Xie Ruan placed his hands on the desk, glaring at He Mingjie. “What did you just say?”
What runaway? He’d merely taken a leave of absence, thank you very much! Actually, it was with the teacher’s permission—a sanctioned leave.
“Ahem,” He Mingjie coughed awkwardly, surprised that he’d let it slip in his excitement. But what was said couldn’t be taken back, so he tried to steer the conversation away.
He nudged Pan Yu, attempting to change the subject. “Anyway, it’s late. I haven’t finished my English homework yet. Old Pan, let me borrow yours.”
Pan Yu glanced at Xie Ruan, whose face was dark with annoyance, then back at the flustered He Mingjie, adjusting his glasses. He showed no intention of helping, clearly enjoying the spectacle.
It seemed He Mingjie was about to get a taste of his own medicine.
He Mingjie sucked his teeth in frustration, wondering if he could escape to the bathroom. That old scoundrel Bo Jin was watching him too closely; he’d never let Xie Ruan follow him there.
But just as he lifted his gaze, he met Xie Ruan’s murderous look.
…If it’s fate, it can’t be avoided.
With no other choice, He Mingjie gave up resisting and surrendered. “Hey, you both left school one after the other. I texted you, called you—no response, no sign of life.”
He threw his hands up in defeat. “If that’s not an elopement, then what is?”
Xie Ruan: “…”
Come to think of it, the way he described it actually did have that vibe.
Realizing he’d been led astray, Xie Ruan’s face flushed, and he was just about to warn He Mingjie to stop saying nonsense, lest it spread into rumors. But then he caught sight of Bo Jin’s intrigued gaze.
Xie Ruan: “…”
After all this time together, he could read Bo Jin’s thoughts with a single look.
And right now, without Bo Jin saying a word, Xie Ruan knew exactly what kind of unsavory ideas were running through his head.
“Don’t even think about it,” Xie Ruan warned him in a low voice.
Bo Jin raised an eyebrow, feigning innocence. “Think about what?”
Xie Ruan shot him a look that said, *You know exactly what*.
“If you weren’t thinking it, how would you know I was?” Bo Jin leaned back lazily in his chair, as shameless as ever. “Little Xie, you’re hiding something, aren’t you?”
Xie Ruan was too stunned by his shamelessness to respond. He wanted to refute him but didn’t know where to start, so he could only glare at him, frustrated like a cat with nowhere to scratch.
But Bo Jin wasn’t one to let up easily. Holding back a laugh, he continued to tease him. “Didn’t know you were into this kind of thing. What’s that word…? Ah, I remember. Roleplay.”
He gave Xie Ruan a long, knowing look. “Not bad for someone so young. Quite creative, aren’t you?”
Bo Jin whispered this right next to Xie Ruan’s ear, his breath warm and his voice low, instantly reminding Xie Ruan of that night.
Dim lights, quiet night. He’d whispered breathlessly in his ear, asking if he liked it, if it felt good, if he wanted more…
Xie Ruan’s face went bright red, the color spreading down his cheeks, neck, and even reaching his collarbone.
“Wow.” Bo Jin let out a low whistle, grinning at him. “What are you imagining right now?”
“Let’s… let’s focus on our studies,” Xie Ruan mumbled, turning his head away, avoiding eye contact.
Bo Jin watched him, finding his embarrassed reaction absolutely adorable. Unfortunately, the timing wasn’t right; the classroom was full of people, and he couldn’t do anything about it, so he reluctantly let it go.
“Come to my dorm tonight.” Under the desk, he hooked his pinky finger with Xie Ruan’s, a clear invitation.
Xie Ruan kept his head down, focused on his work, pretending not to hear him.
Getting a little defiant now, huh?
Bo Jin gritted his teeth, pulling him closer as if to make him sit on his lap. “What, you’re forcing me? Gotta sit on my lap for you to talk, huh? Come here…”
“No,” Xie Ruan was so startled he threw down his pen, afraid he’d actually follow through, glaring at Bo Jin. “What are you doing?”
Doing what?
Bo Jin chuckled, glanced around, noticing that He Mingjie and a few others were absorbed in eating breakfast or working on papers, paying no attention to them. Leaning close, he silently mouthed two words to Xie Ruan.
Xie Ruan, already blushing, felt his head practically steaming.
“Coming?” Bo Jin’s fingers traced along the inside of Xie Ruan’s forearm, moving slowly and sensually, like he was both exploring and flirting.
A tingling sensation shot from the back of his neck down his spine, a faint electric charge flaring through him. Xie Ruan swallowed, practically burying his head in his book.
Finally, under Bo Jin’s watchful gaze, he gave the tiniest of nods.
That’s more like it.
Bo Jin smiled, finally showing him mercy.
The bell for the morning self-study period rang, and Xie Ruan exhaled silently, relieved. Eagerly, he picked up his pen, banishing all distracting thoughts to focus on his studies.
The danger point in the story where Bo Jin was supposed to die had passed. Xie Ruan could finally relax, completely at ease.
With his mind settled, and a solid foundation of knowledge, even three days of missed classes hadn’t hurt his performance as Sun Fuan had worried. In fact, he excelled in the mock exams two days later, breaking into the top ten of the school, setting a new record.
Teachers from all subjects marveled at his improvement, looking at him with even warmer smiles.
See? A “prodigal son” worth more than gold.
