Thank you.

Yang Chengqi was kicked against the railing; he managed to steady himself without falling again, but the fragile pride of a boy was thoroughly shattered by those two kicks. Gripping the railing, he looked at Liu Cheng, then at Zhao Xu, and finally turned his gaze to Fang Chang'an and Wang Ke.

Fang Chang'an's face still wore a gentle smile. Yang Chengqi was a little afraid of him; their eyes met only for a moment before Yang quickly looked away, turning instead to Wang Ke.

The young girl’s expression showed a trace of pity, her bright eyes beautiful, as if she wanted to plead on his behalf.

A warmth stirred in Yang Chengqi’s heart, and apologizing suddenly didn’t seem so humiliating. He shuffled slowly toward Fang Chang'an, still too timid to lift his head, and murmured, “I’m sorry.”

Fang Chang'an smiled. “You weren’t whistling at me. Why apologize to me?”

A boy from Class Six couldn’t help but laugh, and Sun Yanxu, Liu Cheng, Zhao Xu followed suit. Hou Xiaoyi and the boy from Class Seven laughed along as well.

Seeing this, Wang Chuanbiao had no choice but to join in.

Moments ago, under the kind gaze of the pretty girl, Yang Chengqi had felt a fleeting warmth and convinced himself that apologizing wasn’t anything shameful. Now, hearing their laughter, his face flushed crimson, as if each laugh were a resounding slap.

His body felt stiff and foreign, but Yang Chengqi dared not slacken. He walked over to Wang Ke, still not daring to look up, his voice even quieter than before.

Yet somehow, perhaps because he’d already apologized once, it was easier this time, the words flowed more smoothly: “I’m sorry.”

Wang Ke glanced at Fang Chang'an, then hurried to say, “No, no, it’s fine.”

Fang Chang'an smiled, “Xu, Cheng, let’s try to talk it out next time. Don’t always resort to… oh, not hands, but feet.”

The group laughed again, but this time the laughter felt noticeably more relaxed.

Liu Cheng chuckled, “Yeah, I know, I know. Just didn’t want him to drag it out.”

Zhao Xu laughed too, “Right. Wei always says, use your brain, not your hands… ah, not your feet.”

Fang Chang'an gave a thumbs-up. “Great minds think alike. We’re civilized people, let’s act with civility.”

Zhao Xu echoed, “Yes, yes, exactly.”

Fang Chang'an smiled, “Alright, you all chat. I’m heading back to the classroom.”

Zhao Xu quickly said, “Alright, alright, you go first… you all go read, we’ll head back too.”

Liu Cheng chimed in, “Yes, yes, we need to go back and read as well.”

Fang Chang'an smiled, “Alright then, see you later.”

“Hey!”

Fang Chang'an smiled, glanced at Wang Ke. The girl looked at him too, then led the way into the classroom. She noticed her classmates were all watching, so she lowered her head and walked quickly to her seat.

Fang Chang'an followed, noticing nearly twenty classmates staring at him. He flashed a toothy smile, returned calmly to his desk, and took out his copy of “Lu Xun” to read.

Until about ten past six, Shen Mo arrived in the classroom, and Wang Ke had not exchanged a single word with Fang Chang'an.

Of course, she did not speak to him afterward either. Meanwhile, Zhao Xu, Liu Cheng, and the others, seeing Fang Chang'an return to the classroom, dared not linger and immediately left the front of Class Four.

With more to discuss, they didn’t return to their own classroom. Zhao Xu spoke quietly, “Let’s go to the second floor.”

A hush fell over the group; no one dared speak as they followed him downstairs. Wang Chuanbiao hesitated but went with them.

At the second floor, Zhao Xu stopped by the railing, turned to Liu Cheng and the others, and said to Yang Chengqi, “Don’t feel like Liu Cheng’s two kicks put you at a disadvantage. Do you know who that was just now?”

No one replied.

Zhao Xu continued, “His name is Fang Chang'an, you heard that just now. He’s Class Four’s monitor, and he’s the top student in your grade from the recent assessment.”

He paused before continuing, “Don’t think someone with good grades is easy to bully. You all know Wei, right? Heard of him?”

Hou Xiaoyi, Sun Yanxu, and the others nodded immediately, Wang Chuanbiao nodded as well.

Seeing Wei’s reputation had its effect, Zhao Xu, feeling proud, continued, “Let me tell you, the person upstairs just now—never mind me, even if Wei himself were here, the result would be the same. Even Wei would have to call him ‘Chang'an Bro’!”

Everyone was stunned, blinking in disbelief.

Wang Chuanbiao was especially shaken. To him, Hou Xiaoyi was already a big deal, Liu Cheng even more so, Zhao Xu a step above, and Wei, the school’s legendary figure, was almost mythical.

