TAO | Chapter 13

It wasn’t even summer yet, but the weather in City A had been unusually hot for the past couple of days. The grass along the roads had withered from the heat.

Wei Xiaochi had a terrible body cooling system. He hardly ever sweated in the summer, but his body always felt weak.

On Thursday morning, under the blazing sun, Wei Xiaochi rode his bike to school. As soon as he entered the classroom, he could immediately feel the different atmosphere — something was off.

Within minutes of returning to his seat, he started receiving physics homework from about eleven or twelve classmates, leaving Wei Xiaochi utterly confused.

He was the class representative for physics homework, always chasing after these people to collect assignments, but today, they were all suddenly so diligent.

It wasn’t just him — even Zhang Mingyang, the math class representative, was receiving quite a few completed assignments.

“Didn’t you see the class president’s WeChat Moments?” Zhang Mingyang pushed up his glasses, unusually not being sarcastic. “He’s in school today.”

Wei Xiaochi’s eyes lit up. “Really?”

He glanced toward Li Suilin’s desk — the one that had been empty for a week now had some books on it, along with a few snacks prepared by the omegas to chew on.

With Li Suilin back, Wei Xiaochi felt much more at ease.

Although their class was full of top students, there were always some rowdy troublemakers, and it took someone like Li Suilin to keep things under control.

When Li Suilin was present, the class was harmonious and united. When he wasn’t around, chaos broke loose, with the students running wild.

Everyone loved the class president, and he loved everyone in return. In their class of 63 students, each person could feel the warmth and attention from him.

The title of “King of the Sea” suited him well — nobody could argue with that.

Even Xu Yang, who usually lorded over the class, had toned it down. He briskly walked past Wei Xiaochi’s desk.

Wei Xiaochi quickly pulled out the completed homework for him, and Xu Yang scooped up all the exercise books.

From his pocket, Xu Yang pulled out a whole box of chocolates and two sausages. “Don’t tell Li Suilin about what happened these past few days.”

Wei Xiaochi knew Xu Yang was referring to him writing his homework, and he nodded to signal that he wouldn’t say anything.

Xu Yang nodded in approval, clearly satisfied with how well Wei Xiaochi understood the unspoken rule.

Wei Xiaochi looked at the “bribe” Xu Yang gave him, his hands hovering over it, but he felt awkward with the class bully still nearby.

Just as he was hesitating, Xu Yang suddenly asked, “Did you change your glasses?”

Wei Xiaochi looked up in surprise and answered cautiously, “Yeah, I changed them yesterday afternoon.”

Xu Yang seemed to have just noticed the new pair of glasses, but he asked as if it were a casual comment, before turning and heading back to his seat.

Wei Xiaochi didn’t think much of it.

His relationship with Xu Yang was simple: he did Xu Yang’s homework, and in return, Xu Yang occasionally gave him a reward. Outside of that, they had no real interactions.

Li Suilin was in the student council, but not as the president. He was in charge of discipline and would often check on the reading sessions across three grade levels.

After the morning reading session ended, Li Suilin returned.

Though both were wearing the same blue and white school uniform, Li Suilin wore it with a broad-shouldered, narrow-waisted look that was pleasing to the eye.

Someone like him, even in a burlap sack, couldn’t hide the refined, noble aura of a distinguished young man.

Li Suilin’s ankle injury hadn’t healed yet, and as he walked past the class door, he was immediately surrounded by a group of sweet, attentive omega students, some from their class and others from outside.

Wei Xiaochi looked at the crowd gathered at the door. Each of them was beautiful and youthful, and he couldn’t help but sigh — their class president was truly a magnet for attention.

But Wei Xiaochi didn’t feel envious or jealous. He quickly gathered the completed physics homework and stood up to leave through the back door of the classroom to the office.

Yesterday afternoon, there had been no physics class, and Mr. Zhou hadn’t seen Wei Xiaochi. When the thin teenager walked into the office, Mr. Zhou didn’t pay him much attention, leisurely sipping his goji berry tea until Wei Xiaochi placed a thick stack of exercise books in front of him.

Mr. Zhou looked up in surprise. “Oh, isn’t this my homework representative?”

He was genuinely curious about his little class representative. “Did you change your glasses?”

Wei Xiaochi: ???

This was already the umpteenth time someone had asked him this. He’d been asked by most of the class when he was collecting assignments earlier.

Was this the charm of a 6,000-yuan pair of glasses?

Mr. Zhou set his thermos down and praised, “These glasses are good. They make you look young and energetic. Maybe cut your hair next time. You’ll definitely look like a sharp, handsome young man.”

Wei Xiaochi ran his hand through his bangs. He really did need a haircut. If he didn’t, Wei Minzhen would probably take disciplinary action. After all, that would cost the class points.

“I’ll go get it cut on the weekend.”

“But this rebellious look you have now has a bit of my old flair,” Mr. Zhou sighed. “Looking at you reminds me of myself back in the day, full of youthful energy, arrogant and carefree.”

“…”

Wei Xiaochi thought Mr. Zhou’s words were a little off. When he looked in the mirror, he only saw a gloomy, decadent beta, not someone full of youthful energy or reckless abandon.

Either Mr. Zhou wasn’t like him when he was young, or Mr. Zhou wasn’t as “energetic” back then.

Mr. Zhou waved his hand with the tone of a wise monk. “Go ahead, I won’t keep you.”

