Chapter 19: Being Beaten

The campus forum was exploding again, with a hot post floating on the homepage, titled:

[Shocking, Xia Zhinian Falls in Love With Someone Else, Openly Confesses to the School Grass!]

[When Will the School Grass Marry Me]: ??? Is the poster dreaming in broad daylight?

[Chu Yan’s Flag Never Falls]: The School Grass and Tyrant Chu are the perfect pair, okay? Little psycho, get lost.

[Sago]: Although, Xia Zhinian is really good-looking.

[Sago]: Picture.jpg

The boy stood under the tree to avoid the sun, fanning his face non-stop. His skin was delicate and his lips were bright red. His round and clear apricot eyes seemed to discover something and looked at the camera unexpectedly.

[Won’t Change My Name Unless I Enter the Top 50]: Sister, I have this picture too, excited!

[Won’t Change My Name Unless I Enter the Top 50]: My best friend is in class one. She said that a girl confessed to Yan Ci, and Xia Zhinian was watching the show but got caught by the teacher. He didn't want to say who confessed, so he said he liked Yan Ci. That's it, disperse.

[Call Me Little Sweetie]: But the School Grass and Xia Zhinian are really weird, Excited Biting Hand.jpg

[Hope My New CP Comes True]: Sister +1, I have a picture too, I never posted it before, today I'm going all out!

[Hope My New CP Comes True]: Picture.jpg

Outside the corridor of the infirmary, a tall and long-legged boy walked forward. He held a boy in his arms like a child, one hand supporting him and the other hand lightly holding his waist.

The boy's head rested on his shoulder, sleeping soundly with his eyes closed.

The two people in the picture were one gentle and noble young master and one obedient and soft young lord. They had a sense of being in their own world, and no one else could get in.

The post completely blew up.

[Chu Yan Locked Forever]: What is this? Did you photoshop this?!

[Milk Tea Is So Delicious]: Ahhhhh I knew there was something wrong with them!!

[Anonymous Good-Hearted Person From Second Grade, First Class]: Real picture, Xia Zhinian was unwell, and was carried away by the class leader. Our whole class saw it, but we were too shocked and forgot to take pictures.

[Descendant of the Yuan Dynasty]: Yes, I couldn't even believe my own eyes.

[Milk Tea Is So Delicious]: Ahhhhh they must have a problem! (>y<) Do you have any more good-hearted revelations upstairs?

[Chu Yan’s Flag Never Falls]: How can a psycho have anything to do with Yan Ci? Yan Ci is just a nice person, Chu Yan is the real deal!

[Anonymous Good-Hearted Person From Second Grade, First Class]: ... Xia Zhinian still likes Chu Qingjian, right? Our teacher didn't believe that he confessed to Yan Ci, and asked Xia Zhinian to write a self-criticism of 800 words.

Xia Zhinian looked at the post getting higher and higher with his phone, turned off his phone with a depressed look, and looked at the love letter left by the original owner on the table, which had not been sent out yet, and sighed deeply.

The Chinese teacher didn't make him stand outside as a punishment anymore, just asked him to hand in a self-criticism.

But he would rather stand outside than write words.

Xia Zhinian sat in front of his desk with a bitter face, looking at the love letter written by the original owner, and wrote the word self-criticism at the top of the blank paper.

The handwriting was clear and elegant, far from the original owner's scrawl.

"......"

This won't work, he can't write it. If he writes it, he will surely expose himself.

Xia Zhinian wanted to cry but had no tears. He tore off this page of paper, crumpled it up and threw it into the trash can. Even if he said he had been practicing writing recently, it was impossible to change so much in such a short time.

He pulled at the two strands of hair on top of his head, Xia Zhinian suddenly thought of something, his eyes brightened. He opened his location and searched for the nearest handwriting identification and calligraphy copying agencies.

Then he took a taxi and rushed out, entering a shop that specialized in copying cultural relics.

Xia Zhinian walked in quickly: "Hello, can you copy different words based on an existing text?"

The shop owner was an old man wearing Tang Dynasty clothes, with an apprentice beside him. He had a kind smile. "It depends on the difficulty of the original text."

There's hope!

Xia Zhinian's eyes curved slightly. "It's not difficult at all. It's very easy for you."

The shop owner nodded. "Can I see the original text first?"

