Chapter 36: The Malicious One and the Crybaby

As He Panshan once said, a high school senior’s life is not just about romance; the vast majority of their daily time is consumed by studying.

"You are truly the worst class I have ever taught!"

It was a Monday morning, and the autumn sun was shining brightly. The homeroom teacher, Chen Mei, was venting her fury over the class’s drop in the weekly rankings. Although they weren't at the very bottom, their mid-tier performance was enough to give this teacher, who was entering menopause, enough fuel to rant for half the class period.

He Tianran was, as usual, lost in his own thoughts. Just then, he caught a glimpse of his seatmate, Cao Aiqing, drawing something in her notebook. He casually leaned in to take a closer look.

It was a building resembling a sail. As the lines took shape, three sets of interlocking shell-like domes formed the main body of the structure. The tip of her gel pen glided across the paper, every arc filled with an extraordinary sense of aesthetic beauty.

Although Cao Aiqing had only sketched a rough skeleton, He Tianran recognized the iconic style. He whispered, "The Sydney Opera House?"

The teacher’s roaring continued on the podium. Cao Aiqing paused, held her pen against her lips, and gestured for him to be quiet. He Tianran didn't dare make any further moves, but he saw her write two words in the margins of the page:

*Guess again~*

She flipped to the previous page. This time, the notebook depicted a temple. The main hall in the drawing was supported by pillars, looking like a grand stage. He Tianran didn't know much about this type of architecture, but seeing the distinct features, he smiled knowingly and wrote:

*Kyoto Kiyomizu-dera.*

Cao Aiqing’s long lashes fluttered.

*Do you like architecture, too?*

The girl’s handwriting was lovely—not the soft, cute style one might expect, but a clean, upright regular script with straight, firm strokes. The size and placement of her writing were so perfectly aligned that it was enough to satisfy any perfectionist.

He Tianran shook his head and wrote:

*I just know this place is perfect for a confession.*

He was joking, of course. The great stage of Kiyomizu-dera was a pilgrimage site for confessions. That was where Shinichi Kudo established his relationship with his childhood sweetheart. As a fan of the Shinichi-Ran pairing, not knowing such a famous scene would be a failure of the highest order!

*He Tianran, you get very bold when you aren't talking!*

Having lost twice in a row, Cao Aiqing puffed out her cheeks. That line about it being "perfect for a confession" was clearly a jab at her!

He Tianran realized that writing something like that to a girl who was oblivious to anime culture might have been too much. Just as he was about to write an explanation, the girl snatched the notebook and began flipping through it rapidly, as if searching for a difficult question.

A moment later, she set the notebook down. Cao Aiqing looked triumphant, as if she were sure this would stump him.

The pattern on the paper this time was indeed difficult. It was a cathedral filled with exotic charm, featuring a grand, golden, Byzantine-style dome surrounded by four towering minarets. If an average person were asked to guess, they would be doing well just to identify it as Middle Eastern architecture, let alone name it.

But for He Tianran, he almost laughed out loud.

Cao Aiqing glared at him. The boy thought for a moment and whispered, "Hagia Sophia."

"How did you know?" the girl asked in the same volume, her tone laced with surprise.

"Because I've climbed it."

"What?"

Picking up his pen, He Tianran wrote beside the cross atop the highest point of the structure:

*I once stood here, witnessing the magnificence of the great city of Constantinople; I also leapt from it, like an eagle, firmly believing that nothing is true, everything is permitted.*

Looking at the stunned Cao Aiqing, He Tianran felt a genuine sense of gratitude toward Ubisoft and *Assassin’s Creed* for giving him this chance to show off.

"Actually, it's from a game..."

Just as He Tianran was about to explain, a piece of chalk flew through the air and grazed the edge of his ear.

"..."

It seemed the homeroom teacher’s aim was worse than the math teacher's.

"He Tianran! Cao Aiqing! I’ve been watching you two for a long time. What is there to chatter on and on about? Huh? If you want to talk, go stand outside!"

The boy and girl were instantly struck dumb.

"Did I not make myself clear? Do I need to come down there and drag you two out?"

Everyone in the classroom turned their gaze toward them, but no one dared to cross the teacher at such a moment or whisper among themselves.

Under the scorching heat of their classmates' stares, He Tianran began to feel uncomfortable. Noticing out of the corner of his eye that Cao Aiqing was also keeping her head down, he braced himself and stood up.

"Teacher, it was me..."

He hadn't finished apologizing when he heard Cao Aiqing stand up beside him and whisper, "Let's go."

