novelraw Chapter 88
Chapter 88
Chapter 88 The alumni association of No. 1 Middle School has a traditional custom that spans all previous sessions: the list of alumni confirmed to return to school is posted next to the school bulletin board for guests to see.
Beside the list, there are two boards: the famous “Red List” and “Black List.”
Unlike the usual Red List and Black List, which display honors or punishments received by students in the current month, the alumni association’s lists feature the honors and punishments received by the alumni listed on the return-to-school list.
These honors and punishments, having lost their original meaning over time, now serve mainly as memories of the past, an era that can never be returned to.
Even though these honors and punishments no longer carry the same significance as they did when they were first awarded or criticized, at each alumni association event, the Red List often needs multiple postings, while the Black List usually has only one, with very little information.
——However, this year is clearly an exception.
As alumni visiting the school gazed at the densely written entries on the single Black List, most of which began with the name “Wen Yufeng,” they couldn’t help but think:
This time, alumni from several sessions earlier than the 37th can already roughly gauge the achievements of this younger student from the extensive “merits and achievements” listed on the Black List without needing further explanation.
“This junior is impressive.” A somewhat older man pointed at the Black List, then moved his gaze to the last entry on the Red List, laughing,
“He was practically a regular on the Black List for the first year and a half, and then he moved straight to the Red List for the next year and a half? It’s a pity I wasn’t in the same session, or I could have observed him up close. … I wonder how he’s doing now…”
His comments resonated with many others nearby. A well-dressed woman with delicate makeup smiled and spoke up.
“I’m from the 35th session. During our senior year, everyone knew there was a particularly handsome kid in the first year who was very tough and got into fights—spending our spare time watching him play basketball was our way of relieving stress.”
Once this person started, the alumni standing in front of the bulletin board began sharing their own stories of the campus bully they had heard about or seen firsthand.
Until someone in the crowd muttered—
“Being posted here means he must be here this time as well. I heard he was invited many times in previous years but never showed up…”
“… I think I just saw him.”
A newcomer to the discussion added, “I saw him by the large locust tree near the school entrance, wearing a school uniform, and he was with a particularly beautiful young woman.”
At these words, everyone perked up.
…
Qin Qing and Wen Yufeng were heading towards the small teaching building at the southwest corner of the school, according to the information they received about the 37th alumni gathering point after handing in their invitation at the school gate.
The initial part of the path was normal, but the further they went, the stranger Qin Qing felt.
She moved closer to Wen Yufeng and asked—
“Don’t you think a lot of people are looking at us?”
“……”
Wen Yufeng didn’t speak, but his eyes swept around the area with a cool gaze.
Naturally, he had noticed what Qin Qing had observed long before.
Through his previous observations, Wen Yufeng had roughly determined that the people casting glances seemed to be coming from the same direction.
Wen Yufeng lifted his gaze, and at the end of his line of sight was the bulletin board next to the statue symbolizing diligence and scholarly spirit of No. 1 Middle School.
As he seemed to think of something, Wen Yufeng’s eyes flickered slightly.
He lowered his eyes, focusing back on the girl beside him. “I might need to take care of something.”
“……”
Qin Qing blinked, then realized, “So I should go to the gathering point first?”
Wen Yufeng smiled, “Or, you could come with me.”
Qin Qing wrinkled her nose. “My intuition tells me that you’re not going to do something very nice… I think it’s better if I pretend I didn’t see.”
“Hmm, then wait for me at the gathering point. I’ll be there soon.”
“Okay.”
Qin Qing agreed and started to walk towards the teaching building where the gathering point was located.
Just as she took a couple of steps, Wen Yufeng raised his hand and pulled her back to her original spot.
“If someone tries to flirt with you…?”
The boy glanced at her with dark eyes, looking displeased.
Qin Qing couldn’t help but laugh.
— The way he was acting, it was as if someone had already tried to flirt with her.
“Wen Yufeng, you’re too jealous; it’s bad for your stomach.”
“……” Wen Yufeng didn’t reply, but his fingers lightly pinched her wrist.
Qin Qing had to surrender with her gaze, smiling as she pleaded,
“All right, all right, I won’t pay any attention to them—besides you, I won’t talk to anyone, okay?”
Wen Yufeng’s lips curled up, a faint smile appearing in his dark eyes.
“……No,” he said, lifting her wrist and shaking the rose-gold bracelet on it. “You should let them know you have a boyfriend—one you’ll marry.”
Qin Qing was momentarily stunned by his gaze before coming back to her senses.
Once her rationality returned, Qin Qing turned her gaze away.
“Who’s going to marry you?” she said, though the corners of her mouth were lifted.
Wen Yufeng released her hand. “Remember to recite what I said a few times before going in.”
“Just go already,” Qin Qing said with a laugh, pushing him away.
“……”
Despite her words, Qin Qing still walked towards the small teaching building at the southwest corner of the school under Wen Yufeng’s watchful gaze.
As Wen Yufeng watched her figure disappear from view, the smile in his eyes faded until it was completely gone.
His gaze shifted towards the bulletin board a few dozen meters away, which was crowded with people.
Even now, many new eyes started to look from that direction, falling upon him and the already departed Qin Qing.
