Ch8 - You Two Must Be in a Hidden FWB Relationship!

Xiao Yiheng was painting again.

He was sitting by the window. The orange paint intertwined with the other colours on the palette, which were added little by little on to the painting titled ‘After School’. 

Qiu Xian would watch him paint whenever she had time as it was very enchanting to see Xiao Yiheng play with colours.

The painting was nearly done and ought to be finished by today.

Xiao Yiheng stopped and got up, the white apron he was wearing already spotted with paint.

Qiu Xian said, “I’ll varnish it.” 

However, Xiao Yiheng shook his head in refusal, “Hold on. I haven’t finished painting yet.”

“What?” Qiu Xian was somewhat baffled.

In her opinion, the degree of completion of this painting was already very high. The setting sun’s afterglow enshrouded the world. Everything was suffused with orange rays of light, filling the surroundings with a peaceful kind of warmth. The orange sky, the orange leaves, the orange field… The painting was completed using varying shades of orange. With its originality, Qiu Xian believed that it would be popular among the old clients in the gallery.

She initially thought that what Xiao Yiheng meant by ‘haven’t finished painting’ was that he wanted to add a few more clouds or add two more strokes to the background.

Unexpectedly, Xiao Yiheng picked up a clean paintbrush and dipped it into the gold paint which was the most-filled paint in the palette. Then, he added a finishing touch to the centre of the painting.

The tip of the brush fluttered and a figure gradually formed. ‘He’ looked simple. The figure was very small. His face could not be seen clearly but his limbs were slender; ‘He’ also looked elaborate. He looked like he was climbing something but his actions had been halted as time stood still.

In the centre of the painting filled with varying shades of orange, the golden silhouette seemed like it was about to jump out of the canvas, making it hard for people to look away.

Qiu Xian hesitantly asked, “What’s… he doing?” 

Why did such a person appear in the school’s field? ‘His’ limbs were hanging onto the wall next to the sports field, capturing the attention of every spectator.

Xiao Yiheng placed his paintbrush down and calmly said, “He’s climbing over the wall.”

“……Huh?”

Xiao Yiheng repeated, “He didn’t want to go to the self-study class so he secretly climbed over the wall and went to an internet cafe to play games without asking his class teacher’s permission.” 

Qiu Xian was puzzled. Generally speaking, when there’s a person in the background of a landscape painting, a painter would not meticulously think about ‘what is this person doing’ and ‘why is this person doing this’. One would only do so if it was a portrait of the person. Yet, Xiao Yiheng was able to explain the person’s actions and intentions so clearly, as if he knew this person in real life.

Qiu Xian asked, “Is the person in your painting a friend of yours?”

Unexpectedly, Xiao Yiheng immediately denied, “Of course not.”

Qiu Xian became even more curious. 

However, Xiao Yiheng refused to divulge any further so Qiu Xian didn’t bother asking him any more questions. Boys around his age would always have some little secrets that they wouldn’t want to tell an adult.

The glittering figure in the painting was a secret that belonged to Xiao Yiheng alone.

……

As the sky darkened, Xiao Yiheng moved the painting to the corner of the classroom, packed his paintbrushes and apron, said goodbye to Qiu Xian, and then left the art classroom with his schoolbag. 

Huacheng No.1 Senior High School occupied a large area. There was a separate academic building for each year, the first years, the second years, and the third years. In addition, the school also had a dormitory, a gymnasium, a swimming pool, a library, a main building and many more. There was even a lake inside the school. The facilities were better than some universities.

It was extremely coincidental that he met an ‘acquaintance’ while he was walking from the academic building towards the school gate.

“Senior Xiao!” The boy walked out of the second years’ academic building. He obviously looked very tall, but because of his stooping posture, he seemed much shorter than he actually was. He had a bowl-cut hairstyle and wore thick glasses, seemingly shy. “Senior Xiao, do you still remember me?”

Xiao Yiheng had a good memory so he recognized him almost immediately, “Are you that ‘potato chip’ guy?” 

We’re sorry for MTLers or people who like using reading mode, but our translations keep getting stolen by aggregators so we’re going to bring back the copy protection. If you need to MTL please retype the gibberish parts.

