“How should I describe you~ most accurately~”
The early morning classroom was filled with a patchwork of uneven recitation voices.
Mmm, recitation voices.
After all, in theory, this was supposed to be morning reading time.
But Lin Wan looked at the boy in the front row who was about to turn morning reading into a concert, and couldn’t help but laugh out loud.
“Hey, Qin Qing, did you hear him singing?” Lin Wan couldn’t help but share with Qin Qing.
But no one answered her.
“Qin Qing…?” Lin Wan curiously turned her head.
At this moment, Qin Qing was lying completely limp on the desk, her cheek pressed tightly against the cold tabletop, her neatly cropped shoulder-length hair slightly messy, spilling out to cover half her face.
As for the open Chinese textbook, it was now serving perfectly as a pillow.
As the saying goes, “There’s a house of gold in every book.” It seemed this Chinese book really did grant Qin Qing a golden sleep.
Qin Qing’s eyelashes trembled lightly. Who knew what kind of dream she was having?
Lin Wan looked at her like this, feeling a bit helpless, but also wanting to laugh.
She gently nudged Qin Qing with her elbow, lowering her voice: “Hey, Qin Qing, don’t sleep, the teacher’s coming.”
But the person slumped on the desk didn’t react at all.
Lin Wan sighed. She knew this fellow must have stayed up late gaming again last night.
She glanced toward the podium—no sign of a teacher making rounds yet.
After a moment’s hesitation, Lin Wan quietly slid her own textbook between the two of them, standing it up to create a relatively hidden space for Qin Qing.
Qin Qing’s grades weren’t great, but Lin Wan knew that one morning reading session wouldn’t decide anything. It was better to let Qin Qing sleep a bit more and wake her up when class started.
The bell signaling the end of morning reading finally rang. The lazy atmosphere in the classroom became even more lifeless; most students tried to catch up on sleep, while a few got up to use the restroom.
Lin Wan had just closed her book and was about to prepare for the first lesson when, out of the corner of her eye, she spotted several tall figures at the classroom’s front door.
The newcomers were three boys from the neighboring class, tall and muscular in their basketball uniforms, looking fierce and menacing.
They were clearly not from this class.
The buzz-cut boy in the lead casually blocked a girl who was about to leave, flashing a toothy grin as he asked:
“Hey, classmate, call Qin Qing from your class out here.”
His tone was anything but polite, and the girl he stopped was clearly startled by their intimidating presence, stunned for a moment.
“Didn’t you hear me?”
The girl he stopped timidly walked to Qin Qing’s desk and gently nudged her, “Qin Qing, Qin Qing, someone’s looking for you outside.”
Qin Qing was woken by the push, lifting her head groggily, sleep marks still on her face, eyes full of confusion.
“At the classroom door… someone’s looking for you,” the girl said. Seeing Qin Qing awake and her message delivered, she immediately turned and fled.
Qin Qing rubbed her eyes and looked toward the door.
The clearly unfriendly boys were staring right at her. She frowned, most of her sleepiness vanishing at once.
“Who are you?” Qin Qing’s voice was a bit hoarse, but her tone had already turned cold.
“Come out for a minute.” The buzz-cut boy folded his arms, his tone tough.
Seeing this, Qin Qing slowly stood up.
Lin Wan quickly grabbed the corner of Qin Qing’s shirt under the table, urgently saying, “Qin Qing, don’t go! Something’s off about them!”
“Don’t worry, I’m not going to do anything reckless. Besides, this is school.”
Qin Qing patted Lin Wan’s hand, but still stood up and walked toward the door.
Lin Wan, uneasy, immediately followed.
The classroom door instantly became the center of attention. Although Qin Qing was considered tall among girls, she still looked rather slender standing before the three burly athletes.
“What is it?” Qin Qing stared straight at the buzz-cut boy, her face expressionless.
“Heard you’re pretty arrogant, huh? Daring to mess with my people?” The buzz-cut boy took a step closer.
He was much taller and broader than Qin Qing, looking like a bear ready to pounce and tear her apart.
Lin Wan quietly followed behind Qin Qing. She was unremarkable, but her mind was already racing.
His people? Did Qin Qing offend someone recently?
Could it be Li Shasha?
Lin Wan looked back into the classroom. Sure enough, she locked eyes with Li Shasha.
Li Shasha quickly looked away when she noticed Lin Wan watching her.
It really was her!
“Your people?” Qin Qing let out a snort, completely unfazed by his aggression. “Li Shasha? Doesn’t she have a mouth of her own? If she’s got a problem, she can come to me herself.”
Qin Qing’s thinking clearly matched Lin Wan’s. Li Shasha was her first suspect too.
“Oh, pretty tough, huh!” Another boy cut in. “Come with us, let’s have a chat?”
“We can chat right here.” Qin Qing refused to budge.
The tension grew, and conflict was on the verge of breaking out.
This won’t do! No matter how strong Qin Qing was, she couldn’t take on three at once!
Lin Wan summoned her courage, stepped forward, and said loudly, “If you keep this up, I’ll go report you to the teacher! Causing trouble at school—are you asking for a disciplinary warning?”
“Hmph? Disciplinary warning? You think our boss cares about that?” One of the boys sneered, glancing at the so-called “boss”—the buzz-cut boy.
But their boss didn’t look as fearless as he claimed.
“Tch.”
The buzz-cut boy was clearly flustered. He hadn’t come to fight anyway—one more warning and he’d be expelled.
“Fine, you’ve got guts. We won’t touch you here at school.” He gritted his teeth. “After school, by the abandoned warehouse at the gate. Do you dare show up?”
Lin Wan immediately saw through his intention: he didn’t want to fight at school and risk a warning. Off campus, the school would just wash its hands of it, and he probably wouldn’t have to bear any responsibility.
Qin Qing raised her eyebrows, but before she could reply, Lin Wan anxiously tried to stop her.
But Qin Qing pressed Lin Wan’s hand down and looked at the buzz-cut boy. “Sure, let’s talk. After the parent-teacher meeting, see you at the warehouse. Don’t chicken out.”
“Hmph, just you wait!” The buzz-cut boy spat out the words, then left with his two buddies.
Watching them disappear at the end of the corridor, Lin Wan anxiously grabbed Qin Qing. “Qin Qing! How could you agree to this? It’s too dangerous!”
But Qin Qing seemed very calm. She rubbed her still-drowsy eyes and replied nonchalantly, “It’s fine. Some people never learn to rein themselves in without a lesson—you can’t avoid this forever.”
She looked at Lin Wan, her gaze more serious. “But Xiao Wan, don’t get involved in this. Stay far away when the time comes, alright?”
“You’re a girl, how can you—”
“Lin Wan.” Qin Qing cut off Lin Wan’s rambling, “If you keep running away, they’ll just keep seeing you as an easy target.”
“Sometimes, if you want to cut things off once and for all, you have to pay a price and make them fear you.”
Lin Wan looked at Qin Qing. Clearly, this was her own problem, but it was Qin Qing who was stepping up to settle it.
She felt awful inside.
Suddenly, Qin Qing flashed a brilliant smile, raised her fists in a karate stance, and threw a few air punches.
“Besides, you know I’m a karate master! Don’t worry!”