Chapter 9: He’s What He Hates Most
The next day, Ying Jiayi didn’t come to class.
Nie Ying, the notorious school tyrant who skipped class year-round, actually showed up early for once. His expression was ugly, a strip of tape stuck to his face, his whole body radiating a “keep away” aura.
His seat was in the back row. He sprawled there with his long legs stretched sideways. Classmates passing by didn’t dare step over them, yet also didn’t dare ask him to move. Afraid of provoking the lunatic and getting beaten for nothing, they could only detour around the front.
“So early in the morning…” Yu Bai muttered under his breath the moment he walked into the classroom and saw the inauspicious sight.
Unfortunately, the bestie who usually complained with him wasn’t here today. Gu Yang had come, but was already lying there asleep again. His seat was far from Nie Ying’s, the two maintaining a clear “well water doesn’t mix with river water” boundary.
The math teacher walked in holding a stack of materials. One look at the sparse classroom and he knew today would be the same as always.
The only consolation was that attendance today was better than any other day.
That morning, he had gotten the monthly exam results from the grade head and, as usual, posted the sheet on the small blackboard.
While he was doing that, many students had already lowered their heads to check their phones.
Guanli High had no phone ban in its regulations. Backed by Wanhe Education, the school even had its own app, Wanyin, developed specifically for students in the Wanhe system.
Its functions included, but were not limited to: meal card top-ups, classroom reservations, grade releases, timetable queries, event notifications, searching internal contacts—basically everything you could imagine doing on campus. It was considerate to an almost nitpicky degree.
So practically every student at Guanli High had at least one electronic device.
“Holy crap, that’s terrible.” Yu Bai glanced at his grades and covered his face. “My allowance for this month is done for.”
Miserable himself, he couldn’t help dragging others down with him. He shoved the motionless, sleeping Gu Yang and whispered the nightmare-inducing words for any student:
“Wake up, stop sleeping. The results are out.”
Clearly, it didn’t work on Gu Yang. After being nudged several times, he reluctantly lifted his head to glance at his phone, calmly tossed out, “Maintained it,” and went right back to sleep.
Yu Bai: “……”
Anyone who didn’t know better would think some low-key top student had just declared he’d secured first place again.
But didn’t Yu Bai know exactly how capable Gu Yang was?
“This time first place is Song Yinxing from Class Ten again. He’s thirty points ahead of second.”
“Damn, that’s insane.”
“Did you hear? During the math exam, two cheaters got caught in his test room, and they were both sitting next to him.” Ye Chen smiled innocently, though he was clearly harboring ill intent. “What a coincidence, huh?”
“What do you mean?” Yu Bai asked, curiosity getting the better of him even though he didn’t want to get involved with Ye Chen.
“Paid cheating.” Ye Chen winked. “Happens every exam. The seating’s random anyway. Just find some broke scholarship student and collude.”
“I—I see.” Yu Bai gave a dry laugh, his eyes darting sideways, inwardly cursing himself for asking.
“Heh. What can’t poor trash do?” Nie Ying suddenly spoke up.
The single sentence plunged the room into awkward silence. Several students exchanged looks. Even after being classmates for so long, they still couldn’t get used to Nie Ying’s occasional low-quality outbursts.
Whatever you think is your business—but saying it out loud like that is just low.
People said Madam Nie didn’t like this son and hadn’t raised him by her side since childhood.
Looking at it now, maybe the rumors were true.
“Nie Ying.” In the silence, the class monitor spoke gently. “Our scholarship students are admitted based on their high school entrance exam scores. Tuition is waived regardless of family background. If you’re capable, you can earn it too.”
“He Ming’an.” Nie Ying sneered. Already simmering with anger, he was like a powder keg waiting to explode. Now he had an excuse. He stood up and kicked over the desk in front of him.
The student beside him jumped in fright and quickly moved away, afraid of getting dragged into it.
“Did you call my old man yesterday to snitch? I just taught an ignorant scholarship kid a lesson and you had to stick your nose in?”
“Why are you meddling in everything all day? Don’t tell me you really think this school belongs to you, huh?”
The class monitor remained steady, still wearing that mild expression. “Campus violence is prohibited. We have themed meetings every semester. Why can’t you remember that?”
Nie Ying stared coldly at him, then suddenly feigned exaggerated realization. “Oh right, don’t you have a younger brother? Didn’t your dad pull strings to get him in under the scholarship student label? No wonder you couldn’t sit still when I mentioned scholarship students.”
He Ming’an’s ever-smiling face was now expressionless. His hands were folded on the desk, showing no reaction to Nie Ying’s aggression.
Yu Bai’s face stiffened. He didn’t fully understand what Nie Ying meant, but he could clearly feel how fragile the atmosphere had become.
An elbow nudged him. Ye Chen was secretly laughing, mouthing three words at him: So shameless.
Gu Yang had stopped sleeping. His indifferent gaze traveled upward, landing on He Ming’an’s completely smileless face, then shifted to Nie Ying.
