Chapter Eighty-Nine: When Will You Hit Me?

The Olympiad had not yet ended, but the sensational news of the preliminary round’s perfect score had already begun to cool. The school had originally planned to make a grand fuss over it, but Xiao Cheng’s outrageous self-criticism threw everything into disarray. After consulting the city education bureau’s leadership, Principal Lao Niu decided to wait until after the final before bestowing any commendation.

With Qiu Zeyan at the county education bureau, they of course handled things with restraint. The city, on the other hand, thought highly of Wen Xiaocheng, but after reading his self-criticism, Chen Yongxu no longer dared to place his bet on him so readily. He brushed the matter aside with a light remark: let’s see after the final.

In the end, the news value of an Olympiad competition was limited. Right then, a prominent stock market celebrity went through a divorce, drawing the public’s attention away. A few media outlets that wanted to dig deeper into the matter tried to interview Xiao Cheng, but he was sent over to Brilliant Stars Education. The reason was simple: they had signed a training contract with Brilliant Stars and could not accept interviews separately. Brilliant Stars, naturally, welcomed the exposure with open arms, and for a time its name spread far and wide; parents signing up for the summer class nearly wore down the threshold at the door. According to the agreement, Xiao Cheng would also receive a large sum of money.

The one hundred thousand yuan scholarship had already paid out fifty thousand in advance, and the remaining amount Principal Ding was preparing to award at a ceremony when summer classes began. Sunflower School had also offered a one hundred thousand yuan scholarship along with free training courses, but then changed its tune and said the scholarship would only be granted if one attended the free training. After learning of this, Principal Ding of Brilliant Stars immediately transferred one hundred thousand yuan to Xiao Cheng, on the condition that he publicly refuse Sunflower School’s scholarship. And so another hundred thousand yuan landed safely in his pocket.

Every day at school, Wen Xiaocheng had nothing to do but eat, sleep, bully Zhang Peiyue, and sweep through Principal Niu’s office. He finished the hundred or so books on the bookshelf in just three days. Then he moved on to the school library, but the library of a township middle school was little more than a name; its collection depended almost entirely on donations from all sectors of society. So Xiao Cheng could only play with his phone in class.

Playing with his phone in class would normally get it confiscated by the teacher, but Xiao Cheng’s phone was one no one dared confiscate, though it was not a Galaxy Note 7.

From time to time, he would send a text to Yang Liushan in the row ahead. Whenever the phone in his waist pocket vibrated, the girl would grow restless and fidgety.

Eat, sleep, bully Zhang Peiyue, and flirt with the school beauty.

As summer vacation drew near, the days grew hotter and hotter. More than fifty people packed into one room made it feel like a steam basket even with the windows open. Sitting in the back row, one could clearly see the bra straps beneath the girls’ clothes. Even the bold and unruly Zhang Junya had worn a black bra under a white T-shirt, and the faintly visible clasp was enough to stir the imagination.

At noon, the day was at its hottest.

"Xiaocheng, someone’s looking for you." The black clasp turned around. On the front of the T-shirt was a Miffy rabbit, covering that patch of black curves and making one feel terribly disappointed. Zhang Junya blinked her big eyes and waved at Xiao Cheng. "Go on, Brother Cheng, they’re at the door."

By now, many people called Wen Xiaocheng "Brother Cheng."

"Who is it?"

Though he had become something of a local tyrant at school, Xiao Cheng did not have a very good reputation. He had enemies, not friends, so it was rare for anyone to come looking for him on their own.

"Ding Sina."

Hearing that name, Xiao Cheng froze.

Qiu Hui had withdrawn from school, Lü Qi minded his own affairs and ignored the world, and Zhang Peiyue lowered his head in meek obedience every day, scarcely daring to breathe. But Xiao Cheng had not forgotten that there was still another enemy: Ding Sina, the school’s dark and dangerous beauty.

What did she want with him?

The words "someone is looking for Wen Xiaocheng" also drew Yang Liushan’s attention in the front row. Pretending not to care, she glanced toward the doorway from the corner of her eye, where a tall, slender girl with long black hair stood gracefully.

Though they were enemies, it was not as if they needed to draw weapons the moment they met, especially since she was a girl. As for the grudges with the Ding family, Xiao Cheng’s attitude was that if others did not offend him, he would not offend them. Although Ding Lame had brought his fate upon himself, in the end he was left permanently disabled; once the court-ordered civil compensation was paid, the matter was over. As for Ding Sina having bullied him before, Xiao Cheng would not stoop to settling accounts with a girl.

