TAO | Chapter 18

After the basketball court incident, Wei Xiaochi found that Jiang Zhan was even more difficult to deal with.

That night, when he was tutoring the “four troublemakers,” Jiang Zhan was constantly wearing a sour face. He was cold and aloof, making it hard for anyone to approach him, especially Wei Xiaochi, whom he seemed particularly dismissive of.

Han Ziyang couldn’t keep up with the pace, so Wei Xiaochi gave him extra help. But every time he sat next to Han Ziyang, Jiang Zhan would release an aura of cold disdain.

Wei Xiaochi couldn’t help but glance at him. Jiang Zhan immediately turned his head away, his distaste clear in his expression.

It was clearly Jiang Zhan who had pressed him to sniff his neck all over and almost kissed him, but somehow, Jiang Zhan was acting as if Wei Xiaochi had been the one to offend him.

Wei Xiaochi dared not provoke this unreasonable school bully, so he made sure to keep a distance from him at all times.

The city’s education bureau would be visiting No. 2 High School in a few days, so the student council had a meeting today to prepare for this. The school leaders had requested them to improve discipline.

After the meeting, Li Suilin walked back home.

Due to his injured ankle, his pace was slow, and by the time he arrived home, it was already 7:10 PM.

Following Li Suilin’s request, Wei Xiaochi spent ten minutes reviewing yesterday’s lessons, then taught for an hour. The remaining time was spent on a pop quiz.

When Li Suilin opened the door, he saw the four troublemakers working on problems.

Han Ziyang had to pause and look up for a moment after every question, before burying his head in deep thought with a frustrated expression.

Jiang Rui scratched his head, erasing and redoing the same question.

Zhao Zifeng was the most obedient, quietly working through the problems without causing any trouble.

Li Suilin glanced over them, feeling satisfied with their progress. At least they were finally taking their studies seriously.

When his gaze landed on Jiang Zhan, it paused—

Jiang Zhan had no expression on his face, but his eyebrows were deeply furrowed. He was scribbling angrily in his workbook while his leg kept shaking at a high frequency.

He looked like he was trying hard to suppress his anger, but also not wanting anyone to notice.

Tsk.

Li Suilin glanced at Wei Xiaochi, who was focused on his own work in the corner. He smiled slightly and walked over.

A shadow fell over Wei Xiaochi’s workbook as Li Suilin leaned down. “Class monitor.”

“Doing math?” Li Suilin asked casually, his collar slightly open, revealing a glimpse of his collarbone. “Could you lend me your homework later?”

Wei Xiaochi froze in disbelief.

The top student in the entire year wanted to copy the homework of someone ranked second or third? Wasn’t that a joke?

Li Suilin spoke seriously, “I’m a bit tired today, I don’t feel like doing the work. And I heard you can imitate several different handwriting styles for others, right?”

Wei Xiaochi almost broke into a cold sweat.

The all-knowing genius wasn’t asking to copy his homework; he knew that Wei Xiaochi had been writing homework for Xu Yang and was trying to catch him in the act.

Wei Xiaochi instinctively wanted to deny it, but when he looked into Li Suilin’s warm eyes, the words died in his throat, and he reluctantly admitted his mistake.

He hadn’t dared to refuse Xu Yang when Li Suilin wasn’t around.

Of course, later on, he did think about writing homework for money, but fortunately, that idea was quickly squashed.

Li Suilin didn’t say anything, just smiled kindly, carrying himself with the grace of a class leader—since he’d acknowledged his mistake, Li Suilin wouldn’t pursue the matter.

Relieved that he wouldn’t have to pay a fine for class points, Wei Xiaochi felt a weight lift off his chest.

Li Suilin then noticed the red mark on the back of Wei Xiaochi’s neck and frowned. “What happened to your neck?”

Wei Xiaochi stretched his neck a little. “My cervical spine’s been uncomfortable.”

Throughout the afternoon, his neck had been periodically aching and tingling, and he couldn’t help but press on the spot that felt the worst.

“There’s a massage chair in my study…”

Before Li Suilin could finish, Jiang Zhan slammed his workbook onto the table with an expressionless face. “Done!”

Wei Xiaochi was shocked—he finished nearly twenty questions in less than five minutes?

