Meanwhile, Song Yi wasn't sitting idle.
She had been too lenient before, which gave that man the courage to go trouble grandmother again.
This time, she would teach him a proper lesson.
After inquiring with nearby vendors, Song Yi learned about the man's identity - a thirty-year-old unemployed drifter who spent his days drinking, occasionally working odd jobs at construction sites, and gambling away whatever money he earned.
He was extremely shameless, frequently dining at nearby establishments without paying. Most business owners, just trying to make an honest living, didn't bother confronting him over a bowl of noodles, which only encouraged his behavior.
Song Yi obtained his address and, after dinner, wandered to his neighborhood to wait.
It was a very old alley, even more run-down than where the original owner lived. Few people resided here, making it feel extremely desolate, like a forgotten corner of the bustling city.
There was a dog chained in front of the man's door, with an empty broken bowl placed before it.
It was a black dog, its fur filthy and matted, so thin its bones were visible through its skin - clearly, it hadn't had a proper meal in a long time.
Unlike most dogs that would bark at strangers, this one looked utterly exhausted, curled up in front of the door, seemingly indifferent to everything around it.
Song Yi walked over and took out a sausage from her pocket, unwrapped it, and placed it in the dog's bowl.
The man was no good person, and his dog was suffering because of him.
When the dog saw food in its bowl, its eyes suddenly lit up. It stood up and limped to the bowl, lowering its head to eat.
As it stood, Song Yi noticed its front leg was severely injured, with dried blood matted in its fur.
Song Yi stepped forward to examine the dog's wounds - there were deep gashes in addition to the leg injury, and she couldn't tell which was more severe.
The little dog, clearly starved for a long time, wolfed down the sausage. Then it barked "woof woof" at her twice, its tail suddenly wagging rapidly high in the air.
Song Yi gently patted its head and spoke softly, "Good boy, sister is going to punish the bad person who hurt you soon."
After saying this, she took out her water bottle and poured some water into the dog's bowl.
Soon, heavy footsteps sounded behind her - the man was returning home.
Under the streetlight, he stumbled along holding a bottle of alcohol. He was clearly startled when he saw Song Yi.
The man pointed his bottle at Song Yi and cursed, "Who are you? Why are you standing in front of my house!"
He approached, ready to rage, but froze when he clearly saw Song Yi's face.
He rubbed his eyes, and upon recognizing Song Yi, suddenly sobered up and asked warily, "What are you doing here? And how did you find my house?"
Song Yi didn't answer, only giving him a strange smile while thinking to herself.
Since the dog had a broken leg and grandmother had facial injuries, she would target his legs and face too.
Bullying the elderly and abusing animals - he had done the most despicable things. He was truly scum through and through.
Seeing Song Yi's silence, the man assumed she was scared, or perhaps the alcohol made him bolder. He continued cursing, "What bad luck! Get lost!"
After speaking, he kicked over the bowl of water in front of the dog and prepared to ignore Song Yi's presence and go inside.
Song Yi grabbed the man's shoulder and said calmly, "Did I say you could leave?"
"What else do you want?" The man raised his bottle high. "Get lost! Whatever woman you are, stay away from me! I don't have money for you!"
Song Yi continued ignoring him and instead delivered a powerful kick to his shin, causing him to fall to his knees while simultaneously knocking the bottle from his hand.
"CRASH—"
The bottle shattered on the ground into countless pieces.
Song Yi bent down, picked up the largest piece of glass, and held it against the man's temple from above.
It seemed that with just a little more pressure, the glass would break his delicate skin.
The man was now trembling in fear, the memory of having his face held near the oil pot the other day overwhelming him again. Whatever courage the alcohol had given him instantly vanished.
He begged, "Take it away! Quick, take this away! I won't dare anymore! Really, I won't dare again!"
Song Yi replied, "But you said the same thing last time."
Realizing begging was useless, the man stammered, "This is illegal! I can call the police to arrest you!"