Xia Zhinian took something out of his pocket and quickly put it on the glass counter. His amber eyes sparkled. "This!"

--He let go of his hand, and the counter revealed a palm-sized paper that was casually folded.

It was a... pink love letter.

And the handwriting was extremely twisted.

Shop Owner: "...?"

Apprentice: "...??"

The shop owner looked at his own shop, which was hung with famous calligraphy and paintings and filled with precious antiques. He was silent for two seconds. "...What do you want to write then?"

"!!" Xia Zhinian smiled shyly, opened his phone memo, and found the content he copied from the internet. He placed it in front of them.

One big word at the top were very eye-catching.

--Self-Criticism.

Shop Owner: "..."

Apprentice: "..."

The shop owner's expression looked like he had been hit by life.

Fortunately, after some negotiation, they accepted the order. Xia Zhinian made an appointment to pick it up before class tomorrow morning, paid the deposit, and left.

The shop owner sighed softly. "Nowadays, kids have all kinds of ways to avoid writing self-criticism."

"..." Xia Zhinian slipped away quickly.

The next morning, he left early and got the self-criticism that was imitated by a professional. It was almost indistinguishable from the original owner's handwriting.

Xia Zhinian praised it.

What a good idea. Why didn't he think of it before? He wondered if he could cooperate with them for a long time and have them write his homework too.

It's just that his balance might not be enough.

Xia Zhinian looked at the three-digit number at the beginning of his mobile bank account and frowned again.

He came to get the self-criticism, didn't ask the Xia family driver to send him, and took a taxi to school. It was still early, and there were not many people at the school gate.

He passed by the alley where he followed Chu Qingjian last time and was stopped by Yan Ci. He suddenly heard a few faint cries of a girl from inside, and one or two casual male voices.

Xia Zhinian frowned, looked around, took something from the side and held it, and walked in quickly.

Inside were a few tall and burly gangsters with tattoos on their arms. They blocked the corner and spoke in a sleazy manner.

"Little student, we're not bad guys. You pay the protection fee, and we'll protect you, right?"

"Yeah, hey, don't say that. The little student is really pretty."

The girl struggled and screamed.

"Bang!"

A dull thud of a heavy object hitting, accompanied by a painful scream from the tall guy with tattooed arms, sounded at the same time. "Fuck, who hit me!"

"I did."

A clear young voice answered.

Xia Zhinian held a wooden stick in his hand and raised it in front of him. The gangster who was hit had a furious face. He turned his head and saw him, and was stunned for a moment. Then he became even more fierce. "Xia Zhinian?!"

"Are you fucking looking for death? Where's your money? Pay up!"

Xia Zhinian: "??"

The gangster grabbed his stick with a fierce momentum. Xia Zhinian had never fought before and panicked. He quickly dodged, and banged another hit on the head of the opposite guy. He reached out and grabbed the girl. "Run."

But the girl was trapped in the corner, and there were two more gangsters on the side. He didn't pull her out, but instead was hit in the back by a punch. He gasped in pain.

The gangster grabbed his arm, and another one casually came up to pinch his face. "Fuck, I suddenly found out that surname Xia is pretty good-looking. I wonder what it's like to fuck him."

Xia Zhinian had a bad body before, never fought, and never been hit by anyone. Insulting words flooded into his ears, and anger surged up.

"What kind of ghost dream are you having in broad daylight!"

Someone grabbed the stick, and he suddenly raised his hand. The stick directly hit the nose of the person who pinched his face. The gangster howled, covering his nose and falling down.

He had never done anything outrageous, and his face was also obedient. But now there was a bit of fierceness in his eyes. He breathed slightly fast, and didn't react after being punched a few times. He swung the stick at the remaining two people.

The Xia family's self-defense technique was always aimed at killing. He had never used it but had seen it. He directly knocked out the two people, pulled the girl and ran.

As soon as he turned the corner, "bang" he hit something with his head. It blocked his way hard.

"What are you running for?"

A low and clear voice came from above his head, and a hand supported his waist.

Yan Ci had just noticed someone running over, and was about to avoid him, but when he turned his eyes and saw a fluffy head, he stopped and waited.

Xia Zhinian was still breathing very fast, subconsciously backed away, and reached out to avoid the person in front of him.