On the first day that he came back to HC1, he had met this weak second-year junior inside the alley near the school gate. At that time, this junior was holding a bag of potato chips and was being bullied by a red-haired gangster, and that red-haired gangster… was Li Cheng’s ‘suitor’.

When the junior saw that his saviour had remembered him, he was so excited that he didn’t know how to vent his excitement, “Yes, that was me! I’m Yan Jing from Year 2 Class 1. Thank you so much for helping me out last time!”

Huacheng No.1 Senior High School sorted classes according to students’ grades. There were thirteen classes in each year. Class 1 was also called the Elite Class. It was unknown how many students worked their brains out wanting to enter this class.

Xiao Yiheng was from Year 3 Class 1 so strictly speaking, Yan Jing was his direct junior. 

The two walked out of school together.

Xiao Yiheng was reticent while Yan Jing was not good with words.

Yan Jing asked, “Senior, you don’t live in the dorms?”

Xiao Yiheng replied, “Yeah.” 

Yan Jing asked again, “Are there many third-year students who don’t live in the dorms? I’m the only one in my class. I’m in poor health so I have to return home every day to take my medicine.”

Xiao Yiheng answered, “Not many.”

Xiao Yiheng’s replies were always succinct, but Yan Jing was still elated, thinking that he was having a pleasant conversation with his senior.

The only regret he had was that if he had known that he would meet Senior Xiao today, he would have brought his physics competition exercise book and asked his senior to give him his signature! 

Yan Jing pushed the heavy black-framed spectacles on the bridge of his nose upwards and sighed with regret.

After walking out of the school gate, the two looked at the dark alley on the left and simultaneously chose to turn to the right.

Yan Jing was in great trepidation and didn’t want to meet the red-haired hooligan who had bullied him.

Xiao Yiheng was vigilant and didn’t want to meet the golden-haired hooligan who had fallen from the sky. 

As a result…

The two of them had just walked a few steps forward and ran into a purple-haired hooligan.

Xiao Yiheng: “……”

Excuse me, but is there some sort of mysterious unspoken rule in the gangster circle that you can’t debut as a gangster if your hair isn’t dyed? 

The purple-haired hooligan was a male alpha with bulging muscles. He had a cigarette in his mouth and a crowbar in his hand. He was standing lazily, his legs and head bobbing up and down. There were about seven or eight lackeys behind him who wore similar skinny jeans and white t-shirts. This group of weirdos seemed like they were going to start dancing at any moment.

They were clearly up to no good. Yan Jing’s leg trembled and he wanted to slip away with his schoolbag. 

The purple-haired hooligan grabbed the strap of his bag, “Bookworm, why are you running?”

Flustered, Yan Jing replied, “I- I’m running to exercise my body!”

The purple-haired hooligan choked off his words because of his answer.

Xiao Yiheng interrupted the two’s staring game and directly asked, “What’s the matter?” 

He was certain that he didn’t know the purple-haired hooligan and Yan Jing didn’t seem like he was the type to invite trouble.

The purple-haired hooligan loudly answered, “Listen, I’m here to seek revenge!” The wind swooshed as he vigorously swung his crowbar. Every time his wrist turned, the crowbar slashed out a terrifying sound in the air.

The purple-haired hooligan continued, “Last night, someone from your school beat up my lil’ brothers in an internet cafe. If I don’t teach him a lesson, how could I, Hu ge, still mix with the underworld!”

After Xiao Yiheng heard the situation, Li Cheng’s name popped up in his mind almost instantly. 

The only person who could go to an internet cafe to play games but end up beating up people was him.

Yan Jing stuttered, “Mr. Hu, every injustice has its perpetrator and every debt has its debtor. You should find the person who beat up your lil’ brothers for revenge.”

Hu ge: Yeah right, your school is tightly guarded. If I could enter your school, would I still wait here at your school gate and block people?!”

The lil’ brothers behind him echoed his words. Each one of them complained about how strict the gate’s security was and how sharp the security guard’s eyes were. He could tell at a glance that they were not students! 

Xiao Yiheng looked at the group of weirdos. Frankly speaking, it would be strange if the security guard was unable to tell that they weren’t students.

