It would take ten of Xie Ruan’s personalities to come close to matching Bo Jin’s shamelessness. After a moment of tension, Xie Ruan finally gave up, grumbling, “What do you want, really?”
Enduring the situation for the sake of peace, he was only doing this to support the mental health of a fellow student.
“Nothing, really,” Bo Jin replied, his lips curling into a smile as he spoke lazily, “Just feeling a bit heartbroken over being called ‘kidney weak,’ so I can’t seem to get up.”
Xie Ruan: “…”
If he weren’t using that arm to hold me down, I might even believe it.
Just as this thought crossed his mind, Bo Jin sighed deeply behind him, “Ah!”
Unable to break free and running out of options, what else could Xie Ruan do?
What was a bit of praise in the grand scheme of things?
“You” Xie Ruan sighed, speaking quietly, “You’re not weak.”
“Really?” Bo Jin pretended to be surprised, “I’m starting to think you’re just humoring me.”
Humoring? Not at all!
Xie Ruan seethed, but facing Bo Jin’s authority, he reluctantly said, “No, you’re fine, really fine.”
“What?” Bo Jin feigned surprise, “I didn’t catch that.”
After hearing this demand repeated a few times, Xie Ruan finally snapped. His face burning red, he practically shouted, “You’re fine! You’re the best! No one’s better than you! Satisfied?!”
“Yeah, absolutely,” Bo Jin chuckled softly, finally letting him go, “No need to shout, though. Otherwise, someone might hear and think we actually did something last night.”
Xie Ruan: “…”
Today, nobody should try to stop him—he was about to murder this shameless punk!
Perhaps knowing he had annoyed someone, Bo the Old Rogue Jin behaved exceptionally well that morning. Not only did he refrain from making Xie Ruan handle any chores, but he even carried his backpack for him.
Xie Ruan strolled in front, feeling light as a feather, while Bo Jin followed behind with a faint smile, clearly in a great mood. This walk from the dorm to the classroom attracted many curious glances.
Before they even reached their class, the school’s online forum was buzzing with new posts.
Forum Posts:
“OMG! Breaking news! Xie Ruan and Bo Jin came to school together this morning!”
“Whoa! So the posts from the past few days are real? Did Xie Ruan actually switch from chasing Shen Xingyun to Bo Jin?”
“I’m speechless—what are the school administrators thinking? Letting someone like Xie Ruan transfer to the top class to pester God Bo—is God Bo no longer our hope for top scores?”
“I’m really curious—how did Xie Ruan, someone at the bottom of the rankings, manage to get into Class 1? Does anyone know what kind of family background Xie Ruan has? He doesn’t seem particularly wealthy or anything.”
“No idea…”
“No clue what to say. Guess we’ll have to wait and see Bo Shen’s midterm scores.”
“Same here.”
……
It’s not just students who enjoy the school forum; teachers are no exception.
Early in the morning, with nothing else to do, they too are often glued to their phones.
“Old Sun,” Class 11 homeroom teacher Shi Mingrui said, finishing a bun and tossing the plastic wrapper into the trash. Seeing Sun Fuan getting ready to head to his class, they hurried over with their phone. “Take a look at this post.”
Although the forum posts weren’t entirely reliable, they still had some reference value.
“Keep an eye on Xie Ruan. He…” Shi Mingrui paused for a moment, seeming to search for the right words. “He’s not exactly well-behaved. Don’t let him be a bad influence on Bo Jin.”
“What post?” Sun Fuan took the phone, glanced at it briefly, and said, “These students are really good at jumping to conclusions. Xie Ruan and Bo Jin are desk mates, so it’s normal for them to be close.”
“You actually paired them as desk mates?” Shi Mingrui was surprised.
He found it hard to believe that Sun Fuan was unaware of Xie Ruan’s notorious past behavior. Given that, he couldn’t understand how he could let him sit with Bo Jin. It was unclear if Sun Fuan was overly confident or simply careless.
Facing Shi Mingrui’s incredulous look, Sun Fuan remained calm, “Yes, Bo Jin has excellent grades; he can help Xie Ruan. They complement each other well.”
The other teachers, initially just observing the scene, couldn’t stay silent. Especially those who had previously taught Xie Ruan started to chime in with their opinions.
“Teacher Sun, you give some students too much credit. Frankly, I’ve taught for years, and I’ve never seen anyone as unruly as Xie Ruan.”
“Listen to me, separate Bo Jin and Xie Ruan as soon as possible. The school relies on Bo Jin’s grades. If anything goes wrong, it won’t be a small issue.”
“Teacher Sun, don’t dismiss our advice. I know Xie Ruan; he’s not interested in studying at all.”
…
As the teachers voiced their concerns, Sun Fuan’s brows furrowed more deeply. He couldn’t understand why they held such a poor impression of Xie Ruan. From his own interactions, Xie Ruan seemed to be a diligent student with a serious attitude toward learning.
If students like Xie Ruan were deemed unruly, then there wouldn’t be any model students left.
Besides, to say that Xie Ruan would lead Bo Jin astray — if anything, he worried Bo Jin might be the one to have a bad influence on Xie Ruan.
Sun Fuan waved a hand, interrupting the teachers’ warnings. “I’ve got it under control.”
With that, he grabbed his mug and left without looking back.
Shi Mingrui shook his head, helplessly turning to the teacher beside him. “Teacher Sun’s personality is really something…”
The other teacher sneered, clearly not on good terms with Sun Fuan. “Just wait. He’ll regret it eventually.”
“Yeah.”
Instead of heading directly to the classroom, Sun Fuan stood by the small window near the back door and observed for a while.
