DMMY Chapter 9: Heartache

Without any extra movements, Sheng Yan simply pressed the other person against the wall with cold eyes, tightening his grip on the collar with slender knuckles, gradually tightening them. The collar of the shirt was embedded deeper and deeper into the other person’s neck, making them unable to struggle, only able to weakly send pleading looks to bystanders.

The person beside them was stunned by this sudden change, just standing there dumbfounded, eyes filled with fear.

Although they had heard some rumors about Sheng Yan outside of school, no one had ever seen him fight in school, let alone witnessed this cold and indifferent side of the legendary school bully who was usually easygoing and approachable.

It was like a lazy leopard suddenly being stepped on its tail, instantly awakening to hunt and kill.

But what had they done to provoke him?

Weren’t they talking about Qin Zigui all along?

Wasn’t Qin Zigui at odds with Sheng Yan?

Didn’t Sheng Yan always detest Qin Zigui the most?

According to the logic of “the enemy of my enemy is my friend,” even if Sheng Yan didn’t join them, why did he turn against them?!

What kind of logic was this?

The person beside finally reacted and rushed up to intervene, “Stop, stop fighting, we’re all classmates…”

But Sheng Yan coldly stared at him and he obediently shut his mouth.

Sheng Yan withdrew his gaze, glanced indifferently at the person whose face was almost as red as a pig’s liver against the wall, loosened his grip, and let go.

The person immediately slid down the wall weakly, sitting on the floor of the restroom, covered his neck, and breathed heavily, trying to endure the smell of the restroom, his face full of fear and panic.

Sheng Yan put his hands in his pockets, lowered his gaze, and looked at him, “Fu Yun, have you had enough of mocking Qin Zigui for so many years?”

The boy named Fu Yun raised his head at the words, his face flushed, and said angrily, “Who’s mocking him? Wasn’t I just telling the truth? Doesn’t he have no parents? Isn’t he living off others? Isn’t he always pretending to be serious? Isn’t he jealous and starting fights outside? What, is it okay for him to do all that but not okay for me to say it?”

“Right, you’re right,” Sheng Yan nodded, “So you’re just a fool.”

“???”

Sheng Yan raised an eyebrow casually, “What, can’t I call you a fool? Haven’t I been listening to you being called a fool all your life? Did you grow up following the Fat Hu laughing at Qin Zigui for having no parents every day? Why, after laughing at him for so many years, Qin Zigui is still better than you in every way? Is it because your father and mother, two high IQ intellectuals, unfortunately gave birth to a small fool like you, with a one in four chance?”

Sheng Yan’s biology wasn’t very good, but it was more than enough to mock Fu Yun.

Fu Yun had grown up in the same residential area as Sheng Yan and Qin Zigu, and because of his good grades since childhood, but Qin Zigu’s grades were even better, he always tried to imitate him but always ended up being surpassed. He was surpassed from the elementary school attached to the government agency to the high school affiliated to the Foreign Language Institute, yet he still insisted on following and learning from Qin Zigu.

In the end, when Qin Zigui went to Class One because he was ranked first in the grade, Fu Yun, whose grades gradually fell behind, could only go to Class Four. Qin Zigui became a white-shirted male god, and Fu Yun became a boy who loved to wear white shirts.

He didn’t even realize it was a joke.

Sheng Yan glanced at the silver-rimmed glasses on Fu Yun’s nose, and sneered, “Has anyone told you that people with collapsed noses wearing big-framed glasses look a lot like the plains of the middle and lower reaches of the Yangtze River?”

“…”

You’re the plains of the middle and lower reaches of the Yangtze River!

Fu Yun couldn’t help himself anymore, “What do you mean, Sheng Yan? Aren’t you the one who hates Qin Zigui the most? Aren’t you the one who always picks on him and bullies him? And now you’re pretending to be a good person here?!”

“Who said I’m pretending to be a good person? What’s my relationship with Qin Zigu, and what’s your relationship with Qin Zigu? Can we be the same? And Qin Zigui is someone I’m backing up. It’s my business to hate him, scold him, and quarrel with him, but not you. So if I hear such words from you again, I’ll beat you once for every time I hear it, until you behave. Do you understand?”

Sheng Yan looked down at him with an imposing manner, his sharp features showing extreme aggressiveness, making him look extremely arrogant.

And Fu Yun, who was sitting against the wall with his collar in his hand, looked up at him with a look of resentment and unwillingness, as if he dared not speak his anger: “Sheng Yan, do you bully classmates like this all the time? I just said a few things you didn’t like, do you have to beat me up?”