But now, the person he’d wanted Hou Xiaoyi and the others to intimidate, Fang Chang'an, turned out to be even more formidable than Wei?

Zhao Xu glanced at Liu Cheng, then fixed his eyes on Wang Chuanbiao, “If you’d told me you were going to Class Four, I wouldn’t have gone.”

He hesitated, then cast a look at Yang Chengqi, “Don’t think apologizing is a big deal. Just a few days ago, I took two kicks from Fang Chang'an myself, didn’t I still have to apologize properly?”

Everyone was startled. This hit even harder than Zhao Xu’s earlier revelation about Fang Chang'an being more impressive than Wei.

Yang Chengqi, hearing that even Xu had gotten beaten by Fang Chang'an and still had to apologize, said nothing, but felt a lot more at ease.

Liu Cheng was shocked too; he knew Fang Chang'an was formidable, and his cousin, Xu, and Wei were all a bit wary of him. But he hadn’t realized it was to this extent.

Zhao Xu wasn’t saying this to embarrass himself—he truly didn’t dare provoke Fang Chang'an anymore, and since he’d already admitted defeat, the more formidable he made Fang Chang'an sound, the less face he lost.

After making sure everyone got the point, Zhao Xu said to Yang Chengqi, “That Wang Ke obviously has a close relationship with Fang Chang'an. You dared to tease her—think about it, if Liu Cheng hadn’t kicked you, what would your fate have been?”

Yang Chengqi shuddered at the thought and nodded vigorously. Though his resentment toward Liu Cheng wasn’t fully erased, it was much diminished.

Zhao Xu added, “Chuanbiao, let’s leave it at that for today. Don’t think about showing off in your class anymore—that’s suicidal. If you really have an issue, go to Fang Chang'an before anyone else—of course, not matters about your class. For other things, you can come to Cheng, me, or these guys, anyone. But for your class, best to let others stay out.”

Hou Xiaoyi and Sun Yanxu, pleased to be praised, nodded, “Right, other matters are fine, but your class…”

Hou Xiaoyi hesitated, then asked, “How’s your classmate’s relationship with Fang Chang'an?”

Wang Chuanbiao was momentarily speechless, unsure how to answer, but Sun Yanxu interjected, “Doesn’t matter how close they are; Fang Chang'an is the monitor. If he thinks his classmates are being bullied…”

Hou Xiaoyi considered that and nodded, “That’s true. So, you should talk to Fang Chang'an yourself first.”

Liu Cheng chimed in at the right moment, “If that doesn’t work, come to me—I’ll talk to Fang Chang'an for you. Don’t worry, I can speak to him.”

“Alright, alright.”

Wang Chuanbiao nodded vigorously, grateful they weren’t pressing him for the name of the person he wanted to intimidate. He had no time to worry about anything else.

Throughout the three periods of evening self-study, including collecting the money for next morning’s buns, Wang Ke never spoke to Fang Chang'an. She handed her fifty cents to Shen Mo, who was in charge of collecting.

Shen Mo seemed to sense something was amiss. During the second period, she secretly wrote in her notebook to ask him, “What’s wrong with Wang Ke?”

Fang Chang'an, a bit surprised, wrote back, “Nothing!”

Shen Mo glared at him in annoyance but didn’t press further.

After evening study ended, Shen Mo left as usual. Fang Chang'an continued reading. After a while, he felt a poke on his back, turned around, and saw Wang Ke handing him a note.

He didn’t look at the note but observed her first: the same pretty face, bright apricot eyes, but a hint of evasiveness in her gaze. After two seconds of him not taking the note, she turned to look at him.

Their eyes met. The girl’s gaze, initially hesitant, grew steadier under his attention, biting her lip and staring back at him without blinking.

Fang Chang'an, seeing her pitiful yet adorable expression, let a gentle smile soften his tense face, “Did you forget what I told you last time? I’m not reading it.”

With that, he turned away, never once glancing at the note.

Wang Ke, holding the note, paused for a moment before understanding. Last time, he’d told her to write anything she wanted to say in a notebook, and to keep it—don’t throw it away, for later… for later…

Her cheeks flushed. She hesitated, then bit her lip, crumpled the note, and tossed it onto Fang Chang'an’s desk. Sniffing slightly, she started packing her books, then asked Zheng Lili, “Lili, are you leaving now? I’m heading back to the dorm.”

Zheng Lili was taken aback, but seeing Wang Ke had already packed, she hurried to say, “I’ll go too, wait for me.”

“I’ll wait outside.”

Wang Ke, head down, walked quickly out of the classroom. Zheng Lili gathered her things, took an English book, and followed.

Fang Chang'an refocused, uncrumpled the note, and saw two small words written there:

Thank you.

With punctuation.

He smiled, carefully smoothed the note, tucked it into his notebook, and went back to reading.