The desks and chairs in the large classroom were ordinary school desks, but the classroom was bigger than a normal classroom, able to accommodate more people.
Zhang Ruchen had just sat down when Zhou Rui pushed his desk out a little.
Zhou Rui's legs were too long. Under the desk, he could only put one leg comfortably. The other leg had to be placed outside, just like two pythons coiled on the desk.
When Zhang Ruchen took out his notebook, he glanced at Zhou Rui's posture and didn't say anything. But Zhou Rui leaned over to provoke him, "Don't you have this kind of trouble with your short legs? It must be very blissful."
The only thing not good about Zhang Ruchen was that he wasn't very tall. He was only 178 cm tall. But he looked quite slender, although he looked a bit cute and petite next to Zhou Rui.
Zhou Rui didn't understand at all how this shorty became the school hunk.
"Why is your mouth so gossipy?" Chai Meicen turned back and glared at Zhou Rui.
"Listen carefully in class later. Don't keep staring at me," Zhou Rui said, leaning over to Chai Meicen after his attention was diverted.
"What's this written? I can't understand it..." Chai Meicen showed Zhou Rui her textbook.
"What a coincidence, I can't understand it either," Zhou Rui replied before going back to harass Zhang Ruchen again. "Would our chit-chatting affect your chance of getting into Harvard?"
Zhang Ruchen was twirling his pen and glanced at them. Just as he was about to answer, he saw Chai Meicen turn back and press Zhou Rui's head down, "Apologize."
Chai Meicen seemed to have done this kind of thing thousands of times. Her actions were neat and agile, even somewhat chivalrous, with the air of a hero in martial arts novels.
She turned back and pressed down. Her movements were smooth and natural, and her tone was very domineering.
"What are you doing?" Zhou Rui was pressed so hard he almost fell over.
"The flirtatious one is cheap. It's useless to remind you, right? You're so shameless. When you go out into society in the future, you'll definitely get beaten up. If I don't tell you now, you'll just get mobbed or go to jail and become a sunflower. "
Chai Meicen knew Zhou Rui too well. She could tell Zhou Rui's previous words were not nice at all, beyond joking. Zhang Ruchen was obviously not familiar with Zhou Rui, yet Zhou Rui was messing with him.
This was very annoying to Chai Meicen.
In Chai Meicen's eyes, it was like taking a seven or eight-year-old child to a restaurant for a meal, and the child runs over to pinch food from the next table. Or taking the child on a high-speed rail, and the child starts kicking other people with his shoes on.
Not cute at all, just annoying.
There's a kind of love called your mom teaching you how to behave.
According to Chai Meicen's temper, she definitely wouldn't let this slide.
It was Zhang Ruchen's first time seeing someone being forced to apologize like this - the school's famous tough guy, obediently bowing his head to a petite girl who just transferred in.
The girl who looked delicate and demure pressed the head of the school bully and made him apologize. Not only did the bully not get mad, but he also obeyed.
And the one he apologized to was someone he normally looked down upon the most.
At this moment, Zhang Ruchen smiled because he found the scene very interesting.
Zhou Rui was extremely unhappy being pressed like this. Mainly because he was used to rampaging arrogantly at school, and no one could really restrain him.
Usually he could do whatever he wanted without concern. This was the first time someone had tried to discipline him.
"I was just joking," Zhou Rui explained in a low voice.
"If the target of the joke doesn't find it funny, then it's not a joke," Chai Meicen stated.
Zhou Rui made eye contact with Chai Meicen for a moment, saw her displeasure, and still bowed his head to admit his mistake, "Sorry about that."
That was his mother. No matter how her appearance changed, her temper remained the same. Zhou Rui wouldn't clash hard with Chai Meicen, and immediately conceded.
Chai Meicen released Zhou Rui and sat back down to continue looking at her book.
Zhou Rui moved his neck around uncomfortably, glared at Zhang Ruchen, and laid down on the table sullenly, intending to take a nap.
Zhang Ruchen felt very wronged. He clearly didn't do anything, yet became the target of blame. As he lowered his head to read his book, he smiled helplessly at the corners of his mouth.
Students from other classes were shocked by this scene.
The almighty bully of the school was tidied up neatly and obediently by a little beauty who just transferred in.
