TAO | Chapter 100

More than half the school was empty now. A few scattered students were walking out of the teaching building toward the school gates.

Jiang Zhan stood in front of the building, backlit by the sun. His hair was buzzed short, his sharp brows furrowed with impatience, face dark with annoyance, giving off that classic “bad boy, don’t mess with me” vibe.

But the moment he saw someone rushing over, his expression eased up instantly—though there was still a hint of displeasure.

Staring straight at Wei Xiaochi, Jiang Zhan walked up and grabbed his school bag. “Why are you only coming out now?”

Wei Xiaochi tugged nervously at the hem of his shirt. “Got held up.”

Thankfully, Jiang Zhan didn’t press further. He hefted the bag twice and frowned. “Why is it so heavy?”

Wei Xiaochi reached out to take it back. “All revision books. I’ll carry it.”

Jiang Zhan sidestepped his hand and slung the bag over his own shoulder. “Let’s go. Sell the recyclables and then get back to studying.”

Wei Xiaochi adjusted his glasses, not sure why, but his heart suddenly swelled with a warm, satisfying feeling.

They had a shared goal now. And Jiang Zhan was working hard toward that goal with him. Wei Xiaochi really, really liked this feeling.

Originally, he’d wanted to sit down with Jiang Zhan and have a proper talk. But now, he felt like it didn’t really matter. Who fell for who first—it wasn’t important anymore. What mattered was that they were together now, working hard for their future.

And for Wei Xiaochi, that was enough.

—

To make sure Jiang Zhan could jump up ten ranks in the finals, Wei Xiaochi didn’t go to work that weekend. He stayed home and tutored Jiang Zhan for two full days.

Sure enough, when school started on Monday, Xu Yang’s seat was empty.

Most of the class didn’t know he was going abroad—it was the homeroom teacher who made the announcement.

Xu Yang had decent popularity in class, so when everyone heard the news, they were shocked. He’d never hinted at anything like this before.

“How did he just leave like that? Not even a heads-up. Did any of you know he was going abroad?”

“Nope.”

“Never heard him mention it.”

“Seriously, that’s kinda messed up. If he was gonna leave, he could’ve at least told us.”

“Exactly! If we knew he wasn’t coming back after Friday, we could’ve thrown him a little send-off or something.”

“Ugh, leaving without saying a word—did he even see us as friends?”

Even Li Suilin was surprised. He thought Xu Yang would at least stay for finals—didn’t expect him to dip this week.

That Xu Yang didn’t tell anyone in the class meant he had no plans to keep in touch. Honestly, it fit Xu Yang’s decisive personality.

When someone gets that calm, they start seeming a little cold.

That was just how Xu Yang was. Seemed easygoing on the surface, could hang out with everyone, but deep down, he was cold and distant. Never really saw those around him as true friends. The type who could walk away without looking back.

Maybe that reckless, impulsive version of him only showed up for one person.

Li Suilin lifted his eyes and glanced at the second row—at Wei Xiaochi.

All around, students were talking about Xu Yang’s sudden transfer. Even his deskmate hadn’t known a thing—totally stunned to see the empty seat that morning.

Wei Xiaochi listened to the chatter, then suddenly realized—Xu Yang had only told him about leaving.

Thinking back to what Xu Yang said to him at the classroom door on Friday, Wei Xiaochi froze for a second.

Back then, he’d been anxious to get away in case Jiang Zhan saw them together, so he hadn’t thought much about Xu Yang’s words.

But now, looking back, it was obvious Xu Yang had been saying goodbye—only to him.

And judging by how Xu Yang looked that day, he’d probably wanted to say more. But Wei Xiaochi had been too eager to leave, and didn’t give him the chance.

Wei Xiaochi felt a little rude in hindsight, but then again—maybe that was for the best. For both of them.

Lately, Xu Yang’s attitude toward him had been kind of… odd. Like he might have feelings for him.

But without Jiang Zhan in the picture, Wei Xiaochi still wouldn’t have dated anyone in high school. Even if Xu Yang had stayed and confessed, he wouldn’t have agreed.

And if you don’t like someone, then don’t leave them with false hope. What he did Friday was basically a quiet rejection.

