Chapter 33
Lin Huaixi sensed the subtle shift in the atmosphere and frowned tightly.
A lot of what he had been doing earlier was still partly an act, but now he was genuinely angry.
Seriously, like a dead pig that isn’t afraid of boiling water—even after being caught red-handed, Zong Nanze was still standing there striking a pose!
Lin Huaixi’s voice and gaze both dropped to freezing point as he said sharply, “The school forbids dating. The head of grade emphasized it over and over again. Didn’t you hear him?”
Because he was mixing public duty with private revenge, Lin Huaixi had deliberately bought an extremely high-powered flashlight. The beam was so harsh that Zong Nanze could barely open his eyes. All he could make out beyond the glaring ring of light was a vague human silhouette, with no clear features visible at all.
Hearing Lin Huaixi question him, Zong Nanze showed not the slightest sign of panic. He remained perfectly calm and even curled one corner of his mouth upward in a provocative smile.
Lin Huaixi: !!! angry cat fluffing up.jpg
If it had not been for the bigger picture, he would have already thrown away the cold disciplinary-committee persona, rushed over, cursed him out, rolled up his sleeves, and started fighting.
Lin Huaixi deliberately stayed where he was and ordered him in a commanding tone, “Come here.”
Zong Nanze was oddly cooperative. He took one step forward, and the male student he had been getting intimate with seized the opening and ran wildly into the darkness, disappearing almost instantly into the night.
Lin Huaixi did not chase after him. He did not even spare him a glance. He only stared coldly at Zong Nanze.
His attitude was far too obvious, and Zong Nanze noticed the difference in treatment too. His steps paused, and he raised a brow with amusement.
In the end, Zong Nanze stopped three steps away from Lin Huaixi. The flashlight beam shone straight onto him. Even Lin Huaixi found it glaring and instinctively uncomfortable, but Zong Nanze acted as though he noticed none of it and simply raised his eyes to look at Lin Huaixi.
“Using a flashlight to shine in someone’s face like this is kind of rude, isn’t it?”
Lin Huaixi: “…” Of course it’s rude, but you’re the exception.
The moment he thought of everything Zong Nanze had done to Qi Wang in the book, righteous fury surged through him. Even though he was thinking that way, he still unwillingly lowered the flashlight.
The beam cut through the air and lit up the dust floating inside it, leaving behind a clear path of light. Even that outline seemed soft and furry around the edges.
Lin Huaixi’s face became clear. Moonlight fell across it, giving his skin the fine white texture of polished porcelain, but the color of his eyes was darker than the night itself.
Zong Nanze had not expected Lin Huaixi to be this good-looking. He stared for a few seconds before his expression returned to normal.
Lin Huaixi did not want to waste time on him and spoke first. “What’s your name?”
Most students in this situation would be flustered and desperate to dodge punishment, but Zong Nanze looked completely unconcerned. With both hands in his pockets, he stood there tall and languid. “Zong Nanze.”
He was a little taller than Lin Huaixi, so Lin Huaixi had to tilt his head slightly to look at him. Through clenched teeth, he asked, “What grade? What class?”
Zong Nanze asked back, “You don’t know?”
Lin Huaixi was almost laughed out of anger by his shamelessness.
Who exactly do you think you are? Why would I know your grade and class?
Lin Huaixi kept his lips pressed shut and said nothing, and the atmosphere froze.
Perhaps the scorn on his face was too obvious. After half a minute, Zong Nanze stopped while he was ahead and answered honestly, “Second year, Class Three.”
Lin Huaixi gave a small nod and said in a businesslike tone, “According to school rules, dating results in a three-point deduction and public notice on the bulletin board. Wait for the official notice later.”
After saying that, he turned and left. At an angle Zong Nanze could not see, he pulled a face.
The grove was deathly quiet. Hearing the unhurried footsteps behind him, Lin Huaixi’s fists clenched tighter and tighter.
He had studied martial arts for so long precisely for a moment like this. There was no one here. If he beat Zong Nanze up right now, no one should find out, right?