He was used to this feeling of breathing difficulty, but he resisted this embarrassment of not being able to breathe all the time. He bit his left index finger joint and stopped his breath.

"Classmate Xia?"

Yan Ci's smile faded a bit, didn't let go, and held his waist firmly. His dark eyes glanced at him.

"Do you have asthma?"

Xia Zhinian's breathing gradually stabilized, let go of his hand, his pale lips pressed into a line, his expression returned to normal, and casually denied. "How could it be? I just ran too fast."

The girl on the side was a little worried and whispered to him. "Xia, Xia Zhinian, thank you. Are you okay?"

"??"

Xia Zhinian looked at the girl and realized that she was also from second grade, first class, and very familiar. She was Zhao Jinxin who confessed to Yan Ci yesterday. He was slightly surprised.

"I'm fine."

He waved his hand and wanted to take a step back and get away from the protagonist shou and his fan girl. His waist suddenly tightened, and a force held him firmly.

Yan Ci lowered his eyes slightly, his eyes deep, and looked at the alley where they ran from. His voice was soft.

"Did you got into a fight?"

Xia Zhinian felt a dull pain in his waist, hissed, wrinkled his face into a ball, pitifully. "It hurts, it hurts, let me go."

Yan Ci eased his strength, flattened his lips, and a hint of coldness seeped into his eyes. "Let's go to the infirmary first."

Yan Ci let Zhao Jinxin go into the school first, and then took him to the infirmary without any explanation.

The doctor on duty was a young female teacher who had no resistance to the boy's obedient and cute delicate face. She felt even more sorry when she saw the bruises on his body.

She glanced at the tall boy outside the examination room who was sending messages. He looked good, but his expression was a bit cold.

She whispered, "Little student, don't be afraid. Did you encounter school violence?"

"..."

Xia Zhinian had a well-behaved face and shook his head. "No, I fought three by myself."

Teacher on duty: "...??"

Okay then.

The teacher on duty gave him some medicine and asked him to apply it himself. Xia Zhinian sat on the small bed in the inner room, lifted up his clothes, and exposed his soft waist and abdomen. There were large patches of purple on his fair skin, which looked very scary.

He had never fought before, and was not very skilled at first. He was hit by a few punches from the other side. He didn't feel any pain at that time, but now the pain came up.

But he wasn't angry, but rather excited.

His body condition before was not good enough for any strenuous exercise. He didn't expect that after crossing into the book, he could fight three by himself.

He was so awesome!

Xia Zhinian couldn't help but smile, his eyes curved. He felt that his body didn't hurt so much anymore. He took a cotton swab and awkwardly applied medicine to his body.

He could reach his stomach, but not his back. He turned his body and tried to reach it. The cotton swab behind him was suddenly taken away, and cool ointment spread evenly on his back.

Yan Ci held the cotton swab and gently applied medicine to him. He looked down at the bruises on his waist, his eyes dark and cold. His thin lips approached him.

"Sit still."

Xia Zhinian: "??!"

"No need." Xia Zhinian was startled, and didn't care about the medicine on his clothes. He pulled down his clothes to cover the exposed skin on his waist and abdomen. He turned his round eyes back and glanced at him. He leaned forward to avoid him.

"No need, I'm done!"

Yan Ci's eyebrows and eyes sank slightly, the scar at the corner of his eye was cold, and he frowned slightly. He held his clothes with one hand so that they wouldn't rub against the medicine, and easily picked him up with the other hand. He turned him around and trapped him between himself and the bed. His tone was soft.

"Stand still, be good."

Xia Zhinian's back was against Yan Ci, and a large shadow covered him from behind. He could even feel his knees being pressed by the long legs behind him. In front of him was the bed, and the whole space was blocked tightly. To avoid him, he could only lean forward on the bed.

But that way, the posture was a bit strange.

Xia Zhinian felt the cotton swab slide lightly over his waist side, and his whole body stiffened. He tensed up and didn't move.

"...Yan Ci."

"I-I don't need it anymore, let me go, Yan Ci."

Xia Zhinian's body was tense, and he didn't want to apply any more medicine. He called out Yan Ci's name, and his voice was unexpectedly soft.

Yan Ci didn't answer, holding his arm with one hand to prevent him from moving, and spoke in a low voice.

"Do you want me to help you get revenge?"