Chapter 6: What the hell was that look?
Translated by Addis of Exiled Rebels Scanlations
Editor: Karai
The alarm hadn’t gone off yet, but He Ye was already awake. He lay in bed, staring out the window. A power line at the height of the window was lined with sparrows, and seeing it so suddenly gave him goosebumps.
He Ye stared at the scene for a while longer, then watched as two sparrows chased each other and flew out of the formation. Only then did he turn his head, removing his right arm from his forehead and reaching for the small bench beside his bed.
He turned on his phone screen and saw that it was only 5:30, half an hour earlier than usual.
That extra half hour left He Ye a little disoriented, as his internal clock was usually spot on. For a few minutes, he didn’t know what to do. Finally, he propped himself up against the headboard and, holding his phone, instinctively opened his WeChat app.
As soon as his finger pressed the screen, He Ye frowned. When he saw the black-and-white silhouette as the profile picture with no red dot, his frown deepened.
Opening the chat history, the most recent message was from the other person: another provocative tattoo picture, showing off a nipple. It had been two weeks and three days since the message was sent.
In those two weeks and three days, He Ye had checked the chat almost every morning after waking up and every evening after getting off work, just as if something invisible was pulling him to do so. Each time he saw the messages, he felt irritated, a tight feeling in his chest, and he couldn’t help but curse, “Fuck!”
An indescribable, nameless anger burned inside him.
Logically, he should feel relieved that the other person had finally stopped sending those messages. He should feel free, as it was disgusting and maddening to be constantly sexually harassed by another guy.
But He Ye didn’t feel that way. Instead, he felt the opposite.
He arrogantly thought that since the other person had the guts to provoke him, they should have to face the consequences—he wanted to drag the person out and beat them up, ending this twisted game once and for all.
Instead, the game had ended without a word from the other side, and that pissed him off even more.
He Ye was annoyed—extremely annoyed.
When He Ye got angry, his cold demeanor only grew stronger, and he gave off an invisible aura of “Don’t mess with me, or I’ll beat you senseless.”
Of course, despite his aura, He Ye never started trouble at school. He had enough problems to deal with in his own life and didn’t want to add more.
As a result, the people in his class who were already scared of him became even more wary of getting too close. Those in the back rows preferred to take a detour just to avoid walking near him.
The guy at the front of the class who accidentally bumped into He Ye’s desk once nearly dropped to his knees, desperately apologizing, “Boss, I’m sorry! Please forgive me, don’t beat me, give me a chance to reform.”
He Ye just muttered, “…Dumbass.”
But, of course, there were exceptions to everything.
While everyone in the class was cautiously avoiding provoking He Ye, there was one person who, like He Ye, seemed to be deliberately trying to irritate him.
That person wasn’t anyone else but the equally disgruntled Zhou Kai.
The English class representative approached Zhou Kai with a stack of papers.
Zhou Kai glanced up at her troubled expression and then at the papers she was holding, and immediately understood. He gave a small smile and said, “Wait for me a minute.”
He put down the pen he was holding and stood up, walking toward the back of the room.
The English representative smiled, relieved, silently praising Zhou Kai for being understanding and helpful.
Understanding? Helpful?
That was all nonsense.
Zhou Kai only knew one thing—he had just gone through a breakup, he was pissed off, and he was going to find any excuse to bother He Ye, to let him know how miserable he had been these past few days.
With a grim face, Zhou Kai walked over to He Ye’s desk, looking down at He Ye, who was lying on the desk with his eyes closed.
He paused with his hand raised, then gritted his teeth.
He admitted, seeing He Ye’s face and how much thinner he looked, he felt a bit… sorry for him.
But what good was feeling sorry? That damn snake had already moved on. He had teased him, and He Ye hadn’t reacted, then just turned around and got with someone else.
It was maddening…
…and embarrassing.
Taking a deep breath, Zhou Kai raised his hand again, ready to slap He Ye awake, to snap him out of whatever he was doing.
But before his hand could come down, it was caught in mid-air.
The person who stopped him was none other than He Ye, still slouched over on the desk. He stretched out his right hand and grabbed Zhou Kai’s wrist, holding it tightly, pressing his palm against his skin, the heat searing into him.
Zhou Kai’s eyes widened, a shiver running down his spine, his back prickling with the sudden rush of sensation. He was frozen in place, unable to move.
His breathing became quick and shallow.