Class 1 students, though lively, were generally disciplined. As he looked around, most students were diligently studying, with few displaying any mischievous behavior.
Sun Fuan focused on Xie Ruan. He seemed to be working on problems, his hand constantly moving, and he never once looked up. Satisfied, Sun Fuan nodded quietly and left.
Xie Ruan had no idea that he’d become the focus of his homeroom teacher’s close observation. The self-study session was short, unsuitable for doing entire practice tests, so he picked two English cloze exercises, worked through them, and found he had gotten quite a few answers correct.
Though his results might not seem impressive to high-achieving students, for someone just starting to study earnestly, it was already a good step forward.
When the bell rang, Xie Ruan put down his pen and went to the front to fill his water bottle. As he passed, classmates greeted him enthusiastically.
Xie Ruan didn’t know why, but it seemed that ever since the blackout incident, his classmates’ attitudes toward him had changed. Initially, they’d completely ignored him, but now it was the opposite.
He returned their greetings, then suddenly remembered something, turned back, crouched down, and pulled out a bag of wolfberries from his desk, tossing it to Bo Jin. “Drink this every day.”
He hadn’t forgotten about it.
Bo Jin chuckled, caught the bag of wolfberries, took a few, and dropped them into his cup, nodding. “Got it.”
The black, dried wolfberries clinked into the bottom of the cup, immediately catching the attention of He Mingjie, who was sitting behind them.
“Whoa, Brother Bo,” He Mingjie said in a cheeky tone, leaning back with his feet up. “Drinking wolfberry water again, huh?”
He’d nearly burst out laughing when he’d heard about it from Sun Haoxiang yesterday.
But today felt different.
After being forced to acknowledge 46 “fathers,” he’d become a more courageous man, “Nuogulu He Mingjie.”
He Mingjie grinned mischievously, teasing Bo Jin, “How’s your kidney, bro? Share your troubles; maybe we can help.”
It was obvious from his expression what he was getting at. Bo Jin noticed right away, chuckled, and set down his cup. “No need.”
“Why so secretive?” He Mingjie, completely missing the cue to back off, continued with a smug grin, “Come on, we already know.”
“Who’s being secretive?” Bo Jin raised his brows, looking at He Mingjie lazily. “I’m doing fine. Ask Xie Ruan if you don’t believe me.”
Shameless, dragging an innocent person into this mess.
He Mingjie frowned, “What does Xie Ruan have to do with this?”
Bo Jin smirked, giving a suggestive smile, “How is it unrelated? He was in my dorm last night. He can vouch.”
At this, He Mingjie’s chair legs slammed to the floor.
Sun Haoxiang let out a startled hiccup.
While writing, Pan Yu’s hand slipped, creating a long, slanted line across the page.
What the heck?!!
They knew the two had shared a dorm last night, but they hadn’t realized it was a dynamic arrangement — something requiring soundproofing, no less!!
Xie Ruan, who had returned with water in time to overhear the whole conversation: “…”
He slammed his water cup down on the desk, turned slowly to Bo Jin, and said, enunciating each word, “Say that again?”
“What, did I say something wrong?” Bo Jin stretched out his long legs, smirking. “You, of all people, know best whether my kidneys are fine.”
Xie Ruan, of course, knew that this misunderstanding all stemmed from a bag of black wolfberries.
However…
Thinking of Bo Jin’s intentionally misleading tone, Xie Ruan’s teeth began to itch. Why should he bother clarifying? After all, he wasn’t the one with rumored kidney issues!
Noticing his expression, Bo Jin only laughed harder.
A feeling of unease rose within Xie Ruan.
Sure enough, in the next second, Bo Jin leaned close to his ear and whispered, “I was perfectly fine, and now, thanks to you, I’m branded as someone with kidney issues. Either you help clear things up, or…”
Bo Jin looked straight into Xie Ruan’s eyes and smiled, “I’ll just have to go brood on the rooftop.”
Xie Ruan, who felt cornered: “…”
“Hmm?”
Xie Ruan shut his eyes for a moment and grumbled, “Fine, I’ll do it!”
Just saying a few words, right? He could handle that!
Xie Ruan turned toward He Mingjie, expressionless, and in a monotone voice, like a robot, said, “His kidneys are fine. Exceptionally fine. He doesn’t have a deficiency. The wolfberries were my gift to help him with insomnia.”
He paused, then added, with a sudden air of importance, “Remember, avoid spreading rumors and contribute to a civilized, rumor-free classroom!”
He Mingjie, taken aback, stammered, “G-got it.”
With that, Xie Ruan thought he’d put the issue to rest. He really didn’t want to keep vouching for his deskmate’s kidney health!
But he’d breathed a sigh of relief too soon.
Xie Ruan underestimated Bo Jin’s popularity in class and people’s curiosity. All day, people came to him, overtly or subtly, wanting to know about Bo Jin’s kidney status.
Every time, Bo Jin would sip his wolfberry tea with a calm expression and nudge Xie Ruan forward to explain.
As a result, Xie Ruan ended up repeating, “His kidneys are fine,” and “Not deficient at all,” until he was practically numb to it.
By the time he got back that evening, he was so worn out he didn’t even study. After a quick shower, he went straight to bed.
His roommate, Song Xinghe, assumed he was exhausted from studying and, with a sigh of admiration, put on his headphones to avoid disturbing him.
After a game, Song Xinghe put his phone down, ready to wash up and head to bed. Passing by Xie Ruan’s bunk, he heard him muttering in his sleep.
Curious, Song Xinghe crept closer, only to hear Xie Ruan mumbling, “…You’re great… the best… top-notch kidneys…”
Song Xinghe: “…”!
