GTAS Arc 1 Ch. 7

“Qihan, here’s Shen Liyu’s math test paper for his weekly examination. Well, this kid is really struggling with math, ah… Qihan?”

Song Qihan immediately broke out from his trance. He nodded sheepishly as he reached out to take Shen Liyu’s math test paper. His embarrassment immediately faded away though upon seeing all the errors marked on it. Just looking at the “pitiful” score, the deep-set eyes behind his lens darkened; and he frowned. 

“Thank you. I will go and talk to Shen Liyu privately about this matter later…”

At this time, Shen Liyu was sitting at his desk, attentively listening to the teacher’s lecture and meticulously taking notes. The desk next to him was stacked with books, but there was no one occupying the seat.

Of course, there wouldn’t be anyone because Shen Liyu’s desk mate was Li Chen. Li Chen was probably lying in a hospital bed right now, receiving his “treatment” in peace!

On the seats behind him, there were several students who weren’t paying attention to the class. Instead, they were only glaring at Shen Liyu. Shen Liyu of course recognized those people; how could he not when they were the so-called good brothers of Li Chen, the ones who were waiting for them outside the hotel room that night?

With a “thwack,” a tightly crumpled paper ball was thrown from behind Shen Liyu, rolling twice onto his textbook before coming to a stop.

The group of students who were staring at Shen Liyu let out a low and sinister chuckle. From their reaction, it was obvious that this paper ball contained some unspeakable words.

Then, under their expectant expressions, Shen Liyu picked up the paper ball. But to the displeasure of their expectations, he actually casually tossed it aside…

Directly onto Li Chen’s desk. He didn’t even look at it. 

The group of students were then left dumbfounded. Feeling suddenly provoked, they gnashed their teeth and desperately began to throw paper balls at Shen Liyu. Some managed to land on his desk. Some hit his slender back while some fell by his feet…

The more Shen Liyu refused to react, the more brazen they became!

“Teacher, Zhang Yong and the others have been making noise at the back! It’s affecting the other students already that we couldn’t focus on class.”

At this moment, a young man sitting in the aisle next to Shen Liyu stood up. His face that always held a sunshine expression now looked serious, and his tone was very solemn.

The teacher on the podium turned to look at Zhang Yong’s direction, just in time to see him holding up a handful of paper balls with a ferocious expression. The teacher slammed the textbook onto the desk with a bang, instantly silencing the entire classroom. Then, the teacher’s roar echoed throughout the room.

“Is this how you guys behave during class? You! All of you, go outside and stand in the corridor!”

After Zhang Yong and the others left, the classroom finally returned to its normal atmosphere.

“Ding ding ding~” The school bell suddenly rang, signaling the end of the class. The teacher then walked out with a stern expression over his face. It seemed like he was determined to “correct” these troublesome students properly this time!

Shen Liyu closed his textbook before slowly stretching his body and sitting up straight. It had been a long time since he had sat so upright and paid such serious attention in class. But in order to successfully rise up through his own efforts and not rely on System Little Six’s “cheating” function, he had to start taking classes seriously from now on…

“Liyu, are you okay? Just ignore Zhang Yong and the others. They’re causing trouble for everyone by not paying attention to the class themselves.”

Sitting beside Shen Liyu, the young man who had just helped him out leaned against Shen Liyu’s desk. With a pair of sparkling eyes, he looked at Shen Liyu and talked about what happened in class just now.

Shen Liyu raised his head, looking at the young man in front of him. With a smile in his beautiful peach blossom eyes, he sincerely said, “Thanks, Qi Ming.”

Looking at Shen Liyu’s bright smile, Qi Ming’s ears turned red. Flustered, he couldn’t help but lift his hand to scratch his head. He snorted, “It’s okay. There’s no need to thank me. Zhang Yong and the others deserved it anyways as they were already disrupting the class to begin with…”

Shen Liyu shook his head as he loudly refuted, “No. I’m not thanking you for what happened in class just now but for telling Senior Song about Li Chen and me sneaking out of school.”

Qi Ming was stunned as he immediately blurted out his words, “Huh? How did you know? Was it Senior Song who…”

Qi Ming didn’t finish his sentence, realizing that it was only he and Senior Song who knew about this matter. Now that Shen Liyu knew, it was obvious that it could have only been Senior Song who told him…

Shen Liyu nodded with a sincere smile in his peach blossom eyes, giving Qi Ming a definite answer.

In fact, Song Qihan had never mentioned this matter to Shen Liyu. However, as someone who had read the original work, Shen Liyu remembered these small details.