Wei Xiaochi nodded and left the office. As he walked down the corridor, he bumped into Li Suilin.

“Changed your glasses? They look good,” Li Suilin said with a smile that made his handsome face shine like a spring breeze.

Though he was complimented, Wei Xiaochi felt something was a bit off.

How could he explain it? It felt like he was a messy, disheveled caveman who suddenly became neat and tidy, attracting everyone’s surprised looks.

Wei Xiaochi felt like that caveman, but he didn’t quite understand. He’d only changed his glasses, so how could it have such a big effect? It felt almost like he was a completely new person.

Or maybe they saw the true value of these glasses and were complimenting him for that?

It didn’t make sense.

Wei Xiaochi thought that so-called luxury items only seemed expensive because they were displayed in a well-designed showcase, giving the illusion of being high-status, which led to an exaggerated markup.

This pair of glasses, despite the high price, looked completely ordinary to him.

Li Suilin stared at Wei Xiaochi for two seconds. “The frame is pure titanium, right? And the lenses are MR. This kind of lens has a high refractive index, high Abbe number, and low specific gravity. They’re pretty good.”

“…”

Wow, there really was someone who could recognize them.

Wei Xiaochi, confused, took off his glasses and looked closely. He found the brand logo on the inside of the temples.

Li Suilin couldn’t possibly have x-ray vision, so Wei Xiaochi couldn’t help but ask, “How did you tell what the material is?”

“I didn’t tell,” Li Suilin replied with a smile.

“You didn’t?” How could he know the material if he couldn’t tell?

Li Suilin smiled again. “But I saw the price list.”

Wei Xiaochi was completely confused. “Price list?”

Li Suilin beamed. “Jiang Zhan told me to bring you the glasses case.”

Wei Xiaochi looked at the handsome alpha, his mouth opening and closing as he stammered out, “Do you know Jiang Zhan?”

It seemed like they were pretty close?

Wei Xiaochi felt a pang of regret. If he had known, he would have asked the class president to help him collect his debt from Jiang Zhan.

“…”

Now it was Li Suilin’s turn to be speechless. He rubbed his forehead and sighed, “We’re both on the basketball team. Didn’t you know?”

Wei Xiaochi had the look of “I know, but I didn’t know you two were close.”

He’d always kept to himself, focusing on his studies. Occasionally, he overheard gossip between classes, but it always went in one ear and out the other.

Maybe because he’d been bullied in the past, Wei Xiaochi could remember the notorious troublemakers at their school, but as for the rest, he didn’t pay attention.

Even though he’d shared a school with Jiang Zhan for two years and even had classes in the same building, Wei Xiaochi had always avoided these troublemakers, so he didn’t really register any interactions with them.

Not just with Jiang Zhan, even with the class president Li Suilin, Wei Xiaochi had no particular impression.

Wei Xiaochi had been happy about Li Suilin’s return not because they were friends, but simply because he wouldn’t be bullied with Li Suilin around.

He knew Li Suilin had been injured during a basketball game, which meant he was a key player on the team. Jiang Zhan was also a key player, so of course, they knew each other.

But Wei Xiaochi hadn’t thought about it deeply. His mind was focused on other things like making money, saving money, and getting into J University.

As for everything else, he listened to gossip and watched, but it was like hearing nothing and seeing nothing. His memory of it wasn’t strong.

Back in the classroom, Li Suilin handed Wei Xiaochi the glasses case along with a bottle of lens cleaner.

Wei Xiaochi, feeling awkward as if he were holding a hot potato, said, “Thank you.”

Li Suilin didn’t ask much about the glasses, so Wei Xiaochi wondered if Jiang Zhan had explained it to the class president.

Wei Xiaochi wanted to say something but quickly realized Li Suilin was too perfect for mundane matters. It seemed like he wasn’t interested, so Wei Xiaochi decided to keep quiet.

Actually, Wei Xiaochi had wanted to indirectly tell Jiang Zhan through Li Suilin that he didn’t have any romantic intentions toward him.

Ah.

During the break, after feeling tired from studying, Wei Xiaochi rubbed his eyes and glanced out the window. His gaze immediately locked onto the tall figure of an alpha.

Wei Xiaochi had only been staring at him for five or six seconds, but the alpha seemed to sense it, looking up and immediately locking eyes with him.

Wei Xiaochi was so startled that he quickly bent over his desk, his heart racing with unease.

After everything that had happened, Jiang Zhan no longer just seemed like the school bully to Wei Xiaochi.

Even though they no longer had any debt-related connection, Wei Xiaochi felt like fate was still toying with him. He and Jiang Zhan kept running into each other unexpectedly.

Wei Xiaochi started to wonder if they had always crossed paths so often, but he hadn’t noticed it before.

Now, not only did he notice, but he was also particularly cautious, trying to avoid him whenever possible.

Whenever Jiang Zhan appeared within 100 meters of Wei Xiaochi, his internal alarm would immediately go off.

When Wei Xiaochi went to the first floor to get hot water, he had just taken two steps down when he saw a familiar figure at the stairwell. Without thinking, he took off running.

When Jiang Zhan passed by, Wei Xiaochi finally made his way down to the water room.

After filling his thermos and sealing it, he turned around to find the school bully leaning against the door, his expression cold and his gaze dark.

Wei Xiaochi was so frightened that he almost jumped, instinctively leaning back.

Author’s Note:

Wei Xiaochi: Men only slow down my speed in money-making.