Two days later, the results came out. Chen Yuanming got seventh in class and fifteenth in grade. After the papers were handed back, seats were arranged by score as usual.
In the past, when he ranked twentieth or thirtieth, he could be pushed to the back row for all sorts of reasons.
Now… when Chen Yuanming picked up his schoolbag and settled into the middle of the third row, the expression on Teacher Han’s face was simply priceless. Yet for such an “achievement,” he could hardly say whether he felt pleasure or melancholy.
Counting both lifetimes, he had long passed the age where he would feel smug about this kind of counterattack. The more memories of his past life returned, the less this school conflict was worth mentioning.
The things that had once tormented him and kept him tossing and turning were, frankly, just a clumsy reflection of real society.
Compared with naive and ridiculous school life, there were still far too many things in the world that one person’s strength could not shake.
Still, when he was blocked on a quiet little path, Chen Yuanming revealed a cold smile. Today he had agreed to go to Sun Lang’s house to look at glove styles, so he was not even taking the road home; he had not expected to be tailed.
Just ahead, a round-faced, thick-armed, broad-waisted kid blocked the middle of the path.
Under him was the trendiest geared mountain bike of the time, his hair parted down the middle in typical traitor style, and behind his glasses his small eyes curved into two pleased slits.
Behind him stood two “lackeys,” one on each side, looking little different from ordinary school bullies.
Seeing that his “prey” had noticed him, the guy got off his bike and swaggered forward two steps with his lackeys. His gaze swept provocatively over the gauze wrapped around Chen Yuanming’s head.
“Got smarter after your head was cracked open, huh? Now you even know how to cheat on exams?”
Chen Yuanming’s mouth twitched. Without a word, he took the schoolbag off his shoulder, wrapped its strap twice around his hand, and let its heavy weight hang there.
The boy standing across from him was named Ma Zhiqiang. His father was a branch factory director at the factory, and his mother worked at the Grain Bureau.
So even though his scores could not touch Three Middle School’s admission line, he had still brazenly entered the key class, and had even grabbed a seat in the first row because of “nearsightedness.”
Such a privileged student originally had nothing to do with Chen Yuanming. But ever since the first semester of eighth grade, the two had somehow become opposed.
In Ma Zhiqiang’s words, it was because “I just can’t stand the sight of this brat.” In the key class environment, the original Chen Yuanming had no class consciousness, but there were quite a few classmates who did.
Someone stirred things up in the middle, and the influence was self-evident. After being isolated and discriminated against for more than a year, he finally could not hold back and fought Ma Zhiqiang.
The result was that his head was split open, he received a school warning, a scolding from his homeroom teacher, and a tongue-lashing from his parents, while the other side, because of those bruises on his face, ended up with the identity of “victim.”
In that original set of memories, he had fought Ma Zhiqiang several more times during the last half year of middle school and had nearly been expelled.
Now, although he did not plan to entangle himself in such matters, since the other party had delivered himself to his door, it would be unreasonable not to accept the gift.
“Why aren’t you talking? Did your tongue break… ah~~”
The mocking laugh instantly turned into a scream. From only a few steps away, after a short running start, the schoolbag in his hand swung out and hit the other boy right on the chin.
The fat bastard’s upper and lower teeth clacked hard together and blood burst out. Chen Yuanming spun and kicked the thin lackey in the lower back, sending him crouching to the ground with an “Ouch!” The other lackey had already charged forward swinging his fist.
Chen Yuanming dodged the first punch, grabbed the boy’s arm with his left hand, and drove his knee up hard into his stomach.
Even though it was winter and they wore thick clothes, the delicate little body could not withstand such a blow; the guy retched and vomited a mouthful of sour bile.
Leaving the two lackeys behind, Chen Yuanming reached out and grabbed Ma Zhiqiang, who had seen that things were going badly and was trying to flee.
He twisted his elbow, kicked the back of his knee, and Ma Zhiqiang fell flat to the ground, raising a large cloud of dust.
In the early 1990s, there were really no bad students in the true sense. The strict crackdown had ended only a few years earlier, and terrified parents could not tolerate the slightest thuggish temperament.
Even the most unruly children were watched tightly, for fear they would get into trouble and be sent to the execution ground.
On top of that, those who could attend Three Middle School were either workers’ children or cross-district students from respectable families, and they were hopelessly naive. Ganging up on someone was one thing, but one-on-one fights were a joke.
In his previous life, when Chen Yuanming had just started down the beijing drifter road, he had done proper manual labor.
Several years of experience as a fitter had given him considerable strength.
At that time, construction sites were among the most chaotic places around, and it was also when young and dangerous swept across the country.
Groups of hot-blooded grown men often got into brawls and caused trouble. With that kind of experience, dealing with a few middle school students was easy.