A girl who looked delicate and demure pressed the head of the school bully and made him apologize. Not only did the bully not get angry, but he also obeyed.
And the one he apologized to was someone he normally looked down on the most.
Just who was this girl?
What kind of character was she?
What exactly was going on here?
Chai Meicen didn't notice the astonished looks of the crowd. She just tried hard to find the parts she was familiar with in the textbook, and to absorb this knowledge.
There was a lot of English that she knew. When she dropped out, she had planned to take the Level 4 exam.
It wasn't easy to pick up knowledge again after more than a decade. Looking at the all-English textbook, she knew how heavy her upcoming tasks would be.
Soon the teacher came in to start class.
Perhaps because it was an elective class, the teacher didn't specifically check which students were present. After taking attendance, the teacher began teaching.
Chai Meicen looked at the blackboard trying hard to understand some technical terms, also listening attentively.
But halfway through the second period, Chai Meicen started to feel sleepy.
It was summer, and the afternoon was the easiest time to feel drowsy. Jiahua International School had large combined classes, with two periods for each subject. Electives were especially combined for the full two periods.
The teacher at the lectern was saying content she couldn't understand, the sound kept going, having a hypnotic effect. The classroom was relatively quiet.
The air conditioner was gently blowing, keeping the indoor temperature very comfortable.
Chai Meicen's eyelids drooped. She shook her head and sat up straight again, continuing to look at the blackboard and listen to class.
Zhou Rui didn't know when he had woken up. He was no longer lying on the desk, just propping his chin up and staring at the back of Chai Meicen's head.
Seeing Chai Meicen looking so sleepy, he couldn't help but chuckle quietly.
Chai Meicen's head tilted slightly to the side, seeming to fall asleep at any moment. Zhou Rui took the U-shaped pillow off of his own neck and put it around Chai Meicen's neck.
Chai Meicen didn't immediately fall asleep after being given the pillow. On the contrary, she sat up straight for a bit before dozing off again.
She slept very skillfully, sitting on the chair and leaning on the U-shaped pillow.
Zhou Rui was afraid Chai Meicen would fall asleep and slip off the chair, so he kept watching her and reaching out to support her from time to time. After thinking about it, he took off his school uniform jacket and draped it over Chai Meicen.
It was easy to catch a cold sleeping under the air conditioner, and Zhou Rui was worried she might get sick.
When class ended, Zhou Rui woke up Chai Meicen and cheekily asked, "How was your sleep?"
Chai Meicen finally woke up, shook her head, and felt a little embarrassed seeing Zhou Rui.
She had come to set an example for Zhou Rui, but instead fell asleep in front of him. That was a bit hard to explain.
"I'm just not used to it after transferring over suddenly. I'll definitely be able to study well in the future," Chai Meicen cleared her throat and said.
"Alright, I believe you. Let's go," Zhou Rui walked over, put Chai Meicen's books in his bag too, and left the classroom with her.
Chai Meicen was still wearing Zhou Rui's jacket over her slender body. It looked especially big on her, like a child wearing an adult's scarf as a cloak.
Zhou Rui's uniform also had unique graffiti on it, painted with some kind of paint that didn't wash off even after so many washes.
The jacket was painted with all the crew members of One Piece, and it looked quite good, actually.
Some people in school might not recognize Zhou Rui, but many knew this uniform jacket painted like this belonged to only him in the entire school.
So even after they left the classroom, many people could recognize that Chai Meicen was wearing Zhou Rui's uniform jacket.
Especially since the two of them walked back together, with Zhou Rui only wearing a short-sleeved shirt, Zhou Rui looking at Chai Meicen and smiling from time to time, saying something. They looked very intimate.
They didn't know that on the surface, the overbearing school bully was actually begging for mercy at this time.
"Why did you come to our school to suffer? Wouldn't it be better to just go home and sleep?" Zhou Rui asked as he walked beside Chai Meicen.
"No, I want to seize this last chance to urge you to behave well."
"I'm pretty well-behaved already."
"I guess because I transferred so late, I still haven't discovered enough about you being a good person. Don't try to dissuade me, I'm not leaving."
"Why are you so stubborn?" Zhou Rui didn't understand.