He was about to go check, but Li Suilin spoke up, “I’ll check his work. You go to the study for a massage, it’ll take about ten minutes to relieve the tension. My dad has neck problems too.”

Hearing that it was Li Suilin’s father’s study, Wei Xiaochi quickly refused, “I… I can’t, it feels weird to go alone. No need, thanks, class monitor.”

The study likely contained a lot of valuable antiques or company secrets, and if anything went missing, Wei Xiaochi would never be able to explain himself.

Plus, if Li Suilin’s father suddenly returned, Wei Xiaochi was pretty sure he would be caught red-handed.

“You’re such a clingy person,” Li Suilin said, with a look that said, “I have no choice but to deal with you.” “Fine, I’ll go with you.”

Wei Xiaochi was confused—what did this have to do with being clingy?

Before he could figure that out, Jiang Zhan suddenly pushed his chair back, looking irritated and impatient, and strode out of the room.

Han Ziyang jumped in surprise, looking up. “Brother Zhan, where are you going?”

Jiang Zhan didn’t respond, and with a loud ‘bang,’ the door slammed shut, only to bounce back open.

Wei Xiaochi stared blankly at Jiang Zhan’s departing figure, his throat tight. “He…”

Li Suilin smiled lightly. “Don’t mind him.”

Wei Xiaochi, somewhat confused, followed Li Suilin to the study. Honestly, he didn’t really want to go. His neck wasn’t hurting so badly that it was unbearable—just a little uncomfortable.

But the atmosphere from earlier had been so awkward that Wei Xiaochi didn’t want to stay where Jiang Zhan was. He was afraid of further conflict, so he decided to find a quiet spot to hide.

“Sit,” Li Suilin gestured to the massage chair.

The chair looked high-end, with a sleek silver-gray shell and a design that resembled a spaceship—very futuristic.

Wei Xiaochi sat down nervously.

Li Suilin picked up a tablet beside him and, while adjusting the settings, casually began chatting with Wei Xiaochi.

He asked in a casual tone, “Is his temper really that bad?”

Wei Xiaochi, feeling awkward about sitting in such a luxurious chair, froze for a moment when he heard Li Suilin’s question, not understanding at first who he was referring to.

Li Suilin corrected, “Relax your body, lean back. That way, it’ll work on your shoulders and neck.”

Wei Xiaochi obediently leaned back, and soon his shoulders, back, and calves were gently and firmly massaged.

To be honest, it felt a bit strange, but also somewhat comfortable.

Li Suilin continued with his earlier topic. “Are you scared of him?”

Wei Xiaochi, realizing Li Suilin was asking about Jiang Zhan, hesitated for a moment before honestly nodding.

It wasn’t just Jiang Zhan he was afraid of; he was intimidated by many people—Fang Zhixin, Xu Yang, Han Ziyang, Jiang Rui. Anyone with a threatening attitude made him nervous.

Li Suilin smiled knowingly. “I’ve known Jiang Zhan for a long time. His father is often away for work, and his mother is very open-minded.”

Wei Xiaochi didn’t quite understand why Li Suilin was telling him this but decided not to interrupt, listening quietly.

“He has an older sister, an omega, and she spoils him a lot.” Li Suilin clicked his tongue, as if reminiscing. “To put it simply, he’s been spoiled rotten.”

“I remember one year at a family gathering, a relative came back from abroad with some rare items. There were a lot of kids at the gathering, and not enough for everyone.”

“At that time, we were only seven or eight years old. Han Ziyang was clinging to someone’s leg, calling them ‘uncle’ and asking for two items.”

Wei Xiaochi couldn’t imagine a seven- or eight-year-old Han Ziyang acting so cute, and he found it a bit creepy.

“Jiang Zhan didn’t even ask for anything. He sat on the couch by himself, and when they asked him, he turned his face away. After the gathering ended, he stayed right there, not moving an inch.”

Li Suilin smiled and asked, “Do you know why?”

Wei Xiaochi shook his head.

Li Suilin explained, “He was waiting for someone to offer it to him. When he found out that everything was gone, he was furious.”

Wei Xiaochi was silent for a moment before saying, “But when they asked him, didn’t he turn his face away? Doesn’t that mean he didn’t want it?”

Li Suilin laughed lightly. “That’s what normal people would think, which is why no one saved anything for him.”

