A Backdoor Deal

Meanwhile, Zheng Pingqing had intended to rush straight off to find Lin Qian as soon as the assembly ended, but their homeroom teacher, Bai Yanzhu, intercepted him before he even made it out of the auditorium.

Smiling like a proud father, Bai Yanzhu said warmly, "Pingqing, I'm so happy."

Zheng Pingqing was baffled. "Happy about what?"

Bai Yanzhu sighed with feeling. "I was worried you boys weren't taking the Gaokao seriously and would just coast through senior year. I never imagined you'd take Lin Qian as your role model. Of course I'm happy..."

As he spoke, Bai Yanzhu slipped into full daydreaming mode. "Now that you're finally being so sensible, I can't let you down. I'll go draw up a proper new review plan for you right away. Whatever it takes, we'll make sure you finish senior year with no regrets! Here's what I'm thinking..."

Listening to Bai Yanzhu's endless visions of the future, Zheng Pingqing was swept by conflicting emotions.

In their previous life, Class 8 had been written off completely after the brawl. Bai Yanzhu had poured an enormous amount of time and effort into them, but in the end, he hadn't been able to stop the whole class from falling apart. In the run-up to the Gaokao, Zheng Pingqing had caught Bai Yanzhu—a grown man—hiding in the restroom wiping away tears on several occasions. But his war with Lin Qian had been at its fiercest then. He had neither appreciated Bai Yanzhu's painstaking efforts nor been in a position to salvage anything.

After they graduated, a disheartened Bai Yanzhu had quit teaching altogether. Things hadn't gone particularly well for him afterward, either.

Seeing Bai Yanzhu so full of fighting spirit now, Zheng Pingqing really couldn't bear to tell him that he currently had only one thing on his mind: dating.

As Bai Yanzhu grew more and more excited, even launching into an analysis of which college majors would suit them, Dong Mingen was the first to crack. He cut in impatiently. "Sir, would you quit fucking..."

Before he could finish, a vicious slap landed on his back. He let out a "Pff—" and nearly spat blood on the spot. Turning in horror, he saw Zheng Pingqing looking as calm and unruffled as ever, not even glancing his way. Dong Mingen almost believed it hadn't been him.

A true assassin never looks back at the body.

Dong Mingen was terrified. He'd known Zheng Pingqing wouldn't forget the market-loudspeaker grudge so easily.

What Zheng Pingqing said next terrified him even more. Nodding obediently to Bai Yanzhu, he said, "Yes, sir. I'll make sure Mingen and the others work hard."

Dong Mingen's vision went dark. He nearly burst into tears.

Did he really have to hold such a grudge? He was so mad he was going to make him study!

Bai Yanzhu's paternal heart swelled with joy, as though he could already see this pack of prodigal sons turning over a new leaf and reaching the pinnacle of success. His gaze could not have been more loving. "With that promise from you, Pingqing, I can rest easy."

Zheng Pingqing gave a faint smile, full of acceptance and profound respect. "It's the least I can do."

Once Bai Yanzhu had gone off in high spirits, Dong Mingen reached tearfully for Zheng Pingqing's shoulders. One icy glance made his hands swerve stiffly in midair and grab his friend Zhou Daota's instead. Clutching him, Dong Mingen eyed Zheng Pingqing sidelong. "Boss, you were just humoring Teacher Bai, right?"

Zheng Pingqing looked at them without a shred of mercy. "No. I meant it."

Now it wasn't just Dong Mingen who was horrified. Zhou Daota's voice cracked. "Boss, didn't we agree we were going to have a happy senior year?"

The corner of Zheng Pingqing's mouth twitched. For a moment, he wasn't even sure he had the right to call them idiots. After all, in his previous life, he had been just as naive before he'd gone out into the real world.

In the end, he merely regarded his still-innocent friends with tender pity and said meaningfully, "When I think about your grades, I just can't be happy."

Dong Mingen, Zhou Daota, and the others exchanged looks, seeing the same question in one another's eyes.

