Chapter 924: At Eighteen, the Time of Childhood Sweethearts

The entrance exams lasted two days.

Then came the official start of school; grades would be released in about half a week, and for students, learning knowledge is always more useful than taking exams.

A certain PE class.

When Song Xu was in his first year of high school, Jin Shu had already helped him apply for a PE waiver, so he didn't have to participate in running or activities during regular PE classes.

Students in similar situations usually chose to self-study in the classroom, but Song Xu would always sit with his book on the bench under the tree, waiting for his older brother to finish his run.

Today was no different.

He couldn't really focus on the book in his hands.

As he read, his mind would inevitably wander to other things.

For example, he had been feeling strange lately.

Song Xu's fingertips rubbed the pages, but his thoughts had already drifted away.

He recalled the minty scent when Jin Chen came out of the shower that afternoon, waking from their nap together to eat watermelon in the courtyard, Jin Chen wiping the water from the corner of his mouth, and every recent moment they'd spent together.

Afterwards his heart raced, a tingling numbness spreading to his very bones.

Song Xu touched his chest, confirming it wasn't a sign of illness, yet suddenly he remembered that day in the cafeteria when Cheng Huai said he liked Mu Henian—the light and sparkle in his eyes, impossible to hide even when shy.

A gust of wind blew past.

The pages in his hand were lifted by the wind, rustling loudly, bringing back his wandering thoughts.

When his gaze fell back onto the book, it was no longer the page he had been reading, yet he involuntarily saw a line of text.

——"There can be many kinds of liking in this world; we simply can't list reasons for them."

Liking…

The sun was a bit hot; Song Xu shifted inward, lifted his eyes to the classmates on the plastic track, and instantly locked onto Jin Chen.

Liking.

He seemed to understand why.

In the instant he figured it out, a tingling numbness spread throughout his body.

【Villain Heartthrob Value detected: 10, total now 50!】

Jin Chen was so excited he almost stumbled.

He happened to run past the bend where Song Xu was sitting, they exchanged a few seconds of smiling eye contact, then he sped up and ran on.

He wanted to finish the run quickly! Hug his family's adorable Xiao Yu'er!

The sports committee member who used to stand side‑by‑side with Jin Chen:??

Dude, did you suddenly start taking hormones?

"Song Xu, could you trouble us to go to the equipment room and get the ping‑pong ball bag? We can't carry it this time."

A few girls walked over, each holding the sports equipment they'd need for activities after the run, truly unable to free their hands.

They were also classmates exempt from running today; Song Xu took off his earphones, his voice cool yet polite.

"Sure."

He put the book back into his backpack, which always carried medicine and water, slung it over one shoulder, and headed toward the equipment room.

Just as he entered, Song Xu glanced at the empty equipment room and walked toward the rack where the ping‑pong ball bags were stored.

With a bang, the main gate was shut.

He frowned slightly and turned around.

Five youths stepped out from behind the rack, the leader even holding a knife, his smile ill‑intentioned.

"You're Song Xu, right? You really have a good look."

"I heard your grades are great, but you also have a heart condition. Why don't you obediently give big brother a few tutoring sessions? Otherwise you might scare your heart into an attack."

The five of them spoke while circling Song Xu.

Were they doing this on purpose…

Song Xu frowned in thought, his expression still calm, his eyes devoid of ripple, his almond‑shaped eyes scanning the five's attire and appearance.

"This is a school; the equipment room could have someone walk in at any time."

"Even if you scare me to death, you won't escape, and you'll also bear the guilt of murder."

He didn't even step back, just stood there holding his bag with one hand, his expression cold and clear.

"You can try."

The few thugs: "……"

No, who's actually the threatening one here!

They said this guy was timid and had a heart condition, that he couldn't be scared at all!

"Stop your whining!"

The leader stepped forward two paces.

Who would have thought Song Xu would calmly look at him, his gaze lingering on the butterfly sticker on the guy's short‑sleeve shirt and the pink hair‑tie on his wrist, his voice clear and slow.

"If you end up in prison for taking a life, your sister will have no one who cares about her."

The leader:??

"Damn! Do you know who I am?"

Song Xu didn't answer, then turned his gaze to the person holding the fruit knife—his clothes were worn but clean, with visible mending stitches.

"Even if you're useless to society, at least your family loves you; could you bear to let them down?"

"……Damn! Who are you!"

The fruit‑knife thug's eyes widened.

The third one, the bearded youth closest to him, looked the oldest, his shirt collar bearing an inconspicuous kiss mark, and he wore a cheap tie.

Song Xu glanced over quickly, lifted eyes calmly, "Your lover likes you a lot; they surely think you have a good job outside, is that how you treat their affection?"

Bearded youth: "……"

The five people suddenly felt a chill all over, and all stepped back a few steps.

"No…… Who are you?"

They didn't know each other that well!

Song Xu barely exhaled, hid the sweaty hand behind, straightened the back, and waited coldly.

"Who I am doesn't matter."

"Tell me, who sent you to block me?"

Fruit-knife thug: "On what basis, on what basis do I tell you!"

Song Xu: "I'll pay ten times the price."

The five people hissed, then looked at each other, "No way, can a high schooler have that much money?"

He can see our secret at a glance, what if?

I also think, damn, this person is really mysterious.

Hearing their whispering, Song Xu thought for a moment, grabbed the backpack, opened it, and pulled out a watch from the interlayer that hadn't been worn in a long time.

It was a gift from his father, showy but impractical; Song Xu didn't like it, and later kept wearing the birthday gift from Jin Chen.

"This watch is worth 300,000; if you don't believe me, look it up."

"Whoever speaks first gets this watch."

Long fingers lifted the silver watch; its face was even inlaid with many tiny diamonds, sunlight streaming through the skylight made it sparkle brilliantly, dazzling.

"Damn……"

The leading youth immediately took out his phone to photograph and identify it; the string of zeros that appeared on the webpage practically blinded their eyes.

While the other four were still dazed, the bearded youth reacted fastest: "It's Zhong Yin from the vocational school next door; her older brother is a notorious Dage of our generation, said to be the head of a small gang!"

He spoke extremely fast, after saying that, he stared at the watch, his eyes almost glowing.

The other four: Fuck!

Zhong Yin……

Song Xu's eyebrows slightly furrowed, a dark light flashed in his eyes, not surprising either.

"That… watch?" the bearded youth reminded.

Song Xu threw the watch over.

"Holy shit!"

The bearded youth hurriedly caught it, holding it carefully in his palm, afraid of breaking it.

In the blink of an eye, he saw the four buddies looking at Youyou.

"Split…… Later we'll go sell the watch! 300,000 we'll split among ourselves!"

Only then were the other four satisfied.

In unison they said to Song Xu: "Boss! Need us to do anything for you? We can fight and intimidate, all-round!"

Song Xu: "……"

He pointed to the shelving they had knocked over.

"Lift it up."