TAO | Chapter 111

After cussing Xie Chi out, Wei Xiaochi turned around and grabbed Jiang Zhan’s hand. “Let’s go.”

The crowd around them had formed multiple layers thick. But as the two walked forward, the crowd instinctively parted like the Red Sea, dumbfounded as they watched them leave.

The notorious school tyrant trailed obediently behind his Omega, eyes lowered, looking all pitiful and tame like some fragile little thing.

Damn. What kind of magical realism was this?

Everyone already knew what Jiang Zhan’s temper was like. They were all stunned that this mess ended so… calmly? People were expecting blood, drama, maybe a fistfight or two.

A love triangle like this was supposed to be juicy. Entertaining. Full of chaos.

But now that two-thirds of the main cast had left the stage, there was only one person left. The drama had lost most of its flavor—but the crowd still stuck around, curious to see how Xie Chi planned to carry this one-man show.

“What are you all staring at?” Han Ziyang shot the onlookers a glare, his tone sharp, then flicked a glance at Xie Chi. “Bad luck.”

With that, he strutted off, hands behind his head.

Standing at the eye of the storm, Xie Chi didn’t look the least bit flustered. He calmly adjusted the white sports headband on his forehead and strolled away under everyone’s gaze.

Then a guy in the crowd suddenly shouted, “Hey! If you can’t get Jiang Zhan, consider me! I’m not bad either!”

That triggered another round of whistles and laughter.

Xie Chi turned his head slightly, lips curling into a pure, innocent smile. “You’re too ugly. I couldn’t bring myself to touch you. Maybe after you get some work done.”

The guy’s expression instantly soured.

The crowd laughed even louder. The guy, completely humiliated, turned and elbowed his friend hard. “What the hell are you laughing at?”

A flicker of mockery flashed through Xie Chi’s eyes. Hands in his pockets, he kept walking like nothing happened.

Once the fun was over, the crowd slowly dispersed.

“I really don’t want to be friends with you at school anymore,” Yan Minmin said, walking up beside him. She kept her head down nervously, glancing around as she complained, “That was so embarrassing.”

Xie Chi’s response was indifferent. “Then stay away from me.”

Yan Minmin was both pissed and helpless. “Can I please beg you to stop doing this kind of thing? People don’t appreciate it. Let’s stop meddling in other people’s business, okay?”

To her scolding, Xie Chi just lazily stretched his arms. “I’m hungry. What should we eat later?”

Yan Minmin was about to explode. She stopped walking and stared at him seriously.

“I’m being serious. If you do something like this again, I’ll consider our ten years of friendship down the drain. From then on, you go your way, I’ll go mine.”

Xie Chi looked at her in silence. For once, his usually flashy cat-like eyes were still and quiet.

Every time he looked at her like that, Yan Minmin’s heart would soften against her will. She seriously wondered if she owed Xie Chi a debt in a past life—how else could he have her so tightly wrapped around his finger in this one?

Feeling conflicted, Yan Minmin softened her tone. “I really hope you’ll think carefully about what I just said.”

Xie Chi’s smile reappeared. “So, what’s for lunch?”

Yan Minmin realized she’d been played again and snapped, “Nothing! I’m full from being pissed!”

But Xie Chi didn’t tease her like usual. Instead, he raised an eyebrow and looked behind her.

Puzzled, Yan Minmin turned around—and saw Li Suilin standing there.

“Sorry to interrupt,” he said politely.

Yan Minmin’s face turned bright red. She tucked her hair behind her ear, suddenly all quiet and ladylike. “You’re not interrupting…”

Li Suilin stepped forward gracefully. “Can I add you on WeChat?”

“Me?” Yan Minmin was stunned.

Li Suilin pulled out his phone, screen already showing his QR code. His features were handsome and refined, his smile warm and gentle like a spring breeze. “If that’s okay with you.”

“Yes! Of course!” Flustered and blushing, she quickly pulled out her own phone.

After adding each other, Li Suilin asked while typing a note, “What’s your name?”

“Yan Minmin. Yan as in ‘strict’, Min as in ‘sensitive.’”

“Which class? First year?”

“I’m in second year, Class 5.”

Then he asked, “You two are in the same class?”

Xie Chi was about to stop her, but Yan Minmin already spilled the beans. “No, he’s in Class 3.”

Xie Chi: “Ha.” eyeroll

“I see.” Li Suilin looked at Xie Chi and asked politely, “Then can I add you too?”

Xie Chi gave him a slow, casual once-over from head to toe, clearly unimpressed. Still, he pulled out his phone and added him.

Li Suilin added a note to his contact, tucked his phone back into his pocket, and smiled faintly.

“The school rules prohibit early relationships. Also, students are required to wear uniforms, and things like buzz cuts, earrings, necklaces, and sports headbands are not allowed.”

“Three-thousand-word self-reflection. Plus a month of volunteer duties. Hand it in to me after school tomorrow. If you’ve got questions, I’ll message you.”

He turned to Yan Minmin and added, “If he blocks me, I’ll have to trouble you to pass it along.”

Yan Minmin was stunned. She opened her mouth but could only mutter awkwardly, “…Sure. Okay.”

“Thank you,” Li Suilin said.

“No problem…” Yan Minmin gave a dry laugh, sneaking a peek at Xie Chi.