"Come on. Let's find Lin Qian and the others first." With a wave, Zheng Pingqing led the way toward the abandoned school building.

On the way, Dong Mingen couldn't resist whispering to Zhou Daota, "Check my back for a handprint, would you? I think the boss is trying to murder me."

Zhou Daota was bewildered too. "What's gotten into him?"

They had all thought Zheng Pingqing wanted the loudspeaker to trade insults with Lin Qian. Never in their wildest dreams had they imagined he would suddenly praise Lin Qian in front of the entire school.

How was Class 8 supposed to show its face now?

Dong Mingen was even more confused than he was. Just then, another head leaned in: their friend Lou Xingguang.

Lowering his voice, Lou Xingguang said, "Could Lin Qian have pulled something?"

That jolted them all awake. They exchanged glances, certain they had uncovered the secret behind Zheng Pingqing's sudden overture to Lin Qian.

Dong Mingen smacked his right fist into his left palm. "That sneaky bastard!"

Zhou Daota hurriedly shushed him. "Keep it down. Don't let the boss hear."

Lou Xingguang nodded in agreement. "If he hasn't said anything, he must not want us to know."

Dong Mingen's heart ached at the thought of Zheng Pingqing swallowing his humiliation and shouldering this burden. His fury at Lin Qian grew. "What the hell did Lin Qian do to our boss? He's too scared to say anything, even when he's angry!"

Lou Xingguang continued his analysis in a grave voice. "I'm guessing... could it have something to do with our grades?"

They looked at one another again, suddenly feeling that everything made sense.

Apart from abruptly making nice with Lin Qian, the strangest thing Zheng Pingqing had done was start worrying about their grades out of nowhere.

If they had been baffled before, now the clouds had parted and everything was clear.

Class 8 had been fighting Lin Qian's crowd for ages, and they had never lost out on any front. Grades were the only thing they couldn't match.

No wonder Zheng Pingqing had said he couldn't be happy when he thought about their grades.

They didn't know what Lin Qian had done to Zheng Pingqing, but if their grades hadn't been so bad, he would never have gotten any leverage over them.

Dong Mingen was scathing. "Shameless bastard. Does Lin Qian think good grades mean he can do whatever he wants?"

Zhou Daota tugged his arm and glanced toward Zheng Pingqing. "Well, he's managed to push our boss around."

Dong Mingen fell silent.

Zheng Pingqing's back was tall and straight, as though he could hold up the sky. But they knew that because they had let him down, those seemingly invincible shoulders were carrying a crushing weight.

"We can't let him face this alone." Dong Mingen clenched his fists.

The others all nodded.

As they banded together to declare their resolve, another classmate suddenly popped up beside them and leaned in. "What are you doing?"

Dong Mingen was seething. Under their leadership, all of Class 8 had always hated Lin Qian together, so he made no attempt to hide anything from this classmate, Gou Xindou. "Going to settle the score with Lin Qian," he said viciously.

"Yeah, right." Gou Xindou looked utterly unconvinced. "This morning you said Boss Zheng was going to humiliate Lin Qian at the pledge rally. Is that how he humiliates people?"

Huo Yerui had just given him an earful for passing on bad information, so he was understandably wary now.

"Bullshit!" Dong Mingen was about to launch into a tirade when he remembered Zheng Pingqing was up ahead. Hastily lowering his voice, he ground out, "That was a tactical expedient. Do you understand what a tactical expedient is?"

Gou Xindou indicated that his limited education had not prepared him for such advanced tactics.

"It's all Lin Qian's dirty, shameless tricks." To protect Zheng Pingqing's dignity, Dong Mingen kept their suspicions to himself and simply slung mud at Lin Qian with all his might. Though he couldn't produce a single concrete example, his rich vocabulary of insults successfully convinced Gou Xindou that they did, in fact, harbor an implacable hatred of Lin Qian.