"Oh, do you think anyone would believe you?" Song Yi asked while smiling at him, her eyes full of innocence.
Seeing she wouldn't be swayed, the man's fear grew, but he still asked, "What do you want then?"
Song Yi replied calmly, "Of course, it's payback."
She stepped back several paces, picked up a stone from the ground, and narrowed her eyes to aim at the man's forehead.
With force, she threw—
The man couldn't dodge in time and fell backward, clutching his forehead and crying out in pain as blood trickled between his fingers.
Song Yi stepped forward again, bent down and pulled his fingers away to examine the wound on his forehead.
It didn't seem deep enough.
Suddenly, a cold voice spoke from behind her, tinged with curiosity, "What are you doing?"
Song Yi turned around and was surprised to see a familiar face - the person she had met at Saint Yu Boys' High School when Shen Yujing took her there.
When the young man saw Song Yi, a flash of surprise crossed his narrow eyes.
Song Yi frowned as she recalled his name, thinking carefully before saying, "Zhang Che?"
Xu Che remained silent for a few seconds without correcting her, then looked at the man on the ground with surprise before asking Song Yi, "Did you do this?"
"Yes," Song Yi nodded, then asked curiously, "But why are you here so late at night?"
Xu Che pointed at the man on the ground, "Coincidentally, like you, I'm here to settle a score with him."
The man began trembling even more violently, terrified and wondering what bad luck had brought multiple people to trouble him on the same night.
Since he was Shen Yujing's arch-enemy, Song Yi figured this person wouldn't go easy either.
Thinking this, she kindly stepped aside and said, "Please."
Xu Che approached, took out a pack of tissues from his pocket and handed them to Song Yi, saying just one word, "Hands."
Song Yi looked down and was surprised to find the man's blood on her hands, so she accepted the tissues.
Seeing them talking, the man tried to stand up and escape into his house.
Of course, he failed again.
Xu Che's foot connected with the man's shin, followed by a powerful punch to his back - his attacks were swift, accurate, and fierce.
Song Yi pretended to cover her eyes with her spread fingers, thinking—
How brutal.
But it's quite satisfying to watch.
Soon, the man was lying on the ground, wailing and begging Xu Che to spare his life.
Xu Che bent down, whispered something in the man's ear, then kicked him aside violently.
The dog behind the man stood up and, despite its severe leg injury, limped to the furthest extent of its leash to stand in front of its owner.
It kept barking at Xu Che, and if not for the chain, it might have lunged to bite him. It was completely different from its gentle demeanor earlier.
It was still trying its best to protect its master, even though he had never shown it any love.
Song Yi spoke up to stop him, "Enough, if you hit him anymore, he'll really be in trouble."
Xu Che turned to look at her and asked, "Why are you still here?"
Song Yi shrugged and answered honestly, "I was planning to give him a few more kicks after you finished, but now it seems unnecessary."
Because Xu Che's methods... were more brutal than hers.
After hearing Song Yi's answer, Xu Che said nothing more, only looking contemptuously at the man on the ground before saying one word, "Leave."
The man could barely stand up, crawling and stumbling as he fled into the house.
The dog at the door, seeing that its owner was temporarily out of danger, retreated to its original position but still kept a vigilant eye on Xu Che, barking "woof woof" a couple more times.
Song Yi handed the pack of tissues back to Xu Che, saying, "You've got some on your hands too."
"Thanks," Xu Che thanked her and took back what was originally his tissue, then asked, "Where's Shen Yujing? Why did he let you come alone?"
Song Yi frowned, not understanding what this had to do with Shen Yujing.
But then she remembered their last encounter and understood - this person must have thought she was... Shen Yujing's underling!
So Song Yi replied, "This is a personal grudge."
Xu Che casually asked, "How did he offend you?"
Song Yi answered, "He bullied an elderly lady who sells fried skewers. The old lady has two grandchildren who rarely visit her. She usually relies on her small food stall to earn some money, only to be bullied by such thugs. It's quite pitiful."
