On Sunday morning, Fei Cheng was in his room studying as usual when a sudden knock sounded at the door. To be honest, Fei Qi was the only person in the house who ever knocked before entering; his grandparents always just pushed the door right open.
Fei Cheng waited until the third knock before drawling, "Come in."
He swiveled his chair to face the door.
Fei Qi walked in carrying a stack of notebooks. His face was wooden, devoid of expression. He set them down and turned to leave immediately.
Fei Cheng picked up the top notebook and flipped through it. Looking at the spot where Fei Qi had already vanished, he muttered, "Acting all cool for what?"
Still, there was no point letting them go to waste. The notes were even categorized, complete with sticky notes.
"Review Chapter Five before Chapter Two?"
"What the hell? Is this math?"
Fei Cheng looked at the outline in confusion. It really was math.
There were over a dozen notebooks, each a knuckle thick. He had to hand it to him—Fei Qi had given him his entire set of middle school notes.
What was this? An olive branch?
Fei Cheng scratched his cheek, pondering.
At four in the afternoon, Fei Cheng said goodbye to his grandparents and set off for school. This time, he didn't let his guard down based on mere guesswork. He kept a sharp eye on his surroundings the whole way, pedaling furiously to reach the school as fast as possible.
He first scouted the dormitory situation from behind a fruit tree a hundred meters away. Sure enough, just like last week, several people were loitering by the main entrance. He decided it was better to just head straight to the classroom. His bag was full of food and homework anyway; leaving it in the classroom wouldn't be a problem.
How pathetic, he thought, that he had to live so timidly!
Fei Cheng headed to the classroom, looking over his shoulder every few steps. It was only 4:40 PM, so he didn't expect anyone to be there, but to his surprise, the classroom door was shut tight.
He pulled the handle, but it wouldn't budge. Peering through the window, he didn't see anyone at first glance, but a second look revealed something he shouldn't have seen.
*Good lord, is a Sunday afternoon date in the classroom supposed to be thrilling?*
It was hard to say if they had discovered Fei Cheng or if Fei Cheng had discovered them. Either way, when the young couple opened the door to come out, they glared at him with warning in their eyes.
The girl was from his class—Cai Qiaoping, if he recalled correctly. She pointed at Fei Cheng and threatened, "If you dare say a word, I'll have someone rip your mouth apart!"
The boy had his arm around her neck, looking thoroughly annoyed. "What a buzzkill!"
Fei Cheng: "..." *You two looked like you were enjoying yourselves plenty.*
He went inside, walked to his seat, and pulled out his chair. His backpack was too stuffed to fit in the desk, so he had to take out the fruit and milk and temporarily stash them under Cheng Yifei’s desk.
He was bored out of his mind.
Fei Cheng rested his chin on his hand, watching the clock on the podium. How was he going to deal with those guys?
This couldn't go on forever.
Reporting them to the teachers hadn't been very effective; a private resolution would be best.
It would be so much better if everyone just minded their own business. They had beaten him up so many times, yet he had never once hit back. By any calculation, he was the one losing out.
Why did they still feel the need to come after him to "save face"?
Was it just a matter of pride?
Fei Cheng thought it over but couldn't come up with an effective solution, so he simply pulled out a workbook to pass the time.
After 5:30 PM, students began trickling into the classroom.
Now that Fei Cheng sat in the front rows, his neighbors were either top students or at least those who enjoyed studying—well-behaved kids with above-average grades.
After a week of getting to know him, their perception of Fei Cheng had changed significantly, shifting from indifferent disdain to greeting him whenever they met.
As Fei Cheng was chatting with Luo Bingbing next to him, he looked up to see Cheng Yifei and Yu Qing walking through the front door. Seeing Fei Cheng, Yu Qing let out a shout and rushed over, hooking an arm around his neck. "Cheng-cheng, you brat, why are you in the classroom so early?"
"Piss off, don't call me Cheng-cheng."
"Why not? I think it rolls off the tongue. Bingbing, don't you think so? Cheng-cheng, Cheng-cheng~"
Luo Bingbing covered her mouth and smiled without answering.
Fei Cheng was truly annoyed by Yu Qing. He shook off his hand. "Do you want me to call you Yu-yu or Qing-qing?"
"Either is fine! Call me whatever you want. Personally, I think Qing-qing sounds better!" Yu Qing said nonchalantly.
Fei Cheng: "..."
Cheng Yifei pulled out his chair and found a pile of things in his desk cubby. He looked at Fei Cheng, his gaze questioning.
Fei Cheng rubbed the back of his head. "Brother Cheng, my desk is full. I'm just stashing some stuff in yours for a bit. Hope you don't mind?"
Yu Qing didn't dare rummage through Cheng Yifei’s desk, but he took several peeks. "It's all food. Why didn't you take it back to the dorm?"
Fei Cheng didn't hold back, shrugging helplessly. "Didn't you see those guys camping out under the dorm building?"
Yu Qing shook his head. "No."
Fei Cheng’s heart skipped a beat. *Don't tell me they've come to the classroom?*
Cheng Yifei organized his desk cubby. As if reading Fei Cheng’s mind, he reassured him, "At this hour, they won't come to the classroom to cause trouble."
Fei Cheng sighed. "Ah... when I got to school, I saw them waiting at the dorm, so I came straight here just in case. I don't know how long they're going to keep this up. They're like a sticky plaster—so annoying."
Yu Qing scratched his nose. He couldn't think of a way to help Fei Cheng either. Getting on the bad side of those people was a massive headache to begin with, not to mention that the grudge between Fei Cheng and them had lasted since seventh grade. It was a mess.
