Chapter 130: The Return of Everyone

The entrance to Chuangxin High School was packed with cars of all kinds, ranging from luxury vehicles to basic runabouts. Today marked the start of the spring semester for the senior class, while the freshman and sophomore classes would not return for another week. Consequently, all these vehicles belonged to parents dropping off their children. Chuangxin High School prohibited parents from driving onto campus to avoid congestion, so many parents and students were hauling bedding and luggage toward the dormitories on foot.

Xiao Lin was among the crowd of people moving their belongings. He had just arrived by taxi, as his mountain bike could not carry all his bedding and luggage. Yuan Weiye and Wang Tao were nearby, helping him with his gear. They had arrived earlier and had already finished unpacking.

"Xiao Lin, how come you came to school by yourself this time? Where is Wang Yuqing from your family?" Wang Tao asked while carrying Xiao Lin's bedding.

"Oh, I came ahead of time. She's probably still at home. By the way, has the Doctor arrived?" Xiao Lin countered, wanting to avoid telling them that he and Wang Yuqing had already broken up.

"The Doctor isn't here yet. He just called to say he needed to stop by a bookstore to pick up some reference materials before coming to school," Wang Tao replied.

Suddenly, Xiao Lin noticed that Yuan Weiye looked rather dazed, so he couldn't help but ask, "Yuan Weiye, how was your winter break?"

Upon hearing this, a look of sheer terror instantly flashed across Yuan Weiye’s face. "The winter break... the winter break..." Judging by his expression, the break seemed to have been an utterly horrifying experience.

"What's wrong with him?" Xiao Lin asked, confused by Yuan Weiye’s reaction.

"Xiao Lin, come here," Wang Tao gestured.

"What is it?" Xiao Lin followed the gesture and walked over. Wang Tao leaned in and whispered into his ear.

"That's brutal!" Xiao Lin exclaimed in shock after hearing Wang Tao’s explanation. Wang Tao nodded silently.

Xiao Lin sighed, walked over to Yuan Weiye, and patted his shoulder gently. It turned out that Yuan Weiye had been taken back to his hometown by his mother. Because he hadn't done well on his last exam, his parents had hired three private tutors to coach him in English, math, and Chinese throughout the morning, afternoon, and evening. From the day he arrived home at the start of the break until New Year's Eve, Yuan Weiye had barely been allowed out of the house. Once the Spring Festival passed, his parents had initially planned to give him two days off before resuming lessons. However, his report card arrived in the mail, and seeing that his class ranking had remained stagnant, his parents were furious. Instead of letting him rest, they increased his workload. From then on, Yuan Weiye did nothing but study, study, and study.

"Wang Tao, your winter break must have been pretty good, then," Xiao Lin said, turning to Wang Tao.

"You know it! After the Spring Festival, Kang Yan and I went on a trip to a beautiful place. Tsk, tsk," Wang Tao said, his face filled with blissful intoxication.

"So, does that mean you took the opportunity to confess your feelings to Kang Yan?" Xiao Lin asked uncertainly. In his impression, although Wang Tao loved excitement and was lively, he wasn't the type to confess to a girl—in that regard, he was even worse than Yuan Weiye. While Yuan Weiye often did bizarre things, if you told him to confess to a girl, he wouldn't hesitate for a second.

"What? You confessed to who?" Before Wang Tao could answer, a loud roar made their ears ring.

It was Yuan Weiye; the dazed look on his face had vanished, replaced by an expression of intense gossip.

...

Wang Yuqing, carrying her cute rabbit backpack, stood beneath the apartment building where her uncle lived. She was peering into the distance, looking as if she were waiting for someone.

A few minutes later, the sounds of a woman’s shrill voice and a man’s lower-pitched grumbling approached from afar.

"As a man, how can you walk so slowly? You’re making a delicate girl like me stop and wait for you—aren't you ashamed of yourself?"

"Give me a break, my dear lady! You’re walking empty-handed, and look at me. Besides, are you really a 'delicate girl'?"

"What did you say? Are you saying I’m not delicate?"

"Ow! Yes, yes, you are!" the boy cried out in pain.

As the boy's cry subsided, a teenage boy and girl appeared before Wang Yuqing. The girl looked willful, her chubby cheeks glowing with happiness as she twisted the ear of the boy beside her. The boy, wincing in pain, was pleading for mercy. He was clutching several snacks in his hands and carrying a bulging red backpack that clearly belonged to a woman.

Seeing the two of them, a smile appeared on Wang Yuqing’s face.

"Hi, Linlin, Xu Tong!" Wang Yuqing waved.

This couple was the well-known pair of troublemakers, Xu Tong and Tan Linlin.

Hearing Wang Yuqing’s call, Tan Linlin’s face lit up with surprise. She immediately let go of Xu Tong’s ear and sprinted over to give Wang Yuqing a massive, enthusiastic hug.

