Ch 1

“Dear teachers and principal, I have deeply realized the seriousness of my mistakes. I promise that I will never do it again! I…”

Lou Cheng’s review book was just getting to the best part when the half-open door of the headmaster’s office was suddenly pushed open.

“Principal, I have read the files of the transfer students. The nature of the crime is a little bad, isn’t it? He was assigned to our fourth class again…” The middle-aged man said with a hoarse voice, like a broken bellow.

Teacher Dou worked too hard when he was young, and he had polyps in his throat. Later, after surgery, his voice became like this. He not only spoke hoarsely but also always coughed with phlegm.

After he came in, he noticed the tall teenager wearing a jersey and leaning on crutches in the principal’s office.

And there was no one on the headmaster’s black office chair.

“What are you doing here? Where’s Principal Zhou?” Teacher Dou walked to Lou Cheng carrying the file.

“Oh, just now the director came, he went out and let me read the review here, and said that I can leave after reading.” Lou Cheng answered casually while holding crutches in one hand, with the most annoying expression on his face that the teacher hated the most.

His black jersey was slightly moist against the flesh, and he wore a red wristband on his hand. The wheat-colored arm muscles reflected luster and the obvious sweating appearance made Teacher Dou clip his eyebrows. Looked at his slender legs and bandaged ankles, and finally landed on his innocent expression.

Pursing his face and saying: “Where is your school uniform?”

“Classroom.”

Lou Cheng came to the school to play basketball, and a light rain suddenly started to float in the sky, the gymnasium was occupied by members of the club so he didn’t go in. When he thought of it, he stopped by the principal’s office for a review.

He made a mistake at the beginning of school and came to the principal to read a review book once a week.

Teacher Dou suddenly smelled something, and then suspiciously said: “Why is there a smell of smoke on your body?”

“Yes?” His expression was very innocent.

He had just finished playing, it was too hot, and the locker room was filled with smoke and smelly sweat, which was so irritating, so he left his school uniform in the locker room.

Teacher Dou suspected that he had been smoking for more than one or two days, but he had never found any evidence, and he could not be convicted only by the insignificant smell of smoke.

He scanned Lou Cheng a few times: “That’s right, have you finished your review? When you’re done, go back to the classroom and stay there.  I’ll get you a set of monthly exam papers later, and you’ll take them back, write it down, and revise them in class tomorrow.”

Lou Cheng: “…”

Dou Zhiwei glanced at him: “Didn’t you hear me clearly?”

Lou Cheng shrugged, laughed again, made it clear, and then limply walked out of the principal’s office.

Just in time, Principal Zhou came to face him, Lou Hui greeted him, and said politely: “Principal, I have finished my review.”

Principal Zhou nodded and sent him away. Showing his face while looking at Teacher Dou at the door of the office and said: “Mr. Dou came just in time.”

Before the two entered the office and closed the door, Lou Cheng with his ears straightened heard a few conversations.

“Come here to ask about the transfer student? I just want to tell you about his situation, sit down…”

The conversation was shut in the door, Lou Cheng limped away after he couldn’t hear them at all. He acted a full set and walked a long way before throwing away his crutches and walking vigorously.

Inside the principal’s office.

Principal Zhou opened the drawer, took out a few well-written test papers, and pushed them in front of Teacher Dou.

“This is…?” Teacher Dou opened the math test paper. He had just corrected a lot of papers, so he didn’t have time to look at it carefully to see that it was a very good answer. The handwriting was beautiful and neat. At a rough glance, it was almost perfect. He didn’t know which student it belonged to.

“I gave him the exam papers from last week during the day. He has just transferred to another school, so he has to find out the basics. There are three examination papers except for mathematics, with full marks in maths, 148 in English, and 139 in Chinese.”

Speaking of this, Principal Zhou smiled. This grade is considered a top student in Liu Zhong high school.

“This set of examination papers was produced by our school. In terms of difficulty, the Chinese language is super-critical, but he has a quick mind. He sat here writing calmly for more than three hours and finished three subjects.”

“Three hours?!” Teacher Dou said in surprise.

Lou Cheng went down the stairs and saw that the classroom door was open, but there was no one inside. Instead of going back to the classroom, he went directly to the men’s toilet on the first floor.

As soon as he entered, he smelled a very strong smell of smoke.

He hates cigarettes, and the smell of cigarettes is unpleasant here.

Today is the weekend. They have an evening self-study session on the weekend in Liu Zhong high School, from 6:50 to 9:00. It’s only three o’clock in the afternoon. The campus during this time is sparsely populated, and students usually don’t come so early.

Lou Cheng caught a glimpse of a boy who didn’t wear a school uniform, smoking silently with his head half-hanging in the innermost cubicle.

In the afternoon, the light was soft and hazy. The man was standing in the backlight, with a face shrouded in smoke, against the gray frosted window with cobwebs. His figure was thin and his fingers holding cigarettes were white and slender.

