing operation before.

After a moment of stunned silence, the entire room erupted in laughter.

There was no malice intended, but Sheng Yan's face grew redder and Qin Zigui's face grew darker with each laugh.

Although Sheng Yan was a spoiled person, he was also a reasonable one. Knowing he was in the wrong, he felt embarrassed under Qin Zigui's numb and indifferent gaze. He coughed awkwardly, trying to salvage the situation: "Well, actually, that's not what I meant. I just meant that because the cuckoo is a bird with a bad connotation, poets often use it to express sorrow. I didn't mean anything else..."

His voice grew softer and softer, and Qin Zigui's gaze became increasingly chilling.

In the end, even he himself didn't believe his explanation, so he could only bite the bullet and say, "Well, if you don't have any other opinions, I'll go study now."

Then, with a stiff neck, he turned around and began to bury himself in his studies.

He thought that as long as he studied hard enough, he wouldn't be able to keep up with those worldly complexities.

However, within a morning, the wise saying "The cuckoo is no good bird" spread like wildfire throughout the entire second year of high school.

Not only did the news spread throughout the entire second year of high school, but those people also added fuel to the fire, fanned the flames, and even said malicious things like "the cuckoo may be a beneficial bird, but the Chinese cricket is definitely not a good bird."

As a result, Sheng Xiaoyan, an ordinary but talented student in Chinese, felt a chill run down his spine and a tingling sensation all morning, as if he were being tortured by cold, piercing eyes. He felt like he was sitting on pins and needles, with thorns in his back and a fishbone stuck in his throat. He dared not lift his head from the ocean of knowledge for even a moment.

As soon as the lunch break bell rang, he immediately pulled up his hat and put on his mask with all his might, then strode past Qin Zigui with a "whoosh" and fled the scene of the crime through the back door before he could even worry.

"I have to say, Brother Yan, you're really something. You didn't see the look Qin Zigui gave you after you slipped away." Gou You shook his head and clicked his tongue while drinking his milk tea.

Sheng Yan gets annoyed whenever he hears the word "zigui" (cuckoo). He pulled down his hat and sat in the corner of the milk tea and fried chicken shop near the school gate, giving him a disgruntled look: "Eat your fried chicken, or I'll rip your tongue out."

Gou You obediently fell silent.

Zhu Peng, standing next to him, forcefully broke off a chicken leg and, fearlessly, chimed in, "But Brother Yan, it's not right for you to keep avoiding him like this. You're staying at his house now, and your seat is right in front of his. You see him every day, there's no way you can avoid him."

"Nonsense, do you think I don't know?"

Sheng Yan was extremely annoyed.

On the day of the Chinese exam, he had just had a few words with Qin Zigui and was holding back his anger. When he saw the word "Zigui" on the exam paper, he improvised a little. Unexpectedly, he went too far and was not only remembered by Liang Jie, but was also publicly punished in front of Qin Zigui.

It's absolutely shameful.

Moreover, that petty and scheming Qin Zigui is definitely holding a grudge, harboring evil intentions, and waiting to retaliate at any time.

The thought of having to go back that afternoon to endure Qin Zigui's death stare gave Sheng Yan a headache, not to mention the next month or two of living together day and night.

Sheng Yan, dressed in all black—hat, clothes, and mask—sat in the corner, radiating a dark aura and exuding a visibly irritable and impatient presence.

Gou You, Sheng Yan's number one strategist, seized the opportunity to offer advice: "Brother Yan, why don't you think of a way to move it back?"

"That's right, that's right. Without you, Gou You and I feel so empty." Zhu Peng hadn't even swallowed his fried chicken before he rushed to express his loyalty.

Sheng Yan said expressionlessly, "There is a way, but..."

"But what?"

Sheng Yan looked blank: "But the premise is that you have to pass every subject in the next mock exam."

"..."

Gou You and Zhu Peng fell silent.

The make-up classes at Shishi Foreign Language School lasted for more than a month, from July 7th to July 22nd, followed by a half-month break, and then make-up classes continued from August 12th until the official start of school on September 1st.

That means there are still nearly two months until the next mock exam.

More importantly, it's simply a pipe dream to expect Sheng Yan to pass every exam.

Putting everything else aside, given his poor Chinese language skills (like the proverb "The cuckoo is no good bird"), he'd be lucky to pass with a 100, let alone a 150.