A wicked impulse rose in Lin Huaixi’s heart, and he even slowed his steps. Luckily, his reason came back in time and dragged him away from the thought.
He was a disciplinary monitor now. Doing something like that would set a terrible example.
Lin Huaixi took a deep breath, forcibly cleared his mind, and quickened his pace, trying to leave Zong Nanze far behind.
The footsteps behind him remained slow and steady, even crushing dry twigs beneath them with crisp snapping sounds.
After leaving the grove, Lin Huaixi headed toward the teaching building.
The streetlamps lit up the entire field. Lin Huaixi glanced to the left and spotted an elongated shadow cast across the ground.
He pressed his lips together, then at last could not hold back any longer and turned around, glaring at Zong Nanze with a frown.
His emotions had run too high earlier, and he had only been focused on the main matter, so he had not really examined Zong Nanze closely.
Zong Nanze truly did have the qualifications to be a scumbag. He had a pair of peach-blossom eyes so naturally affectionate that, when smiling, even a single glance from him could stir someone’s heart. The lines of his features were flawless too… wait a second, he had even kept his hair long and tied a little braid at the back!
The school rules were strict. Even girls were not allowed to cut their hair too short, and their bangs could not pass their eyebrows, so they all had to go around every day with those awkward little tufts. Yet Zong Nanze was openly violating school rules.
Lin Huaixi took out his little notebook from his pocket and viciously added another mark.
If too many points were deducted, the punishment would be severe. The school might even force Zong Nanze to suspend his studies and reflect. And if that happened, Qi Wang would be even safer.
Having found a new line of attack, Lin Huaixi’s mood improved, and he lifted his eyes to glance at Zong Nanze.
That one look was accurately caught by him. Zong Nanze paused, abruptly changed direction, and once again followed behind Lin Huaixi.
Having his intimate moment interrupted had already left him somewhat uninterested, and his steps were loose and lazy. He had originally planned to sneak out through the school gate and go find something more fun to do, but Lin Huaixi had made him change his mind.
Lin Huaixi was very good-looking, enough to make a strong first impression, but he was too cold, not lively at all. It felt like a waste of such a face.
Zong Nanze had never been interested in this type before, but that one glance from Lin Huaixi had seemed to peel away the icy shell and reveal something lovely beneath it.
Zong Nanze was not sure whether it had been only his imagination, but it still made him take a little more interest in Lin Huaixi, and he quickly caught up.
“What’s your name, classmate?”
“…” I’m your father.
“Why aren’t you answering? What grade are you in?”
“…” Why do you care what grade your father is in?
“You’re probably cursing me in your head, aren’t you? That’s okay. Want me to take a guess?”
“…” Are you a masochist or something? If you know I’m cursing you, then get lost already!
Zong Nanze might actually have had a tendency in that direction. Seeing Lin Huaixi’s face grow angry only made him seem more vivid.
“Got it. You must be cursing me. Don’t keep it bottled up. Say it out loud. I’ll cooperate.”
Lin Huaixi finally could not bear it anymore and whipped his head around. His lips had gone into a straight line, the coldness in his eyes burned away and replaced by blazing fire.
Old habits died hard. When he was calm, he could imitate the role very well, but once his emotions ran high, he could no longer keep it up. “You—”
Lin Huaixi only got out a single word before realizing he had nearly broken character. He took a deep breath, wrapped himself again in that cold outer shell, and said, “Right now is evening self-study time. Students are not allowed to wander around campus. That is also a violation of school rules.”
Zong Nanze stood lazily, one hand in his pocket, one shoulder slightly lower than the other. Raising his eyelids a little, he said with a half-smile, “Classmate, that doesn’t count as wandering around campus. I’m trying to head back to the teaching building. You can’t expect me to fly there, can you?”
Lin Huaixi knew that was technically true, but he hated Zong Nanze’s attitude so much that he could not help glaring at him and stomping back toward him in a huff.