Top ten in the whole school! Even with its faults, Shijia was a top high school, and with his ranking, Qinghua or Beijing University were well within reach!
Only his homeroom teacher, Sun Fuan, seemed regretful.
Still, he’d woken up too late. Sun Fuan sighed as he set down the paper.
If Xie Ruan had taken his studies seriously from grade ten, building a solid foundation, he could’ve reached more than the school’s top ten. With his talent, he might have even contended for the provincial champion.
Such a shame.
Sun Fuan shook his head, walking steadily toward the classroom to check on his good student amid the envious glances of other teachers.
In the last stretch of senior year, neither teachers nor students dared slack off.
Actually, Xie Ruan didn’t need supervision. Perhaps because of his upbringing, he had an unyielding resilience in everything but relationships, where he was a bit sensitive.
So, while other students were anxiously awaiting the college entrance exam, he alone could quietly focus on his studies.
Sun Fuan observed him for a while, noting his calm, methodical demeanor, and nodded approvingly. After making a couple of rounds in the classroom, he finally left.
Xie Ruan, absorbed in reviewing his work, hadn’t noticed Sun Fuan’s visit. Meanwhile, Bo Jin, seated nearby, was watching Sun Fuan’s every move from the corner of his eye.
Although he had already received his early admission letter and didn’t need to fight for the exam like the others, openly goofing off at such a critical time would be asking for trouble.
Once Sun Fuan left, Bo Jin checked to make sure he wasn’t peeking in through the back window, and promptly took out his phone.
On WeChat, Zhao Qin had already sent a bunch of messages.
[Alex]: The legal team is ready. Here’s the lawsuit; take a look.
[Alex]: [Image] [Image]
[Alex]: D*mn it, we’re definitely suing them this time! What crap! The balcony quality is garbage, and they have the nerve to call it a luxury apartment? Ridiculous!
[Alex]: Where are you? Caught up in something? What’s so interesting? You’re not even a lawyer.
[Alex]: ???
[Alex]: Really not here?
[Alex]: Bo Jin!! Are you ghosting me again?
Bo Jin scrolled through the messages, a playful smile tugging at his lips.
The lawsuit was ready, though Zhao Qin hadn’t noticed the strangeness he had caught that night with Wen Yong.
He thought that at the very least, Wen Yong would try to intervene, or at least create some obstacles, but in the end, he hadn’t done anything.
Bo Jin narrowed his eyes slightly. Could it be that he was overthinking? That this incident really had nothing to do with Wen Yong and was just an accident?
Impossible!
Leaving aside Wen Yong’s reaction that night, his earlier behavior of stopping Zhao Qin from going onto the balcony didn’t sit right at all.
After pondering for a moment, Bo Jin replied to Zhao Qin’s message—
[Bo]: Why are you in such a rush? The homeroom teacher was here just now.
[Bo]: What did Wen Yong say? Are you sure about suing the developer?
Zhao Qin had been waiting for his response and replied almost instantly.
[Alex]: Aren’t you done with school exams? Why are you even there, with nothing better to do?
[Alex]: And call him Brother Yong, show some respect! Of course, Old Wen supports the lawsuit. If he didn’t, I’d call him “Mom” and bow down.
Bo Jin scoffed; this guy was still as unrestrained as ever.
[Bo]: No need, that’d be cringy.
[Bo]: I’m not taking the exams, but Xie Ruan is.
[Bo]: You don’t know how hard he’s working to go to the same school as me. [image][image]
[Bo]: See what true love looks like. You’re welcome.
Zhao Qin: “…”
Zhao Qin rolled his eyes, metaphorically flipping that bowl of “dog food.”
[Alex]: Enough joking. So it’s settled? We’re suing?
[Bo]: Sure, I don’t mind.
[Bo]: And what about Wen Yong?
Zhao Qin didn’t understand why he kept bringing up Wen Yong. He wanted to ask, but considering the incident happened in Wen Yong’s apartment, it made sense. Even though Bo Jin was younger, he’d always been thorough, so asking a few more questions was normal.
[Alex]: I asked. He’s been pretty busy lately and said he’s leaving everything to me to handle.
Busy?
Having just completed a major project, Bo Jin couldn’t think of anything that should be keeping Wen Yong busy.
[Bo]: Busy with what?
[Alex]: Not sure. He’s on one call after another and just left again.
Something was off. Bo Jin put down his phone, instinctively feeling that something was definitely not right with Wen Yong.
But what exactly was wrong…
After thinking it over, Bo Jin decided he’d better go to Shuicheng to check things out. After all, this was a matter of life and death. He couldn’t just ignore it, no matter how carefree he seemed. Plus, he could stop by the police station to see if there’d been any progress on the case.
He was ready to leave immediately.
At this point, most students wouldn’t even dare mention taking time off, but Bo Jin was different; his high school life had long since ended. Now, he could go wherever he pleased, and his homeroom teacher, Sun Fuan, didn’t care at all and granted leave with a casual wave of his hand.
But just as he was about to leave, news came from Shuicheng—
Wen Yong had been arrested!
And at the airport, no less!
When the police found him, he was preparing to flee to another country, with most of his assets already transferred out.
With that, what initially seemed like an accidental murder case finally came to light.
The balcony railing hadn’t broken due to shoddy construction or poor quality—it had been deliberately sabotaged.
The one who did it was the apartment owner, Wen Yong.
His goal was to subtly murder Bo Jin without leaving a trace.