After a brief silence, Zhu Peng broke off another chicken leg and handed it to Sheng Yan, looking at him with a sympathetic expression: "Here, Brother Yan, have something good to eat."

Eat well so you can get going.

Sheng Yan didn't want to pay any attention to him at all.

Gou You, standing next to him, seemed to suddenly remember something. She put down her chicken leg, took out her phone, tapped a few times, and handed it to Sheng Yan: "Have you joined this group?"

Sheng Yan glanced at the group name casually, then blankly looked away: "I don't cheat."

"What are you thinking? Do you think I'm that kind of person?" Gou You swiped a few times at the screen. "Don't be fooled by the arrogant name. It's just a study materials sharing group for Nanwu High School. There are many experts in the group who share materials for free or for a fee. For example, this handsome god is our group's treasure."

"Handsome God?"

Sheng Yan raised an eyebrow slightly.

Gou You nodded: "That's right, Handsome God, the number one handsome guy in the world, his materials are comprehensive and excellent, and he is very accurate in identifying the test points and common mistakes. Everyone who has used them says they are good. Moreover, they cost 80 yuan per subject, 150 yuan for two subjects, and 400 yuan for all subjects. As long as you study them carefully, improving your grades is not a dream."

Is it really that amazing?

Sheng Yan looked at the emo-style profile picture, which resembled the one from the "Funeral Love Family" group, and felt somewhat suspicious: "And I saw that his contact name is 'first year of high school'."

He's about to go from his junior year to his senior year of high school. How could a freshman be better than him?

Sheng Yan raised his eyebrows and looked at Gou You with a hint of doubt.

Gou You calmly met his gaze: "To be honest, Brother Yan, with your actual level, it wouldn't be unreasonable to give you a set of three years' worth of middle school entrance exams and two years' worth of mock exams right now."

Sheng Yan, who hadn't really listened to any classes since the third year of junior high: "..."

Did I ask you to tell the truth?

However, there is some truth to it.

He wasn't really familiar with the concepts taught in the first year of high school.

Moreover, with today's remark that "Zigui is no good bird," it seems that he and Qin Zigui are completely beyond repair. So rather than suffocating in front of Qin Zigui, he might as well try his luck and fight it out.

After thinking it over, Sheng Yan reluctantly nodded: "Alright, give me his business card."

"Okay!" Gou You readily agreed, then casually checked her phone, her expression immediately changing. "Oh my god! Zhu Peng! Stop eating! The weasel is leading a raid on our dorm! Go back and hide the hotpot!"

After saying that, he picked up his schoolbag with one hand and grabbed Zhu Peng, who was gnawing on a chicken wing, with the other, and rushed out of the store and ran towards the school.

Surprise dormitory raids, also known as house raids, were conducted once a week, each time resulting in widespread devastation and suffering.

The haughty day student Sheng Yan shook his head sympathetically, then slowly stood up and walked to the counter: "One large cup of bubble tea, to go."

Despite disliking Qin Zigui, I still have to keep my promise to treat him to milk tea.

The sales clerk smiled sweetly and confidently: "Okay, student, would you like it with or without ice, and how sweet?"

Sheng Yan remembered that Qin Zigui had said that he liked sweet things that morning, so he didn't hesitate: "Less ice, and it's sweet."

He paused slightly, then added, "Add a cheese foam topping."

He paused again, then added, "And another grass jelly dessert, please."

He paused, then added, "One serving of taro balls, coconut jelly, and popping boba, too."

The teller's sweet smile began to waver slightly: "Are you sure, student?"

"Yes, I'm sure."

Sheng Yan didn't even think about it.

If you're going to invite someone, invite someone big. You can't let Qin Zigui think you're stingy for treating someone. And if you can swallow him to death, that would be even better. Anyway, I never want to see him again in this lifetime.

Sheng Yan thought to himself, and with great bravado reached into his pocket to take out his phone to pay the bill, then paused.

Wait, where's the phone?

Feel around in another pocket.

Why is it still not there?

After a brief pause, Sheng Yan remembered.

He handed his phone to Qin Zigui before class, but after class, feeling too guilty, he slipped away and forgot to ask Qin Zigui for it back.

