Chapter 2

The white T-shirt tossed onto the velvet was innocent.

Its design was perfectly ordinary. Aside from the small size, it looked almost exactly like a men's shirt.

But it was indeed a women's shirt, narrower in the shoulders and slimmer at the waist.

Qiao Shao stared at it for a long while, thoroughly aggrieved.

He was... just a little slow to develop. How had he sunk to wearing women's clothes!

That temp worker...

Qiao Shao narrowed his eyes. He'd found the culprit.

It was that tall boy. He was the one who'd recommended it. As a sales clerk, how could he not know the difference between men's and women's clothes!

Oh, so he thought he could mess with him.

Little Qiao Shao grabbed the white tee and stuffed it into the trash, as though he were throwing away that lazy, laid-back high schooler!

Student Qiao Shao sat fuming on the couch. East District No. 1 High School, huh? Just you wait. A gentleman could wait ten years for revenge!

That evening, Qiao Zongmin came home.

Fresh out of the shower, Qiao Shao came out to see Dad with his hair still dripping. "Even an international metropolis like Hong Kong couldn't convince you to stay the night?"

Qiao Zongmin had spent six hours on planes that day and gotten into a shouting match at a meeting. He was exhausted, but however tired he was, he couldn't sleep unless he came home.

He said, "What do you know, kid? A good family man's rule is to be home by dark."

Qiao Shao shook out his hair. "What kind of meeting makes you go all that way?"

Qiao Zongmin loosened his tie and undid his cuffs, then steered his son into the bathroom. "Your old man went to do an inspection. What the hell am I supposed to inspect if I call them here? And will you break this habit already? Dry your hair after you wash it. Is catching a cold fun?"

Qiao Shao said, "It's not that easy to catch a cold."

Qiao Zongmin said nothing. He found the hair dryer and dried his hair for him.

For a big man of six-foot-one, he was remarkably practiced at this, as though he'd done it so often it had become muscle memory.

Qiao Shao's brows drew together involuntarily. Qiao Zongmin caught it in the mirror. "What is it? Does your head hurt?" There was a note of anxiety in his deep voice.

"No," Qiao Shao said. "I told you I wouldn't catch a cold."

Qiao Zongmin's hand visibly paused.

Before Qiao Zongmin could say anything else, Qiao Shao spoke. "Say, Dad..."

"What?" Qiao Zongmin seemed a little distracted.

Qiao Shao looked at him through the mirror. "Are you really upset?"

Qiao Zongmin didn't understand.

Qiao Shao grinned. "Seeing my gorgeous, thick, luxuriant hair—are you green with envy?"

Over forty and plagued by hair loss, Mr. Qiao took a direct hit. He rapped Qiao Shao on the head.

Qiao Shao covered his head. "A gentleman uses words, not fists. Going bald isn't the end of the world, Qiao Zongmin, but you can't go being a petty brute."

"You little brat." Qiao Zongmin rolled up his sleeves and made as if to hit him. "You're asking for a beating!"

Qiao Shao took to his heels and slipped away at top speed, even closing the door for Qiao Zongmin on his way out. "Dad, you stink! Hurry up and take a bath!"

Qiao Zongmin scolded him again, then turned and noticed the tub already filled with hot water and the change of clothes laid out for him on the shelf.

His smile faded, his heart a tangle of feelings.

On the first day of school, Qiao Shao got up bright and early.

He would be living in the dorms, so he needed to get there early to unpack.

Qiao Zongmin had just hung up the phone. Qiao Shao had heard him postponing work.

Qiao Shao immediately said, "Don't take me. I can go by myself!"

Qiao Zongmin said, "Absolutely not. It's your first day at a new school. How could I not take you?"

Qiao Shao pursed his lips. "Oh, give me a break. I'm going there to study!"

"So what? What school would stop a father from dropping off his own son?"

Qiao Shao stared at him.

Qiao Zongmin said, "Relax. I found a BMW to take you in. I guarantee it'll be inconspicuous."

Qiao Shao kept staring at him.

Qiao Zongmin took off his watch, too. "There. Will that do?"

Qiao Shao was still staring at him.

Qiao Zongmin didn't know whether to laugh or cry. "Just tell me. Whatever I'm wearing that doesn't work, I'll change it."

Qiao Shao finally spoke. "If you don't want to attract attention, you'd need plastic surgery."

Qiao Zongmin: "..."

Qiao Shao reminded him, "That's what you get for showing your face on the news and in magazines all the time! Don't take me, okay? If you do, I'll call Grandpa and tell him you hit me!"

Qiao Zongmin dared not cross his father-in-law, so he could only let the brat go on his own.