“Finally caught you two with great difficulty. Quickly go, go back and call him out for me.” Hu ge grabbed Yan Jing by his collar, wanting to pick him up just like in the movies. He didn’t expect that although Yan Jing looked short, he was actually like a cat: The more he lifted Yan Jing up, the taller Yan Jing became.

Hu ge: “……”

Yan Jing: “……” 

Hu ge gave up. He threw Yan Jing to the ground and ordered, “Quickly call out Xiao Yiheng from Year 3 Class 1! If I don’t beat the crap out of him today, I will call him dad!”

Yan Jing: “???”

Xiao Yiheng: “……”

Xiao Yiheng cleared his throat before asking, “Excuse me, who are you looking for?” 

Hu ge: “Year 3 Class 1’s Xiao Yiheng.”

Xiao Yiheng: “Why are you looking for him?”

Hu ge impatiently replied, “Is there something wrong with your ears? He beat up my lil’ brothers in the internet cafe yesterday so I’ve come to seek revenge!”

Xiao Yiheng: “With all due respect, I think there’s something wrong with your brain.” 

“You fucking……”

Xiao Yiheng calmly continued, “Because I’m Xiao Yiheng.”

Hu ge: “……”

Hu’s lil’ brothers: “……” 

Hu ge hesitated and so did his lil’ brothers.

They gathered around and discussed the matter.

“It’s not right. Yang Zi told me on the phone that the person who beat them up so badly that they had to go to the hospital yesterday was a blonde-haired omega.”

“Could it be that he dyed his hair last night?” 

“Blonde hair can be dyed to black, but it’s impossible for an omega to turn into an alpha.”

“Maybe he’s an omega who looks like an alpha?”

The more Hu ge thought about it, the more he was unable to understand it. His brows knitted into a frown. He looked at Xiao Yiheng up and down several times, “Did you go to the internet cafe yesterday?”

Xiao Yiheng shook his head, “Never been there.” 

Hu ge asked another question, “Then, how many Xiao Yihengs are there in your school?”

Xiao Yiheng replied, “I am the only one.”

Hu ge clicked his tongue and scratched his head. With his poor imagination, he couldn’t figure out why ‘Xiao Yiheng’ had become another person.

Xiao Yiheng felt disinclined in figuring out why Li Cheng would deliberately mention his name so he bluntly said, “In fact, that blonde-haired omega…..” 

Before he could finish speaking, one of Hu ge’s underlings suddenly yelled, “I get it!”

Xiao Yiheng: “……” Get what?

Hu ge’s underling: “Our fellow brother told us that the omega had the scent of an alpha yesterday. Since the omega mentioned your name, you two must be in a hidden FWB relationship!

Xiao Yiheng was actually shocked by his meticulous reasoning, “Wait…” 

“Wait? What wait?!” Hu ge instantly believed his lil’ brother’s words and fury rose within him. He aggressively raised the crowbar in his hand, “⸺Beat him up!”

……

Every mealtime, HC1’s cafeteria was always crowded with people.

Li Cheng lazily sat at a table. As his lil’ brothers were lining up to buy food for him, he was playing with his mobile phone, bored to death. 

Li Cheng’s luck wasn’t too good today. He encountered skilled players one after another. He couldn’t eat a single chicken, not to mention he died several times and didn’t even manage to reach the first circle.

He was chewing on a piece of strawberry-flavoured bubble gum, blowing a pink bubble every once in a while, and then bursting it out with a pop.

Suddenly, a panicking figure burst into the noisy cafeteria.

It was a boy wearing thick glasses and a silly bowl-cut hairstyle. He tumbled into the cafeteria gasping for air. 

“Eh? Isn’t he Yan Jing from Year 2 Class 1?”

“It’s him. He’s a fixed member of the ‘Return Home’ club, who is said to be in poor health and never attends P.E. classes.”

“Why did he run into the cafeteria?”

These idle gossips fell into Li Cheng’s ears. In a rare moment of curiosity, Li Cheng diverted his attention from the game and lazily looked up. 

The next instant, the bespectacled top student shouted, “S-somebody help! Xiao Yiheng is being held up by gangsters!”