She wore a black lace cardigan, so thin it was nearly transparent. Across her chest, not only was the outline of her bra clearly visible, but even the rise and fall of the contours beneath could be seen dimly. In a school where girls were forbidden to let their hair fall past their shoulders, Ding Sina’s long, straight black hair was especially heart-stirring. Her off-white short skirt, black stockings, and high-heeled sandals all plainly exceeded what her age should have allowed, and the makeup on her face was somewhat exaggerated, yet even foundation could not conceal her natural beauty.

It was hard to hate a girl like that.

Since there was after all old resentment between them, Wen Xiaocheng, in order to make his stance clear, swept his eyes brazenly over the girl’s chest, even to the point of making himself a little red-faced.

"Come with me." Ding Sina showed no concern for that aggressive gaze. With a sweet smile, she took Xiao Cheng’s hand and led him away.

Xiao Cheng was a little dazed. When words failed, she simply held his hand — that move seemed strangely familiar!

On the day of the Olympiad competition, he had used exactly that trick on Yang Liushan. The only difference was that at the time he had said, "I found a wonderful place. Let me take you there."

Let me take you there versus come with me — wasn’t it basically the same?

With the girl’s hand in his and the warmth of her palm touching his own, his thoughts were in complete disarray, and his position collapsed entirely.

All right, this tactic really was formidable, Xiao Cheng thought with a silent laugh, already guessing at several possibilities:

He had indeed been in the spotlight lately, but this dark-themed school beauty could not possibly have fallen for him, given their grudge over that one knife strike. His father’s blade had directly crippled Ding Lame, and Ding Sina’s life had changed drastically because of it. If there was any hatred, then her hatred would surely be the deepest.

Zhang Peiyue’s dead relative had been an uncle at least; Qiu Zeyan had injured his arm, but it had not affected Qiu Hui’s life; and Lü Qi need not even be mentioned. But Ding Lame had once held a title at the demolition company, swaggering about imperiously and enjoying all the good things in life. After that single knife stroke, he was not only crippled, but also lost his demolition job, the leader who had protected him was sent away, and in the end he was reduced to living on minimum welfare. Ding Sina’s life naturally went downhill as well.

One blade cast him down from the clouds to the dust of the mortal world; how could she not hate it?

If this were love, then hand-holding would signify affection. If it were hatred, then hand-holding must serve some purpose. What purpose? To make Yang Liushan jealous? Impossible. Nothing between him and Yang Liushan had been made public; she had no idea. That left only one possibility.

When a woman schemes against a man, the tricks are usually only so many: either the linked stratagems used to turn Dong Zhuo and Lü Bu against one another, or the infamous honey trap everyone knew so well — also called "the divine leap." Guess why that last one needed quotation marks. This time, they were probably playing the former game.

Only, he did not know who the Dong Zhuo was.

Xiao Cheng made up his mind. He might as well see what Ding Sina wanted. Led by the girl, he went all the way to the bicycle shed behind the teaching building, one of the few quiet places in the school at that hour.

"Where exactly are you taking me?" Xiao Cheng asked.

"What, you’re scared?" the girl said, looking back with a provocative smile.

A challenge.

"Yes, I’m scared." Xiao Cheng did not take the bait.

Ding Sina pouted, half coquettishly, then stopped and faced him. "Such a big, tough man. Weren’t you pretty fierce lately? First you beat up Zhang Peiyue, then Qiu Hui — now everyone at school knows you’re the boss. The only thing no one knows is when you’ll come beat me up."

"Would you beat me up?" Ding Sina asked pitifully.

Even though he knew she was being insincere, that finishing blow still softened Xiao Cheng’s heart. Those flashing big eyes, that pitiful gaze, that little pout — she was truly a sight that stirred compassion. It left him speechless.

A delicate girl, in the very age when flowers were meant to bloom — how could he bring himself to strike her? Wen Xiaocheng did his best to make his expression look fierce, trying not to let his infatuation show, but his heart, no matter what, could not harden.

I don’t want to beat you. I only want to make you cry.

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You should have realized long ago that Ding Sina would not be an ordinary extra. When I named her, I was imagining Christina Pimenova...