That morning, school felt different to Shuwan. Although the bruises on his face still throbbed painfully and his stomach still hurt whenever it was pressed, something gave him strength—the 50 yuan in his pocket and the mysterious photo on his phone.
He walked through the corridor with his head held a little higher than usual, though he still tried to avoid eye contact with the growing crowd of students arriving at school.
However, luck did not always favor him.
At the corner near a row of lockers, Shuwan, lost in thought about the gods' group chat, accidentally bumped shoulders with a girl.
Thud!
“Sorry,” Shuwan said briefly and politely, dipping his head slightly.
The girl spun around sharply.
Her long black hair swayed down her back, and the thick bangs covering her forehead nearly hid the sharp gaze in her eyes.
She was Shu Qi.
At school, she was known as Bo's cousin and one of the core members of the most obnoxious gang in the entire school.
“Shuwan! Are you blind or something?!” Shu Qi shouted, deliberately raising her voice. “You just go around running into people like that? You pathetic weakling. Is even walking through a wide corridor too hard for you?”
Shuwan drew a deep breath.
He wanted to fight back.
He wanted to yell that he simply hadn't been paying attention.
But he held back his emotions.
He knew Shu Qi's personality well. She had a sharp tongue and liked provoking people, but at least she had never used violence like Bo.
Shuwan merely gave her a flat look before walking past without saying another word.
Shu Qi stood frozen, watching Shuwan's back grow farther away. When Shuwan turned into the classroom corridor, the fierce expression on her face suddenly softened.
She quickly moved to a deserted corner of the corridor and hid behind a pillar, peeking at Shuwan with an entirely different look in her eyes.
“Oh, Shuwan... You poor thing,” she whispered, almost inaudibly. Her fingers clenched tightly around the hem of her uniform. “I'm sorry I couldn't defend you yesterday... I have to keep pretending to hate you in front of them.”
Her face reddened slightly with guilt mixed with feelings she had kept buried deep in her heart for so long.
But then the image of Bo kicking Shuwan yesterday came back to her mind.
“Bo, you idiot. I'll teach you a lesson later,” she muttered.
“Hey, Shu Qi! What are you doing here?”
The heavy voice boomed right behind her, making Shu Qi nearly jump in surprise.
It was Bo.
He stood there arrogantly, wearing a smug smile as he stared at his cousin, who had just been caught spying.
Shu Qi immediately twisted her expression into explosive anger.
“Don't touch me!” she snapped, swatting Bo's hand away when he tried to pat her shoulder. “You went way too far yesterday! Why did you have to kick Shuwan like that, huh?!”
Bo frowned, clearly surprised by his cousin's outburst.
“Huh? What's wrong with you?” he shot back mockingly. “Suddenly want to play the hero now? Do you actually care about him?”
“M-Me? N-No!” Shu Qi stammered, her face growing even redder. “I just... whatever! You really went too far! You could've gone to prison if that weakling had died! Do you want to disgrace our family by ending up behind bars?!”
After venting her anger at Bo with those sharp words, Shu Qi hurried away, leaving Bo standing blankly in the middle of the corridor.
Bo scratched his head in confusion.
“Is she worried about me because I'm her cousin... or does she actually care about that weakling?” he muttered irritably.
He clicked his tongue before continuing toward class, his irritation steadily growing.
Inside the classroom, the atmosphere suddenly fell silent when Bo entered.
He saw that Shuwan was already sitting calmly at his desk, as if yesterday's incident had never happened.
That calm only fanned the flames of anger burning in Bo's chest.
Bo stepped forward and kicked an empty chair near Shuwan's desk, producing a loud scraping sound.
“Hey, you!” Bo said in an extremely provocative tone. “Still got some nerve, huh? You still dare go near Mei Lin?”
Shuwan didn't react.
He merely stared at the blackboard in front of him, his face showing restrained annoyance. He was sick of hearing Bo repeat the same drama over and over.
“Hey! I'm talking to you, you useless piece of trash! Did yesterday's beating make you deaf too?!” Bo shouted again.
Now he stood directly in front of Shuwan's desk, towering over him with his massive body.
Shuwan slowly shifted his gaze toward Bo.
He looked straight into Bo's eyes with cold contempt.
“I'm always useless, right?” Shuwan said calmly. “If I'm truly useless, why do you keep bothering to ask me anything? Why is someone as great as you so obsessed with someone worthless like me?”
The entire class was stunned.
Normally, Shuwan would simply lower his head or apologize.
This kind of courage was completely new.
“You—!”
Bo exploded in fury.
Crash!
He slammed his fist into Shuwan's desk, creating a deafening sound that rang throughout the classroom.
“You want me to beat you up again?!” Bo threatened, clenching his fist right in front of Shuwan's face. “You want to end up in the school clinic again today?!”
The other students immediately began cheering, adding fuel to the heated atmosphere.
“Beat him up, Bo! Teach him his place!” one of Bo's followers shouted.
“Go ahead if you want!” Shuwan challenged, rising from his chair and defying both Bo's intimidation and the fear gripping the room.
Bo clenched his teeth so hard that his jaw bulged.
Without another warning, he swung a heavy punch straight at Shuwan's jaw.
The punch was fast and powerful.
Normally, it would have struck Shuwan squarely in the face.
Whoosh!
The entire classroom suddenly fell silent.
Everyone held their breath.
Not because Shuwan had collapsed—
—but because, for the first time in the school's history, Shuwan had managed to dodge Bo's punch.
He had merely tilted his head a few centimeters to the side, causing Bo's fist to slice through the air right beside his ear.
Even Shuwan himself was shocked.
His body had moved on instinct, as if time had suddenly slowed and he could clearly see the direction of the incoming attack.
“Shuwan...? No way...” a student from the back row whispered.
“Was that just luck? There's no way that weakling could dodge it,” another student muttered in disbelief.
Bo stood frozen, his fist still hanging in the air.
His eyes widened as he stared at Shuwan, who now stood before him with a sharp gaze and not the slightest trace of fear.