Sheng Yan raised his eyebrows.

Did he say that earlier?

Fu Yun’s nostrils flared, looking like he was about to cry: “I know what I said was inappropriate, but I’ve already apologized. What else do you want? Do you have to beat me every time I say something you don’t like? Are you bullying classmates just because your family is rich and you can do whatever you want?”

“???”

Did he say he would beat him every time he heard him?

And what expression was this from Fu Yun?

Why did it look so much like a misty-eyed mother looking for her child in the rain?

Had he somehow damaged Fu Yun’s brain with that earlier move?

No, he was confident, he had been holding back all along.

And what was the other person’s look, why did he look so stunned behind him, his mouth trembling as if he wanted to say “Huang…”

Huang?!

Sheng Yan reacted and instantly turned around.

Sure enough, he saw Huang Shuliang standing at the door of the restroom, chest heaving, breathing heavily, smoke rising from his head, looking like he was trying hard to suppress his anger and not let it out, but ultimately couldn’t bear it and burst out angrily, “Sheng Yan! How dare you bully classmates?! Do you have no sense of justice left? Can you look at Fu Yun’s pitiful appearance? Can you bear it?!”

Sheng Yan: “???”

Where was Fu Yun pitiful?!

He hadn’t cried before you came.

Just as Sheng Yan was about to speak, Fu Yun, who was standing next to him, stood up against the wall, lowered his head, and whispered, “Teacher, it’s not all Sheng Yan’s fault in this matter. It was my fault for speaking carelessly at the beginning…”

“If you don’t speak carelessly, he still can’t hit people, can he?!” Huang Shuliang couldn’t contain his anger.

Fu Yun’s voice was very low, “He didn’t hit me much, and it didn’t hurt.”

“Even if it didn’t hurt, it wasn’t hitting? Fu Yun, you’re too kind and honest, so you’re easily bullied!” Huang Shuliang was annoyed.

“???”

What do you mean it wasn’t hitting much?

It was just a scare, and it was very attentive.

He was speechless and said: “That’s not what he said at all…”

“It’s not like what he said?” Before Sheng Yan could finish speaking, Huang Shuliang yelled, “I’ve seen it with my own eyes. You blocked people in the corner and treated a good boy until he almost cried. How else can you argue?”

He didn’t cry before you came.

Sheng Yan has been a straightforward person all his life. He always talks about things and fights if they can’t agree. Whoever wins will listen to whoever wins. This is the first time he has encountered such a situation where a grown man pretends to be pitiful.

It’s like a straight man meets a bitch and they are roasted on the fire.

Besides, Huang Shuliang was already biased against him, and there was no surveillance in the bathroom. The other boy next to him was obviously helping Fu Yun, so he really couldn’t figure it out.

And he had no interest in breaking up with this kind of person. It was a waste of time. Just when he was about to say “Whatever you want” and walk away, there were two bangs and the door frame was knocked twice.

Qin Zigui stood at the door, looked at Huang Shuliang, and whispered: “Director, this is not Sheng Yan’s fault, it’s my problem.”

His tone sounded a little down, and his expression wasn’t too good.

Huang Shuliang had never seen Qin Zigui like this before, so he hurriedly asked: “What does this matter have to do with you?”

Qin Zigui said calmly: “It’s nothing. I just heard the noise inside when I was reciting words outside, but because…for some personal reasons, I didn’t come out to stop it in time, so it’s my problem.”

The bathroom on the first floor is at the corner. On one side is the corridor, lined with six classrooms for the third-year science class, which is the direction from which Sheng Yan and Huang Shuliang came. On the other side, there is a row of sycamore trees. It is very quiet and often crowded. Students come here to study and review.

So Qin Zigui’s situation is normal.

What is the abnormal personal reason that would make Qin Zigui, the president of the student union, ignore someone inside beating his classmates?

Huang Shuliang instinctively sensed something was wrong and frowned: “Qin Zigui, what did you hear? Please tell me.”

Fu Yun on the side didn’t know if he really heard it, so he clenched his palms and held his breath.

Qin Zirui raised his eyes slightly to glance at him, then looked away slightly, remaining silent.

Huang Shuliang was originally an impatient man, but after being tempered by him like this, he was so anxious that he almost had blisters: “If you have anything to say, tell me! Can this teacher uphold justice for you?”

Qin Zigui put away his usual aloof temperament, lowered his eyebrows, and there was an inadvertent hurt and vulnerability in his eyes. Coupled with his good-looking skin, he looked extremely lovable, and he even spoke well. Extremely sensible: “I’m worried that Teacher you will be unhappy after hearing this.”