Lou Cheng leaned his prop crutches against the wall of the sink and walked to the toilet. The smoking boy also noticed the uninvited guest, silently put out his cigarette in the sound of splashing water, then took out a pack of facial tissues, rubbed the cigarette butts into a ball with the tissue and threw it into the trash can.

Lou Cheng turned his head to look at the second-hand smoke maker with some displeasure.

At the first glance, Lou Cheng noticed the obvious fight scars on his face. The bruises and redness were printed on his sickly white face like a scraper wiped stroke by stroke on the white canvas. The traces are stiff and eye-catching. Even if he wears big and thick round glasses, it can’t cover the injuries on his face.

When Lou Cheng put on his shorts pants, he immediately thought of the transfer student.

The “bad” transfer student that Teacher Dou said is probably the one in front of him. Looking at the severity of the wound… Tsk, it’s pretty nasty.

No wonder Old Dou was so angry that he questioned the principal.

The transfer student didn’t look at him at all. He turned on the faucet to wash his hands, rinse his mouth, and finally sprayed something into his mouth, probably to eliminate the smell of smoke.

The other party is so skilled, and Lou Cheng is more sure that the other party is a ruthless character.

At this time, someone suddenly entered the men’s toilet, accompanied by a dry cough with old phlegm in it.

“Lou Cheng.” Teacher Dou shouted solemnly.

Lou Cheng turned around to the appearance of Teacher Dou.

The smell of the smoke had not gone away, and Teacher Dou stared at Lou Cheng with a certain look that he finally could catch his pigtail: “Is it you?”

Lou Cheng said no.

Teacher Dou coldly snorted: “Whether it is you or not, hand in an 800-character of self-criticism tomorrow!”

A cauldron fell from the sky! Lou Cheng’s face turned dark: “I don’t smoke, and I have said it several times.” He directly turned out his trouser pocket, wanting to prove his innocence, but he didn’t expect to drop out a handful of money and a lighter.

Teacher Dou’s eyes lit up quickly, and he felt like it was not all effortless. He smiled triumphantly: “Wow, you, Lou Cheng! You have a lighter, what else can you say!”

Lou Cheng didn’t expect this to happen. He was even more confused. He pursed his mouth and explained: “I bought the lighter only when I ordered mosquito-repellent coil.”

“Ordered the mosquito coil,” Teacher Dou let out a cold snort, “Come to my office.”

Teacher Dou is one of the most rigorous teachers in our school. Every time he invigilates the exam room, he always catches students who cheat. He and the other three invigilators are collectively referred to as the “four famous arrests.” He not only catches cheating students but also likes to catch others for dating and smoking.

All of the students in his class have heard of his deeds, and they gnash their teeth when they talk about him.

Of course, it’s impossible for Lou Cheng to carry this pot for the transfer student.

The transfer student stood by the sink before leaving but did not speak. He watched the “you have the lighter” farce coldly, without even a trace of guilt or guilty conscience on his face.

This made Lou Cheng even angrier, and his smile was completely cold: “Then if I smoke, there must be a cigarette, right? What does the lighter show? What about the cigarette?” He carried his clean trouser pocket: “Where is the evidence?”

“Evidence! The smell is the evidence! With such a heavy smell of smoke, you are the only one here. It’s not you, then who is it?”

Lou Cheng was about to laugh angrily. He hugged his arms: “Teacher Dou, let me remind you that there are three big living people here.”

He disdains accusing others of “exemption” for himself, and there is a sense of self-clarification in his words.

Teacher Dou obviously noticed that there was another person here, but after the conversation with the principal, he was now full of sympathy and regret for this student. He was a good boy, so he had no doubt about Ding Xuerun.

But now that Lou Cheng said that, Teacher Dou turned his head and asked Ding Xuerun, in a gentle tone: “Did you see who smokes?”

Ding Xuerun hesitated, first shook his head, then nodded: “It shouldn’t be this classmate. A male teacher seemed to be smoking when he came in just now. You…misunderstood him.”

Teacher Dou looked at him, then turned to look at Lou Cheng again.

In the office on the first floor, there is a teacher who is a heavy smoker and smokes wherever he goes. Today he just came to correct the examination paper in advance, and Old Dou naturally guessed it was him.

Did he really wronged Lou Cheng?

So, he didn’t say anything: “This way, Lou Cheng” Teacher Dou ordered, “Come with me to the office to get the exam paper, and then you take your new classmate to the boy’s dormitory. He just transferred to Liu Zhong high school, please show him around to get familiar with the school.”

Lou Cheng leaning on a cane: “???”

Teacher Dou gave him this task lightly, he turned around and left without giving him a chance to refuse.

Lou Cheng followed into the office gloomily, and took a few snow-white monthly exam papers from Old Dou and held them in his hand. He heard Old Dou explain some important things to the transfer students: “Class 4 is the key class. There quizzes once a week, and once a month for the big exam, after each mid-term and final exam, you will adjust your class by combining your usual results and competition results.” 

“Students in parallel classes have the opportunity to be admitted to our key class. Similarly, if the grades of the students in the key class plummet, they may fall into parallel classes.”

“The competition in the Liu Zhong high school is fierce.”