"Once I decide on something, I won't give up. When my studies were bad in the past, I still tested into a first-tier university to chase your dad."
"... " Zhou Rui was startled into silence.
Chai Meicen basically didn't mention his father to Zhou Rui at all. He had no idea what kind of person his biological father was.
He didn't know if it was being influenced by the school atmosphere, or if Chai Meicen had lowered her guard, but she actually blurted it out.
"So it turns out my dad was a top student?" Zhou Rui quickly asked, snapping out of his daze.
"Anyway... I'll stick to it!" Chai Meicen hurried back to the classroom, afraid Zhou Rui would continue asking questions.
Zhou Rui didn't pursue it further. He knew even if he asked, Chai Meicen wouldn't say.
*
The school forum exploded.
Jiahua International School required clocking in upon entering the school gates. In recent years the system was updated, no longer needing student cards. Just scanning the QR code with a phone app was enough.
Students could also charge their phones at the school cafeteria and supermarket by scanning to pay.
Even the library could be used to borrow books directly with a phone.
This meant every student at Jiahua International School had the school app on their phone.
The home page of the app displayed the hot posts from the school forum over the past 30 days, as well as the latest posts.
When students were bored, they would go to the school forum to take a look. The post that was just published today quickly became a 30-day hot post, showing how shocking this news was.
Post title: Just what kind of person is the girl who transferred to International Class 3? Has School Beauty Zhao been overthrown?
The content of the post live-streamed the physics elective class today, with photos and details.
In the post's replies, several short videos also appeared - one of Zhang Ruchen and Zhou Rui sitting together, one of Chai Meicen pressing Zhou Rui's head and demanding an apology, one of Zhou Rui giving his U-shaped pillow to Chai Meicen, and draping his jacket over her.
#4: I somehow feel this is a bit sweet.
#5: Is it true about Zhou Rui and School Beauty Zhao?
#6: This girl is quite pretty. Did Zhou Rui's real girlfriend come to settle the score after School Beauty Zhao got entangled with him?
#19: The school bully is fierce as a tiger, but obediently kneels before her without hesitation.
#23: Stop this nonsense, okay? School Beauty Zhao wishfully thought so, but Zhou Rui was never interested in her! And Zhou Rui already denied what you guys spread about that incident.
#25: #23, don't run, you seem to be privy to inside information?
#30: Don't stop me, I'm going to over-interpret this - Zhou Rui kowtowed to Zhang Ruchen under her command! That's right, Zhou Rui is whipped. Zhang Ruchen smiles and Zhou Rui melts all over.
#235: Zhou Rui is a scumbag man.
#294: Oh please, do you guys even know why Zhou Rui got into that fight? It's because Zhou Rui cheated.
#383: Damn, plot twist?
#640: Shameless School Beauty Zhao, did Zhou Rui ever entertain you?
#675: Screw School Beauty, here are photos of Zhao Bingqing and Chai Meicen, judge for yourselves which one is prettier. They're not even on the same level. Chai Meicen is obviously more refined.
*
"Bro Zhou, did you see that post? The comments are completely off track." Yang He held his phone, furious as he continued typing to scold people.
"Too lazy to care," Zhou Rui said listlessly, sprawled on the table.
"My Zhou Rui, isn't it time to recharge your school bully aura? Now quite a few people are challenging your authority, ever since Chai Meicen arrived you've become a total wimp in front of her."
"Can't recharge, can't win, I'll never get the upper hand in front of her in this life." Zhou Rui got a headache just thinking about Chai Meicen. He feared nothing on heaven or earth, except his mom.
"Zhang Ruchen replied, didn't post anonymously."
"What's he mingling in for?"
"The thread blew up, some questioned Zhao Bingqing's title of school belle, saying Chai Meicen was more deserving of being school beauty. Then some questioned whether Zhang Ruchen could be considered a school heartthrob, saying you were instead, and blew Zhang Ruchen's cover."
Zhou Rui looked up and asked: "What was his reply?"
Yang Yue frowned while holding his phone, pondering for a bit before handing the phone to Zhou Rui.
Zhang Ruchen: Yeah, Zhou Rui is pretty cute.
After reading, Zhou Rui nearly threw the phone away.