“Why would I be unhappy?”

Huang Shuliang was stunned for a moment, why would he be so unhappy?

Qin Zigui opened his mouth, as if he had made an extremely difficult choice, and finally said calmly: “Fu Yun and others said that I have no parents and I live under someone else’s roof. You favor me, so I may be your illegitimate son” Sheng Yan was angry and felt that he didn’t respect you, so I couldn’t help but grab his collar. I don’t know what happened next, but I didn’t hear the fight. I only heard that Sheng Yan seemed to have been talking reason to him.”

“???”

Huang Shuliang never thought that Fu Yun’s inappropriate words would be so inappropriate!

And this is no longer just a case of ignorant boys swearing at each other and provoking each other. This is clearly a case of maliciously slandering and attacking others by specifically picking on their most painful areas!

Huang Shuliang’s expression changed instantly and he looked at Fu Yun and the two of them very seriously: “Is this true?”

How can he admit this?

And there is no evidence for what he says.

Fu Yun hurriedly denied, “No, no, Principal, we definitely didn’t say such things, really didn’t, you believe…”

Before he could finish, Qin Zigui took off his smart bracelet and handed it to Huang Shuliang, saying calmly, “Because I needed to correct my pronunciation, I always record myself when I study alone. It might not be very clear, but it should prove that Sheng Yan didn’t actually hit him, or say things like ‘beat to death’ or ‘hit once every time we meet.'”

With a press of a finger, the disturbing words of insult from Fu Yun and his companions faintly sounded amidst the noise.

His face was slapped.

For a moment, it was hard to tell which one was more ugly between their two faces and the weasel’s face

And holding the bracelet and listening to those hurtful words again, Qin Zigu, who still looked calm and composed, still showed a sense of sadness and vulnerability beneath his rationality, making people feel extremely sorry for him.

Thinking of Qin Zigu’s bumpy life and how he grew up into such a good child, and still being slandered, Huang Shuliang felt both heartache and anger.

Not to mention Sheng Yan, this young man with raging hormones, even wanted to slap Fu Yun and his friend a few times, so he unexpectedly didn’t want to deal with Sheng Yan. He just shouted at Fu Yun and his friend, “Both of you are going to the office right now! I won’t forgive myself if I don’t teach you the basic moral values! I will be sorry for the title of being your teacher!”

After finishing speaking, Huang Shuliang looked back at Qin Zigu.

Qin Zigui lowered his eyelids and quickly replied, “Teacher, I’m fine. Don’t be too angry. I believe they didn’t mean it intentionally. Just talk to them nicely. I’m okay here.”

The more Qin Zigui spoke like this, the more Huang Shuliang’s heart ached.

Indeed, the more sensible children were, the easier they were to be wronged.

He had almost been fooled by those two idiots from Class Four!

They must be punished severely! Extremely severe!!

Thinking of this, Huang Shuliang became even angrier when he saw those two hesitant and shrinking figures from Class Four. He shouted directly, “Move faster!”

Then he looked at Sheng Yan and said, “Alright, although there was a reason behind this incident, your behavior is still unacceptable. Don’t always resort to violence to solve everything. Understand the importance of wisdom, do you?”

Sheng Yan, who had been marveling at Fu Yun’s acting skills, was stunned after watching Qin Zigu’s incredible performance. Was Qin Zigui the one who needed comforting? Was it his performance, which seemed even more realistic than Fu Yun’s, or was he genuinely upset?

Regardless of which, Sheng Yan felt a bit uncomfortable inside. How did Qin Zigui overhear those words?

So he didn’t hear what Huang Shuliang said next.

It wasn’t until Huang Shuliang shouted again, “Sheng Yan! Where is your wisdom?! What’s the point of having such good looks if you don’t use your brain?!”

That he snapped out of it.

Huang Shuliang’s tone softened slightly, “But it’s evident that you’re not a bad kid at heart. You can distinguish between right and wrong, black and white, so you’re not beyond redemption. Therefore, after a unanimous decision by the grade level team, we’ve decided to give you a reward.”

Sheng Yan raised an eyebrow.

Was the sun rising from the west today?

Huang Shuliang was actually going to reward him?

With that thought in mind, Huang Shuliang took out a classroom seating chart and held it up to him, “Recognize this?”

Sheng Yan nodded, “Yes, it’s a seating chart. But why is it from Class One?”

Huang Shuliang circled the second-to-last seat in the row next to the window with a red pen, “Do you know who sits here?”