Hearing Song Yi's response, a hint of surprise flashed across Xu Che's eyes. "I didn't expect that while Shen Yujing isn't much himself, his girlfriend is quite decent."
Hearing Xu Che's words, Song Yi finally understood what he had misunderstood.
So she quickly explained, "No, no, no, Shen Yujing and I aren't boyfriend and girlfriend. We're just classmates from neighboring classes, and we barely know each other."
Xu Che lowered his eyes, seemingly deep in thought.
His long eyelashes concealed the look in his eyes, making it impossible to tell what he was thinking or whether he believed Song Yi's words.
After a while, Song Yi felt there was no point in just standing there and prepared to leave.
But Xu Che suddenly looked at her and asked, "Are you free? Let me treat you to some bubble tea."
Song Yi rather sheepishly agreed, because she was craving bubble tea.
Recently, bubble tea prices had skyrocketed. A cup loaded with toppings like eight-treasure porridge would cost at least ten-plus yuan, sometimes even thirty to fifty yuan. She hadn't indulged in such a "luxurious" expense for quite a while.
Besides, Xu Che was just an extra character who never even appeared in the original plot, and given his poor relationship with Shen Yujing, he should be a safe person.
Thinking this way, Song Yi followed Xu Che to a nearby bubble tea shop.
It was past dinner time, so the bubble tea shop was quiet with few customers.
Song Yi sat in her seat obediently waiting while Xu Che went to the counter to get their orders. When he returned, he was carrying two identical bubble teas and an extra small cake he had ordered for Song Yi.
When things seem unusually nice, there must be a catch. Excessive kindness usually means ulterior motives.
Song Yi took a small bite of the cake with her fork and asked, "So? What's this about?"
Xu Che lowered his head to sip his drink through the straw and said, "This bubble tea shop has new items, I wanted to try them."
Song Yi: "?"
Huh? What? So what? Then what?
Xu Che looked at her again and said, "It's very good."
Song Yi: "?"
Huh? What? So what? Then what?
Why was he looking at her like that? Was she supposed to say something? What should she say?!
Song Yi hesitated for a moment before taking a sip of her bubble tea.
It was indeed very good.
So she gave Xu Che a thumbs up and nodded in agreement, "Not bad."
And so the two of them sat face to face, silently finishing their bubble teas.
Watching Xu Che as he was about to leave, Song Yi patted her slightly full stomach and couldn't help but ask, "So you really just wanted to treat me to bubble tea?"
Didn't he want to ask her some questions? Didn't he want to gather intelligence about Shen Yujing from her?
What happened to being mortal enemies? Having such a perfect opportunity to learn information from someone close to your rival, and letting it slip away? What kind of school bully are you?!
Song Yi thought this to herself, looking at Xu Che with anticipation in her eyes.
Two tigers cannot share the same mountain - Saint Slee Academy and Saint Yu Boys' High School were so close to each other, they naturally couldn't have two school bullies either!
If Xu Che was determined to "take down" Shen Yujing, she would definitely support him wholeheartedly and provide all the help she could.
If the male lead was gone, surely the whole novel would end with him.
But Xu Che just frowned at Song Yi, seemingly not understanding what she was expecting.
Song Yi couldn't hold back anymore and got straight to the point: "As the saying goes, accepting someone's food puts you in their debt. Since I drank your bubble tea, feel free to ask anything about Shen Yujing. I promise to tell you everything I know without holding back."
Xu Che finally understood what Song Yi was thinking and looked at her with amusement, asking, "You think I wanted to get information about Shen Yujing's weaknesses from you?"
Song Yi nodded directly, her eyes practically screaming: Isn't that the case?
Xu Che seemed somewhat taken aback but still explained, "He hasn't been coming around to cause trouble lately, I'm not interested in what he's doing."
The best relationship between him and Shen Yujing was mutual non-interference.
"That's because he broke his leg," Song Yi explained to Xu Che. "Think about it, it would be really stupid of him to come pick a fight with you while in a wheelchair."