Wen Yufeng narrowed his eyes slightly and, after standing there for a moment, began walking toward the bulletin board.
Half a minute later, the people gathered in front of the bulletin board noticed a tall, handsome man had suddenly appeared beside them.
——
Under their watch, the man calmly walked up to the Black List, raised his arm, and effortlessly tore off the top left corner of the only list on it.
With a “rustle,” the list was removed without a change in his expression.
Everyone was stunned and took a while to react.
After tearing down the Black List, the man lifted his leg to leave.
However, as his gaze inadvertently fell on the Red List, his long legs stopped once again.
On one of the seven Red Lists, there was a name written halfway down: “Qin Qing.”
Because it was from the same session, the Red List praising “Wen Yufeng” happened to be right under Qin Qing’s name on the second list.
…The arrangement was quite thoughtful.
Wen Yufeng’s lips curled up as he turned towards the Red List.
With a “swish” and another “swish,” before those who had just come to their senses could stop him, Wen Yufeng had torn off two of the seven names from the Red List.
Finally, someone couldn’t suppress their anger anymore—
“This is the school’s bulletin board, not your home. What do you think you’re doing?”
“……”
Wen Yufeng, who was originally preparing to leave, stopped at the words and turned his gaze.
His thin lips twisted slightly, and his dark eyes were icy. “With my name on it, give me one reason why I shouldn’t tear it down.”
“…………”
Even though many had already guessed his identity, hearing the person admit it made a few feel a chill.
Under Wen Yufeng’s cold gaze, the person who had spoken first paled slightly and said stubbornly, “But those two names on the Red List aren’t yours. Why do you have to tear them down too?”
“True, they aren’t my names,” Wen Yufeng said with a smirk, “But they are my people.”
After saying that, he ignored the stunned looks of the onlookers, taking the three crumpled long posters and dragging them toward the administrative building diagonally across.
His cold voice echoed behind him—
“Anyone whose name is on these three lists and doesn’t want it torn down should go to the Academic Affairs Office for a new list.”
Seeing that he was clearly heading for the Academic Affairs Office, the people behind exchanged glances with resigned expressions.
——
This person seemed fearless; even if they tried to follow and report him, it would probably be futile.
Many people looked at his retreating figure with a sense of awe.
— It turned out that beyond them, there really was someone who could walk through half a lifetime and return still as the exceptional, rebellious youth he once was.
………
When Qin Qing arrived in front of the classroom for the 37th session’s gathering point, she looked at the information sheet in her hand in disbelief.
After confirming that she hadn’t gone to the wrong place, Qin Qing put the sheet away with a mixed feeling and entered the classroom.
— She never expected that the gathering point for the 37th session would be exactly the first-year classroom she had briefly stayed in when she entered high school.
When Qin Qing entered the classroom, there were many people either standing or leaning against the walls, with most of them forming a loose circle inside.
The majority of the classroom was noisy, so it took a while before anyone noticed Qin Qing’s arrival.
A few who seemed unable to blend into the circle only looked at Qin Qing with surprise.
— They couldn’t fail to recognize her; after all, Qin Qing, as a “little prodigy” known among students of the 37th session and later praised by many teachers, was quite famous.
Qin Qing quietly entered the classroom.
From within the circle, voices could be heard—
“Yu Wen, you’re really lucky! Ling Yu, the school beauty back then—
definitely the most beautiful among all the school beauties—was pursued by so many people, but you ended up with her.”
“You can’t say it like that. Yu Wen was also the school heartthrob of that session. — It’s a match made in heaven, a perfect pair…”
“……”
Qin Qing, listening from the outside, was slightly taken aback and then somewhat amused.
——
“Yu Wen” and “Ling Yu,” the school heartthrob and school beauty from back then, seemed to have some connection with her and Wen Yufeng.
She remembered teaching Yu Wen problems in the reading room, which led to Wen Yufeng’s absurd comment about “not touching each other.”
As for Ling Yu… the connection was even deeper, but not with her.
Qin Qing curled her lips.
…Ling Yu was still Wen Yufeng’s so-called “ex-girlfriend,” wasn’t she?
She just didn’t expect these two to become a couple now.
“Most beautiful? …Not necessarily.”
While Qin Qing was lost in thought, a sharp voice suddenly rang out from a corner of the classroom, tinged with mockery.
The entire classroom fell silent instantly.
Many people looked toward the source of the voice with anticipation.
The person who had previously praised Ling Yu’s beauty changed expression and forced a painful smile.
“Ah, it’s Qi Lulu. I was wondering who would dare say that. …You and Ling Yu were indeed close in the school beauty election, but losing is losing. There’s no need to bring up old grievances, right?”
Standing in the corner, Qi Lulu sneered.
“I’m not talking about myself.”
“Then who?”
“……”
Qi Lulu raised her voice, her laughter becoming increasingly harsh—
“The person who couldn’t win Ling Yu but was always fawning next to her—have you all forgotten?”
Qi Lulu’s gaze turned icy as she directed it toward a figure entering through the classroom’s back door—
“…I’m right, aren’t I, Qin Qing?”
“…………”
As soon as the words were spoken, the entire classroom fell into another moment of silence.
In the next moment, with Qi Lulu’s unfriendly gaze, Qin Qing felt all the eyes in the classroom on her.