Fei Cheng did not cast Cheng Yifei and Yu Qing aside as he grew closer to Qiu Minmin. Once they became more familiar with one another, they all became friends, occasionally heading to the school library in a group to read or do homework. Every so often, Yu Qing would play the unsung hero, dragging a reluctant Cheng Yifei away under the pretext of giving Fei Cheng and Qiu Minmin some "alone time."
Fei Cheng didn't particularly mind, and Qiu Minmin didn't notice anything amiss; in fact, she felt more at ease once Yu Qing and Cheng Yifei were gone.
Wary that being too close to a member of the opposite sex would spark gossip, Qiu Minmin had a sudden whim to start a correspondence notebook. She would lend it to Fei Cheng after school, and he would return it the following afternoon. This back-and-forth was essentially the same as writing letters.
They chatted about a wide range of topics: things that made them happy or troubled, their likes and dislikes in food, the homework assigned by teachers, and the content of upcoming exams. It was a bit of everything.
This continued until one day, when Fei Cheng opened the notebook to find Qiu Minmin mentioning that someone had secretly slipped her a love letter. The signature at the bottom belonged to their classmate, Yang Kaikai.
Fei Cheng’s first instinct was to laugh. *Look at that, my past self was quite popular.* Then, he found a square-folded piece of notebook paper tucked inside.
Qiu Minmin had written: *"I don't even know him! He actually said he’s been watching me for a long time—it’s honestly a bit creepy! I couldn't find anyone to help me pass a message, and I don't want the people around me to know he wrote to me. Since he’s in your class, could you please help me return this to him? (Praying hands emoji) Please, please! I’ll buy you supper some other time! Also, I suspect he might be messing with me. If it’s just a joke, just tear the letter up and act like nothing happened!"*
Cheng Yifei noticed the thin slip of paper in Fei Cheng's hand and his amused expression. Seeing the common A4 notebook as well, he realized Qiu Minmin had written something to him. He asked, feigning ignorance, "Did Qiu Minmin write to you?"
Fei Cheng tucked the paper away and gave a hum of affirmation.
When school let out at noon, Yu Qing called out for him to head to the cafeteria. To their surprise, Fei Cheng waved them off. "You guys go ahead. I’ll head over in a bit."
Cheng Yifei glanced at him sideways. "Why are you going later?"
Fei Cheng scratched his cheek. "I just have something I need to say to someone."
Before Cheng Yifei could press further, Yu Qing pulled him away, thinking he understood the situation. "Brother Cheng, do you really think of Cheng-cheng as your son? Calm down. If he has business, he has business. Let’s go, let’s go."
Three or four minutes later, the classroom was empty, save for Yang Kaikai and Fei Cheng.
Yang Kaikai sat in the back row. Only after checking the hallway to ensure no one else was around did he speak. "Fei Cheng, what exactly is so important that you needed to see me?"
Fei Cheng stood up, walked to Yang Kaikai’s desk with the letter, and handed it over. "A letter for you from Qiu Minmin."
A look of shock crossed Yang Kaikai’s face, followed quickly by humiliated rage. He snatched the letter from Fei Cheng’s hand and demanded, "Why is a letter meant for me in your hands?!"
Fei Cheng rubbed his nose. "She and I are friends. She asked me to help deliver it."
A sense of foreboding washed over Yang Kaikai. He quickly opened the letter. There were only two brief lines on the A4 paper, the gist of which was that she wanted to focus on her studies and wasn't looking to date so soon.
The rejection written between the lines made Yang Kaikai instantly lose face. Right in front of Fei Cheng, he tore the letter into pieces the size of snowflakes. He slammed his hand on the desk, showing more emotion than ever before. "Fei Cheng, did I do something to wrong you?!"
"Huh?" Fei Cheng couldn't follow his train of thought. He thought for a moment and shook his head. "I don't think so?"