Sheng Yan shook his head.

Huang Shuliang said, “This is Chen Yubai, the third in the grade for this exam and the head of the Discipline Inspection Department.”

Sheng Yan: “?”

Huang Shuliang then circled the last seat in the row next to the window, “Do you know who sits here?”

Sheng Yan shook his head again.

Huang Shuliang said, “This is Lin Qian, the second in the grade for this exam and the class representative for Chinese in Class One.”

Sheng Yan: “??”

Finally, Huang Shuliang circled the last seat in the row next to the window, “Do you know who sits here?”

This time, Sheng Yan knew, “Qin Zigui.”

Huang Shuliang nodded, “Yes, this is the first in our grade, the president of the Student Union, Qin Zigui’s seat.”

Sheng Yan didn’t understand, “So?”

“So, we plan to add another desk behind Qin Zigui’s seat for you to sit there.”

Sheng Yan had a bad feeling, “And then?”

Huang Shuliang smiled slightly, “Then we plan to assign you the empty space behind Qin Zigui’s seat, which faces three sides of mountains and one side of water, which is considered a very auspicious Feng Shui spot.”

Sheng Yan: “???”

With the third in the grade on the left, the second in the grade on the right, and the first in the grade in front, with teachers passing by on the corridor side, everyone could observe him without obstacles.

Who came up with the idea to assign him this auspicious Feng Shui spot?!

What grudge did they hold against him?!

Sheng Yan immediately protested, “Teacher, no, I can’t. Really can’t. I definitely can’t keep up with the progress of Class One.”

Huang Shuliang smiled kindly, “It’s okay. You can’t keep up with the progress of Class Six either. So even if you can’t keep up with either class, at least being here will ensure that you won’t talk or play games during class, and someone will report you immediately if you skip class to play with your phone. In the long run, even if you don’t want to study, you’ll have to. Even if your grades don’t improve, your study habits will.”

Why didn’t he mention that his blood pressure would also rise?

Sheng Yan tried another approach, “As the bottom scorer in the grade, it wouldn’t be fair for me to be in Class One.”

Huang Shuliang still smiled kindly, “It won’t be unfair. If you were moved from Class Two or Three to Class One, that would be unfair. But if you, with your grades, were moved to Class One, the whole grade knows it’s torture. They’ll only sympathize with you.”

Sheng Yan: “…”

You guys are quite understanding.

He wanted to refuse again, but Huang Shuliang didn’t give him a chance to argue, “Alright, enough said. Your mother has agreed, and this is a special treatment that the grade level team, after a whole night of discussion, decided to give you as the lowest-scoring student in our school for the past five years. So cherish it. Besides, it’s not like you’ll be in Class One forever. Just observe and see how it goes during this month of makeup classes. We’ll discuss the specifics later. So, Qin Zigui, go help him move his desk. I’ll go educate those two troublemakers from Class Four.”

After saying that, Huang Shuliang left confidently.

Left alone, Sheng Yan stood desolately in the drafty restroom.

Then he thought of something and turned to Qin Zigui, saying irritably, “I’m not moving to that seat.”

Qin Zigui had already reverted from his pitiful act to his usual cold and aloof demeanor, with his hands in his pockets. “What did you say?”

Sheng Yan raised an eyebrow, looking as if he had figured everything out, “Originally, you and Lin Qian were sitting in a row. If I suddenly move over, it’ll be like breaking up the mandarin ducks. I’ll be the little lightbulb, you’ll be on one side, Lin Qian on the other, and I’ll be sandwiched between you two, watching you two get jealous every day?”

“?” Qin Zigui paused for a moment, seeming to understand his thought process, and looked at him with narrowed eyes. “Do you think I like Lin Qian?”

Sheng Yan rolled his eyes at him, “Of course, by now, the whole grade probably knows that you like Lin Qian. Otherwise, why would you go fight with Huang Mao and his gang?”

Qin Zigui instantly understood.

He wondered why this young master was so angry this time.

It turned out he thought their cold war was because of Lin Qian.

So, in this guy’s mind, his image had probably become that of someone who valued romantic relationships over friendships.

The problem turned out to be here.

And Qin Zigu’s specialty was solving existing problems.

So he looked at Sheng Yan and said calmly, “I didn’t go fight with Huang Mao because of Lin Qian.”

Sheng Yan scoffed.

Qin Zigui lowered his eyes to meet his gaze and said in a calm tone: “It’s for you.”

T/N: Ofcourse you must perform well to get a boyfriend lol.