0153: Screw you.

“Did Teacher Su want to see you about something?”
“It’s about my studies. He said my English grades have dropped,” Xu Lin answered truthfully. Ji Yun propped up her chin thoughtfully.
“Have you gotten lazy since I haven’t tutored you recently?”
“No, it’s not that. My English grades weren’t good to begin with. Last time I just performed exceptionally well. This time I’m back to my usual level.”
“Then you need to keep studying. If you don’t understand something, ask me, or Zhuo Yan. You can also go to Teacher Su. Oh, and you can ask Feng Yi too; she should be good at English.”
“Okay.”
Xu Lin nodded. As class monitor, Ji Yun’s highest hopes for him were much like his parents’: to study well.
He himself wanted to get into a good university and wouldn’t let other things cause him to give up entirely.
“Yun, you’re always pushing him to study—is it because you want to go to the same university?” Zhuo Yan asked softly.
“Yeah.”
“You haven’t been acting lately? Then I’ll sign up for the same school as you too—I'll be a third wheel!”
“Ha ha, sure! Actually, you’re not bad academically either, just a bit weak in math. If you work a little harder, I don’t see a problem.”
“I guess I’m just naturally bad at math. I’ve tried really hard, even hired tutors during summer and winter breaks, but I just can’t improve. Sigh.”
Math was always a sore spot for her. If it weren’t for that, she might have made it into the top 15 in the grade.
“By the way, Ji Yun, there’s something—should we tell the homeroom teacher?”
“What is it?”
As class monitor, Ji Yun and Zhuo Yan, the study committee member, gathered a lot of information and then decided whether or not to inform the teachers.
Some matters were minor and didn’t necessarily need to be reported; if they were told, the other students would surely be unhappy.
Being a class monitor came with its own difficulties. Ji Yun and Zhuo Yan always discussed matters together.
“It’s about Sun Tao and Zhang Kuanxing. They brought a tablet to school and were watching videos over there. I caught them and confiscated it.”
“Just treat it like with phones.”
The first time Ji Yun caught students with phones, she handed them over to the teacher, and the homeroom teacher confiscated them outright, only returning them halfway through the semester.
But the students were very resentful of her and the committee, leading to frequent quarrels. A few months ago, one even chose to drop out.
Later, Ji Yun and Zhuo Yan made a small decision: if students voluntarily handed over their phones, they would keep them temporarily but not turn them in to the teacher.
They would tell them the phones had been turned in and that they had to pay attention in class and do their homework. The better their behavior, the sooner they got their devices back—usually within three days to a week.
This greatly improved class management. They applied similar measures for other issues with good results.
“It’s not that. It’s that they… were watching that kind of video. Should we tell the teacher?”

“That kind? You mean *that* kind?!”
Zhuo Yan’s words instantly triggered countless images in Ji Yun’s mind, and her cheeks flushed scarlet.
It was all because those two older girls had insisted she watch such things last night, saying it was good for her studies. She wasn’t completely clueless, after all…
“What’s with the shocked face? Embarrassed? Honestly, have you never seen it before?” Seeing her friend’s expression, Zhuo Yan chuckled.
“Ahem… anyway, just bring me the tablet. It doesn’t matter what they watch—boys that age naturally have such interests.”
She was too embarrassed to admit she had just watched it yesterday, so she changed the subject. But that was genuinely how she felt.
As a girl who had seen such films, she’d understood some things: both men and women are driven by biology.
Adults are like that too; otherwise, words like cheating, divorce, and scumbags wouldn’t exist. Not to mention adolescents in puberty. She sympathized with them.
“Well, didn’t expect our class monitor to be so understanding. Then just leave it with me.”
“Okay.”
After morning class ended, Xu Lin, Ji Yun, Zhuo Yan, and a few others headed toward the cafeteria.
Ji Yun had only had some rice porridge for breakfast and would likely be hungry by noon, so he insisted she go to the cafeteria.
“Xu Lin, are you trying to fatten up my Yun?”
“No, I’m just thinking about her health. Besides, a little extra weight isn’t a bad thing.”
Xu Lin smiled, but Ji Yun caught something in his tone and gave him a sideways glance.
They waited briefly at the cafeteria entrance because of the crowd.
Then a group of unpleasant people approached—Zhang Kang among them, the one involved in the earlier conflict when Xu Lin had just arrived.
Zhuo Yan’s eyes narrowed instantly, her face darkened, and she looked ready to punch him.
Several other classmates stepped forward to block Zhang Kang and his group, which touched both Ji Yun and Xu Lin.
But Zhang Kang seemed not to notice them, pushed aside the curtain and headed inside.
Just before entering, Zhang Kang shot Xu Lin a mocking, provocative glare and sneered.
Xu Lin’s eyes reddened instantly. Without hesitation, he pushed through the crowd, grabbed Zhang Kang’s neck and shoved him hard against the wall with a loud thud!
The nearby students were startled. Zhang Kang’s two friends tried to pull Xu Lin away, but a glare from him made them reluctantly step back.
“Xu Lin?! Don’t start a fight.”
Ji Yun hurriedly called out. Xu Lin narrowed his eyes, took a deep breath, and slowly withdrew his arm. Zhang Kang’s neck was bright red.
Zhang Kang was dumbfounded, blinking in disbelief—he hadn’t reacted in time to that sudden attack.
Looking into Xu Lin’s fierce eyes, the anger from the pain in his neck gradually subsided.
He had struggled briefly but couldn’t move Xu Lin’s arm, realizing he was outmatched.
“Last time I didn’t bother with you and just caused you a little trouble. You don’t know your place!”
“And you glare at us like that? You think I have a good temper? Where’s your apology? We’ve been waiting two months.”
Xu Lin spoke in a low voice, feeling Ji Yun’s small hand on his arm, calming the fury inside his chest.
If he hadn’t pulled back at the last moment, he might have drawn blood. That scumbag was truly disgusting!
“Apologize to Ji Yun first.”
“…” Zhang Kang looked at Xu Lin, tempted to run but blocked by several students.
“Apologize.”
“Sorry.”
“Louder.”
“Sorry!” Zhang Kang bowed to Ji Yun.
“What about me?”
“Sorry.”
“Louder.”
“Xu Lin, don’t go too far! This is school!”
“You know it’s school, huh? Dressing like a thug, acting all arrogant, bullying honest kids? Hanging with a bunch of lowlifes, thinking you’re cool—get lost!”
“What are you doing?!”
Just then, a cafeteria staff member approached. Zhang Kang seized the chance to push inside, and the surrounding students hissed disapprovingly.
Xu Lin took a deep breath and glanced at Ji Yun beside him. “Did I just look like a villain?”
“No, but don’t start fights, okay? Learn from Teacher Chu. You’re not planning to fight, right?”
“Absolutely not~ I’m just working out and protecting you~” Xu Lin made a playful face.
“There are so many people, it’s gross. Let’s just go eat.” Ji Yun said with a smile that didn’t quite reach her eyes.
Nearby, Zhuo Yan watched Xu Lin shift from fierce and fierce to the usual sweet puppy-like persona and felt a twinge of envy.
Oh man, she suddenly felt like wanting to be in a relationship too. Otherwise, she’d be overwhelmed by all the sweetness these two were throwing around sooner or later.