Ch8 - You Two Must Be in a Hidden FWB Relationship!

Xiao Yiheng was painting again.

He was sitting by the window. The orange paint intertwined with the other colours on the palette, which were added little by little on to the painting titled ‘After School’. 

Qiu Xian would watch him paint whenever she had time as it was very enchanting to see Xiao Yiheng play with colours.

The painting was nearly done and ought to be finished by today.

Xiao Yiheng stopped and got up, the white apron he was wearing already spotted with paint.

Qiu Xian said, “I’ll varnish it.” 

However, Xiao Yiheng shook his head in refusal, “Hold on. I haven’t finished painting yet.”

“What?” Qiu Xian was somewhat baffled.

In her opinion, the degree of completion of this painting was already very high. The setting sun’s afterglow enshrouded the world. Everything was suffused with orange rays of light, filling the surroundings with a peaceful kind of warmth. The orange sky, the orange leaves, the orange field… The painting was completed using varying shades of orange. With its originality, Qiu Xian believed that it would be popular among the old clients in the gallery.

She initially thought that what Xiao Yiheng meant by ‘haven’t finished painting’ was that he wanted to add a few more clouds or add two more strokes to the background.

Unexpectedly, Xiao Yiheng picked up a clean paintbrush and dipped it into the gold paint which was the most-filled paint in the palette. Then, he added a finishing touch to the centre of the painting.

The tip of the brush fluttered and a figure gradually formed. ‘He’ looked simple. The figure was very small. His face could not be seen clearly but his limbs were slender; ‘He’ also looked elaborate. He looked like he was climbing something but his actions had been halted as time stood still.

In the centre of the painting filled with varying shades of orange, the golden silhouette seemed like it was about to jump out of the canvas, making it hard for people to look away.

Qiu Xian hesitantly asked, “What’s… he doing?” 

Why did such a person appear in the school’s field? ‘His’ limbs were hanging onto the wall next to the sports field, capturing the attention of every spectator.

Xiao Yiheng placed his paintbrush down and calmly said, “He’s climbing over the wall.”

“……Huh?”

Xiao Yiheng repeated, “He didn’t want to go to the self-study class so he secretly climbed over the wall and went to an internet cafe to play games without asking his class teacher’s permission.” 

Qiu Xian was puzzled. Generally speaking, when there’s a person in the background of a landscape painting, a painter would not meticulously think about ‘what is this person doing’ and ‘why is this person doing this’. One would only do so if it was a portrait of the person. Yet, Xiao Yiheng was able to explain the person’s actions and intentions so clearly, as if he knew this person in real life.

Qiu Xian asked, “Is the person in your painting a friend of yours?”

Unexpectedly, Xiao Yiheng immediately denied, “Of course not.”

Qiu Xian became even more curious. 

However, Xiao Yiheng refused to divulge any further so Qiu Xian didn’t bother asking him any more questions. Boys around his age would always have some little secrets that they wouldn’t want to tell an adult.

The glittering figure in the painting was a secret that belonged to Xiao Yiheng alone.

……

As the sky darkened, Xiao Yiheng moved the painting to the corner of the classroom, packed his paintbrushes and apron, said goodbye to Qiu Xian, and then left the art classroom with his schoolbag. 

Huacheng No.1 Senior High School occupied a large area. There was a separate academic building for each year, the first years, the second years, and the third years. In addition, the school also had a dormitory, a gymnasium, a swimming pool, a library, a main building and many more. There was even a lake inside the school. The facilities were better than some universities.

It was extremely coincidental that he met an ‘acquaintance’ while he was walking from the academic building towards the school gate.

“Senior Xiao!” The boy walked out of the second years’ academic building. He obviously looked very tall, but because of his stooping posture, he seemed much shorter than he actually was. He had a bowl-cut hairstyle and wore thick glasses, seemingly shy. “Senior Xiao, do you still remember me?”

Xiao Yiheng had a good memory so he recognized him almost immediately, “Are you that ‘potato chip’ guy?” 

We’re sorry for MTLers or people who like using reading mode, but our translations keep getting stolen by aggregators so we’re going to bring back the copy protection. If you need to MTL please retype the gibberish parts.