Thinking about it that way, the guilt from being impolite melted away instantly. Wei Xiaochi let go of the matter and went back to sorting his past papers.

Zhang Mingyang watched him quietly, pasting chemistry worksheets together with a glue stick like nothing happened.

It was as if Xu Yang’s departure didn’t stir even a ripple in Wei Xiaochi’s heart—cold, indifferent, untouched by anyone.

Wei Xiaochi swiped the glue stick across the corner of a worksheet, smoothed it flat, and was about to stick it down—when his desk got kicked hard.

His hand shook, and the two sheets pasted together crookedly. Frowning, Wei Xiaochi looked up and asked Zhang Mingyang, “What was that for?”

Zhang Mingyang had clearly started it, but he wore this grim expression like Wei Xiaochi had provoked him somehow.

Without a word, he stood up and left the classroom.

Wei Xiaochi thought he was being ridiculous. He quickly peeled apart the sheets before the glue dried, aligned them neatly, and stuck them again.

Class was about to start when Zhang Mingyang finally came back. His face wasn’t anything special to begin with, and now he looked like someone owed him millions.

Wei Xiaochi peeked at him a few times, half-suspecting that maybe betas also had some kind of “special period.”

Otherwise why had Zhang Mingyang been acting like he was on edge the past few days, giving him the cold shoulder out of nowhere?

Zhang Mingyang stared at the front of the class, totally focused on the lecture, not even sparing Wei Xiaochi a side glance.

Wei Xiaochi thought, Fine, you ignore me? I don’t wanna talk to you either!

The two didn’t exchange a single word during the next two periods. Not even a look.

Zhang Mingyang either stared straight ahead or off to the right—just not at Wei Xiaochi, clearly sulking.

Wei Xiaochi didn’t care about his random bad moods. He didn’t even glance over. During class, he focused on the lecture. Between classes, he organized test papers and marked key points for Jiang Zhan.

—

During the big break, Jiang Zhan showed up at Class 1’s door carrying a lunchbox and a math problem book—with none other than the stone-faced Wei Minzhen behind him.

The two of them entered the room one after the other.

The school tyrant and the dean had such powerful auras that everyone instinctively stepped aside to clear a path like some royal procession.

As they got closer, Wei Xiaochi’s palms started sweating. Gripping his pen, he felt like he was sitting on pins and needles.

When Jiang Zhan passed by the podium, he casually picked up a stool and placed it next to Wei Xiaochi’s desk, sitting down like it was the most normal thing in the world.

Wei Xiaochi immediately felt the murderous glare of Wei Minzhen, and his heart started pounding like crazy.

“What do you think you’re doing?!” Wei Minzhen barked, his face twisted in rage. “You dare… under my nose, you still dare—”

Before he could spit out the words “date,” Jiang Zhan opened his workbook, poked at a problem with his pen, and said to Wei Xiaochi, “I don’t know how to do this one.”

Smooth.

Wei Minzhen’s temple veins pulsed in fury, watching him pull this stunt like it was nothing.

Wei Xiaochi, under the dean’s deadly gaze, didn’t dare slack off. He quickly leaned over, glanced at the question, and started explaining with his scratch paper.

Once he finished, Jiang Zhan wrote down the answer and full steps, then turned the book toward Wei Xiaochi. “Is this right?”

Wei Xiaochi checked carefully and nodded nervously. “Yeah.”

Jiang Zhan pushed the lunchbox toward him. “Red date pumpkin soup. My mom made it.”

Hearing that it was from Jiang Zhan’s mom, Wei Xiaochi froze a little. Something soft and warm bloomed quietly in his heart.

The fact that Jiang Zhan’s mom made soup for him—meant she’d accepted him.

Before he could bask in that little moment, Wei Minzhen caught a whiff of the sweet, borderline suspicious vibes between them. His ruler slammed down on the desk with a loud crack crack crack.

“What are you doing? Flirting in front of me? You think you’re dating or something?!”

All of Wei Xiaochi’s fluttery thoughts shattered under that ruler. His shoulders flinched in fear.

But Jiang Zhan, ever the unbothered king, remained calm. He just flipped the page and continued working.