Xie Chi snorted coldly.

She never expected that behind Li Suilin’s sugar-coated appearance hid such a nuclear-level bomb. As expected of someone in charge of discipline—professionalism on point.

Responsible men are just… so hot.

Yan Minmin cupped her chin, watching Li Suilin’s back as he walked away. Her eyes sparkled with pink hearts.

Xie Chi smacked her on the forehead. “Snap out of it.”

Holding her chest like a tragic heroine, she sighed, “Didn’t you feel it? He was already hot from afar, but up close? Whew. I think I like this type better than Jiang Zhan.”

Xie Chi was unusually cold. “Drop it. That guy’s way out of your league.”

Yan Minmin shot him a disdainful look. “Shallow. I’m appreciating beauty, not trying to jump him.”

Xie Chi let out a snort and didn’t bother replying. He turned and started walking toward the school gates.

Yan Minmin caught up to him. “What about the 3,000-word reflection?”

“Not writing it,” Xie Chi said without hesitation.

“But he knows what class you’re in! If you don’t write it, he’ll come find you.”

Xie Chi turned to look at her. “And whose fault is that?”

Yan Minmin fell silent… then mumbled under her breath, “Someone really needs to keep you in check.”

–

Jiang Zhan, on the other hand, was very pleased with Wei Xiaochi’s little outburst earlier. Head lowered, he followed Wei Xiaochi like an obedient puppy.

Since he’d promised not to get touchy at school, when Wei Xiaochi tried to take him back to the academic building, Jiang Zhan tugged him toward the school gate.

“Hey, hey—where are we going?” Wei Xiaochi called out, being dragged along.

Jiang Zhan didn’t reply. He led him out of the school and into a quiet alley.

Wei Xiaochi blinked, confused, when suddenly Jiang Zhan pinned him to the wall, towering over him. The alpha stared down, eyes dark and intense. “That’s how you talk from now on. Got it?”

Wei Xiaochi looked up into those inky eyes and nodded stiffly.

Jiang Zhan’s eyes lit up with a smile, and Wei Xiaochi lowered his gaze, smiling too. A soft, inexplicable happiness bubbled up inside him—like fizzy fruit wine rising to the surface, each pop sending sweetness through his chest.

Jiang Zhan stared at Wei Xiaochi’s long, downcast lashes and bent to brush his lips against the curve of his Omega’s smile.

His hand held Wei Xiaochi’s chin, adjusting the angle as he slowly leaned in again…

Right then, a door opened from a nearby house.

Startled, Wei Xiaochi’s instincts kicked in. Before Jiang Zhan could react, he grabbed his hand and bolted out of the alley, running all the way back to school.

Jiang Zhan sulked beside him, clearly annoyed at missing that kiss.

Wei Xiaochi, on the other hand, was just relieved it had been a random family. If it had been a teacher or student, they’d be so busted.

They’d already drawn too much attention today. From now on, they needed to keep a low profile—or Wei Minzhen might start tailing them again.

–

The next day, Jiang Zhan didn’t personally deliver Wei Xiaochi’s extra lunch. Instead, Han Ziyang dropped it off on his behalf—not for “keeping distance” reasons, but because Jiang Zhan got called away right after class by the homeroom teacher.

Lately, his sudden academic progress had been impressive, especially his performance on the recent quiz. His homeroom teacher wanted to use him as a model student for the class.

Normally, Jiang Zhan would’ve blown it off without a second thought. But now that he was a “good student,” he couldn’t act like a brat anymore.

He endured the endless lecture with a blank face, only half-listening—his mind already wandering to lunch plans with Wei Xiaochi.

–

After finishing his lunch quickly, Wei Xiaochi went downstairs to refill his water bottle and spotted Zhang Mingyang sitting under the stairs with a book in his arms.

Lately, Zhang Mingyang had been disappearing during every break, especially the long one. He never showed up until the bell rang. Now, seeing him study here of all places, Wei Xiaochi wasn’t sure how to feel.

He didn’t like Zhang Mingyang much. The guy was petty, passive-aggressive, and always tried to rain on his parade.

But personal dislike aside, Wei Xiaochi didn’t want to interfere with his studies.

In his eyes, the college entrance exam was sacred and life-changing. Even if they had beef, he didn’t want to be the reason Zhang Mingyang failed.

Guys like him were timid, rule-following nerds. Having a school tyrant like Jiang Zhan show up every day probably put a lot of pressure on Zhang Mingyang. That’s likely why he was forced to study in such a chaotic spot.

Wei Xiaochi hesitated for a bit, then walked over.

“You can go back to class now. Jiang Zhan’s not coming today… and he won’t be coming anymore.”

He’d decided—starting tomorrow, he’d go to Class Seven to see Jiang Zhan.

Zhang Mingyang lifted his eyes from the page and looked straight at Wei Xiaochi. His gaze was full of mixed, unreadable emotions.

He looked like he wanted to say something but stayed silent. He just pressed his lips together and brushed past Wei Xiaochi, heading up the stairs.

Wei Xiaochi let out a sigh and turned to go—only to find Xie Chi suddenly standing behind him, scaring him so much he flinched.

Xie Chi chuckled, then dropped a bomb. “He seems to like you.”