"That Lin Qian really is a beast in human skin." Gou Xindou couldn't help sharing their outrage. "So you're going to settle the score with him?"

"Settling the score would be letting him off easy." Dong Mingen snorted, cracking his knuckles. "This time we're making those advanced-class kids pay."

They'd learn that Lin Qian couldn't just push Zheng Pingqing around!

Struggling not to let his skepticism show, Gou Xindou asked quietly, "How, exactly?"

That stumped Dong Mingen. Fuck. He hadn't thought of anything yet!

Fortunately, Lou Xingguang picked up the thread. "There's nothing a beating won't fix."

Dong Mingen nodded at once. "Exactly. If I don't beat up Lin Qian this time, my name isn't Dong!"

Gou Xindou couldn't help asking, "What will it be, then?"

Dong Mingen spat. "I'll take his surname. Lin."

Hearing whispers behind him, Zheng Pingqing turned and saw Gou Xindou and Dong Mingen with their heads together. "What are you doing here?"

Gou Xindou gave a laugh. "Just passing by. I'm off."

Before leaving, he remembered to mouth "Go get him" to Dong Mingen, making Zheng Pingqing frown.

Gou Xindou hadn't gone far when Huo Yerui caught him at a corner. His face betrayed nothing. "Well?"

Gou Xindou nodded and relayed Dong Mingen and the others' plans.

Huo Yerui frowned. "This isn't another false alarm, is it?"

Gou Xindou repeated a selection of Dong Mingen's insults against Lin Qian. Huo Yerui's face twitched as he listened. "I never knew Lin Qian was so capable. He's even made Zheng Pingqing submit."

"He's an absolute beast in respectable clothing!" Gou Xindou couldn't help shedding a figurative tear for Zheng Pingqing. Then he asked curiously, "Why are you always asking about Boss Zheng and Lin Qian, anyway?"

"Their relationship is so bad, I'm worried they'll cause trouble," Huo Yerui said evenly.

Gou Xindou raised an eyebrow, neither agreeing nor disagreeing. "That's the future principal's son for you. So responsible."

...

...

In No. 12 High School's original classroom building, abandoned for years and rarely visited, two clearly divided groups of students now stood facing each other.

One side sported astonishing hairstyles and looked suspiciously like a Buried Love Clan fan club. The other had an extremely high concentration of glasses, with "GOOD GRADES" practically stamped across every face.

At the moment, however, both groups were equally belligerent, glaring at one another. No one had spoken yet, but the tension was already stretched to its limit.

The slightest spark seemed enough to set them off.

Except for the two at the front.

A closer look would have revealed that their gazes burned just as fiercely, but held neither anger nor hatred.

An even closer look might have revealed a trace of tender affection.

Unfortunately, their friends were all too busy watching the opposing side to pay any attention to their leaders' eyes.

"I kept my promise to you," Zheng Pingqing said first, his gaze blazing.

Dong Mingen and the others felt a pang.

So it was true! Their boss and Lin Qian really did have some dirty deal they couldn't tell them about!

"You remember what you promised me, right?" Afraid Lin Qian might renege, Zheng Pingqing hurried to make sure.

Lin Qian: "..."

With difficulty, Lin Qian said, "Can we wait until after the Gaokao...?"

"No!" Zheng Pingqing was adamant. "By then it'll be far too late."

Lin Qian: "..."

Now Dong Mingen and the others were even more certain. It really was about their grades. They just hadn't realized Lin Qian could sink so low—he actually wanted to drag this out until after the Gaokao! He was trying to stall them to death!

Dong Mingen couldn't hold back. "Don't push it, Lin Qian. There's no way we're letting you put this off until after the Gaokao."

Lin Qian stared at Zheng Pingqing in shock, asking with his eyes: You're that uninhibited? You came out already?

Zheng Pingqing looked utterly innocent: I'm not! I didn't!

Just then, Lou Xingguang bravely stepped forward and declared in a ringing voice, "We can't wait another minute. We want to start studying right now!"