Unlike him, Wei Xiaochi sat frozen, hugging the lunchbox like it was a bomb.

Jiang Zhan tapped the desk with his knuckle. “Eat.”

Wei Minzhen didn’t catch that. He tapped his ruler near Jiang Zhan’s hand. “What did you just say? Whispering again?”

“Nothing.” Jiang Zhan finished a multiple-choice question and handed the book over with a lazy grin. “Sir, mind checking if I got it right?”

“Don’t play games with me. You think I don’t know what’s going on in your head?” Wei Minzhen clamped the ruler under his arm, took the book, and lectured as he checked. “I’m telling you two—don’t fool around at school. I’ve got my eyes on you.”

He read through the question three times, rubbed his nose twice.

Knowledge, after all, didn’t lie. It really had been years since he taught. All those formulas and laws—he’d basically forgotten most of them.

Students gathered around to watch the drama, even the doorway was packed with people from other classes. Wei Minzhen glanced around and started feeling embarrassed.

“What’re you looking at? Get back to what you’re supposed to be doing!”

He shooed them away, slapped the workbook back onto Wei Xiaochi’s desk, and said stiffly, “You. You check it for him.”

Wei Xiaochi didn’t dare say no. He skimmed the problem and answer, then told Jiang Zhan, “Nope, that’s wrong.”

Wei Minzhen folded his arms and leaned in, watching Wei Xiaochi write out the solution. Gradually, his expression shifted to one of understanding.

Ah right right, that’s how you do it. Now he remembered.

For the whole big break, Wei Minzhen stuck around Class 1, keeping a hawk eye on Wei Xiaochi and Jiang Zhan’s every move. If they did anything remotely suspicious, he’d shut it down immediately.

But the two stayed squeaky clean the whole time—no shady business whatsoever.

Wei Xiaochi ate nervously from his lunchbox. Jiang Zhan worked on problems. Only when he hit a roadblock did he speak up.

Besides the red date pumpkin soup, there were shiny steamed shrimp dumplings and a slice of blueberry cake.

While sipping the soup, Wei Xiaochi sneakily placed a piece of cake in front of Jiang Zhan.

The alpha, having just finished a question, picked it up and popped it into his mouth like it was the most natural thing ever.

The whole exchange was silent. Wei Minzhen had no opening to pounce. Even worse, Wei Xiaochi had the audacity to offer him cake.

“I don’t need it,” Wei Minzhen coldly refused.

One glare was enough to silence Wei Xiaochi, who obediently returned to his lunch.

With no solid evidence, Wei Minzhen had to watch Jiang Zhan leave for his own class empty-handed, grinding his teeth in frustration as he trudged back to the office.

—

For several days straight, Jiang Zhan showed up during the big break to see Wei Xiaochi, and Wei Minzhen came to spy every time.

But all he got was a front-row seat to a live mukbang and a reformed school tyrant grinding through practice problems. Nothing else.

He knew the two were dating—but in school, they didn’t step even a toe out of line. On top of that, Jiang Zhan was actually doing what he promised: turning over a new leaf.

These days, Jiang Zhan had been super well-behaved. Wearing his uniform, cutting his hair, no more fighting, no more sleeping in class—he was actually listening.

Every subject teacher had nothing but praise for him. Not only was he studying, he even helped maintain class discipline. His progress was visible to the naked eye.

While Wei Minzhen was happy to see it, he also couldn’t help feeling conflicted. This transformation clearly came with “conditions.” Without Wei Xiaochi, would Jiang Zhan really change?

Yeah, they were dating, but… it wasn’t quite the usual “puppy love” either.

At least they didn’t have any of the bad habits that came with it. Schools didn’t want students dating because it distracted from studies.

But these two? Not only were they not distracted, they actually helped each other. The underachiever got motivated, and the overachiever started to open up.

Wei Minzhen had never seen this kind of early romance before.

If he cracked down on them—it didn’t feel right.

If he didn’t—it felt even worse.

It was enough to give a guy a damn headache.

—

Author’s Note:

Sorry, I lied again.

Our little puppy and Chichi are about to level up their relationship~ Hehe.