So what they just ordered: two fried chickens, a pound of chicken neck bones, three grilled sausages, three cups of milk tea, and this super-sized "family feast" cup...

Sheng Yan, who had been a rich kid his whole life, looked at the young woman in front of him who was working part-time while studying. He looked away guiltily and coughed twice: "Um, sister, if I said I forgot my phone and would go back to school to get it right now, and then come back to pay, would you believe me?"

The young woman looked at him with a smile, just like the emoji used on WeChat.

A direct yet polite refusal.

Sheng Yan, being easily embarrassed, blushed and whispered shyly, "Sister, believe me, I'm a student from the school across the street, I really will come back to pay..."

He was good-looking and didn't have the roguish air of those thugs. He was even a little obedient when he called her "sister." But now his ears turned red, and the girl who was smiling with an emoji suddenly softened and lowered her voice: "I'm sorry, classmate. We're also working, so we really can't let you go in this situation. How about I lend you my phone? Can you call a teacher or friend to come and help us?"

WeChat and QQ require phone verification to log in on new devices, so they can't be used; I can only make phone calls.

But the phone...

Sheng Yan only remembers two people's phone numbers from childhood to adulthood: one is Ms. Xu's, and the other is Qin Zigui's.

Ms. Xu is currently in the UK and cannot be contacted.

As for Qin Zigui...

I was just about to choke him out, and now I'm asking him to save the day? Isn't that a bit unethical?

Sheng Yan glanced at the kind-looking young lady in front of him, then at the burly older man behind her frying chicken with a strainer, and at the food scraps scattered all over the table. He was about to struggle a little more.

The young lady smiled sweetly and said, "Your total bill is 142. It costs 8 yuan per hour to wash dishes here."

Sheng Yan: "..."

Then forget it.

Young Master will never wash dishes, not in his entire life.

So Sheng Yan reluctantly took the phone and dialed the number he knew by heart: "Hello, Qin Zigui, it's me."

The person on the other end of the phone seemed to recognize his voice instantly, and casually replied, "Yeah, what's up?"

"Well, it's just..." Sheng Yan was still a little embarrassed. He lowered his head and tapped on the glass counter, saying in a muffled voice, "My phone is with you, and then Zhu Peng and Gou You ran away. I'm here at Da Lian Chicken Cutlet all by myself now. Could you come and pick me up?"

Sheng Yan became increasingly less confident and embarrassed as he spoke.

After all, just three hours ago he had said in front of everyone in the class that Zigui was no good, and the words had spread throughout the entire grade, so he really wasn't sure if Qin Zigui would come to pick him up again.

Anyway, if it were him, he definitely wouldn't be happy, and he might even be hoping that Qin Zigui would squat here and wash dishes for three days and three nights.

Qin Zigui simply gave a lukewarm "hmm" and said nothing more, sounding quite indifferent and showing no intention of coming to pick him up.

He's clearly still angry.

But he had nothing on him, not even anything to use as collateral. If Qin Zigui really didn't come to pick him up, he would have to squat here washing dishes for 17.75 hours.

It's embarrassing, but the worst part is that he doesn't even know how to use it.

As more and more people in the store began to cast strange glances at him, and the line behind him was about to catch up, the fried chicken boss in the kitchen, who was twice his size, raised an eyebrow and looked like he was about to lose his patience.

Sheng Yan felt that he didn't have much time left.

After a brief deliberation, he gritted his teeth and decided to use his ultimate move, which had never failed him since childhood, to quickly appease Qin Zigui and make him surrender. With gritted teeth, clenched palms, and red ears, he quickly threw out seven Chinese characters that were guaranteed to be useful.

The person on the other end of the phone seemed deaf: "What did you say? I didn't hear you. Say it again."

He, Sheng Dayan, would never say such shameful words again, even if it meant his death!

Sheng Yan was furious and ashamed. He clenched his fists, gritted his teeth, and his ears turned red. Then, with immense anger and gritted teeth, he obediently uttered seven words, one by one: "Brother Zigui, I beg you."

"Okay, sure."

The moment the words were spoken, a clear response came from behind, followed by the sound of the glass door being pushed open.

Sheng Yan instinctively turned around.

Then he saw Qin Zigui holding his phone, slowly pushing the door open and entering. Meeting his gaze, he said without changing his expression, "Brother Zigui heard you."