Qiao Shao's home wasn't far from East District No. 1 High School, only twenty minutes by taxi.

Dragging a suitcase with two bundled stacks of quilts on his back, he looked for all the world like a refugee fleeing a famine.

The other boarding students had much the same gear, but they all had parents with them and didn't have to carry it themselves.

Although Qiao Shao had come to his new school alone, he wasn't nervous. At the school gate, he flashed the elderly security guard a grin and asked the way to the dorms.

When the elderly guard heard he was a transfer student, he helpfully pointed out the dormitory building and even praised him. "Not bad, young man. Coming without your parents—you can take care of yourself."

Qiao Shao said modestly, "It's nothing, really. I'm a year older than everyone in my class. I ought to be a little more independent."

After he left, the elderly guard stood puzzled for a moment. A year older? With that tiny frame, he looked two years younger.

Beside the covered walkway leading from the school gate to the boys' dormitory.

He Shen stared at that ball-shaped lump for quite a while.

Who knew which class the student belonged to? He was scrawny and pitifully small, and the bedding he was lugging looked ready to bury him.

He couldn't see the ball-shaped lump's face from this angle, but even from behind, He Shen found him a little familiar.

—He looked a lot like that bargain-hunting Middle Schooler.

"What are you looking at?" the person beside him asked.

He Shen looked away. Remembering the little guy "soldiering on under a heavy burden," he chuckled. "Spotted a Little Turtle."

His companion paused. "Huh?"

He Shen shook his head. "Nothing."

His companion wasn't one to pry and simply said, "Let's go. It's getting late."

Little did Qiao Shao know that, after being conned into buying girls' clothes, he'd now become a Little Brat—oh, a Little Turtle, but what was the difference!

By now, the Little Brat—pfft, Little Qiao Shao—had already entered the dorm building.

He was in Room 516, the southernmost room on the fifth floor.

If Qiao Shao had to lug all this stuff up to the fifth floor in one go, he would die on these stairs.

Luckily, it was Monday, and everyone had just come back from home, so there were plenty of people heading upstairs. Some kindhearted students offered to help. Abandoning his "independence," Qiao Shao thanked them over and over and accepted this outpouring of classmate affection.

When the student helping him learned he was in Room 516, his gaze flickered.

Qiao Shao had no idea why.

The student patted his shoulder. "Hang in there, buddy!"

Qiao Shao: "???"

The student set his luggage down on the fifth-floor landing, then practically greased his heels and slipped away.

What was going on?

Was Room 516 haunted?

Qiao Shao rubbed his face and rallied: Why the hell should he fear ghosts? He was the biggest ghost of them all!

He pushed open the door, a little surprised by the bustling scene inside.

So much for being haunted...

It was a four-person room, surprisingly spacious and bright.

By the window were desks facing each other with matching bookshelves; near the door were two sets of bunk beds. The aisle between them wasn't particularly narrow, but right now it was piled full of stuff.

A short guy with cropped, blue-gray-dyed hair sat at the desk on the left.

The short guy had his feet up on the desk, without even changing his shoes, looking utterly arrogant and overbearing.

There were two adults in the room, and judging by the way they looked at him, both were members of the short guy's family.

The older woman was sorting out bedding and clothes, while the man unpacked the luggage, producing tablets, laptops, phones—an endless stream of contraband.

Seeing Qiao Shao enter, the blue-gray-haired boy tipped up his chin and asked, "Transfer student?"

Qiao Shao thought this kid was asking for a beating.

The boy asked again, "What's your name?"

Silently reciting "Study hard and improve every day," Qiao Shao restrained himself and gave his name.

"Young Master Qiao?" The boy laughed. "Nice name. Born to be a young master, huh?"

Qiao Shao couldn't be bothered to explain which character it was.

The boy lowered his legs and rose from his chair. To Qiao Shao's dismay, even this obviously short guy was a little taller than him!

The boy glanced over his luggage, a trace of disdain flashing through his rather attractive eyes. "Too bad the way you live is a far cry from a young master's."

Qiao Shao: "..."

When he didn't utter a word, the boy lost interest, slumped back into his chair, and put on headphones to listen to music.

Only then did Qiao Shao notice another boy at the desk on the right.

In stark contrast to the arrogant boy on the left, he sat quietly, wholly absorbed in working through a test paper.

The boy wore a school uniform and an old pair of glasses. His desktop was neat and tidy, with nothing unrelated to studying on it.

He simply had so little presence that Qiao Shao hadn't noticed him at first.

"Hi," Qiao Shao greeted him.

The boy looked up, his expression calm. "Hi." Then he lowered his head and went back to the questions.

Not even an introduction?