On the first day that he came back to HC1, he had met this weak second-year junior inside the alley near the school gate. At that time, this junior was holding a bag of potato chips and was being bullied by a red-haired gangster, and that red-haired gangster… was Li Cheng’s ‘suitor’.

When the junior saw that his saviour had remembered him, he was so excited that he didn’t know how to vent his excitement, “Yes, that was me! I’m Yan Jing from Year 2 Class 1. Thank you so much for helping me out last time!”

Huacheng No.1 Senior High School sorted classes according to students’ grades. There were thirteen classes in each year. Class 1 was also called the Elite Class. It was unknown how many students worked their brains out wanting to enter this class.

Xiao Yiheng was from Year 3 Class 1 so strictly speaking, Yan Jing was his direct junior. 

The two walked out of school together.

Xiao Yiheng was reticent while Yan Jing was not good with words.

Yan Jing asked, “Senior, you don’t live in the dorms?”

Xiao Yiheng replied, “Yeah.” 

Yan Jing asked again, “Are there many third-year students who don’t live in the dorms? I’m the only one in my class. I’m in poor health so I have to return home every day to take my medicine.”

Xiao Yiheng answered, “Not many.”

Xiao Yiheng’s replies were always succinct, but Yan Jing was still elated, thinking that he was having a pleasant conversation with his senior.

The only regret he had was that if he had known that he would meet Senior Xiao today, he would have brought his physics competition exercise book and asked his senior to give him his signature! 

Yan Jing pushed the heavy black-framed spectacles on the bridge of his nose upwards and sighed with regret.

After walking out of the school gate, the two looked at the dark alley on the left and simultaneously chose to turn to the right.

Yan Jing was in great trepidation and didn’t want to meet the red-haired hooligan who had bullied him.

Xiao Yiheng was vigilant and didn’t want to meet the golden-haired hooligan who had fallen from the sky. 

As a result…

The two of them had just walked a few steps forward and ran into a purple-haired hooligan.

Xiao Yiheng: “……”

Excuse me, but is there some sort of mysterious unspoken rule in the gangster circle that you can’t debut as a gangster if your hair isn’t dyed? 

The purple-haired hooligan was a male alpha with bulging muscles. He had a cigarette in his mouth and a crowbar in his hand. He was standing lazily, his legs and head bobbing up and down. There were about seven or eight lackeys behind him who wore similar skinny jeans and white t-shirts. This group of weirdos seemed like they were going to start dancing at any moment.

They were clearly up to no good. Yan Jing’s leg trembled and he wanted to slip away with his schoolbag. 

The purple-haired hooligan grabbed the strap of his bag, “Bookworm, why are you running?”

Flustered, Yan Jing replied, “I- I’m running to exercise my body!”

The purple-haired hooligan choked off his words because of his answer.

Xiao Yiheng interrupted the two’s staring game and directly asked, “What’s the matter?” 

He was certain that he didn’t know the purple-haired hooligan and Yan Jing didn’t seem like he was the type to invite trouble.

The purple-haired hooligan loudly answered, “Listen, I’m here to seek revenge!” The wind swooshed as he vigorously swung his crowbar. Every time his wrist turned, the crowbar slashed out a terrifying sound in the air.

The purple-haired hooligan continued, “Last night, someone from your school beat up my lil’ brothers in an internet cafe. If I don’t teach him a lesson, how could I, Hu ge, still mix with the underworld!”

After Xiao Yiheng heard the situation, Li Cheng’s name popped up in his mind almost instantly. 

The only person who could go to an internet cafe to play games but end up beating up people was him.

Yan Jing stuttered, “Mr. Hu, every injustice has its perpetrator and every debt has its debtor. You should find the person who beat up your lil’ brothers for revenge.”

Hu ge: Yeah right, your school is tightly guarded. If I could enter your school, would I still wait here at your school gate and block people?!”

The lil’ brothers behind him echoed his words. Each one of them complained about how strict the gate’s security was and how sharp the security guard’s eyes were. He could tell at a glance that they were not students! 

Xiao Yiheng looked at the group of weirdos. Frankly speaking, it would be strange if the security guard was unable to tell that they weren’t students.