Zhou Kai figured his face was probably red—otherwise, why would he feel so hot, so unbelievably hot?
After He Ye had grabbed his wrist, he slowly sat up from the desk, lifting his head to look at Zhou Kai. He had initially intended to give him a cold, angry stare, but as soon as he saw Zhou Kai’s flushed face and the tips of his ears turning red while he stared back at him, he cracked.
He Ye furrowed his brow in confusion, then realized his grip had been too tight and that Zhou Kai’s pulse was racing.
With that, it was no wonder his face was turning red.
Realizing his mistake, He Ye quickly released Zhou Kai’s wrist and returned to his usual cold demeanor.
“Are you done?”
In the two weeks that followed, He Ye had lost count of how many times the contradictory class representative had woken him up.
Anyone would have lost their temper by now, let alone He Ye, who was already on edge.
The students sitting at the back of the classroom had noticed Zhou Kai approaching He Ye. As soon as they did, the atmosphere became tense, as though He Ye was about to jump up and throw a punch. It was a bit intimidating.
Two girls even whispered to each other, wondering if they should go tell the homeroom teacher. What would happen if a fight broke out?
At that moment, the class monitor didn’t hesitate. He got up from his seat and rushed over to Zhou Kai’s side, ready to step in if things escalated.
Soon, the physical education monitor followed, and even the English class representative, who had been nervously contemplating, joined the scene…
He Ye looked at the four or five people suddenly gathered behind Zhou Kai, each of them watching him with cautious and hostile expressions. He couldn’t help but laugh.
And laugh he did—a sarcastic, dismissive laugh.
Zhou Kai frowned. When the class monitor arrived, he nudged a couple of people away and whispered, “It’s fine.”
But the class monitor didn’t leave; more people showed up.
Zhou Kai didn’t have the energy to think about how he and He Ye had just had physical contact. As he listened to He Ye’s mocking laugh, his heart tightened painfully.
He tucked the hand that He Ye had grabbed behind his back, took a deep breath, and then, trying not to shake, spoke to He Ye, “The English test papers from the day before yesterday, I need to collect them.”
For all this fuss, just for one test paper, He Ye didn’t know whether to laugh or cry. He stared at Zhou Kai for a moment before, irritated, he rummaged through his desk, pulled out the paper, and tossed it into Zhou Kai’s arms.
Zhou Kai grabbed the paper and quickly scanned it. Yeah, it had been done, but there were more blank answers than completed ones.
He Ye wasn’t exactly a top student. He always managed around four hundred points on tests, a score that wouldn’t be enough for college…
With a slight exhale, Zhou Kai passed the paper to the English class representative behind him. The young girl thanked him repeatedly and then rushed out the back door toward the office.
Task done, Zhou Kai had no reason to stick around. He glanced at He Ye, but then, unexpectedly, He Ye suddenly stood up, startling him. He froze but didn’t take a step back.
The two of them stood face to face, very close… Close enough for Zhou Kai to clearly see the faint scar on He Ye’s left eyebrow.
He Ye had just planned to get up to use the bathroom, but when he did, he found the class representative still standing right in front of him, staring at him the same way as before.
He Ye waited for a few seconds, curious to see if Zhou Kai would look away as he had the last two times.
But surprisingly, this time, Zhou Kai didn’t. He simply lowered his eyelids and turned back to his seat.
Meanwhile, the class monitor and the PE monitor—He Ye’s so-called “protectors”—stared at him, looking as though they were afraid he might not notice.
He Ye couldn’t be bothered to engage in a stare-down with those two idiots. He nudged his chair with his leg and left his seat.
Once in the bathroom, while he was relieving himself, He Ye replayed the moment when Zhou Kai had turned away.
Loneliness, sadness, and a hint of pity…
What the hell was that look?
He Ye shook himself and fastened his pants.
He hadn’t realized before, but the class representative wasn’t just two-faced—he was also rather sentimental.
Looking at his face, all those changing expressions—what the hell did they mean?
After washing his hands and stepping out of the bathroom, He Ye squinted at the clear, bright blue sky and bared his teeth.
Whatever they meant, he figured it was nothing good.
If Zhou Kai dared to cause trouble again next time, He Ye would entertain him and see if he could handle the game.
With his resolve firm, He Ye turned and headed back.
What he didn’t realize was that the nameless fire burning inside him seemed to be getting hotter.
