Chapter 22

Alright, no more jokes. No one’s stupid enough to dig through walls—even if you exaggerated the situation, there are cameras all around you; even if you dug like a fool, you wouldn’t budge it one ten-thousandth of a millimeter before getting caught. That’s destruction of public property. Though the wall’s classification is somewhat ambiguous in legal terms, it’s still undeniably public property. Minor case? Ten to twenty days detention. Major case? You’ll rot in jail for life. It all depends on how each side chooses to play it.

…

After struggling out the main gate, the path split left and right. Left led to the stairs for the playground; right led to the classrooms and school gate. No need to think—take the right. After all, the trash dump is near the gate. Why detour all the way around the playground? That’s just asking for trouble.

Unless it’s exam season, when the area gets sealed off and sometimes even the elevators shut down—in short, it’s inconvenient and unfriendly for boarding students during certain times.

This time, you can just blindly head right. The paths are many, but predictable: later you’ll cross the second-floor skybridge to the teaching building, then loop a bit more to reach the gate.

The place isn’t huge, but not tiny either—it’s the biggest school in a ten-mile radius. Equipment is ancient, covered in dust, blending well with nature. To promote student sports, the soccer field was torn down and replaced with three basketball courts and two sandpits. Seven basketball courts in one school? That’s something to be proud of, right? Yi Zhen wouldn’t dare say it aloud—what if everyone heard the only sport offered was basketball and stopped coming? How awkward would that be?

Cough, back to the point. Yi Zhen’s strength was draining fast from carrying all this stuff. He kept pushing silently, stopping only when exhausted. Sometimes he really wanted to complain: this place is tiny enough, you put dorms here fine, but why make the hallway this long? Oh my god, my poor lower back…

Yi Zhen was in agony. He set down his load and pounded his thin, aching back. If he weren’t malnourished, he wouldn’t be like this. Hope he can make up for it soon. As long as he holds on, he wins. Keep going.

He picked up his things again and resumed his journey, repeating the cycle endlessly, until finally he reached the second floor from the third.

Good— the skybridge door on the second floor wasn’t locked, and he hadn’t run into Zhen Lin, whom he didn’t want to meet right now. Everything’s fine. Looks like the world still loves me. Nice!

Thirty seconds later, he moved from the stairs onto the skybridge. The sky had slowly darkened. From his angle, he clearly saw groups of boys happily playing basketball under the school lights, and a few girls sitting together—obviously playing something, but he didn’t know what. Why are girls out so late at night instead of staying in their dorms? Honestly? Just one word: flirting. No deeper meaning—just facts.

“Huh? That’s…”

Suddenly Yi Zhen’s pupils widened. He spotted the person he’d been avoiding—and the guy was sitting in a spot so awkward that if Yi Zhen kept walking straight down the stairs, one glance would spot him. Maybe the guy would chase him, maybe not—he couldn’t be sure. But he wouldn’t risk it. Looks like another detour. Ugh, just a life of running.

Yi Zhen immediately crouched down, just in case the guy spotted him—even though it was unlikely, he couldn’t take chances. This was a special time; he had to be careful. It’d be tiring, but unavoidable. All for avoiding social death. Come on!

The teaching building’s corridors were labyrinthine. Yi Zhen never noticed before, but now, carrying heavy loads, every step was agony. He didn’t even want to turn at corners anymore.

All paths were the same anyway. Better to finish this long stretch, then turn right—after that, it’s the same pattern: straight, right turn, straight, right turn…

Wait, why is no one on this path? Too late? Honestly, he wouldn’t mind seeing some girls—after all, the other skybridge leads to the girls’ dorm. But once you go up there, the dorm supervisor will teach you a lesson about gender boundaries.

Well, even under strict rules, there are loopholes. The male dorm supervisors are students—no old men here. The old men just sit at the gatehouse, too lazy to care what’s going on inside. They get 3k a month just to guard the door. Might as well sneak a little laziness.

First-year life is wonderful. Maybe there’ll be something extraordinary? Classes resume the day after tomorrow. Should he do something different? Who doesn’t love girls? With a cheat, wanting to control your own romantic choices is perfectly normal.

For now, set those thoughts aside. His future life will surely be colorful—he just needs to live it his own way.

Fueled by these daydreams, Yi Zhen felt renewed energy. Physical pain meant nothing; mental excitement was helping him push through. What did he have to fear? Go!

After a short sprint, he began running slowly through the empty teaching building. He exercised regularly, but his physique barely changed—even got thinner. Annoying. He just wanted to gain weight.

Even the PE teacher said his height and weight were abnormal. “Eat more. Don’t be picky.” He just nodded silently. With his semi-poor family, just getting enough to eat was a win. Extra choices? Impossible. Even if he wanted a part-time job, they rejected him—either for being too thin or because he was underage. Life was hard. So hard.

Luckily, even under these terrible conditions, his running talent still shone—he ranked in the upper-middle among his class of forty.

Well, if everything were normal, he could climb higher. That’s what the PE teacher said—he really believed in Yi Zhen. But while his height suited basketball, his weight was worrying. He looked so fragile, someone might break him. He was skinnier than any boy band idol. “Bony” was too generous—his body was clearly starved of nutrition.

After running, he moved much faster. But his stamina drained quicker too. No time to care—just charge forward.

…

This corridor was at least 800 meters long. Who designed this? It’s inhuman. Ten classrooms lined the entire left side. Yi Zhen couldn’t help thinking: why not just cut corners? Keep running straight to the stairs and go down. He was exhausted. How stupid was he to think Zhen Lin could recognize him on such a long path? That’s ridiculous.

After some self-convincing, he sped up, sprinting like a tiger descending a mountain. But a foul odor drifted out—his pace was too fast, and the plastic bags were only loosely sealed. They finally split open. The stench returned, nauseating. He was nearing the small door beside the teachers’ office. No stopping now. One burst of effort, then it fades, then it’s gone. If he stopped, he’d collapse.

Just as luck would have it, a girl suddenly stepped out of the half-open door. Yi Zhen couldn’t brake in time. His brain frantically calculated the safest landing point.

Charging straight ahead was impossible—he’d knock her down, maybe crash into her himself. Broken nose? Minor. But his fragile bones? They’d snap in several places. Then it wouldn’t be about whether she was hurt—it’d be whether he’d need surgery and hospitalization. That was serious.