Chapter 3: If You Don’t Like It, Pick One You Do!
When Hu Yu Ying agreed to come along, Li Qian eagerly invited her to the bathroom.
Honestly, we have no idea why girls always want to go to the bathroom together. It’s like some secret code of friendship or a ritual to share your deepest secrets while pretending to pee.
On the way there, Li Qian also took the chance to introduce Hu Yu Ying to her class’s latest gossip—well, mostly just a few rat droppings of drama, aside from that, the class atmosphere was surprisingly decent.
As they approached the restroom, they bumped into Wang Shuo returning from there.
“Hu Yu Ying, old friends again,” Wang Shuo greeted with a smirk that oozed mischief. Earlier, he had tried teasing her; seeing she dared only to stare blankly, he thought, “Ah, what a good target—a sweet, obedient girl. I’d better keep going.”
Hu Yu Ying pursed her lips so tightly that it looked like she was holding in a sneeze—or perhaps a scream. She lowered her gaze, pretending not to see him, and silently slid past.
That’s just her style: if you want her to curse like a sailor, too bad—she just shuts up. When faced with someone she dislikes or a situation she hates, she becomes a ghost—silent and invisible.
At seventeen or eighteen, in high school, face is everything. Being ignored openly like that? Wang Shuo’s face instantly sank.
He’s one of the top dogs in senior year, a high school legend. Even if he got scolded by a girl, to outsiders, it just looked like teasing and playful banter—boys being boys. But facing that kind of cold shoulder? His pride? That was another story.
Back in the classroom, he took a leisurely walk around, slowing down at Hu Yu Ying’s seat. With a nonchalant flick, he knocked her pencil case off the desk and then gave a careless smile as he sauntered back to his own seat.
When she returned, Hu Yu Ying saw her pencil case sprawled on the floor—its contents scattered. Innocent as she was, she thought maybe a classmate had bumped into her, not noticing the subtle malicious intent.
She squatted, gathering her scattered pens and her fallen pencil case. As she did, she noticed one pen rolling out from under Long Ao Tian’s seat, its half barrel caught under his foot.
Carefully, she tried to pull the pen free, but just then, a lazy voice hovered from above.
“Whatcha doin’?”
Hu Yu Ying jolted, looking up at Dragon Brother. His eyes were half-lidded, lazily curious, and she involuntarily lowered her head.
Thoughts of Li Qian’s words echoed—this guy definitely could throw punches. Did she wake him up? Was he going to hit her? She fidgeted, trying to explain—”It’s just a pen. It fell. I didn’t mean to wake you up.”
He looked down at his foot—sure enough, that pesky pen. Instinctively, he lifted his foot.
Quick as a flash, Hu Yu Ying lunged, snatching the pen before he could stomp on it further. She scrambled to her seat, cheeks flushing.
Worry clouded Dragon Brother’s brow. Did she suddenly fear him even more after that sleep? Hmm.
He looked around for his own pen, pulled out a barely-touched one from his bag, and casually placed it on her desk.
Relieved, Hu Yu Ying let out a tiny breath. But just as she relaxed, she caught a glimpse of him extending his hand toward her.
Her mind instantly screamed—Don’t you dare provoke him! He’s worse than Wang Shuo—he might just hit you for real!
Her hands clenched, eyes closing instinctively, shoulders hunched.
No pain came. When she peeked open her eyes slightly, she saw a brand-new-looking pen laid neatly on her desk.
She looked back at Dragon Brother—seeing him propped up on one hand, gazing out the window, yawning widely.
Maybe her gaze was a bit too obvious, because he suddenly turned and caught her gaze.
“What’s wrong? Don’t like that pen? Then pick one you do like.”
He opened his bag and showed her his pen case, as if daring her to choose.
Hu Yu Ying blinked in confusion for a second, then hurriedly waved her hands. “No, no, it’s not that. The pen’s fine, it still works. You don’t have to replace it.”
She returned his pen to him, her cheeks still a little pink.
He didn’t insist further.
Class was about to resume, so Hu Yu Ying neatly packed her things and focused on listening. Nothing was more important than learning now.
Meanwhile, Dragon Brother was sprawled on the desk, eyes aimlessly drifting to the podium, looking as if he’d rather be anywhere else—like still dreaming about that novel he stayed up all night reading before waking up in this strange new world.
No sleep, plus a math class? It was basically a lullaby.
All lesson, Hu Yu Ying diligently jotted down the teacher’s problem-solving ideas. Every teacher’s style was different, after all.
Her old math teacher back at Second High approached problems differently than her current teacher. As they say, “Don’t reinvent the wheel”—but a new approach never hurts.
Just as she glanced at her hand holding the pen, her eyes drifted to the aisle where Dragon Brother sat.
“Wow, he can sleep through anything,” she thought.
Wang Shuo sidled up to Hu Yu Ying’s seat, grinning slyly.
“Hey, Hu Yu Ying, why didn’t you reply when I was talking outside?” His voice was innocent but carried that mischievous undertone.
Oh, dear. The little princess, there’s more where this came from—click next page to keep reading and enjoy even more!
Hu Yu Ying said nothing. Instead, she prepared her books for the next class early, ignoring him completely.
Everyone has a wild side—the more you ignore them, the more they want your attention. Especially when she was laughing and talking happily with classmates, Wang Shuo felt even more excluded and, in his petty mind, betrayed.
He subtly knocked over her pencil case again, pressing his foot down proudly.
“Oops, sorry!” he said with a smug grin, returning to his seat.
Others saw it but didn’t say a word. After all, senior year was crunch time. Wang Shuo, who didn’t study at all, never planned to go to college. If caught being the troublemaker, well, he’d surely remember—and hold a grudge.
And in this race against the clock, no one wanted to offend that mischievous mouse.
Hu Yu Ying stared at the footprint on her pencil case, lowering her eyes in silent frustration. She carefully picked it up, opened her bag—and found her pens’ shells had all been stomped into tiny shards.
Gazing at the broken shells, she slowly gathered the pieces, heart heavy. First day at this school, and she’d already encountered this? Whoever it was, being sabotaged like this… didn’t feel good at all.
She gently dismantled the shattered shells, her eyes starting to water with a mixture of upset and helplessness…