"Huh?"

"Let's go..."

Seeing the girl turn and head toward the door, He Tianran pivoted and followed her out of the classroom.

In the hallway, He Tianran leaned against the wall, listening to the teacher's lecture drifting from inside. Cao Aiqing stood with her head bowed, her hands behind her back, shifting her weight on her toes.

"My fault..." He Tianran muttered after a long silence.

Cao Aiqing shook her head, her ponytail swaying.

"So it's your fault?"

The girl tilted her head and glared at him with her watery, limpid eyes.

He Tianran didn't dare meet her gaze and let out a nervous laugh: "Haha... just joking, just joking..."

Cao Aiqing didn't respond; it was clear she was truly feeling wronged.

If he didn't say something now, he was done for.

He Tianran racked his brain and said, with very little conviction: "We're friends, right? This is just a case of sharing the burden..."

Little did he know, this only made things worse. The girl's emotions welled up, and her eyes instantly misted over.

"This is my first time being punished by a teacher... I've never been so humiliated..."

Hearing her whimpering voice, He Tianran felt a mix of pity and fear that they might draw the teacher's attention again. He reverted to his "straight-man" logic, trying to analyze the situation, and whispered urgently:

"Now isn't the time to cry! If you cry, the teacher will come out and it'll be even more embarrassing, right? Don't you think?"

Cao Aiqing nodded through her tears, and several droplets hit the floor. Although she tried to stop, the more she thought about it, the more wronged she felt, and her sobbing seemed to grow louder.

Remembering the incident with the contact name, He Tianran recalled her saying she wasn't a crybaby. It seemed that what people feared most always had a way of happening.

He Tianran shook his head violently, trying to force himself to stop overthinking. But he couldn't exactly cover the girl's mouth to keep her quiet, could he?

"If you keep crying louder, you’re going to earn the reputation of a 'crybaby' throughout the whole school sooner or later!"

"Then... then... what do I do?" Cao Aiqing sobbed, her voice thin. She didn't want this, but she couldn't stop the tears welling in her eyes.

Suddenly, through her tear-blurred vision, He Tianran extended his arm.

"Bite down. If you can hold it in, then I’ll be the only one who knows you cried. If you don't bite, the students will definitely crowd the windows when the teacher comes out, and then the whole school will know!"

Cao Aiqing felt completely aggrieved. What a terrible idea! Why had she only just realized that He Tianran was so wicked? He hadn't been like this before!

The situation was urgent, and in the heat of the moment—perhaps also wanting to vent the resentment in her heart—she realized that if she didn't do this, she would only cry louder.

In a flash, Cao Aiqing grabbed He Tianran’s arm with both hands, closed her eyes, opened her mouth, and bit down hard.

"Ah..."

"Sss..."

He Tianran’s head snapped back, and he gasped, forcing himself not to scream.

He had forgotten one thing: Cao Aiqing had two small canine teeth...

He used to think this kind of plot was quite romantic, but experiencing it firsthand...

It really hurt...

*If I ever do this again in a similar situation, I’m a complete idiot!*

His toes curled inside his shoes, and his other hand balled into a fist, trembling from the intensity of the pain.

But complaints aside, the trick worked. Cao Aiqing’s sobbing subsided, and the pressure of her bite lessened. Once he got used to the pain, He Tianran managed to calm down.

After a long while, Cao Aiqing opened her eyes to look at He Tianran, who was staring back at her with a look of utter defeat.

While his arm sent signals of pain to his brain, there was also a sensation of warmth and softness. When she let go, her teeth had grazed the wound again, sending a tingle like an electric shock through him.

Perhaps his brain couldn't process such complex information at once, and for a moment, the boy felt like he was crashing.

Perhaps because she had bitten too deep and for too long, after Cao Aiqing released her grip, He Tianran pulled back his arm and quickly tugged his school uniform sleeve down to cover the spot.

He glanced at Cao Aiqing. The girl’s cheeks were flushed, and her eyes were as clear and moving as if washed by spring rain; though traces of moisture remained, she had stopped crying.

Both of them looked away simultaneously.

"Can't... can't you think of another way?"

"...Can't you bite a little lighter?"

"You... how could you... I never noticed before... you're wicked!!"

"Ah... well... it's better than being a crybaby..."

"You..."

Perhaps neither of them realized it, but after this, the "He Tianran" she had been using—the polite, distant address—was gone, and He Tianran was now saying whatever came to his mind.

But for the rest of the time, they didn't say another word. When the bell rang, Cao Aiqing fled back to the classroom as if escaping.