"Haha, Yuqing, I’ve missed you so much!" Tan Linlin patted Wang Yuqing’s back with such force that it made her cough twice.

"Damn you, Xu Tong, why are you still dawdling over there? Get over here now!" Tan Linlin released Wang Yuqing and shouted at Xu Tong.

Xu Tong didn't dare hesitate and rushed over, greeting Wang Yuqing as well.

Seeing Xu Tong reach them, Tan Linlin reached out and yanked the backpack off his back, unzipping it. "Yuqing, look! These are all the snacks I saved for you. Look, there are Wangzai milk puffs, popping candy, Chokito, snack bars, Q-tee, Prince biscuits..." Tan Linlin began pulling the snacks out one by one, as if presenting treasures.

Looking at the bag full of snacks, Wang Yuqing couldn't help but roll her eyes.

"Linlin, it looks like you ate a lot of snacks over the New Year. No wonder you look like you've put on some weight."

"What? I’m fat?" Tan Linlin reacted as if she had heard something terrifying. She shoved the bag into Wang Yuqing’s hands and began touching her waist and face, feeling as if she had indeed gained a little bit of weight.

"Xu Tong, do I look fat to you?" Tan Linlin asked.

"No way, how could you be fat?" Xu Tong shook his head like a bobblehead. Hearing this, Tan Linlin was instantly happy again, while Wang Yuqing looked at Xu Tong in confusion, not understanding why he was lying.

Catching Wang Yuqing’s skeptical gaze, Xu Tong made a shushing gesture.

"Let’s go, back to school! Oh, Yuqing, why didn't Xiao Lin come to pick you up?" Tan Linlin looked around, failing to see him.

"Uh... he had something to take care of and went to school early," Wang Yuqing said vaguely, not wanting to tell Tan Linlin that she and Xiao Lin had broken up.

The three of them then boarded the bus to Chuangxin High School.

The morning was for student registration, and classes would begin in the afternoon. In the dorm, Xiao Lin had already made his bed and was chatting with Wang Tao and Yuan Weiye. Yuan Weiye was incessantly pestering Wang Tao about his trip with Kang Yan, and Wang Tao was tireless, painting such a vivid picture that Yuan Weiye would let out exclamations of surprise from time to time.

"It’s so lively in here, what are you all talking about?" Lin Xudong walked into the dorm, clutching a huge stack of books.

"Oh, look, the Doctor is here!" Seeing Lin Xudong, the three of them were excited. Wang Tao walked up and punched him in the shoulder, causing two books to tumble from his arms.

"Why are you still hanging around the dorm? According to the schedule, the homeroom teacher will be in the classroom very soon," Lin Xudong said, pushing his glasses up the bridge of his nose.

"No way? What time is it?" Wang Tao checked his phone and saw it was already one o'clock.

"We have twenty minutes left. Let's hurry; if we're late on the first day, who knows how the homeroom teacher will punish us," Wang Tao said. They rushed toward the teaching building.

Once they reached the classroom, they found that almost everyone in the class had arrived and was gathered together in heated conversation.

"Haha, Xiao Lin, Wang Tao, Doctor, Yuan Weiye! You guys finally made it," Xu Tong said, jumping up from his seat when he saw them enter.

"Not bad, Xu Tong, living the good life, aren't you? You didn't get beaten to death by that tomboy?" Yuan Weiye teased.

"Yuan Weiye, are you itching for a fight?" Tan Linlin stood up, ready to brawl, baring her two little fangs.

Xiao Lin ignored their bickering. His eyes immediately found Wang Yuqing. It had only been a few days, but he noticed that Wang Yuqing, already slender, looked even more fragile than before, with a trace of sadness on her face. A pang of pain shot through his heart.

"Yuqing, you're here," Xiao Lin said as he walked to his seat and greeted her.

"Yeah. Xiao Lin, we don't need to move our seats, right?" Wang Yuqing asked tentatively.

"Why? Didn't we win our bet? Why would we need to move?" Xiao Lin winked at her.

"Right, we won," Wang Yuqing gave him a sweet smile.

"Hey, Yuqing, Xiao Lin, you two are sitting in the wrong place," Tan Linlin said, walking over to their desks.

"What's wrong with it?" Xiao Lin and Wang Yuqing looked at their seats, finding nothing amiss.

"I mean, Yuqing should be sitting on Xiao Lin's lap. That’s what couples are supposed to do!" Tan Linlin said with a mischievous grin.

"Uh..." Wang Yuqing and Xiao Lin exchanged a glance, and simultaneously said, "Drop dead." In that brief moment of eye contact, they had decided one thing: they would not make their breakup public for the time being.

"It’s quite lively in here. It seems everyone had a great winter break," a voice came from the doorway. Yet, this quiet remark caused the entire class to fall silent instantly. Even Tan Linlin quickly returned to her seat.

Moments later, the homeroom teacher, Old Yan, walked into the classroom with a measured pace.