Blocking the Classroom Door

Before class, Shen Mo entered the classroom and saw Fang Chang’an sitting safely at his desk, reading a book. She quietly breathed a sigh of relief and took a seat beside him.

The classroom was silent, so she picked up her notebook and wrote a question: “Are you all right?”

Fang Chang’an shook his head and smiled as he wrote: “Thank you for your warning, Shen Mo. I made it through lunch unscathed.”

Shen Mo smiled softly, withdrew her notebook, and took out her math textbook to preview the afternoon’s lesson. Fang Chang’an did not disturb her, continuing to read on his own.

At the end of the afternoon, Shen Mo reminded him to be careful once more before leaving the classroom.

Zheng Lili called Wang Ke to join her for dinner. Wang Ke hesitated, but eventually agreed. Before standing up, she glanced back at Wang Chuanbiao’s seat—seeing he hadn’t left yet—then anxiously looked at Fang Chang’an.

Fang Chang’an smiled at her, signaling her not to worry. Once Wang Ke left, he too exited the classroom.

Wang Chuanbiao waited until Fang Chang’an was gone, then, just as Fang Chang’an had done at noon, stepped into the corridor and watched his silhouette disappear through the school gate. Only then did he feel at ease, hurrying off to Seventh Class to find Hou Xiaoyi.

“Monkey, come on, I’m buying you all dinner.”

Hou Xiaoyi called over Sun Yanxu and Liu Cheng, as well as three others who planned to “show off” in Fourth Class later. With Wang Chuanbiao, there were seven in total, heading to the school cafeteria.

“Monkey, Cheng, Xu, what do you all want to eat?”

Wang Chuanbiao was exceptionally attentive, busy helping everyone order food. Hou Xiaoyi and the others didn’t ask for much—meatball soup, big steamed buns, extra spicy strips and braised bean curd.

They found a spot to sit, and Wang Chuanbiao went to buy some freshly made vegetable pancakes.

Watching Wang Chuanbiao squeeze into the crowd, Sun Yanxu took a big bite of his bun and said, “I thought he wanted us to help for free!”

Hou Xiaoyi replied with a hint of dissatisfaction, “What do you mean? If he doesn’t treat, I will. We’re all friends here, not fighting anyone. What’s wrong with lending a hand?”

Sun Yanxu sneered, “He only treats you after the fact, huh? Why not earlier?”

“You didn’t do anything, so what’s the rush?” Liu Cheng said. “Enough, enough, stop wasting time. Eat up and let’s go. Don’t delay.”

He knew Fang Chang’an always returned to school late in the evening, so he dared to agree to this affair. The sooner they went to Fourth Class, the sooner they could show off and leave, avoiding any run-in with Fang Chang’an.

Sun Yanxu said, “Didn’t Wang Chuanbiao say we should go later?”

Liu Cheng replied, “Later for what? The earlier we go, the sooner we leave. Who wants to sit in their class anyway?”

A boy from Seventh Class whispered, “I heard Fourth Class has the most pretty girls this year. We can take a look.”

Hou Xiaoyi scoffed, “They're a key class. No matter how pretty they are, what does it have to do with you?”

“Not necessarily,” said Yang Chengqi, the boy with decent looks who perhaps hoped to win some favor with the girls, countering stubbornly.

Liu Cheng cast him a glance and said coolly, “I don’t care about other classes, but you’d better not mess with anyone from Fourth Class. If anything happens, don’t say I didn’t warn you.”

Everyone paused. Hou Xiaoyi asked, “What do you mean?”

Sun Yanxu seemed to recall something and was about to speak, when Liu Cheng suddenly called out, “Xu!”

Sun Yanxu was startled, thinking Liu Cheng was calling him. But then he followed Sun Yanxu’s gaze and saw a boy carrying a bowl of meatball soup and looking for a seat. He immediately recognized Zhao Xu from Eighth Grade, whom he'd met the day before.

“Over here, over here!”

Liu Cheng stood up and waved. Zhao Xu saw him and came over, greeting them with a smile, “So many people—having a meeting?”

“All classmates,” Liu Cheng waved dismissively. Noticing Zhao Xu had only bought meatball soup and a big bun, Liu Cheng broke off a piece of his own bun and said, “I’ve got spicy strips here.”

