Xie Ruan and Bo Jin had just returned to the classroom when the lunch bell rang.
As usual, Bo Jin placed his pillow on the desk and lay down to nap, but Xie Ruan didn’t sleep.
He piled books high on his desk, pulled the shelf out to block the teacher’s view, and quietly took out his phone.
Earlier in the restroom, when he had asked Bo Jin why he was in a bad mood, Bo Jin brushed it off. Xie Ruan understood he didn’t want to talk about it, so he didn’t press further.
Since his application to join the group had just been approved, he decided to investigate on his own.
After glancing at Bo Jin, who was indeed fast asleep, he opened the group chat.
A barrage of enthusiastic messages greeted him:
[Welcome, sister!]
[Welcome, welcome! Mwah!]
[Hey, where’s the new girl? Why isn’t she saying anything?]
[@XXXX Sweetheart, where are you?]
Xie Ruan was speechless. So this is how girls talk in private? He was practically flustered. With little experience interacting with girls, he finally replied stiffly:
[XXXX: Hi, everyone.]
Unable to keep up with their excitement, he ignored the chat and went straight to the group files.
But to his surprise, there was nothing on Bo Jin—not even a photo.
What was going on?
Stunned, Xie Ruan quickly typed a line in the chat.
[XXXX: Is there no info on Bo Jin in the files?]
Reading it over, he found his tone too blunt and made some tweaks before hitting send:
[XXXX: Is there no info on ‘God Bo’ in the files?]
[Yellow_and_addicted: Hahaha! I knew it! Every new girl asks this! @XXXX darling, we do have Bo’s files, but you need to reach “Consort” level to message the group owner about it. Right now, you’re still at lv1. Good luck, chat more, and you’ll get there!]
Xie Ruan felt like he’d been struck by lightning. He looked at his own level-one “attendant” badge and was dismayed. Level 41? How many messages would he need to reach that?!
Reluctantly, he messaged the group owner privately, humbling himself for the first time to plead for a shortcut. But the owner, moved by his admiration for Bo Jin, gently refused.
Resigned, Xie Ruan spent the entire noon spamming the chat with stickers, replying to everyone’s messages, hoping to level up quickly.
By the end of lunch, he’d managed to reach level three. He calculated that, at this pace, he’d reach level 41 in a week or so.
Not too bad, he thought with a sigh of relief—at least it wouldn’t take forever.
Determined to climb the ranks quickly, Xie Ruan spent the rest of the day glued to his phone, sending stickers after every chat message. He made an impression in the group, with everyone referring to him as “the sticker maniac.”
Xie Ruan felt complicated.
He would never have imagined posing as a girl in Bo Jin’s fan group, all just to learn more about him.
He glanced over at Bo Jin, who was lazily leaning back in his chair, flipping through a math workbook as if it were a light novel.
*You’d better stay on the right path,* Xie Ruan thought. *I’ve gone to all this trouble just to help you avoid going down that dark road.*
In the fourth period, just before dinner, they had math with Sun Fuan. Although it was late in the day and the students were getting restless, Teacher Sun’s strict discipline kept even professional daydreamers like Sun Haoxiang in check.
After explaining a new concept, Teacher Sun scanned the class and zeroed in on Xie Ruan. “Xie Ruan, can you explain how to solve this problem?”
Under the eyes of the entire class, Xie Ruan nervously stood up.
Lately, Teacher Sun seemed to enjoy calling on him, much more than any teacher ever had. Seeing Teacher Sun’s encouraging gaze, Xie Ruan felt his cheeks flush. Though he’d been paying attention, his weak foundation meant there were gaps in his understanding. He’d planned to ask Bo Jin during study hall, but fate had other plans.
Just as he was about to admit he didn’t know, a piece of paper slid over from beside him. He glanced down to see the entire solution neatly written out.
Thrilled, he was about to read from it when Teacher Sun coughed loudly. “Bo Jin, keep it down! I called on Xie Ruan, not you!”
Teacher Sun was frustrated. He had called on Xie Ruan frequently, partly to gauge his ability and partly to encourage him to improve. But if Bo Jin kept helping secretly, the exercise was meaningless.
“You think you’re helping, but you’re actually hurting him,” Teacher Sun said. “You might be shielding him now, but what about the college entrance exam? If he fails because of your leniency, will you be able to take responsibility?”
Though he hadn’t meant much by it, Bo Jin looked over at Xie Ruan’s slightly flushed ears and, for some reason, a subtle smile flickered in his eyes.