Wei Xiaochi didn’t understand Jiang Zhan’s thought process but was curious about what happened next. “So, did he cause a scene?”

Given Jiang Zhan’s spoiled personality, Wei Xiaochi’s guess seemed reasonable.

Li Suilin shook his head. “No, he just sulked. Luckily, his sister knows him well and got him one of the items. At first, she was trying to teach him a lesson, but when she saw how angry he was, she gave it to him.”

“But Jiang Zhan refused to take it, saying it wasn’t for him and that he didn’t care for it.”

“His sister lied and said it was left for him, just to surprise him, and only then did Jiang Zhan accept it.”

“That’s how he is. When he truly wants something, he won’t ask for it. He makes people come to him, and only after he’s put on a big act will he accept it.”

“So sometimes, when he seems to dislike something or even acts like he’s disgusted by it, it’s actually because he really wants it.”

Good heavens.

Wei Xiaochi stared wide-eyed, stunned. How could there be such a complicated person in the world?

“That’s why I say he’s spoiled—he’s never had to work for anything. Whatever he wants, he gets.”

“He needs to suffer a loss. Only then will he learn.” Li Suilin looked at Wei Xiaochi and smiled. “Don’t you think so?”

Wei Xiaochi wasn’t sure, but under Li Suilin’s smiling gaze, he hesitated for a moment before nodding.

Since Jiang Zhan suddenly threw a tantrum that day, Wei Xiaochi was even more cautious around him.

The two barely interacted, and even when he tutored Jiang Zhan after school, he made sure to avoid any unnecessary contact.

Jiang Zhan was even worse, as if Wei Xiaochi was carrying some kind of contagious disease. He would scowl at him whenever they were within a meter of each other, as if to say, “Don’t come near me.”

Wei Xiaochi was no fool—he didn’t deliberately walk into danger. If he heard a tiger ahead, he’d take a detour and run.

With Jiang Zhan’s unpredictable mood swings, Wei Xiaochi spent this week’s tutoring sessions feeling tense and nervous.

On Friday night, Zhou Yun called Wei Xiaochi, asking if he could work at the milk tea shop the next day.

Zhou Yun had contacted a few others on WeChat, but by a stroke of bad luck, everyone else was busy, so they could only rely on Wei Xiaochi.

Wei Xiaochi discussed it with Li Suilin and agreed to tutor for two hours on Saturday evening, three hours on Sunday morning, and three more in the afternoon.

This way, Wei Xiaochi could earn an extra hundred yuan over the weekend.

The summer solstice had just passed, and by noon, the temperature had reached nearly 40°C. Wei Xiaochi still had to wear a thick mascot costume and stand around for the whole day.

Wei Xiaochi wasn’t prone to sweating, but for some reason, today, his clothes were drenched in sweat.

Even though he didn’t sweat this much when handing out flyers in the summer, his neck was starting to hurt again, burning like fire.

Zhou Yun noticed how pale Wei Xiaochi looked and got worried about his health. She handed him two Huoxiang Zhengqi pills and let him leave an hour and a half earlier than usual.

At 4:30 PM, Wei Xiaochi left the milk tea shop. He didn’t go home, instead riding his bike to Li Suilin’s house.

According to Li Suilin, Han Ziyang and the others were playing at his house in the afternoon, so Wei Xiaochi thought he could arrive an hour early to get in some extra tutoring.

But today, Wei Xiaochi wasn’t feeling well, and it took him over forty minutes to reach Han Ziyang’s neighborhood.

He had been coming there every day lately, and the gatekeeper let him in without hesitation. Wei Xiaochi wiped the sweat from his forehead, about to enter when, suddenly, someone grabbed the back of his collar from behind.

Wei Xiaochi froze, the familiar pressure reminding him of the incident at the basketball court.

He slowly turned his neck and, sure enough, saw Jiang Zhan.

The alpha’s eyes were dark and complicated, and Wei Xiaochi saw his thin lips move, as he said something.

Jiang Zhan said, “You… how come you’re an omega?”

Every word was clear, but when put together, it left Wei Xiaochi feeling confused.

Author’s Note:
Jiang Zhan’s prideful and awkward personality has finally met its match with Wei Xiaochi, hahaha.