“No need, no need,” Zhao Xu, less casual than the others, didn’t want food already bitten into. He tore his bun and soaked it in his soup.

Wang Chuanbiao arrived with several vegetable pancakes, surprised to see an extra person, but Liu Cheng already gestured, “Give one to Xu.”

Wang Chuanbiao didn’t dare refuse, quickly handing one over. Zhao Xu glanced at him, took it without hesitation, and took a bite.

Liu Cheng also took one, then adopted the manner of introducing a boss, “This is Zhao Xu from Eighth Grade, Seventh Class. He’s my brother’s classmate and hangs out with Wei—so everyone should call him Xu!”

Hou Xiaoyi and the others immediately echoed, “Xu!” Sun Yanxu joined in, though a bit disgruntled, thinking, “I’m Xu too. Do I have to go by ‘Yan’ now?”

Zhao Xu waved his hand modestly, “No need, just call me by name. We all hang out with Wei.”

Only now did Wang Chuanbiao realize he’d met a real boss. He wanted to invite Zhao Xu to join them later, but lacked the courage, so he looked for help from Hou Xiaoyi.

Hou Xiaoyi, not one to shirk, figured they couldn’t eat for free, so he bravely called out, “Cheng…”

He signaled Liu Cheng with his eyes to ask Zhao Xu if he’d join their little show.

Of course, in both Hou Xiaoyi’s and Wang Chuanbiao’s minds, their small affair didn’t really require someone as formidable as Zhao Xu. But having him along would help forge connections and make for better bragging later, so they were eager to try.

Liu Cheng understood perfectly—he wanted to show off his connections, proving he could summon people from Eighth Grade at will. He pointed at Wang Chuanbiao and said to Zhao Xu, “Xu, Biao has a bit of a conflict with a classmate. We’re planning to drop by their class later, just stand around, nothing more. If you’re free, want to join us?”

Zhao Xu understood Liu Cheng’s intent. It wasn’t a big deal, so he glanced around and nodded with a smile, “Let’s go, then. If Cheng asks, I can’t refuse.”

Liu Cheng felt satisfied and quickly replied, “You call me brother, how could I dare accept that?” He turned to Wang Chuanbiao, “Thank Xu!”

Wang Chuanbiao hurriedly thanked him. Zhao Xu waved it off and patted Liu Cheng’s shoulder, “It’s a small matter. My brother asked, so of course I’ll give him face.”

With an extra person, Wang Chuanbiao missed out on his own pancake, but he was excited to have such a formidable companion.

Liu Cheng, however, was a bit conflicted—should he tell Zhao Xu they were going to Fang Chang’an’s class? He hesitated, deciding not to mention it yet. If he brought it up now, he’d have to explain why he feared Fang Chang’an, which would undermine his image.

Most importantly, he knew Fang Chang’an usually returned to class late in the evening. If they finished eating and went straight to Fourth Class, they could show off and leave without running into him.

Had it been possible for Fang Chang’an to show up, Liu Cheng would have told Zhao Xu everything—or simply avoided getting involved.

With a sense of luck, the eight of them finished eating, and Liu Cheng said, “All right, let's head over now.”

Wang Chuanbiao hesitated, “Cheng, he usually comes late, so—”

Liu Cheng interrupted, “We’ll just sit for a bit, chat—it’ll have a better effect. We’ll wait.”

He thought to himself: if he’s not here by six, I’ll leave immediately. Otherwise, running into Fang Chang’an would be trouble.

Zhao Xu, keen to back Liu Cheng up, nodded, “Let’s go, sit for a while, and check out the freshmen girls.”

Seeing this, Wang Chuanbiao said no more. Going early could intimidate the others, preventing them from always following Fang Chang’an.

He’d already heard about Fang Chang’an buying buns for everyone, and saw it as a bad sign. The more respect Fang Chang’an commanded, the harder it would be to oppose him.

As for why he wanted to oppose Fang Chang’an, he’d already stopped thinking about it.

The group ascended the central staircase. Zhao Xu, busy bragging along the way, turned onto the third floor and paused when he saw the sign above the front door: “Seventh Grade (4)”. He stopped abruptly, causing Sun Yanxu, following behind, to nearly bump into him.