Sun Fuan was passionately lecturing, so much so that he was almost moved by his own words. But when he looked down, he saw Bo Jin smiling, which immediately made him furious. Grabbing a piece of chalk, he threw it over. “Bo Jin, what are you laughing at?!”
When Bo Jin was assigned to his class, the teachers from Classes 2, 3, and 4 secretly envied him countless times. They only saw the prestige, but who would understand the headaches he had?
Teaching Bo Jin was truly a trial.
Sun Fuan glanced at the half-piece of chalk left on his desk.
Before, his chalk was for teaching. But ever since he started teaching Bo Jin, it had turned into a tool for discipline.
He asked coldly, “Come on, tell us. What were you thinking just now that made you so happy?”
Bo Jin slowly stood up, showing no embarrassment at all, and cast his gaze toward Xie Ruan. “I was just thinking…”
Sun Fuan slammed his hand on the podium. “Say it!”
Bo Jin chuckled. “How to take responsibility for his future.”
Sun Fuan: “…”
Xie Ruan: “…”
For a moment, the classroom fell silent before erupting into laughter and teasing.
“Seriously, class leader? What’s your relationship with him if you’re talking about ‘responsibility for his future’?”
“Hahaha, Brother Bo is amazing.”
Sun Fuan’s face turned dark as he suppressed his anger but ultimately failed. He pointed at the door. “Stand out in the hallway!”
Bo Jin shook his head with a sigh. Men in midlife crisis… so hard to predict. After all, he was just following orders.
***
Though inwardly complaining, Bo Jin didn’t want to further provoke the furious Sun Fuan, so he headed toward the door. He had barely taken a step when Sun Fuan’s stern voice stopped him, “Take a book with you!”
Bo Jin chuckled. “Sure.”
Xie Ruan felt the teasing glances from all around and felt uneasy. While cursing Bo Jin in his mind, he couldn’t help but wonder. *With that personality, would he really get depression?*
Xie Ruan thought that, even if the whole world fell into depression, Bo Jin would remain unaffected.
But if not depression, then why would he take his own life?
Perplexed, Xie Ruan decided he needed to reach level 41 in the group as soon as possible to gain access to Bo Jin’s detailed profile for further analysis.
After school that day, he ate dinner quickly and even declined Song Xinghe’s offer to play basketball. He rushed back to the classroom and focused on leveling up in the chat group.
Surprisingly, although he didn’t say much, the stickers he sent were a big hit. The girls saved every single one and encouraged him to send more.
Originally worried that spamming stickers might get him kicked out, he was delighted by the positive reception and went on a spree, sending out every sticker he had.
While he was searching for new stickers, Bo Jin’s voice suddenly sounded in his ear. “On your phone again?”
Bo Jin had noticed that Xie Ruan was acting unusual today. Normally, Xie Ruan wasn’t attached to his phone, often going all day without using it. Today, however, he was glued to the screen at every break. Could something have happened?
Bo Jin leaned closer and asked, “What’s going on?”
Xie Ruan was so startled he nearly threw his phone. In a flash, he hit the lock screen. After checking Bo Jin’s expression and seeing no suspicion, he breathed a sigh of relief.
Seeing his reaction, Bo Jin was surprised. “Why are you so scared of me seeing your screen?” He squinted, sizing up Xie Ruan. “Talking trash about me online?”
Xie Ruan put his phone on the desk and gave him a dismissive look. “Stop being dramatic; who would bother?”
Bo Jin knew Xie Ruan wasn’t good at hiding things, and seeing nothing unusual in his expression, he felt reassured. He was about to say something else when Xie Ruan’s phone suddenly buzzed on the desk.
They both reflexively looked down.
**[New notification – God Bo’s Harem Group: Yellow_and_addicted: @XXXX, where are you?]**
Xie Ruan: “…”
Xie Ruan: “!!!”
He felt like the world was spinning, and his face flushed.
D*mn it! He’d muted the group notifications—how did one manage to slip through at this exact moment?
His mind went blank. Grabbing his phone, he tried to bolt.
But as soon as he moved, Bo Jin blocked his way.
Bo Jin, taller and stronger, had him firmly cornered in his seat.
He leaned in close to Xie Ruan and said slowly, “Stop being dramatic?”
“Who would bother?”
With each word, Xie Ruan’s head sank lower and lower until it was practically buried in his chest.
“So why’d you join my harem group?”
Bo Jin braced one arm against the wall beside Xie Ruan’s ear, trapping him between himself and the wall, and smirked. “Trying to be my ‘wife’?”
