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'd get caught the moment you so much as chipped a single grain of plaster, since it's destruction of public property. Though the wall's classification as public property is somewhat ambiguous in legal terms, it's undeniable that it is public property. Minor cases mean ten to twenty days detention; major ones could land you in prison for life—it all depends on how each side chooses to handle it.

…

After struggling out the main gate, the path split left and right: left led to the stairs toward the playground, right to the stairs leading to classrooms and the 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'd be plain stupid.

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

This time, you can just blindly head right. Though there are many paths, they follow patterns: later, you'll need to cross the second-floor footbridge to the teaching building, then loop around a bit to reach the gate.

The place isn't huge, but it's not small either—it's the largest school in a ten-mile radius. The facilities are ancient, dust-covered, and seamlessly blended with nature. To promote students' sports interests, the soccer field was demolished 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, cough, back to the point. Yi Zhen's strength was draining fast from carrying all this stuff—he silently endured, stopping to rest whenever he could. Sometimes he truly wanted to complain: this tiny place, you put dorms here fine, but why make the corridor so absurdly long? Ohhh~ my poor lower back…

Yi Zhen was in agony. He set down the load and kept pounding his thin, aching back. If he weren't malnourished, he wouldn't be like this. Hope he could gorge himself later—just hold on, and victory is his. Keep going.

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

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

Another thirty seconds later, he moved from the stairs onto the footbridge. The sky had slowly darkened. From his angle, he could clearly see groups of boys happily playing basketball under the school's lights, and a few girls sitting together—obviously playing, but he didn't know what game. You'd think girls wouldn't be out this late, away from their dorms, showing off in public. Honestly? Just one word: flirting. No other meaning—just stating facts.

"Huh?! That's…"

Suddenly, Yi Zhen's pupils dilated—he spotted the person he'd been avoiding. And his seating position was awkward: if Yi Zhen kept walking straight down the stairs, one glance from him would spot Yi Zhen. He might chase him—or he might not. Yi Zhen couldn't be sure, but he wouldn't risk it. Looks like another detour. Ugh—just a life of constant running.

Yi Zhen immediately crouched down, just in case Zhen Lin spotted him—even if unlikely, better safe than sorry. This was a sensitive 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 practically 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.

Since all paths were basically the same, 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 footbridge leads to the girls' dorm. But once you go up there, the dorm supervisor will teach you a lesson in gender boundaries.

Okay, even under such strict management, there are loopholes. The male dorm supervisors are students—no old men here. The old men just sit in the guard booth, too lazy to care what's happening inside. They get 3k a month just to guard the gate. Might as well sneak a little laziness.

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

For now, shove 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 was there to fear? Charge ahead!

After a short sprint, he began jogging slowly through the empty teaching building. He'd exercised before, but his physique hadn't changed much—even gotten thinner. It annoyed him. He just wanted to gain weight.

Even the PE teacher said his height and weight were abnormal. He should eat more, stop being picky—endless nagging. Yi Zhen just nodded silently. With his semi-poor family, just getting enough to eat was a luxury—how could he afford choices? Even if he wanted a part-time job, they'd reject him for being underage. His life was hard—so hard it made him want to cry.

Fortunately, despite all these disadvantages, his running talent still shone—he ranked in the upper-middle tier of his class of forty.

Okay, if everything were normal, he could climb even higher, according to the PE teacher. The teacher really believed in him. His height suited basketball, but his weight? He'd worry Yi Zhen'd get crushed. He looked too frail—even skinnier than those trendy boy idols. "Bony" was being generous. Clearly, he was starved of nutrition.

After running, he moved much faster—but his stamina drained quicker too. He had no time to care. Just charge ahead.

…

This corridor was at least 800 meters long—truly an insane design. Ten classrooms lined the entire left side. Yi Zhen couldn't help thinking: maybe just skip the detour, keep running straight to the stairs and go down. He was so tired. 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 wafted out—his pace was too fast, and the plastic bags were only loosely sealed. They finally split open, releasing the stench again. It was nauseating. He was nearing the small door beside the teachers' office—couldn't stop now. One burst of effort, then fatigue sets in, then exhaustion. If he stopped now, he'd collapse completely.

Just as luck would have it, a girl suddenly stepped out of the half-open door. Yi Zhen couldn't brake in time—he frantically calculated his best landing point.

Charging straight ahead was impossible—he'd knock her down, and likely crash into her too. Broken nose? Minor. But his fragile bones? Probably snap several. Then it wouldn't be about whether she was hurt—it'd be whether he'd need hospitalization and surgery. That was a serious problem.