Chapter 32
Lin Huaixi learned quickly and did everything with focus and seriousness. After one final month of intensive practice over summer vacation, he successfully copied the very essence of a disciplinary committee member.
During those first days of school before the uniforms were issued, he wore a well-fitted white shirt every day. The top button at the collar was fastened all the way up, just brushing against the prominent line of his Adam’s apple. The fabric was kept crisp and flat, with barely a single wrinkle anywhere on him.
After slimming down, he no longer had the baby-fat doll face of before. Yet his eyes were still somewhat round, carrying a kind of innocent harmlessness. The curve at the outer corners was soft like flower petals, lifting slightly upward with a faint trace of allure. When Lin Huaixi wasn’t smiling, those two completely different temperaments blended together perfectly, making him look both delicate and sharp. On top of that, because he deliberately imitated Qi Wang’s expressions, he really did manage to force out a cold and aloof feeling.
But success came with pain.
Not only did Lin Huaixi have to keep up the image of a model student and desperately earn the teachers’ favor, he also had to maintain the same character setting in the eyes of his classmates. No matter where he was or what time it was, he had to keep his shoulders straight, his chin slightly tucked, his sleeves rolled to the wrists to show his fair, well-defined arms. Every movement had to be orderly and composed, and even the way he handled things had to be stiffly proper… So he couldn’t lie on his desk and nap, couldn’t turn around to whisper with the classmate behind him, couldn’t eat snacks during break, and worst of all—he couldn’t even smile!
After one whole month of school, his facial muscles had barely moved at all. Lin Huaixi was seriously worried that he might end up with a paralyzed face.
Fortunately, all his hard work had not been for nothing. After joining the student council, he first won the trust of the supervising teacher and the upperclassmen. Then, in the democratic vote, he became the new disciplinary committee member by an overwhelming margin—the only disciplinary committee member in the entire first-year division.
Although Lin Huaixi had never intended it this way, he had somehow fulfilled every condition required to become one of the school’s famous figures. He was only a first-year student, yet because of his “high looks” and “excellence,” ten whole discussion threads about him had already been built on the school forum. Every break period, students would come specifically just to see him.
It made Lin Huaixi miserable.
Originally, he had at least been able to hide in the restroom or in some remote corner to relax for a moment and adjust his facial expression. But now, no matter where he went, there were always bright, admiring eyes fixed on him.
The first time he encountered such a scene, Lin Huaixi had been so frightened he nearly forgot how to breathe. After that, in order not to expose himself, he could only keep up the act every second he was at school.
He truly could not take it anymore. The moment he got his disciplinary committee badge, he did not delay even one second. Draped in the night, he headed straight for the sports field.
Scum Gong Number Two was one year above him and had been the previous school celebrity.
He skipped class every other day and came to school almost solely for the sake of dating. His grades were near the bottom, but student life was too dull and boring, so a bad student like him was actually even more popular. He even had a fan group, along with a large crowd of ignorant boys and girls who threw themselves forward one after another only to be harmed by him.
Just thinking about it filled Lin Huaixi with righteous indignation.
He had to subdue Scum Gong Number Two as early as possible!
On the one hand, it was because school had already been in session for a month, and the matter on Qi Wang’s side still hadn’t been resolved. If he could take care of this trouble before Qi Wang came to school, that would be a tremendous blessing.
On the other hand, he genuinely didn’t know how much longer he could keep this up.
The disciplinary committee member persona went completely against his true nature. Lin Huaixi felt exhausted from acting every single day, and he was constantly on edge, afraid someone would expose him. He couldn’t get close to anyone either, so in a school this large, he didn’t have a single friend.
Loneliness—truly loneliness like snow.
Before, Sun Baiyi had been absolutely thrilled by the thought of Qi Wang transferring away and never returning, only to end up being grabbed by the collar and thrown through the gates of a prestigious high school himself.
After hearing that dreadful news, Sun Baiyi had tried several times to run away, but each time his father caught him. In the end, all he could do was cling to the phone every day and wail at Lin Huaixi, even crying.
This was the first time Lin Huaixi had seen Sun Baiyi cry since first grade. He immediately panicked and hurried to coax him with all sorts of good words.
It was a good thing, and he was sincerely happy for Sun Baiyi, yet he still felt strangely empty inside.
And this high school was in a very awkward position—not particularly good, not particularly bad. Students with grades as strong as his usually went to better schools in the provincial capital, while students with poor grades generally could not meet the entry standards. As a result, he hardly recognized a single face here.
But that might not remain the case. If he were exposed… Lin Huaixi thought about it and could not help shivering, even in the sweltering summer heat.
The sense of urgency in his heart only grew stronger, and his steps unconsciously quickened. Choosing the shortcut, Lin Huaixi boldly crossed straight through the field.
Everyone else was hurrying to evening self-study, so Lin Huaixi, walking in the opposite direction, stood out in a particularly obvious way.
Almost every student’s gaze gathered on him. Their expressions varied, but all of them carried admiration.
After all, who wouldn’t like a cool, handsome disciplinary committee member in high school?
Lin Huaixi’s scalp tingled from being stared at. He forced his face into a stern expression, but because he overdid it, the corners of his mouth nearly cramped. In the end, he could only press his lips into a tight line.