“Finally caught you two with great difficulty. Quickly go, go back and call him out for me.” Hu ge grabbed Yan Jing by his collar, wanting to pick him up just like in the movies. He didn’t expect that although Yan Jing looked short, he was actually like a cat: The more he lifted Yan Jing up, the taller Yan Jing became.

Hu ge: “……”

Yan Jing: “……” 

Hu ge gave up. He threw Yan Jing to the ground and ordered, “Quickly call out Xiao Yiheng from Year 3 Class 1! If I don’t beat the crap out of him today, I will call him dad!”

Yan Jing: “???”

Xiao Yiheng: “……”

Xiao Yiheng cleared his throat before asking, “Excuse me, who are you looking for?” 

Hu ge: “Year 3 Class 1’s Xiao Yiheng.”

Xiao Yiheng: “Why are you looking for him?”

Hu ge impatiently replied, “Is there something wrong with your ears? He beat up my lil’ brothers in the internet cafe yesterday so I’ve come to seek revenge!”

Xiao Yiheng: “With all due respect, I think there’s something wrong with your brain.” 

“You fucking……”

Xiao Yiheng calmly continued, “Because I’m Xiao Yiheng.”

Hu ge: “……”

Hu’s lil’ brothers: “……” 

Hu ge hesitated and so did his lil’ brothers.

They gathered around and discussed the matter.

“It’s not right. Yang Zi told me on the phone that the person who beat them up so badly that they had to go to the hospital yesterday was a blonde-haired omega.”

“Could it be that he dyed his hair last night?” 

“Blonde hair can be dyed to black, but it’s impossible for an omega to turn into an alpha.”

“Maybe he’s an omega who looks like an alpha?”

The more Hu ge thought about it, the more he was unable to understand it. His brows knitted into a frown. He looked at Xiao Yiheng up and down several times, “Did you go to the internet cafe yesterday?”

Xiao Yiheng shook his head, “Never been there.” 

Hu ge asked another question, “Then, how many Xiao Yihengs are there in your school?”

Xiao Yiheng replied, “I am the only one.”

Hu ge clicked his tongue and scratched his head. With his poor imagination, he couldn’t figure out why ‘Xiao Yiheng’ had become another person.

Xiao Yiheng felt disinclined in figuring out why Li Cheng would deliberately mention his name so he bluntly said, “In fact, that blonde-haired omega…..” 

Before he could finish speaking, one of Hu ge’s underlings suddenly yelled, “I get it!”

Xiao Yiheng: “……” Get what?

Hu ge’s underling: “Our fellow brother told us that the omega had the scent of an alpha yesterday. Since the omega mentioned your name, you two must be in a hidden FWB relationship!

Xiao Yiheng was actually shocked by his meticulous reasoning, “Wait…” 

“Wait? What wait?!” Hu ge instantly believed his lil’ brother’s words and fury rose within him. He aggressively raised the crowbar in his hand, “⸺Beat him up!”

……

Every mealtime, HC1’s cafeteria was always crowded with people.

Li Cheng lazily sat at a table. As his lil’ brothers were lining up to buy food for him, he was playing with his mobile phone, bored to death. 

Li Cheng’s luck wasn’t too good today. He encountered skilled players one after another. He couldn’t eat a single chicken, not to mention he died several times and didn’t even manage to reach the first circle.

He was chewing on a piece of strawberry-flavoured bubble gum, blowing a pink bubble every once in a while, and then bursting it out with a pop.

Suddenly, a panicking figure burst into the noisy cafeteria.

It was a boy wearing thick glasses and a silly bowl-cut hairstyle. He tumbled into the cafeteria gasping for air. 

“Eh? Isn’t he Yan Jing from Year 2 Class 1?”

“It’s him. He’s a fixed member of the ‘Return Home’ club, who is said to be in poor health and never attends P.E. classes.”

“Why did he run into the cafeteria?”

These idle gossips fell into Li Cheng’s ears. In a rare moment of curiosity, Li Cheng diverted his attention from the game and lazily looked up. 

The next instant, the bespectacled top student shouted, “S-somebody help! Xiao Yiheng is being held up by gangsters!”