“Each test score accounts for a certain proportion, so you must not lose the chain at the time of the second year of high school. Lateness and absenteeism are not allowed,” he knocked, “Fighting is even more forbidden. The lighter one will be recorded as a serious offense and the severe ones are expelled, your situation…”

“You are a smart student, study hard, and you will definitely win honor for the school.” He patted Ding Xuerun’s arm, his tone was so gentle. Lou Cheng was very familiar with the smile on his face. He would smile similarly to some of the students he proud of in his class.

Lou Cheng stood lazily with his crutches, thinking that when he was just entering the first year of high school, Old Dou also paid special attention to him, and often said to him: “You are so smart, why don’t you study hard? If you study hard, I’m sure you can……”

He turned to look at the transfer student who was beaten and bruised.

The transfer students looked calm and well-behaved, taking a mouthful of “Um”, “Yes, Teacher Dou”, and “I know, Teacher Dou”. His voice is very soft, and this kind of voice naturally gives people a sense of sensible and obedient feeling.

It’s too boring, and he doesn’t bother to listen to Old Dou’s broken gong voice chanting. Lou Cheng is playing with the monthly examination paper in his hand, lazily looking up and down at him.

The transfer student not only had injuries on his face but also on his hands. The knuckles were covered with blood scabs, black and blue, and the snow-white necks, turquoise blood vessels, and several dark red scars complemented each other.

His white skin reminds Lou Cheng of a distant cousin who has albinism. His skin is almost transparent, and the whiteness of blood vessels can be clearly seen. Moreover, his hair is lighter in color, and his hair is a kind of golden brown. The quality looks very soft.

If it weren’t for the injuries on his face, his gentle and harmless temperament would look like a top student.

And the transfer student is very thin. From a glance, he was at least a head shorter than himself of course, with Lou Cheng’s height of 1.88 meters, he stood out from the crowd in Liu Zhong high school and looked down upon all beings.

Teacher Dou didn’t say too much and later told Lou Cheng: “You can recharge your campus card at five o’clock. Lou Cheng, take your new classmate to get a meal card and take him to familiarize himself with the school.”

Lou Cheng hummed weakly. The new classmate turned to look at him and said, “Trouble you, classmate.” Lou Cheng just carried a pot for him, and turned his head disdainfully: “You’re welcome.”

The two walked out of the office and at the same time moved a few steps away from each other.

Lou Cheng stared at him, bowed his head with a smile, and lowered his voice: “You are pretty good at pretending.”

He is a subwoofer, and when his voice is deliberately lowered, it feels like tickling people’s hearts.

When Lou Cheng approached him, he could smell a very faint strawberry smell, which was a breath freshener, and it was strange that Lou Cheng could not smell any smoke.

Without changing his face, Ding Xuerun looked at him and said, “Thank you just now.”

Lou Cheng gave a hum, his face was a little pale, but he had no intention of showing him around the campus in the slightest. He turned around and wanted to go, but found that the sun rain that had just stopped, began to fall again.

The sun is still shining, but the rain is pattering, and the air is filled with the scent of moist grass.

Lou Cheng frowned as he stared at the sudden rain. He noticed that the transfer student entered the classroom. After a while, he saw that the rain did not stop. Although the rain was not heavy, he didn’t want to get soaked, so he had to turn around as well.

It’s just… Lou Cheng was standing at the door, and he saw the position of the new classmate, right behind him.

He has always been alone in a seat because he is tall, so he is at the back. He happened to be the odd number in the class. Perhaps the teacher was afraid that he would affect other students, so he didn’t arrange a deskmate for him to be at the same table.

The new classmate’s seat is behind Lou Cheng, leaning against the balcony door.

Lou Cheng did not go in, leaning on the door of the classroom with two long legs overlapping. He saw the transfer student pull out an umbrella and walk towards him with his school bag on his back.

When approaching him, the transfer student paused and put the umbrella on the table in the first row. Lou Cheng was taken aback for a moment, and then he walked past him without saying a word, with no expression on his face, and his whole body is cold and unkind.

Lou Cheng glanced at the umbrella on the table, and then at the transfer student. He was thinking about what to do with the transfer student when he saw him pull out a lightweight 50% discount umbrella from the side pocket of his school bag.

He opened the umbrella in front of the rain and walked down the steps without looking back.

The beautifully opened umbrella drifted away indifferently, Lou Cheng rubbed his chin and stared at his back for a while, thinking that someone would deliberately take two umbrellas out of the house. Is it specially prepared for lending to others?

How could there be such a person?

He held the larger umbrella on the table in his hand. The umbrella was folded neatly, with deep traces of use, and very old.

Lou Cheng is in a better mood. With his crutches in one hand, he opened the umbrella and walked into the rain. When he looked up, he saw a discolored red heart sign on the umbrella. A white hand was printed on the red heart, and there was a string of black words underneath.

He looked curiously, and when he could distinguish the content of the words, the smile on Lou Cheng’s face gradually disappeared.

“Caring for the disabled and passing on the city’s care.”