"Then why are you sabotaging me? You clearly know I like Qiu Minmin! You knew I wrote to her, and you knew she’d reject me! Are you feeling smug right now? Don't think I don't know you like her too!" Although Yang Kaikai wasn't much taller than Fei Cheng, he was significantly sturdier. At that moment, he was seething with rage, looking as if he might pounce on Fei Cheng at any second.
Fei Cheng was so angry he laughed. "Can you be a bit more rational? Just because Qiu Minmin doesn't like you, it means I sabotaged you?"
"If not you, then who! I already warned you last week, but you damn well kept getting closer to her! You meet every afternoon to exchange notebooks, don't you? How many shameful things have you written in there?" As he spoke, he shoved Fei Cheng aside and ran toward Fei Cheng’s seat.
His posture made it clear he intended to snatch the notebook and read it.
How could Fei Cheng possibly let him rummage through his things? Even Cheng Yifei hadn't seen the contents of his chats with Qiu Minmin; what right did Yang Kaikai have?
He grabbed Yang Kaikai to stop him. "Are you crazy? Don't touch my stuff!"
Yang Kaikai threw a punch at Fei Cheng. Fei Cheng immediately let go and barely dodged it, somewhat surprised that Yang Kaikai would actually resort to violence.
Yang Kaikai strode to Fei Cheng’s desk and began rifling through it without a word. Fei Cheng’s temper flared. He rushed over and kicked Yang Kaikai squarely in the backside, then pushed him away. Bracing his hands on his desk, Fei Cheng’s face darkened. "I said, don't touch my stuff!"
"You hit me?!" Yang Kaikai stumbled from the shove. Once he steadied himself, he looked on in disbelief; he had likely never seen Fei Cheng fight back before.
"You started it." Fei Cheng calmed down slightly as he straightened his messy desk. "I can write that off as you being caught up in the moment, so I won't hold it against you. You’d better calm down right now."
Yang Kaikai grabbed Fei Cheng by the collar, pulling him close. "Fei Cheng, you’re a fucking dog! Why didn't those guys beat you to death before?!"
The malice in those words made Fei Cheng’s eyes narrow. He reached up, gripped Yang Kaikai’s wrist, and wrenched his collar from the other's grasp. He sneered, "I’m lucky. What’s it to you?"
The classroom was deathly silent. Yang Kaikai’s raised fist hovered, never quite falling on Fei Cheng’s face. After a long moment, he lowered his hand and kicked Fei Cheng’s chair. "Do you think you’d be this arrogant if you hadn't latched onto Cheng Yifei? Just wait. Someone will deal with you sooner or later!"
Fei Cheng watched his retreating back, feeling annoyed. He walked quickly to Yang Kaikai’s seat and gave his desk two hard kicks.
*That felt better.*
Just as he finished, he heard the sound of playful banter. He turned to see Liu Yucong and his three companions appearing at the back door. The two sides locked eyes, and Liu Yucong’s friends fell silent.
They looked at Fei Cheng, then glanced at Liu Yucong. After a moment, one of them raised a hand in greeting. "Hey, why didn't you go to lunch with Cheng Yifei and the others?"
Fei Cheng’s expression remained natural. "Had some business. Are you guys done eating?"
"Not yet. It’s too crowded right now. We usually wait until the rush dies down."
"True. It’s either go early or go late, otherwise you’re stuck in a long line." As Fei Cheng spoke, he returned to his seat. There wasn't much to pack; he just grabbed Qiu Minmin’s notebook and prepared to leave. "I’ll head out first then. Have fun."
Liu Yucong circled from the back door to the front, blocking the exit. His aura was heavy with hostility. "Why did you kick Yang Kaikai’s desk?"
*Huh? Since when did Liu Yucong care about someone like Yang Kaikai?*
Fei Cheng looked up and met his gaze. "Are you looking for trouble with me, or are you standing up for Yang Kaikai?"
Liu Yucong admitted it flatly. "Both. Speak. Why did you kick his desk?"
"You..." Fei Cheng paused. He had yielded on many things before, but if Liu Yucong wasn't going to appreciate it, then forget it! He gave a casual smile. "I kicked his desk because he kicked mine. Tit for tat isn't excessive, is it?"
