Brother Biao’s Plan

Sun Yanxu clicked his tongue, a look of smugness on his face. "Who else but him would dare call him Brother Yan?"

"That’s great!"

Hou Xiaoyi gave him a thumbs-up. "Can you actually get him to come, though?"

"What are you thinking?" Sun Yanxu pouted in dissatisfaction. "I just saw him this evening. If I call him out again tonight, what kind of impression would that leave? It’s enough if Liu Cheng comes."

Hou Xiaoyi thought that made sense. Though he was a bit disappointed, having already established the connection was enough to give Wang Chuanbiao a shock. So he said, "Alright then. But maybe you should tell him first? Wouldn’t it be awkward if he refuses to come later?"

"We’re tight, don’t worry about something this minor."

Sun Yanxu was unconcerned, but he did feel it was necessary for Liu Cheng to come and get acquainted, so he waved Liu Cheng over, calling out, "Liu Cheng!"

Liu Cheng looked over, saw him waving, and walked over. "What’s up?"

"This is my elementary school classmate," Sun Yanxu did the introductions. "This is Hou Xiaoyi, but we all call him Monkey Bro. He’s in Class Five. We’ve been friends since third grade."

Liu Cheng glanced at Hou Xiaoyi but said nothing—not out of arrogance, but simply because he wasn’t used to greeting people and didn’t know what to say. Since introductions were made, that was enough for him.

Hou Xiaoyi knew Liu Cheng’s brother was acquainted with the famous Brother Wei, and wanted to ingratiate himself, but with Wang Chuanbiao there, he didn’t want to lose face. He simply smiled and stayed silent as well.

"This is Wang Chuanbiao, Hou Xiaoyi’s old deskmate, from Class Four."

Wang Chuanbiao had just heard Sun Yanxu’s words and realized this Liu Cheng was someone important. When Sun Yanxu introduced him, Liu Cheng glanced his way. Wang Chuanbiao, a bit nervous, forced a smile and called out, "Brother Cheng."

Liu Cheng nodded with quiet reserve, then asked, "You’re in Class Four?"

"Yeah." Wang Chuanbiao nodded, a hint of pride swelling in his chest. He thought, see, good grades really do make a difference. Brother Cheng ignored Hou Xiaoyi but spoke to him first.

Class Four was the honors class, so Liu Cheng’s question was natural. Both Hou Xiaoyi and Sun Yanxu understood and didn’t mind, helping to explain the situation.

After listening, Liu Cheng thought for a moment, then confirmed, "No fighting, right?"

Sun Yanxu, Hou Xiaoyi, and Wang Chuanbiao all heard this and realized Brother Cheng also found it boring without a fight. Wang Chuanbiao quickly explained, "School just started. I’m worried things would get out of hand."

Liu Cheng had no idea they thought so highly of him. Only when he heard there’d be no fighting did he breathe a sigh of relief. He thought, if you guys wanted to fight, that’d be suicide. I’m not getting involved. Who knows if that guy knows Fang Changan? If he does and Fang Changan comes looking for trouble, who would dare take responsibility?

But since it was just for show and not likely to provoke Fang Changan, there was no problem.

Liu Cheng nodded again and asked, "When do you want to go?"

"After school, is that okay?" Wang Chuanbiao asked.

Liu Cheng frowned, recalling that Fang Changan always came back late in the evening. If they went right after school, there was a high chance they’d run into Fang Changan. With him present, what was the point of posturing?

But saying so would cost him face. At this moment, his aura was at its peak, so he chose another excuse. Shaking his head, he said, "Not after school. I have to go out for dinner with my brother."

Wang Chuanbiao looked at Hou Xiaoyi and Sun Yanxu, who exchanged glances. Hou Xiaoyi said, "Let’s do it tomorrow then. It’s not like the guy can run away."

Sun Yanxu asked Liu Cheng, "What time are you free tomorrow?"

Liu Cheng thought it over. Fang Changan usually came late in the evening, so he replied, "Evening, after dinner."

His mind added, "Gotta be gone before Fang Changan gets back."

Wang Chuanbiao actually wanted to do it earlier, but since he had no say, he agreed and thanked the three of them before returning to his classroom.