“So you brothers are that close now? Still keeping in touch privately?” Nie Ying stepped forward bit by bit, leaning on He Ming’an’s desk, mocking him. “Does your mom know?”
[He probably doesn’t know why Madam Nie dislikes him.]
The explosive tension between Nie Ying and He Ming’an abruptly shifted. Nie Ying’s bloodshot eyes locked onto Gu Yang.
What?
The entire class atmosphere came alive. The once-tense spectators suddenly brightened with excitement.
Gu Yang was starting again.
[That’s because Nie Ying isn’t Madam Nie’s biological son at all. He’s the child of a maid in the Nie family.]
[If he ever finds out he’s exactly the kind of person he despises most, I wonder what expression he’ll make.]
From Nie Ying’s perspective, the pale boy leaning on the desk had a faint, almost-smile tugging at his lips. He seemed to be looking at him, yet not quite. His hollow eyes were unreadable.
That dead look was what Nie Ying hated most.
His mind went blank. He turned and lunged to drag Gu Yang out of his seat.
But a nearby student reacted faster, blocking him without even considering the consequences.
We know you’re anxious, but hold on—let him finish the gossip first!
“Nie Ying, do you know?” Gu Yang pushed himself up from the desk. “Actually, you are—”
Before he could finish, Yu Bai clamped a hand over his mouth from behind, forcibly muting him.
They’d wanted more gossip, but they hadn’t expected him to immediately say out loud what he’d just thought. His execution was terrifyingly efficient.
A crowd had gathered outside the classroom to watch. On the podium, the math teacher trembled, raising a helpless hand like Erkang, utterly ignored.
Yu Bai felt like a saint. He didn’t even know if he himself could survive knowing this gossip, yet here he was worrying about everyone else’s safety.
Finally, the long-ignored math teacher weakly said, “Students, talk it out properly. Don’t—don’t fight…”
Before he finished, Nie Ying, beyond endurance, punched the student blocking him square in the face. With a muffled groan, the other student fought back viciously. The two tangled and crashed to the ground.
Ye Chen whistled and started recording with his phone.
Yu Bai stretched out his hand helplessly, wanting to stop them but powerless. Freed from the grip, Gu Yang leaned forward slightly, observing the fight with a soft “Wow.”
Seeing Nie Ying momentarily on top, he decided to deliver another blow:
“Nie Ying, actually—”
Yu Bai clamped him shut again.
This time Gu Yang got annoyed. He slapped Yu Bai’s hand away and asked flatly, “What exactly are you trying to do?”
Yu Bai looked world-weary. “I’m begging you, ancestor. Isn’t this chaotic enough already?”
Really, stop talking. We all heard it. They’re fighting because of that.
“What are you doing in there? Stop immediately!” The vice principal’s furious roar echoed down the corridor.
Under the strong intervention of the teachers, the blazing conflict finally began to subside.
It was blatant violent fighting. Nie Ying was clearly the instigator. But considering his family’s company cooperated closely with Wanhé Education, the school couldn’t ignore that connection.
Still, public fighting in class was too serious, especially with so many witnesses. The vice principal had no choice but to call the parents and suspend them for a few days.
Nie Ying, with several cuts on his face and a bruise at his mouth, stood by the podium with his hands in his pockets.
When he heard the vice principal dialing his mother, the veins on his forehead bulged. He shot Gu Yang a chilling glare and spat, “Just you wait.”
Gu Yang didn’t understand where his fury came from. He merely gave him a sarcastic fake smile.
After a while, the sharp click of high heels echoed from the corridor.
A woman with an extremely cold expression walked in. That coldness did not change even when facing her son. She didn’t spare Nie Ying a glance, only nodding to the vice principal. “Teacher He.”
“Sorry to trouble you to come, Madam Nie.” Though Nie Ying was at fault, the vice principal remained polite. He was from a collateral branch of the He family and knew well the intricacies of wealthy families.
“It’s fine. I was passing by anyway.” She smiled courteously. “This child is disappointing and has caused you trouble. I’ll take him back now. His father will discipline him.”
There was no affection in her words, leaving everyone clicking their tongues inwardly.
They’d heard rumors about the strained mother-son relationship, but they hadn’t expected it to be this distant.
Gu Yang’s claim about Nie Ying being the maid’s child suddenly seemed far more credible.
Impatient, Nie Ying cut them off. “If it’s suspension, then suspend me. What’s there to ramble about?”
He maintained a forced calm, but a panic he’d never felt before surged inside him. He only wanted to leave, find somewhere private, and confirm the truth.
The vice principal fell silent, putting on a show of difficulty for Madam Nie.
She bowed slightly in apology, then prepared to leave with Nie Ying.
[On Nie Ying’s eighteenth birthday, Madam Nie gave him their DNA test report as his birthday gift.]
[And it was precisely this incident that pushed Song Yinxing into an irredeemable abyss.]