Fei Cheng walked past him. "Besides, it’s not like I’m stopping you from telling him that Fei Cheng kicked his desk, right?"
Liu Yucong couldn't stand Fei Cheng’s attitude—it made it sound like he enjoyed being a snitch! He turned, wanting to teach Fei Cheng a lesson, but his own companions held him back. They stepped between the two. "Whoa, don't start a fight!"
Liu Yucong watched Fei Cheng walk out of sight, then angrily shoved aside the friends blocking him. "Whose brothers are you anyway?! If you won't help me, at least don't get in my way!"
Lai Xinhui rubbed his ear. "Of course we’re your brothers. But if you hit Fei Cheng, won't Cheng Yifei come looking for payback? Besides, he really hasn't messed with us. Yucong, even your older cousin has let the past go. You should too. A while back, he even helped us settle that score for Class 3."
"I needed him to settle my scores?!" Liu Yucong shouted.
Li Rongbao sighed. "Why do you have such a problem with Fei Cheng? He used to be gloomy and annoying, sure, but he’s not like that anymore. It wouldn't hurt to be friends."
"You guys! Have you all been bewitched by that dog Fei? Fuck, I just don't like the sight of him! If you’re not happy with that, go be brothers with him! Do you think I care about you? Did I beg you to follow me around all day? If you’re annoyed, then get lost! Fucking irritating!" Liu Yucong felt like the people around him were defecting one by one. It was a terrible feeling.
The smiles vanished from Lai Xinhui and Li Rongbao’s faces. They looked at Liu Yucong with rising anger, seemingly waiting for him to back down.
Liu Yucong kept his neck stiff and his face cold, refusing to say a word.
After a few seconds, Lai Xinhui pointed at him, nodded, kicked the desk in front of him, and strode away.
"Hey! Xinhui!" Li Rongbao called out. Without even looking at Liu Yucong, he took off after him.
Now, only Li Senwei remained by Liu Yucong’s side. Li Senwei looked at Liu Yucong for a moment and muttered, "We aren't your lackeys. There’s no reason for you to take your temper out on us."
With that, he ran off too, leaving Liu Yucong alone in the classroom.
Liu Yucong stood there for a full minute. He had cooled down and felt regret, but he couldn't bring himself to apologize. He had never even said "thank you," let alone "I’m sorry."
The next day, Liu Yucong attended classes and left alone. His three friends stuck together as a group, maintaining a certain distance from him. Anyone with eyes could see there was a rift between them, though of course, no one bothered to intervene.
After the hype of the basketball game died down, Li Haoran and the others also had less contact with Liu Yucong. After all, everyone had their own social circles.
Over the next two days, Fei Cheng went about his classes as usual and wrote his letters. Occasionally, he listened to Yuqing’s gossip about who was dating whom, who had broken up, who had been caught climbing over the school wall at midnight, and so on... Life couldn't be called perfectly smooth, but it was certainly flavorful.
He felt that both Yang Kaikai and Liu Yucong were just talk; they wouldn't actually start a fight on school grounds.
As for making trouble in his daily life, he and Cheng Yifei were practically joined at the hip. They wouldn't dream of provoking Cheng Yifei.
In terms of academics, they weren't even on the same level, so there was no way for them to compete. Thus, he remained completely unconcerned.
Cheng Yifei finished the physics problems assigned by the teacher and turned to look at Fei Cheng. The other boy was currently solving the final bonus question. His logic was clear, and the answer was imminent; he was just writing a bit slowly, moving at a leisurely pace. Otherwise, he likely would have finished at the same time as Cheng Yifei.
***
**Glossary**
Chinese | English | Notes/Explanation
---|---|---
非狗 | Dog Fei | A derogatory nickname for Fei Cheng used by Liu Yucong.
以牙还牙 | Tit for tat | Idiom: An eye for an eye.
灌了迷魂药 | Bewitched | Idiom: To be under a spell or deluded by someone.