Qi Ming was the class monitor of Class Six, a typical sunny boy who was helpful and loyal. He had taken care of Shen Liyu a lot in the past, which was nothing more than fulfilling his duty, because as the class monitor, it was his responsibility to look after anyone, even the ones who are relatively disadvantaged or invisible like Shen Liyu.

During that fateful day at school, Shen Liyu sat alone in the classroom for a long time. He was hesitating whether to go to the grove to find Li Chen. At that moment, Qi Ming, who had forgotten to take his textbook back to the dormitory, returned to the classroom again and naturally ran into Shen Liyu sitting in the classroom.

Seeing Shen Liyu sitting alone there, Qi Ming was a little confused at first. As he entered through an open back door, it was expected for Shen Liyu not to notice him. Qi Ming walked to Shen Liyu’s side first before asking his concerns, “Liyu, what are you doing here all alone…”

Qi Ming didn’t even get to finish his question as his words immediately died down upon seeing the tears flowing out of the corners of Shen Liyu’s eyes. It then streamed down his fair face before disappearing into his school uniform.

Shen Liyu was startled by Qi Ming’s appearance. After regaining his senses, he quickly wiped away the traces of tears with his hand and forced out a smile. He then assured him that he’s fine before standing up and walking out in a hurry, bypassing Qi Ming.

But how could Qi Ming just let Shen Liyu leave like this? He reached out and grabbed Shen Liyu’s arm, asking him what was wrong.

Of course, Shen Liyu didn’t tell Qi Ming the truth. He just said that he was remembering some sad things from the past. Then, he shook off Qi Ming’s hand before proceeding to walk out of the class again in a haste.

Qi Ming’s worries were not at ease, so he followed Shen Liyu’s footsteps. He then saw him entering the grove of the school, followed closely by Li Chen, Zhang Yong, and the others. Realizing that something was wrong, he turned and ran towards the dormitory building, looking for Song Qihan and telling him about the situation.

This was how Song Qihan appeared at the hotel later on.

Shen Liyu looked at the always cheerful big boy, Qi Ming, in front of him and felt a bit embarrassed. He lowered his attractive peach blossom eyes and sincerely said, “Um, I’m really grateful for the things you and Senior Song have done for me. Otherwise, I might really have disappeared from this world…”

If he hadn’t transmigrated into the book, the original events would have continued to unfold with the original owner. It’s quite possible that suicide wouldn’t have been out of the question…

Qi Ming’s body stiffened at his words. He suddenly reached out his hands and placed them on Shen Liyu’s delicate shoulders, who was staring at him in a daze. He bent down; his bright eyes were full of sincerity while his cheeks were slightly flushed; but his tone was exceptionally serious as he spoke his oath with emphasis.

“Liyu, rest assured. I will definitely protect you. I won’t let Li Chen, Zhang Yong, and their gang do anything to you again! Trust me!”

Shen Liyu stared at Qi Ming before him, suddenly feeling conflicted. He didn’t  know what to say in response to Qi Ming’s words. Moreover, the way Qi Ming spoke—why did it sound like he was confessing his love?

“Shen Liyu, come out for a moment.”

At this moment, a deep voice spoke out across the chaotic classroom. The class immediately quieted down little by little because the owner of that voice was none other than Song Qihan.

Seeing the overly ‘intimate’ pair in front of him, Song Qihan’s deep eyes behind his glasses couldn’t help but darken so slightly. He stood with his hands behind his back, his fingertips pinching the exam paper so tightly that they turned white as it inevitably left a deep crease on the paper…

After Shen Liyu followed Song Qihan out, the noisy atmosphere in the classroom returned again. And yet Qi Ming remained in place, looking a bit dazed, as he stared at the rough draft paper that Shen Liyu had just written on. He reached out and gently touched the uneven marks on it. His mind couldn’t help but be filled with the image of Shen Liyu with tears on his face, looking pitiful and helpless…

Lost in thought, his fingers suddenly touched something. Qi Ming lowered his head and saw a paper ball that Zhang Yong and the others had thrown at Shen Liyu during class earlier.

Curious, he picked it up and unfolded it, seeing the unsightly words that it contained. His entire expression immediately turned cold after reading it, and he no longer looked like the amiable, sunny boy he usually was. Then, he stood up and picked up all the paper balls scattered around Shen Liyu’s desk, throwing them one by one into the trash can.

Qi Ming looked at the trash can, thinking that he couldn’t let these bastards hurt Shen Liyu again!