Ma Zhiqiang scrambled two steps on the ground in panic. Just as he tried to get up, his hair was seized and slammed hard into the ground. Blood immediately spurted from his nose in two streams.
Then his neck tightened as a rough rope looped around his throat and was yanked backward. He let out two hoarse strange cries, and tears instantly streamed down.
“Chen Yuanming… you! Let go! I’ll tell my dad…”
“Tell him what?” A voice sounded by his ear, very soft, but menacing. “Are you coming to me every day asking to get fucked?”
Stimulated by this unexpected vulgarity, Ma Zhiqiang coughed violently, his fingernails digging hard at the schoolbag strap around his neck, even his legs flailing.
Chen Yuanming was unmoved. He pressed his knee hard into the other boy’s back. “Put away those filthy little thoughts, you cheap bitch. With that pig-headed look of yours, is ostracizing me even useful?”
“You… you…” Ma Zhiqiang’s whole body trembled. “What are you saying…”
“Playing dumb? I have no interest in playing with you lot anymore. If you hover around in front of me again, I’ll break your dog legs.”
“Doudou!” A sudden loud shout came from far away!
Chen Yuanming looked up and saw Sun Lang not far away, pedaling his big 28-inch bike toward them like mad. The bicycle was nearly being pedaled apart, clanking and rattling strangely.
Chen Yuanming revealed a faint smile, unwrapped the schoolbag strap from his hand, picked up the bag, and stepped back two paces.
Having escaped the terrifying enemy who seemed like a psycho, and with an accomplice arriving from the other side, Ma Zhiqiang and his two companions did not dare linger at all. The little fatty pushed his bike and ran, while the other two darted like headless flies into a side path.
With a loud crash, Sun Lang had already dropped his bike and chased after the three. “You fucking trash! Three on one, huh? If you’ve got guts, don’t run!!”
Chen Yuanming hurriedly grabbed Sun Lang, who was about to explode. “Second Brother, don’t chase them…”
“Don’t chase them?! Oh my, little brother, they were the ones who hit your head, right? How can you be so easygoing!!” Sun Lang nearly grabbed him and shook him hard.
“Isn’t Three Middle School strict? If you can’t beat them, why didn’t you tell a teacher?! Have you told your dad about this?”
“I fought back too. The school gave me a punishment…”
Hearing this answer, Sun Lang’s eyes went wide. “No way?! The three of them ganged up on you, and you still got punished? Fuck, is Three Middle School that twisted?!”
“His dad is the director of the No. 1 branch factory…”
Sun Lang was instantly stumped. His father, Sun Jun, was at least some kind of official, and he had received some education in this area since childhood. After being stunned for a moment, he gritted his teeth.
“So what if he’s a factory director? Does that mean a factory director’s son can hit people whenever he wants? Don’t be afraid. From now on, your big brother will visit your school more often.”
“If anyone comes looking for trouble with you, I’ll help you beat them back! Hmph~~ Can Three Middle School even control people from Second Middle School?!”
Looking at the angry, puffed-up youth, Chen Yuanming gave a big smile, walked over, and picked up the bicycle that had fallen to the ground. “Did Auntie send you to pick me up?”
“Yeah, the food at home is all ready. My mom told me to come see where you’d gotten to…” His attention instantly diverted, Sun Lang snatched the handlebars from him.
“Hurry up and come home with me! We’re having braised ribs today. My mom’s braised ribs are so good!”
“Of course, Auntie’s cooking is great.” Holding the other boy’s waist, Chen Yuanming jumped onto the bicycle and hung his dirty schoolbag behind him. “Let’s go! I’m starving!”
The shameless command earned another grumble from Sun Lang, and the youth pedaled hard. Chen Yuanming slowly wiped the smile from his face and looked behind him.
The place where they had just fought was already empty. Not even a drop of blood could be found; it was as clean as if nothing had happened.
But some things had been placed under an incandescent light. Was that bizarre targeting really only because of status or personality?
With an extra lifetime of experience, a little probing had caught the thing buried deep. In middle school, although he had been somewhat dark and thin and not particularly tall, his looks had not been bad; his features could even be called handsome.
And to prevent whispering in class, Three Middle School had implemented a seating system where boys and girls sat together…
At this age of sexual awakening, too many ignorant boys used strange methods to deal with imaginary romantic rivals, even if he had no interest in that sort of thing at all.
But so what? Back then he had not noticed even a bit, and now he had no interest in doing anything about this discovery.
If someone had to pay the price for it, it absolutely should not be himself, who had been innocently dragged in.
Pulling back his gaze, Chen Yuanming sniffed the snot caused by the cold and gripped the cotton jacket of the boy in front of him.
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