Lin Huaixi had already let him off once, but Zong Nanze did not know when to stop. He kept following behind him, and in the moonlight, their shadows stretched long across the ground, faintly overlapping.
After noticing that, Zong Nanze deliberately took a few quicker steps and said teasingly, “Look at our shadows. Don’t they look like they’re—”
The instant he opened his mouth, Lin Huaixi sped up, and in the blink of an eye disappeared around the corner.
The other person had coldly withdrawn a shadow.
Zong Nanze did not even catch so much as the corner of Lin Huaixi’s clothes, but for some reason he found it cute. He stood there and laughed for a while before chasing after him again.
When he passed the second-year teaching building, he did not choose to go in. Instead, he continued following Lin Huaixi, watching his back with a smile.
At last Lin Huaixi could not endure it anymore and turned to glare at him. Zong Nanze answered with a smile, apparently not feeling that his behavior was improper in the least, nor in the slightest afraid that Lin Huaixi might hold it against him.
Lin Huaixi swallowed it down yet again and quickly walked to the first-year building. The inside of the building was brightly lit, but the entrance was still wrapped in the hazy darkness of night.
Zong Nanze thought Lin Huaixi had gone inside and hurried after him, only to find Lin Huaixi standing on the steps with his arms crossed, looking down at him from above.
“According to school rules, improper dress and appearance means a three-point deduction, and roaming around during evening self-study is another three points. They’ll be announced together next Monday. Any objections?”
Zong Nanze stepped up one stair and met Lin Huaixi’s eyes. “A disciplinary monitor should know how to be flexible. I already told you just now—I could only walk back, not fly back.”
“Right. That’s why I didn’t deduct your points then. But you’re a second-year student, and you came all the way to the first-year building, so…” Lin Huaixi did not avoid his gaze. Enunciating each word, he said, “You. Must. Lose. Points.”
Only then did Zong Nanze realize that Lin Huaixi had not been forced into compromise earlier, nor had he been helpless against him. He had been indulging him, even secretly luring him to the first-year building so that he could deduct his points.
Before this, Zong Nanze’s interest in Lin Huaixi had been almost nonexistent. He had only wanted to pass the time. But now…
Still smiling, he kept looking at Lin Huaixi and took another step up. Their shoes nearly touched, standing on the same step now, close enough to have long passed the boundary of a safe social distance. In the heat of summer, they could feel each other’s breath and body warmth.
Lin Huaixi did not retreat. He stared at Zong Nanze without blinking, his dark eyes reflecting the smile on his face.
He understood now. Zong Nanze wanted to fight him!
Zong Nanze, on the other hand, still showed not the slightest instinct for self-preservation. His eyes traced over Lin Huaixi’s features, and for some reason his fingers felt itchy. He lifted one hand, wanting to brush aside the loose strands of hair at Lin Huaixi’s ear.
Lin Huaixi did not react as Zong Nanze had expected. There was no embarrassed anger or humiliation on his face. Instead, his mood turned colder and colder, his gaze locking tightly on him. In a flash, he raised his hand with a clean, handsome movement, swift and without any wasted motion, catching Zong Nanze’s arm and twisting it behind him as he forced it downward.
Zong Nanze did not even see Lin Huaixi’s movement clearly. His field of vision spun violently, and only when he came back to himself did he realize that he had been pinned in a reverse hold, unable to move, with his arm hurting badly.
“…”
“…”
“…”
It was the first time he had ever been treated like this. He was so shocked his mind went blank, and he could only stare at Lin Huaixi, forgetting what he had been about to say.
At last, that insufferably smug smile had vanished from Zong Nanze’s face. Lin Huaixi had spent years studying martial arts precisely for this moment. The thrill shot straight up his scalp, and he only wanted to throw back his head and laugh triumphantly.
Trying hard to suppress the corners of his mouth from rising, Lin Huaixi slightly lifted a brow and said in a severe, icy tone,
“This is your warning. There will not be a next time!”