Xu Che: "Broken bone?"
Song Yi: "Yeah! The cast isn't even off yet! It's quite funny! Would you like to come to our school to see?"
Faced with Song Yi's enthusiastic invitation, Xu Che remained calm and grabbed the key point, "Why did he break his bone?"
Song Yi: "Of course it's because... ah... the process is a bit complicated. In short, he won the 3000-meter gold medal at our school's sports meet, got too excited, and broke his leg."
Song Yi: "Um... yes, that's what happened."
Xu Che frowned slightly, seemingly pondering the plausibility of Song Yi's story.
Of course, this wasn't something to be examined too closely, or problems would be found.
So Song Yi simply stood up, "Oh my, it's getting late, I should go! Thanks for the bubble tea! Zhang Che!"
Xu Che: "..."
The young man's lips curled up helplessly. Never mind.
*
The next morning.
Song Yi arrived at school, starting another ordinary and tiring day in the life of a regular high school girl.
After memorizing fifty vocabulary words, Song Yi couldn't help but yawn.
She really wanted to sleep, but she hadn't finished reviewing yet, and midterms were in two days.
Because of this, Song Yi had no choice but to join the intense studying group of other good students in Class A, giving up lunch in the cafeteria and making do with convenience store bread instead.
Other students who originally hadn't planned to stay were inspired seeing the top student working so hard. Everyone except Quan Le stayed behind to study.
You know what they say - it's not scary that the top student has better grades than you, what's scary is when they have better grades AND work harder than you!
Shen Yujing, who had wheeled around the first floor of the cafeteria entrance for the hundredth time without encountering anyone, fell into deep thought and finally decided to check Class A.
In the middle of the day, seeing Class A almost completely full of students, Shen Yujing was startled.
He had originally wanted to call out to Song Yi, but after witnessing the shocking scene of an entire class buried in their studies during lunch break, he chose to remain silent.
Then Shen Yujing quietly wheeled himself away. Never mind, he didn't seem to fit in there.
The studying atmosphere was so intense it almost suffocated him.
Before Shen Yujing's wheelchair had gone far, Quan Le came walking towards him, thinking Shen Yujing was looking for him and waved, "I'm here!"
Shen Yujing asked him, "Why aren't you studying in the classroom?"
Quan Le: "Why should I study in the classroom?"
Shen Yujing: "Midterms are coming up, your whole class is studying."
Quan Le: "That's them. Diligence makes up for lack of intelligence. Smart people like me and Jiang Yiheng don't need to stay behind - we can stay in Class A with minimal effort."
Shen Yujing: "..."
He was used to being compared to Jiang Yiheng since childhood, so that was fine.
But Quan Le was different.
Sometimes Shen Yujing wondered why Quan Le could get into Class A while he couldn't, when they both spent their days slacking off together.
Could it be... that Quan Le was smarter than him too???
After living for so many years, Shen Yujing suddenly realized this potentially frightening fact about himself.
Of course, he quickly denied it.
Impossible, absolutely impossible.
Afternoon classes.
Shen Yujing was restlessly playing with his phone when he suddenly noticed a post that had been pushed to the top of the school's forum.
[Click here for an IQ Mini Test——]
Post #1: They say Jiang Yiheng scored 99 points on this mini test before! He's a rare genius with high IQ!
Post #6: I got 80 points! Just an average person QAQ
Post #17: I got 88! A slightly talented ordinary person...
Post #21: You need over 90 points to be considered above average, it's so hard.
Shen Yujing fell into deep thought as he stared at the post.
Jiang Yiheng? A high IQ genius?
Him? Really? What a joke.
Shen Yujing clicked on the link. It was time to show everyone his true capabilities.
Shen Yujing started answering the questions with full confidence—after all, there was no way he could be just an ordinary person—
Huh???
A line of large text popped up on the screen, showing the test result—
[21 points, Moderate Intellectual Disability]