At last, the bell rang. Lin Huaixi finally reached the small grove beside the field. Seeing that there was no one around, he let out a long breath and rubbed his stiff face with his hand.
If he didn’t catch Scum Gong Number Two today, all his suffering would truly have been wasted.
As thoughts flickered through his mind, Lin Huaixi’s expression changed. Fired up, he plunged straight into the little grove.
This school was in the suburbs, with an enormous campus and a very long history. No one knew what the first principal had been thinking, but he had planted a huge stretch of trees here.
Looking at all that green did indeed soothe the spirit, and the air was fresher too. But it had also become paradise for puppy love. Rumor had it that at its busiest, one could see a kissing student couple every few steps.
But the school had cracked down hard in recent years. This grove had become a high-risk area, and the students weren’t stupid enough to keep breaking the rules right under everyone’s noses, so they had deliberately begun avoiding it.
Everyone except Scum Gong Number Two.
As time passed, though, even his name stopped being mentioned much. It was because the inspecting students didn’t dare report him.
This had become a terrible duty, so when Lin Huaixi volunteered to inspect the grove, all the upperclassmen immediately agreed.
Lin Huaixi had assumed he would find Scum Gong Number Two easily. He had mentally prepared himself long ago, but after circling the grove several times, he just went blank.
Did this place really need to be built this huge? It was like a maze!
The night was thick and dark. The trees here were all tall and broad, and their dense leaves pressed so tightly together they formed a vast umbrella overhead, blocking out the bright moonlight and making visibility inside the grove even worse.
The night air had cooled as well. When a gust of wind blew past, goosebumps rose along Lin Huaixi’s bare little arms, and the sweat on his back dried, leaving a cold, slippery feeling crawling along the end of his spine like a snake.
Lin Huaixi couldn’t help shivering. In flustered haste, he pulled his shirt sleeves back down and wrapped his arms around himself helplessly.
In the darkness, the outlines hidden among the trees blurred together into unknown terror. Lin Huaixi’s Adam’s apple bobbed once. He could not stop his mind from conjuring up images like a murderer climbed over the wall and escaped into the school and is about to stretch out his evil hand toward me, or there are tigers or some other fierce beasts hiding in this grove, baring their blood-red mouths, wanting to eat me.
Lin Huaixi was so frightened by his own imagination that he was almost ready to cry. His eyes were wide open as he jerkily looked around in every direction, his nerves stretched so tight they were just one line away from snapping.
At that very moment, he heard a faint sound.
He froze in place at once, his body utterly motionless, all his attention focusing on his ears.
The wind broke that sound apart even more, making it resemble human sobbing and crying, mixed with strange noises.
It’s over. I didn’t even find Scum Gong Number Two, and I ended up delivering myself too, wuwuwu.
Like a startled rabbit, Lin Huaixi suddenly leapt up and turned to run, but then the ghostlike sound abruptly became clearer.
“Nanze, you…”
That triggered a key phrase. Lin Huaixi’s leg, already mid-step, immediately withdrew, and the little tuft of hair on top of his head sprang straight up like an antenna.
He turned his head, searching for the direction the sound had come from, and cautiously took a few steps forward.
There was a strange shape by one of the trees, as if the trunk had grown a tumor. Lin Huaixi narrowed his eyes slightly. Just then, the tree shadows swayed, and a thread of moonlight slipped through the leaves, illuminating that small patch of ground.
“…”
It turned out that a lifelong single like him had simply been making a huge fuss over nothing. That wasn’t the cry of a ghost at all—it was somebody being pinned against a tree by the waist and kissed.
That person with his back turned, whose face couldn’t be seen clearly, was definitely Zong Nanze!
Lin Huaixi drew in a deep breath, lowered his head to straighten his clothes, and after adjusting his expression, took a step forward, his sweaty hand gripping the flashlight tightly.
He had prepared for so long for this exact moment. There absolutely could not be even the slightest mistake.
Lin Huaixi stepped forward, his expression stern, his eyes cold. Without a flicker of emotion, he clicked on the flashlight, and the harsh beam tightly enclosed the two people in the middle of their intimate embrace.
“What class are you two from?!”
His voice exploded through the grove like thunder. The two people, utterly lost in each other, were caught off guard. The one being held in Zong Nanze’s arms let out a startled scream, shrinking into a ball and trying to hide behind him.
Lin Huaixi assumed that student was just some innocent boy fooled by Zong Nanze, so he deliberately let him off. Frowning, he glared fiercely at Zong Nanze and ordered in a harsh voice, “Turn around.”
Zong Nanze let out a laugh with an unreadable meaning before slowly, unhurriedly turning around. The strong light made it hard for him to open his eyes. One hand lifted casually to his forehead, and he only opened them a fraction, looking at Lin Huaixi with proud hauteur.
His posture resembled some feline predator—lazy and perfectly at ease—yet his eyes carried a bloodthirsty chill.
As though he were not some lovestruck problem student caught by the disciplinary committee.
But rather a hunter who had used himself as bait, quietly set the trap long ago, and was simply waiting for the prey to walk into it.
