LVLYA

Chapter 21: Failed Revenge

For two straight weeks, Yue Zhishi's method of transportation was Song Yu's backseat. His happiness remained consistently at its peak. He felt like there was a reason behind Song Yu's bringing him to and from school and allowing him to study in the fifth floor activity room, but he'd always had a magnanimous heart and never closely examined anything that happened to him.

Even though an uncle at a nearby repair shop had long repaired his bicycle, he kept it at the school entrance and didn't use it. All the excuses and reasoning he prepared in advance were enough to fill up an entire excel sheet, waiting for the day Song Yu wanted to get rid of him, but he never had the chance to pull a single one of them out.

Winter seemed to be competing with the end of the semester to see who could arrive faster. The two of them eventually arrived together at the same time without warning and caught Yue Zhishi unaware.

It was soon time for the semester exams. The school requested the junior high third year students to attend an extra half day of class on the Saturday morning right before the monthly break, and the high school third year students were asked to attend an extra day. The Peiya that was originally known for no remedial lessons also ended up providing them.

Yue Zhishi originally wanted to stay until the afternoon to go home together with Song Yu, but the seasonal flu season had slaughtered through the entire school. Other than the disinfected classrooms being used for lessons, students weren't allowed to enter anywhere else. Yue Zhishi could only go home first by himself.

He stood at the entrance to the corridor and sent a text message to Song Yu, explaining the situation.

He received a reply one second after pressing send — a simple 'okay'.

It'd been a very long time since he'd gone home with Jiang Yufan. On a whim, Yue Zhishi invited him to have lunch with him at Aunt Rong's private restaurant. Jiang Yufan had heard long ago that her restaurant was super difficult to book, so he couldn't be more excited, wanting to call home to let his parents know. But he didn't have his cellphone with him.

Yue Zhishi pulled his out. "Use mine, luckily I brought it today."

–

Coming out the math teachers' office, Song Yu glanced at the third floor corridor. Most of the junior high students were already gone, with only a few students dawdling about still. Their talking voices echoed loudly in the empty space around them.

He took a quick look into the activity room as he passed it. Workers were inside disinfecting it.

Qin Yan ran over from the staircase just then, hand carrying a takeaway bag. He greeted him and said, "Let's go, our fried chicken just arrived. What did Old Zhang want you for?"

"Nothing much, just some competition stuff."

"I had to wait so long for the delivery driver to find the drop off place. I'm going to freeze to death." Even though Peiya wasn't strict with its students, food delivery drivers still couldn't enter the school. Students could only pick up their orders through the fence railings.

Qin Yan rubbed his hands together and took out the fried chicken box from inside the bag. "While I was waiting, I saw the entire fierce argument between a couple. Good thing I'm single..." He took a sip of his coke. "I also saw a few young people getting ready to fight. Once they pulled off their uniforms and chucked away their cigarettes, it almost looked like one of those mafia movies."

With the windows closed, the sound of the outside wind screeched like fingernails scratching down a blackboard. Song Yu frowned and put down the chopsticks he'd just picked up. "Were they junior high students?"