If they told the teacher, it felt like the more the teacher punished Liu Yucong and his gang, the deeper the feud between them and Fei Cheng would become.
Yu Qing looked at Cheng Yifei. If it was Cheng Yifei, he probably had a way to solve it, right?
Cheng Yifei pulled out the textbooks he needed for evening self-study, mostly ignoring their chatter. "Just focus on studying. Stay with me for the time being."
Yu Qing clapped his hands happily. "Exactly! Cheng-cheng, you just stick with us for now. I guarantee you won't have a single problem."
Fei Cheng: "..." *Is it really that magical?*
He had to admit, it was indeed magical. Over the following week, the three of them were inseparable, and no one actually dared to confront Fei Cheng to his face. Of course, the petty tricks behind his back never stopped—things like mocking him to his face, minor sabotage, or moving his textbooks to the teacher's podium so the instructor would call him out in front of the whole class. It was incredibly childish.
Though Fei Cheng found it annoying, he felt it was bearable. At least they weren't tearing his books, throwing them in the trash, defacing them, or spitting on them... so it was okay, he supposed.
However, every Friday, he had to race against time to get home, engaging in a game of cat-and-mouse with those guys.
After several weeks, although Fei Cheng hadn't been caught, his relationship with Liu Yucong’s group grew increasingly strained.
In the blink of an eye, late autumn arrived. By late November, the temperature hovered between eight and nine degrees Celsius.
Fei Cheng didn't want to shower with cold water but found waiting for hot water a hassle. More importantly, the boys' bathhouse was open-plan—dozens of boys showering out in the open was quite the eyesore.
Cheng Yifei and Yu Qing, on the other hand, were already used to cold showers and felt no pressure at all.
Fei Cheng finally gritted his teeth and accepted the "sanction" of the cold tap, shivering through a shower every afternoon.
In Dorm 201, Yu Qing was sitting on the edge of his bed, using his feet to wash clothes in a bucket. He heard the two flimsy toilet doors creak open, and a figure suddenly bolted out, diving onto the bed next to Cheng Yifei’s.
Yu Qing watched this scene every afternoon and never grew tired of it. "Cheng-cheng? Cheng-cheng~ What's wrong? Got a fright today too? Come here, big brother's chest is nice and warm. Come on, come on, *come on, baby*."
"Hiss... Piss off!" Wrapped in his quilt with only his head poking out, Fei Cheng reached for a tissue to dry his ears.
Cheng Yifei, holding his change of clothes, glanced at him, gave a couple of "tsk-tsks," and entered the bathroom, closing the door.
Fei Cheng bristled. "Hey! If you two are so tough, go carry some hot water back! I'm just afraid of the cold, so what!"
Yu Qing continued stomping on his clothes, saying leisurely, "Not carrying it. Too tired, takes too much time. I heard that even the girls take cold showers during their periods. You don't even have a period, and you have the nerve to say you're afraid of the cold? Oh, right, your dream girl Qiu Minmin has been taking cold showers this whole time!"
"Wait... first tell me, where did you hear that?" *How the hell does a guy like you know if the girls are taking cold showers during their periods?*
Yu Qing chuckled. "I accidentally overheard some girls chatting about it when I walked past. Don't worry, big brother promises to keep digging for info on Qiu Minmin for you!" Yu Qing thumped his chest.
Fei Cheng crumpled the used tissue into a ball and threw it at Yu Qing. "Stop snooping around!"
With a flick of his hand, Yu Qing perfectly batted the paper ball back onto Fei Cheng’s bed. "If you like her, you like her. Why be so secretive? Look at you, all pitiful with your little crush!"
Fei Cheng threw it again. "Shut up, you trash! You're a pervert for eavesdropping on girls' periods!"
"Bullshit! Did I ask about it? They were the ones talking! If they don't mind, why should I?"
Fei Cheng knew that the only reason Qiu Minmin took cold showers was because she was lazy. As for her period? Please, she hadn't even reached menarche yet!
The two of them tossed the paper ball back and forth until Cheng Yifei finished his shower and walked out, catching the ball right in the face.
Fei Cheng and Yu Qing spoke in unison, pointing at each other with identical movements. "He threw it!"
Cheng Yifei gave them a chilling look, turned around, and went back in to wash his face again.
Fei Cheng guiltily picked up the paper ball and tossed it into the trash.
Yu Qing smirked triumphantly. "Serves you right~"
Fei Cheng’s nose tickled, and he let out a sneeze. Before Yu Qing could react, he sneezed twice more in quick succession.
He grabbed a tissue to wipe his nose, muttering, "I hope I'm not actually catching a cold."
Yu Qing stopped messing around and quickly picked up his bucket of clothes to change the water, not forgetting to add, "Hurry up and put on a sweater!"
Fei Cheng dug out a sweater and pulled it on, then put his winter school jacket over it. After a moment's thought, he pulled out a black leather jacket with a fleece lining and wrapped himself in that too. Great—now he was as bloated as a ball...
When Yu Qing came back from hanging his clothes and saw him, he nearly died laughing. He pounced on Fei Cheng, poking and prodding him. "Isn't this a bit much? If it gets any colder, are you going to dress like a grizzly bear? Come here, let big brother warm you up!"
"Get off! Holy crap, you're heavy! Brother Cheng, help! Yu Qing’s gone crazy again!!"
At his shout, Yu Qing scrambled off Fei Cheng. "What are you yelling for? People will think I'm doing something to you. You're not a girl, why are you always shouting for help! And even if you do, don't call for Cheng Yifei, okay?"
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