Qiao Shao was beginning to understand. His Room 516 might not be haunted, but it certainly housed a whole collection of freaks and monsters.

Three students had arrived in the four-person dorm room. The fourth was still nowhere to be seen.

Qiao Shao stared at the two empty bottom bunks, unable to tell which one was his.

Either would do. He couldn't exactly leave his bedding on the floor, so he might as well find a bunk to put it on for now.

With that thought, he set his bedding on the bottom bunk on the left.

He'd barely done so when he heard a startled shout: "Fuck, do you have a death wish?!"

Qiao Shao froze.

The blue-gray-haired boy sprang up, ripped off his headphones, and charged over. "Don't touch that bunk!"

As he spoke, he scooped up Qiao Shao's bedding. At least he didn't throw it on the floor, instead putting it on the bottom bunk on the right.

Qiao Shao: "..." What was this about?

The boy said, "Don't ask for trouble and trouble won't find you. That bunk is off-limits in this dorm. Don't touch it unless you want a beating!"

Qiao Shao looked utterly bewildered. "Why?"

The boy glared fiercely at him. "Quit asking questions, Pauper. Anyway, if you want to get through school in peace, don't mess with him!"

Qiao Shao froze again... Pauper. Who could have imagined anyone would ever pin that label on him?

The quiet boy, who hadn't moved this whole time, put down his test paper and came over. "Your bed's over here. I'll help you make it."

The boy with blue-gray hair snorted and sat back down in his chair.

Qiao Shao couldn't be bothered with him anymore. Compared with that little weirdo, the boy in front of him seemed much more like a normal student.

"Thanks," Qiao Shao said. "I can do it myself."

The boy said, "It's no trouble. Are you a transfer student? What class are you in?"

Qiao Shao said, "Class 1."

The boy looked up at him.

Qiao Shao asked, "Aren't we in the same class?" Weren't dorm rooms assigned by class?

The boy said, "I'm in Class 1. The other two aren't. They're in the international class."

The international class, huh...

Qiao Shao understood. A gathering place for rich kids. No wonder that Blue Hair kid was so full of himself.

The boy grew much friendlier, introducing himself and explaining the dorm situation to Qiao Shao.

East District No. 1 High School allowed students to commute rather than requiring them to board, so only fifty or sixty percent of its students lived on campus. Normally, rooms were assigned by class, but Qiao Shao was a transfer student arriving partway through the term, and all his class's rooms were full. Room 516 was probably the only one with an empty bed, so they'd put him there.

Qiao Shao wasn't buying that. He suspected one of his elders had pulled some strings.

—The fifth floor had four-person rooms, which were much nicer than the six-person rooms downstairs.

The boy's name was Chen Su. What Qiao Shao was curious about was why he'd been assigned to this room when he wasn't a transfer student. He could tell Chen Su and Blue Hair were on chilly terms and didn't get along at all.

Of course, that might be a sore spot, so Qiao Shao didn't ask.

Once they'd finished making the bed, Chen Su said, "I'll take you to the academic affairs office. You probably still have some things to pick up."

Qiao Shao promptly agreed. "Okay!"

Only after they left the room did Chen Su explain, "Don't go near bed three, and don't talk to the person who sleeps there."

Qiao Shao was curious. "Why?"

Chen Su glanced at him. "Didn't you have anyone like that at your old school?"

Like what?

Qiao Shao's old school really wasn't a useful point of reference.

Chen Su considered his words, then explained, "He's really scary... Everyone's afraid of him."

Qiao Shao got it. The School Tyrant.

His old school had had one too: him.

Of course, he hadn't relied on being scary, but on his dazzling family background.

Chen Su cautioned him, "Anyway, keep your distance. Even the school administration can't do anything about him."

Qiao Shao nodded earnestly. He was here to study hard, not get anywhere near a delinquent.

Suddenly, Chen Su grabbed his arm and pulled him behind a pillar.

Qiao Shao blinked. "What's wrong?"

Chen Su said, "Lou Xiao's bullying someone again."

Qiao Shao said, "Lou Xiao?"

Chen Su explained, "The guy in bed three."

Qiao Shao understood. He peeked over, wanting to memorize the School Tyrant's face so he could steer clear of him in the future.

And then...

He spotted a familiar figure.

The boy was tall, his fair-skinned hands tucked into his pockets. Even standing there so casually, he still looked half-asleep.

It was that... that...

How could Qiao Shao forget?

It was that temp worker who'd tricked him into buying a women's T-shirt!

So this guy was also a delinquent who went around bullying people!

Lou Xiao, huh.

Qiao Shao would remember that!

Author's Note: He Shen: I'm not, I didn't, honey, I'm innocent.

Lou Xiao: I'm the one who's fucking innocent!