He sat at his desk and saw Fang Changan chatting cheerfully with Shen Mo and Wang Ke. He didn’t know what they were talking about, but they all looked happy. This made Wang Chuanbiao even more disgruntled.

It was only a few days into the school year, and already some boys were quietly paying attention to the pretty girls. Wang Chuanbiao had discussed it with a few in the back row and three other elementary classmates from the honors class. After observing during morning exercises and throughout the day, they all agreed that Class Four had the most beautiful girls in this grade.

Shen Mo, Wang Ke, Wang Yuwei, Liu Bei, Mao Shanshan, and Zhang Qing were all considered quite pretty, with Shen Mo and Wang Ke being the undisputed standouts.

And those two prettiest girls both sat next to Fang Changan.

"After tomorrow evening, let’s see if you can still act so smug!"

Wang Chuanbiao thought darkly to himself. Glancing over, he saw Wu Di, who sat next to Fang Changan, looking up at him with a hint of annoyance. An idea struck him, and he got up, calling out, "Wu Di!"

Wu Di looked back, surprised to see Wang Chuanbiao calling him. Wang Chuanbiao beckoned him over.

Wu Di was a little intimidated by this tall, rough-looking classmate, but after a moment’s hesitation, he walked over from Ge Li’s side to Wang Chuanbiao’s desk. "What is it?"

Wang Chuanbiao had a double desk to himself, with no seatmate, so he wasn’t afraid of being overheard. He waved Wu Di closer, then lowered his voice and asked, "In the evening, what time does Fang Changan usually get to the classroom?"

Wu Di looked up at him, a little surprised. Wang Chuanbiao saw he seemed reluctant to answer and glared. Wu Di, a bit intimidated, replied in a low voice, "I haven’t really noticed, but he’s not early, nor is he late. He’s definitely in the classroom before six."

Wang Chuanbiao calculated the timing for today and decided he’d ask his parents at home if Fang Changan had been eating at their house recently, so he could better estimate.

"Why do you want to know that?" Wu Di asked.

As soon as he spoke, the bell rang, signaling the start of class. Wang Chuanbiao waved him off, "We’ll talk after school."

Wu Di returned to his seat, mulling over the conversation. He didn’t know what Wang Chuanbiao had in mind, but since they’d never gotten along, asking about Fang Changan certainly wasn’t for anything good.

He stole a glance at Fang Changan, feeling conflicted—hoping Wang Chuanbiao would teach Fang Changan a lesson, while also wondering if that made him a bad person. In a way, he was participating in whatever was to come. If Wang Chuanbiao ended up hitting Fang Changan and Fang Changan told the teacher, would he be dragged into it too?

"But I didn’t do anything. I could just say I didn’t know what Wang Chuanbiao wanted..."

Wu Di agonized over it for an entire class period. At the end of the day, as he was about to leave, he saw Shen Mo packing up her things. She turned toward Fang Changan, smiled sweetly, and said, "I’m off!"

"See you tomorrow," Fang Changan replied, smiling.

It was the first time Shen Mo had heard him say "See you tomorrow." She blushed, nodded shyly, and walked out with her backpack.

Wu Di watched her go, then looked at Fang Changan, finally making up his mind. Wang Chuanbiao was the one who’d do the hitting; Fang Changan was the one who’d get hit. What did that have to do with him?

Fang Changan watched Shen Mo’s retreating figure, as if something had occurred to him. He too rose and left the classroom. As he passed Class Two’s door, he saw Fang Ying laughing and chatting with her friends as they left, but he didn’t call out to her.

He walked to the window of Class One, where Fang Dianqiu was still reading at her desk. Fang Changan knocked on the window. She looked up, a surprised and delighted smile spreading across her face. "You actually came to find me? I went to your classroom this evening and didn’t see you."

"I didn’t know you were looking for me," Fang Changan replied with a smile. "What are you reading?"

"Math," Fang Dianqiu said, lifting the book in her hand.

Fang Changan nodded. "Not the brightest, are you? Math definitely requires extra effort from you."

"???"

Fang Dianqiu’s eyes widened, her expression perfect for a reaction meme captioned, "Are you even listening to yourself?"

Her round-faced desk mate burst out laughing, bent over her desk, shoulders shaking and unable to stop.